ALL ABOUT HEALTH -

11Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Benign Breast Lumps Are Tied to Increased Cancer Risk Years Later

Main

Even though many women with abnormal screening mammogram results don’t go on to get breast cancer, a new study suggests their risk is elevated when these tests turn up noncancerous lumps.For the study, researchers examined data on more than 778,000 women ages 50 to 69 who had at least one mammogram at a breast cancer screening center in Spain between 1996 and 2015. During a median follow-up period of 7.6 years, mammograms found noncancerous tissue growth, or benign breast disease, in 2.3 percent of the participants and breast cancer in 1.5 percent.Overall, about 25 out of every 1,000 women with benign breast disease went on to develop breast cancer, compared with 15 out of every 1,000 women without these noncancerous tissue growths, researchers reported February 24, 2022, in the International…

11Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

New COVID Subvariants Take Over the U.S.

Main

The coronavirus continues to mutate rapidly. In the latter half of August, the BA.5 subvariant made up more than 85 percent of COVID-19 infections in the U.S. Now, just three months later, BA.5 accounts for just under one-quarter of cases while BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 are responsible for nearly half of infections in the country, according to latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Because the BQ variants are new, more research is needed to determine exactly how harmful they may be. Evidence so far suggests they spread easily but cause milder illness that the original and delta strains of the virus.As the BQ variants have grown, so have the latest COVID-19 numbers. Analysis from The New York Times shows that the daily average of cases has increased by…

11Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

FDA Approves New Treatment for Ovarian Cancer

Main

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new drug to treat certain types of ovarian cancer in patients who don’t get optimal outcomes from other medicines.The new drug, mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx (Elahere), is cleared for some patients who have what’s known as epithelial ovarian cancer (the most common form of these malignancies according to MedlinePlus), as well as cancers in the fallopian tubes and peritoneum, a delicate membrane that covers the abdominal walls, uterus, bladder, and rectum.Elahere is approved only for patients with a specific type of cancer known as folate receptor alpha-positive platinum-resistant disease who have previously received so-called systemic treatments like chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or hormone therapy, the FDA said in a statement. Separately, the FDA approved a diagnostic test that can identify patients with tumors that…

11Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

‘Good’ Cholesterol May Not Be as Good as We Thought

Main

For decades now, high levels of HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol — also called “good” cholesterol — have been said to lower the likelihood for heart disease and stroke, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). New research, however, challenges HDL’s role in predicting cardiovascular risk.Published this month in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the study — which was supported by the National Institutes of Health — confirmed that low levels of HDL cholesterol indicated a greater risk of heart attacks or related deaths among white adults — although that did not prove to be the case for Black adults.In addition, the investigation noted that higher HDL cholesterol levels did not appear to be associated with any cardiovascular benefit in either white or Black participants.“The goal was…

11Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Experimental Alzheimer’s Drug Slows Cognitive Decline

Main

The experimental Alzheimer’s disease drug lecanemab slowed cognitive decline in some people with early Alzheimer’s disease but also caused serious side effects in some patients, according to new results from a late-stage clinical trial.Lecanemab is in a family of medicines designed to clear the brain of plaques formed by the buildup of a protein known as beta-amyloid, which is thought to play a role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.The new results, published November 29 in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), offer a more detailed look at the effectiveness and safety of the drug two months after its developers, the drugmakers Biogen and Eisai, released preliminary findings from this 18-month clinical trial highlighting that lecanemab slowed cognitive decline by 27 percent.“In persons with early Alzheimer’s disease, lecanemab reduced…

11Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

More Evidence Lung Cancer Screening Boosts Survival Odds

Main

Patients diagnosed with lung cancer may have better long-term survival rates when it’s caught early by low-dose computerized tomography (CT) scans, a new study suggests.The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends annual lung cancer screening with low-dose CT in adults ages 50 to 80 years who have a 20 pack-year smoking history, which equals at least a pack a day for 20 years, and who currently smoke or have quit within the past 15 years. But less than 6 percent of people eligible for lung cancer screening get it, according to the American Lung Association.For the new study, researchers examined data on 20-year survival rates for 1,285 patients diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer after undergoing screening with low-dose CT scans.Overall, the 20-year survival rate was 80 percent, according to preliminary…

11Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Monkeypox Is Renamed ‘Mpox’ to Reduce Stigma

Main

Monkeypox will now be officially referred to as “mpox,” according to an announcement by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday. Both names will be used simultaneously for one year while “monkeypox” is phased out.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has followed suit and is also updating its website with the term “mpox.”The WHO made the change in an effort to fight racism, discrimination, and stigma that has been associated with the disease, which primarily affects men who have sex with men.“In several meetings, public and private, a number of individuals and countries raised concerns and asked WHO to propose a way forward to change the name,” wrote the organization.The push to rename the disease began in June 2022, when a group of international scientists declared in a statement the urgent need to use…

10Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Plant-Based Diet Tied to Lower Bowel Cancer Risk in Men

Main

Need another reason not to subsist mostly on burgers, wings, and steaks? A new study suggests that men who eat a mostly plant-based diet have a lower risk of bowel cancer.For the U.S. study, researchers examined the eating habits of 79,952 men. They found that men who consumed the most vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and legumes were 22 percent less likely to develop bowel cancer than their counterparts who rarely ate these foods.But this was true only for men. Among the 93,475 women in the study, whether or not they followed a more plant-based diet didn’t appear to influence their bowel cancer risk, according to the study results, published November 29 in BMC Medicine.And the protective effect of a plant-based diet was more pronounced for certain men. The cancer risk…

10Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

More Than 1 Billion Teens and Young Adults Risk Hearing Loss

Main

It may be too loud even if you’re not old. A new study suggests that up to 1.35 billion people in their teens, twenties, and early thirties risk hearing loss long before they reach retirement age because they spend too much time exposed to loud noises.“We focused on unsafe listening from use of personal listening devices such as smartphones and loud entertainment venues such as bars, concerts, and nightclubs, both of which are highly common in young people,” says the lead study author, Lauren Dillard, PhD, a doctor of audiology at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.For the new analysis, scientists examined data on average noise exposure among more than 19,000 people ages 12 to 34 who participated in 33 previously conducted studies. Overall, roughly one in four people…

10Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Do Steroid Injections Make Knee Osteoarthritis Worse?

Main

Steroid injections, which are often used to treat pain in knee osteoarthritis (KOA), may actually make arthritis worse, according to two new studies comparing steroid injections with hyaluronic acid, another common therapy to treat pain in the condition. The findings were presented on November 29, 2022, at RSNA 2022, the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in Chicago.Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common kind of arthritis, and it’s estimated that 38 to 45 percent of people develop KOA over their lifetime, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). More than 10 percent of patients with knee osteoarthritis seek pain relief through corticosteroid or hyaluronic acid injections.Steroid Injections Significantly Associated With Progression of Knee OAResearchers in both studies used participants from the Osteoarthritis Initiative,…