What Drives Alzheimer’s in Women?
Female sex, early age at menopause, and hormone therapy use each were associated with higher regional tau in cognitively normal people with elevated beta-amyloid, cross-sectional PET data showed. The highest levels of tau were seen in hormone therapy users who had a delay of more than 5 years between menopause onset and the start of […]
Advanced Parkinson’s Symptoms Improved With Focused Ultrasound
Unilateral focused ultrasound ablation targeted to the globus pallidus internus led to a higher percentage of Parkinson’s disease patients with improved motor function or reduced dyskinesia compared with sham over 3 months but was associated with adverse neurologic effects, a pivotal trial showed. A total of 45 patients (69%) in the focused ultrasound group had […]
Better Cognition Even With Small Amounts of Physical Activity
Being and remaining physically active throughout adulthood was linked with higher cognition at age 69, a longitudinal cohort study showed. Effect sizes were similar across all adult ages, suggesting that being physically active at any time in adulthood — even as little as once a month — was tied to higher cognition, reported Sarah-Naomi James, […]
Comorbidity Burden in People With HIV Tied to Increased Mortality Risk
The prevalence of comorbidities in people with HIV on effective antiretroviral treatment was consistently higher compared with HIV-negative individuals, and was linked to an increased risk for death, according to a prospective longitudinal cohort study. In people age 45 and older followed for a median 5.9 years, 5.2% of the 596 HIV-positive participants died compared […]
Phthalates Exposure Tied to Higher Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes in White Women
Exposure to phthalates — a type of endocrine-disrupting chemical — was linked with a higher incidence of type 2 diabetes among women, but only those who were white, researchers reported. In a study of over 1,300 women without diabetes, certain phthalate metabolites were associated with a higher incidence of diabetes during 6-year follow-up in a […]
Higher Rates of Staph Infection for Hispanics on Dialysis, CDC Says
Hispanic dialysis patients have significantly higher rates of Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections compared with white dialysis patients, according to a CDC study. In 2020, rates of S. aureus bloodstream infections in hemodialysis patients were 40% higher among Hispanic patients versus non-Hispanic whites (adjusted rate ratio [aRR] 1.4, 95% CI 1.2-1.7, P<0.001), reported Shannon Novosad, MD, […]
Ultra-processed foods may be linked to increased risk of cancer
Higher consumption of ultra-processed foods may be linked to an increased risk of developing and dying from cancer, an Imperial College London-led observational study suggests. Researchers from Imperial’s School of Public Health have produced the most comprehensive assessment to date of the association between ultra-processed foods and the risk of developing cancers. Ultra-processed foods are […]
COVID Risk Up to 50% Higher for Nursing Home Residents Behind on Vaccination
Nursing home residents who were not up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines had a 30% to 50% higher risk of getting infected compared with those who were up to date, CDC researchers said. From Oct. 10, 2022 to Jan. 8, 2023, weekly COVID incidence rates ranged from 7.2 to 15.6 per 1,000 nursing home […]
Older People With Type 2 Diabetes See Growing Cancer Burden
Older people with type 2 diabetes faced a higher burden of cancer mortality in recent years, according to a U.K. study. In a cohort of over 137,000 individuals with type 2 diabetes, all-cause mortality rates dropped among all age groups from 1998-2018, reported Suping Ling, PhD, of the University of Leicester in England, and colleagues. […]
Parkinson’s Incidence 50% Higher Than Previously Thought
The annual incidence of Parkinson’s disease was 50% higher than previous estimates in data from five epidemiological cohorts in the U.S. and Canada. The new incidence rate was nearly 90,000 cases annually for people 65 and older, reported Allison Willis, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and co-authors. This contrasted sharply with the […]