Vitamin D benefits and metabolism may depend on body weight: People with higher body mass index had a blunted response to vitamin D supplementation, explaining observed differences in outcomes such as cancer, diabetes, and autoimmune disease
Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, have found new evidence that vitamin D may be metabolized differently in people with an elevated body mass index (BMI). The study, appearing in JAMA Network Open, is a new analysis of data from the VITAL trial, a large […]
Jazz Musician With Slowly Expanding Neck Mass Causing Dysphagia
What caused a 55-year-old jazz musician to develop a neck mass that has been slowly expanding over the past 2 years? The patient presented to the hospital after having increasing difficulty swallowing solid food and problems with breathing at night, according to a diagnostic puzzle detailed by Tom Thomas, MD, MPH, of Morristown Memorial Hospital […]
Child body weight has limited effects on mood and behavioral disorders
Childhood body mass index is unlikely to have a big impact on children’s mood or behavioural disorders, according to a study published today in eLife. The results suggest that some previous studies, which have shown a strong link between childhood obesity and mental health, may not have fully accounted for family genetics and environmental factors. […]
Opinion | Assume Every Child Has PTSD These Days Until Proven Otherwise
We are only halfway into 2022 and there have already been 214 mass shooting events in America, several of which have been in schools. It goes without saying that even one life lost to senseless violence is too many, but this week on May 24, the lives of 19 innocent fourth graders and two of […]
Opinion | How Many More Must Die From Firearm Violence?
Once again, the headlines are dominated by a gruesome mass shooting, this time resulting in the deaths of 19 school children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, right on the heels of the white supremacist attack in a Buffalo, New York supermarket that killed 10 people. Public mass shootings have profound impacts on survivors, families, […]
Researchers determine nutritional properties of protein in cricket, locust and silkworm pupae insect powders
As the human population grows to a predicted 10 billion by 2050 and overall land mass remains constant, traditional animal farming may become a less viable method for food production. Animal farming has traditionally fulfilled human nutritional requirements for protein, but insects may serve as an alternative for direct human consumption in the future. Jacek […]
Ivermectin Works! (For River Blindness in Nigeria)
Mass drug administration (MDA) with ivermectin appeared to interrupt transmission of onchocerciasis, or river blindness, in several Nigerian states, and may have eliminated it altogether in other parts of the country, researchers said. With a consistent MDA program, transmission of river blindness was “suspected” to be interrupted in four states in southern Nigeria, and transmission […]
Study finds body mass index for children greatest in Midwest, least in West
A study examining the body mass index (BMI) of over 14,000 children from birth to age 15 shows those in the Midwest have the highest BMI levels while kids in the West have the lowest, suggesting regional influences may play a role in the development of childhood obesity. The study, published today in the journal […]
Can Gargling Protect School Kids From COVID?
As the largest mass vaccination campaign in human history progresses, the landscape of immunity against SARS-CoV-2 within the U.S. is changing. The vaccine strategy that began with focused protection for some and rapidly expanded to protection for all, continues to serve as the crucial step in decoupling COVID-19 deaths from infections. Approximately 50% of our […]