Calorie restriction in humans builds strong muscle and stimulates healthy aging genes
Reducing overall calorie intake may rejuvenate your muscles and activate biological pathways important for good health, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health and their colleagues. Decreasing calories without depriving the body of essential vitamins and minerals, known as calorie restriction, has long been known to delay the progression of age-related diseases in […]
Cardiorespiratory Fitness Levels May Influence Cancer Risk in Men
Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) levels may play a role in reducing the risk of developing and dying from certain common cancers in men, a prospective cohort study from Sweden suggested. Over a mean follow-up of 9.6 years among over 170,000 men, higher levels of CRF were associated with a significantly lower risk of incidence of colon […]
MedPAC Recommends Cutting Admin Fees Paid to Docs Under Part B Program
Drug payments under Medicare Part B could be cut by reducing the administrative fees doctors get for dispensing medications in their office, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) said Thursday in its June report to Congress. “Our work on Medicare spending for Part B drugs is driven largely by the growth in spending between 2009 […]
Daytime Sleepiness Drugs of Varying Performance in Obstructive Sleep Apnea
One drug stood out for reducing excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in a meta-analysis, researchers reported. Compared with placebo, users of solriamfetol (Sunosi) showed improvement on the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS; mean difference -3.8, 95% CI -5.24 to -2.50) after 4 weeks, as did groups taking armodafinil/modafinil (mean difference […]
Nonimmunosuppressive Therapy Bests ARB for Cutting Proteinuira in IgA Nephropathy
AUSTIN, Texas — Once-daily sparsentan (Filspari) was better at reducing proteinuria than standard treatment in IgA nephropathy, according to a prespecified interim analysis of the PROTECT trial. By week 36 of treatment in the phase III study, patients on sparsentan saw a 49.8% reduction from baseline in urine protein-creatinine (UP/C) ratio compared with only a […]
Fasting diet reduces risk markers of type 2 diabetes
A fasting diet which focuses on eating early in the day could be the key to reducing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Researchers from the University of Adelaide and South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) compared two different diets: a time restricted, intermittent fasting diet and a reduced calorie diet to […]
Polypill Tested for Cognitive, Functional Benefits
Reducing blood pressure and cholesterol in the TIPS-3 trial with a polypill, with or without aspirin, showed no protective effect on cognition in older adults with cardiovascular disease risk factors, a secondary analysis showed. During a 5-year follow-up, about the same number of trial participants in TIPS-3 experienced substantive cognitive decline in both the treatment […]
Dementia Accompanying Cardiometabolic Disease: Does It Come Down to Genetics?
There may be a limit to how much reducing cardiometabolic disease would lower the risk of dementia in older people genetically predisposed to both conditions, a twin study suggested. Twins over age 60 developed dementia at an incidence of 16.9% over a median 15.4 years of follow-up in a cohort counting over 17,000 individuals in […]
Novel BTK Inhibitor Looks Good for Sjogren’s Syndrome
PHILADELPHIA — Remibrutinib, an investigational Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, appeared effective in reducing signs of Sjogren’s syndrome in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Scores on the EULAR Sjogren’s Syndrome Activity Index (ESSDAI), a comprehensive measure of Sjogren’s severity, fell by 2.86 points with the oral drug relative to placebo during the 24-week trial, according to […]
New Evidence Sheds Light on Stem Cell Transplantation for Progressive MS
Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) was not superior in preventing relapses or reducing disability progression than natalizumab (Tysabri) in progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), new research suggested. Patients with progressive MS, advanced disability, and low pre-treatment relapse activity who had AHSCT experienced similar on-treatment frequency of relapses as matched patients treated with natalizumab over up […]