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In Florida, Senate Bill 254, enacted in May, banned gender-affirming care for minors but also created less-noticed barriers for adult care. The state laws largely intervene to stop gender-affirming medical care around adolescence: treatments such as puberty blockers, hormones and later, in rare cases, surgery. Medical consensus favors gender-affirming care as essential and sometimes life-saving, after careful consideration by multiple providers. But he also said gender-affirming medical treatments were extreme. Colorado has not enacted restrictions on gender-affirming care.

Persons: Marci Bowers, Jesse Ehrenfeld, you've, Bill, Rylee Brock, Gary Click, Boston Children's, Thomas Satterwhite, Satterwhite, Joseph Knoll, Syvonne Carter, Daniel Trotta, Donna Bryson, Suzanne Goldenberg Organizations: World Professional Association for Transgender Health, American Medical Association, Endocrine Society, American Academy of Pediatrics, Ohio House, FBI, U.S . Department of Homeland Security, Boston Children's Hospital, Multispecialty, Boston, Reuters, Fenway Institute, Boston Police Department, Massachusetts State Police, Colorado Children's Hospital, Colorado, Spektrum, 26Health, Thomson Locations: Massachusetts, United States, Florida, Champaign , Illinois, Omaha, Nebraska, Ohio, Boston, Texas, Colorado, Colorado , Illinois, New York, California, San Francisco, Orlando, Melbourne, Plume

☆ Mediterranean diet during pregnancy improved 2-year-olds’ cognitive, social abilities
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Mothers who followed the Mediterranean diet while pregnant improved their children’s cognitive, social and emotional development at age 2 compared with children whose mothers did not follow the diet, according to a new randomized clinical trial. “No other dietary model possesses such an impressive accrual of scientific evidence as the traditional Mediterranean diet,” said Martínez-González, who is also an adjunct professor of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. The number of low-weight births dropped to 15.6% of the women who attended stress-reduction classes and 14% of the women who ate a Mediterranean diet. The Mediterranean diet focuses on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and seeds, with a few nuts and a heavy emphasis on extra-virgin olive oil. “The first arm (Mediterranean diet) addressed a more physical and direct aspect: the dietary pattern and the supply of interesting nutrients that are known to be beneficial.

Persons: CNN —, “, ”, Miguel Martínez, David Katz, ” Katz, nutritionists, Bayley, Katz, González Organizations: CNN, University of Navarra, Harvard, of Public Health, True Health Initiative Locations: Pamplona, Spain, Chan, Boston, Barcelona

☆ Opinion: Hitting the gym or going to yoga? Your workout clothes could be doing more harm than you realize
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Opinion Alden Wicker | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

BPA is an endocrine disruptor, meaning that it mimics or interferes with the body’s hormones. It governs weight management and your energy levels, not to mention your skin’s appearance and your ability to fend off illness. Others have tried to argue that some of the chemicals in clothing fell within the legal and regulatory limits. The signs that something is very, very wrong with our reproductive health and endocrine systems are myriad. After all, you might be undoing the benefits of hitting the gym every day when your workout clothes could be doing so much damage to your health.

Persons: Alden Wicker, Athleta, Alden Wicker Alden Wicker, There’s, bisphenol, Ashley Eskew, “, Thinx, ” Dr, Laura Vandenberg, Down, ”, Shanna, Dr, Graham Peaslee, PFAS, Swan, lipsticks, ‘, ” Eskew, Eskew Organizations: New York Times, Vox, Wired, CNN, Center for Environmental Health, Nike, IKEA, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CBC, US Environmental Protection Agency, Industry, University of Massachusetts Amherst, of Environmental Health Sciences, Notre, Twitter Locations: Putnam, California, Patagonia, ” North Carolina, Spain

☆ Forget TikTok claims: ‘Nature’s Ozempic’ is no such thing, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —If TikTok and Reddit influencers are to be believed, the plant-based compound called berberine can be a replacement for such popular diabetes and weight loss drugs as Ozempic and Wegovy. Is berberine’s weight loss effect meaningful? Berberine may enhance the body’s natural production of GLP-1, or glucagon-like peptide 1, a gastrointestinal hormone that’s used in Ozempic and other new weight loss drugs. However, in terms of its weight loss benefits, they are modest at best,” he said. “Metformin lowers blood sugar, and berberine lowers blood sugar,” Levitt said.

Persons: Berberine, “, ”, Caroline Apovian, Justin Ryder, Ryder, Joshua Levitt, Ashurbanipal, ” Levitt, Gaston Ernesto Gonzalez Avila, Levitt Organizations: CNN, US Food and Drug Administration, Harvard Medical School, Center, Weight Management, Wellness, Brigham, Women’s Hospital, Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, BMI, National Library of Medicine, FDA, American Chemical Society Locations: Boston, Chicago, Ayurveda, Hamden , Connecticut

☆ Immediate access to gender-affirming hormone therapy eases distress, depression, suicidal thoughts for transgender adults, research finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Giri Viswanathan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Prompt access to hormone therapy can be a key tool in improving the mental health of transgender people, according to new research. The researchers also found a clinically significant decrease in depression, with over a 50% reduction in suicidality among study participants who didn’t have to wait to start hormone therapy. Nolan’s team examined the impact of accessible testosterone therapy on the mental health of 64 transgender adults who were seeking treatment to become more masculine. Gender-affirming hormone therapy like this is considered “medically necessary” by the World Professional Organization for Transgender Health’s Standards of Care. The researchers also found less suicidal ideation among the fast-tracked group: Thoughts of suicide resolved in 11 – or 52% – of the people receiving immediate testosterone therapy who had indicated suicidal ideation on their initial screening.

Persons: ”, Brendan Nolan, Nolan’s, “, ” Nolan, Nolan, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, endocrinologists, we’ve Organizations: CNN, Endocrine Society, University of Melbourne, American Psychiatric Association, Transgender Survey, World Professional Organization, Transgender Health’s, Care, CNN Health Locations: United States

☆ Bone loss occurs in teens who have weight loss surgery, study says. Is that unique?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —The bones of teens and young adults who lost significant weight after bariatric surgery were weaker than those of youth with similar levels of obesity who did not have surgery, a new study found. Despite counseling, teens and young adults who did not undergo weight loss surgery continued to gain weight over those two years, the study found. However, it’s difficult to accurately study bone loss in adolescents and young adults. A study would need to follow teens who underwent surgery for at least 10 years to determine if the bone loss seen in the new study lasts, Inge said. “That’s why we insist that people undergoing weight loss surgery take their multivitamin with calcium and vitamin D every day, just like medicine.”

Persons: Miriam Bredella, “, ” Bredella, Don’t, Thomas Inge, Robert H, Lurie, ”, Inge, they’re, Bredella, it’s, Justin Ryder, Ryder, Heike Faber, iStockphoto, haven’t, ” Ryder, ” Inge Organizations: CNN, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Ann, Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, NASA, BMI, Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, “ Locations: Massachusetts, Boston, Chicago

We used a professional device called a sound level meter to record the decibel levels of common sounds and environments. According to the World Health Organization, average road traffic noise above 53 dB or average aircraft noise exposure above about 45 dB are associated with adverse health effects. This chart shows how many people in the United States may be exposed to various outdoor noise levels, on average. Scientists believe that pronounced fluctuations in noise levels like this might compound the effects on the body. Nighttime noise shows similar inequities.

Persons: D’Lo, Jackhammers clack, San Diego —, Reagan, George Jackson, Mendenhall, Carolyn Fletcher, Ron Allen Organizations: Bankers, San Diego, thunders, Massachusetts General Hospital, World Health Organization, Department of Transportation, Queens, High Tech Middle School, San Diego International Airport, dBs, Noise, Environmental Protection Agency, Occupational Safety, Health, European Union Locations: San, Bankers Hill, San Diego, Greenpoint , Brooklyn, Brooklyn, D’Lo, Miss, Mississippi, New York City, California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, United States, U.S, Point Loma, Swiss, Paris, Berlin, Switzerland

☆ Novartis drug cuts recurrence risk by 25% in early-stage breast cancer
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Ludwig Burger | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The company on Friday said the relative risk reduction of cancer recurrence was 25.2% and that the results were broadly consistent regardless of patients' menopausal status or cancer progression status. Kisqali has been approved to treat hormone-driven breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body, where Novartis has taken market share from Pfizer's (PFE.N) Ibrance. But that is in a subset of women who are at high risk of recurrence after surgery, typically diagnosed based on signs of cancer in the lymph nodes. Here, Novartis will face tough competition because the U.S. drugmaker has said Verzenio reduces the risk of recurrence by 35% in that group. Novartis will request approval for wider use in the U.S. and Europe before the end of the year, it added.

Persons: Kisqali, Eli Lilly, Verzenio, drugmaker, Eli Lilly's Verzenio, Jeff Legos, Vas, Ludwig Burger, Sriraj Organizations: Novartis, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Oncology, Hematology, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, Chicago, U.S, Europe

☆ Drug cuts risk of breast cancer recurrence for some early-stage patients, trial shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Jen Christensen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —A drug used in people in the early stage of the most common kind of breast cancer – HR+/HER2- breast cancer – significantly reduced the risk of the cancer returning after treatment, according to a new study. HR+/HER2- breast cancer has tested positive for progesterone and estrogen receptors and negative for HER2. Endocrine therapy generally works well, but for patients with HR+ or HER- breast cancer, there’s still a 10% to 40% chance that the cancer will come back, some studies show. The new trial found that when Kisqali is added to endocrine therapy, it reduces the risk of recurrence by 25% across a broad population of patients with early breast cancer. About 90% of patients who have breast cancer are diagnosed in the early stages.

Persons: there’s, Kisqali, ”, Dennis J, Slamon, Sara Tolaney, ” Tolaney, Anupama Goel, Goel, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, Alberto Montero, ” Montero, Montero Organizations: CNN, US Food and Drug Administration, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Novartis, UCLA, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Oncology, Dana, Farber Cancer Institute, Mount Sinai Tisch Cancer Center, CNN Health, UH Seidman Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Locations: Chicago, Ohio, –

☆ How Much Can a Water Filter Do?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Dana G. Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Since the passage of the Safe Drinking Water Act, though, other water-monitoring issues have arisen. He gave the example of nitrate, an agricultural pollutant that’s present in the water supply in Des Moines. While the local water treatment plant takes steps to remove the contaminant, there are questions about whether the allowable levels could still cause health harms. In several of the recent crises, contamination occurred when lead leached into the water as it traveled through the distribution pipes. National regulations about the amount of lead permitted in pipes have been strengthened over the years, but many old water distribution systems have not been updated and contain unsafe levels.

☆ ASCO conference will put the focus on the fight against cancer. These stocks are in the spotlight
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Christina Cheddar Berk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Developments in cancer research will be in the spotlight as the American Society of Clinical Oncology hosts the world's biggest cancer research conference in Chicago, starting Thursday. The pair has already has won regulatory approval for Enhertu for metastatic HER2-low breast cancer, but the companies are also studying its use in a variety other HER2 tumors in breast cancers. Lilly's drug, Verzenio, is used in high-risk patients with HR-positive HER2-negative breast cancer that is more likely to reoccur and has already breached the patient's lymph nodes. In a research note earlier this month, Guggenheim analyst Seamus Fernandez said Kisqali is already taking market share from Pfizer's Ibrance in metastatic breast cancer. Merck's Keytruda is also being watched for what benefits it could offer early-stage lung cancer patients .

☆ The good, bad and ugly about BMI
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Short for body mass Index, BMI is nothing more than a crude measurement of a person’s body fat based on height and weight. Yet critics say the term BMI has become a societal judgment by lumping individuals into arbitrary categories that perpetuate misconceptions about body weight. “Yet it has become completely medicalized that health equals weight, weight equals health based on BMI. Conversely, BMI can underestimate body fat in older adults and anyone who has lost muscle, according to the Harvard T.H. More conundrums: Women naturally have more body fat and less muscle mass than men, while some racial and ethnic groups are genetically predisposed to carry more or less lean muscle mass and body fat.

☆ TipRanks reveals the top 10 health care sector analysts of the past decade
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Tipranks.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

TipRanks leveraged its Experts Center tool to recognize the ones with a high success rate. We also analyzed each stock recommendation made by health care sector analysts in the past decade. TipRanks' algorithms calculated the statistical significance of each rating, average return and the analysts' overall success rate. The buy recommendation generated a return of 397.9% from May 12, 2020 to May 12, 2021. Boris Peaker - TD CowenBoris Peaker has the 10th spot on the list, with a success rate of 47%.

☆ As weight-loss drugs hit the U.S. market, doctors debate how to use them
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Patrick Wingrove | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/2] The American Medical Association logo is seen at their office in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 30, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/March 30 (Reuters) - As powerful new obesity drugs enter the U.S. market, medical associations are keen to advise their members on how to best use them for patients. "These new compounds are game changers, there's no doubt about it," said Anthony Comuzzie, chief executive of The Obesity Society. The group last provided obesity treatment guidelines in 2013 alongside the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology. OBESITY AS A DISEASEThe American Medical Association, the nation’s largest medical group, recognized obesity as a disease in 2013.

☆ Novartis buoyed by trial success in early-stage breast cancer
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Ludwig Burger | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Swiss firm's shares jumped 5.8% on Monday to a four-week high by 0734 GMT, after it said a panel of independent supervisors recommended stopping the trial early because an interim analysis had shown a clear benefit. Kisqali has been approved to treat hormone-driven breast cancer that has spread to other body parts, where it has taken market share from Pfizer's (PFE.N) Ibrance. Rival drug Verzenio by Eli Lilly (LLY.N) has approval in the early setting for women at high risk of recurrence after surgery. Kisqali, which saw sales gain 31% to $1.2 billion last year, is one of two new drugs with a particularly important role for the group's future sales growth. Detailed trial results will be presented at a medical conference, Novartis said, without identifying the meeting or its timing.

☆ Does bottled water go bad? When it's safe to drink expired water and what to do with a contaminated bottle
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Emily Swaim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Bottled water can have an expiration date, though it's legal in the US to sell expired water. Drinking expired water probably won't harm you, especially if the water was stored properly. So while an expired water bottle from the fridge may be safe to drink, the bottle you forgot in your hot car trunk or on a sunny shelf probably isn't. What to do with an expired water bottleIf you suspect your water is bad, boil it to kill off any potential pathogens. Oliver Rossi / Getty ImagesIf you're a frugal or environmentally-conscious person, you may wonder how to salvage your expired bottled water.

☆ An anti-abortion judge overseeing a Texas lawsuit that could ban an abortion pill wanted to delay announcing the hearing date, The Washington Post reported
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk is overseeing a lawsuit that challenges the FDA approval of mifepristone. A hearing was scheduled for Wednesday, but the judge hoped to delay publicizing the date, per WaPo. But the Texas judge overseeing the case — who is known for his conservative politics and anti-abortion stance — hoped to hide the date of the hearing until right before the scheduled date, The Washington Post reported. In addition, he told attorneys on the call that members of the courthouse have received threats due to the lawsuit, the Post reported. According to the report, the Post had attempted to seek information about the date of the hearing before the Friday call but received no response.

☆ Plastics Export: How I Keep My Family, Baby Safe From Toxic Microplastics.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Adrienne Matei | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Hardman does research on microplastics — tiny pieces of plastic debris that are broken down from larger plastic items. Microplastics are often too small to pick up or even notice, but they are everywhere: in the air, dust, and rain. Laura HardmanPlastic is a relatively new pollutant, so there's still a lot we don't know about it. In the lab, my team of researchers and I focus on the sources, effects, and fate of plastics in the ocean. The simple answer is we don't know what plastics might be doing to us, but I've started to get really concerned.

☆ Why detransitioners are crucial to the science of gender care
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +43 min

A Canadian health provider said it couldn’t participate, citing recent threats to hospitals offering youth gender care. But as Reuters found, hard evidence on long-term outcomes for the rising numbers of people who received gender treatment as minors is very weak. Dr Marianne van der Loos, the Dutch study’s lead author, is a physician at Amsterdam University Medical Center’s Center for Expertise on Gender Dysphoria, a pioneer in gender care for adolescents. For those who also received medical treatment, detransitioning typically includes halting the hormone therapy they otherwise would receive for years. One is Max Robinson, who was 16 when she sought gender care at Kaiser in 2012.

☆ A new wave of companies is making testosterone easily available online. The authors of a recent study say there could be risks to patients.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Sarah Braner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A recent study reviewed seven companies that prescribe testosterone therapy online. These companies say that they make treatment more accessible for people who already suspect they have low testosterone. A new study shows that DTC companies do not all follow medical guidelinesThe new study encourages patients looking to get testosterone therapy online to educate themselves before taking the leap. The study found that six out of seven of the companies tested offered testosterone therapy to the shopper. The study was not meant to evaluate companies prescribing testosterone for gender affirming hormone therapy, which is a different process than testosterone replacement therapy.

The first-of-its-kind study was presented Thursday at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, an annual meeting of breast cancer specialists. Faced with this possibility, Partridge said, many women stop or never start endocrine therapy, against the advice of their doctors. The findings were highly anticipated by other breast cancer specialists. Women in her practice were already making the executive decision to stop endocrine therapy for the chance of having a baby. Johnson was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer at age 34.

☆ Targeted therapy shows benefit for people with advanced breast cancer in late-stage trial
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Jen Christensen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The details of the trial were presented Thursday at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. The trial involved 708 adults with HR-positive, HER2-low or -negative breast cancer whose disease has recurred or progressed during or after certain previous treatments. About three-quarters of women with metastatic breast cancer have HR-positive breast cancer. He points to the cancer drug Avastin, which was initially touted as having an advantage in progression-free survival for metastatic breast cancer. Burstein said he is encouraged by many of the presentations at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

☆ Explainer: The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant: who controls it and why is it important?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Guy Faulconbridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

LONDON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Repeated shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine has raised the possibility of a grave accident just 500 km (300 miles) from the site of the world's worst nuclear accident, the 1986 Chornobyl disaster. What nuclear material is at Europe's largest nuclear power plant, what are the risks and why are Russia and Ukraine fighting over it? The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has six Soviet-designed VVER-1000 V-320 water-cooled and water-moderated reactors containing Uranium 235, which has a half-life of more than 700 million years. The biggest risk is from overheating nuclear fuel, which could happen if the power that drives the cooling systems was cut. Besides the reactors, there is also a dry spent fuel storage facility at the site for used nuclear fuel assemblies, and spent fuel pools at each reactor site that are used to cool down the used nuclear fuel.

☆ Falling sperm count observed around the world, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Evan Bush | Evan Bush Is A Science Reporter For Nbc News. He Can Be Reached At Evan.Bush Nbcuni.Com. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Those are the headline findings of a new analysis of sperm count studies published Tuesday in the journal Human Reproduction Update. But Anawalt said the inherent limitations of this type of analysis — which combined results from more than 200 sperm count studies — could steer toward misleading conclusions. The decline had gotten steeper.”Despite the negative trend, the average sperm count for men in 2018 remained higher than levels the World Health Organization considers normal. It’s also possible that the type of men involved in sperm count studies is different from those who weren’t. “There’s other things in ejaculate that aren’t sperm — round cells and debris.”Moreover, sperm count is only one factor in determining fertility.

CNN —A biologic therapy that delays the onset of type 1 diabetes received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday. The most common side effects reported in the trial participants were low white blood cells and lymph cells, rash and headache. Without insulin, blood sugar can build up in the bloodstream and break down the body’s own fat and muscle. With Tzield, doctors would screen individual family members of people with type 1 diabetes to see whether they have those specific antibodies. As of 2019, about 1.9 million people have type 1 diabetes in the United States, according to the American Diabetes Association, including 244,000 children and adolescents.

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