Health & Fitness

Kratom use and serious health problems linked to it have risen dramatically across the United States over the past decade. Poison center reports jumped from just 19 cases in 2010 to more than 1,200 in 2023, while severe outcomes—including life-threatening complications, disability, and death—also climbed sharply. Researchers warn that kratom can trigger seizures, abnormal heart rhythms, liver damage, and breathing problems, with risks potentially increasing when it is combined with other drugs.

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Researchers have uncovered a surprising way triple-negative breast cancer may turn the body against itself. Tumors appear to recruit macrophages—immune cells normally involved in healing and fighting infection—and use them to release a protein called BDNF that draws nerves into the tumor. Those nerves may then help the cancer grow, resist treatment, and potentially spread.

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An experimental Alzheimer’s compound prevented damaging protein clumps from forming in the brains of mice, helping nerve cells survive longer and reducing amyloid buildup. The treatment also appeared to improve heart health and slow some signs of aging, raising hopes for an entirely new way to combat dementia.

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COVID-19 can reactivate dormant viruses hiding in the body, including Epstein-Barr, cytomegalovirus, and several herpes viruses. One poorly understood viral family was strongly associated with long COVID and lasting disability, offering a potentially important clue to why some patients struggle to recover.

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A widely available food-preservation chemical is emerging as a disturbing factor in rising UK suicide deaths, particularly among younger people and men. Researchers say the scale may be underestimated and are calling for urgent restrictions on access and harmful online information.

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Scientists have uncovered why two seemingly opposite ways of targeting the same brain receptor can both promote weight loss. In mice, activating the GIP receptor in the brainstem reduced appetite, while blocking it in the hypothalamus removed a kind of “brake” on fullness signals. The discovery helps explain why very different obesity drugs can achieve similar results and suggests that carefully combining GIP-targeting treatments with GLP-1 drugs like those related to Wegovy and Ozempic could produce stronger effects.

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AI has helped scientists measure the brain’s hidden cleaning system, revealing that fluid moves rapidly around its outer spaces but about 50 times more slowly through deep tissue. The discovery could eventually help researchers detect circulation problems linked to Alzheimer’s, aging, and concussions.

from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/x3RZvcM