Tapering Antidepressants

Antidepressants have helped millions of people ease depression and anxiety, but they are not harmless. Many people stop the medications without significant trouble. Some people have significant withdrawal symptoms, and make tiny reductions over a long period of time may help to quit. The drugs initially were approved for short-term […]

Children’s T2D Risk Reversible

A Danish study suggests that weight loss from childhood to early adulthood can reduce the increased risks of type 2 diabetes (T2D) among overweight and obese boys. The study included 62,565 Danish men. Overweight was defined as body mass index ≥17.38 at age 7, ≥21.82 at age 13, and ≥25 […]

Mothers with Heart Defects Infants in CVD Risk

A Canadian cohort study suggested that congenital heart defects in offspring may be an early marker of predisposition to cardiovascular disease (CVD). The study included 1 084 251 women who had delivered infants between 1989 and 2013, with follow-up extending up to 25 years past pregnancy. Women whose infants had […]

MRI-Targeted Superior to Standard Biopsy for Prostate-Cancer Diagnosis

An international, multicenter, randomized trial concluded that the use of risk assessment with multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and MRI-targeted biopsy was superior to standard transrectal ultrasonography–guided biopsy for prostate-cancer detection in men with a raised prostate-specific antigen level who had not undergone biopsy. A total of 500 men underwent […]

Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Associated Myocarditis

A multi-center registry in the US revealed that myocarditis associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) may occur early, has a malignant course and may respond to higher doses of steroids. The initial 35 cases were diagnosed between November 2013 and July 2017, with an incidence of 1.9% and median onset […]

Increasing Adiposity Detrimental

Growing body of evidence supports that increasing adiposity has a detrimental association with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and longevity. The association of body mass index (BMI) with CVD appeared more susceptible to confounding due to pre-existing comorbidities. Associations of waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, waist-to-height ratio, and percentage body fat mass with […]

Dietary Fibers Alleviate T2D by Promoting SCFA-Producing Gut Bacteria

A randomized clinical study of specifically designed isoenergetic diets, together with fecal shotgun metagenomics, showed that a select group of short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing strains of the gut microbiota was promoted by dietary fibers, and correlated with improved blood-glucose regulation in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). The improvement in hemoglobin […]

Calcium and Vitamin D Supplementation Increased Colorectal Cancer Precursors

A randomized chemoprevention study in the US found evidence that calcium and vitamin D supplementation increased the risk of sessile serrated adenomas or polyps (SSA/Ps), precursor lesions for colorectal cancer. A total of 2259 participants with one or more adenoma at baseline were randomized to receive 1200 mg/day of elemental calcium, […]

Vegetarian and Mediterranean Diets Equivalent for Weight Loss

A randomized, open, crossover trial in Italy showed that both low-calorie lacto-ovo vegetarian diet (VD) and Mediterranean diet (MD) were effective in reducing body weight, body mass index (BMI), and fat mass. One hundred eighteen overweight subjects (mean age 51.1 years, females 78%, BMI ≥ 25) with a low-to-moderate cardiovascular […]

Comparative Efficacy and Acceptability of Antidepressants

A systematic review and network meta-analysis concluded that all 21 antidepressants were more efficacious than placebo in adults with major depressive disorder. Smaller differences between active drugs were found when placebo-controlled trials were included in the analysis, whereas there was more variability in efficacy (response rate) and acceptability (treatment discontinuations […]