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Too Much Social Media Could Mess Up Your Sleep, Study Finds

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 27, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Young adults who spend too much time on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram may pay the price in poor sleep, new research suggests.

“This is one of the first pieces of evidence that social media use really can impact your sleep,” lead author Jessica Levenson, a postdoctoral researcher in psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, said in a university news release.

Her team tracked the social media use and sleep troubles of nearly 1,800 Americans aged 19 to 32.

On average, participants said they spent 61 minutes a day on social media and visited social media sites 30 times a week. Nearly 30 percent of the participants also said they suffered sleep disturbances.

While the study couldn’t prove cause-and-effect, Levenson’s team found that people who spent the most time on social media each day were twice as likely to have sleep problems as those who spent less time on social media.

People who checked social media most often during the week were also three times more likely to have sleep problems than those who checked the least often, the study found.

The findings, released online in advance of publication in the April print issue of the journal Preventive Medicine, suggest that doctors may need to ask about social media when assessing sleep problems in young adults, the researchers said.

The young adults questioned in the study are “arguably, the first generation to grow up with social media,” Levenson pointed out.

Study senior author Dr. Brian Primack said there are a number of ways that too much surfing on social media might get in the way of a good night’s sleep.

For example: it could replace sleep, such as when someone stays up late using social media; it could cause emotional, mental or physical arousal, such as when involved in contentious discussions; or the bright light emitted by devices might disrupt the body’s circadian rhythms.

Some young adults may also use social media to pass the time when they can’t fall asleep or get back to sleep, said Primack, who directs the university’s Center for Research on Media, Technology and Health.

“Difficulty sleeping may lead to increased use of social media, which may in turn lead to more problems sleeping,” he said. “This cycle may be particularly problematic with social media because many forms involve interactive screen time that is stimulating and rewarding and, therefore, potentially detrimental to sleep.”

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on sleep.

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New Transplant Technique Might Free Type 1 Diabetics From Daily Injections

By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 27, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Using a two-pronged approach, researchers report they were able to restore normal blood sugar levels for six months in mice with induced diabetes.

But, while the research is promising, it’s too soon for people with type 1 diabetes to start planning a life free of needles and injections just yet, experts said.

The first part of the treatment was using insulin-producing pancreas cells generated from human stem cells employing a technique recently developed at Harvard. But the latest breakthrough came from MIT researchers, who developed a way to encapsulate the cells — called islet cells — before they were implanted in the mice, to protect them from the immune system.

That’s key for two reasons. One is that when you introduce foreign cells into the body, the immune system recognizes them as foreign and destroys them. This is why people who have organ transplants need to take immune-suppressing medications, which can cause serious side effects.

The second reason is that type 1 diabetes develops when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy islet cells and destroys them — known as an autoimmune attack. When people have had islet cell transplant, the new cells eventually die off, and researchers suspect one reason why is that the autoimmune attack doesn’t stop.

However, the encapsulation hides the islet cells, essentially making them invisible to the immune system, the researchers explained.

“They’re stealth islets,” said Julia Greenstein, vice president of discovery research for JDRF, a type 1 diabetes research foundation that provided funding for the study along with the Helmsley Charitable Trust and the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

“We’re really excited about this. It’s been a long and big effort for us to try to drive novel biomaterials,” she added.

There are still a number of steps before a human trial could be done, such as scaling up the capsules for larger animals, and seeing whether or not the encapsulated islet cells can achieve blood sugar control in non-human primates, Greenstein said.

But, if all goes well, both Greenstein and the senior researcher on the project, Daniel Anderson, an associate professor of chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass., predict that phase 1 clinical trials in people might just be a few years away.

Anderson and his colleagues initially isolated a molecule from seaweed, or brown algae. “We then made chemical modifications that would be able to do different things, and then we had to see which might actually work,” Anderson said.

The scientists created approximately 800 seaweed derivatives, and one seemed quite promising as a material for encapsulation. The researchers encapsulated human stem cells, and implanted them in mice with induced type 1 diabetes. The encapsulated cells were left in for 174 days, and then removed.

During that time, the transplanted islet cells produced insulin and the mice were able to achieve normal blood sugar levels without insulin injections. The mice didn’t show any signs of rejection, according to Anderson. And, when the time came, the encapsulated cells were easy to remove.

This study was only scheduled to last six months, but Anderson said the researchers “hope these devices could last for years.”

The findings were published online Jan. 25 in Nature Medicine. The researchers published a second study, this one in the Jan. 25 online issue of Nature Biotechnology, that looked at how the encapsulation device without islet cells inside would perform in non-human primates.

Encouragingly, the researchers found that scar tissue didn’t form around the encapsulation devices in either study.

“This is a complicated and challenging problem, but we’re excited by the progress so far, though obviously, we have more work to do,” Anderson said.

Dr. Joel Zonszein is director of the Clinical Diabetes Program at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. He said, “This is a very smart idea to try engineering islet cell isolation.” And, “in fact, the idea has been around for about 40 years,” he added.

“There is still a long way to go, but it’s a bright idea and it’s well done,” Zonszein said.

Greenstein said it’s possible that encapsulation techniques may end up coming to market in steps.

“Insulin independence is the ultimate goal, but we may see products based on encapsulation technology that may not go for the gold initially,” she said.

For example, rather than microencapsulation with generated stem cells, as was shown in the current research, a larger device that houses islet cells and is easier to retrieve might come to market sooner.

More information

Learn more about type 1 diabetes from the American Diabetes Association.

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Melanoma Strikes Earlier If Indoor Tanning Begins in Teens: Study

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 27, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Using tanning beds at a young age significantly raises a woman’s risk of developing melanoma before the age of 50, a new study finds.

A study of adults ages 25 to 49 found the risk for the deadly skin cancer increased two to six times for women who tanned indoors, with the greatest odds seen for those who used tanning beds in their teens and 20s.

“All women who use indoor tanning are at risk of melanoma, but the strongest risk was among women who tanned in their 20s, who were about six times more likely to develop the disease, compared to women who didn’t tan indoors,” said lead researcher DeAnn Lazovich, an associate professor of epidemiology and community health at the University of Minnesota.

The findings support a recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposal to ban indoor tanning before age 18, Lazovich said. However, she added, “we need to do even more to reduce the melanoma epidemic that’s been going on for a number of years.”

Lazovich suggested even more stringent regulations — perhaps raising the tanning bed age to 21. Better yet, she said, “We could ban indoor tanning altogether, as Australia has done.”

The report was published Jan. 27 online in JAMA Dermatology.

According to the American Cancer Society, about 74,000 Americans were newly diagnosed with melanoma last year and nearly 10,000 died from it. The rate has been rising for 30 years, with women more likely than men to get this type of cancer, the study authors said in background notes. Many cases are caused by excess exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun or other sources.

Lazovich and her colleagues set out to assess the possible connection between tanning beds — which are used more often by women than men — and melanoma. They collected data on nearly 700 men and women ages 25 to 49 who were diagnosed with the skin cancer between 2004 and 2007 and compared them with a similar number of “controls.”

Women in their 30s had more than three times the risk for melanoma if they tanned indoors, and women in their 40s had more than two times the risk, Lazovich said.

Also, women younger than 40 with melanoma reported starting indoor tanning earlier than women 40 to 49 — at about age 16 versus 25, the study found.

Younger women with melanoma also reported more tanning sessions than older women — an average of 100 tanning sessions compared with 40 sessions for women diagnosed at 40 to 49, researchers said.

Melanoma location gives a clue to the cause, the researchers said. They used melanomas on the trunk, or torso, as a sign that these folks had their chests and backs exposed during indoor tanning sessions.

The researchers found that about 33 percent of the women diagnosed before 30 had melanomas on their trunk, compared with 24 percent who were 40 to 49. Among the 63 women diagnosed with melanoma before age 30, only two said they had not used tanning beds, the researchers found.

The researchers could not establish an association between indoor tanning in men, “partly because they are far less likely to tan indoors and there are many fewer men who get melanoma under 50,” Lazovich said. “We didn’t find very much going on among men, it was all among women.”

One of the challenges in preventing melanoma, she said, is changing the perception that tanned skin is attractive and seeing it for what it is — dangerous.

Gery Guy Jr., a health economist in the Division of Cancer Prevention at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, “Indoor tanning can and should be avoided.”

Besides the risk for melanoma, indoor tanning can cause premature skin aging, including wrinkling and age spots, and change skin texture, said Guy, who wrote an accompanying journal editorial.

The scientific evidence is “clear and overwhelming — every time you indoor tan you increase your risk of getting melanoma,” Guy said. “And unlike the tan that is temporary, the increased risk of melanoma is permanent.”

More information

For more about melanoma, visit the American Cancer Society.

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Appalachia Cancer Rates Higher Than Average, But Shrinking

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 27, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Cancer rates in Appalachia remain higher than in other parts of the United States, but that gap is shrinking, a new study shows.

Reasons for the higher cancer rates in Appalachia — which extends from parts of New York to Mississippi — include greater tobacco use, poverty and less use of health care services, according to the study.

The results were published Jan. 27 in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

The Appalachian region spans 420 counties in 13 states, and about 25 million people reside in it, said study author Reda Wilson, an epidemiologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“This region is primarily made up of rural areas with persistent poverty levels that are at least 20 percent, which is higher than the national average,” Wilson said in a journal news release.

Researchers analyzed 2004-11 cancer registry data and found that Appalachia continues to have higher cancer incidence rates than the rest of the country.

“But a promising finding is that we’re seeing the gap narrow in the incidence rates between Appalachia and non-Appalachia since the 2007 analysis, with the exception of cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx, larynx, lung and bronchus and thyroid,” Wilson said.

This study helps identify types of cancer in the Appalachian region that could be reduced through more screening and detection, Wilson said.

“Our study also emphasizes the importance of lifestyle changes needed to prevent and reduce cancer burden,” she added.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about cancer.

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Seniors Need to Take Extra Care in the Cold

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 27, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Seniors are especially vulnerable to hypothermia during cold weather because their body’s response to the cold can be affected by age, medication or medical condition.

Signs of hypothermia — a core body temperature below 95 degrees Fahrenheit — include slowed or slurred speech, confusion or sleepiness, shivering or stiffness in the arms and legs, slow reactions or poor control over body movements and a weak pulse, according to the U.S. National Institute on Aging (NIA).

If you believe you or someone else may have hypothermia, call 911.

When going outside in cold weather, seniors should wear a hat, scarf, gloves or mittens to prevent the loss of body heat. Wearing several layers of loose clothing helps trap warm air between the layers, the NIA said.

Seniors should also let someone know when they’re going outdoors and carry a fully charged cellphone.

It’s also important to keep your home warm. For older people, the temperature should be set to at least 68 degrees Fahrenheit, some experts suggest. Paying for heat can be tough for some seniors, but state and local governments may be able to help. Call the National Energy Assistance Referral project at 866-674-6327 to find assistance in the United States.

Other ways to stay warm at home include: having long underwear on under your clothes; wearing socks and slippers; wearing a hat or cap; and covering your legs and shoulders with an afghan or blanket.

Elderly people should also check with their doctor to find out if any prescription or over-the-counter medications they are taking may increase the risk of hypothermia, the NIA said.

More information

For more on seniors and cold weather, go to HealthInAging.org.

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Too Sedentary? There’s an App for That

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 27, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Smartphone reminders about getting up and moving around may help boost people’s physical activity levels and reduce their risk of cancer, a pilot study suggests.

Inactivity increases the risk of overweight and obesity and has been linked to an increased risk of cancer, according to the American Cancer Society, which noted that, on average, American adults are inactive about eight waking hours a day.

Participants in the study wore portable devices called accelerometers, to measure movement, for seven days and carried smartphones with them. Some who had smartphones received reminders about the health risks of sitting too much and encouraging them to stand up and move around. A control group of other study participants did not receive the reminders.

Those who received the smartphone reminders were 3 percent more active over the seven-day study period compared to those in the control group, the researchers found. That means they got about 25 more minutes of activity a day than those in the control group.

The study, funded by the cancer society and done with the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Norman, was published in the January issue of the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

“Overall, simple smartphone prompts appear to be a promising strategy for reducing sedentary behavior and increasing activity, though adequately powered and well-designed studies will be needed to confirm these preliminary findings,” researchers Darla Kendzor, of the University of Oklahoma, and Kerem Shuval, from the cancer society, said in a cancer society news release.

More information

The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute offers a guide to physical activity.

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Excess Weight Has ‘Unexpected’ Effect on Puberty Onset in Boys

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 27, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Excess weight can delay or speed up puberty in young boys, depending on how many extra pounds they carry, a new study suggests.

Overweight boys tend to enter and finish puberty somewhat earlier than usual, researchers found in a study of nearly 3,900 males aged 6 to 16.

But boys who have become obese appear to go through puberty slower than boys who weigh less, according to study results published Jan. 27 in the journal Pediatrics.

“We found something we didn’t expect, which is obese boys go later but overweight boys seem to go earlier,” said study author Dr. Joyce Lee, an associate professor of pediatrics and public health at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. “You would expect a linear relationship between weight and the timing of puberty, but we found that isn’t the case.”

The female hormone estrogen is a suspected cause for these shifts in the timing of male puberty, Lee said.

Fat cells produce aromatase — the enzyme that synthesizes estrogen from other sex hormones. “When you have excess fat in the body, you have excess estrogen production in the body,” Lee said.

Previous studies have shown that overweight and obese girls tend to go through puberty earlier than girls of a normal weight, with the excess estrogen spurring their development, the study authors said in background notes.

Given those earlier findings, the researchers thought that overweight and obese boys would experience a delay in puberty thanks to the extra estrogen in their bodies, Lee said.

To test this, researchers followed 3,872 boys as they grew up, tracking the onset of puberty by measuring body changes related to the process of sexual maturation.

The boys were judged as overweight or obese based on guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Obese boys had a body-mass index (BMI, a ratio of weight to height) that placed them in the heaviest 5 percent of all boys their age, while boys judged overweight had a BMI that placed them in the 85th to 95th percentile of males their age.

White and black boys who were overweight tended to enter into puberty at a slightly earlier age, the researchers found. For example, overweight white boys entered the first stages of puberty at 9.3 years old, compared with 10 years old for normal weight boys.

Overweight white boys also completed puberty sooner, at 14.5 years old compared with 15.2 years old for normal weight boys.

But obese black and white boys completed puberty months later than normal weight or overweight boys, the researchers found. For example, obese black boys completed puberty at 15.4 years old, compared with 14.5 years old for normal weight boys.

The delay in puberty for obese boys makes sense, if estrogen is influencing their development as it does that of girls, Lee said. The presence of the female hormone could slow puberty.

But the results for overweight boys puzzled the researchers, Lee admitted.

“For overweight boys, maybe excess estrogen somehow stimulates development, but when you get to higher levels maybe it slows the process,” she said.

Parents of overweight or obese boys should not be overly concerned by these findings, since all of the boys’ development occurred within the normal age range for puberty, Lee noted.

Obesity researcher Dr. Steven Heymsfield agreed that parents shouldn’t be worried about the effect that excess weight might have on their boys’ sexual development.

“It looked to me like we were only talking about mean differences of less than a year,” said Heymsfield, a professor at Louisiana State University’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center. “It’s just a very slight displacement. It’s not like the obese boys started at 20 instead of 12.”

Heymsfield also noted that this relationship between weight and the timing of puberty did not bear out for Hispanic boys in the study. Black and white boys also seemed to vary in the extent to which excess weight affected their sexual development, although they followed the same general trend.

“There’s clearly some kind of a race difference going on,” he said.

Rather than worrying about puberty, Heymsfield said parents should be more worried about the lifelong bad influence that childhood obesity can have on their children’s health.

For example, autopsies of obese children have revealed hardening of the arteries in kids as young as 12, he said.

“We know that adult chronic diseases begin in childhood,” Heymsfield said. “You definitely are pushing the envelope when you are obese as a child.”

More information

The American Heart Association has tips for preventing childhood obesity.

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