Think Twice Before You Get That Tattoo: FDA

WEDNESDAY, June 8, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Tattoos are increasingly popular in the United States, but getting one carries risks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says.

There are increasing reports of people developing infections from contaminated tattoo inks and having bad reactions to the inks, according to Dr. Linda Katz, director of the FDA’s Office of Cosmetics and Colors.

She offered some advice for people trying to decide whether to get a tattoo.

Think carefully before you make a decision. Removing a tattoo is a painstaking — and potentially painful — process and complete removal without scarring may not be possible, Katz said.

If you do decide to get a tattoo, confirm the tattoo parlor and artist are in compliance with all state and local laws. The National Conference of State Legislatures has a web page on state laws, statutes and regulations governing tattooing and body piercing. To find out about local regulations, contact your county or city health department.

You need to be concerned about unhygienic practices, non-sterile needles and contaminated ink, Katz warned.

You can get infections from ink contaminated with microorganisms such as bacteria and mold. Contamination could occur either in the manufacturing process or at the tattoo parlor. A common culprit is non-sterile water used to dilute the pigments, the agency said.

There’s no guaranteed way to tell if the ink is safe. Looking at or smelling it won’t offer any clues. Ink can be contaminated even if the container is sealed or wrapped, or the label claims the ink is sterile, Katz said.

Signs of a tattoo-related infection include a rash at the site of the tattoo, or a fever. More serious infections could cause high fever, shaking, chills and sweats. Serious infections could require months of antibiotic treatment.

Contact a health care provider if you develop signs of infection or allergic reaction after getting a tattoo, Katz said.

More information

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has more about tattoos and permanent makeup.

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Experimental Drug Acts Fast Against Chronic Migraine

By Amy Norton
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, June 8, 2016 (HealthDay News) — An experimental drug may bring fast relief to people with debilitating chronic migraines, a new study finds.

Preliminary trials had already found that the drug — dubbed TEV-48125 — can help prevent migraine attacks in people who’ve suffered long-term with headaches.

Now, the new findings suggest that it starts working within three to seven days of the first injection, researchers reported.

“To my knowledge, that’s the fastest separation ever demonstrated in chronic migraine,” said lead researcher Dr. Marcelo Bigal, of Teva Pharmaceuticals, the company developing TEV-48125.

The term “separation” refers to the point at which patients on TEV-48125 started to improve, compared to patients given a placebo (an inactive treatment).

TEV-48125 is one of a new class of drugs being developed to prevent migraines. The medications are all antibodies that block a chemical in the nervous system called CGRP. Research has found that CGRP causes inflammation and blood vessel dilation, and it spikes in the brain during migraine attacks.

Dr. Mark Green is professor of neurology and anesthesiology at the Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine, in New York City. “It appears that this antibody works quite quickly,” said Green, who is also director of the Center for Headache and Pain Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Green, who was not involved in the study, called the findings “exciting.” That’s in part because if CGRP-blockers make it to the market, they would be the first drugs specifically designed to prevent migraines.

About 12 percent of Americans suffer from migraines, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. The headaches typically cause an intense throbbing pain on one side of the head, and sensitivity to light and sound. Some people have nausea, too.

Migraines are considered chronic when they strike at least 15 days out of the month, the study authors said.

Doctors prescribe various medications that can help prevent frequent migraines — including certain blood pressure drugs, antidepressants and Botox injections. But, Green pointed out, all of those drugs were originally designed to treat other conditions. Over the years, doctors have found that they can also reduce migraines in some people.

And of those drugs, Botox is the only one that is actually approved for preventing migraines, Green said.

When Botox works, it typically takes two or three rounds of injections for patients to start seeing the benefit, according to Green. And those treatments are done at three-month intervals. So some patients give up on it, he said.

The oral medications used for migraine prevention kick in faster — typically four to six weeks. But they are also daily pills with potential side effects, such as weight gain, dizziness and fatigue (depending on the medication), Green said.

The new study findings come from a reanalysis of an early trial of TEV-48125. In that study, more than 250 patients with chronic migraine were randomly assigned to take monthly injections of the drug — at a higher or lower dose — or a placebo, for three months.

The original study found that patients on TEV-48125 saw a drop in the number of hours they had headache pain each month.

On average, the whole study group had 162 “headache hours” a month when it started the study. Three months later, that had dropped by 60 to 67 hours, on average, among patients on the new drug.

The new study found that the effects started as early as three days after the higher-dose injection, and seven days after the lower dose.

So far, Green said, there have been “no significant safety signals” with the drug. In the original study, the most common side effects were pain at the injection site and skin irritation.

But it’s still early, Green stressed.

Bigal said ongoing studies will keep looking at the drug’s safety. “No treatment-related serious adverse events have been seen so far,” he said.

If TEV-48125 or its competitors are approved, it’s unlikely that patients will be put off by having to take a monthly injection, according to Green.

“These are people in chronic pain,” he pointed out.

But cost could be an obstacle: In general, antibody drugs like TEV-48125 are very expensive. So patients might find it difficult to get insurance coverage, Green said.

The study was published online June 8 in Neurology.

More information

The American Migraine Foundation has more on chronic migraine.

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Women Less Likely to Get Blood Thinner for Irregular Heartbeat

WEDNESDAY, June 8, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Among people with the common heart rhythm disorder known as atrial fibrillation, women are less likely than men to receive blood-thinning drugs, a new study reveals.

Blood thinners are important for people with atrial fibrillation because they help prevent stroke. Atrial fibrillation causes an irregular heartbeat.

In people with atrial fibrillation, blood doesn’t move from one part of the heart to the other as it should. Instead, the blood can pool and may clot. If a clot travels to the brain, it can cause a stroke. Blood-thinning drugs can help keep clots from forming, according to the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

For the study, researchers reviewed data from nearly 1,600 people with atrial fibrillation. Among these patients, 55 percent of women were taking blood thinners, compared with 61 percent of men.

“The irony is that women have a higher risk of atrial fibrillation-related stroke, controlling for other risk factors such as hypertension [high blood pressure], diabetes, congestive heart failure, yet women are being undertreated,” said study investigator Dr. Mark Eckman. He is a professor of clinical medicine at the University of Cincinnati.

“There are some take-home messages. Doctors need to realize we have mental biases that women are healthier and at lower risk of stroke,” he said in a university news release.

“It’s the same story for coronary artery disease and risk of heart attacks. We think women are at lower risk and we ignore warning signs. Thus, when we are making decisions for blood-thinning therapy for patients with atrial fibrillation, we need to remember that women are at higher risk and we need to make sure we treat them aggressively enough to prevent stroke,” Eckman said.

The study was published recently in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

More information

The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has more on atrial fibrillation.

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We’re Already Obsessed With These New Healthy Emojis

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that emojis are having a major moment. So when Unicode Consortium, the nonprofit that approves the cute little symbols on your mobile devices, announced the release of 72 new emojis later this month, we couldn’t help but get excited. The icing on the cake? There are a handful of clever icons sure to help us express our health and fitness obsessions via text. Here, three of our favorites guaranteed to come in handy.

Avocado

Illustration: Emojipedia/Youtube

Because it’s appropriate in so many scenarios. Toast, guac, pesto, face masks, brownies, pudding—is there anything the humble fruit can’t do?

Sneezing face

Illustration: Emojipedia/Youtube

Feeling under the weather? This little guy will let you spread the word that you’re sick without spreading your germs.

First place medal

Illustration: Emojipedia/Youtube

When you want to send a totally valid humble brag about crushing your PR, the gold medal emoji is just what you need.

Check out the rest of the 69 new emojis in this video from Unicode.

While the emojis will be available to Apple, Google, and other vendors on June 21, they may not be available on your phone until later, Fortune reports. In any case, texting is about to get a lot more fun.

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Does DNA Determine Success in Life?

WEDNESDAY, June 8, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Your genes may play a part in whether or not you’ll enjoy career and financial success, researchers suggest.

But, these “success” genes aren’t necessarily your destiny. They may play only a small role in your life, and the study wasn’t designed to prove that certain genes determine your future, the researchers noted.

A previous study found that genetic variants might be linked with levels of education. These variants could then be turned into a “polygenic score.” And, people with a score above zero were more likely to complete more years of schooling, the researchers said.

This new study, published June 1 in the journal Psychological Science, took that finding a step further.

“Getting a good education requires many of the same skills and abilities needed to get ahead in life more generally. So, we hypothesized that the same genetics that predicted success in schooling would predict success in life,” said study leader Daniel Belsky, who’s with the Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, N.C.

He and his colleagues looked at nearly four decades of data. The data included almost 1,000 people in New Zealand.

The researchers found those with higher polygenic scores were more likely than those with lower scores to move away from home in search of career opportunities. They were also more likely to have more successful careers, to be better at managing their money, and to have spouses with higher levels of education and income, the study found.

This link between higher polygenic scores and success was seen even in people born into families that were relatively poor.

Intelligence accounted for some of the association between genes and success. But, so did other psychological characteristics such as self-control and interpersonal skills, the researchers said.

The researchers didn’t find a link between polygenic scores and physical health.

While the findings suggest how genes may play a role in shaping peoples’ lives, the links between polygenic scores and life success are small, the researchers emphasized.

“We can make only very weak predictions about how far a child can go in life based on their genes,” Belsky said in a journal news release.

” ‘Precision education’ or other tailoring of environments to children’s genomes is not possible with the data we have in hand today, but our findings suggest that such data may someday become available,” he said. “It is vital to have the conversation about what that might mean and how we will deal with it before it happens.”

More information

The American Society of Human Genetics has more about genetics.

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Parents: Stay Mum on Daughter’s Weight

WEDNESDAY, June 8, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Parents need to be cautious about what they say to their daughters about their weight, new research says.

The study found that women who can remember their parents talking about their weight were more likely to be overweight and to be dissatisfied with their own weight.

“Commenting on a woman’s weight is never a good idea, even when they are young girls,” said lead author Brian Wansink, director of the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University, in Ithaca, N.Y.

“If you’re worried about your child’s weight, avoid criticizing them or restricting food. Instead, nudge healthy choices and behaviors by giving them freedom to choose for themselves and by making the healthier choices more appealing and convenient,” Wansink said in a Cornell news release.

“After all, it’s the choices that children make for themselves that will lead to lifelong habits,” he said.

The study included 501 women. They were between 20 and 35 years old. They were asked about their body image and how frequently their parents commented about their weight when they were girls.

Compared to those who were overweight, healthy-weight women were 27 percent less likely to say their parents commented on their weight, and 28 percent less likely to say their parents told them they ate too much.

Both overweight and healthy-weight women who said their parents commented on their weight when they were girls were less satisfied with their weight as adults. This suggests that weight-related comments from parents caused harm to the women’s body image, regardless of their current weight, the researchers said.

The study was published in the June issue of the journal Eating & Weight Disorders.

More information

The U.S. Office on Women’s Health has more about body image.

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Cancer’s Heavy Financial Burden

WEDNESDAY, June 8, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Many cancer patients can’t afford to see their doctor or take the medications they’ve been prescribed, a new study finds.

And the problem will likely only get worse as the cost of cancer treatments continues to rise, the study authors said.

“You can prescribe the best drug in the world, but if patients can’t afford it and they can’t get it, then it won’t be effective,” said study author Dr. Greg Knight. He is chief fellow with the University of North Carolina School of Medicine’s division of hematology and oncology.

“We saw a significant portion of patients in our study who were stretching their prescriptions or not coming to the doctor’s office,” Knight said in a university news release.

The researchers reviewed survey results from nearly 2,000 patients at the N.C. Cancer Hospital in Chapel Hill, N.C. The participants were all 18 and older, and had been diagnosed with cancer at least 90 days earlier.

The results showed that 26 percent of the patients said they had to pay more for medical care than they could afford. Of those patients, 18 percent said they didn’t fill prescriptions for medications and 11.5 percent said they didn’t go to doctors’ visits during the past year due to costs.

Missing a doctor’s appointment or not filling a prescription can be dangerous for cancer patients, the study authors noted.

“Patients with cancer can be on highly regimented therapy that can have significant side effects that need to be closely monitored,” Knight explained.

“These patients represent a particularly vulnerable population because of the treatments they are receiving, and require close monitoring for both response and known side effects of their treatment,” he added.

The study findings point to the need to help cancer patients locate and use support programs, the researchers said.

“From an intervention standpoint, I think the first priority is being able to identify these patients early, and the second is being able to bring all of the resources from public and private sources to patients, and intervene that way,” Knight said.

The study was presented Saturday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, in Chicago. Findings presented at meetings are generally viewed as preliminary until they appear in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The American Cancer Society has more about finding and paying for treatment.

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Hey Drivers: Hands-Free Cellphones Not Risk-Free

WEDNESDAY, June 8, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Talking on a hands-free phone while driving may be just as distracting and dangerous as using a hand-held phone, according to a new study.

In lab-based tests, British researchers found that having conversations that activated the visual imagination resulted in participants detecting fewer road hazards in a video.

“A popular misconception is that using a mobile phone while driving is safe as long as the driver uses a hands-free phone. Our research shows this is not the case,” said Graham Hole, a senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Sussex.

“Hands-free can be equally distracting because conversations cause the driver to visually imagine what they’re talking about. This visual imagery competes for processing resources with what the driver sees in front of them on the road,” Hole said in a university news release.

Tested while using a hands-free phone, the study participants focused on a smaller area of the road ahead of them, and failed to see hazards even when they looked directly at them, the researchers noted.

The findings suggest that conversations may use more of the brain’s visual processing resources than previously believed, and show that any type of phone conversation — hands-free or hand-held — while driving is risky.

“Our findings have implications for real-life mobile phone conversations. The person at the other end of the phone might ask, ‘Where did you leave the blue file?’, causing the driver to mentally search a remembered room. The driver may also simply imagine the facial expression of the person they’re talking to,” Hole explained.

“The only ‘safe’ phone in a car is one that’s switched off,” he concluded.

The study findings were published June 7 in the journal Transportation Research.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about distracted driving.

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Marriage a Boost for Heart Attack Survivors

WEDNESDAY, June 8, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Married people are more likely to survive a heart attack and leave the hospital sooner than single people, a new British study finds.

“Our results should not be a cause for concern for single people who have had a heart attack,” said study co-author Dr. Nicholas Gollop, a clinical research fellow in cardiology at the University of East Anglia.

“But they should certainly be a reminder to the medical community of the importance of considering the support a heart attack survivor will get once they’re discharged,” Gollop added in a British Heart Foundation news release.

Researchers examined data from more than 25,000 heart attack patients in England. They found that married people were 14 percent less likely to die than single people.

The analysis also showed that married heart attack survivors spent an average of two fewer days in the hospital than single survivors. Shorter hospital stays reduce health care costs and reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infections, the researchers noted.

The researchers said their findings highlight the importance of physical and emotional support after a heart attack.

“A heart attack can have both devastating physical and psychological effects — most of which are hidden from the outside world. These findings suggest the support offered by a spouse can have a beneficial effect on heart attack survivors, perhaps helping to minimize the impact of a heart attack,” said Dr. Mike Knapton, associate medical director of the British Heart Foundation.

If you have a heart attack, whether you’re married or not, it’s important to remember that you’re not alone, Knapton said. “Enrolling in a cardiac rehabilitation course, for example, will help you to recover physically, psychologically, and also help you to meet people with similar experiences, who know what you’ve been through,” he said.

The study was presented Tuesday at a British Cardiovascular Society meeting in Manchester, England. The results should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

More information

The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has more on heart attack.

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Sound Sleep Elusive for Many Kids With ADHD

By Kathleen Doheny
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, June 8, 2016 (HealthDay News) — A new study supports a claim parents have long made about children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder — kids with ADHD don’t sleep as well as other kids.

“Children with ADHD have huge sleep problems,” said study leader Anne Virring Sorensen, a researcher at Aarhus University in Risskov, Denmark.

“We verified [their sleep problems] by polysomnography, which hadn’t been done before,” she said.

Polysomnography is a sleep study. It evaluates brain waves, breathing and other parameters to check sleep quality. The researchers also looked at how quickly the children fell asleep at night and during the day.

In the United States, about 6 million children have ADHD, a neurodevelopmental disorder, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms vary, but can include lack of focus, impulsivity and hyperactivity, with difficulty in winding down when it is time to sleep or relax, the study authors said.

The researchers recruited 76 children with ADHD for their study. The average age of the group was almost 10 years old. The researchers also recruited 25 children without ADHD (the “control” group).

Kids with ADHD slept about 45 minutes less a night than those without ADHD. The children with ADHD also took longer than the other children to fall asleep at night. During the day, however, the children with ADHD fell asleep faster than those in the control group, the investigators found.

At first, the researchers thought this was a surprising finding, because of the hyperactivity that is common in ADHD children. But, they speculated that sleep problems may be contributing to the ADHD, and that the hyperactivity aspect of the disorder might be the brain’s way of compensating for not being able to doze off during school.

The study findings confirm something “that’s been known for a while,” said Brandon Korman, chief of neuropsychology at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami.

But Korman noted that the study “doesn’t prove cause and effect” between ADHD and sleep troubles. It’s possible that a third — as yet unknown — factor may be contributing to poor sleep and ADHD symptoms.

Can parents do anything to help their children with ADHD sleep better?

Pay attention to good “sleep hygiene,” or the rituals and habits kids engage in before bed, Korman said. He suggested that parents tell children to turn off all electronics — including TVs, computers, cellphones and video games — a couple of hours before bedtime. These devices can keep kids stimulated, he said, and worsen sleep.

Parents can also ask their pediatrician for sleep advice, Korman added.

The study findings appear in the June issue of the Journal of Sleep Research.

More information

To learn more about ADHD, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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