Sinuses prevented prehistoric crocodile relatives from deep diving

 An international team of paleobiologists have found that the sinuses of ocean dwelling relatives of modern-day crocodiles prevented them from evolving into deep divers like whales and dolphins.

A new paper published in Royal Society Open Science suggests that thalattosuchians, which lived at the time of the dinosaurs, were stopped from exploring the deep due to their large snout sinuses.

Whales and dolphins (cetaceans) evolved from land-dwelling mammals to become fully aquatic over the course of around 10 million years. During this time, their bone-enclosed sinuses reduced and they developed sinuses and air sacs outside of their skulls.

This would have alleviated increases in pressure during deeper dives, allowing them to reach depths of hundreds (dolphins) and thousands (whales) of meters without damaging their skulls.

Thalattosuchians lived during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods and fall into two main groups. Teleosauridae, were similar to modern day gharial crocodiles, likely living in coastal waters and estuaries. Metriorhynchidae on the other hand were more fully adapted to life at sea, with streamlined bodies, flipper-like limbs and tail fins, amongst other marine adaptations.

Researchers from the University of Southampton, University of Edinburgh, and other institutions wanted to see if thalattosuchians had made similar sinus adaptations to whales and dolphins in their evolutionary journey from the land to the sea.

The team used computed tomography (a special kind of scan) to measure the sinuses of 11 thalattosuchian skulls, as well as the skulls of 14 modern crocodile species and six other fossil species.

Sinus changes

They found that braincase sinuses reduced across thalattosuchian evolution as they became more aquatic, in a similar way to those of whales and dolphins. The team think this is likely due to reasons relating to buoyancy, diving and feeding.

But the team also found that once thalattosuchians became fully aquatic, their snout sinuses expanded compared to their ancestors.

"The regression of braincase sinuses in thalattosuchians mirrors that of cetaceans, reducing during their semi-aquatic phases and then diminishing further as they became fully aquatic," explains Dr Mark Young, lead author of the paper from the University of Southampton.

"Both groups also developed extracranial sinuses. But whereas the cetacean's sinus system aids pressure regulation around the skull during deep dives, the expansive snout sinus systems of metriorhynchids precluded it from diving deeply.

"That's because at greater depths, air within the sinuses would compress, causing discomfort, damage, or even collapse in the snout due to its inability to withstand or equalise the increasing pressure."

Salt glands

While whales and dolphins have highly efficient kidneys that filter out salt from sea water, sea fairing reptiles and birds rely on salt glands to excrete salt from their systems.

The team believe that the larger, more complex snout sinuses of metriorhynchids may have helped to drain their salt glands, in a similar way to modern marine iguanas.

"A major problem for animals with salt glands is 'encrustation', where the salt dries and blocks the salt excreting ducts. Modern birds shake their heads to avoid this, while marine iguanas sneeze to force the salt out," says Dr Young.

"We think that the expanded sinuses of metriorhynchids helped to expel excess salt. Birds, like metriorhynchids, have sinuses that exit the snout and pass under the eye and when their jaw muscles contract, it creates a bellows-like effect within their sinuses. For metriorhynchids, when the sinuses where subjected to this effect, it would have compressed the salt glands within the skull and created a sneeze-like effect, similar to modern marine iguanas."

The study shows how major evolutionary transitions unfold and are shaped by species anatomy, biology and evolutionary history.

"It is fascinating to discover how ancient animals, such as thalattosuchians, adapted to a life in the ocean in their own unique way by showing both similarities and differences to modern day cetaceans," says Dr Julia Schwab, a coauthor on the paper from the University of Manchester.

Dr Young concludes: "Thalattosuchians became extinct in the Early Cretaceous period, so we'll never know for sure if given more evolutionary time they could have converged further with modern cetaceans or whether the need to mechanically drain their salts glands was an impassable barrier to further aquatic specialisation."

sources-science daily

Indigenous cultural burning has protected Australia's landscape for millennia, study finds

 Ancient cultural burning practices carried out by Indigenous Australians limited fuel availability and prevented high intensity fires in southeastern Australia for thousands of years, according to new research from The Australian National University (ANU) and the University of Nottingham.

The research, published in Science, highlights how the intensity of forest fires in fire-prone southeastern Australia decreased over time alongside an increase in Indigenous populations in the area.

Dr Simon Connor from ANU said a better understanding of the link between human-induced climate change and the projected rise in the frequency and intensity of forest fires will lead to improved forest management and conservation in Australia.

"We often think about forests and woodlands in terms of trees, but this research shows that some of the biggest changes have happened not in the tree canopy but in the shrub layer. That's something we weren't expecting to find," he said."Indigenous peoples have shaped Australian landscapes over tens of thousands of years. They did this through cultural practices. We need to keep that in mind when we're thinking of the best way to live in the Australian environment."

Using tiny fossils preserved in ancient sediment, the research team reconstructed ancient landscapes across southeastern Australia to understand how the vegetation has changed over time.

The researchers focused on the shrub layer because this is what allows flames to climb from the ground to the canopy, leading to high intensity fires.

The team then compared this with archaeological data to analyse how human activity has impacted levels of shrub cover in Australian landscapes over time.

Lead researcher Dr Michela Mariani, from the University of Nottingham, said the expansion of Indigenous populations and a subsequent increase in the use of cultural burning led to a 50 per cent decrease in shrub cover, which in turn led to a decline in high intensity fires.

"The shrub layer in forests can often act as ladders for wildfires to climb up to tree canopies and spread," Dr Mariani said.

"Following British colonization and extensive fire suppression, shrub cover in Australia has increased to the highest ever recorded, which significantly increases the risk of high intensity fires in the future.

"Australia's fire crisis can be tamed with the involvement of Indigenous practitioners in fire management. It's important to rekindle ancient cultural burning practices together with Traditional Owners to reduce the risk of catastrophic blazes."

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Skeletal muscle health amid growing use of weight loss medications

 A recent commentary published in The Lancet journal highlights the critical importance of skeletal muscle mass in the context of medically induced weight loss, particularly with the widespread use of GLP-1 receptor agonists. These medications, celebrated for their effectiveness in treating obesity, have raised concerns regarding the potential for substantial muscle loss as part of the weight loss process.

Dr. Steven Heymsfield, professor of metabolism and body composition, and Dr. M. Cristina Gonzalez, adjunct and visiting professor in metabolism-body composition, both of Pennington Biomedical Research Center, joined colleagues Dr. Carla Prado of the University of Alberta, and Dr. Stuart Phillips of McMaster University on authoring The Lancet commentary, titled "Muscle Matters: The Effects of Medically Induced Weight Loss on Skeletal Muscle."

The authors emphasize that muscle loss, as measured by decreases in fat-free mass, can account for 25 to 39 percent of total weight lost over a period of 36 to 72 weeks. This rate of muscle decline is significantly higher than what is typically observed with non-pharmacological caloric restriction or normal aging and could lead to unintended negative health consequences.

Despite the promising metabolic benefits associated with GLP-1 receptor agonists, including improvements in fat-to-fat-free tissue ratios, the potential adverse effects of muscle loss are gaining attention. Skeletal muscle plays critical roles not only in physical strength and function but also in metabolic health and immune system regulation.

A decline in muscle mass has been linked to decreased immunity, increased risk of infections, poor glucose regulation, and other health risks. The authors suggest that muscle loss due to weight reduction may exacerbate conditions like sarcopenic obesity, which is prevalent among individuals with obesity and contributes to poorer health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease and higher mortality rates.

While the short-term effects of muscle loss on physical strength and function remain unclear, the commentary calls for future research to explore how reductions in muscle mass might improve muscle composition and quality. The authors stress the need for a multimodal approach to weight loss treatment, combining GLP-1 receptor agonists with exercise and nutritional interventions to preserve muscle mass.

"We have to be mindful of the side effects that we are seeing with the new weight loss medications, such as a person eating less while on the medications and not getting the appropriate amount of dietary vitamins and minerals," Dr. Heymsfield said. "Also, when a person loses weight, they are not only losing fat, they also lose muscle. We are looking at how that muscle loss can be better managed with consumption of an adequate amount of protein along with an optimum amount of exercise."

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Crunching fruit fly and human data via machine learning and systems biology results in the identification of key metabolites that impact lifespan in both species

 Discoveries that impact lifespan and healthspan in fruit flies are usually tested in mice before being considered potentially relevant in humans, a process that is expensive and time intensive. A pioneering approach taken at the Buck Institute leapfrogs over that standard methodology.

Utilizing cutting-edge machine learning and systems biology, researchers analyzed and correlated huge data sets from flies and humans to identify key metabolites that impact lifespan in both species.Results published online in Nature Communicationssuggest that one of the metabolites, threonine, may hold promise as a potential therapeutic for aging interventions.

"These results would not have been possible without this pioneering approach," says Buck professor Pankaj Kapahi, PhD, senior author of the paper. "There is a lot of data sitting out there that is not being correlated between species. I think this approach could be a game-changer when it comes to identifying potential interventions to improve human health."

Threonine has been shown to protect against diabetes in mice. The essential amino acid plays an important role in collagen and elastin production and is also involved in blood clotting, fat metabolism and immune function.

The method -- simplified

The work began with former Buck postdoc Tyler Hilsabeck, PhD, crunching data (involving metabolomics, phenotypes and genomics) to analyze 120 metabolites in 160 strains of fruit flies on both restricted and normal diets. The goal was to reveal how different genotypes responded to the diets to influence lifespan and healthspan. "This allowed us to find the 'needles in the haystack' when it came to identifying relevant metabolites," Hilsabeck says.

Vikram Narayan, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow then cross-referenced findings with human data from the massive UK Biobank. "Using the human data allowed us to focus on interesting metabolites to those that are conserved in both species. It also allowed us to uncover the impact of those metabolites in humans," he says. Importantly, the team then brought those relevant metabolites back into the fly to validate results.

The results

In flies, threonine extended lifespan in a strain-and-sex-specific manner. Individuals with higher levels of threonine-related metabolites had longer, healthier lives. "We're not saying that threonine is going to work in all conditions," says Kapahi. "Our research shows it works in subsets of both flies and people. I think most of us have stopped expecting to find a 'magic-bullet' intervention for aging. Our method provides another way to develop precision medicine for geroscience."

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Restricting sugar consumption in utero and in early childhood significantly reduces risk of midlife chronic disease

 A low-sugar diet in utero and in the first two years of life can meaningfully reduce the risk of chronic diseases in adulthood, a new study has found, providing compelling new evidence of the lifelong health effects of early-life sugar consumption.

Published in Science, the study finds that children who experienced sugar restrictions during their first 1,000 days after conception had up to 35% lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and as much as 20% less risk of hypertension as adults. Low sugar intake by the mother prior to birth was enough to lower risks, but continued sugar restriction after birth increased the benefits.

Taking advantage of an unintended "natural experiment" from World War II, researchers at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, McGill University in Montreal, and the University of California, Berkeley, examined how sugar rationing during the war influenced long-term health outcomes.

The United Kingdom introduced limits on sugar distribution in 1942 as part of its wartime food rationing program. Rationing ended in September 1953.

The researchers used contemporary data from the U.K. Biobank, a database of medical histories and genetic, lifestyle and other disease risk factors, to study the effect of those early-life sugar restrictions on health outcomes of adults conceived in the U.K. just before and after the end of wartime sugar rationing.

"Studying the long-term effects of added sugar on health is challenging," says study corresponding author Tadeja Gracner, senior economist at the USC Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research. "It is hard to find situations where people are randomly exposed to different nutritional environments early in life and follow them for 50 to 60 years. The end of rationing provided us with a novel natural experiment to overcome these problems."

Sugar intake during rationing was about 8 teaspoons (40 grams) per day on average. When rationing ended, sugar and sweets consumption skyrocketed to about 16 teaspoons (80 grams) per day.

Notably, rationing did not involve extreme food deprivation overall. Diets generally appeared to have been, in fact, within today's guidelines set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the World Health Organization, which recommend no added sugars for children under two and not more than 12 teaspoons (50g) of added sugar daily for adults.

The immediate and large increase in sugar consumption but no other foods after rationing ended created an interesting natural experiment: Individuals were exposed to varying levels of sugar intake early in life, depending on whether they were conceived or born before or after September 1953. Those conceived or born just before the end of rationing experienced sugar-scarce conditions compared to those born just after who were born into a more sugar-rich environment.

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Water fern gains more evidence as safe potential global food insecurity solution

 Is the floating freshwater fern commonly called Carolina azolla the potential answer to global food insecurity or a possible threat to humanity? On the heels of a study published earlier this year by researchers at Penn State on the plant's nutrition and digestibility, the team learned of concerns about the plant's potential toxin content. The researchers joined an international effort to test Azolla and found that it does not contain cyanotoxins, potent toxins produced by a type of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, associated with the plant.

The team published their findings in a new study in Plants.

"That finding suggests that azolla is food safe and has the potential to safely feed millions of people due to its rapid growth while free-floating on shallow fresh water without the need for nitrogen fertilizers," said Daniel Winstead, research technologist in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences and lead author on the earlier study. He works in the labs of Michael Jacobson, professor of ecosystem science and management, and Francesco Di Gioia, assistant professor of vegetable crop science. "Azolla is an amazing plant that can double its biomass in two days and capture nitrogen from the air."

After the original study published, Winstead said, it was brought to his attention that the cyanobacteria that live inside azolla could produce powerful cyanotoxins that dissuade animals from eating the plant. Cyanotoxins have been linked to neurodegenerative disorders including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinson's disease, liver and kidney failure, muscle paralysis and other severe health issues. Despite the threat of the toxins and the use and study of azolla, he explained they learned that no scientists had definitively tested for the presence of these toxins in azolla.

"I felt a sense of responsibility to help answer this question because we had just published about azolla's nutritional quality," Winstead said. "I didn't want to be promoting the consumption of a potentially harmful plant. As I was preparing an experimental design, I was contacted by the Azolla Foundation about that organization's interest in our research. I reached out to them and asked if they knew anyone who was looking into azolla's toxicity from cyanotoxins."

sources-science daily

Investigating the power of music for dementia

 In this episode of our podcast, we delve into the science behind how sounds and silence affect our cognitive health and seek to uncover whether music can be healing for people with dementia. Joining the conversation this month with Dr. Hilary Guite and global news editor Yasemin Nicola Sakay are Dr. Kelly Jakubowski, assistant professor in music psychology at Durham University in the United Kingdom, and Beatie Wolfe, singer, songwriter, and ambassador for the charity Music for Dementia, who witnessed music’s direct effect in a care home for people with dementia.

How diet may help with endometriosis

In this episode, we discuss how and why diet could help manage the symptoms of endometriosis and which interventions might be the most effective. We are in conversation with Dr. Hana Kahleova, director of clinical research at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine — a nonprofit organization in Washington, DC — and Hannah Alderson, a registered nutritionist with the British Association For Nutrition And Lifestyle Medicine (BANT) and founder of The Positive Method – The Path to Happier Hormones. Dr. Kahleova is the co-author of a recent study looking at nutrition as a factor in the risk for and management of endometriosis. Alderson’s precepts for well-being stem from her own long journey seeking a diagnosis and treatment for PCOS and endometriosis.

Is the ketogenic diet right for autoimmune conditions?

In this episode of our podcast, we discuss the possible benefits and drawbacks of adopting the ketogenic diet for managing chronic pain and autoimmune conditions. We also address the many controversies surrounding this diet. Joining the conversation with Dr. Hilary Guite and Global News editor Yasemin Nicola Sakay are Dr. Susan A. Masino of Trinity College, CT, who is the Vernon D. Roosa professor of Applied Science and author of “Ketogenic Diet and Metabolic Therapies: Expanded Roles in Health and Disease,” and Shea, who has trialed the diet with his lupus.

Can diet help improve depression symptoms?

This episode of our podcast discusses the links between diet, the gut, and depression symptoms, asking one crucial question: Can changing our diet help improve symptoms of depression? Our guests are Dr. Najaf Amin, senior research associate in the Nuffield Department of Population Health at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, and Rachel Kelly, a U.K.-based mental health campaigner who has been outspoken about how diet helped treat her own depression.

Research highlights of 2022

For our final “In Conversation” episode of 2022, Feature Editor Maria Cohut, Global News Editor Yasemin Sakay, and Managing Editor James McIntosh reflect on the research highlights of 2022. Topics include the twists and turns of dementia research, why scientists are studying psychedelics for mental health, and how stem cell research is advancing at a steady pace.

How Viagra became a new ‘tool’ for young men

In this episode, we discuss the stigma surrounding male psychosexual health and how Viagra—the little blue ‘magic’ pill once only marketed to older males as an erectile dysfunction drug—is now becoming a new tool for young men. Joining the conversation with Dr. Hilary Guite and Global News editor Yasemin Nicola Sakay are Dr. Edward Ratush, board certified psychiatrist and co-founder of telepsychiatry and psychotherapy practice SOHOMD in the United States, Dr. Peter Saddington, accredited psychotherapist specializing in sexual addiction, counseling, and psychosexual therapy at Relate, and three guests who frankly share their experience with using Viagra.

Editor’s note: This podcast includes commentaries that mention the use of illegal drugs. Medical News Today does not condone or encourage their use.

What makes breast cancer come back?

In this episode, we discuss breast cancer recurrence, why cancer spreads, and whether it is possible to reduce recurrence risk. Our guests are Dr. Rachael Natrajan, head of the functional genomics team in the Breast Cancer Now Toby Robins Research Centre at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London, and Dr. Liz O’Riordan, former consultant breast cancer surgeon and a breast cancer patient and advocate. She is co-author of The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer.

How to understand chronic pain

In this episode, we discuss all things chronic pain — from how it feels to live with it to how the body reacts to pain and transitions from an acute state to a chronic reactive state. Joining the conversation with Dr. Hilary Guite and Global News editor Yasemin Nicola Sakay are Dr. Tony L. Yaksh, professor of anesthesiology and pharmacology at the University of California, San Diego, who shares his insights about the latest research, and Joel Nelson, a longtime psoriatic disease and arthritis patient and advocate, who discusses his personal journey with pain.

What is behind vaccine hesitancy?

In this episode, we discuss vaccine hesitancy, what really makes people unsure about accepting vaccines, and whether science communicators can do anything to heal the relationship between the public and health organizations. We are in conversation with Prof. Maya Goldenberg, who is a professor of philosophy at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, and specializes in the phenomenon of vaccine hesitancy, and reporter Aaron Khemchandani, a science communication MSc student at Imperial College London in the United Kingdom, who has studied the phenomenon of mistrust in science.

Source - Medical News Today

In Conversation podcast

 Medical News Today’s In Conversation podcast engages with expert voices across various fields. The conversations focus on a range of topics, from the latest news in science to the deepest scientific conundrums.

3 ways to slow down type 2 diabetes-related brain aging

In this episode, editors and co-hosts Yasemin Nicola Sakay and Maria Cohut are joined by Dr. Thomas Barber, associate professor at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom and honorary consultant endocrinologist.

They discuss how type 2 diabetes affects cognitive health and the steps people can take to help slow down brain aging. They focus on two recent studies showing how diabetes is linked to Alzheimer’s as well as lifestyle changes that can protect brain health against the negative effects of diabetes.

Toxic metals in tampons: Should you be worried?

In this podcast episode, editors and co-hosts Maria Cohut and Yasemin Nicola Sakay discuss whether tampons, pads, and other menstrual products pose a threat to health, as a recent study found traces of 16 heavy metals, including lead and cadmium, in several tampon brands. Anna Pollack, PhD, MPH, professor of global and community health at George Mason University College of Public Health, joins the podcast as a special guest to discuss what these findings mean and whether people should be concerned.

In Conversation is a Healthline Media original podcast. This episode was produced by Flamingo Media for Medical News Today.

Can tattoos cause blood or skin cancer?

In this podcast episode, editors and co-hosts Maria Cohut and Yasmin Nicola Sakay discuss whether having tattoos can increase the risk of different types of cancer, particularly blood cancer, as recent evidence from a Swedish cohort has suggested. Special guest Dr. Milena Foerster, who researches the link between tattoos and cancer at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization (WHO), explains what we do and do not know about this association.

In Conversation is a Healthline Media original podcast. This episode was produced by Flamingo Media for Medical News Today.

In Conversation: Can we really ‘outrun the Grim Reaper’?

In this episode, Feature Editor Maria Cohut and Global News Editor Yasemin Nicola Sakay dive into the science behind how extreme exercise may help some people live longer. The study in question tracked a group of elite runners and found they could live an average of 5 years longer than the general population. Prof. Michael Papadakis, president of the European Association of Preventive Cardiology (EAPC), discusses the health benefits and risks associated with such forms of exercise and gives easy to follow advice.

In Conversation is a Healthline Media original podcast. This episode was produced by Flamingo Media for Medical News Today.

In Conversation: What makes a diet truly heart-healthy?

In this episode of our podcast, Feature Editor Maria Cohut discusses matters related to diet and heart health with Prof. Oyinlola Oyebode, PhD, from Queen Mary University of London, in the United Kingdom. Some of the questions we address are: Why are certain foods, regardless of whether or not they are plant-based, so bad for the heart? How does salt impact the cardiovascular system? And what makes a truly heart-healthy diet?

In Conversation is a Healthline Media original podcast. This episode was produced by Flamingo Media for Medical News Today.

In Conversation: Is intermittent fasting actually bad for your heart?

This episode of our podcast takes a deep dive into intermittent fasting and its effects on health. Joining the conversation is Ali Javaheri, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine from the Center for Cardiovascular Research at Washington University. Dr Javaheri explains what intermittent fasting does to the body and discusses the benefits and dangers of this eating plan in light of a recent viral study that found 8-hour time-restricted eating may relate to a higher risk of cardiovascular death.

In Conversation: What do we know about the weight loss plateau on Wegovy?

In this episode of our podcast, we take a deep dive into the topic of semaglutide — or GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs — use for weight loss. How does semaglutide help with weight management, why do some people on Wegovy hit a weight loss plateau, and what are some issues to keep in mind when it comes to using semaglutide for weight loss? Dr. Simon Cork, senior lecturer in the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Social Care at Anglia Ruskin University in the United Kingdom helps us answer these and more questions.

2023 in medicine: Artificial sweeteners, colon cancer, and male birth control

In our wrap-up of 2023’s most pressing and perhaps controversial research in the health and wellness field, Medical News Today’s editors — Andrea Rice, Maria Cohut, and Yasemin Nicola Sakay — delve into three interesting topics: The WHO’s decision to declare sucralose a potential carcinogen, the symptoms of colon cancer and the worrying rise of cases in young people, and the still-elusive male birth control pill.

In Conversation: Why exercise is key to living a long and healthy life

How do we prolong our longevity? Plenty of recent evidence suggests that exercise — in the correct amount and combination — can help us live longer, healthier lives. This episode of our podcast discusses how and why intentional physical activity prolongs our health span. Joining the conversation is Dr. Borja del Pozo Cruz, principal researcher in Applied Health Sciences at the University of Cadiz, who has studied the relationship between longevity and different forms of exercise, and Dr. Edwina Brocklesby — nicknamed “Iron Gran” — who is CEO of Silverfit and Britain’s oldest woman to have completed an Ironman triathlon.

What do we know about the gut microbiome in IBD?

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) — an umbrella term for conditions including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis — affects millions of people worldwide, sometimes severely affecting their quality of life. How is the gut microbiome of a person with IBD different, and can we use diet to change it and help with disease management? To answer these and other questions, we are in conversation with Dr. Marcel de Zoete, associate professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology at UMC Utrecht in The Netherlands, who has studied the gut microbiome in IBD. Also joining us is Zosia Krajewska, who lives with IBD after receiving a diagnosis at age 14.

My podcast changed me

In this episode, Dr. Hilary Guite and Medical News Today editors Maria Cohut and Yasemin Nicola Sakay discuss why it’s so hard for humans to change their minds and behaviors. They give us a peek into their daily lives while sharing the three podcast episodes that inspired them to change their habits surrounding nutrition, pain, and helping others. They also offer their own tips and tricks on how to spark purposeful and lasting behavioral change.

Can ‘biological race’ explain disparities in health?

In this episode, we discuss why health disparities between different racial and ethnic groups, including those that surfaced during the COVID-19 pandemic, cannot be explained by biological race. We also explore how racism affects the health and well-being of future generations. Joining the conversation are Dr. Monique Rainford, obstetrician and gynecologist at Yale School of Medicine and author of the book “Pregnant While Black,” and Angela Saini, science journalist and author whose most recent work includes the book “Superior: The Return of Race Science.”

Why Parkinson’s research is zooming in on the gut

In this episode of our podcast, we discuss why the gut microbiome is important in Parkinson’s disease and what researchers are doing to discover more about the link between Parkinson’s and gut health. Our guests are Dr. Ayse Demirkan, senior lecturer in AI multiomics for health and well-being at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom, and Gary Shaughnessy, chair of trustees at Parkinson’s UK, who lives with Parkinson’s disease and is a staunch advocate of research into the condition.

Can diet and exercise reverse prediabetes?

In this episode, Medical News Today investigates whether reversing prediabetes via lifestyle changes — such as diet and exercise — is possible. Joining the conversation with Dr. Hilary Guite and Global News editor Yasemin Nicola Sakay are Dr. Thomas Barber, associate clinical professor at Warwick Medical School and consultant endocrinologist at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire, and Angela Chao, Managing Editor at Healthline Media, who shared her experiences about how she reversed her prediabetes diagnosis.

Source - Medical News Today

In Conversation: The latest on menopause

 Menopause specialist Dr. Louise Newson and broadcaster Rachel New talk about what everyone should know about perimenopause and menopause.

Hot flashes, sleep problems, and mood swings — these are the symptoms that many people may be familiar with when it comes to menopause.

Yet there is so much more to this biological transition that anyone who has periods goes through. When a person has stopped having periods for 12 months, they have officially gone through menopause.

The time leading up to this point is called perimenopause, and many experience a range of symptoms during this time. How long people will spend in perimenopause varies greatly from person to person.

To find out what everyone should know about menopause and why, as a society, we find conversations around women’s health so difficult, I spoke to broadcaster Rachel New, who recently wrote a Through My Eyes piece about her experience of menopause for Medical News Today.

Joining us in conversation was Dr. Louise Newson, a general practitioner (GP) in the United Kingdom and menopause specialist. Louise is the founder of the free balance app, which allows users to track symptoms and changes in their periods. The app also provides information about menopause.

To hear more about menopause, including the latest on hormone replacement therapy (HRT), listen to the accompanying podcast:

The list of symptoms ‘can go on and on and on’

We started our conversation with Louise taking us through what happens during menopause.

“Most of us go through the menopause as a natural process. Our hormones deplete because our eggs run out in our ovaries. And when they run out, [the] hormones associated with them go down,” she explained.

“Some women have their menopause forced on them,” Louise continued.

For some, menopause happens as a result of a medical procedure, such as the surgical removal of the ovaries, or certain drugs or treatments.

“The average age in the U.K. is 51, but around 1 in 100 women under the age of 40 have an early menopause. My youngest patient is 14, [and] my oldest is 92, so it can affect all women [of] all ages,” Louise said.

And what about perimenopause? Louise told us that perimenopause can last several years, a decade, or even more.

“[The] symptoms can start sometimes just for a few days before each period, and then it can be a week or 2 weeks, and then all the time. It’s quite a transient process that often worsens with time,” she said.

She listed the range of symptoms that a person can experience:

• anxiety
• low mood
• memory problems
• fatigue
• feeling very low and joyless
• irritability
• poor sleep
• headaches
• heart palpitations
• muscle pain
• joint pain
• urinary symptoms
• reduced libido
• vaginal dryness

“The list can go on and on and on, actually, and symptoms can vary between women and actually sometimes vary between the days and months.”

– Dr. Louise Newson

 Some have ‘symptoms for decades’

For some people, menopause means the end of their symptoms. But this is not the case for all.

Once a person has gone through menopause, their hormone levels will be low for the rest of their life. In some, this is accompanied by ongoing symptoms.

“The average length of time for symptoms is about 7 years, but I certainly have seen and spoken to many women who have symptoms for decades,” Louise explained. “But symptoms change.”

“A lot of women find that their hot flashes and sweats improve. And then when you talk to them, they’ll say, ‘Now I’ve gone through my menopause, I don’t have any symptoms.’ But then they will say, ‘Oh yes, but my sleep’s rubbish’ or ‘I have some joint pains, and I can’t exercise the same way’ or ‘I’m just a bit more irritable,’ so these symptoms often do linger,” she continued.

Rachel told us that she can trace back the beginning of her menopause to when she was 51. But prior to that, she had experienced problems with her sleep throughout her 40s.

“I was having vaginal problems, but I kept thinking I had thrush. I was getting urinary tract infections. But it was only when I was 51 that those problems started to really bother me. I kept going to the doctor [and] being put on antibiotics for urinary tract infections,” Rachel said.

“Sex was becoming painful at the same time. My periods were getting closer together and heavier. I’d always had quite heavy periods, but now, I wake up [and] I’d flood the bed […] But I didn’t know this was the perimenopause. I’d never heard of perimenopause.”

– Rachel New

Other symptoms that Rachel experienced included itchy skin all over her body. Her GP did not mention menopause or perimenopause to her at the time.

“It was only when I went and had a Mirena coil fitted for my really heavy periods [that] the gynecologists talked to me about perimenopause,” Rachel told us.

Her experiences led her to set up her own podcast about menopause, called “On My Last Eggs.” Rachel told us that she feels her experience mirrors that of many others. Faced with perimenopause, she sought out Louise’s YouTube videos.

“I [thought], Oh my gosh, this is what’s wrong with me. I felt like I had finally found someone that I could trust the advice of,” Rachel explained.

MNT’s In Conversation podcast

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Missing the signs

I asked Rachel why it is so challenging for women to find information about menopause. “Women of menopausal age are very different from women of menopausal age in the past,” she said.

“Often, a woman may be in her perimenopause, [and] she may only have a 5-year-old child. She doesn’t equate herself with a menopausal woman — she may be at the peak of her career. She doesn’t look like our menopausal mothers or grandmothers looked like, and so I think often we just don’t understand,” Rachel continued.

Few women are equipped with the knowledge about the breadth of symptoms that can accompany perimenopause. Add busy lives to the mix, and it can be easy to miss the fact that these symptoms must have a cause.

Louise added that there is a gap in menopause education among doctors.

“I feel very embarrassed that I have probably missed thousands of women who’ve come to see me as a GP, telling me they have headaches, or they feel low, or they’re tearful, or they’ve had palpitations, and I’ve never thought about their hormones, because I didn’t really know,” she shared with us.

Louise missed the signs of her own perimenopause. “I was busy developing and writing the content for Menopause Doctor, and I was also lecturing other healthcare professionals, saying, You must not miss the other symptoms of the menopause,” she told us.

“Yet I had them all but thought it was because I was working hard trying to split my time with three children, being a GP, being a medical writer, and now developing a website and trying to get a job as a menopause specialist in the [National Health Service (NHS)].”

– Dr. Louise Newson

“So I had a lot of reason to be tired, irritable, and low mood, poor sleep, back-to-back migraines, etc. Not once did I think about my own hormones,” Louise explained.

Time to change the narrative

“We need to be so much more open about women’s health,” Rachel advocated. She called for conversations about reproductive health, including periods, fertility, and endometriosis.

Louise pointed to the lack of menopause research and suggested a change in narrative.

“If we’re not going to listen to women talking about symptoms, then we need to think about the health risks, and we need to think about the risks to the economy,” she said.

Louise explained that around 20% of women either consider leaving their job or do so due to menopause. In addition, poor memory, anxiety, and fatigue are very common symptoms and can impact workplace productivity.

“It’s affecting the health economy, because 1 in 3 women will have an osteoporotic hip fracture, which costs the NHS £3 billion a year,” she added.

Rachel encouraged everyone to arm themselves with information about menopause. She was also keen to bring vaginal health into the spotlight.

“I would say to women, You deserve to have a healthy, happy, comfortable vagina […] and don’t take any kind of fob off for an answer. Everyone deserves to have a lovely, happy, useful vagina that they can carry on having sex with and enjoying, and so don’t be battered away from that.”

– Rachel New

To Louise, menopause should be on everyone’s radar. “A lot of the work that needs to be done about awareness is [that] not just middle-aged women need to be aware,” she said.

“We all need to be aware: men, women, children, adults, everyone. Because we all know women, [and] recognizing [menopause] within our friends or family or work colleagues can be really important,” she added.

We’re new to audio on MNT and want to make sure we’re doing it right. Let us know what you thought of our In Conversation podcast by emailing us at mnt_editors@medicalnewstoday.com.

Source - Medical News Today