Topiramate increases the risk of oral clefts

The anti-epileptic drug topiramate has been increasingly prescribed over the last decade not only to prevent seizures, but also to treat bipolar disorder and migraine headaches. In addition, topiramate is a component of a recently FDA-approved drug for weight loss. Past studies have found that women taking topiramate during early pregnancy to prevent epileptic seizures had greater chance of giving birth to a baby with an oral cleft, but such studies did not focus on women taking the drug at a lower dose for non-seizure related conditions.

 A new study by investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health suggest that using topiramate in early pregnancy, particularly at the high doses used for epilepsy, increases the risk of oral clefts. The new work leverages nationwide Medicaid data on more than 1 million live births from between 2000 and 2010.

The team examined the risk of oral clefts -- including cleft palate or cleft lip -- among three groups: infants born to women who had taken topiramate in their first trimester; infants born to women who had taken the drug lamotrigine (an unrelated drug used to treat bipolar disorder and epilepsy); and infants who had not been exposed to anti-epileptic medications in utero.

They found that the risk of oral clefts was approximately three times higher for the topiramate group than for either the lamotrigine or the unexposed group. Approximately one out of every 1,000 infants are born with an oral cleft, but among infants exposed to low doses of topiramate (median 100-mg daily dose) in the first trimester, that risk was 2.1 out of every 1,000 live births.

Among women taking higher dose topiramate (median 200-mg daily dose), the risk was much higher -- 12.3 for every 1,000 live births. Women with epilepsy on topiramate have the highest relative risk of giving birth to a baby with cleft lip or cleft palate, likely due to the higher doses of topiramate when used for controlling seizures.
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Good sleep for weight loss

Having a good night's sleep helps people to lose weight most effectively, dieters who had regular sleep patterns found it easier to shed pounds from their waistline.

The most effective dieters sleep between seven hours thirty minutes and eight hours a night. It also allows 90 minutes for the most restorative non-REM (rapid eye movement) sleep which is best achieved before midnight.

Throughout the night, human pass through four stages of sleep several times. The majority of  dreaming during the fourth stage, called the 'rapid-eye movement' (REM) phase.

 Research found that about one in three don’t get enough sleep in general. Missing out on dreaming that occurs during REM-sleep can have particularly dire consequences on mental and physical health.

Poor sleepers (those sleeping for less than seven hours a night) were found to have the most chaotic eating patterns. They were also more prone to diet lapses and were more likely to exceed their weekly limits for alcohol consumption.
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Ogivri for cancer treatment

Food and Drug Administration approved Ogivri (trastuzumab-dkst) as a biosimilar to Herceptin (trastuzumab) for the treatment of patients with breast or metastatic stomach cancer (gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma) whose tumors overexpress the HER2 gene (HER2+).
Ogivri is the first biosimilar approved for the treatment of breast cancer or stomach cancer and the second biosimilar approved treatment of cancer.

Common expected side effects of Ogivri for the treatment of HER2+ breast cancer include headache, diarrhea, nausea, chills, fever, infection, congestive heart failure, difficulty sleeping (insomnia), cough and rash. Common expected side effects of Ogivri for the treatment of HER2+ metastatic stomach cancer include low levels of certain white blood cells (neutropenia), diarrhea, fatigue, low levels of red blood cells (anemia), inflammation of the mouth (stomatitis), weight loss, upper respiratory tract infections, fever, low levels of blood platelets (thrombocytopenia), swelling of the mucous membranes (mucosal inflammation), common cold (nasopharyngitis) and unusual taste sensation (dysgeusia).

Serious expected side effects of Ogivri include worsening of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. Patients should stop taking Ogivri if cardiomyopathy, life-threatening allergic reactions (anaphylaxis), swelling below the skin (angioedema), inflammation of the lungs (interstitial pneumonitis) or fluid in the lungs (acute respiratory distress syndrome) occur. Patients should be advised of the potential risk to a developing fetus and to use effective contraception.
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Spotting eating disorders

Eating disorders are conditions that negatively impact human health, emotions and ability to function in important areas of life. Common eating disorders are : anorexia, bulimia or binge-eating.

Anorexia: Weight loss is one of the most obvious signs of anorexia. But even when they're drastically underweight, anorexics may still think they're too heavy. Some people with anorexia try to hide their thinness beneath layers of baggy clothes.

They may eat just one small meal, always say they aren't hungry or avoid starchy foods or carbohydrates. They may also avoid social situations, and exercise excessively. Anorexia can lead to dizziness, concentration problems, pale or dry skin, trouble sleeping, weak muscles and thin hair. Girls and women with anorexia may also stop menstruating.

Bulimia: People with bulimia are always dieting and hiding food. They may eat to the point of discomfort but only when no one is watching. After overeating, people with bulimia force themselves to throw up, usually by putting their fingers down their throat. Marks on the back of their hands may indicate bulimia. Routinely using laxatives or going to the bathroom right after eating are also signs of bulimia.

Binge-eating: Binge-eaters consume large amounts of food very quickly, stopping only when they are uncomfortably full. When bingeing, they tend to feel out of control. Binge-eating is hard to identify because it may happen only occasionally. This behavior can continue for a long period of time before notice.
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Low calorie diet can reverse type 2 diabetes

Diabetes goes into remission in many patients who undergo bariatric weight-loss surgery, which significantly restricts caloric intake prior to clinically significant weight loss.The research team investigated the effects of a very low calorie diet VLCD, consisting of one-quarter the normal intake, on a rodent model of type 2 diabetes.

Using a novel stable (naturally occurring) isotope approach, which they developed, the researchers tracked and calculated a number of metabolic processes that contribute to the increased glucose production by the liver. The method, known as PINTA, allowed the investigators to perform a comprehensive set of analyses of key metabolic fluxes within the liver that might contribute to insulin resistance and increased rates of glucose production by the liver-two key processes that cause increased blood-sugar concentrations in diabetes.

Using this approach, the researchers pinpointed three major mechanisms responsible for the VLCD's dramatic effect of rapidly lowering blood glucose concentrations in the diabetic animals. In the liver, the VLCD lowers glucose production by: decreasing the conversion of lactate and amino acids into glucose; decreasing the rate of liver glycogen conversion to glucose; and decreasing fat content, which in turn improves the liver's response to insulin.

These positive effects of the VLCD were observed in three days. Using this approach to comprehensively interrogate liver carbohydrate and fat metabolism, we showed that it is a combination of three mechanisms that is responsible for the rapid reversal of hyperglycemia following a very low calorie diet.
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Intermittent fasting prevents aging

Intermittent fasting can keep the body younger, extend lifespan and improve overall health, various forms of fasting are healthy; from weight loss to productivity enhancement. According to the latest research, temporary restricting diet keeps the mitochondria – an important part of the cell to health aging – in homeostasis, which improves lifespan.

Some research has shown that intermittent fasting offers no benefits over daily dietary restrictions, but animal studies have found that it was linked to longer life spans. The latest research confirmed the crucial role of the mitochondria in human cell aging, and therefore, the aging of  human bodies.

Mitochondria break down carbohydrates and fatty acids, giving energy to the cell. For this reason, they are often referred to as the powerhouses of human cells. Researchers discovered that without aged mitochondria, cells appeared younger.
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Prevotella bacteria levels prevents weight loss

Having low levels of Prevotella bacteria in stools prevents weight loss, regardless of whether you are consuming fruits and vegetables or junk foods. Prevotella is associated with plant-based diets- rich in fruit, vegetables, leafy greens, seeds, nuts, beans and lentils with little or no animal products.

However change in bacteria will not be effective immediately, Prevotella may aid weight loss by influencing fat storage and how people respond to hunger hormones. Eating more fruits, vegetables, fibres and whole grains may be effective for weight loss in some people but not every body will benefit from this.

 Researchers analysed some people with an increased waist circumference over six months, some of the participants ate a diet rich in whole grains and fibre, the rest consumed red meat and confectionery.

The results reveal that eating foods rich  in fibre causes weight loss, participants with high levels of the strain of Prevotella bacteria lost more weight. Those with lower amounts of Prevotella did not lose weight after eating high amounts of whole grains and fibre.

Prevotella is associated with plant-based diets made up of fruits, nuts vegetables, whole grain, pulses and seeds, with little or no animal products.
It can take a long time of adopting a particular diet before gut bacteria levels adapt to the change. Regular physical activity can work for those that have less Prevotella bacteria.
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Nerlynx drug for early breast cancer treatment

Breast cancer starts when cells in the breast begin to grow out of control. The cancers can start from different parts of the breast. It can start from the ducts that carry milk to the nipple or in the glands that make breast milk.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration FDA has approved Nerlynx a once-daily oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor for the extended adjuvant treatment of adult patients with early stage HER2-overexpressed/amplified breast cancer.

Nerlynx is a prescription medicine used to treat adults who have early-stage breast cancer, which is HER2-positive and has previously been treated with the medicine trastuzumab.

Nerlynx may cause serious side effects like diarrhea, liver problems, fatigue,
vomiting, fever, rash, right upper abdominal pain, weight loss and urinary tract infection UTI.

Pregnant women, nursing mother and women planning to get pregnant can not use Nerlynx.
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