01/20/25 - #308

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Good morning. In today’s edition:

  • Unsweetened Coffee Associated With Reduced Risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases, Study Finds | This Association Was Not Observed for Sweetened or Artificially Sweetened Coffee

  • Weight Training Plus Electricity Adds Extra Muscle and Strength - Using a Run-of-the-mill, Portable, and Non-invasive Electrical Muscle Stimulator While Doing Resistance Training Can Yield Greater Gains in Muscle Strength and Muscle Mass Than Resistance Training Alone, According to New Research

  • Research Reveals Why More Men Than Women Are Diagnosed With Deadly Heart Disease - Women May Be Missing a Diagnosis of a Potentially Deadly Heart Condition Due to Guidelines That Don't Account for Natural Differences in Sex and Body Size, According to a New Study

  • Medicare Can Now Cover Eli Lilly’s Zepbound for Sleep Apnea, CMS Says

…and lots more. Have a great day!

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FOOD & NUTRITION

Unsweetened Coffee Associated With Reduced Risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases, Study Finds | This Association Was Not Observed for Sweetened or Artificially Sweetened Coffee

A new study finds that drinking unsweetened coffee might help older adults avoid Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. This benefit doesn’t apply to coffee with sugar or artificial sweeteners. The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, looked at health data from over 200,000 people in the UK.

Alzheimer's disease affects memory and worsens over time. Parkinson's impacts movement, causing tremors and balance issues. Both are serious diseases that can make it hard for older people to live independently.

A research team, led by Tingjing Zhang, studied different coffees. They were unsweetened, sugar-sweetened, and artificially sweetened. They discovered that people who drank more unsweetened coffee had a 29-30% lower chance of getting Alzheimer’s, related dementias, or Parkinson’s. They also had a 43% lower chance of dying from these conditions.

Unsweetened, decaf coffee drinkers saw health benefits. They had a 34-37% lower risk of certain diseases and a 47% lower chance of dying from them.

The study suggests that adding sugar or artificial sweeteners might cancel out the health benefits of coffee. This research links coffee drinking to a lower disease risk. But, it doesn't prove that coffee causes these benefits. There might be other factors involved.

WEIGHT LOSS

Weight Training Plus Electricity Adds Extra Muscle and Strength - Using a Run-of-the-mill, Portable and Non-invasive Electrical Muscle Stimulator While Doing Resistance Training Can Yield Greater Gains in Muscle Strength and Muscle Mass Than Resistance Training Alone, According to New Research

Researchers at the University of Texas at El Paso have found that adding electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) to regular weight training helps people gain more muscle strength and size than just lifting weights alone. EMS devices send safe electrical signals to muscles to make them contract. This method is not painful and the devices are easy to use and portable.

The study analyzed results from 13 trials with 374 participants. They used EMS while doing standard resistance exercises, like bench presses and squats. The study found that EMS with weight lifting improved strength and mass more than weight lifting alone.

The benefits were clear in longer training periods. Eight to 16 weeks of combined training showed better results than shorter times. Three key factors affected the effectiveness: the number of exercise sets, the reps per set, and the EMS frequency.

The results are promising. But, the researchers did not control the participants' diets. Diets can significantly affect muscle growth. We need more research. It should examine the effects of using EMS with weight training.

This approach could help those wanting to regain muscle after surgery or illness. It offers an easy way to boost muscle recovery and growth with little equipment.

HEALTH

Research Reveals Why More Men Than Women Are Diagnosed With Deadly Heart Disease - Women May Be Missing a Diagnosis of a Potentially Deadly Heart Condition Due to Guidelines That Don't Account for Natural Differences in Sex and Body Size, According to a New Study

UCL researchers found that medical guidelines may miss a severe heart disease in women. They do not consider differences in sex and body size. This finding could change how doctors identify heart problems.

A study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, tested a new way to diagnose HCM. It is a heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. It was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. This heart condition affects about one in 500 people in the UK. It thickens the heart muscle, causing serious issues like sudden heart failure.

Doctors traditionally diagnosed HCM by measuring if the heart's wall is thicker than 15 millimeters, regardless of sex or size. This standard method didn't account for natural differences among people.

The researchers used AI to analyze heart scans and suggested new guidelines that consider a person’s age, sex, and size. They found that with these personalized standards, both men and women are more accurately diagnosed.

In a large study using the new guidelines, they found a fairer diagnosis rate between men and women. It showed that the condition affects both equally. Before, men were often diagnosed more than women.

Dr. Sonya Babu-Narayan from the British Heart Foundation stressed their importance. She said that updating the guidelines could help catch more cases in women and smaller people. This would prevent misdiagnoses and ensure everyone gets needed treatment.

Medicare Can Now Cover Eli Lilly’s Zepbound for Sleep Apnea, CMS Says

Good news for people with sleep apnea! Medicare will now pay for Eli Lilly’s drug, Zepbound, which is usually used to treat obesity. Now, it’s also approved for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This is a big deal because it means more people can get help for this common sleep disorder where breathing stops and starts during sleep due to blocked airways.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yes to Zepbound for people with obesity who have moderate to severe OSA on December 20. It’s the first drug approved for about 20 million Americans with these tough cases of OSA.

Before this, Medicare didn’t cover Zepbound for just weight loss. It costs about $1,000 a month without insurance, so this change could really help lower costs for many people.

Medicare Part D plans, which cover drugs, can now include Zepbound if it's used for a health problem that the FDA recognizes, not just for losing weight. They might check more carefully to make sure the drug is used right.

Similar rules apply to other drugs like Wegovy from Novo Nordisk, which is used for weight loss and lowering heart risks.

State Medicaid programs have to cover Zepbound for OSA if Eli Lilly agrees to give them rebates. But, they don’t have to cover it for weight loss alone.

Eli Lilly is happy with Medicare’s decision, which is great news for people with sleep apnea. This could lead to more treatments being approved and covered in the future.

✢ A Note From Hem Hero

The information in this health newsletter is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment; always consult your healthcare provider with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your health. The publishers are not responsible for any actions taken by the reader based on the information provided.