Neurology Advisor (1/4) reports, “Excessive television watching is associated with an increased risk for dementia, Parkinson disease, and depression,” although “non-worked-related moderate computer use is tied to a lower risk for dementia,” according to a study. The findings were published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.

Related Links:

— “TV Watching Duration May Impact Risk for Dementia, PD, and Depression,” Jessica Nye, PhD, Neurology Advisor, January 4, 2024

The Washington Post (1/23, Johnson ) reports that for some patients with a variant of Alzheimer’s disease “called posterior cortical atrophy, the disease begins with problems affecting vision rather than memory. The unusual early symptoms mean that thousands of people may go years before receiving the correct diagnosis, experts said.” However, “that may change with the first large-scale international study of the condition, published Monday in the journal Lancet Neurology.”

The researchers “found that, on average, the syndrome begins affecting patients at age 59 – about five to six years earlier than most patients with the more common form of Alzheimer’s.” They “say that the variant may account for as many as 10 percent of all Alzheimer’s cases; that would put the number of Americans with the condition close to 700,000.”

Related Links:

— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

CNN (1/3, Dillinger) reports the FDA “is evaluating reports of side effects such as hair loss and suicidal thoughts in people taking” weight loss drugs like Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy. The agency “is ‘evaluating the need for regulatory action’ after its FDA Adverse Event Reporting System or FAERS received reports of alopecia, or hair loss; aspiration, or accidentally breathing in things like food or liquid; and suicidal ideation in people using these medications.”

The article notes that “some research has linked GLP-1 agonists to serious digestive problems such as stomach paralysis, pancreatitis and bowel obstructions, although the risks of these events appear to be rare.”

Related Links:

— “FDA looking into reports of hair loss, suicidal thoughts in people using popular drugs for diabetes and weight loss,” Katherine Dillinger, CNN, January 4, 2024

CNN (1/3, McPhillips ) reports, “People who have more interrupted sleep in their 30s and 40s are more than twice as likely to have memory and thinking problems a decade later, according to a…study.” Investigators found that “overall, people experiencing more sleep fragmentation, or with greater share of their sleeping hours spent moving, were more likely to receive poor cognitive scores on all of the tests more than a decade later.”

The study indicated that “of the 175 people with the most disrupted sleep, 44 had poor cognitive performance 10 years later, compared with 10 of the 176 people with the least disrupted sleep.” The findingswere published in Neurology.

Related Links:

— “Sleep disruptions in 30s and 40s linked to cognitive decline a decade later, study finds,” Deidre McPhillips, CNN, January 4, 2024

Kaiser Health News (1/3, Peace , Prator) reports that media coverage of a national Adderall shortage “has focused primarily on the harms to people with ADHD,” however “for those with sleep disorders … the effects may be even more consequential.” That’s because “basic tasks – like driving – become dangerous or impossible without medication,” while “job and school performances are threatened by the onset of sudden sleep and sometimes even paralysis.”

Related Links:

— “Patients with narcolepsy face a dual nightmare of medication shortages and stigma,” Lauren Peace and Jack Prator, Kaiser Health News, January 3, 2024