A 'miracle' HIV shot, surprising shingles vaccine benefit and health-threatening wildfires: What to know about this week's health news
Hello, health and wellness readers. My name is Kaitlin, your guide to the latest news you may have missed.
Let’s take a look at what our team wrote about this week:
Pesticide exposure may be just as bad as smoking, a new study found and Natalie Rahhal spoke with experts about how to avoid them.
Super-gonorrhea?! It’s rare but smart, writes Rachel Bender, and doctors are concerned.
Kerry Justich caught up with your ‘90s boy band crush Lance Bass to talk about how his type 1.5 diabetes diagnosis is a “full time job” to manage.
Having excess belly fat and arm fat, specifically, could raise your risk of dementia and Parkinson’s. Can we do anything about it? Natalie found some answers.
Did TikTok convince you that you have a hormonal imbalance? Kerry writes about why you may want to take a step back before exploring social media’s solutions to “cortisol face.”
Fruit may help alleviate depression, Korin Miller writes — but you can’t exactly watermelon your way to better mental health. Here’s why.
Here’s what else to know:
A new HIV drug is very promising
A twice-yearly shot from pharmaceutical company Gilead was 100% effective in preventing HIV infections in women, per new research. The study, which involved 5,338 HIV-free participants in South Africa and Uganda, found that none of the women who received the shots of drug Lenacapavir contracted HIV, while 2% of those using existing daily prevention pills did. This result led researchers to stop the study early and offer the shots to all participants.
Why it matters: Winnie Byanyima, head of UNAIDS, called Lenacapavir a “miracle product” — and it could make a major difference in the fight against HIV and AIDS, particularly for communities where infection rates are high. Right now, we have tools to prevent HIV, but there are some drawbacks. PrEP (a short term for pre-exposure prophylaxis) is a highly effective preventive option, but it involves taking a daily pill, which may be difficult for some people to stick to and is prohibitively expensive.
The goal now will be to make the drug, which the Associated Press reported will be sold under the name Sunlenca, affordable so it can be easily accessible in developing countries. Gilead has yet to state how much they believe it will cost per patient.
How to stay safe from wildfires
Wildfires burning across California, Oregon, Arizona, Washington and Canada have caused significant smoke and haze. This has led to air quality alerts in many parts of the western United States, with Oregon seeing the most fires of any state. The uncontained Durkee Fire is the largest active fire in the country and is located near the Oregon-Idaho border.
Why it matters: Smoke from fires can cause respiratory problems and worsen existing health conditions such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart disease.
You don’t need to see fire — or even smoke — in order to feel the effects on your health. You can check your air quality by going to AirNow.gov and typing in your zip code, which can give you updated information on how to protect yourself depending on reported levels.
In general, you can protect yourself from smoke by staying indoors with windows and doors closed and using air purifiers with HEPA filters. If you must go outdoors, avoid exerting yourself and wear an N95 or P100 mask.
A shingles vaccine may contain a surprising benefit
Research from Oxford University suggests that the shingles vaccine, Shingrix, might delay the onset of dementia by five to nine months. Exactly why this happens is unclear, but researchers think it may have to do with Shingrix reducing the impact of the herpes zoster virus, which is linked to dementia. It’s also possible that the vaccine's ingredients may support brain health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults age 50 and older receive two doses of Shingrix.
What it means: Over 50 million people worldwide live with dementia, with this number only expected to increase — possibly to as much as 230 million people by 2050. Delaying the onset of dementia can give people more time to make caretaking plans and critical medical decisions, improving the quality of life for patients and reducing the overall burden on loved ones. However, more research is needed to confirm the potential dementia benefits and determine the best timing for the vaccine.
This news also comes on the heels of new drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer’s, a type of dementia. Eli Lilly’s drug Donanemab showed a 35% reduction in progress of the disease in 18 months, in people between 60 and 85.
