From the article: A University of Sydney-led review into the benefits of the Mediterranean diet in women has found women who followed a Mediterranean diet had up to 24 percent lower risk of heart disease and a 23 percent lower risk of death.

The researchers say to their knowledge this study is the first review to examine the association between the Mediterranean diet, cardiovascular disease and mortality specifically in women.

The findings, published in Heart Journal, examined data from 16 published studies where women were following the Mediterranean diet. The studies were between 2006 and 2021 and involved over 722,000 female participants.

Interestingly, further analysis of data found similar reduced risk applied in women of all ethnicities, with women of European descent having a 24 percent lower risk, and women of non-European descent (Asian, Native Hawaiian and African American) having a 21 percent lower risk.

The results will be invaluable in updating the dietary and clinical guideline recommendations such as the Australian dietary guidelines for diets in women, particularly to help prevent heart disease. The latest report comparing Australian women’s diet to national dietary guidelines found less than 1 in 10 Australian women are meeting fruit and vegetable intake guidelines.

University of Sydney PhD candidate at the Westmead Applied Research Centre (WARC) Ms Anushriya Pant said a Mediterranean diet – high in fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, legumes and healthy fats like olive oil and nuts, with a moderate intake of seafood and lean protein is known for its heart health benefits but its impact by sex has never been explored.

“The Mediterranean diet is known for its health benefits, especially for heart health, but most studies and research into diet and heart disease are done primarily in men,” said Ms Pant, who led the analysis.

From the article: A new study by Columbia University researchers suggests that cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins have the potential to reduce heart disease in people with obstructive sleep apnea regardless of the use of CPAP machines during the night.

CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) therapy improves sleep quality and reduces daytime fatigue in people with obstructive sleep apnea. But based on findings from several recent clinical trials, CPAP does not improve heart health as physicians originally hoped.

Alternative methods to reduce heart disease in sleep apnea patients are urgently needed, because the condition is known to triple the risk of having a heart attack, stroke, or another serious cardiovascular event.

Statins (a class of cholesterol-lowering drugs) may be one such method, according to the new study, led by Sanja Jelic, MD, associate professor of medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

The study included 87 people with recently diagnosed obstructive sleep apnea who were being treated with CPAP. The patients were randomized to receive treatment with either statins or a placebo.

From the article: A new report published in Cell Reports Medicine has found that individuals who use assigned breathwork techniques experienced greater improvements in mood and lowered respiratory rates as compared to those practicing mindfulness meditation. These findings indicate that breathwork may be an important therapeutic tool for those experiencing depressed mood or an overactive nervous system.

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, breathwork has become a popular and cost-effective intervention for improving health and well-being through intentional breathing techniques. Numerous scientific studies have demonstrated how we breathe affects our heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen levels, and ventilation. In addition, initial research has provided evidence that techniques like slow and nasal breathing can enhance the quality of life for asthma patients, reduce anxiety, and improve alertness and learning abilities in people.

From the article: Metastatic breast cancer has no cure and has proven stubbornly resistant to one of the most innovative and promising new cancer treatments: immunotherapy.

Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a way to treat the area surrounding breast tumors that have spread to bone so that such tumors become vulnerable to attack by the body’s immune system. When the researchers boosted the activity of certain immune cells, called T cells and macrophages, these immune cells worked together to clear metastatic breast tumors that had spread to the bones of mice, and continued to eliminate tumor cells that eventually returned.

The study is published March 8 in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Macrophages are myeloid immune cells that attack cancer cells through the body’s innate immune response to general threats, such as tumors or viruses. Such macrophages further activate T cells by showing the T cells what they should be looking for, thereby harnessing the adaptive immune response as well. In this case, these macrophages present T cells with bits of recognizable tumor — called tumor antigens — from dead cancer cells, and the antigens direct the killing activities of T cells.

“After breast cancer has spread to other parts of the body, it becomes extraordinarily difficult to treat; current therapies can only try to slow it down,” said senior author Sheila A. Stewart, PhD, the Gerty Cori Professor of Cell Biology & Physiology. “About 70% of patients with metastatic breast cancer have tumors that have spread to their bones. Our study suggests we may be able to use two treatments — one to sensitize the myeloid tumor microenvironment to immunotherapy, and one to activate T cells — to target these bone metastases in a way that eliminates the tumor, prevents the cancer from returning and protects against bone loss in the process.”

From the article: Meta is not quite finished streamlining its workforce, with plans for another culling of thousands of employees being considered by management. In November, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company was laying off 13% of its workforce, equating to approximately 11,000 in job losses. It seems that another employment bloodbath is in the cards.

A new wave of layoffs are being planned, according to Bloomberg. Thousands more employees are expected to get let go, with the fresh round hitting as soon as this week.

While earlier rounds were apparently an attempt to flatten the organization's structure, complete with managerial buyout packages and cutting entire teams thought to be non-essential, the new round may be more money-motivated. People familiar with internal matters at Meta claim the next round is being driven by financial targets, and is separate from "the flattening."

As part of the process, directors and vice presidents have been asked to produce lists of employees that they deem could be let go.

The speed of the layoffs is in part due to Zuckerberg himself, with those working on the initiative aiming to prepare it all before the CEO goes off for parental leave.