Sleep Loss Harms Heart Health

WOMEN’S HEALTH:
FDA Approves At-Home Pap Smear Alternative

The FDA has approved the first at-home alternative to the Pap smear in the U.S., a device called Teal Wand by Teal Health. It allows women to collect a vaginal sample themselves and mail it to a lab for HPV testing. HPV is the virus responsible for nearly all cervical cancers.

This new method eliminates the need for the uncomfortable speculum-based procedure traditionally performed by gynecologists, aiming to make cervical cancer screening more convenient and accessible.

This innovation is expected to help address the gap in screening rates, particularly among women who face barriers to in-person care, and could play a key role in reducing cervical cancer incidence and mortality. It’s expected the Teal Wand will be available by prescription for women at average risk aged 25-65, starting in California and expanding later, with efforts to secure insurance coverage.

SLEEP:
Three Sleepless Nights May Harm Men’s Health

Just three night of only four hours of sleep is enough to cause otherwise healthy young men to show increased levels of inflammatory proteins in their blood that are linked to heart failure and coronary artery disease, according to a new study on sleep deprivation from Uppsala University in Sweden.

The researchers controlled for diet and activity and measured around 90 proteins finding that many associated with cardiovascular risk rose quickly after sleep loss, even in participants with no prior health concerns. While exercise still promoted beneficial proteins, it could not fully counteract the negative effects of sleep deprivation on heart health, and sleep loss appeared to increase the strain on the heart during physical activity.

These findings underscore that sleep and exercise are both essential and complementary for cardiovascular health, rather than interchangeable.

CANCER:
Childhood Sunburns Linked to Future Melanoma Risk

Each additional blistering sunburn before age 15 increases melanoma risk by approximately 3.2% according to a large study of over 44,000 non-Hispanic White participants.

This elevated risk was independent of personal sun sensitivity traits such as eye color, hair color, skin complexion, UV exposure or time spent outdoors. Notably, no significant association was observed between blistering sunburns after the age of 15 and melanoma risk. The study also identified that brown/hazel eye color, dark hair and light skin complexion were independently associated with higher melanoma risk, but these factors did not modify the effect of early-life sunburns. 

The authors emphasize the importance of photoprotection for all children and suggest enhanced skin care surveillance for those with multiple blistering sunburns before age 25, regardless of other risk factors.

DEPRESSION:
SSRI Exposure Before Birth May Rewire Brain

Recent research indicates that prenatal exposure to selective serotonin reupdake inhibitors (SSRIs) may alter brain development in ways that increase the risk of depression and anxiety later in life.

Studies in both mice and humans show that early-life SSRI exposure leads to heightened activity in brain fear circuits and persistent changes in brain regions involved in emotional regulation, such as the cortiocolimbic circuit and amygdala, effects not seen in offspring of mothers with untreated depression. These alternations suggest a serotonin-specific mechanism, as children exposed to maternal depression without SSRIs did not exhibit the same brain changes.

While these findings highlight potential long-term risks, experts caution that more research is needed before making clinical recommendations about SSRI use during pregnancy, as the effects of maternal depression itself and other confounding factors remain difficult to fully disentangle.

Read the full study from Columbia University here.