Drinking coffee to prevent head and neck cancer; propranolol reduces tremors from Parkinson’s disease; HHS launches campaign to counter childhood vaccine misinformation – Morning Medical Update

Could drinking coffee help prevent head and neck cancer?

Research published online by Wiley in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, linked coffee and tea consumption to lower risks of developing both head and neck cancer, including cancers of the mouth and throat. Researchers pooled information on 9,548 patients with head and neck cancer, and 15,783 controls without cancer, finding that, compared to non-coffee drinkers, those who drank more than four cups of caffeinated coffee daily had 17% lower odds of having head and neck cancer overall, 30% lower odds of having cancer of the oral cavity and 22% lower odds of having throat cancer. Similar results were found when analyzing those who drank decaffeinated coffee and some amounts of tea.

“…These findings support the need for more data and further studies around the impact that coffee and tea can have on reducing cancer risk,” Yuan-Chin Amy Lee, PhD, senior author of the study, said.

Propranolol reduces tremors in Parkinson’s disease

Patients with Parkinson’s disease often report that tremors worsen in stressful situations, and the standard medication, levodopa, tends to be less effective during stress, when tremors are at their worst. In search of an alternative, a research group from Radboud University Medical Center tested the effectiveness of propranolol, and MRI scans revealed that propranolol directly inhibits activity in the brain circuit that controls tremors. Find the full research article, published in the Annals of Neurology.

HHS launches “Let’s Get Real” campaign to show childhood vaccines in a positive light

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) launched the “Let’s Get Real” campaign to counter vaccine misinformation and provide parents with balanced information they need about childhood vaccines. The campaign provides parents with verifiable facts, supplying parents with all of the vaccine information they need, including stories from doctors and parents who choose to vaccinate their children. Read the full HHS release here, or visit the Let’s Get Real campaign page here.