Letter calls on FDA to ban Red Dye 3; women less likely than men to adhere to post-stroke prescription medications; poor vascular health accelerates brain aging – Morning Medical Update

Letter calling on the FDA to ban Red Dye 3

Earlier this month, Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), a ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take immediate action to prevent the use of Red Dye 3 in FDA-regulated products. Known chemically as Erythrosine, Red Dye 3 is a colorant that remains on the market as an approved food dye, despite being a known carcinogen with lifelong side effects for children.

“There is simply no reason for this chemical to be in our food except to entice and mislead consumers by changing the color of their food, so it looks more appealing,” Pallone wrote.

Women are less likely than men to take post-stroke medications

A study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association analyzed the role that gender, ethnicity, marital status and other factors may have on stroke patients’ adherence to their prescribed medications. According to the study, more women than men aren’t taking their post-stroke medications, and Mexican American women are the least likely to take their prescriptions post-stroke. Of the more than 1,300 patients interviewed, 13% of women and 10% of men did not stick with their prescribed medications just 90 days after their strokes. The Washington Post has the full story.

Poor vascular health accelerates brain aging

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have determined that factors detrimental to vascular health, including inflammation and high glucose levels, are associated with older-looking brains, and healthy lifestyles are linked to younger looking brains. Published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, the researchers analyzed brain images from 70-year-olds, estimating their brains’ biological ages.

“Despite the recent introduction of new Alzheimer’s drugs, they will not work for everyone with dementia, so we want to study what can boost the brain’s resilience against pathological aging processes,” Anna Marseglia, lead author of the study, said in a university release.