Weekly Health Digest: Teen Social Media, Overdose Deaths, FluMist, Microplastics, and Pregnancy Brain

Instagram’s Teen Accounts aren’t really for teens

By Ellen Ioanes, Vox

Meta recently announced that Instagram will implement Teen Accounts in the United States as of September 17th, 2024. This is the first of many social media changes aimed at protecting underaged users. Consumers ages 16 and younger will have their accounts set to private automatically, limiting who can communicate with them directly. Users with Teen Accounts can also expect restricted access to content, along with a new emphasis on reducing screen time.   

This announcement comes after years of discourse surrounding the use of social media by teens. A majority of teens ages 13-17 years and 40 percent of children ages 8-12 years are active users of social media, according to a report from Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. Many politicians, parents, and researchers are concerned by these trends, as social media is believed to be detrimental to the wellbeing of minors. Concerns include bullying, sexual abuse, eating disorders, attention disorders, anxiety, and depression. 

A growing number of professionals, however, say there is not yet enough information to prove a cause-and-effect relationship between social media and mental health of adolescents. They claim that, instead, these measures taken by Meta, as well as those proposed by Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, are a “moral panic”, a response to social and political pressure.

Judicial support for social media regulations has grown despite a lack of conclusive evidence. The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), for example, has made it to the House of Representatives. President Biden says he will pass the bill if it makes it to the White House.  Nevertheless, more research will be needed to draw concrete conclusions on the health effects of social media. 

— by Lauryn Palacio

Drug Overdose Deaths Are Dropping. The Reasons Are Not Perfectly Clear.

By Noah Weiland, The New York Times

Drug overdose deaths throughout the U.S. have faced a significant decline at around 10 percent within the past 3 years. Although scientists have developed a few theories to explain this, there is no single evident reason for these statistics.

The primary cause of drug-related deaths is fentanyl, which is a compound that is highly lethal in even a small dosage. In response, the medication naloxone, which is used to reverse the effects of an overdose, has become far more accessible to the general public than in the past. Additionally, addiction treatment regulations were loosened, so more people are able to receive help. Treatment options cannot fully rectify the problem, however, given that some may not seek to treat their addiction.

Another major contributor to the decline in overdose deaths may be the increasing substance tolerance of people suffering addiction. As they continue to use fentanyl over long periods of time, they develop the ability to gradually increase their dosages. Considering that the fentanyl crisis began around 12 years ago, some users may have biologically adapted to survive their addiction. 

Scientists are not yet able to tell whether the decrease in drug-related deaths is temporary without causation or if it is truly a step toward future reform. As time passes, researchers may come to a consensus as to how the decline originated, as well as future steps. 

— by Harika Adusumilli

Nasal Flu Vaccine Is Approved for At-Home Use

By Christina Jewett, The New York Times

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recently approved the at-home use of FluMist, a nasal flu vaccine, becoming the first influenza vaccine that can be self- or caregiver-administered at home. 

Although a prescription will still be required, AstraZeneca, FluMist’s manufacturer, will develop additional layers of consumer protection. Specifically, they plan to create a website for patients to fill out a questionnaire after physician recommendation. Their answers will then be reviewed by a pharmacist before shipping the treatment to their homes. 

The number of flu cases, as well as hospitalizations, vary from year to year. Flu-related hospitalizations from 2010 to 2023 ranged from 100,000 to 700,000 each year, with about 4,900 to 51,000 deaths, according to data from the CDC. With the at-home administration of FluMist, patients will have easier access to the vaccine and, hopefully, improve vaccination rates.

— by Alexa Morales

Microplastics found in nose tissue at base of brain, study says

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN

Researchers discovered the presence of tiny plastic shards and fibers in the nasal tissue of human cadavers, a study published in JAMA on September 16 reported. These microplastics were found in the olfactory bulb, the nasal region responsible for detecting smell, in eight out of the fifteen cadavers studied. The study’s lead author, Luís Fernando Amato-Lourenço, a microplastics researcher at the Free University of Berlin, suggested that these microplastics can travel from the olfactory bulb to other brain regions. The small size and shape of these particles allows them to bypass microglia immune cells in the blood-brain barrier, the protective membrane designed to keep harmful substances out of the brain and spinal cord.

Phoebe Stapleton, an associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Rutgers University, says that the detection of microplastics in the brain is not surprising. Moreover, she shared that these particles are likely to be widespread in tissues throughout the human body. Previous studies have discovered microplastics and nanoplastics in human brain tissue, male genitalia, human blood, lungs tissue, liver tissue, urine, feces, breast milk, and the placenta. Other studies have linked microplastics to increased risk of heart attack, stroke, and premature birth.

This recent JAMA publication provides additional evidence of the health consequences of heavy microplastic exposure. Scientists say that more research is needed to reach a consensus on whether the current evidence reflects real-world implications. In the meantime, experts recommend using stainless steel and glass containers, avoiding microwaving plastic containers, and cutting back on disposable plastics.

— by Stephanie Oehler

How Does Pregnancy Change the Brain? Clues Are Emerging. 

By Pam Belluck, The New York Times

The effects of pregnancy on the brain have been a continuing enigma, but they are now becoming better understood.

A recent study added more to what we know. The study, published in Nature Neuroscience, used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain mapping and evaluated a patient at different intervals during pregnancy. The participant had a total of 26 MRI brain images that were scanned pre-pregnancy, during pregnancy, and different years following birth. Each scan analyzed 400 distinct brain regions. This study substantiated the findings of previous studies, which showed that brain networks involved in social and emotional processing shrink during pregnancy, correlating to increases in hormones, like estrogen, during gestation.

Nine weeks into gestation, 80 percent of these 400 brain areas had decreased gray matter volume and cortical thickness. Later scans showed that this volume loss was permanent, highlighting that the pregnancy hormones have lasting effects. Neuroscientists attribute this brain shrinkage to neuronal “pruning” that allows for the brain to become more specialized and fine-tuned. The study also found that white matter fibers were able to transmit brain signals more effectively during gestation. Right after birth, the white matter fibers returned to their initial signaling conditions. 

Continuing to study the brain during pregnancy could elucidate key details in understanding the role of neurology in pregnancy-related conditions, like postpartum depression and pre-eclampsia. Additionally, supportive social and emotional measures could have a more significant impact during pregnancy because the “pruning” causes the brain to prioritize such information. There is much more to understand and subsequent studies like this can provide a way forward for maternal health.

— by Aanya Ravichander

Items contributed by: Lauryn Palacio, Harika Adusumilli, Alexa Morales Vargas, Stephanie Oehler, Aanya Ravichander