McDonald’s determines source of E.coli outbreak; New study finds another sign of concussion; Poor sleep linked to faster brain aging – Morning Medical Update

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McDonald’s determines source of E.coli outbreak

On Thursday, McDonald’s determined the source of a recent deadly E.coli outbreak across the nation. Supplier Taylor Farms is responsible for the outbreak after all Quarter Pounders were pulled off the restaurant’s menu due to the quality of the onions provided by them.

The FDA and the CDC found that the onions were a likely source of contamination but told NBC they’re still looking at all possible sources as they continue to investigate Taylor Farms. The supplier announced a recall of four raw onion products the day prior, warning of “potential E.coli contamination.” Customers were urged to destroy the affected products as soon as possible, with several food chains in Colorado, such as Illegal Pete’s and Taco Bell, removing onions from their menus.

Currently, 49 people have been diagnosed with E.coli infections linked to the outbreak, with one death and 10 hospitalizations throughout the U.S. Read more about the outbreak here.

New study finds another sign of concussion

A new study from Advances in the Diagnosis and Management of Sports Medicine suggests that the common gesture of shaking one’s head after a hard hit could be a sign of a concussion. The research believes spotting the movement could help significantly decrease the number of undiagnosed concussions, especially among young athletes.

Researchers surveyed hundreds of young adults who had played a sport in high school, college, or semiprofessionally, finding that most of them were familiar with the gesture and experienced it themselves more than once. In nearly three out of four cases, the adolescents studied said they got a concussion at the time they noticed the movement, which the researchers refer to as “SHAAKE.”

“Based on our data, SHAAKE is a reliable signal that a concussion may have occurred, like an athlete clutching their head after contact, being slow to get up, or losing their balance,” Dan Daneshvar, who is also chief of brain injury rehabilitation at Spaulding Rehabilitation and Harvard Medical School, said. “Just like after these other concussion signs, if athletes exhibit a SHAAKE, they should be removed from play and evaluated for a potential concussion.”

Poor sleep linked with faster brain aging

New research is advocating the importance of protecting one’s brain health after a study published in the online journal Neurology found people with poor sleep quality have more signs of poor brain health in late middle age.

With 589 participants, people who reported two to three poor sleep characteristics — such as short sleep duration, bad sleep quality, difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, early morning awakening, and daytime sleepiness — had an average brain age that was 1.6 years older than those with no more than one poor sleep characteristic. Those with more than three poor sleep characteristics had an average brain age of 2.6 years older.

"These findings show how important sleep is for our brains, especially as we get older. Getting enough good sleep can help keep our minds sharp and our overall health strong," Shelby Harris, a clinical psychologist specializing in behavioral sleep medicine and director of sleep health at Sleepopolis, said.