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Behavior symptoms may return if people with Alzheimer’s disease stop taking a medicine that has helped them, a new study suggests. Some people with Alzheimer’s disease have symptoms of psychosis. For example, they may hear or see things that aren’t there or have false beliefs (delusions). Some may become anxious, angry or violent. Some people get symptom relief from risperidone (Risperdal) or other anti-psychotic drugs. But other research has found that Alzheimer’s patients taking such drugs may die sooner. U.S. drug guidelines recommend careful monitoring of these patients. The new study included 110 people with Alzheimer’s. All of them had taken risperidone for 4 months and had responded well. They were randomly divided into 3 groups. One group kept taking the drug for 8 months. One continued for 4 months, then switched to placebo (fake) pills.

Not getting enough sleep may change the way cells handle insulin, increasing people’s risk of diabetes, a new study finds. Other research has linked a lack of sleep to a higher risk of obesity and diabetes. The new study looked at the effects of sleep on cells. It included 7 healthy young adults of normal weight. They were randomly assigned to sleep either 8.5 hours or 4.5 hours in a sleep lab for 4 nights in a row. Then everyone did the opposite sleep regime for another 4 nights. This took place 4 weeks later. After each 4-day cycle, researchers took samples of belly fat cells. After the sleep-deprived period, fat cells were 30% less able to respond to insulin. This is the hormone that helps move sugar (glucose) from the blood to other body cells. When cells “resist” insulin, the pancreas has to make more of it.

A daily multiple vitamin may slightly reduce cancer risk in older men, a new study suggests. Many studies have found no benefit from high doses of single vitamins. But the new study looked instead at standard multivitamins. The study included 14,641 male doctors age 50 or older. They were randomly divided into groups. One group took a daily multiple vitamin. The other group took a placebo, or fake pill. After an average of 11 years, researchers compared cancer rates. Men who took the multivitamin were 8% less likely to be diagnosed with a new cancer than those who took the placebo. About half of the cancers were in the prostate. Most of them were early stage, with high odds of survival. There was also little difference in prostate cancer rates between the two groups. So researchers decided to look just at other cancers.