Day: August 16, 2022

Categories : Antibiotics COVIDTags : Leave a comment

The COVID Pandemic has Worsened Antimicrobial Resistance

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Mufid Majnun on Unsplash

The COVID pandemic has set back years of progress against antimicrobial resistance, with resistant hospital-onset infections and deaths increasing by at least 15% in the first year of the pandemic alone, according to a new  report from the US CDC.

About 3 million people in the US are infected with antimicrobial-resistant pathogens, often acquired in healthcare settings, with about 50 000 people dying. Some estimates predict that by 2050, there could be more deaths from antibiotic resistance than from cancer.

Corrie Detweiler, a professor of molecular, cellular, and developmental biology at CU Boulder, has spent her career trying to develop solutions to antimicrobial-resistance. CU Boulder Today spoke with her about why so many antimicrobial drugs won’t work anymore, how COVID made things worse and what can be done to make things better.

Prior to the pandemic, how were we doing in addressing this issue?

“A lot of progress had been made, particularly in hospital-acquired infections, based on a better understanding of the problem and better guidelines about when to use antibiotics. Between 2012 and 2017, for instance, deaths from antimicrobial resistance fell by 18% overall and nearly 30% in hospitals. That all fell apart during COVID.”

Why? How did COVID spawn an uptick?

We didn’t know how to treat COVID, and, understandably, there was a fair amount of chaos in the medical system. People were using antibiotics more, often inappropriately. About 80% of COVID patients received antibiotics. People were given them prophylactically, prior to knowing they had a lung bacterial infection. That’s not to say that none of (the patients) needed them. Some did. But the more you use antibiotics, the more you select for resistance. And that’s how you eventually get a superbug. 

What can society do to address this? 

First, we need to go back to this idea of stewardship in hospitals – to only give out antibiotics when there is a clear need. We were doing the right thing. And then something terrible came along and messed it up, and it demonstrated that what we were doing was working well. That’s a good thing. Second, we need to discover and develop novel classes of antibiotics. The last time a new class of antibiotics hit the market was in 1984. The fundamental problem is that they’re not profitable to develop, compared to say a cancer drug. You can go to the drugstore and get a course of amoxicillin for $8. We need programs that reward industry and academic labs like ours for doing the early research.

What does your lab do?

We’re using basic biology to try to figure out new ways to kill bacteria during an infection and identify compounds that work differently than existing drugs. 

Source: University of Colorado

Categories : Healthcare Politics and Regulations HospitalsTags : Leave a comment

Battling to Increase Nurse Numbers, SA Looks Abroad

On By ModernMedia
Image by Hush Naidoo from Unsplash
Image by Hush Naidoo from Unsplash

The addition of specialist nurses by the Department of Home Affairs to the critical skills list has drawn renewed attention to and criticism of the chronic shortage of nurses in South Africa.

According to a statement by Life Healthcare last year, the country would need as many 26 000 additional nurses in 2022 to meet growing demand.

“Nurses have been on the frontline of the efforts to combat COVID for over two years. They are understandably exhausted and require our support as they continue to deliver quality care to our patients,” the group said, adding that it was embarking on programme to train an additional 3000 nurses per year.

In an open letter on the situation, the Hospital Association of South Africa (HASA) said that there was considerable training capacity and willingness from private sector hospitals, while also noting that the transition to new nursing qualifications has interrupted nurse training.

Last week, following engagement with the Minister of Health, South African Nursing Council, Health Professions Council of South Africa, public hospital CEOs and other experts, the DHA published an updated critical skills list, which was expanded to include specialist nurses and medical specialists.

The registered nurse specialties are intensive/critical care, psychiatric, peri-operative, trauma and paediatric nursing, as well as midwife specialists.

What many seen as the government’s inaction over the situation has not gone without criticism.

Speaking to the the Sunday Tribune, Sibongiseni Delihlazo of the Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA said that they were “extremely angry that we have to import specialist nurses because of the government’s actions.”

He points to falling numbers of nurses being produced each year and the shutting of nursing colleges as a sign of government neglect. World Health Organization studies showed a worldwide nursing shortage of 10 million positions by 2030, which needed an 8% annual increase in new nurses.

“Our country has not adhered to the warning, but has done the opposite,” he said.

Delihlazo said that most nursing students received government funding which was drying up, yet the population growth continued as did public healthcare system demand.

Public healthcare was not releasing nurses for specialist training, as doing so would cause the system to crumbled, Delihlazo said. In addition, local nurses are being effectively poached by first world nations.

“We could have produced our own nurses in a country with serious unemployment issues. The government doesn’t have a strategy to keep our nurses,” he said.

Categories : GeneticsTags : Leave a comment

Research Reveals Many More Epigenetic Influences on Offspring

On By ModernMedia
Pregnant with ultrasound image
Source: Pixabay

New research suggests that epigenetic information, which turns DNA sections on or off, and is normally reset between generations, is more frequently carried from mother to offspring than previously thought. The findings were published in Nature Communications.

Despite not directly altering the DNA sequence, epigenetic mechanisms can regulate gene expression through chemical modifications of DNA bases and changes to the chromosomal superstructure in which DNA is packaged.

These epigenetic changes can be induced through various such as diet and stress. While epigenetic modifications are reversible, it was thought that they rarely remain through generations in humans despite persisting through multiple cycles of cell replication.

Epigenetic changes can be influenced by environmental variations such as our diet, but these changes do not alter DNA and are normally not passed from parent to offspring.

The new research reveals that the supply of a specific protein in the mother’s egg can affect the genes that drive skeletal patterning of offspring. 

Chief investigator Professor Marnie Blewitt said the findings initially left the team surprised.

“It took us a while to process because our discovery was unexpected,” Professor Blewitt said.

“Knowing that epigenetic information from the mother can have effects with life-long consequences for body patterning is exciting, as it suggests this is happening far more than we ever thought.

“It could open a Pandora’s box as to what other epigenetic information is being inherited.”

The research examined the protein SMCHD1, an epigenetic regulator discovered by Prof Blewitt in 2008, and Hox genes, which control the identity of each vertebra during embryonic development in mammals. The epigenetic regulator prevents these genes from being activated too soon.

In this study, the researchers discovered that the amount of SMCHD1 in the mother’s egg affects the activity of Hox genes and influences the patterning of the embryo. Without maternal SMCHD1 in the egg, offspring were born with altered skeletal structures.  

First author and PhD researcher Natalia Benetti said this was clear evidence that epigenetic information had been inherited from the mother, rather than just DNA.

“While we have more than 20 000 genes in our genome, only that rare subset of about 150 imprinted genes and very few others have been shown to carry epigenetic information from one generation to another,” Benetti said.

“Knowing this is also happening to a set of essential genes that have been evolutionarily conserved from flies through to humans is fascinating.”

The research showed that SMCHD1 in the egg, which only persists for two days after conception, has a life-long impact.

SMCHD1 variants are linked to developmental disorder Bosma arhinia microphthalmia syndrome (BAMS) and facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), a form of muscular dystrophy. The researchers say their findings could have implications for women with SMCHD1 variants and their children in the future.

Research is underway on using on SMCHD1 to design novel therapies to treat developmental disorders, such as Prader Willi Syndrome and the degenerative disorder FSHD.

Source: The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research

Categories : Obstetrics & Gynaecology PaediatricsTags : Leave a comment

Increased Odds of ADHD Symptoms in Children Born Before 39 Weeks

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Christian Bowen on Unsplash

Among children born at term (37–41 weeks), those born before 39 weeks are more likely to experience symptoms associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a study published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

ADHD manifests early in childhood with symptoms of hyperactivity, impulsivity or inattention, and has known links to preterm birth (less than 37 weeks gestation). The present study is one of only a handful to investigate the associations between gestational age at term and a diagnosis or symptoms of ADHD. It is the first to include reports from teachers.

“Teachers’ reports, in conjunction with maternal reports and physician evaluations, provide valuable input for the diagnosis of ADHD,” said study author Nancy Reichman, author of the study and a professor of paediatrics at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. “Mother-reported symptoms generally reflect behaviours in the home or in small family or social groups, while teacher-reported symptoms reflect behaviours in a structured educational setting by professionals who work with a large number of children and observe the range of behaviours that students exhibit in classrooms.”

Prof Reichman and her team set out to estimate the link between gestational age at term and 9-year-old children’s teacher-reported ADHD symptoms.

The team analysed data on about 1400 children in a birth cohort study that randomly sampled births from large US hospitals 1998 to 2000 and re-interviewed mothers over nine years as well as teachers’ evaluations using the Conners’ Teacher Rating Scale-Revised Short Form.

The researchers found that children born early-term (37-38 weeks) had significantly higher scores on the teacher rating scales than children who were full-term (39-41 weeks) for hyperactivity, ADHD and cognitive problems or inattention, but that gestational age wasn’t significantly associated with oppositional behaviour.

Specifically, the researchers found that each week of gestational age at term was associated with 6% lower hyperactivity scores and 5% lower ADHD and cognitive problems or inattention scores, and that birth at 37 to 38 weeks was associated with 23% higher hyperactivity scores and 17% higher ADHD scores when compared with birth at 39 to 41 weeks.

“The findings add to growing evidence supporting current recommendations for delaying elective deliveries to at least 39 weeks and suggest that regular screenings for ADHD symptoms are important for children born at 37 to 38 weeks,” Prof Reichman said.

Preterm infants are at greater risk for ADHD because of immature brain development, she said. “Significant growth and development in various kinds of brain cells are observed between 34 and 40 weeks of gestation,” said Reichman. “Infants born at full-term likely benefit from the additional one to two weeks of brain growth in utero compared with those born early-term.”

Source: Rutgers University

Categories : Diseases, Syndromes and ConditionsTags : Leave a comment

Asymptomatic Detection of Monkeypox Suggests it is More Widespread

On By ModernMedia
Colourised transmission electron micrograph of monkeypox virus particles (green) cultivated and purified from cell culture. Credit: NIAID

A brief research report in Annals of Internal Medicine documents positive monkeypox virus PCR results found in anal samples taken from asymptomatic MSM (men who have sex with men). These findings suggest that vaccination limited to those with known exposure to the monkeypox virus may not be an effective strategy for preventing infection.

The findings come as the World Health Organization has renamed the variants, or clades, of monkeypox from their previous geographically-derived names to Roman numerals, eg, the former Congo Basin (Central African) clade is now Clade one (I). It is also seeking inputs on a possible new name for the virus in order to avoid stigmatisation.

Researchers from Bichat–Claude Bernard Hospital, Paris, retrospectively performed testing for monkeypox virus on all anorectal swabs that were collected as part of a sexually transmitted infection screening program. This type of screening is performed every three months among MSM with multiple sexual partners who are either taking HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) or living with HIV and receiving antiretroviral treatment. Of the 200 asymptomatic persons screened that were negative for N. gonorrhoeae and C. trachomatis, 13 (6.5%) samples were PCR positive for monkeypox virus.  Two of the 13 later developed symptoms of monkeypox.

While it is not know whether asymptomatic transmission will play a role in the current worldwide monkeypox epidemic and the mode of human-to-human transmission may provide evidence that asymptomatic or preclinical spread can occur. In an accompanying editorial, Stuart N. Isaacs, MD, at the University of Pennsylvania, suggests that an expanded ring vaccination strategy and other public health interventions in the highest-risk communities are likely needed to help control the outbreak. 

Source: EurekAlert!