Day: September 12, 2022

Categories : Cardiovascular Disease VaccinesTags :

Flu Vaccine May Reduce Ischaemic Stroke Risk

On By ModernMedia
Source: Pixabay CC0

Receiving an annual flu vaccination may be linked to a reduction in risk of ischaemic stroke, according to a study which appears online in the journal Neurology.

“Studies have shown that getting the flu increases your risk of having a stroke, but research is still being collected on whether getting the flu vaccine can help protect against a stroke,” said study author Francisco J. de Abajo, MD, MPH, PhD, of the University of Alcalá in Madrid. “This observational study suggests that those who have a flu shot have a lower risk of stroke. To determine whether this is due to a protective effect of the vaccine itself or to other factors, more research is needed.”

In their study, the researchers accessed a health care database in Spain, identifying 14 322 participants aged 40 years and over with a first stroke over a 14-year period. Each person who had a stroke was matched to five people of the same age and sex who did not have a stroke.

Then the researchers looked at whether people had received the influenza vaccine at least 14 days before the stroke or before that same date for those who did not have a stroke.

A total of 41.4% of those who had a stroke had received the flu vaccine, compared to 40.5% of those who did not have a stroke – seemingly indicating that the flu jab added to risk. But those vaccinated were more likely to be older and to have other stroke risk factors such as hypertension and high cholesterol. Once these were adjusted for, the researchers found that those who received a flu shot had a 12% reduced stroke risk.

The pneumonia vaccine was also investigated for any effect on the risk of stroke, but none was found.

“These results are yet another reason for people to get their yearly flu shot, especially if they are at an increased risk of stroke,” de Abajo said. “To be able to reduce your risk of stroke by taking such a simple action is very compelling.”

Since the study was observational, it only shows an association and cannot prove a causal link. Other unmeasured factors could also mediate stroke risk,

Source: American Academy of Neurology

Categories : Metabolic Disorders Obstetrics & GynaecologyTags :

Obesity and Diabetes in Pregnancy may Raise Child’s ADHD Risk

On By ModernMedia
Boy hanging from tree
Photo by Annie Spratt on Pexels

A recent study has found that children born to women with gestational diabetes and obesity may have twice the risk of developing attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) compared to those born to mothers without obesity. The findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, also found found that in women with a healthy weight gain during pregnancy, this risk increase was not seen.

ADHD is a growing problem. According to data from 2016-2019, 6 million children aged 3–17 years have received an ADHD. Maternal obesity is a major risk factor for ADHD in children, and roughly 30% of women have obesity at their first doctor’s visit during pregnancy, rising to 47% in women with gestational diabetes. Excessive weight gain during pregnancy in this population is a risk factor for children developing ADHD.

“Our study found pregnant women with obesity and gestational diabetes had children with long-term mental health disorders such as ADHD,” said Verónica Perea, MD, PhD, of the Hospital Universitari Mutua Terrassa in Barcelona. “We did not find this association when these women gained a healthy amount of weight during pregnancy.”

Studying 1036 children born to women with gestational diabetes, the researchers found that 13% of these children were diagnosed with ADHD. When compared to mothers without obesity, the researchers found children of women with gestational diabetes and obesity were twice as likely to have ADHD compared to those born to mothers without obesity.

Notably, this association was only seen in women with gestational diabetes, obesity and excessive weight gain during pregnancy. There was no increased risk of ADHD in children of women with gestational diabetes and obesity if the amount of weight these women gained during pregnancy was within the normal range.

“It’s important for clinicians to counsel their patients on the importance of healthy weight gain during pregnancy,” Perea said.

Source: The Endocrine Society

Categories : CancerTags :

Suffocating Cancer Cells to Quash Metastasis

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Lung cancer cells metastasising. Source: National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

Researchers have eliminated cells derived from untreatable metastatic cancer by disrupting the cellular components that are responsible for converting oxygen into chemical energy. The results are published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Treatment of cancer is a a long battle because surviving cancer cells often evolve into aggressive, untreatable forms. Hence, treatment plans often involve multiple drug combinations and/or radiation therapy in order to prevent cancer relapse. To combat the variety of cancer cell types, modern drugs have been developed to target specific biochemical processes that are unique within each cell type.

However, cancer cells are highly adaptive and able to develop mechanisms to avoid the effects of the treatment. “We want to prevent such adaptation by invading the main pillar of cellular life – how cells breathe – that means take up oxygen – and thus produce chemical energy for growth,” explained David Ng, group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P).

The research team produced a synthetic drug that travels into cells where it reacts to conditions found inside and triggers a chemical process. This allows the drug’s molecules to bind together and form tiny hairs that are a thousand times thinner than human hair. “These hairs are fluorescent, so you can look at them directly with a microscope as they form,” said first author Zhixuan Zhou, an Alexander von Humboldt fellow.

The scientists monitored the oxygen consumption in different cell types and found that these tiny hairs prevent all of them from converting oxygen into the energy deliver molecule ATP. The process worked even for those cells derived from untreatable metastatic cancer, with the cells dying off within four hours. After some more years of research, the scientists hope that they can develop a new method to treat up-to-now untreatable cancer.

Weil, Ng and colleagues have shown an exciting outcome under controlled laboratory culture and will continue to unravel deeper insights on the basis of how these tiny hairs prevent the conversion of oxygen to chemical energy. With further development, these objects could in the future possibly also be manipulated to control other cellular processes to address other important diseases.

Source: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research

Categories : Skeletal SystemTags :

Weight Loss Protects against Structural Defects of Knee Osteoarthritis

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Researchers conducting long-term follow ups of adults given knee X-rays found that a decrease in body mass index (BMI) was associated with both a lower incidence of the structural defects of knee osteoarthritis. Published in Arthritis & Rheumatology, also found reduced odds of these defects progressing.

In the study radiographic analyses were conducted of adults’ knees with and without the structural defects of knee osteoarthritis at baseline and at 4 to 5 years’ follow up from adults. A total of 9683 knees (from 5774 individuals) were assessed in an ‘incidence cohort’ along with 6075 knees (from 3988 individuals) in a ‘progression cohort.’

The researchers observed that a 1-unit drop in BMI was linked to a 4.76% reduction in odds of the incidence and progression of knee osteoarthritis. A 5-unit BMI drop, which can downgrade a BMI category (eg, from overweight to normal), reduced the odds of incidence and progression by 21.65%.

“These findings could be empowering for people with or at risk of knee osteoarthritis,” said lead author Zubeyir Salis, BEng, and a PhD student for Public Health at the University of New South Wales in Australia. “The current prevailing view is that knee osteoarthritis is part of ageing and that we have no control over it. However, my analyses suggest that some people could potentially prevent, slow or delay knee osteoarthritis by losing weight.”

Source: Wiley