Paracetamol may help protect against kidney damage in patients with malaria, according to a study recently published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
The study found that for patients with severe malaria caused by the malaria parasite Plasmodium knowlesi (the most common cause of malaria in Malaysia), taking paracetamol regularly for 3 days led to improvements in kidney function when tested one week later.
The findings are important because they will help provide the best possible treatment to patients with severe malaria, said study leader Dr Daniel Cooper.
“Even minor kidney injury can have long-term effects, so anything we can do to minimise kidney injury from malaria will be beneficial for these patients’ long-term outcomes,” Dr Cooper said.
In collaboration with international partners, the study involved 396 people with knowlesi malaria in Sabah, Malaysia.
Assistant Professor Bridget Barber said that in severe malaria, red blood cells can rupture, releasing haemoglobin which can have a toxic impact on kidneys, and it is now believed that paracetamol can help to mitigate these toxic effects.
“These results are consistent with other studies conducted in patients with other forms of malaria, including in adults in Bangladesh, and in children in Africa. Importantly, these findings also suggest that paracetamol may help to protect the kidneys in other conditions that are also associated with rupture of red blood cells,” A/Prof Barber said.
Sleep bruxism, nocturnal teeth grinding and clenching of the upper and lower jaw, can have a number of health impacts. A new study published in the Journal of Advanced Research found that certain tooth shapes and tooth locations could well lead to temporomandibular joint problems as a result of bruxism.
About 15% of the population grind their teeth while they are asleep, a condition which is more common among younger people. The\ pressure exerted on tooth surfaces and on the jaws can be immense and is thought to cause various dental health problems. It can also result in pain in the jaw muscles and headaches. Specific combinations of tooth shape and tooth location during grinding are theorised to have an influence on the mechanical load on the temporomandibular joint and can thus be considered a risk factor for temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders.
To investigate whether sleep bruxism has a negative impact on the TMJ structures, researchers used a state-of-the-art computer model of the masticatory region, which includes bone, cartilage and muscular structures. Such computer models can be used to investigate research questions when direct studies on patients are not feasible on ethical grounds.
The study investigated two factors thought to be involved: tooth shape and location, The study simulated the effects of lateral grinding on the first molar and on the canine with six different wear facet inclinations, resulting in a total of twelve simulated scenarios.
“Our results show that both the inclination and location of the wear facets have an influence on the strength of the mechanical load on the temporomandibular joint,” explained study leader Benedikt Sagl. “However, it would appear that the decisive factor is the steepness of the grinding facet. The flatter the tooth, the higher the loading on the joint and therefore the higher the risk of a TMJ disorder.” Conversely, if the dental cusps involved in bruxism have a steeper angle of inclination, the calculated joint loading was lower, even with the same “grinding force” (bruxing force). Further research, coupled with clinical investigations, will seek to establish whether this finding can be incorporated into the development of therapeutic interventions for sleep bruxism.
A project sequencing the Candida glabrata genome has revealed insights into the pathogenic fungus’s virulence and resistance, which researchers found to have been enhanced by transmission through humans as they travel between continents. The project’s findings appear in Genetics.
C. glabrata is an opportunistic human fungal pathogen that causes superficial mucosal and life-threatening bloodstream infections in individuals with a compromised immune system. It most commonly affects the urinary tract, genitals, mouth, and the bloodstream. If it is not caught, these infections can become deadly. It is also very resistant to certain antifungal drugs, so understanding why resistance occurs is key to knowing how to treat it effectively.
Using samples from eight hospitals in Scotland to sequence the genome of C. glabrata, new insights on the species were made. This includes information on how it reproduces and its genetic diversity. Genes increasing its infectivity also confer an advantage for survival, and the drug-resistance genes often evolve within patients.
These findings provide scientists with an advantage in treating fungus, allowing research to focus in ways that were not possible before. It also helps aid understanding on how the pathogen spreads, which is important to identifying infections.
Dr Rhys Farrer, one of the Principal Investigators at the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology at the University of Exeter, said: “Our study sheds new light on the genetic diversity of Candida glabrata. We have demonstrated that this deadly human fungal pathogen is being spread between continents, probably by humans, and recombining to form new populations, which is likely contributing to its high virulence and increasing drug resistance.”
By using a bioreactor aboard a flight that simulated zero gravity, researchers have found that the reason why women have a greater risk of developing knee osteoarthritis is down to genetic differences in knee meniscus tissue.
Better tests, prevention and treatments could be developed for knee osteoarthritis in women here on Earth, based on this research.
Though knee osteoarthritis is more common in females than in males, the difference cannot be explained solely by hormones. The researchers have pinpointed a genetic difference in the meniscus that makes about 50% of females more vulnerable to developing osteoarthritis than males or other females. Exposure to zero gravity is known to mimic the ageing process, as muscles atrophy and bones lose density. The zero gravity environment of space has greatly contributed to medical research.
Researchers ran the experiment aboard an aircraft flying in parabolic arcs to specially simulate zero gravity conditions, to mimic the damage that can happen to the meniscus due to lack of exercise.
“Some of the genes that were found in the females that responded more to simulated space microgravity were also associated with the development of knee osteoarthritis,” said principal investigator Adetola Adesida, professor of surgery in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry.
The results suggest that a blood test could screen for the high-risk gene, allowing for early interventions such as physiotherapy, and eventually even drug therapy. It might also allow women to stay in space longer.
“We’ve uncovered the mechanisms that lead to this higher response, and we are hoping to develop drugs to target those pathways and block those responses,” Adesida said.
Previously thought to be rather unimportant, meniscus acts as a load distributor for the body’s full weight. However, it is now known that just a small tear in the meniscus, often from a sports injury, increases the risk of later osteoarthritis, even if the damaged tissue has been removed. On the other hand, lack of use can also lead to deconditioning of the meniscus and increase arthritis risk.
Knee osteoarthritis is the most common joint problem, affecting an estimated 250 million people worldwide, including 14% of females older than 60 and 10% of males in the same age group.
Prof Adesida’s team has developed bioengineered meniscus tissue grown from cells that have been removed from the damaged menisci of otherwise healthy individuals. The hope is one day to be able to replace damaged tissue through transplant, preventing the development of knee osteoarthritis.
For their experiment on sex differences, the team studied how the bioengineered tissue functioned while at rest and under mechanical loading and unloading conditions. For the loading, they used a device that exerted hydrostatic pressure on the cells. For the unloading, they put the cells into a bioreactor designed by NASA to fly aboard the zero-gravity aircraft.
“Our loading and unloading experiment mimics what we actually see in a clinical situation where the development of spaceflight microgravity-induced knee osteoarthritic changes is possible,” he said.
“This will help us to have human relevant models to study knee osteoarthritis in the future. And our research has both Earth benefits and space benefits.”
Analysis of a large representative database shows that e-cigarette use is associated with an increased risk of prediabetes, posing a new concern for public health.
“Our study demonstrated a clear association of prediabetes risk with the use of e-cigarettes,” explained lead researcher Shyam Biswal, PhD, at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “With both e-cigarette use and prevalence of prediabetes dramatically on the rise in the past decade, our discovery that e-cigarettes carry a similar risk to traditional cigarettes with respect to diabetes is important for understanding and treating vulnerable individuals.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), traditional cigarette smokers are 30% to 40% more likely than non-smokers to develop type 2 diabetes, which increases their risk for cardiovascular diseases. e-cigarettes are sometimes promoted as a healthier option for cigarette smokers, and e-cigarettes use is rising among younger demographics.
The study analysed 2016–2018 data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), the largest annual nationally representative health survey of US adults. Among the 600 046 respondents, 9% were current e-cigarette users who self-reported prediabetes diagnoses. The data also showed that e-cigarette users have a higher prevalence of high-risk lifestyle factors and worse self-related mental and physical health status than non-smokers.
In this representative sample of US adults, e-cigarette use was associated with greater odds of prediabetes compared to those who did not use e-cigarettes or traditional cigarettes – a worrying link from a public health standpoint.
“We were surprised by the findings associating prediabetes with e-cigarettes because they are touted as a safer alternative, which we now know is not the case,” commented Dr Biswal. “In the case of cigarette smoking, nicotine has a detrimental effect on insulin action, and it appears that e-cigarettes may also have the same effect.”
Prediabetes is fortunately a reversible condition, given appropriate lifestyle management. The authors make a compelling recommendation for targeting the reduction in e-cigarette use and education of young adults to reduce diabetes risk.
“Our effort for smoking cessation has led to a decrease in smoking traditional cigarettes. With this information, it is time for us to ramp up our public health efforts to promote the cessation of e-cigarettes,” cautioned Dr Biswal.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines prediabetes as a state of intermediate hyperglycaemia using impaired fasting glucose, defined as fasting plasma glucose of 6.1–6.9 mmol/L (110 to 125 mg/dL) and impaired glucose tolerance defined as 2h plasma glucose of 7.8–11.0mmol/L (140–200 mg/dL) after ingestion of 75g of oral glucose or a combination of the two based on a 2h oral glucose tolerance test. It is estimated that by 2030, more than 470 million people worldwide will be diagnosed with prediabetes.
