Last Month in Medicine – What’s happening in the Medical World??
Curated by Dr. Sai Lavanya Patnala & Dr. Anjali Mediboina
New Drug Authorized for UTIs and Pneumonia in Europe
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has granted a marketing authorization of Exblifep for treating adults with urinary tract infections (UTIs) and hospital-acquired pneumonia. Exblifep is a combination of cefepime, a fourth-generation cephalosporin, and enmetazobactam, a novel extended-spectrum beta-lactamase inhibitor. Exblifep was indicated in adults for the treatment of complicated urinary tract infections, including pyelonephritis, hospital-acquired pneumonia, including ventilator-associated pneumonia; or bacteremia that occurs in association with, or is suspected to be associated with, any of the above infections.
ADHD Symptoms Linked With Physical Comorbidities
A Quebec-based cohort of 2000 children aged between 5 months and 17 years was studied by a team headed by Galéra in collaboration with teams from Britain, Sweden, and Canada and noted that certain physical health issues in childhood were linked with the onset of ADHD at a later stage. They showed links between ADHD in childhood and physical health problems in adolescence including a greater risk for dental caries, infections, injuries, wounds, sleep disorders, and excess weight and restless legs syndrome. “We discovered that asthma in early childhood, injuries, sleep disturbances, epilepsy, and excess weight were associated with ADHD,” Galéra concluded.
Kiwi Fruit Proven to Improve Vitality and Mood
Vitamin C intake has been associated with improved mood, vitality, well-being, and lower depression, while vitamin C deficiency is associated with higher depression and cognitive impairment. In a study conducted by University of Otago, published in The British Journal of Nutrition, researchers found that Kiwi improved vitality and mood in as little as four days. Dr Ben Fletcher says, while vitamin C tablets showed some improvements, the study underscores the potential synergistic effects of consuming whole foods like kiwifruit.
UCSF leads First Large-Scale Study of Posterior cortical atrophy; found to predict Alzheimer’s
A team of international researchers, led by UC San Francisco, has completed the first large-scale study of posterior cortical atrophy, a constellation of visuospatial symptoms that present as the first signs of Alzheimer’s disease. These symptoms occur in up to 10% of cases of Alzheimer’s disease. Unlike memory issues, patients with PCA struggle with judging distances, distinguishing between moving and stationary objects and completing tasks like writing and retrieving a dropped item despite a normal eye exam, said co-first author Marianne Chapleau. Better understanding of PCA is “crucial for advancing both patient care and for understanding the processes that drive Alzheimer’s disease,” said senior author Gil Rabinovici, “It’s critical that doctors learn to recognize the syndrome so patients can receive the correct diagnosis, counselling and care”.
UPenn Surgeons Attached Modified Liver from Pig to Filter Blood
University of Pennsylvania announced the novel experiment where the researchers attached a liver from a pig – one genetically modified by eGenesis – to a device made by OrganOx that usually helps preserve donated human livers before transplant. The family of the deceased, whose organs were not suitable for donation, offered the body for the research. The experiment, conducted last month, filtered blood through the pig liver device for 72 hours. In a statement, the Penn team reported that the donor’s body remained stable and the pig liver showed no signs of damage.
Hepatic Infusion Pumps: New Advent In Treatment of Advanced Cholangiocarcinoma
Dutch investigators reported significantly better survival outcomes in patients with advanced, unresectable cholangiocarcinoma after treatment with hepatic arterial infusion pump. The pump has been around since at least the 1990s, developed largely at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City. The pump, placed subcutaneously on one side of the lower abdomen, is connected to a side branch of the hepatic artery and then filled with the chemotherapy agent floxuridine. Delivering floxuridine directly to the hepatic artery increases liver lesion exposure 200-fold over systemic delivery. It was also noted that using the pump requires special attention to bilirubin levels to prevent biliary toxicity and knowledge of pump placement. The response with the pump is “clearly superior” to systemic treatment, said investigator Bas Groot Koerkamp, MD. “The main advantage of the pump is that it treats the entire liver, as opposed to one lesion at a time”, he said.
New ACG Guideline Offers Recommendations for Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease
According to a new clinical guideline from the American College of Gastroenterology published in the January issue, authors recommended screening and treating Alcohol use Disorder with the goal of helping patients who have not yet developed significant liver injury and preventing progression to advanced stages of alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD), particularly among at-risk groups who have had an increasing prevalence including women, younger people, and Hispanic and American Indian patients and alcohol consumption should be avoided among those with underlying obesity, chronic hepatitis C infection, hepatitis B virus infection, or a history of gastric bypass to curb ALD.
Lund University Announces New Biomarkers to Predict Cardiovascular Disease in Diabetic Patients
An international research team, made of researchers from Lund University in Sweden, Johns Hopkins University in the US, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong conducted a comprehensive review of more than 9,000 studies from 1990 to 2021, as a part of the Precision Medicine in Diabetes Initiative (PMDI). The team analyzed a total of 195 biomarkers in order to identify the differences between individuals with T2D who had experienced cardiovascular disease and those who had not. 13 biomarkers were found to show a significant association with cardiovascular risk in the diabetic population, of which, the peptide hormone NT-proBNP, was highlighted as a promising risk marker.
New Study Confirms ‘Stevia’ does not alter Gut Microbiota
In a recent study published in Nutrients, researchers investigated the impact of 12 weeks of regular consumption of stevia, non-nutritive sweeteners (NNSs), on the human gut microbiota composition, diversity, and community structure in healthy, normal-weight adults. The results suggested that stevia had no significant impact on the microbiota composition but, it did significantly impact the microbiota function and had a prominent impact on fatty acid biosynthesis. There were no notable differences in overall community composition after 12 weeks of regular stevia consumption. Thus, regular long-term consumption of stevia does not seem to impact the human gut microbiota significantly.
WHO Releases Guidelines on the Ethics and Governance of LMMs
AI is one of the fastest developing technology, with LMMs such as ChatGPT having many uses within healthcare including diagnosis, scientific research and drug development, medical training, administration, and for use by patients themselves to assess symptoms. While these models have many benefits, the risks associated must also be recognized, especially in lower and middle income countries, and have been outlined by the WHO in their latest guideline.
UK to Ban Disposable Vapes
UK has announced plans to ban disposable vapes, use less colorful packaging and limit the number of flavors available, in order to make vaping “less appealing for children”. In their statement, the government recognized the usefulness of vaping to quit smoking, but emphasized the alarming rates of e-cigarette usage among minors.
Cannabis Use Linked to Higher Prevalence of Asthma
A paper by Goodwin et al. “Asthma prevalence among US 9th–12th graders who report past 30‐day cannabis use in 2019” examined and found significant the associations between cannabis use and asthma prevalence among high schoolers; the results of the study reiterate the need for guidelines and health policies to minimize potential risks and prevent adverse health outcomes.
