TOP MEDICAL NEWS 19/July/2022

Young patients undergoing hip surgery who have a shallower hip bone socket are at risk for a repeat operation, according to research presented today at the American Orthopaedic Society of Sports Medicine 2022 Annual Meeting.

Researchers enrolled 87 patients under age 19 (average age 16.27 years with 73.6 percent of patients female) who underwent surgery for Femoroacetabular Impingement.

Enrolled patients underwent primary surgery (56 surgical dislocations vs 31 arthroscopes) for Femoroacetabular Impingement. Ten of the patients underwent re-operation (11.5%) at an average of 20.6 months from primary surgery. No differences were found in demographics, activity, surgery type, labral disease, or alpha angle for re-operation vs. non-reoperation.

Reference: "Young hip surgery patients can avoid repeat surgeries with better prediction methods"; AMERICAN ORTHOPAEDIC SOCIETY FOR SPORTS MEDICINE.

Alcohol consumption carries significant health risks, except elder people might have benefits

Young people face higher health risks from alcohol consumption than older adults, according to a new analysis published in The Lancet. This is the first study to report alcohol risk by geographical region, age, sex, and year. It suggests that global alcohol consumption recommendations should be based on age and location, with the strictest guidelines targeted toward males between ages 15-39, who are at the greatest risk of harmful alcohol consumption worldwide.

The analysis suggests that for young adults ages 15-39, there are no health benefits to drinking alcohol, only health risks, with 59.1% of people who consumed unsafe amounts of alcohol in 2020 between ages 15-39 years and 76.7% male.

Reference: "THE LANCET: Alcohol consumption carries significant health risks and no benefits for young people some older adults may benefit from drinking a small amount of alcohol"; THE LANCET.

New antibody therapy shows promise Pediatric brain

Effective and safe treatments are needed for medulloblastoma, the most common type of cancerous brain tumor in children, especially whose cancer has spread to the spinal cord. A recent phase I clinical trial led by researchers has generated promising results for a new blocking antibody therapy that targets a protein critical to medulloblastoma cells' ability to multiply and spread. The findings are published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

The antibody, called TB-403, recognizes placental growth factor (PlGF), over-expressed in some types of malignant tumors. The MGH research team previously showed that placental growth factor and its receptor neuropilin 1 (NRP1) are often overexpressed in human medulloblastomas and are required for its growth and progression in experimental models in mice. That work also demonstrated that blocking the PlGF/NRP1 pathway in medulloblastoma models caused tumor regression, decreased spread to the spinal cord, and prolonged survival.

Reference: "New antibody therapy shows promising phase I clinical trial results for advanced, treatment-refractory pediatric brain cancer; MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL,Clinical Cancer Research.

Just half of parents recognize screen time impact on children's eye health

The nationally-representative report was based on responses from 2,002 parents of children ages 3-18 surveyed in April. Some experts have pointed to the combination of increased screen time and less time outdoors as factors that may put children at higher risk for developing myopia, or nearsightedness, which can lead to serious eye problems in the future. The rate of nearsightedness in children has increased dramatically in the past 30 years.

Research is ongoing but studies suggest outdoor time protects against myopia. Parents should encourage at least one to two hours of outdoor time per day because exposure to natural light benefits eye development, said researchers.

Reference: "Just half of parents recognize screen time impact on children's eye health"; MICHIGAN MEDICINE - UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN.