20/January/2022 Top Medical Bulletin

Here are todays top medical stories

Cardiac resynchronization therapy has better survival than an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator in eligible elderly patients

Cardiac death is the leading cause of  mortality despite several procedures to manage them, the benefits of CRT in this group are largely unknown because interventionists prefer implanting an ICD device due to concerns over complication rates with CRT in this age group.

A recent study published in JACC CE challenges this belief and has shown that CRT-D implantation is associated with a lower hazard of mortality in patients ≥74 years of age and lower hazard of HF hospitalization in those ≥85 years of age. These findings support the use of CRT in eligible older patients undergoing ICD implantation.

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Cardiac resynchronization therapy has better survival than ICD in eligible elderly patients: JACC study 

Rapid weight swings closely related with decreased kidney functions 

Obesity is the gateway of several diseases and also the underlying cause for several chronic diseases. Bodyweight fluctuations were strongly related to an increased risk of fast renal function decline in persons with normal kidney function, according to a recent study.

This study was conducted by Young Su Joo and team with an objective to look at the impact of body weight fluctuations on renal function degradation in a prospective cohort of people with normal kidney function. The findings of this study were published in Obesity, journal of The Obesity Society on 9th December, 2021.

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Rapid weight swings closely related with decreased kidney functions: Study

FDA Approves Schizophrenia Drug for Patients Aged 13-17 Years

Schizophrenia in kids is popularly known to affect their mental health and quality of life.The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved brexipiprazole for treating schizophrenia for patients aged 13-17 years. REXULTI was approved in the U.S. in 2015 for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults and for adjunctive treatment of major depressive disorder in adults.

Diagnosis of childhood schizophrenia involves ruling out other mental health disorders and determining that symptoms aren't due to alcohol or drug use, medication or a medical condition.

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FDA Approves Schizophrenia Drug for Patients Aged 13-17 Years

Maternal COVID-19 infection increases risks of preterm birth, low birth weight and stillbirth

Covid- 19 despit taking million of lives continues its impact on pregnant women and the foetus. People who contracted COVID-19 while pregnant were more likely to have poor birth outcomes including preterm birth, small for gestational age, low birth weight, and stillbirth.

The poor outcomes of preterm birth and stillbirth were observed primarily with those infected with SARS-CoV-2 during the first or second trimester, whereas increased rates of small for gestational age were driven largely by third trimester infection.

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Maternal COVID-19 infection increases risks of preterm birth, low birth weight and stillbirth