Medical Bulletin 07/July/2023

Here are the top medical news for the day:

Homophobic name-calling leaves scars

A new study reveals the extent of homophobic name-calling among teenagers, and the damaging impact it has on mental health, regardless of whether the name-calling is from rivals, strangers, or friends.

The data was drawn from a large sample of students in 36 midwestern middle schools in the United States, with the results recently published in the Journal of School Violence.

The study has important implications for bullying prevention and intervention practice and policymaking, and it offers three key policy and practice recommendations:

“First, at the school and school-district level, anti-bullying policies that provide clear definitions and examples of homophobic bullying and specify that these behaviors are not accepted, are strongly recommended, along with clear procedures for dealing with such behaviors.”

“Second, at the classroom level, teachers should be educated on the detriments of homophobic name-calling and be trained to carry out timely interventions (including referrals to counseling and communicating with parents) as per school policies.”

“Finally, regarding rehabilitation, supportive interventions involving communication are preferred over punitive measures such as suspension and expulsion. Tolerance and inclusion education, along with mental health counseling, should be the main focus.”

Reference: Friendly Teasing or Traumatic Bullying? Examining the Conditioning Effect of Social Distance on the Negative Psychological Outcomes of Homophobic Name-Calling, Journal of School Violence, DOI 10.1080/15388220.2023.2211769

Enhancing IVF Success with Holograms

In a world-first, 3D holographic images of an embryo have been developed as part of a collaborative research project between the University of Adelaide and the University of St Andrews. The images are created using minuscule amounts of light in a fraction of a second.

The team developed an approach to create 3D holographic images of the pre-clinical model of an embryo at various stages of development. A non-invasive approach without biopsy to help pick the most appropriate embryo is a highly beneficial tool for the 21st-century embryologist: light can fulfill this need.

3D holographic images are a non-invasive approach that provides insights into the embryo by identifying detailed features. This may augment conventional visual assessment for embryo quality in an IVF clinic, allowing an embryologist to make an informed decision on the selection of best-quality embryos.

Data from 2020 show that the success rates of IVF range from a live birth rate of 38.9 percent per embryo transfer for patients under 34 years to a live birth rate of 5.6 percent per embryo transfer for patients over 43 years. In 2018 it was estimated that eight million babies had been born through IVF since the world’s first in 1978.

The team aims to have the technology, which is being developed through research using a preclinical model, available in five years.

Reference: Investigation of refractive index dynamics during in vitro embryo development using off-axis digital holographic microscopy, Biomedical Optics Express, DOI 10.1364/BOE.492292

How Lack of Sleep Impacts Cognitive Benefits of Exercise

Regular physical activity may protect against cognitive decline as we get older, but this protective effect may be diminished for people who are not getting enough sleep, according to a new study by UCL researchers.

The study, looked at cognitive function over 10 years in 8,958 people aged 50 and over in England. The research team investigated how different combinations of sleep and physical activity habits might affect people’s cognitive function over time.

They found that people who were more physically active but had short periods of sleep – less than six hours on average – had faster cognitive decline overall, meaning that after 10 years their cognitive function was equivalent to peers who did less physical activity.

The study found, in line with previous research, that sleeping between six and eight hours per night and higher levels of physical activity were linked to better cognitive function.

Those who were more physically active also had better cognitive function regardless of how long they slept at the start of the study. This changed over the 10-year period, with more physically active short sleepers (less than six hours) experiencing more rapid cognitive decline.

Reference: Joint associations of physical activity and sleep duration with cognitive ageing: longitudinal analysis of an English cohort study, The Lancet Healthy Longevity, DOI 10.1016/S2666-7568(23)00083-1

The Brain Benefits of Dental Care

Taking good care of your teeth may be linked to better brain health, according to a study published in the online issue of Neurology®. The study found that gum disease and tooth loss were linked to brain shrinkage in the hippocampus, which plays a role in memory and Alzheimer’s disease.

The study involved 172 people with an average age of 67 who did not have memory problems at the beginning of the study. For each participant, researchers counted the number of teeth and checked for gum disease by looking at periodontal probing depth, a measurement of the gum tissue. Healthy readings are from one to three millimeters.

Mild gum disease involves probing depths of three or four millimeters in several areas, while severe gum disease involves probing depths of five or six millimeters in several areas as well as more bone loss and can cause teeth to become loose and eventually fall out.

Researchers found that the number of teeth and amount of gum disease were linked to changes in the left hippocampus of the brain. For people with mild gum disease having fewer teeth was associated with a faster rate of brain shrinkage in the left hippocampus. However, for people with severe gum disease having more teeth was associated with a faster rate of brain shrinkage in the same area of the brain.

Reference: AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NEUROLOGY, JOURNAL Neurology