Medical Bulletin 08/September/2023

Here are the top medical news of the day:

People with lung conditions face extra risks from climate change

People living with lung conditions, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), face even greater risks from climate change, according to an expert report published today (Monday) in the European Respiratory Journal. The report brings together evidence on how the effects of climate change, such as heatwaves, wildfires, and flooding, will exacerbate breathing difficulties for millions of people around the world, particularly babies, young children and the elderly.

According to the report, these effects include higher temperatures and a subsequent increase in airborne allergens, such as pollen. They also include more frequent extreme weather events such as heatwaves, droughts and wildfires, leading to episodes of extreme air pollution and dust storms, as well as heavy rainfall and flooding, leading to higher humidity and mold in the home

Reference: Climate change and respiratory health: a European Respiratory Society position statement, European Respiratory Journal, DOI: 10.1183/13993003.01960-2022

New genes and natural toxins offer hope for cancer patients unresponsive to chemotherapy

Scientists from Queen Mary University of London have discovered two new genes that cause head and neck cancer patients to be resistant to chemotherapy, and that silencing either gene can make cancer cells previously unresponsive to chemotherapy subsequently respond to it.

The two genes discovered actively ‘work’ in most human cancer types, meaning the findings could potentially extend to other cancers with elevated levels of the genes.

The researchers also looked through a chemical library, commonly used for drug discovery, and found two substances that could target the two genes specifically and make resistant cancer cells almost 30 times more sensitive to a common chemotherapy drug called cisplatin.

Reference: Dr. Muy-Teck Teh et al, Journal: Molecular Cancer

Can taking statins after a bleeding stroke lower risk of another stroke?

People who have had a stroke called an intracerebral hemorrhage who take cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins may have a lower risk of having another stroke, especially ischemic stroke, compared to people who also had an intracerebral hemorrhage but were not taking statins, according to a new study published in the online issue of Neurology.

For the study, researchers looked at health records in Denmark and identified 15,151 people who had a first bleeding stroke.

Reference: David Gaist, Luis Alberto García Rodríguez, Jesper Hallas, Stine Munk Hald, Sören Möller, Birgit B Høyer, Magdy Selim, Larry B. Goldstein. Association of Statin Use with Risk of Stroke Recurrence After Intracerebral Hemorrhage. Neurology, 2023; DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000207792