Medical Bulletin 09/February/2024

Here are the top medical news highlights of the day:

Study finds many COVID deaths misclassified as natural causes

A recent study reveals that the increased mortality rates attributed to chronic illnesses and natural causes were, in fact, caused by Covid-19 infections.

Excess mortality offers an insight into the number of deaths that likely would not have happened if not for the pandemic. However, there is still limited evidence on whether these additional deaths can be attributed directly to the SARS-CoV-2 virus itself, or if they resulted from other pandemic-related factors such as disruptions in healthcare services, socioeconomic challenges, or the effects of Covid vaccinations.

The study led by Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) and the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) provides the first concrete data showing that many of these excess deaths were indeed uncounted Covid deaths.

Published in the journal PNAS, the study compared reported Covid deaths to excess deaths due to non-Covid natural causes, such as diseases and chronic illnesses.

Reference: https://www.bu.edu/sph/news/articles/2024/new-analysis-reveals-many-excess-deaths-attributed-to-natural-causes-are-actually-uncounted-covid-19-deaths/

Ovarian tissue freezing may halt menopause indefinitely

The possibility of delaying menopause in healthy women, thus extending fertility and potentially avoiding the health risks and discomforts linked to decreasing estrogen levels, is captivating a group of scientists.

Published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, the study utilizes a mathematical model combined with data from hundreds of past ovarian cryopreservation and transplantation procedures, as well as molecular research on ovarian follicle behavior in ovarian tissue. This approach is used to estimate the potential duration by which the procedure could delay menopause in healthy women under various conditions.

References: Joshua Johnson, Sean D. Lawley, John W. Emerson, Kutluk H. Oktay. Modeling delay of age at natural menopause with planned tissue cryopreservation and autologous transplantation. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2024; DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2023.12.037

Sons of obese mothers at increased health risk in adulthood

Males born to obese women are more likely to be overweight at birth and develop metabolic complications in later life, including liver disease and diabetes.

A new study led by University of South Australia (UniSA) researchers explores the impact of maternal obesity on fetal liver androgen signaling.

Male fetuses of obese pregnant women have different signals that are activated by male sex hormones in the liver, which encourages them to prioritize growth at the expense of their health. The androgens give men their male characteristics and are crucial in their development, but if there are too many, male fetuses grow too large, causing not only problems at birth but also impacting liver function as an adult.

Female fetuses, on the other hand, exposed to excess testosterone from an obese pregnancy are wired to switch off the androgen pathway in the liver, restricting their growth and lowering the risks of metabolic disorders in adulthood.

"We know there are sex differences in metabolic disorders in later life in response to maternal obesity," says Dr Ashley Meakin, a researcher at UniSA.

Reference: Ashley S. Meakin, Peter W. Nathanielsz, Cun Li, Vicki L. Clifton, Michael D. Wiese, Janna L. Morrison. Maternal obesity impacts fetal liver androgen signaling in a sex-specific manner. Life Sciences, 2024; 337: 122344 DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2023.122344