Medical Bulletin 09/November/2023

Here are the top medical news of the day:

Does acute calcium pyrophosphate deposition arthritis doubles fracture risk?

At the annual ACR Convergence 2023, researchers unveiled findings from the inaugural study on fractures and calcium pyrophosphate deposition (CPPD) disease, shedding light on a doubled fracture risk in patients with acute calcium pyrophosphate crystal arthritis. Calcium pyrophosphate deposition (CPPD) disease arises when calcium pyrophosphate (CPP) crystals form near cartilage cells, often culminating in joint inflammation, pain, and swelling. Sometimes likened to gout due to clinical similarities, CPPD remains a less understood facet of inflammatory arthritis.

Intrigued by the relationship between CPPD disease and fracture risk, rheumatologist Dr. Sara Tedeschi and her colleagues from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, in collaboration with researchers from the Medical College of Wisconsin, embarked on a study to unravel this connection.

Reference: AMERICAN COLLEGE OF RHEUMATOLOGY

FUNDER: NIH's National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

Could willow bark provide antiviral medicine?

Scientists in Finland have discovered that an extract of willow bark has broad-spectrum antiviral activity in cell sample experiments. The extract was effective against both enveloped coronaviruses, which cause colds and COVID-19, and non-enveloped enteroviruses, which cause infections such as flu and meningitis.

The extract was made by harvesting commercially grown willow branches, cutting the bark into pieces, freezing it, grinding it, and then extracting it using hot water. The scientists tested the extract against strains of Coxsackievirus A and B, as well as a seasonal coronavirus and COVID-19.

Reference: Willow (Salix spp.) bark hot extracts inhibit both enveloped and nonenveloped viruses: study on its anti-coronavirus and anti-enterovirus activities, Frontiers in Microbiology

DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1249794

Does Daily caffeinated soda consumption in young children makes them likely to try alcohol within a year?

A new study published in the journal Substance Use & Misuse has found a link between caffeinated soda consumption and alcohol use in children. The study, which involved over 2,000 children aged 9-10, found that those who reported drinking caffeinated soda daily were twice as likely to state they had sipped alcohol one year later.

The expert team aimed to not only see if there was a connection between alcohol use and caffeinated soda consumption in younger children, but also better understand the relationship between drinking the beverage and well-known risk factors of substance use disorder such as reduced working memory (for example holding a short sequence of numbers in our head for a few minutes) and increased impulsivity.

Reference: Caffeinated soda intake in children is associated with neurobehavioral risk factors for substance misuse, Substance Use & Misuse

DOI: 10.1080/10826084.2023.2259471