Medical Bulletin 12/ August/ 2024

In a recent published study journal in the ageing and disease have discovered that parents who struggle with alcohol use disorders can pass along symptoms of early ageing to their children, affecting them well into adulthood. The accelerated ageing effects such as high cholesterol, heart problems, arthritis, and early onset dementia that can be inherited from either parent individually. However, they become more severe when both parents struggle with alcohol abuse, particularly in male offspring.

As adults get older, they develop a biological condition called senescence, which is when cells slow down and stop dividing, limiting the body's ability to replace deteriorating cells. Using a mouse model, research by Golding and his team revealed that senescence also happens to be one of the early-ageing symptoms that offspring can inherit from parents who daily drink alcohol to the legal limit or more.

Golding's lab investigated the biological connection between parental alcohol use and child development. Recently, his team discovered that fathers, not just mothers, can play a role in children developing Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Consequently, Golding advocates for parents to reduce alcohol consumption before conception.

This new discovery indicated that parents can pass on the benefits of healthy living to their children. Golding noted that healthy lifestyle choices can accumulate across generations, meaning that efforts to reverse ageing—such as through diet and exercise—can have lasting positive effects for future generations.

The study concluded that children of parents with alcohol use disorders (AUDs) exhibit signs of accelerated biological ageing compared to their peers. This was evidenced by shorter telomere lengths and other biomarkers associated with ageing. The findings suggest that the stress and environmental factors linked to parental AUDs may have a lasting impact on the biological ageing process in their children, potentially increasing their risk for age-related diseases and reducing their overall lifespan. The study highlights the importance of addressing parental AUDs not only for the well-being of the parents but also for the long-term health of their children.

References: Basel, A., et al. (2024) Parental Alcohol Exposures Associate with Lasting Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Accelerated Aging in a Mouse Model. Aging and disease. doi.org/10.14336/AD.2024.0722.

In a recent study published in the journal Nutrition and health, Mediterranean diet versus the traditional Western diet might make you feel like you're under less stress, according to new research conducted by a team from Binghamton University, State University of New York.

The findings suggested that people can lower their perception of how much stress they can tolerate by following a Mediterranean diet, said Lina Begdache, associate professor of health and wellness studies.

The Mediterranean diet, rich in plant-based foods, healthy fats, and a variety of natural colours, emphasises wholesome, nutrient-dense options. This stands in stark contrast to the Western diet, which is characterised by high-glycemic, low-quality processed foods. While the Mediterranean diet is well-known for its positive effects on both mental and physical health, its impact on perceived stress—how much stress one feels at any given time—remains less understood.

To explore this, Begdache and her students surveyed over 1,500 individuals, gathering data on their dietary habits and levels of perceived stress. By applying a machine learning model, the findings revealed that consuming elements of the Mediterranean diet is linked to reduced levels of perceived stress and mental distress, while a diet rich in Western food components is associated with higher perceived stress and mental distress.

Begdache noted that these findings address a gap in existing research, which has largely concentrated on how stress influences dietary choices and quality. Her team is now investigating how different dietary patterns relate to various aspects of brain function and behaviour.

It is concluded that this study highlights the Mediterranean diet's significant role in reducing perceived stress. By analysing dietary patterns and their impact on stress levels, the research demonstrates that the Mediterranean diet—characterised by its plant-based foods, healthy fats, and vibrant, nutrient-dense ingredients—is associated with lower perceived stress and mental distress. These findings contribute valuable insights into how dietary choices can influence mental well-being and underscore the potential benefits of adopting a Mediterranean dietary pattern for stress management.

References: Chowdhury, U., et al. (2024). Effects of Mediterranean and Western dietary patterns on perceived stress and mental distress. Nutrition and Health. doi.org/10.1177/02601060241263375.

In a recent published study journal in the American Geriatrics Society, Both chronic and new-onset anxiety are linked to a threefold increased risk for dementia onset in later life.

A total of 2132 participants with mean age 76 years from the Hunter Community Study were recruited. Anxiety was measured using Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). Dementia was defined as per International Classification of Disease—10 codes. The Fine–Gray subdistribution hazard model was computed to assess dementia risk, while adjusting for the competing risk of death.

Chronic anxiety and new-onset anxiety at follow-up were associated with an increased risk of all-cause dementia (HR 2.80, 95% CI 1.35–5.72 and HR 3.20, 95% CI 1.40–7.45, respectively), with an average time to dementia diagnosis of 10 years (SD = 1.7). In contrast, resolved anxiety was not linked to increased dementia risk. Subgroup analyses revealed that these associations were particularly strong in individuals under 70 years of age (HR 4.58, 95% CI 1.12–18.81 and HR 7.21, 95% CI 1.86–28.02, respectively). Sensitivity analyses, which accounted for missing data and potential reverse causation, produced similar results.

It is concluded that Chronic and new-onset anxiety were linked to an increased risk of all-cause dementia, with significant associations observed in individuals aged 70 years and younger. In contrast, resolved anxiety at follow-up was associated with a risk level similar to that of the non-exposed group. These findings suggest that timely management of anxiety could be an effective strategy for reducing the risk of dementia.

References: 1 Dementia Statistics. Alzheimer's disease international. 2020. Accessed March 27, 2023. https://www.alzint.org/about/dementia-facts-figures/dementia-statistics

A recently published study in the journal transplant international, Researchers have found that transplant patients who receive kidneys infected with the parasite toxoplasma have virtually the same outcomes as those who receive toxoplasma-negative organs. Despite longstanding concerns, those who received kidneys from toxoplasma antibody positive donors (TPDs) had almost identical mortality and rejection rates.

Toxoplasma is a ubiquitous parasite that infects many people but generally causes no harm. However, people who are immunosuppressed, such as kidney recipients, could be at higher risk. Toxoplasmosis can be transmitted through the transplanted kidney and reactivate a latent infection in the kidney recipient. Still, there has been tremendous inconsistency in how transplant centres treat TPD kidneys, with some accepting them and others rejecting.

The study analysed 51,000 transplants from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network database. Of those, 4,300 were TPD. They found rejection and graft failure was 5% for both TPD and non-TPD kidneys. Other measures were similarly aligned. In other words, the TPD kidneys posed no additional risk.

The two cohorts were comparable in most demographic and Tx characteristics with a few exceptions, as outlined in Table 2. Causes of donor death differed between the two cohorts (p < 0.001), with a disproportionately higher percentage of deaths in the TPD group attributed to stroke/cerebrovascular accident (21.6%) compared to the Toxoplasma-negative group (14.5%), which may be explained by the known association between toxoplasma and stroke . TPD were more likely to be seen in adult Tx recipients (8.5% versus 5.3%, p < 0.0001) and in men (8.7% versus 8.0%, p 0.005).

Based on the study, the largest to date exploring the outcomes of renal Tx recipients categorised by donor Toxoplasma status, it can reasonably recommend that TPD Tx is safe to perform with close monitoring, and that such organs should not be reflexively discarded, with the caveats discussed below. Despite the presence of Toxoplasma in the donor kidneys, the infection does not significantly affect the outcome or safety of the kidney transplant for the recipient.

References: Zhou, AL, Leng, A, Ruck, JM, Akbar, AF, Desai, NM, and King, EA. Kidney Donation After Circulatory Death Using Thoracoabdominal Normothermic Regional Perfusion: The Largest Report of the United States Experience. Transplantation (2023) 108:516–23. doi:10.1097/TP.0000000000004801