Medical Bulletin 12/September/2023

Here are the top medical news of the day:

ACR introduces new guidelines to screen, monitor, and treat Interstitial Lung Disease in patients with rheumatic conditions

The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) has provided an overview of forthcoming recommendations regarding the screening, surveillance, and management of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in individuals diagnosed with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases.

Interstitial lung disease includes a wide array of conditions, individually relatively uncommon, but collectively found in approximately 50 people per lakh of the population. There are over 200 specific diffuse lung diseases including those characterized by fibrosing and granulomatous histopathology.

Internet Browsing may protect against Dementia, study finds

A population-based cohort study has shown that regular internet users experienced approximately half the risk of dementia than non-regular users. Being a regular internet user for longer periods in late adulthood was associated with delayed cognitive impairment.

Dementia is a general term that refers to a decline in cognitive function that is severe enough to interfere with a person's daily life and activities. It is not a specific disease but rather a set of symptoms associated with various underlying causes primarily affecting older adults.

Reference: Gawon Cho BA, BBA, Rebecca A. Betensky PhD, Virginia W. Chang MD, PhD, First published: 03 May 2023 https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.18394

Promising Breakthrough for Fatty Liver Patients: Gut-Friendly Starch Cuts Liver Fat

An estimated 30% of the world’s population currently has non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which has reached epidemic proportions globally. It is a multisystem disease that may not only develop into severe chronic hepatic diseases but also contribute to extrahepatic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and chronic kidney disease, causing a tremendous clinical and economic burden.

To investigate the effects of resistant starch (RS) as a microbiota-directed dietary supplement for NAFLD treatment, the researchers coupled a 4-month randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial in individuals with NAFLD with metagenomics and metabolomics analysis.

Reference: Yueqiong Ni et al, Cell Metabolism 35, 1530–1547, September 5, 2023, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2023.08.002

Vitamin Supplements May Be Linked to Increased Cancer Risk, Suggests New Research

Lung cancer progression relies on angiogenesis, which is a response to hypoxia typically coordinated by hypoxia-inducible transcription factors (HIFs); but growing evidence indicate that transcriptional programs beyond HIFs control tumor angiogenesis. A recent study published in J Clin Invest, the researchers showed that the redox-sensitive transcription factor BTB and CNC homology 1 (BACH1) controls the transcription of a broad range of angiogenesis genes.

Reference: Ting Wang et al,J Clin Invest, DOI: 10.1172/JCI169671

Popular anti-anxiety drugs linked to brain damage, even suicide: A survey

Many prolonged symptoms subsequent to benzodiazepine use and discontinuation have been shown in a large survey of benzodiazepine users. Benzodiazepine-induced neurological dysfunction (BIND) has been proposed as a term to describe symptoms and associated adverse life consequences that may emerge during benzodiazepine use, tapering, and continue after benzodiazepine discontinuation.

Acute benzodiazepine withdrawal and its effective treatment are well-known and have been described in the literature. However, symptoms that persisted for months or even years after complete benzodiazepine discontinuation were observed decades ago. The lack of descriptive nomenclature for enduring symptoms associated with benzodiazepine use limits both the clinical identification of this condition and informed discussion of risk with patients.

Reference: “Long-term consequences of benzodiazepine-induced neurological dysfunction: A survey” by Alexis D. Ritvo, D. E. Foster, Christy Huff, A. J. Reid Finlayson, Bernard Silvernail, and Peter R. Martin, 29 June 2023, PLOS ONE. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285584