Medical Bulletin 13/December/2023

Here are the top medical news of the day:

Study reveals insights into tacking diabetic kidney disease - with a side order of how anti-obesity drugs work

Data from Australian researchers could partly explain why a trial of a new drug for diabetes, was recently halted because it was found to be so effective. Importantly, the data also reveals how anti-obesity drugs like Ozempic, actually work, which to date have been a mystery.

In early November the FLOW trial of the drug semaglutide on the progression of renal impairment in people with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease was halted ahead of schedule because of the drug’s efficacy.

Part of the rationale for the cessation of the trial could be explained by research led by Monash University’s Associate Professor Melinda Coughlan, and published today in the journal, Kidney International, showing that a drug that targets a particular hormone GLP1, also interacts with a receptor called RAGE, to control the kidney damage that is the hallmark of Type 2 diabetes.

Reference: Study reveals insights into tacking diabetic kidney disease - with a side order of how anti-obesity drugs work; Kidney International, DOI: 10.1016/j.kint.2023.09.029

Cell therapy appears safe and effective for lymphoma in remission

A study led by researchers at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine suggests that CAR-T immunotherapy remains a viable option for patients who have lymphoma that goes into remission before the cell therapy begins.

Most patients receiving cell therapy, a form of immunotherapy that uses immune cells engineered to recognize and attack the patient’s cancer, desperately need it. For some, it comes after many other treatments have failed. But Wang noticed an odd phenomenon in the past few years when treating lymphoma patients with this form of therapy: Some of his patients went into complete remission before the cells ever touched their bodies.

Reference: Cell therapy appears safe and effective for lymphoma in remission; UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI MILLER SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

Marijuana, cigarette smokers at increased risk of emphysema

Smoking marijuana in combination with cigarettes may lead to increased damage of the lung's air sacs, according to research being presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

It is commonly believed that smoking marijuana is not harmful to the lungs. There is an abundance of established research that identifies the harms of cigarette smoking. In contrast, very little is known about the effects of marijuana smoking, and even less research has been done on the combined effects of smoking marijuana and cigarettes.

“Marijuana is the most widely used illicit psychoactive substance in the world, and its use has increased in Canada since the legalization of non-medical marijuana in 2018,” said study co-author Jessie Kang, M.D., cardiothoracic radiologist and assistant professor in the Department of Diagnostic Radiology at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. “Currently, not much research exists on the effects of marijuana smoking on the lungs.”

Reference: Marijuana, cigarette smokers at increased risk of emphysema, Radiological Society of North America, Meeting: 109th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.