Medical Bulletin 14/December/2023

Here are the top medical news of the day: 

Clinical trial proves that the ketogenic diet is effective at controlling polycystic kidney disease

The ketogenic diet proved to be effective at controlling polycystic kidney disease (PKD) in the first randomized controlled clinical trial of ketogenic metabolic therapy for Polycystic Kidney Disease.

The researchers’ study is published in the journal Cell Reports Medicine.

This prevailing belief was what the Weimbs Lab and colleagues from various research institutions in Germany set out to challenge with their trial. Sixty-six PKD patients were recruited by the German research team headed by research physician Dr. Roman Müller of the University of Cologne and randomly split into three groups: a control group that received routine PKD counseling, another group that underwent a three-day water fast every month and a third group that observed a low-carbohydrate, high-fat ketogenic diet. The patients were followed closely with blood draws and MRI scans.

Reference: Clinical trial proves that the ketogenic diet is effective at controlling polycystic kidney disease; Cell Reports Medicine

Nearly 40% of Type 2 diabetes patients stop taking their second line medication

Most patients with Type 2 diabetes will end up needing to add a second-line medication after metformin — the go-to primary drug for glucose management — to control their blood sugar levels. But adherence to these second-line drugs can be hit or miss, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study.

When patients discontinue their medication, switch to a different drug or intensify their treatment (either via an increased dose, adding a third medication or starting insulin), it wastes the doctor and patient’s time, costs the health system unnecessary expense and, in the case of discontinuation, can result in a patient not fully treating their Type 2 diabetes. The study was published Dec. 12 in the American Journal of Managed Care.

Reference: Nearly 40% of Type 2 diabetes patients stop taking their second-line medication; The American Journal of Managed Care; DOI: 10.37765/ajmc.2023.89466

Cannabis exposure linked to 1.5 times higher risk of unhealthy pregnancy outcomes

In a large study of more than 9,000 pregnant people from across the U.S., researchers at University of Utah Health have found that cannabis exposure during pregnancy is associated with a composite measure of unhealthy pregnancy outcomes, especially low birth weight, and that higher exposure is associated with higher risks.

Compared to most prior studies, this study was larger and measured cannabis exposure more accurately, which allowed researchers to distinguish the effects of cannabis itself from those caused by other correlated health conditions. The research publishes online on December 12 in JAMA.

Reference: Cannabis exposure linked to 1.5 times higher risk of unhealthy pregnancy outcomes; JAMA, DOI: 10.1001/jama.2023.21146