Medical Bulletin 14/March/2023

Here are the top health news for the day:

Too little sleep could may weaken vaccination efficiency: Study

How strongly a vaccine protects you may depend on getting enough sleep in the days before and after inoculation, finds a new meta-analysis examining the relationship between sleep duration and the body’s response to vaccination.

Sleeping fewer than six hours per night around the time of vaccination was associated with a robust decrease in antibody response, according to the multi-institution study published March 13 in Current Biology. Adults are typically recommended to get between seven and nine hours of sleep per night.

The meta-analysis included data on the association between sleep duration and antibody responses for the influenza and hepatitis vaccines. While comparable data on COVID-19 vaccination were not available, researchers said their study highlighted the need to identify simple behavioral interventions, such as sufficient sleep, that could improve the response to COVID-19 vaccination amid the ongoing pandemic.

Reference:

Michael Irwin, et al,A meta-analysis of the associations between insufficient sleep duration and antibody response to vaccination,Current Biology,doi 10.1016/j.cub.2023.02.017

Novel genes that may increase risk for schizophrenia identified

Researchers have identified two previously unknown genes linked to schizophrenia and newly implicated a third gene as carrying risk for both schizophrenia and autism. Led by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the multi-center study further demonstrated that the schizophrenia risk conferred by these rare damaging variants is conserved across ethnicities. The study may also point to new therapeutics.

The findings were published in the March 13 online issue of Nature Genetics.

Schizophrenia is among the most serious mental illnesses. It occurs in about 1 out of every 100 people, and affects how they think, feel, and behave. People with schizophrenia may seem as if they have lost touch with reality, which can be distressing for them and their families.

Reference:

Schizophrenia risk conferred by rare protein-truncating variants is conserved across diverse human populations,Nature Genetics,doi 10.1038/s41588-023-01305-1

New way to help prevent breast cancer ‘time bomb’ discovered, show study findings

Scientists have discovered why breast cancer cells that have spread to the lungs may ‘wake up’ following years of sleep - forming incurable secondary tumours.

Their research, funded by Breast Cancer Now, reveals the mechanism that triggers this breast cancer 'time bomb' - and suggests a strategy to defuse it.

Patients with oestrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer - the most common type - have a continued risk of their cancer recurring in another part of their body for many years or even decades after their original diagnosis and treatment.

When breast cancer cells spread from the first cancer in the breast to other parts of the body it is called secondary or metastatic breast cancer and although treatable, it can’t be cured.

Reference:

Age-associated microenvironmental changes highlight the role of PDGF-C in ER+ breast cancer metastatic relapse,Nature Cancer,doi 10.1038/s43018-023-00525-y

Frailty in older adults may be prevented by Yoga, shows study

A systematic review of 33 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) found that yoga improved gait speed and lower extremity strength in inactive older people. However, yoga did not seem to offer a benefit for frailty markers over activities like exercise or tai chi. The review is published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Older adults have an increased burden of chronic disease, disability, and frailty. Frailty affects up to 50 percent of adults aged 80 years and older, and its prevention and management are high priority areas in public health and clinical practice. Yoga may be a prevention and management strategy and is already used to improve balance and mobility in older adults.

Reference:

AMERICAN COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS,Annals of Internal Medicine,doi10.7326/M22-2553