Medical Bulletin 15/December/2022

Intermittent fasting diets have become popular in recent years as an effective weight loss method. With intermittent fasting, you only eat during a specific window of time. Fasting for a certain number of hours each day or eating just one meal a couple of days a week can help your body burn fat. Research shows intermittent fasting can lower your risk of diabetes and heart disease.

After an intermittent fasting diet intervention, patients achieved complete diabetes remission, defined as an HbA1c (average blood sugar) level of less than 6.5% at least one year after stopping diabetes medication, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Reference:

Dongbo Liu et al, THE ENDOCRINE SOCIETY, JOURNAL The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism

Ebola vaccines safety and immunogenicity trial shows potential

In a context where many sub-Saharan African countries regularly face Ebola outbreaks, vaccines are seen as a central tool to fight the spread of the disease. Since 2019, two vaccines have obtained WHO Prequalification against the Zaire ebolavirus species: the vaccine rVSVG-ZEBOV-GP developed by Merck, Sharpe & Dohme, Corp., and the Ad26.ZEBOV and MVA-BN-Filo vaccine regimen from Johnson & Johnson.

Beyond these advances, research on Ebola vaccines must continue. Indeed, additional data is needed in order to establish the most appropriate recommendations regarding the use of these vaccines, in different categories of the population.

Reference:

Yazdan Yazdanpanah. Et al, Vaccines for Ebola virus disease: the PREVAC randomized trial, New England Journal of Medicine, DOI 10.1056/NEJMoa2200072

Exercise, even in late stages of the disease suppresses growth of cancer cells

Previous work from ECU's Exercise Medicine Research Institute has shown men with advanced prostate cancer can change the chemical environment of their body over six months of exercise training to suppress growth of cancer cells.

The team observed increased levels of proteins called 'myokines' which are produced by skeletal muscles and can suppress tumour growth and even help actively fight cancerous cells by stimulating a range of anti-cancer processes in the body.

Reference:

Professor Rob Newton et al, Acute effect of high-intensity interval aerobic exercise on serum myokine levels and resulting tumour-suppressive effect in trained patients with advanced prostate cancer, Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases, DOI:10.1038/s41391-022-00624-4