Medical Bulletin 15/February/2023

Here are the top medical news for the day:

Brain ageing hastened by cocaine addiction: Study

Now, scientists from Germany and Canada have shown that in humans, cocaine use disorder (CUD) leads to changes in the ‘methylome’ of a subregion within the prefrontal cortex, Brodmann Area 9, thought to be important for self-awareness and inhibitory control. Typically, a greater degree of DNA methylation leads to the ‘dialing down’ of nearby genes.

Because the study of the brain methylome is invasive, the study was done on the cryo-preserved brains of 42 deceased male donors, of whom half had had CUD while the other half had not. The researchers found evidence that cells in Brodmann Area 9 appear biologically ‘older’ in people with CUD, evidence that these cells age faster than in people without substance use disorders. Here, they used patterns of DNA methylation as a measure of the biological age of cells in Brodmann Area 9. The biological age of cells, tissues, and organs can be greater or less than their chronological age, depending on diet, lifestyle, and exposure to disease or harmful environmental factors. Scientists can thus estimate the biological age from methylome data with established mathematical algorithms.

Reference:

Eric Poisel, et al,DNA methylation in cocaine use disorder – an epigenome-wide approach in the human prefrontal cortex,Frontiers in Psychiatry,doi 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1075250

Radiomics to predict heart attacks

Researchers are using an approach called radiomics to predict future cardiac events like heart attacks, according to a study published in Radiology. Radiomics allows researchers to extract quantitative, or measurable, data from CT images that can reveal disease characteristics not visible in the images alone.

Coronary artery disease is linked with fatty deposits of plaque that build up inside the artery walls. Large, lipid-rich plaques are vulnerable to rupture. The rupture of these plaques causes most heart attacks. However, predicting which plaques will rupture is challenging.

Reference:

Long Jiang Zhang et al,A Coronary CT Angiography Radiomics Model to Identify Vulnerable Plaque and Predict Cardiovascular Events,Radiology

New screening tool helps doctors diagnose more people with COPD

A new tool shows promise in helping primary care physicians identify adults with undiagnosed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to research published in JAMA.

The COPD Assessment in Primary Care to Identify Undiagnosed Respiratory Disease & Exacerbation Risk (CAPTURE), was designed to identify adults with COPD symptoms severe enough to treat, but who haven’t received a diagnosis. After a multi-year-long clinical trial, researchers found CAPTURE successfully identified almost half of participants who had moderate to severe forms of previously undiagnosed COPD.

Reference:

Martinez FJ, Han MK, Lopez C, et al. Discriminate accuracy of the CAPTURE tool for identifying chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in US primary care settings. JAMA. 2023; doi: 10.1001/jama.2023.0128.

Novel urine test to diagnose cancer developed

In a recent study researchers tried to find metabolites in urine. They succeeded in developing a strip-type urine sensor that can amplify the light signal of metabolites in urine and in diagnosing cancer in the field.

This technology can be applied for the examination of prostate cancer and pancreatic cancer without an additional analysis process by only irradiating light after a small volume (10uL) of urine dropping at the time of need for a test. The test device is manufactured in the form of a strip so that cancer can be diagnosed quickly and with high sensitivity in the field.

Reference:

3D plasmonic coral nanoarchitecture paper for label-free human urine sensing and deep learning-assisted cancer screening,Biosensors and Bioelectronics,doi 10.1016/j.bios.2023.115076