Medical Bulletin 15/May/2023

Here are the top medical news for the day:

Biological age reversibly increases with stress: Study

We may not be able to wind back the clock on our chronological age, but our biological age may be more flexible. Biological age reflects the health of a person’s cells and tissue, and can be influenced by disease, lifestyle changes, environmental exposures and more. While there have been hints that biological age might be reversible, a new study led by investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system is the first to provide strong evidence, from both humans and preclinical models, that when stress is relieved, biological age can be restored. Their results, which have implications for testing anti-aging drugs, are published in Cell Metabolism.

“Traditionally, biological age has been thought to just go up and up, but we hypothesized that it’s actually much more dynamic,” said lead author Jesse Poganik, PhD, of the Brigham’s Division of Genetics. “Severe stress can trigger biological age to increase, but if that stress is short lived, the signs of biological aging can be reversed.”

Reference:

Poganik JR et al. “Biological age is increased by stress and restored upon recovery” Cell Metabolism DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2023.03.015

Dangerous snoring may affect one in five people without them knowing

Around one in five people may be suffering with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), according to a study published in the ERJ Open Research. People with OSA often snore loudly, their breathing starts and stops during the night, and they may wake up several times. Not only does this cause tiredness, but it can also increase the risk of high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Treatments and lifestyle changes can help people with OSA. However, the new study also suggests that only a small proportion of people with symptoms of OSA have been diagnosed and are receiving help for the condition.

Reference:

Prevalence, treatment and determinants of obstructive sleep apnoea and its symptoms in a population-based French cohort,ERJ Open Research

DOI 10.1183/23120541.00053-2023

Sleep apnea and lack of deep sleep linked to worse brain health

People who have sleep apnea and spend less time in deep sleep may be more likely to have brain biomarkers that have been linked to an increased risk of stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline, according to new research published online issue of Neurology.

The study looked at sleep factors and biomarkers of the health of the brain’s white matter. One of the biomarkers, white matter hyperintensities, are tiny lesions visible on brain scans. White matter hyperintensities become more common with age or with uncontrolled high blood pressure. The other biomarker measures the integrity of the axons, which form the nerve fibers that connect nerve cells.

Reference:

Diego Z. Carvalho et al,AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NEUROLOGY,JOURNAL Neurology