Medical Bulletin 16/June/2023

Here are the top medical news for the day:

Inflammatory bowel disease linked to increased risk of stroke

People with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are more likely to have a stroke than people without the disease, according to a study published in the online issue of Neurology. The study does not prove that IBD causes stroke; it only shows an association.

The study found that people with IBD were 13% more likely to have a stroke up to 25 years after their diagnosis than people without IBD.

The study involved 85,006 people2 with IBD confirmed with a biopsy. They were each matched with up to five people of the same birth year, sex and county of residence who did not have IBD, for a total of 406,987 people.

Reference :Jiangwei Sun et al ,AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NEUROLOGY,JOURNAL Neurology

A plant-based, oral delivery of insulin regulates blood sugar levels similar to natural insulin

Recent clinical studies show that injection via insulin pens can cause insulin to reach the bloodstream so quickly that hypoglycemia, or blood sugar levels that dip below the healthy range, may result. Automated insulin pumps can deliver precise insulin and minimize this risk but are expensive and available only to a small portion of diabetes patients around the world.

Now, a plant-based, oral delivery of proinsulin could address these drawbacks, according to a new study published in the journal Biomaterials.

The Daniell lab created a plant-based insulin that contains all three peptides and can be ingested orally. The strength of plant cell walls protects insulin from acids and enzymes in a patient’s stomach before the material is broken down by gut microbes. Then, the released insulin is delivered to the liver via the gut-liver axis.

Reference: Affordable oral proinsulin bio encapsulated in plant cells regulates blood sugar levels similar to natural insulin, Biomaterials, DOI 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2023.122142 

Further hope for base-edited T-cell therapy to treat resistant leukaemia

Three young patients with relapsed T-cell leukaemia have now been treated with base-edited T-cells, as part of a ‘bench-to-bedside’ collaboration between UCL and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (GOSH).

The data from the NHS clinical trial, shows how donor CAR T cells were engineered using cutting-edge gene editing technology to change single letters of their DNA code so they could fight leukemia.

The experience of using the cells in three patients is shared and includes 13-year-old Alyssa from Leicester, who last year was the first person in the world to be treated on the trial for T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL)*. This is a cancer of white blood cells and is usually treated with chemotherapy, but if it comes back, can be hard to clear.

Reference:Base-edited CAR7 T Cells for relapsed T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia,New England Journal of Medicine