Medical Bulletin 18/July/2023

Here are the top medical news for the day:

Alzheimer's diagnosis new Guidelines

Recently, at the International Alzheimer's Congress (AAIC) in Amsterdam, new guidelines for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease developed by clinicians and researchers from around the world were presented. In these criteria, the disease is diagnosed in the clinic through the use of blood biomarkers, just as with other major diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

New research shows that many people with cognitive symptoms want to know whether they are in the early stages of Alzheimer's. A diagnosis enables patients to take more control over the next phase of their lives. The desire to know whether or not you have Alzheimer's disease makes the use of blood biomarkers so relevant, it is also the gateway to treatment.

Reference: Charlotte Teunissen et al, AMSTERDAM UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTERS

Bacterial protein in urogenital tract linked to fertility issues, and birth defects

A team of researchers from the University of Maryland School of Maryland’s (UMSOM) Institute of Human Virology (IHV) published new findings that emphasize the crucial role of the urinary and genital tract microbiota in adverse pregnancy outcomes and genomic instability that originate in the womb during fetal development.

The study established a new link between genomic instability and a protein from Mycoplasma fermentans, a kind of bacterium that commonly colonizes the urogenital tract. This bacterial protein also reduced fertility in mother mice and resulted in more birth defects in their newborn pups.

Reference: Mycoplasma DnaK increases DNA Copy Number Variants in vivo, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Understanding how the skin cancer virus outcompetes host cell replication

University of Pittsburgh researchers have shown for the first time how Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCV), which causes an aggressive skin cancer called Merkel cell carcinoma, initiates DNA replication in host cells. In the new study, the researchers studied MCV replication in never-before-seen detail using an instrument called a C-trap and a technique called SMADNE.

During normal cell division, the first step of DNA replication involves proteins called helicases that form two sleeves around the DNA double helix. These sleeves push together to unzip the double-stranded DNA into single strands so that other proteins can bind and perform the next steps. This unzipping process requires cellular energy in the form of the molecule ATP

Reference: Unlicensed origin DNA melting by MCV and SV40 polyomavirus LT proteins is independent of ATP-dependent helicase activity, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, DOI 10.1073/pnas.2308010120