Medical Bulletin 18/March/2023

Here are the top medical news for the day:

New gene-editing technique reverses vision loss

Researchers in China have successfully restored the vision of mice with retinitis pigmentosa, one of the major causes of blindness in humans. The study, that was published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, uses a new, highly versatile form of CRISPR-based genome editing with the potential to correct a wide variety of disease-causing genetic mutations.

Retinitis pigmentosa can be caused by mutations in over 100 different genes and is estimated to impair the vision of 1 in 4,000 people. It begins with the dysfunction and death of dim light-sensing rod cells, before spreading to the cone cells required for color vision, eventually leading to severe, irreversible vision loss.

Reference:

New gene-editing technique reverses vision loss in mice; Journal of Experimental Medicine, DOI: 10.1084/jem.20220776

Few primary care physicians provide longer-acting birth control methods

Medicaid beneficiaries face barriers in accessing medical care - and that includes contraceptive care. A new study finds that despite birth control being an essential health service, all primary care physicians that see them may not be offering Medicaid patients some of the most effective, longer-acting birth control methods. While nearly half (48%) of primary care physicians who treat Medicaid patients provided prescription contraception like the birth control pill, only 10% provided longer-acting methods like IUDs and implants. This is in accordance to a new study published in JAMA Health Forum.

In this analysis, the researchers found that a physician’s characteristics - including their clinical specialty, age, gender and the Medicaid expansion status of their state - were associated with both providing any contraceptive care and with the number of beneficiaries provided contraceptive care.

Reference:

Few Medicaid-participating primary care physicians providing longer-acting birth control methods; JAMA Health Forum

Nervous system might play a key role in severe allergic shock

A key feature of the severe allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis is an abrupt drop in blood pressure and body temperature, causing people to faint and, if untreated, potentially die.

That response has long been attributed to a sudden dilation and leakage of blood vessels. But in a study using mice, Duke Health researchers have found that this response, especially body temperature drop, requires an additional mechanism – the nervous system.

Reference:

Key role identified for nervous system in severe allergic shock; Science Immunology