Medical Bulletin 20/July/2023

Here are the top medical news for the day:

Bipolar disorder linked to 6-fold higher risk of early death

People with bipolar disorder—characterised by extreme mood swings—are 6 times more likely to die before their time from external causes, such as accidents, violence, and suicide, than those without the condition, finds research published in the open access journal BMJ Mental Health. And they are twice as likely to die from somatic (physical) causes, with alcohol a major contributing factor, the findings show.

The Finnish researchers therefore drew on nationwide medical and social insurance registers to identify and track the health of all 15-64 year olds with bipolar disorder between 2004 and 2018. They tracked the outcomes of 47,018 people with bipolar disorder who were 38, on average, at the start of the monitoring period. More than half (57%) were women.

Reference: Cause-specific excess mortality after first diagnosis of bipolar disorder: population-based cohort study, BMJ Mental Health, DOI 10.1136/bmjment-2023-300700 

Dual light wavelengths effective against antibiotic-resistant bacterium

Scientists have combined two light wavelengths to deactivate a bacterium that is invulnerable to some of the world’s most widely used antibiotics, giving hope that the regime could be adapted as a potential disinfectant treatment.

Under the guidance of project leader Dr. Gale Brightwell, scientists at New Zealand’s AgResearch demonstrated the novel antimicrobial efficiency of a combination of two light wavelengths against a ‘superbug’ known as antibiotic-resistant extended-spectrum beta-lactamase E. coli.

A combination of far UVC (222 nm) and blue Led (405 nm) light have been shown to be effective in the inactivation of a wide range of microorganisms while being much safer to use and handle as compared to traditional UVC at 254 nm, she said.

Reference: Dual wavelengths of light effective against antibiotic-resistant bacterium, Journal of Applied Microbiology, DOI 10.1093/jambio/lxad124

Study identifies how diabetes slows eye healing

Investigators from Cedars-Sinai have provided new understanding of how diabetes delays wound healing in the eye, identifying for the first time two related disease-associated changes to the cornea.

The findings, published in the journal Diabetologia, also identified three therapeutic pathways that reversed these changes and partially restored wound-healing function to the cornea—a discovery that could ultimately inform new treatments for diabetes.

Reference: Reversal of dual epigenetic repression of non‑canonical Wnt‑5a normalises diabetic corneal epithelial wound healing and stem cells, Diabetologia, DOI 10.1007/s00125-023-05960-1