Medical Bulletin 24/August/2022

Here are the top medical news for the day:

Association between NSAIDs and heart failure in patients with diabetes

Short-term use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is associated with a first-time hospitalization for heart failure in patients with type 2 diabetes, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2022.

The researchers used Danish registers to identify patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes from 1998 to 2021. Patients with heart failure or a rheumatological condition requiring long-term NSAID use were excluded. Information was collected on prescriptions for oral NSAIDs claimed prior to first-time heart failure hospitalization. Using a case-crossover design in which each patient acted as his or her own control, associations between short-term NSAID use and the risk of first-time heart failure hospitalization were assessed.

Ref:

Dr. Anders Holt et al,ESC Congress 2022

Link between Air pollution and heart attacks in non smokers

This study investigated the associations of nitric oxide, particulate matter with a diameter less than 10 µm (PM10), and weather with the incidence of myocardial infarction in Berlin. Nitric oxide originates from combustion at high temperatures, in particular from diesel vehicles.

Combustion is also a source of PM10, along with abrasion from brakes and tyres, and dust. The study included 17,873 patients with a myocardial infarction between 2008 and 2014 enrolled in the B2HIR.2 Daily numbers of acute myocardial infarctions were extracted from the B2HIR database along with baseline patient characteristics including sex, age, smoking status, and diabetes. Daily PM10 and nitric oxide concentrations throughout the city were obtained from the Senate of Berlin. Information on sunshine duration, minimum and maximum temperature, and precipitation were retrieved from the Berlin Tempelhof weather station and merged with the data on myocardial infarction incidence and air pollution.

Ref:

Dr. Insa de Buhr-Stockburger et al,About ESC Congress 2022

Glyphosate's effects on the nervous system

A recent report by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found more than 80 percent of urine samples from children and adults in the U.S. contained the herbicide glyphosate. A study by Florida Atlantic University and Nova Southeastern University takes this research one step further and is the first to link the use of the herbicide Roundup®, a widely used weed killer, to convulsions in animals.

Results, published in Scientific Reports, showed that glyphosate and Roundup® increased seizure-like behavior in soil-dwelling roundworms and provides significant evidence that glyphosate targets GABA-A receptors. These communication points are essential for locomotion and are heavily involved in regulating sleep and mood in humans.

Ref:

Akshay S. Naraine et al,Roundup and glyphosate's impact on GABA to elicit extended proconvulsant behavior in 12 Caenorhabditis elegans,Scientific Reports,10.1038/s41598-022-17537-w

The Tomato flu

Tomato flu is a self-limiting illness and no specific drug exists to treat it. The tomato flu was first identified in the Kollam district of Kerala on May 6, 2022, and as of July 26, 2022, more than 82 children younger than 5 years with the infection have been reported by the local government hospitals.

To date, apart from Kerala, Tamilnadu, and Odisha, no other regions in India have been affected by the virus.

Ref:

Vivek P Chavda,Kaushika Patel,Vasso Apostolopoulos, Tomato flu outbreak in India,Published:August 17, 2022 The Lancet Respiratory, Medicine,DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(22)00300-9