Medical Bulletin 24/September/2022

Children who were infected with COVID-19 show a substantially higher risk of developing type 1 diabetes (T1D), according to a new study that analyzed electronic health records of more than 1 million patients ages 18 and younger.

The findings showed a 72% increase in new diagnoses of T1D in COVID-19 patients 18 years old and younger-although the research emphasized that it is unclear whether COVID-19 triggers new onset of T1D.About 187,000 children and adolescents younger than 20 live with T1D nationally, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Reference:

Pamela Davis et al,Association of SARS-CoV-2 infection with new onset type 1 diabetes in children, 2020-2021,JAMA Network Open

People who wear reusable contact lenses are nearly four times as likely as those wearing daily disposables to develop a rare sight-threatening eye infection, finds a study led by UCL and Moorfields researchers.

Contact lens use is now the leading cause of microbial keratitis in patients with otherwise healthy eyes in countries in the global north. Sight loss resulting from microbial keratitis is uncommon but Acanthamoeba, although a rare cause, is one of the most severe and is responsible for about half of those contact lens users who develop sight loss after keratitis. 90% of Acanthamoeba keratitis or AK cases are associated with avoidable risks, although the infection remains rare, affecting fewer than 1 in 20,000 contact lens wearers per year in the UK.

Reference:

Professor John Dart et al,Acanthamoeba keratitis risk factors for daily wear contact lens users: a case control study,Ophthalmology,DOI 10.1016/j.ophtha.2022.08.002

A study published in the journal Environmental Pollution has found an association, in children aged 9‑12, between exposure to air pollutants in the womb and during the first 8.5 years of life and alterations in white matter structural connectivity in the brain.

Tracts or bundles of cerebral white matter ensure structural connectivity by interconnecting the different areas of the brain. Connectivity can be measured by studying the microstructure of this white matter, a marker of typical brain development. Abnormal white matter microstructure has been associated with psychiatric disorders.

Reference:

Anne-Claire Binter et al,Air pollution, white matter microstructure, and brain volumes: periods of susceptibility from pregnancy to preadolescence,Environmental Pollution