Medical Bulletin 25/October/2023

Here are the top medical news of the day:

How dietary choices play a role in cognitive health of aging women?

As the quest for understanding the relationship between diet and cognitive health continues, a new study sheds light on the potential benefits of the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet for women. The study showed that greater adherence to the mid-life DASH diet is associated with a lower prevalence of late-life subjective cognitive complaints in women, with the strongest effects observed in those without a history of cancer.

The study, conducted as part of the New York University Women's Health Study, focused on 5116 women with a mean age of 46 in the years 1985-1991, and then assessed their SCCs from 2018 to 2020 when their mean age had reached 79 years. The results are striking.

Reference: Mid-life adherence to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet and late-life subjective cognitive complaints in women, Yixiao Song et al, 20 October 2023 https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.13468

Benefits of ginseng, ginkgo and saffron extracts for Memory Function

A recent study has shown that SaiLuoTong (SLT) supplementation, a herbal supplement that contains extracts including ginseng, ginkgo and crocus sativus (saffron), demonstrated significant improvements in delayed memory retrieval and executive function in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) while being well-tolerated, offering potential support for cognitive health in this population. This research focused on community-dwelling people aged 60 years or older and offers promising insights into the power of SLT.

In this study, 78 participants with MCI were randomly assigned to receive either 180 mg/day of SLT or a placebo for a duration of 12 weeks. The findings reveal significant improvements in various cognitive domains. After the 12-week period, the participants who received SLT demonstrated a remarkable difference in their cognitive performance compared to the placebo group.

Reference: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group 12-week pilot phase II trial of SaiLuoTong (SLT) for cognitive function in older adults with mild cognitive impairment, Genevieve Z. Steiner-Lim et al, 11 October 2023 https://doi.org/10.1002/trc2.12420

Study explores Link Between Diabetic Complications and Colorectal Cancer

A recent study, published in the journal CANCER showed that patients with complicated diabetes face an 85% higher risk of early death from any cause and a 41% higher risk of death from colorectal cancer, particularly pronounced in women and those with early-stage colorectal cancer, emphasizing the impact of diabetes severity on colorectal cancer prognosis.

Researchers from National Taiwan University, analyzed data spanning from 2007 to 2015 from the Taiwan Cancer Registry Database, which is linked to health insurance and death records. Their focus was on 59,202 individuals with stage I–III colorectal cancer who had undergone potentially curative surgery to remove their tumors. The results were enlightening

Reference: “Diabetic severity and oncological outcomes of colorectal cancer following curative resection: A population‐based cohort study in Taiwan.” Hsin‐Yin Hsu, Yih‐Jong Chern, Min‐Shu Hsu, Tzu‐Lin Yeh, Ming‐Chieh Tsai, Jing‐Rong Jhuang, Lee‐Ching Hwang, Chun-Ju Chiang, Wen-Chung Lee, and Kuo-Liong Chien. CANCER; Published Online: October 23, 2023 (DOI: 10.1002/cncr.34975).