Medical Bulletin 26/August/2022

Here are the top medical news for the day:

How statin therapy can yield lifelong benefits

Stopping statin treatment early could substantially reduce lifetime protection against heart disease since a large share of the benefit occurs later in life. That's the finding of a modeling study presented at ESC Congress 2022.

Statins are the most commonly used lipid-modifying drug – it is estimated that in 2018, they were taken by more than 145 million people. However, delayed treatment initiation and poor adherence are common. Exaggerated claims about side-effects of statins may also be responsible for under-use among individuals at increased risk of cardiovascular events.

Ref:

Dr. Runguo Wu et al,ESC Congress 2022.

Consequences of smoking

Smokers have weaker hearts than non-smokers, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2022.This study explored whether smoking was related to changes in the structure and function of the heart in people without cardiovascular disease and the effect of changing smoking habits.

The study used data from the 5th Copenhagen City Heart Study which investigated cardiovascular risk factors and diseases in the general population. A total of 3,874 participants aged 20 to 99 years without heart disease were enrolled. A self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information on smoking history and to estimate pack-years, which is the number of cigarettes smoked through life. One pack-year is defined as 20 cigarettes smoked every day or one year.

Ref:

Dr. Eva Holt et. al,ESC Congress 2022

New blood test to evaluate the severity of pulmonary arterial hypertension

The new blood test measures DNA fragments shed by damaged cells. Researchers found that these fragments, called cell-free DNA, were elevated in the blood of patients with PAH and increase with disease severity.

Patients with PAH have a high death rate, and the condition mostly affects women. Despite treatment advances, it currently has no cure.

Ref:

Plasma Cell-free DNA Predicts Survival and Maps Specific Sources of Injury in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. Circulation. DOI: 0.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.121.056719

Synthetic mouse embryo from stem cells which has brain heartbeats

The results are the culmination of more than a decade of research, and they could help researchers understand why some embryos fail while others go on to develop into a fetus as part of a healthy pregnancy. Additionally, the results could be used to guide repair and development of synthetic human organs for transplantation.

The embryo model was developed without eggs or sperm. Instead, the researchers mimicked natural processes in the lab by guiding the three types of stem cells found in early mammalian development to the point where they start interacting. By inducing the expression of a particular set of genes and establishing a unique environment for their interactions, the researchers were able to get the stem cells to "talk" to each other.

Ref:

Gianluca Amadei et al,Synthetic embryos complete gastrulation to neurulation and organogenesis,Nature,10.1038/s41586-022-05246-3