Medical Bulletin 30/September/2025

The study utilized data from the UK Biobank, analysing around 200,000 participants’ dietary habits, particularly their fruit, vegetable, and whole grain intake. This was compared with their lung function, measured through FEV1 (forced expiratory volume in one second), and their exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Researchers also adjusted for factors like age, height, and socioeconomic status to ensure more accurate results.

Results showed a significant difference in lung function reduction between those with high and low fruit intake. “For every increase in exposure to PM2.5 of five micrograms per cubic metre of air, the team observed a 78.1ml reduction in FEV1 in the low fruit intake group, compared to only a 57.5ml reduction in the high fruit intake group in women,” said Pimpika Kaewsri, a PhD student at the University of Leicester’s Centre for Environmental Health and Sustainability and lead author of the study. “Our study confirmed that a healthy diet is linked to better lung function in both men and women regardless of air pollution exposure. And that women who consumed four portions of fruit per day or more appeared to have smaller reductions in lung function associated with air pollution, compared to those who consumed less fruit.”

She suggests that the antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds in fruit could help combat the oxidative stress caused by pollution. However, Kaewsri noted the effect was more prominent in women, possibly due to higher fruit consumption compared to men.

Reference: https://www.ersnet.org/news-and-features/news/eating-fruit-may-reduce-the-effects-of-air-pollution-on-lung-function/

Trial Shows 2-in-1 Inhaler Cuts Childhood Asthma Attacks by Nearly Half

An international clinical trial published in The Lancet has revealed that a 2-in-1 inhaler could significantly reduce asthma attacks in children, potentially transforming global asthma treatment guidelines. The trial—the first randomised controlled study to compare this combined therapy against standard salbutamol reliever inhalers in children aged 5 to 15—found the 2-in-1 treatment not only more effective but equally safe.

Asthma remains one of the most common chronic conditions among children, and reducing the frequency of asthma attacks is a major public health priority. In this new study, researchers found that using a single inhaler combining budesonide, an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS), and formoterol, a fast-acting bronchodilator, reduced asthma attacks by an average of 45% compared to salbutamol, the current standard reliever medication.

In the CARE study (Children’s Anti-inflammatory REliever), a total of 360 children in New Zealand were randomly assigned to receive either the combined budesonide-formoterol inhaler or a salbutamol inhaler for on-demand symptom relief. Over a one-year period, the group using the 2-in-1 inhaler experienced fewer asthma attacks, with annual rates of 0.23 attacks per child compared to 0.41 in the salbutamol group.

“This is a key step in addressing the evidence gap that exists between asthma management in adults and children,” said Dr Lee Hatter, lead author and Senior Clinical Research Fellow at MRINZ. “For the first time, we have demonstrated that the budesonide-formoterol 2-in-1 inhaler, used as needed for symptom relief, can significantly reduce asthma attacks in children with mild asthma.”

Importantly, the trial confirmed the safety of the combined inhaler approach, showing no significant differences in children’s growth, lung function, or overall asthma control.

Although the study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic—when fewer respiratory viruses circulated—it was designed to reflect real-world conditions, making its findings highly applicable to clinical practice.

Reference: Budesonide–formoterol versus salbutamol as reliever therapy in children with mild asthma (CARE): a 52-week, open-label, multicentre, superiority, randomised controlled trial, Hatter, LeeAnderson, Augustus J et al. The Lancet, Volume 0, Issue 0

This Diet Impairs Memory Through Cellular Dysfunction: Study Finds

A new study published in PLOS Genetics by researchers at Chiba University, Japan, has revealed that high-fat diets may impair memory formation by disrupting autophagy, a key cellular process responsible for recycling damaged components.

With modern lifestyles increasingly dominated by processed and fatty foods, high-fat diets (HFDs) have been linked to conditions like obesity, diabetes, and metabolic disorders. More recently, researchers have also begun investigating the impact of such diets on brain health.

The research team used Drosophila melanogaster, the common fruit fly, as their model. Fruit flies share many metabolic and neural pathways with humans, making them ideal for studying complex biological processes like memory formation. The researchers fed the flies either a normal diet or and high-fat diets for seven days, then assessed changes in their metabolism and memory.

Flies on the high-fat diet showed increased levels of triacylglycerol (TAG), glucose, and intestinal lipid accumulation—indicating altered lipid and glucose metabolism. Most strikingly, the high-fat diets -fed flies demonstrated significant impairments in intermediate-term memory (ITM) and long-term memory (LTM), though short-term memory remained intact. This cognitive decline was linked to disruptions in autophagy and lysosomal function.

“Our findings suggest that diet-induced cognitive decline is not irreversible and may be improved by lifestyle interventions that promote autophagy, such as exercise or intermittent fasting,” said Associate Professor Ayako Tonoki from the Graduate School of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Understanding how diet impacts autophagy and memory could pave the way for early preventive strategies against neurodegenerative diseases, underscoring the importance of healthy eating for lifelong brain health.

Reference: Yue T, Jiang M, Onuki K, Itoh M, Tonoki A (2025) High-fat diet impairs intermediate-term memory by autophagic-lysosomal dysfunction in Drosophila. PLoS Genet 21(8): e1011818. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1011818