Medical Bulletin 31/August/2023

Here are the top medical news of the day:

Despite drop in ciprofloxacin use, resistant E. coli rises

After a nearly threefold drop in prescriptions for the antibiotic ciprofloxacin between 2015 and 2021, the rates of ciprofloxacin-resistant E. coli bacteria circulating in the community did not decline.

A study of Seattle-area women over age 50 who had not taken any antibiotics for at least a year discovered that the incidence of gut-colonizing ciprofloxacin-resistant E. coli actually increased. About 1 in 5 women in the study were affected. In the study, the scientists examined participants’ positive samples to determine which antibiotic-resistant strains of E. coli were present.

Reference: Increase in the community circulation of ciprofloxacin-resistant Escherichia coli despite reduction in antibiotic prescriptions, Communications Medicine, (DOI 10.1038/s43856-023-00337-2)

Early life diet matters for lifelong health, shows yeast study

Researchers at the Babraham Institute are proposing an alternative link between diet and ageing based on studies in yeast. Dr Jon Houseley and his team have published their experiments, showing that healthy ageing is achievable through dietary change without restriction by potentially optimising diet, and that ill-health is not an inevitable part of the ageing process.

Scientists have long known that caloric restriction - intentionally consuming far less calories than normal without becoming malnourished - improves health in later life and may even extend life. However, studies in mice show that caloric restriction really needs to be maintained throughout life to achieve this impact, and the health benefits disappear when a normal diet is resumed. Dr. Houseley’s new research conducted in yeast suggests an alternative to calorie restriction can lead to improved health throughout the lifecycle.

Reference: Dr Dorottya Horkai, et al, Journal PLoS Biology (https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002245)

Antidepressant treatment for postnatal depression linked to improved child outcomes at age five

New research led by the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London has found that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) treatment for postnatal depression is associated with improvements in child behaviour up to five years after childbirth.

Researchers at King’s IoPPN, in collaboration with the University of Oslo, analysed data from over 61,000 mothers and their children recruited during pregnancy from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study. The researchers investigated how postnatal SSRI treatment modified the negative outcomes associated with postnatal depression in mothers and their children.

Reference: Long-term maternal and child outcomes following postnatal Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor treatment (Chao-Yu Liu, Eivind Ystrom, Tom A. McAdams) was published in JAMA Network Open (DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.31270).