Medical Bulletin 31/January/2023

Here are the top medical news for the day:

Anti-inflammatory effect of coffee with milk found

Polyphenols are a group of naturally occurring antioxidants important for humans.

They prevent and delay the oxidation of healthy chemical substances and organs in our bodies, thereby protecting them from damage or destruction.

Polyphenols are found in a variety of fruits and vegetables, tea, coffee, red wine and beer.

Due to their antioxidant properties, polyphenols are used in the food industry to minimize the oxidation of fats in particular, as well as the quality deterioration of foods, to avoid off flavours and rancidity.

Reference:

Phenolic Acid−Amino Acid Adducts Exert Distinct 2 Immunomodulatory Effects in Macrophages Compared to Parent 3 Phenolic Acids,Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry,doi 10.1021/acs.jafc.2c06658

Those suffering from arthritis 20% less likely to be at work: Study

The typical person living with arthritis in the UK is 20% less likely to be in work than their equivalent without the condition, new research shows.

And the most striking finding was that non-university educated women aged 60-plus are at least 37% less likely to be in work if they have arthritis, compared to matched individuals without the condition.

The study, published today by the University of Leeds, matched a group of 18,000 people with arthritis to another group of 18,000 people who were the most similar to the first group in terms of various characteristics, but had not been diagnosed with arthritis. These characteristics included age, gender, level of education, ethnicity and where they lived.

Reference:

How does arthritis affect employment? Longitudinal evidence on 18,000 British adults with arthritis compared to matched controls,Social Science & Medicine Part C Medical Economics,doi 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115606

Understanding of graft-versus-host disease reframed in new study

Allogeneic stem cell transplantation involves infusion of stem cells from a healthy donor’s blood or bone marrow to a recipient. While often lifesaving for patients with leukemia and other blood disorders, the treatment also comes with a risk of developing GVHD, a life-threatening disease that occurs when donor alloreactive T cells attack the recipient’s healthy tissues.

New research challenges the prevailing hypothesis for how donor stem cell grafts cause graft-versus-host disease, or GVHD, and offers an alternative model that could guide development of novel therapies.

Reference:

Graft-versus-host disease is locally maintained in target tissues by resident progenitor-like T cells,Immunity,doi 10.1016/j.immuni.2023.01.003

Body’s potassium homeostasis demonstrated in new mathematical model

Potassium, a common mineral abundant in food like bananas and leafy greens, is essential to normal cellular function. It helps the cardiac muscle work correctly and aids in the transmission of electrical signals within cells.

Having levels of potassium that are too high or too low can be fatal. A new mathematical model sheds light on the often mysterious ways the body regulates this important electrolyte.

Using existing biological data, researchers at the University of Waterloo built a mathematical model that simulates how an average person’s body regulates potassium, both in times of potassium depletion and during potassium intake. Because so many foods contain abundant potassium, our bodies constantly store, deploy, and dispose of potassium to maintain healthy levels - a process known as maintaining potassium homeostasis. Understanding potassium homeostasis is essential in helping diagnose the source of the problem when something goes wrong - for example, when kidney disease or medication leads to dysregulation.

Reference:

Melissa M. Stadt et al,PLoS Computational Biology