Medical Bulletin 5/December/2022

As the Christmas season starts to ramp up, University of South Australia researchers are reminding people to prioritise a good night's sleep as new research shows that a troubled sleep may be associated with risk factors for type 2 diabetes.

In the first study of its kind, researchers found that people who reported trouble sleeping were on average more likely to have indicators of poor cardiometabolic health - inflammatory markers, cholesterol and body weight -which can contribute to type 2 diabetes.

Reference:

Trouble sleeping? You could be at risk of type 2 diabetes; The Science of Diabetes Self-Management and Care, DOI: 10.1177/26350106221137896.

Synchronized neural oscillations in the right brain induce empathic behavior

Empathy is the ability that allows us to perceive and understand another individual's emotions, such as joy, sadness, or fear. It is an essential function for human sociality, and its impairment has been observed in numerous psychiatric and neurological disorders such as autism, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's disease.

The Center for Cognition and Sociality (CCS) within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) in South Korea has discovered the underlying neural mechanism that allows us to feel empathy. The group's study on mice hinted that empathy is induced by the synchronized neural oscillations in the right hemisphere of the brain, which allows the animals to perceive and share each other's fear.

Reference:

Synchronized neural oscillations in the right brain induce empathic behavior, Neuron; DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.11.001.

'Meth' heart failure in socioeconomic groups?

Rates of heart failure associated with the growing illicit use of the stimulant drug methamphetamine, or meth for short, are rising worldwide and now affect a wide range of socio-economic and racial groups, finds a review of the available evidence, published online in the journal Heart.

Meth heart failure is also more severe than that experienced by those who don't use the drug, and warrants increased public awareness and availability of treatment for meth addiction to stem the rising tide of those affected. Previously published research shows that use of the drug, also popularly known as 'crystal meth', 'ice' and 'speed', is associated with serious health problems, including high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, and even sudden death.

Reference:

Prevalence of 'meth' heart failure now in wide range of socioeconomic and racial groups; BMJ JOURNAL Heart; DOI: 10.1136/heartjnl-2022-321610