Medical Bulletin 5/November/2022

Among adults with normal kidney function, exposure to higher concentrations of components of air pollution was linked with higher risks of later developing chronic kidney disease.

Compared with individuals with high genetic risk of developing kidney disease, those with high air pollution exposure and low genetic risk faced a higher risk of developing chronic kidney disease.

Results from the study to be presented at ASN Kidney Week 2022 November 3-November 6.

Reference:

"Air pollution, genetic factors, and the risk of incident chronic kidney disease: a prospective study of polygenic risk score analysis in the UK Biobank"MEETING

ASN Kidney Week 2022

Drinking dependance and increased risk of suicide may be linked

A recent study done by experts at the University College London (UCL) found that problematic alcohol usage is linked to an increased risk of suicide or self-harm.

Other than among those with "probable dependence" (the highest consumption level), the study, which was published in BJPsych Open, did not find a clear correlation between alcohol consumption levels and risk of suicide or self-harm; instead, they identified indicators of how alcohol was negatively affecting people's lives as risk factors.

Lead author, PhD candidate Sarah Ledden (UCL Psychiatry), said: "We found that it's not just how much people drink that is associated with their risk of suicide or self-harm, but whether they show signs of more problematic alcohol use. Drinking alcohol might not be the problem per se, but how it's affecting your life and potentially causing you problems."

Reference:

Sarah Ledden et al,Alcohol use and its association with suicide attempt, suicidal thoughts and non-suicidal self-harm in two successive, nationally representative English household samples,BJPsych Open, DOI 10.1192/bjo.2022.594

Mutations in the monkeypox virus contributing to its continued infectiousness identified in MU study

More than 77,000 people have been infected with monkeypox in more than 100 countries around the world. Like COVID-19, mutations have allowed the virus to become stronger and more intelligent, allowing it to avoid being stopped by antiviral medications and vaccines and spread to more people.

Now, a team of researchers at the University of Missouri have identified the specific mutations in the monkeypox virus that contribute to its continued infectiousness. The findings could lead to several outcomes: modified versions of existing drugs used to treat people suffering from monkeypox or the development of new drugs that account for the current mutations to increase their effectiveness at reducing symptoms and the spread of the virus.

Kamlendra Singh, a professor in the MU College of Veterinary Medicine and Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center principal investigator, collaborated with Shrikesh Sachdev, Shree Lekha Kandasamy and Hickman High School student Saathvik Kannan, to analyze the DNA sequences of more 200 strains of monkeypox virus spanning multiple decades, from 1965, when the virus first started spreading, to outbreaks in the early 2000s and again in 2022.

Reference:

Kamlendra Singh et al,Mutations in the monkeypox virus replication complex: Potential contributing factors to the 2022 outbreak,Journal of Autoimmunity, DOI

10.1016/j.jaut.2022.102928

Kidney disease relapse after COVID-19 vaccination: JASN Study

People with glomerular diseases-a group of autoimmune kidney disease that often require long-term treatment with medications that suppress the immune system-face a high risk of developing serious infections, and are more likely to experience complications of infections such as from COVID-19.

Several reports have described a relapse of certain autoimmune kidney diseases in patients after they've received COVID-19 vaccines, but it's unclear if this association is real or a coincidence. In a recent population-level study published in JASN, investigators found that a second or third dose of COVID-19 vaccine was associated with higher relative risk but low absolute increased risk of disease relapse.

Reference:

The article, titled "A population-based analysis of the risk of glomerular disease relapse after COVID-19 vaccination," will appear online at http://jasn.asnjournals.org/ on November3, 2022; doi: 10.1681/ASN.2022030258.

The editorial, titled, "mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and their risk to induce a relapse of glomerular diseases" will appear online at http://jasn.asnjournals.org/ on November 3, 2022; doi: 10.1681/ASN/2022091078.