Medical Bulletin 7/April/2023

Here are the top medical news for the day:

Poor sleep may increase genetic susceptibility to asthma

Poor quality sleep may potentially double the risk of being diagnosed with asthma, suggests a large UK Biobank study, published in the open access journal BMJ Open Respiratory Research.

A healthy sleep pattern seems to be linked to a lower risk of asthma, prompting the researchers to suggest that spotting and treating sleep disorders early on might lessen the risks, irrespective of genetic predisposition.

People with asthma often report sleep disturbances, including broken/short sleep and insomnia. But it’s not clear if sleep quality itself might influence asthma risk, or whether healthy sleep patterns might lessen this risk, say the researchers.

Reference:

Highlighting the importance of healthy sleep patterns in the risk of adult asthma under the combined effects of genetic susceptibility: a large-scale prospective cohort study of 455405 participants,BMJ Open Respiratory Research,doi 10.1136/bmjresp-2022-001535

Purified curcumin can preserve and enhance probiotic yogurt as an alternative to artificial additives: Study

Curcumin is a naturally-occurring chemical that provides the yellow colour in turmeric. Studies have shown that it has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties, that it can inhibit the growth of bacteria and fungi, and may be able to boost the immune system.

Researchers have succeeded for the first time in adding a highly purified form of curcumin to yogurt in a way that ensures it remains dissolved in the dairy product and preserves it, while tasting good.

Their discovery, which is published today (Monday) in Frontiers in Nutrition, makes it possible to create a probiotic yogurt that contains no artificial preservatives but that still has a long shelf life and properties that may enhance good health.

Reference:

POLSKIE TOWARZYSTWO LIPIDOLOGICZNE (POLISH LIPID ASSOCIATION),Frontiers in Nutrition,DOI 10.3389/fnut.2023.1118752

Potential cause of age-related macular degeneration identified in study

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), is a common cause of vision loss in older adults.

A study from the National Eye Institute (NEI) identified rare genetic variants that could point to one of the general mechanisms driving AMD. The variants generate malformed proteins that alter the stability of the membrane attack complex (MAC), which may drive a chronic inflammatory response in the retina. The findings, published in the journal iScience, point to MAC as a potential therapeutic target to slow or prevent the development of AMD. NEI is part of the National Institutes of Health.

There are many known genetic variants that raise or lower an individual’s risk of getting AMD; however, the contribution of each of these genetic changes to AMD is small.

Reference:

Zelinger L, Martin TM, Advani J, Campello L, English MA, Kwong A, Weber C, Maykoski J, Sergeev YV, Fariss R, Chew EY, Klein ML, and Swaroop A. “Ultra-rare complement factor 8 coding variants in families with age-related macular degeneration.” iScience. April 1, 2023.