Medical Bulletin 7/August/2023

Here are the top medical news of the day:

25 mins/day walking enough to counter physical impact of bedrest on elderly

As little as 25 minutes a day of slow walking seems to be enough to counter the detrimental physical effects of bedrest on older hospital patients, finds a pooled data analysis of the available evidence, published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

And for optimal improvements in physical function, around 50 mins/day of slow walking or around 40 mins of combined physical activities, such as 20 mins of resistance bands with around 20 mins of aerobic activity, are the most effective, the analysis indicates.

Recently published research indicates that getting older hospital patients out of bed and moving about can help ward off physical decline, but it’s not clear what type of activity, or how much of it, might be most effective. In a bid to find out, the researchers looked for published clinical trials that involved people over the age of 50 who had been admitted to the hospital for a serious bout of illness and prescribed any form of physical activity during their inpatient stay.

Reference: Optimal dose and type of physical activity to improve functional capacity and minimize adverse events in acutely hospitalized older adults: a systematic review with dose-response network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, British Journal of Sports Medicine, DOI 10.1136/bjsports-2023-106409

Added sugar consumption may increase risk of kidney stones

Now, a study in Frontiers in Nutrition has shown for the first time that elevated consumption of added sugars should probably be added to the list of risk factors for kidney stones. Added sugars occur in many processed foods, but are especially abundant in sugar-sweetened sodas, fruit drinks, candy, ice cream, cakes, and cookies.

Yin et al. analyzed epidemiological data on 28,303 adult women and men, collected between 2007 to 2018 within the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Participants self-reported if they had a history of kidney stones.

Reference: Association between added sugars and kidney stones in US adults: data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2007-2018, Frontiers in Nutrition, DOI 10.3389/fnut.2023.1226082 

Tropical Chinese plant reveals antiobesity potential

Obesity, a major risk factor for various lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and hypertension has become widespread worldwide, inherently demanding innovative solutions to combat it. A multi-institutional research group led by Associate Professor Akiko Kojima of the Graduate School of Human Life and Ecology at Osaka Metropolitan University has made significant progress in the fight against obesity. The group had previously conducted a study on the effects of the extract of Mallotus fustians (MFE), a tropical plant native to Hainan Island, China, on the prevention of fatty liver, but the antiobesity effects of MFE and its mechanisms had not been elucidated until now.

Using obesity model mice, the researchers set out to verify the antiobesity effects of MFE extract and the results were remarkable. Treatment with MFE significantly suppressed the increase in body weight and adipose tissue weight and also demonstrated morphological changes in the liver and adipose tissue of the obesity model mice. Further investigation into the mechanism revealed that fat synthesis was inhibited by suppressing the expression of several transcription factors involved in adipocyte differentiation.

Reference:The suppression of the differentiation of adipocytes with Mallotus furetianus is regulated through the post-translational modifications of C/EBPβ, Food Science & Nutrition, DOI 10.1002/fsn3.3551