Medical Bulletin 8/March/2023

Here are the top medical news for the day:

Females of all ages, sexes have more salt- sensitive hypertension than their counterparts

There is increasing evidence that females of all ethnicities and ages are more salt sensitive than males, and that this propensity to hold onto more salt, which drives blood pressure up, increases after menopause.

It’s generally thought that females are better protected against cardiovascular disease than males until menopause, when the risk is thought to level out. Laboratory studies in traditional hypertension rat models, like the Dahl Salt-Sensitive rat, have generally supported those ideas, including an equalization of risk in the two sexes following removal of the ovaries.

Reference:

Females of all ages, sexes have more salt- sensitive hypertension than males, JOURNAL; Hypertension

How heavy alcohol consumption increases brain inflammation

For people with alcohol use disorder (AUD), there is a constant, vicious cycle between changes to the brain and changes to behavior. Alcohol use disorder can alter signaling pathways in the brain; in turn, those changes can exacerbate drinking.

Now, scientists at Scripps Research have uncovered new details about the immune system’s role in this cycle. They reported in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity, that the immune signaling molecule interleukin 1β is present at higher levels in the brains of mice with alcohol dependence. In addition, this interleukin pathway takes on a different role in these animals, causing inflammation in critical areas of the brain known to be involved in decision-making.

Reference:

How heavy alcohol consumption increases brain inflammation, Brain Behavior and Immunity, DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2023.02.020

Incidence rates of diabetes continue to increase in children, young adults

New findings from researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine confirm that the rates of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes continue to increase in children and young adults. Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic children and young adults also had higher incidence rates of diabetes.

The study appears online in the current issue of The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.

The research team identified more than 18,000 children and young people from infants to 19 years of age with a physician diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes and more than 5,200 young people between the ages of 10 and 19 with Type 2 diabetes at five centers in the U.S.

Reference:

Incidence rates of diabetes continue to increase in children, young adults; The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, DOI: 10.1016/S2213-8587(23)00025-6