Medical Bulletin 9/June/2023

Here are the top medical news for the day:

Its Possible to reverse devastating heart condition for the 1st time

Three men who had heart failure caused by the build-up of sticky, toxic proteins are now free of symptoms after their condition spontaneously reversed in an unprecedented case described by a team at UCL (University College London) and the Royal Free Hospital. The condition, a form of amyloidosis affecting the heart, is progressive and has until now been seen as irreversible, with half of patients dying within four years of diagnosis.

The new study reports on three men, aged 68, 76 and 82, who were diagnosed with transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis but who later recovered. Their own reports of symptoms improving was confirmed by objective assessments including cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) scans showing that the build-up of amyloid proteins in the heart had cleared.

Reference:A

ntibody associated reversal of ATTR amyloidosis cardiomyopathy,New England Journal of Medicine

Long Covid impact on fatigue and quality of life worse than some cancers

Fatigue is the symptom that most significantly impacts the daily lives of long Covid patients, and can affect quality of life more than some cancers, finds a new study led by researchers at UCL and the University of Exeter. The research, examines the impact of long Covid on the lives of over 3,750 patients who were referred to a long Covid clinic and used a digital app as part of their NHS treatment for the condition.

Patients were asked to complete questionnaires on the app about how long Covid was affecting them – considering the impact of long Covid on their day-to-day activities, levels of fatigue, depression, anxiety, breathlessness, brain fog, and their quality of life.

Reference:

Sarah Walker, Henry Goodfellow, Patra Pookarnjanamorakot, Elizabeth Murray, Julia Bindman, Ann Blandford, Katherine Bradbury, Belinda Cooper, Fiona L Hamilton, John R Hurst, Hannah Hylton, Stuart Linke, Paul E Pfeffer, Department of Respiratory Medicine, William Ricketts, Chris Robson, Fiona A Stevenson, David Sunkersing, Jiunn Wang, Manuel Gomes, William Henley. The impact of fatigue as the primary determinant of functional limitations amongst patients with Post-COVID syndrome: a cross-sectional observational study, BMJ Open doi 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-069217

Novel way to develop drugs without side effects

Japanese researchers now reveal a new way of activating GPCR by triggering shape changes in the intracellular region of the receptor. This new process can help researchers design drugs with fewer or no side effects.

Adverse side effects ensue if drugs acting on GPCRs activate multiple signaling pathways rather than a specific target pathway. That is why drug development focuses on activating specific molecular signal pathways within cells. Activating the GPCR from inside the cell rather than outside the cell could be one way to achieve specificity.

Reference:

Class B1 GPCR activation by an intracellular agonist,Nature,DOI 10.1038/s41586-023-06169-3