Medical Bulletin 07/ November/ 2024 - Video

A recent randomized control crossover study in the Journal of Dairy Science, published by Elsevier, demonstrates that a dairy-based, protein-rich breakfast not only keeps you fuller compared with a carbohydrate-rich meal or skipping breakfast entirely it also helps boost concentration in the critical first hours of the day.

Dr. Hansen, study’s lead investigator and her team set out a randomized trial following 30 young women for three test days separated by at least two days. The day before each test the women’s physical activity levels and diets were standardized. The participants, aged 18 to 30, had body mass index (BMI) scores higher than 25, classifying them as overweight to obese.

During the study the participants either consumed a protein-rich breakfast of skyr yogurt and oats or a low-protein, high-carbohydrate meal of whole grain bread with raspberry jam and apple juice. Both meals had matching energy content and density and the same amount of dietary fiber and fat. The control group skipped breakfast entirely.

After breakfast, the team calculated the energy intake of participants at lunch and throughout the rest of the day and rated their appetite between meals. Blood samples were taken between breakfast and lunch to test for appetite-regulating gut hormones, insulin, and glucose. Finally, the team measured the participants’ performance in a concentration test two-and-a-half hours after breakfast.

The study results revealed that the young women participating felt more satiated and less hungry after a dairy-based, high-protein, low-carbohydrate breakfast compared with a low-protein, high-carbohydrate breakfast or no breakfast. “However, this was not translated significantly to their gut hormones or overall calorie intake for the day,” added Dr. Hansen, “suggesting that a high-protein breakfast might not be a weight-loss solution on its own.”

Interestingly, the breakfast choices affected cognition. After eating the high-protein yogurt, participants showed a boost in their concentration test scores compared with those who skipped breakfast. This cognitive improvement was not seen in those who ate toast with jam and juice.

Reference: A dairy-based, protein-rich breakfast enhances satiety and cognitive concentration before lunch in overweight to obese young females: A randomized controlled crossover study, Dalgaard, L.B. et al., Journal of Dairy Science, Volume 107, Issue 5, 2653 – 2667

DOI: 10.3168/jds.2023-24152

In an effort to understand which knee replacement surgery approach is better, researchers from Kyushu University collected convincing evidence in favor of preserving the patient’s native alignment. The study was published in The Bone & Joint Journal.

Neutral alignment is not always the patient’s original alignment and there is some debate within the orthopedic community on whether restoring the patient’s original alignment can lead to better patient-reported outcomes. In the present study, researchers have attempted to settle this debate and create a comprehensive guide on preoperative planning and execution of knee replacement surgery.

This study is mostly centered around a classification system called the Coronal Plane Alignment of the Knee (CPAK). It categorizes the possible alignments of the knee joint based on two main characteristics that is the hip-knee-ankle angle and angle of the joint line.

The research team sought to determine whether changes in the Coronal Plane Alignment of the Knee categorization before and after knee replacement surgery were associated with notable differences in outcomes. To this end, they collected data from 231 patients who received knee replacement surgery for osteoarthritis at Kyushu University Hospital between 2013 and 2019. Using X-ray images, the team determined the Coronal Plane Alignment of the Knee classification and alignment variables of the patients before and after surgery. They also sent a questionnaire to the patients, from which they derived a series of standardized scores related to symptoms, overall satisfaction, activity levels, and quality of life after the operation.

Researchers revealed that patients who underwent changes in knee alignment after knee replacement surgery, as determined using the Coronal Plane Alignment of the Knee classification, had significantly worse long-term outcomes. Interestingly, they also found that patients whose joint line angle was tilted to the outside of their knee after surgery reported overall worse outcomes as well. This study demonstrates that precisely replicating a patient’s native alignment during surgery is crucial for ensuring optimal recovery and a higher quality of life.

Reference: Konishi T, Hamai S, Tsushima H, et al. Pre- and postoperative Coronal Plane Alignment of the Knee classification and its impact on clinical outcomes in total knee arthroplasty. Bone Joint J. 2024;106-B(10):1059-1066. doi:10.1302/0301-620X.106B10.BJJ-2023-1425.R1

New research from the University of Georgia suggests omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids may help ward off a variety of cancers.

“Higher omega-3 and omega-6 levels were associated with lower rates of cancer,” said Yuchen Zhang, lead author of the study and a doctoral student in UGA’s College of Public Health.

Participants with higher levels of omega-3s had lower rates of colon, stomach and lung cancer, in addition to lower rates of other digestive tract cancers. High omega-6 levels led to lower rates of 14 different cancers, including brain, malignant melanoma, bladder and more.

The study relied on data from a United Kingdom-based study of over 250,000 people who were followed for more than a decade. Of those participants, almost 30,000 developed some form of cancer during the study period.

Known as “healthy fats,” omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are essential for human health. But the decision to take the popular fish oil pills isn’t one-size-fits-all. In the present study, for example, the researchers found that high omega-3 levels could be associated with a slightly higher risk of prostate cancer.

“For women, it’s an easy decision: Eat more omega-3,” said Kaixiong Ye, corresponding author of the study and an associate professor in UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

The researchers also saw a stronger beneficial effect of omega-6 in younger participants, particularly women.

Reference: Zhang Y, Sun Y, Song S, Khankari NK, Brenna JT, Shen Y, Ye K. Associations of plasma omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids with overall and 19 site-specific cancers: a population-based cohort study in UK Biobank. medRxiv [Preprint]. 2024 Jan 22:2024.01.21.24301568. doi: 10.1101/2024.01.21.24301568. Update in: Int J Cancer. 2024 Oct 17. doi: 10.1002/ijc.35226. PMID: 38343844; PMCID: PMC10854355.

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and obesity are at a higher risk of giving birth to smaller babies in terms of birth weight, length, and head circumference, according to a recent study conducted at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).

In the study, 390 children born to women with PCOS were compared to around 70,000 children from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study.

The researchers found that on average, the babies born to mothers with PCOS weighed less, were shorter, and had a smaller head circumference at birth. This was particularly the case when the mothers were obese, meaning they had a BMI over 30.

“In women of normal weight who have PCOS, we only find that their children have a lower birth weight compared to women who do not have PCOS. It is the group of children born to mothers with obesity that stands out the most. These babies have lower weight, shorter stature and a smaller head circumference. Obesity places an additional burden on mothers who have PCOS and their children,” said Professor Eszter Vanky at NTNU’s Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine.

“What is unusual is that women who are generally overweight and gain a lot of weight during pregnancy usually have an increased risk of giving birth to large babies. This also applies to women who develop gestational diabetes. On average, women with PCOS have higher BMIs, gain more weight during pregnancy, and 25% of them develop gestational diabetes. However, the outcome is the opposite: these women give birth to babies who are smaller than average. We still don’t know why, but we see that the placenta is affected in these women,” said Vanky.

Researchers explains that even though the placenta in these women is smaller in size, it seems to deliver more nutrients relative to the baby’s body weight compared to a normal placenta. Vanky describes it as a placenta in overdrive.

The researchers have also followed up on some of the children when they reached the age of 7 years.

Reference: Talmo MSA, Fløysand IS, Nilsen GØ, et al. Growth Restriction in the Offspring of Mothers With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(8):e2430543. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.30543