Medical Bulletin 16/December/2021 - Video

Here are Top Medical stories of the day

Dietary 'flavanols may help burn excess fat by enhancing browning of fat

In cold conditions, brown adipose tissue (BAT) or brown fat generates heat to keep the body warm. Compared with white adipose tissue, BAT has more mitochondria­—subcellular organelles associated with energy production—which allows it to burn calories and produce heat by activating the mitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 (Ucp-1). The stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) after cold exposure, exercise, and calorie restriction is well known to induce fat browning. Dietary polyphenols may also activate BAT, causing heat to be dissipated from our bodies.

BAT activation and white fat browning are thus both therapeutically significant in the fight against cardiovascular diseases and their comorbidities.

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Dietary 'Flavanols May Help Burn Excess Fat By Enhancing Browning Of Fat, New Study Suggests

Bariatric surgery helps reduce hepatic steatosis in Type 2 Diabetes patients

In a new research, Kathrine Aglen Seeberg and colleagues have found that Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and sleeve gastrectomy (SG) were both extremely successful in decreasing hepatic steatosis, with an almost full clearance of liver fat 1 year after surgery. In the near term, bariatric surgery had less of an effect on the degree of fibrosis, but long-term progression must be assessed.

The findings of this study were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine on 30th November, 2021.

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Bariatric Surgery Helps Reduce Hepatic Steatosis In Type 2 Diabetes Patients

Wearing removable dentures tied to pneumonia risk in older adults

A recent study in the journal JDR Clinical & Translational Research found that wearing removable dentures is a risk predictor for pneumonia incidence among older adults.

Older adults are more prone to pneumonia, a common respiratory infection. About 1 million older adults are hospitalized per year for community-acquired pneumonia in the United States. T.T. Wu, Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA, and colleagues aimed to determine if wearing removable dentures is related to an increased risk of pneumonia in a geriatric population in a retrospective cohort study.

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Wearing Removable Dentures Tied To Pneumonia Risk In Older Adults: Study

Rapid cooling anesthesia device effective for achieving Local Anesthesia for intravitreal injection

Intravitreal injections (IVT) have become the most common procedure performed by retina specialists. A number of studies have demonstrated that patients can have significant anxiety and discomfort during IVT. Current methods of anesthesia for IVTs include topical anesthetic drops, application of a cotton tip applicator soaked with lidocaine, preservative free lidocaine gel, as well as subconjunctival lidocaine injection.

Factors which influence the choice of anesthesia by retina specialists include patient satisfaction, procedure workflow and efficiency, and cost. An alternative method of anesthesia that is well tolerated by patients and has a rapid onset of action may improve both the patient experience as well as clinical workflow.

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Rapid Cooling Anesthesia Device Effective For Achieving LA For Intravitreal Injection: JAMA

Overactive bladder linked to increased falling risk in older adults

A team of University of Alberta researchers focused on aging Albertans has found that urinary incontinence could be a contributing factor in falls among older adults.

In a study published in the journal PLOS ONE, the researchers showed for the first time that the feeling of having to pee acts as a distracting factor that increases the risk of falling.

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Study Links Overactive Bladder To Increased Falling Risk In Older Adults