Public Health

Teens not getting enough sleep may consume extra sugar

Teens not getting enough sleep may consume extra sugar - ارتباط کم خوابی و پرخوری در نوجوانان

Sleep is vital for all people but is particularly important for teenagers as their bodies undergo significant development during their formative years. Unfortunately, most teens aren’t getting enough sleep. Data from the American Academy of Pediatrics found that 73% of high school students are getting less than the recommended eight to ten hours of sleep each night.

Prior research has linked lack of sleep to increased risk for poor mental health, poor academic performance, and behavioral problems. But new research from BYU conducted at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center says insufficient sleep also increases the risk of weight gain and other cardiometabolic diseases among teenagers because teens have worse dietary habits when they sleep less.

This research, which was recently published in the medical journal Sleep, analyzed the sleeping and eating patterns of 93 teenagers during two sleep conditions: spending six and a half hours each night in bed for one week (short sleep) and spending nine and a half hours each night in bed for another week (healthy sleep). Researchers measured the caloric intake, macronutrient content, food types, and the glycemic load of foods eaten by teens.

The results found that teenagers undergoing short sleep consumed more foods that were likely to spike blood sugar fast – things like foods high in carbs and added sugar, or sugary drinks, compared to when they were in healthy sleep. These changes largely occurred in the late evening (after 9:00 pm). Teens getting short sleep also ate fewer fruits and vegetables across the entire day, compared to healthy sleep.

Release date: 27 December 2021
Source: Brigham Young University

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Booster dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine is required for immune protection against Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2

Booster dose of mRNA COVID 19 vaccine is required for immune protection against Omicron - واکسن کرونا و امیکرون

An additional “booster” dose of Moderna or Pfizer mRNA-based vaccine is needed to provide immunity against the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, according to a study by researchers at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard. The results of this study, reported in the journal Cell, indicate that traditional dosing regimens of COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States do not produce antibodies capable of recognizing and neutralizing the Omicron variant.

In late November, health officials in South Africa reported that a previously unknown variant of SARS-CoV-2 was rapidly spreading throughout the country. The variant, given the name Omicron by the World Health Organization, would soon prove to be far more transmissible than Delta, the variant that previously had caused the majority of COVID-19 infections. “People desperately wanted to know whether current vaccines protect against Omicron,” says the senior author of the Cell paper.

To find answers, Balazs collaborated with a team that included the lead author of the Cell paper, Wilfredo F. Garcia-Beltran, MD, a clinical pathology resident at MGH and a clinician-scientist fellow at the Ragon Institute. The first step was to construct a harmless version of Omicron known as a “pseudovirus” that could be used in the laboratory to evaluate the effectiveness of the three COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States, which include the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna injections and the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The pseudovirus that Balazs and colleagues created mimicked the behavior of Omicron, which has 34 mutations on its “spike” protein that are not found on the original strain of SARS-Cov-2 first detected in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Scientists believe that these mutations may be partially responsible for Omicron’s rapid spread throughout the world.

Next, Garcia-Beltran worked with colleagues at MGH, including hematology-oncology fellow Vivek Naranbhai, MD, PhD, to acquire blood samples from 239 individuals who had been fully vaccinated with one of the three COVID-19 vaccines. The study subjects included employees within the Massachusetts General Brigham healthcare system and residents of Chelsea, Massachusetts, a community with a high rate of COVID-19 infections. “It was important to us to have a diverse population represented in the study,” says Garcia-Beltran. Included in this group were 70 men and women who had received a third booster dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, according to recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Release date: 06 January 2022
Source: Massachusetts General Hospital

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Babies Born During Pandemic’s First Year Score Slightly Lower on a Developmental Screening Test

Babies Born During Pandemic First Year Score Slightly Lower on a Developmental Screening Test - کاهش رشد شیرخواران در زمان پاندمی

Columbia researchers found that babies born during the pandemic’s first year scored slightly lower on a developmental screening test of social and motor skills at 6 months—regardless of whether their mothers had COVID during pregnancy—compared to babies born just before the pandemic.

The study, which included 255 babies born at NewYork-Presbyterian’s Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital and Allen Hospital between March and December 2020, was published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

Release date: 04 January 2022
Source: Columbia University Irving Medical Center

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COVID-19 Can Trigger Self-Attacking Antibodies

COVID 19 Can Trigger Self-Attacking Antibodies - کرونا و اتوآنتی بادی ها

Infection with the virus that causes COVID-19 can trigger an immune response that lasts well beyond the initial infection and recovery—even among people who had mild symptoms or no symptoms at all, according to Cedars-Sinai investigators. The findings are published in the Journal of Translational Medicine.

When people are infected with a virus or other pathogen, their bodies unleash proteins called antibodies that detect foreign substances and keep them from invading cells. In some cases, however, people produce autoantibodies that can attack the body’s own organs and tissues over time.

The Cedars-Sinai investigators found that people with prior infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, have a wide variety of autoantibodies up to six months after they have fully recovered. Prior to this study, researchers knew that severe cases of COVID-19 can stress the immune system so much that autoantibodies are produced. This study is the first to report not only the presence of elevated autoantibodies after mild or asymptomatic infection, but their persistence over time.

Some of the autoantibodies have been linked to autoimmune diseases that typically affect women more often than men. In this study, however, men had a higher number of elevated autoantibodies than women.

Release date: 03 January 2022
Source: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

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Substantial Weight Loss Can Reduce Risk of Severe COVID-19 Complications

Substantial Weight Loss Can Reduce Risk of Severe COVID 19 Complications - جراحی کاهش وزن و کووید۱۹

Successful weight-loss intervention before infection associated with 60% lower risk of severe disease in patients with obesity. A Cleveland Clinic study shows that among patients with obesity, prior weight loss achieved with bariatric surgery was associated with a 60% lower risk of developing severe complications from COVID-19 infection. The research was published in the journal JAMA Surgery.

Numerous studies have established obesity as a major risk factor for developing serious illness from an infection of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Obesity weakens the immune system, creates a chronic inflammatory state, and increases risk for cardiovascular disease, blood clots, and lung conditions. All of these conditions can complicate COVID-19.

The aim of this study was to examine whether a successful weight-loss intervention in patients with obesity prior to contracting COVID-19 could reduce the risk of developing a severe form of this disease.

A total of 20,212 adult patients with obesity were included in this observational study. A group of 5,053 patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or greater who had weight-loss surgery between 2004 and 2017 were carefully matched 1:3 to non-surgical patients, resulting in 15,159 control patients. Compared with those in the non-surgical group, patients who had bariatric surgery lost 19% more body weight prior to March 1, 2020 (the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in Cleveland).

After the COVID-19 outbreak, researchers looked at four COVID-19-related outcomes: rate of contracting SARS-CoV-2 infection, hospitalization, need for supplemental oxygen and severe disease (defined as a combination of ICU admission, need for mechanical ventilation or death).

Although the rate of contracting SARS-CoV-2 was similar between the groups (9.1% in the surgical group and 8.7% in the non-surgical group), participants in the weight-loss surgery group experienced much better outcomes after contracting COVID-19 compared with those in the non-surgical group. Researchers found that patients with prior weight loss surgery had a 49% lower risk of hospitalization, 63% lower risk of need for supplemental oxygen, and 60% lower risk of developing severe COVID-19.

Although the exact underlying mechanisms are not known, these data suggest that patients who underwent weight-loss surgery were healthier at the time of contracting a SARS-CoV-2 infection, which resulted in better clinical outcomes.

Release date: 16 December 2021
Source: Cleveland Clinic

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Stopping dementia at the nose with combination of rifampicin and resveratrol

Stopping dementia at the nose with combination of rifampicin and resveratrol - امکان کنترل بیماری آلزایمر از راه بینی

Via drug repositioning, Osaka City University creates combination of rifampicin and resveratrol and have shown in mouse models that the nasal administration improves cognitive function without the negative liver side effects of rifampicin alone.

Researchers from Osaka City University have shown in mice models of Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, and dementia with Lewy bodies, that the intranasal administration of rifampicin and resveratrol in combination is safer and improves cognitive function more than rifampicin alone. The research results are expected to lead to the development of safe and effective nasal spray for the prevention of dementia.

 

The results of this study were published online in the Swiss scientific journal Frontiers in Neuroscience.

Release date: 28 December 2021
Source: Osaka City University

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The Best Time for COVID-19 Vaccination During Your Pregnancy

The Best Time for COVID 19 Vaccination During Your Pregnancy - زمان مناسب واکسیناسیون کرونا در مادران باردار

COVID-19 vaccination of expectant mothers elicits levels of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 outer “spike” protein at the time of delivery that don’t vary dramatically with the timing of vaccination during pregnancy and thus don’t justify delaying vaccination, according to a study from researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian.

The researchers, whose study was published in Obstetrics & Gynecology, analyzed how anti-spike antibody levels in the mother’s blood and baby’s umbilical cord blood at delivery varied with the timing of prior vaccination in nearly 1,400 women and their babies.

They found that the levels of these antibodies at delivery tended to be higher when the initial vaccination course occurred in the third trimester. However, they also found that antibody levels at delivery are still comparably high, and probably still protective, when vaccination occurs in early pregnancy or even a few weeks before pregnancy—and a booster shot late in pregnancy can make those antibody levels much higher.

“Women often ask what is the best vaccination timing for the baby—our data suggest that it’s now,” said Dr. Malavika Prabhu, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Weill Cornell Medicine and an obstetrician and gynecologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Release date: 28 December 2021
Source: Weill Cornell Medicine

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how exercise protects against consequences of ageing

how exercise protects against consequences of ageing - راز آثار ضد سالمندی ورزش

Monash University scientists have discovered an enzyme that is key to why exercise improves our health. Importantly this discovery has opened up the possibility of drugs to promote this enzyme’s activity, protecting against the consequences of ageing on metabolic health, including type 2 diabetes.

The proportion of people worldwide over 60 years old will double in the next three decades and by 2031, more than six million Australians will be over 65 years old. The incidence of type 2 diabetes increases with age so this ageing population will also result in an increased incidence of the disease globally.

One of the main reasons for the increased prevalence of type 2 diabetes with age is the development of insulin resistance or an inability for the body to respond to insulin, and this is often caused by reduced physical activity as we age.

In a paper published in the journal Science Advances, the research team show how an enzyme called NOX-4 is essential for exercise-induced ROS and the adaptive responses that drive metabolic health.

Release date: 16 December 2021
Source: Monash University

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Immune memory less durable after severe COVID-19

Immune memory less durable after severe COVID19 - ایمنی کرونایی

Infection-fighting B cells retain better memory of the coronavirus spike protein in University Hospital patients who recover from less-severe cases of COVID-19 than in those recovering from severe COVID-19, a new study suggests. Findings by scientists from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio were published in the journal PLOS ONE .

The study focused on memory B cells that react against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Blood samples were analyzed one month after symptom onset and five months post-onset. After one month, a significant proportion of spike-specific B cells were active.

However, samples from eight individuals who recovered from less-severe disease showed increased expression of markers associated with durable B cell memory as compared to individuals who recovered from severe disease, the authors wrote. The markers include T-bet and FcRL5.

T-bet-positive, spike-specific B cells nearly disappeared from the blood samples five months post-symptom onset, the authors noted. Overall, a more dysfunctional B cell response is seen in severe disease cases, they wrote.

Release date: 23 December 2021
Source: University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

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Metabolic syndrome increases risk of respiratory distress, death for hospitalized COVID-19 patients

Metabolic syndrome increases risk of respiratory distress death for hospitalized COVID19 patients - سندرم متابولیک و کرونا

Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who had a combination of high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes or other conditions associated with metabolic syndrome were at much higher risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and death, according to an international study published in the medical journal JAMA Network Open.

The risk for developing ARDS, a life-threatening lung condition that causes low blood oxygen, grew progressively higher with each additional metabolic syndrome criteria present. The study, one of the largest to examine the link between metabolic syndrome and outcomes for COVID-19, examined records of more than 46,000 patients admitted in 181 hospitals across 26 countries.

Researchers from Tulane University, the Society of Critical Care Medicine and Mayo Clinic followed outcomes for patients hospitalized between mid-February 2020 to mid-February 2021 in the Discovery VIRUS: COVID-19 Registry. Researchers compared 5,069 patients (17.5%) with metabolic syndrome with 23,971 control patients (82.5%) without metabolic syndrome. They defined metabolic syndrome as having more than three of the following criteria: obesity, pre-diabetes or diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol.

Patients with metabolic syndrome were 36% more likely to develop ARDS, almost 20% more likely to die in the hospital, more than 30% more likely to be admitted to an ICU and 45% more likely to require mechanical ventilation. Researchers calculated these risks after adjusting for race, age, sex, ethnicity, other comorbid conditions and hospital case volume.

Overall, slightly more than 20% of the patients with metabolic syndrome died in the hospital, 20% developed ARDS and almost half were admitted to the ICU. Approximately 16% of those without metabolic syndrome died, 12% developed ARDS and nearly 36% were admitted to the ICU.

Metabolic syndrome was significantly more common among patients with COVID-19 admitted to U.S. hospitals (18.8%) than those admitted to non-U.S. hospitals (8%). According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than a third of adults in the U.S. meet the criteria for metabolic syndrome, with some regions having a metabolic syndrome prevalence greater than 40%.

Release date: 22 December 2021
Source: Tulane University