Many believe that lying down for a snooze is a harmless activity. But today, scientists show that drifting off for more than one hour could be risky.
Daytime napping is common all over the world and is generally considered a healthy habit. A common view is that napping improves performance and counteracts the negative consequences of ‘sleep debt’.
Previous research on the link between daytime naps and death or cardiovascular disease has produced conflicting results. In addition, it did not account for the duration of night-time sleep.
This study summarised the available evidence to assess the relationship between napping and the risks of all-cause death and cardiovascular disease. A total of 313,651 participants from more than 20 studies were included in the analysis. Some 39% of participants took naps.
The analysis found that long naps (more than 60 mins) were associated with a 30% greater risk of all-cause death and 34% higher likelihood of cardiovascular disease compared to no napping. When night-time sleep was taken into account, long naps were linked with an elevated risk of death only in those who slept more than six hours per night.
Release date: 26 August 2020
Long naps may be bad for health
Many believe that lying down for a snooze is a harmless activity. But today, scientists show that drifting off for more than one hour could be risky.
Daytime napping is common all over the world and is generally considered a healthy habit. A common view is that napping improves performance and counteracts the negative consequences of ‘sleep debt’.
Previous research on the link between daytime naps and death or cardiovascular disease has produced conflicting results. In addition, it did not account for the duration of night-time sleep.
This study summarised the available evidence to assess the relationship between napping and the risks of all-cause death and cardiovascular disease. A total of 313,651 participants from more than 20 studies were included in the analysis. Some 39% of participants took naps.
The analysis found that long naps (more than 60 mins) were associated with a 30% greater risk of all-cause death and 34% higher likelihood of cardiovascular disease compared to no napping. When night-time sleep was taken into account, long naps were linked with an elevated risk of death only in those who slept more than six hours per night.
Release date: 26 August 2020
Source: European Society of Cardiology
Exposure to cadmium in the womb linked to childhood asthma and allergies
Babies born with higher levels of cadmium in their umbilical cord blood may be more likely to develop childhood asthma and allergies, according to research presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress.
Cadmium is known to be hazardous to human health and its use is restricted in the European Union, but it has been widely used, for example in batteries, pigments and as a coating for other metals. It is also present in tobacco and can enter the body via smoking or passive smoking.
Researchers say their findings lend support for tight controls over the use and disposal of cadmium.
Release date: 3 September 2020
Source: European Lung Foundation
Vitamin D deficiency may raise risk of getting COVID-19
In a retrospective study of patients tested for COVID-19, researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine found an association between vitamin D deficiency and the likelihood of becoming infected with the coronavirus.
“Vitamin D is important to the function of the immune system and vitamin D supplements have previously been shown to lower the risk of viral respiratory tract infections,” said David Meltzer, Chief of Hospital Medicine at UChicago Medicine and lead author of the study. “Our statistical analysis suggests this may be true for the COVID-19 infection.”
The research team looked at 489 patients at UChicago Medicine whose vitamin D level had been measured within a year before being tested for COVID-19. Patients who had vitamin D deficiency (defined as less than 20 nanograms per milliliter of blood) that was not treated were almost twice as likely to test positive for COVID-19 compared to patients who had sufficient levels of the vitamin.
Release date: 8 September 2020
Source: University of Chicago Medical Center
Scientists identify promising new ALS drug candidates
Scientists have taken a significant step forward in the search to find effective new drug candidates for the treatment of motor neurone disease.
Researchers from the Universities of Liverpool (UK) and Nagoya (Japan) have shown that a Selenium-based drug-molecule called ebselen and a number of other novel compounds developed at Liverpool can change many of the toxic characteristics of a protein, superoxide dismutase (SOD1), which causes some cases of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neurone disease.
The study is published in the journal EBioMedicine.
Release date: 1 September 2020
Source: University of Liverpool
Severe Covid-19 despite or even due to the strong immunity
Critically ill patients present a similar or even stronger immunity against the virus than convalescent patients. This supports the theory that severe infections might be linked to an exaggerated immune reaction.
A weak immune response isn’t the cause of dangerous lung failure in severe Covid-19 infections. Such infections seem, on the contrary, to be caused by an overreaction of the immune system. This is the conclusion made by a research team from Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) and the university hospital of Duisburg-Essen led by Professor Nina Babel, Head of the Centre for Translational Medicine at the RUB clinic Marien Hospital Herne. The team from Marien Hospital and the department of Virology of Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) as well as the Clinic for Infectious Diseases, the Clinic of Anesthesiology and the Institute for Virology of University Medicine Essen studied specific antibodies and T cells occurring in recovered, seriously ill and deceased Covid-19 patients. The researchers identified comparable immune reactions in clinical follow up. They report their findings in the journal Cell Reports Medicine from 29 August 2020.
Release date: 1 September 2020
Source: Ruhr-University Bochum
Spouses shed more pounds together than alone
Weight loss is most successful in heart attack survivors when partners join in the effort to diet, according to research presented today at ESC Congress 2020.
The RESPONSE-2 trial previously found that heart attack survivors referred to programmes for weight reduction, physical activity, and smoking cessation were more likely to modify behaviours compared to those receiving usual care. In both groups, living with a partner was linked with greater success in shifting bad habits. The most notable improvements were in patients who took part in lifestyle programmes and lived with a partner.
This follow-up study investigated whether partner involvement in lifestyle programmes had an impact on behaviour change. “If partners contribute to adopting healthy habits, it could become an important recommendation to avoid recurrent heart attacks,”
Release date: 27 August 2020
Source: European Society of Cardiology
Genetics could impact COVID-19 treatments
Over the past few months, a number of drugs have been under investigation to treat COVID-19 without well-established safety or data to support these claims. However, some of these unproven therapies may have underlying genetic reasons for not being effective and resulting in fatal adverse effects as found with hydroxychloroquine.
Recently published a study in Nature Genomic Medicine.
Release date: 26 August 2020
Source: University of Minnesota
Tag team gut bacteria worsen symptoms of multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the myelin that covers the nerve cells of the brain and spinal cord. Demyelination affects how rapidly neurons communicate with each other and with muscles, causing a variety of symptoms including numbness, weak muscles, tremors, and the inability to walk. Gut microorganisms have been reported to affect symptoms of multiple sclerosis, but how bacteria in the intestines can affect myelin of the brain and spinal cord remained a mystery.
Researchers led by Hiroshi Ohno at RIKEN IMS set out find this connection using a mouse model of the disease. These mice experience similar demyelination of the spinal cord that results from autoimmune attacks by T cells that produce the cytokine IL-17A. However, giving these mice the antibiotic ampicillin reduced demyelination. The treatment also prevented the activation of a particular type of T cell. As Ohno explains, “we found that treatment with ampicillin, and only ampicillin, selectively reduced activity of T cells that attack an important protein called myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein [MOG], which helps myelin stick to neurons.”
Release date: 27 August 2020
Source: RIKEN
Artificial pancreas effectively controls type 1 diabetes in children age 6 and up
A clinical trial at four pediatric diabetes centers in the United States has found that a new artificial pancreas system — which automatically monitors and regulates blood glucose levels — is safe and effective at managing blood glucose levels in children as young as age six with type 1 diabetes.
Results from the trial were published August 26 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Release date: 26 August 2020
Source: NIH/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
New Treatment Approach for Alzheimer’s Disease
Research looking at a possible new therapeutic approach for Alzheimer’s disease was recently published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation. The work looked at targeting inflammation by using an antibody. Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias have no disease-modifying treatments at this time and represent a looming public health crisis given the continually growing aging population.
The paper by researchers at the University of Kentucky’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging (SBCoA) is titled, “Therapeutic Trem2 activation ameliorates amyloid-beta deposition and improves cognition in the 5XFAD model of amyloid deposition”.
Release date: 25 August 2020
Source: University of Kentucky