Medically Speaking Team

A recent study found that persons who delayed long-term goals during the epidemic were better able to avoid fear and sadness.

The University of Waterloo researchers intended to examine into the relationship between COVID-frozen objectives (goals whose development has been paused due to COVID-19) and psychological well-being.

“Typically, when we think about how to maximise goal accomplishment and well-being, we focus on how to be more dedicated and engaged with our goals,” said Abigail Scholer, a psychology professor at Waterloo and Canada Research Chair in Motivated Social Cognition. “Our findings show that being able to let go of aspirations, particularly during COVID, is an important aspect of maintaining mental health.”

Candice Hubley, the study’s lead author and a PhD candidate in psychology at Waterloo, and Scholer polled 226 people to investigate the link between psychological well-being and goal pursuit. Participants were asked about their psychological suffering and life satisfaction, as well as about normally advancing and COVID-frozen goals.

The researchers discovered that COVID-frozen objectives were linked to poor well-being: the more people possessed, the more psychological distress they experienced, such as tension, depressive symptoms, and worry.

The researchers also stated that how people engage with their goals has a significant impact on their well-being.

“Goal rumination is compulsive and can exacerbate fears and disappointments while depleting mental resources from other objectives,” Hubley explained. “We hope that people can apply these findings to their own lives by taking the time to review and participate with their goals.”

According to Hubley, disengagement is not an all-or-nothing concept, and we may give up one type of participation but not others. Individuals strengthen their connection to their objectives and increase their psychological well-being by renouncing unachievable aims and redirecting efforts to other goals.

The researchers want to expand on their findings and hope that their work may aid in future treatments aimed at supporting individuals in being more flexible in their goal pursuit in order to increase well-being.

According to current study, a blood test conducted at the time of Covid-19 infection can help indicate whether a person is likely to develop long-term Covid.

The study, published in the journal Lancet eBioMedicine, examined proteins in the blood of healthcare workers infected with SARS-CoV-2 and compared them to samples from uninfected healthcare workers. Protein levels in the body are usually steady. However, the researchers discovered a significant variation in the levels of several of the proteins up to six weeks after infection, suggesting that a number of critical biological processes were disrupted.

Using an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm, they identified a “signature” in the abundance of different proteins that successfully predicted whether or not the person would go on to report persistent symptoms a year after infection.
The researchers say that if these findings are repeated in a larger, independent group of patients, a test could potentially be offered alongside a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test that could predict people’s likelihood of developing long Covid.

The study’s lead author Dr Gaby Captur (MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL) said, “Our study shows that even mild or asymptomatic Covid-19 disrupts the profile of proteins in our blood plasma. This means that even mild Covid-19 affects normal biological processes in a dramatic way, up to at least six weeks after infection.

“Our tool predicting long Covid still needs to be validated in an independent, larger group of patients. However, using our approach, a test that predicts long Covid at the time of initial infection could be rolled out quickly and in a cost-effective way.

“The method of analysis we used is readily available in hospitals and is high-throughput, meaning it can analyse thousands of samples in an afternoon.”

Senior author Dr Wendy Heywood (UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital) said, “If we can identify people who are likely to develop long Covid, this opens the door to trialling treatments such as anti-virals at this earlier, initial infection stage, to see if it can reduce the risk of later long Covid.”

Researchers compared blood plasma samples obtained every week for six weeks in spring 2020 from 54 healthcare workers who had PCR, or antibody-confirmed infection, to samples taken during the same period from 102 healthcare workers who were not sick.

They examined how Covid-19 altered these proteins over the course of six weeks using targeted mass spectrometry, a type of study that is particularly sensitive to small changes in the amount of proteins in blood plasma.

The researchers discovered unusually high amounts of 12 proteins out of the 91 examined in SARS-CoV-2 patients, and the degree of abnormality correlated with the severity of symptoms.

The researchers discovered that aberrant levels of 20 proteins tested at the time of the first infection predicted persisting symptoms after a year. The majority of these proteins were shown to be involved in anti-coagulant (anti-clotting) and anti-inflammatory actions.

A machine learning system based on the participants’ protein profiles was able to differentiate all 11 infected healthcare professionals who reported at least one persistent symptom after a year from infected healthcare workers who did not report persistent symptoms after a year. Another machine learning technique was employed to predict the chance of mistake, and it estimated that this strategy may have a 6% error rate.

Despite significant advances, brain tumour mortality remains high, with five-year survival rates of 36%, according to the National Cancer Institute.

More precise diagnoses may be beneficial, but tissue samples are invasive and might miss important information about the nature of a tumour. Meanwhile, imaging-based techniques are inadequate in terms of sensitivity and resolution. Researchers have developed a biosensor that might aid medics in properly diagnosing brain cancer from a little blood sample, according to a paper published in ACS Nano.

To successfully treat brain cancer, physicians must not only verify the presence of a malignant tumour, but also whether it originated in the brain (the main tumour) or spread there from other organs (the secondary tumour).

Physicians must also understand where the tumour is located within the organ. Bo Tan and colleagues set out to develop a noninvasive test that needs a tiny quantity of serum because no existing diagnostic process can achieve this feat without invasive surgery or a painful spinal tap.

Using high-intensity laser beams, the researchers created 3D nickel-nickel oxide nanolayers on a nickel chip. This approach produced an ultrasensitive biosensor, allowing them to detect minute quantities of tumor-derived components such as nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids that passed the blood-brain barrier and entered the circulation. The sensor recognised these components using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, which produced molecular profiles, or fingerprints, for each sample.

The researchers then utilised a DEEP neural network to detect signs of a brain tumour, classify it, and estimate its location throughout the brain.

The liquid biopsy platform was utilised by the researchers to detect brain cancer from just five microliters of blood serum, and they were able to distinguish it from breast, lung, and colorectal cancer with 100% specificity and sensitivity. They were relatively successful in distinguishing primary brain tumours from secondary brain tumours that had migrated to the brain from the lung or breast.

The researchers were also able to locate the tumor’s location in one of nine brain compartments with 96% accuracy using profile analysis. The noninvasive nature of the test, according to the researchers, might allow healthcare practitioners to watch cancer growth over time and make better treatment decisions.

The National Medical Commission (NMC) has released recommendations on cosmetic operations, warning that watching videos on YouTube or other platforms is insufficient preparation for performing aesthetic procedures such as hair transplant.

“It may be noted that watching in workshops or on YouTube or similar platforms is not adequate training to start aesthetic surgery or including hair transplant,” said Yogendra Malik, Member, Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB), NMC.
“Surgical assistant/technicians should perform tasks only under the supervision of an RMP,” said the NMC official.

NMC has also mentioned that aesthetic procedures, including hair transplants, are not emergency surgery hence there is no case of allowing any untrained person to do it.

“Aesthetic procedures including hair transplants are not an emergency surgery and hence there is no case for allowing any untrained person to do it under the pretext of “exceptional circumstances,” said the Commission.

According to the Commission, because hair transplantation is an aesthetic procedure, it must be conducted by RMPs such as certified dermatologists or trained surgeons. Nurses, lab technicians, and pharmacists are examples of appropriate assistants or OT technicians. However, the Commission stated that they must be given organised, systematic, and adequate training (responsibility will be with the RMP) in all elements of both cosmetic surgery and disinfection, sterilisation, patient communication, and so forth.

The daycare theatre of a hospital/clinic doing hair transplant surgery should be equipped with capabilities for monitoring and handling crises, such as emergency medicines, a Boyles machine, intubation sets, and an ambu bag.

A group of American researchers discovered another coronavirus strain, Khosta-2, in Russian bats that can infect people. According to Dr Pragya Yadav, Senior Scientist at the Indian Council of Medical Research’s National Institute of Virology (ICMR-NIV), there have been no reports of human infection from the Khosta virus so far.

“There are no cases of human infection with Khosta viruses have been reported yet. Seifert et al. reported that Khosta-2 could infect cells expressing human ACE2,” the Senior Scientist told ANI in an exclusive conversation.

“However, the probability of the Zoonotic spillover of the sarbecoviruses from animals to humans could not be denied like, it happened earlier with SARS-CoV-1 and 2 viruses,” she said further.

Dr Pragya Yadav further explained about Khosta-2 virus, “Khosta-2 virus is a SARS-like coronavirus belonging to the subgenus Sarbecovirus of the genus Betacoronavirus of the family Coronaviridae. The virus was identified in horseshoe bats from Russia.”

This virus which has been reported as vaccine restraint, Dr Pragya said, “In a recent study by Seifert et al., chimeric SARS-CoV-2-based spike with the RBD from the Khosta viruses have shown resistance to neutralization with SARS-CoV-2 RBD-specific monoclonal antibody, Bamlanivimab and serum of individuals who received either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine. Further studies would be required to determine the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against Khosta-2 virus.”

On India’s preparedness to deal with the reemergence of such viral pathogens, she said, “As an apex virology institute, ICMR-National institute of Virology along with the wide network of Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratories (VRDLs) will be able to handle public health emergency situation related to the emergence or reemergence of any viral pathogen in India. We have already exhibited this strength in past as during the times of Zika, Nipah, and Monkeypox viruses, and the COVID-19 pandemic.”

From sleeplessness to high blood pressure, stress has been linked to a variety of major health conditions. However, it is well known that certain stress may be beneficial, such as when someone is rushing to meet a job deadline.

A new study by researchers at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, with findings published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests the immune system may benefit from a measure of stress. “This one of the few studies showing that chronic stress could have beneficial effect instead of negative effect,” said senior author Fabio Cominelli, professor of medicine and pathology and associate dean for programme development at the School of Medicine. “This was a little bit of a surprise for us.”

Psychological stress has been found to make symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) worse. Similarly, intestinal tertiary lymphoid organs (TLOs)–immune cells that form in response to chronic inflammation or injury–are associated with more severe inflammation. While the role of TLOs and stress in IBD is debated, TLO formation in the context of stress hadn’t been studied.

In this study, after 56 days of stress, mouse models with Crohn’s disease-like ileitis showed significantly increased TLO formation in the colon as an immune response. However, the stress did not significantly increase small or large intestinal inflammation.

The microbiome of the stressed mice was compositionally unchanged from the control. However, due to inherent shortcomings in how the microbiome is measured, researchers decided to perform faecal microbiome transplantation. While mice receiving the microbiome of stressed mice had the same behavioural phenotype as their donors, transplantation did not increase TLO formation.

Instead, stress was found to increase the production of the cytokines IL-23 and IL-22. These two cytokines are a part of the TLO formation pathway. IL-22 plays a protective role in wound healing and tissue-regeneration and can have both anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory responses.

Stressed mice deficient in the receptor for IL-23 had increased IL-23, but not IL-22, and couldn’t increase TLO formation. This effect was reversed when IL-22 was administered.

Given the association of TLOs with other diseases, the researchers reasoned that stressed mice would be more susceptible to a “second hit” in the colon. However, compared to unstressed mice, stressed mice actually exhibited less severe inflammation after this “second hit.”

“Our findings demonstrate that psychological stress induces the formation of TLOs by increasing the production of IL-23,” Cominelli said. “Furthermore, the stressed mice were protected after a ‘second hit,’ suggesting TLOs may function to improve the mucosal barrier.”

Typically, stress is associated with more severe inflammation. However, not all patients that experience stress have the worse diseases. Therefore, this study has translational significance because it demonstrates a condition where stress has a beneficial effect, the scientists said.

“What we discovered is that chronic daily stress for six weeks was beneficial against a second injury. The mouse models that were stressed were actually protected,” Cominelli said. “We showed they had stimulation of the immune system, which protects against intestinal inflammation. What needs to be studied is whether this may translate to other diseases and injuries.”

Co-authors from the School of Medicine were: Adrian Gomez-Nguyen, Nikhilesh Gupta, Harsha Sanaka, Dennis Gruszka, Alaina Pizarro, Luca DiMartino, Abigail Basson, Paola Menghini, Abdullah Osman, Carlo DeSalvo and Theresa Pizarro.

“So do I want to be stressed? It all depends on the definition of stress. ‘Stimulated’ is a better term,” Cominelli said. “The message is that a little bit of stress is good in your life, but you want to be stressed in the right way.”

According to Union Health Ministry statistics released on Wednesday, India gained 3,615 new coronavirus infections, bringing the overall number of COVID-19 cases to 4,45,79,088, while active cases decreased to 40,979. The death toll has risen to 5,28,584 with 22 fatalities, including eight deaths confirmed by Kerala, according to statistics updated at 8 a.m.

The active cases comprise 0.09 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate increased to 98.72 per cent, the ministry said.

A decline of 1,378 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 1.12 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 1.55 per cent, according to the ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,40,09,525, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent.

According to the ministry, 217.96 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive.

Researchers from the Barts Cancer Institute (BCI) at Queen Mary University of London, the Italian Institute for Genomic Medicine, and the University of Milan discovered a novel role for a cancer-causing gene in controlling an important genetic process that underpins genetic variation in prostate cancer.

The findings, published today in Cell Reports, reveal how the gene influences the generation of genetic variants in prostate cancer that may predict disease relapse and represent new drug targets to improve patient survival. Co-senior author Dr Prabhakar Rajan, Group Leader at BCI and Consultant Urological Surgeon at Barts Health NHS Trust, said: “Prostate cancer is the commonest male cancer in the world and lead cause of male cancer-related death. It is very variable in its genetic makeup, which makes diagnosis and treatment tricky, as there is not a one size fits all approach for treating patients. A knowledge of the drivers of genetic variability will help us understand the disease better, and improve treatments.”

Alternative splicing is the process of rearranging gene segments to generate distinct combinations of genetic information known as’splice variants,’ which include the instructions for making proteins. A single gene can code for numerous proteins that are produced at different levels and serve distinct roles in the cell thanks to alternative splicing.

Alternative splicing is a critical mechanism in normal cells for regulating gene expression and producing genetic and protein variety; nevertheless, it is disturbed in many cancer types, including prostate cancer.

The researchers discovered that the cancer-causing gene FOXA1 is a critical regulator of alternative splicing in prostate cancer and may affect the formation of splice variants that influence disease recurrence and patient survival in this study.

FOXA1 fine-tunes alternative splicing in prostate cancer

FOXA1 is a type of protein known as a pioneer transcription factor. Transcription factors can select which genes in DNA are transcribed into the instructions used to make proteins within our cells and the rate at which this occurs. As a pioneer factor, FOXA1 opens up DNA for binding by distinct transcription factors. Changes to FOXA1 have been found to drive the initiation and progression of prostate cancer.

By assessing alternative splicing in cell line models and primary cases of prostate cancer, the team found that high levels of FOXA1 limited genetic diversity towards splice variants that have a functional benefit for the cancer cells. The investigations revealed that FOXA1 favoured splice variants that were present at high levels within the cells and silenced splice variants expressed at low levels, thus reducing the splicing variability in prostate cancer.

Dr Rajan said: “This unique finding has never been shown before for a controller of alternative splicing and may mean that FOXA1 directs prostate cancer cells to act in a particular way that may be detrimental to patients.”
Co-senior author Professor Matteo Cereda, Associate Professor at the University of Milan and Group Leader at the Italian Institute for Genomic Medicine, added: “For the first time we show that an early player of transcription regulation is also responsible for the fine tuning of alternative splicing.”

Potential new targets for treatment

To determine whether FOXA1-controlled alternative splicing had an impact on patient survival, the team analysed clinical data from over 300 patients with primary prostate cancer, available via The Cancer Genome Atlas.

Although high levels of FOXA1 reduced splicing variability, the team found that FOXA1 enhanced the inclusion of genetic segments into splice variants that are strong markers of prostate cancer recurrence. Using prostate cancer cell lines, the team revealed that the inclusion of one particular genetic segment in the splice variant of a gene called the FLNA gene, which is controlled by FOXA1, conferred a growth advantage to prostate cancer cells, which may drive early disease relapse.

Dr Rajan said: “This study illustrates how we can exploit the power of genomics to make important scientific discoveries about how genetic variability in prostate cancer is controlled. We hope our findings will have clinical impact by identifying more precise markers of disease recurrence and new potential drug targets.”

The researchers would now like to explore if the splice variations associated to cancer recurrence are beneficial in predicting disease relapse in reality, as well as conduct tests to see if targeting these genes might represent new strategies to treat prostate cancer.

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) organised a webinar named “Dil Ki Baat” to honour “World Heart Day” as part of the Illness to Wellness initiative to increase awareness and deliver information about heart health.

“On the eve of World Heart Day, ASSOCHAM under its Illness To Wellness series is organising a webinar titled ‘Dil Maange More: Healthy Heart for a Healthy Long Life'”, ASSOCHAM said in a tweet. The main goal of the webinar was to raise awareness and provide information about heart care symptoms and preventions so that participants might lead healthier lives with robust cardiovascular systems.

Even if one does not give it much consideration throughout the day, his or her heart is always beating. The heart is the most important muscle in a person’s body since it delivers blood and oxygen to all of his or her organs. In reality, some meals can have an effect on blood pressure, triglycerides, cholesterol levels, and inflammation, all of which are risk factors for heart disease.

He underlined that there is no shortcut to a healthy heart, emphasising the need of maintaining it.

Addressing the webinar, the Chairperson, ASSOCHAM CSR Council Anil Rajput said, “We must commit to safeguarding one of the most essential parts of the human body – the heart and any symptom of difficulty in this organ should be handled seriously as it is a question of life and death.”

Emphasising the significance of maintaining good heart health he said that there is no shortcut to a healthy heart. Medication and routine check-ups are essential for maintaining good heart health and living a healthy life for years to come. Heart-healthy habits such as adopting a nutritious diet, engaging in regular physical activity, and changing one’s lifestyle are also important.

Padma Shri Dr Praveen Chandra, Cardiologist, Chairman of Interventional Cardiology at Medanta shared his insights on how a heart attack occurs when the flow of blood to the heart is severely reduced or blocked. The blockage is usually due to a build-up of fat, cholesterol and other substances in the heart (coronary) arteries, he added. He stressed upon Prompt treatment needed for a heart attack to prevent death and not wait till the last hour.

Cardiovascular diseases kill more people in the world than coronavirus ever will, stated Dr Rajiv Passey, MBBS, DNB, DM, Cardiologist, Fellow of Indian College of Physician (FICP), Sir Gangaram Hospital.

He further said, “Both private and government sectors should work together to bring down the losses of lives through this disease as it accounts for most deaths around the world. The symptoms can be hereditary, breathlessness, chest pain, dizziness, exertion, weakness in limbs, and excessive headache. Moderation in lifestyle is vital. Seeking appropriate advice from a good cardiologist at the right time is essential.”

Dr Sushant Srivastava, Chairperson, Adult Cardiac Surgery and Heart Lung Transplant, Artemis Hospital said tests or treatments to diagnose a heart attack include ECG, MRI, angioplasty, statins, and bypass surgery. Cardiovascular disease accounts for 32 per cent of all global deaths. Of these deaths, 85 per cent were due to heart attack and stroke, he added.

Dr Rajesh Kesari, Founder and Director of Total Care Control, Delhi – NCR EC Member, RSSDI, noted in his moderating role that heart disease has become the leading cause of mortality and is hurting the younger population. This is due to a high-calorie lifestyle, unhealthy fats (Trans Fats, Saturated Fats) found in fast meals, a lack of physical activity, stress, and even environmental pollution. A diet low in fats and whites like maida (refined wheat flour and other carbohydrates), sugar, and salt, but high in whole grains, vegetables, and fruits, along with regular physical exercise of at least 150 minutes per week, would be extremely effective in reducing heart disease and fatalities.

A recent study found that the 2020 European menthol cigarette ban boosted the probability that menthol smokers will quit smoking. This conclusion backs with previous Canadian studies on the public health benefits of the menthol cigarette ban.

The study was directed by Christina Kyriakos and included researchers from Maastricht University, the Trimbos Institute in the Netherlands, the International Tobacco Policy Evaluation Project (ITC Project) from the University of Waterloo in Canada, and Christina Kyriakos from Imperial College London.

According to Geoffrey T. Fong, professor of psychology and public health sciences at Waterloo and the project’s lead investigator, “This Dutch study is our second major national study to provide evidence of the powerful impact of banning menthol cigarettes on quitting, which supports proposed menthol bans in the U.S. and other countries.”

Before and after the EU menthol ban, the study team polled a national sample of adult smokers in the Netherlands who smoked both menthol and non-menthol cigarettes. 26.1 per cent of menthol smokers who were polled both before and after the ban had given up. This quit percentage was higher than that of the non-menthol smoking control group, which had a quit rate of only 14.1%.

In fact, the higher quit rate of 12% for menthol smokers following the European ban is higher than the higher quit rate of 7.3% discovered in an ITC study of the menthol ban that was in place across Canada in 2018.

Tobacco manufacturers have been adding menthol to cigarettes for decades because it has a cooling effect that reduces the harshness of smoke. It makes smoking more accessible, increasing the possibility that young individuals who do not already smoke may begin smoking on a daily basis and acquire a nicotine addiction.

For more than ten years, the World Health Organization and various other public health organisations have pushed governments to ban menthol cigarettes in an effort to reduce smoking, which kills 7.1 million smokers and 1.2 million nonsmokers each year due to secondhand smoke. The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a worldwide tobacco control accord, calls on states to ban or restrict the use of menthol and other smoking aids.

Menthol cigarettes are now illegal in 35 countries. On April 28, 2022, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a proposed regulation prohibiting the use of menthol in cigarettes and cigars. According to an ITC research on the consequences of the Canadian prohibition published that day, a ban on menthol cigarettes in the United States is projected to result in the cessation of more than 1.3 million smokers.

According to the Dutch survey, one-third of menthol users acknowledged to continuing their habit despite the restriction. Tobacco companies supply a number of accessories that allow users to flavour their own tobacco products with menthol.

“The effectiveness of the menthol prohibition is weakened by these activities by the cigarette industry. The impact of the menthol ban on quitting could be even greater if regulations were tightened to include these menthol add-ons, according to Marc Willemsen, co-author of the Dutch study, professor of tobacco control research at Maastricht University, and scientific director of tobacco control at the Trimbos Institute.

Impact of the European Union’s menthol cigarette ban on smoking cessation outcomes: Longitudinal findings from the 2020-2021 ITC Netherlands Surveys is the study’s title, and it was published in the journal Tobacco Control.

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