Medically Speaking Team

As part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav festivities and Azadi Ka Amrit Kaal, the government announced on Wednesday that residents above the age of 18 will get booster doses free of charge beginning on July 15 and continuing for the following 75 days. All government facilities will have this feature.

“India is celebrating 75 years of independence. On the occasion of Azadi ka Amrit Kaal, it has been decided that from 15th July 2022 till the next 75 days, citizens above 18 years of age will be given booster doses free of cost,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur told the media here. India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 199.12 crore as per provisional reports till 7 am on Wednesday. This has been achieved through 2,61,58,303 sessions.

The COVID-19 immunisation programme for children aged 12 to 14 years old began on March 16, 2022. The first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination has been given to more than 3.76 crore adolescents thus far. Beginning on April 10, the COVID-19 cautionary dosage was administered to those between the ages of 18 and 59.

Also Read: India’s first qHPV vaccine gets DCGI nod to treat cervical cancer

The Center has been working to speed up and broaden the reach of COVID-19 immunisation across the nation. On January 16, 2021, the countrywide COVID 19 immunisation campaign began. Beginning on June 21, 2021, a new phase of COVID-19 immunisation was made mandatory. The availability of more vaccinations, early notification of vaccine availability to states and UTs to enable better planning by them, and simplification of the vaccine supply chain have all increased the vaccination effort.

The Indian government has been assisting the states and UTs by giving them free COVID vaccinations as part of the country-wide immunisation push. The Center will purchase and provide (free of charge) to states and UTs 75% of the vaccinations being manufactured by the country’s vaccine producers as part of the next phase of the COVID-19 immunisation programme.

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The number of COVID-19 cases in India increased as the country registered 20,139 new infections in the past 24 hours, a 19% increase from the day before, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare reported on Thursday.

This is an increase in infections from yesterday of 3,233. On Wednesday, the nation recorded 16,906 new COVID cases. The number of open cases has increased to 1,36,076 and makes up 0.31 percent of all cases in the nation.

According to the Health Ministry, the weekly positive rate was 4.37 and the daily positivity rate in the past 24 hours was 5.10 percent.

On Wednesday, the daily positivity rate was at 3.68 per cent and the total weekly positivity rate was 4.26 per cent.

The recovery rate in the country is currently at 98.49 per cent. As many as 16,482 recoveries were recorded in the last 24 hours thereby taking total recoveries to 4,30,28,356.

The government data added that 38 new fatalities have pushed India’s COVID-19 death toll to 5,25,557.

A total of 3,94,774 COVID samples were tested during this period. 86.81 crore tests have been conducted in the country so far.

Covid vaccine

Under the nationwide vaccination drive, 13,44,714 COVID vaccines were administered in the last 24 hours. A total of 1,99,27,27,559 vaccines have been administered so far.

In the new phase of the universalization of the COVID vaccination drive, the Union Government will procure and supply (free of cost) 75 per cent of the vaccines being produced by the vaccine manufacturers in the country to States and UTs.

Also Read: Free COVID-19 booster dose for adults for 75 days from July 15

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According to the Ministry of Science and Technology on Wednesday, scientists from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology have created a novel mechanism to inactivate the COVID (SARS-CoV-2) virus by preventing its entry into cells and lowering its capacity to infect people.

Researchers have described the creation of a new family of synthetic peptides that can both prevent COVID (SARS-CoV-2) viral entrance into cells and clump the virus’s infectious virions (particles) together. This innovative strategy offers a different way to render viruses like SARS-CoV-2 dormant and holds promise for a new family of peptides as antivirals.

The fast introduction of new SARS-CoV-2 virus strains has reduced the level of protection provided by COVID-19 vaccinations, necessitating additional measures to avoid viral infection.

Protein-protein interactions are recognised to frequently resemble a lock and a key. Synthetic peptides that imitate, compete with, and block the binding of the “key” to the “lock” or vice versa can interfere with this interaction.

The Ministry claims that IISc researchers have taken use of this strategy to create peptides that can bind to and inhibit the spike protein on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. With the use of cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and other biophysical techniques, this binding was further and thoroughly characterised.

The study was funded by the Department of Science and Technology’s Department of Engineering and Research Board (SERB), a governmental authority, under the COVID-19 IRPHA call (DST).

The created peptides have helical, hairpin-like shapes and are each capable of producing a dimer by joining forces with another of their sort. Two “faces” are presented by each dimeric “bundle” to interact with two target molecules.

In the study published in Nature Chemical Biology, the researchers hypothesised that the two faces would bind to two separate target proteins locking all four in a complex and blocking the targets’ action. The team decided to test their hypothesis by using a peptide called SIH-5 to target the interaction between the Spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2 and ACE2 protein, the SARS-CoV-2 receptor in human cells.

The S protein is a trimer – a complex of three identical polypeptides. Each polypeptide contains a Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) that binds to the ACE2 receptor on the host cell surface. This interaction facilitates viral entry into the cell.

The SIH-5 peptide was designed to block the binding of the RBD to human ACE2. When a SIH-5 dimer encountered an S protein, one of its faces bound tightly to one of the three RBDs on the S protein trimer, and the other face bound to an RBD from a different S protein. This ‘cross-linking’ allowed the SIH-5 to block both S proteins at the same time.

The SIH-5 peptide was designed to block the binding of the RBD to human ACE2. When a SIH-5 dimer encountered an S protein, one of its faces bound tightly to one of the three RBDs on the S protein trimer, and the other face bound to an RBD from a different S protein. This ‘cross-linking’ allowed the SIH-5 to block both S proteins at the same time.

Under cryo-EM, the S proteins targeted by SIH-5 appeared to be attached head-to-head, and the spike proteins were being forced to form dimers. Subsequently, the researchers showed that SIH-5 inactivated the viruses efficiently by cross-linking the spike proteins from different virus particles.

The team consisting of researchers of IISc and CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology tested the peptide for toxicity in mammalian cells in the lab and found it to be safe. When hamsters were dosed with the peptide and subsequently exposed to a high dose of SARS-CoV-2, they showed decreased viral load as well as much less cell damage in the lungs compared to hamsters exposed only to the virus, demonstrating the promise of this class of peptides as antivirals.

The researchers believe that with minor modifications and peptide engineering, this lab-made mini protein could inhibit other protein-protein interactions as well.

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Also Read: Covid case update: India reports 20,139 new cases in last 24 hours

A recent research found that while fewer than half of patients with hematologic malignancies produced detectable antibodies following the initial COVID-19 immunisation, 56% of “nonresponders” developed antibodies after getting a booster dose.

The study’s findings were published in the journal ‘Cancer.’ For the study, Brown University’s Thomas Ollila, MD, and colleagues examined antibody responses to initial and booster COVID-19 immunisation in 378 patients with hematologic malignancies.

Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were found in the blood of 181 patients (48%), following an initial immunisation with one of three US vaccines.

COVID-19 vaccines authorised or approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and patients with current cancer or recently treated with an immune cell-depleting medication were the least likely to generate these antibodies.

Responses were found after a booster dose in 48 of 85 (56%) of individuals who did not establish an antibody response following the first immunisation.

By the end of February 2022, 33 patients (8.8%) had developed a COVID-19 infection, with three deaths as a result (0.8 per cent). Although there was no statistically significant association between post-vaccination antibody response and COVID-19 infection, no patient with antibody responses died from COVID-19 infection.

Furthermore, no patient who had tixagevimab with cilgavimab developed a COVID-19 infection.

Tixagevimab and cilgavimab are antiviral antibodies that bind to non-overlapping regions of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, preventing the virus from attaching to and infecting cells. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA approved the combination medication for emergency use to help prevent COVID-19 infection in specific persons.

“Our findings add to the growing body of evidence indicating individuals with hematologic malignancies have a poor response to COVID immunisation.” “Most importantly, we show that many of these individuals who did not respond initially would respond to booster immunisation,” Dr. Ollila stated.

Also Read: According to new research, eating avocados on regular basis might help decrease cholesterol

“Furthermore, when we looked at outcomes, we discovered that fatalities from COVID-19 happened solely in patients with undetectable antibodies, and no one who got preventive antibody treatment was identified with COVID-19. This emphasises the need of monitoring antibody levels in these individuals and scheduling preventive antibody treatment.”

Dr. Ollila advocates for patients to receive booster immunizations and to prioritise preventive antibody treatment where necessary. “This is proof that these steps may save lives,” he added.

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According to a comprehensive new study, women who are diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, the eating disorder, are five times more likely on average to have underweight babies.
Results presented at the 38th Annual Meeting of ESHRE also show a substantially increased risk (298 per cent) of premature birth and more than double the likelihood (341 per cent) of placental abruption. This is compared with mothers without anorexia, which is often a life-long mental health condition. Ido Feferkorn MD from McGill University, Montreal, Canada, will outline the details of the analysis. It was based on data from more than 9 million women both with and without anorexia, a severe psychiatric disorder characterized by starvation and malnutrition.
Dr Feferkorn described the findings on the incidence of small-for-gestational-age newborns in particular as ‘shockingly higher’ when compared with outcomes for the offspring of healthy-weight women.
Eating disorders can have an impact on menstruation, but women with anorexia do conceive naturally or with the help of fertility drugs to stimulate ovulation. Dr Feferkorn said the results of the study conveyed a serious health message about the management of these patients during and after pregnancy.
He said: ‘Many fertility specialists are faced with the dilemma of treating women who are undernourished. Or, by refusing to do so, possibly preventing these patients from the joy of parenthood. Clinics should be aware of the magnitude of adverse outcomes related to pregnancy among those patients with anorexia who do conceive.’
Data came from a large publicly available database of US hospital inpatient care records. All deliveries between 2004 and 2014 were included that related to women with a diagnosis of anorexia during pregnancy (n=214) and those who did not (n=9,096,574)
Overall, results showed significant adverse pregnancy outcomes for women with anorexia.
In addition, they showed that these individuals were more likely to have another psychiatric problem in addition to their eating disorder, to be smokers, to have thyroid disease, to be white, or of higher income.
No difference was found in rates for other conditions which can affect women during pregnancy. These included hypertensive diseases, gestational diabetes, placenta previa, postpartum hemorrhage, and the bacterial infection chorioamnionitis. The need for a Caesarean section was no greater than in women without an anorexia diagnosis.
The study did have limitations including the fact that the authors were unable to assess the severity of anorexia, nor compliance with treatment. One wider implication of the findings, said Dr Feferkorn, is that women should be screened for anorexia prior to fertility treatment, which current evidence suggests most physicians fail to do.

According to a recent research, fewer than 7% of the adult population in the United States has good cardiometabolic health, implying that a serious health crisis requires immediate intervention. A group of researchers from Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy uncovered a novel viewpoint on cardiometabolic health trends and inequalities.

The research findings were published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Researchers looked at five aspects of health in Americans: blood pressure, blood sugar, blood cholesterol, adiposity (overweight and obesity), and the presence or absence of cardiovascular disease (heart attack, stroke, etc.). They discovered that just 6.8 percent of persons in the United States had ideal levels of all five components in 2017-2018.

Trends in obesity and blood glucose among these five components deteriorated considerably between 1999 and 2018. In 1999, one out of every three persons had appropriate levels of adiposity (no overweight or obesity); by 2018, that figure has dropped to one out of every four. Similarly, although 3 out of 5 persons did not have diabetes or prediabetes in 1999, fewer than 4 out of 10 adults had in 2018.

“These figures are startling. “It’s profoundly troubling that in the United States, one of the world’s wealthiest countries, fewer than one in every 15 persons has optimum cardiometabolic health,” said Meghan O’Hearn, a PhD candidate at the Friedman School and the study’s primary author.

“We need a full reform of our healthcare system, food system, and built environment, since this is a crisis that affects everyone, not just a small portion of the population.”

The study examined a nationally representative sample of around 55,000 persons aged 20 years or older from the ten most recent cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1999 to 2018. Rather than merely the presence or absence of illness, the study team concentrated on optimum, intermediate, and poor levels of cardiometabolic health and its components. “We need to change the discussion because the sickness isn’t the main issue,” O’Hearn explained. “We don’t only want to be disease-free. We want to be in the best possible health and well-being.”

Researchers notice health differences in different ages

The researchers also discovered significant health differences between sexes, ages, races and ethnicities, and educational levels. People with less education, for example, were half as likely as adults with more education to have optimal cardiometabolic health, and Mexican Americans had one-third the ideal levels as non-Hispanic White adults. Furthermore, while the percentage of non-Hispanic White Americans with good cardiometabolic health grew somewhat between 1999 and 2018, it decreased for Mexican Americans, other Hispanics, non-Hispanic Blacks, and people of other races.

Also Read: Study suggests drinking beer is good for intestine

“This is quite troubling. “Social determinants of health, such as food and nutrition security, social and community context, economic stability, and structural racism, put people of different education levels, races, and ethnicities at a higher risk of health problems,” said Dariush Mozaffarian, dean of the Friedman School and senior author. “This draws attention to the other critical work being done throughout the Friedman School and Tufts University to better understand and treat the underlying causes of poor nutrition and health inequities in the United States and around the world.”

The study also looked at “intermediate” levels of health, which include diseases like pre-diabetes, pre-hypertension, and being overweight. “A substantial section of the population has reached a tipping point,” O’Hearn stated.

“It is vital to identify these individuals and address their health issues and lifestyle choices early in order to reduce rising healthcare costs and health disparities.”

The repercussions of the poor health of American adults extend beyond personal health. “It has significant implications for national healthcare expenditure and the financial health of the whole economy,” O’Hearn added. “And the majority of these illnesses are avoidable. We have the public health and therapeutic solutions, as well as the policies, to address these issues.”

According to O’Hearn, researchers at the Friedman School are actively working on a variety of such solutions, including Food is Medicine interventions (which use good nutrition to help prevent and treat illness); incentives and subsidies to make healthy food more affordable; consumer education on a healthy diet; and private sector engagement to drive a healthier and more equitable food system. “There are a variety of approaches that may be used,” O’Hearn added. “We require a multi-sectoral strategy, as well as the political will and ambition to carry it out.”

“We’ve been dealing with a health problem for a time,” O’Hearn explained. “There is now a rising economic, social, and ethical obligation to give this problem far more attention than it has received.”

Drinking beer is beneficial to the intestine and has the potential to prevent chronic diseases, a new study has claimed.
“Beer consumption contributes to the improvement of the composition of the intestinal microbiota, a factor that has been associated with the prevention of very common chronic diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases,” said research by the Center for Research in Health Technologies and Services (CINTESIS), a non-profit research and development unit, in the city of Porto in northern Portugal.

Beer Consumptions Measure

During the study, healthy men aged 23 to 58 drank 330 milliliters of beer daily, with or without alcohol, for four weeks.

CINTESIS, in a statement, said that the results obtained by the research pointed out that beer consumption “increases the diversity of the intestinal microbiota, without increasing weight and fat mass.”

Drinking beer “does not significantly interfere with cardiometabolic biomarkers” such as glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides, the statement said.

Also Read: Scientists develop thermogel that helps to prevent retinal scarring

The researchers point out that the beneficial effect of beer is linked to the polyphenols present in the drink, as has already been proven in red wine.

The study, published recently in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, revealed that the benefit of beer on gut health “proved to be independent of alcohol content” or absence of this element.

A group of Singaporean scientists revealed that a bio-functional thermogel, a form of synthetic polymer, helps to minimise retinal scarring induced by botched retinal detachment repair surgery in a recent research.

Proliferative vitreoretinopathy develops when retinal scarring stops the retina from repairing and sliding back into place, according to the study. It is estimated that it accounts for more than 75% of failure retinal detachment procedures and can lead to visual loss or blindness if not addressed. The study’s findings were published in the journal Nature.

The only current therapeutic option for PVR is surgical excision of these scar membranes with minimal vision recovery.

This study demonstrates the utility of employing synthetic polymers alone to modify cellular behaviour and, for the first time, proposes a new thermogel-based treatment to avoid retinal scarring. The researchers are from A*STAR’s Institutes of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) and Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), as well as the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI).

In a pre-clinical model that resembles human illness, the researchers proved that a bio-functional thermogel alone can prevent retinal scarring. The thermogel inhibited the formation of scar membranes in retinal cells by altering cellular behaviours such as proliferation and migration.

Using genome-wide transcriptomic analysis to track cellular gene expression, scientists discovered that the thermogel activated a protein known as nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2), triggering a cascade of chemical processes that prevented scarring.

“Our research reveals how synthetic polymers are no longer only inert drug carriers. It calls into question the widely held idea that the use of a small molecule medicine is always necessary to have a therapeutic effect. Beyond ophthalmology, the thermogel’s unique bio-functionality can be applied to other diseases such as orthopaedics, where intra-articular joint scarring can be a problem “said Dr Su Xinyi, Senior Principal Investigator and Division Director at A*STAR’s IMCB and Assistant Professor at NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.

“At IMRE, we recognised that producing this bio-functional thermogel was a huge step forward in generating next-generation biodegradable polymers. Given the material’s biocompatibility, its ability to imitate and substitute vitreous makes it beneficial for a variety of additional biomedical applications “Prof Loh Xian Jun, Executive Director of A*STAR’s IMRE, stated.

Vitreogel Innovations Inc, an A*STAR spin-off focused on developing polymer-based therapies for ophthalmic applications, is now commercialising the thermogel. Vitreogel Innovations Inc is an ISO 13485 (Medical Device Quality Systems) recognised firm developing a clinical grade polymer for first-in-man clinical studies.

Using other pre-clinical illness models, the researchers will continue to assess the safety and performance of this polymer for retinal detachment repair and PVR prevention. The team’s goal is to build the next generation of polymers with tailored chemical alterations to elicit certain cellular behaviours, as well as to explore alternate applications of the thermogel outside ophthalmology.

Researchers have discovered a rising tendency in medicine-related damage resulting in hospitalisation.

The trend is linked to a growing tide of various long-term health issues (known as multimorbidity) related with the usage of multiple medications at the same time (called polypharmacy). This prospective observational study was conducted at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust by researchers from the University of Liverpool and Bangor University. It involves a two-physician examination of 1187 medical admissions during a one-month period in 2019.

It was an update to the main study published in the BMJ in 2004 by Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed and colleagues. At the time, 6.5 percent of hospital admissions were linked to unfavourable medication responses (ADRs). This revised statistic shows a considerable rise in that burden, with 16.5 percent of hospitalizations caused or worsened by a bad response to a medication.

Polypharmacy is often described as the use of five or more regular medications. The researchers discovered that those who had an ADR used more medications and had more comorbid diseases than those who did not experience an ADR.

Polypharmacy may be difficult for patients, especially when it occurs in the context of overprescribing, which occurs when individuals are given drugs they don’t need or desire, or which may damage them. Overprescribing has skyrocketed in the previous 25 years. This was noted in a recent NHS overprescribing study, which suggested that 10% of prescriptions (about 110 million) should not have been issued.

Medicine and Analysis

This new analysis demonstrates that the problem is worsening and that addressing the social, structural, and cultural aspects to overprescribing requires a whole-systems approach.

“Our analysis reveals that adverse medication responses inflict a major cost on patients and hospital admissions,” stated Dr. Rostam Osanlou, Specialist Registrar in Clinical Pharmacology.

This comes at a high cost to the NHS (over £2 billion per year), and more efforts in this area might both enhance patient care and save money for the NHS.”

According to Dr Lauren Walker, Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Liverpool: “Patients must report any adverse medication reactions to the MHRA through the yellow card system. Patients should address any negative effects with their healthcare provider and should not discontinue medications on their own.”

David Weatherall Chair of Medicine, Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, stated: “Our new research emphasises the ongoing burden that adverse medication responses inflict on patients and the NHS. There is no single straightforward answer to avoid this, thus a multi-layered strategy is required, ranging from education on proper prescription to the usage of technology. This would be in line with the long-term goals of the NHS.”

According to the researchers’ calculations, the yearly cost of ADRs that result in hospitalisation is at least £2 billion. A coordinated national effort is required, in addition to those highlighted in the NHS overprescribing report, to enhance the benefit-risk balance of prescription medications and, as a result, minimise the burden of ADRs on patients and healthcare providers.

Copper exposure in the environment, as well as the protein alpha-synuclein in the human brain, may have a role in the pathophysiology of Parkinson’s disease. The protein takes on an odd structure when exposed to huge levels of copper ions, according to the researchers. The discoveries might aid in the development of novel treatments for neurological illnesses.
The causes of Parkinson’s disease are yet unknown.

The presence of faulty proteins in the brain might be the first clue long before the beginning of typical muscular tremors. Empa and the University of Limerick in Ireland have now examined the anomalous structure of these alpha-synucleins in the form of protein rings.

They were also able to observe at the nanoscale the link between copper contamination and environmental pollution. This elucidates the progression of neurodegenerative illness and the function of biometals in the disease process. Furthermore, the discoveries might pave the way for better illness identification and treatment.

Parkinson’s disease is defined by the death of neurons in the brain, resulting in a lack of the neurotransmitter dopamine. This causes muscular tremors, stiffness, and even immobility in the latter stages of the disease. After Alzheimer’s disease, the slowly progressing condition is the world’s second most prevalent neurological disease.

Environmental factors such as pesticides or heavy metals may contribute to the development of Parkinson’s disease.

The Transport at Nanoscale Interfaces group, directed by Empa researcher Peter Nirmalraj, is examining this idea using imaging methods and chemical spectroscopy, as well as computer simulations in partnership with Damien Thompson’s team at the University of Limerick. The researchers are focusing on alpha-synuclein, a protein that is implicated in multiple molecular stages in the development of Parkinson’s disease.

This endogenous protein clumps together in afflicted individuals, causing nerve cells to perish. Copper in high amounts, according to the study, interferes with these mechanisms and speeds up the illness process.

Empa researcher Silvia Campioni from the Cellulose & Wood Materials team created the protein artificially to visualise the clumping of alpha-synuclein at the nanoscale scale. The researchers used atomic force microscopy to see the protein, which was originally in solution, produce individual insoluble filamentous structures before clumping together to create a dense network of fibrils over a ten-day period. The change of the soluble protein into clumped fibres around 1 micrometre in length, as seen in the photos, can be seen in the laboratory with astonishing precision during the evolution of the disease.

When the researchers introduced copper ions to the protein solution, they saw radically different shapes beneath the microscope: Within a few hours, ring-shaped protein structures around 7 nanometers in size, known as oligomers, emerged in the test tube. The presence of such ring-shaped oligomers, as well as their cell-damaging action, is well documented. Furthermore, in a copper-free solution, the longer fiber-like structures formed early.

“High amounts of copper appear to hasten the aggregation process,” says Peter Nirmalraj. Furthermore, under the effect of copper, this peculiar ring-shaped protein structure forms quite fast, presumably indicating the start of the disease process or even initiating it.

The researchers also used molecular dynamics computer simulations in small increments of 10 to 100 nanoseconds to study the binding of copper ions to alpha-synuclein.

Because oligomer rings emerge at the start of protein transformation, Nirmalraj believes they might be utilised as a target for new types of therapy. Furthermore, the findings might aid in the creation of a Parkinson’s test that can detect the illness at an early stage in bodily fluids, such as spinal fluid samples.