Archive for month: June, 2024

The universal adhesive used in the etch-and-rinse mode for posterior composite restorations is equally effective in moist and wet dentin suggests a study published in the Journal of Dentistry.

In a pooled analysis of three clinical trials, acupuncture significantly reduced hot flashes and other hormonal side effects of endocrine therapy taken by women with breast cancer. The analysis of data from the United States, China, and South Korea is published by Wiley online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

Endocrine therapy, which blocks hormone signaling that drives some forms of breast cancer, can be a life-saving treatment, but up to 80% of patients who take it experience hot flashes-a sudden, temporary sensation of body warmth, flushing, and sweating-and other side effects. Many patients who experience these symptoms discontinue endocrine therapy, which can put them at an elevated risk of cancer progression and death.

Other medications can reduce hot flashes, but they come with their own unpleasant side effects. Studies have evaluated the impact of acupuncture on hot flashes in women with early breast cancer undergoing endocrine therapy, with mixed results.

To provide more information about acupuncture’s potential, investigators conducted a coordinated, multinational project consisting of three independent randomized controlled trials in the United States, China, and South Korea that used the same eligibility criteria, acupuncture protocol, and study measures.

A total of 158 women with stage 0–III breast cancer were randomized to immediate acupuncture (IA) or delayed acupuncture control (DAC). IA participants received acupuncture twice a week for 10 weeks and were followed for an additional 10 weeks without acupuncture. DAC participants received usual care for 10 weeks, then crossed over to acupuncture with a reduced intensity (once per week) for 10 weeks. Standardized clinical questionnaires were used to assess hormonal symptoms—including hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, and joint pain-as well as quality of life related to physical well-being, functional well-being, emotional well-being, and social/family well-being.

At week 10 from the start of the trials, IA participants’ questionnaire scores reflected significant lessening of symptoms compared with DAC participants. Responses indicated that 64% of people in the IA group reported improvements in the number and severity of their hot flashes, compared with 18% in the DAC group. IA participants also reported greater improvements in quality of life compared with DAC participants.

Between week 10 and week 20, scores did not change significantly for IA participants. DAC participants who received weekly acupuncture during this time had significant improvements in symptom scores relative to week 10. There were no acupuncture-related side effects reported by any of the participants.

“By managing side effects, our approach makes it easier for patients to continue their prescribed medication, which has the potential to reduce the risk of cancer recurrence and improve long-term outcomes for breast cancer survivors,” said lead author Weidong Lu, MB, MPH, PhD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. “In practice, patients interested in using acupuncture for this purpose might begin with a short trial period to assess their response to the treatment, particularly in terms of reduction in hot flashes and other symptoms. If the trial period yields positive results, patients may then engage in a long-term program, receiving regular acupuncture sessions throughout the duration of their anti-hormonal medication regimen.”

Reference:

Weidong Lu, Anita Giobbie-Hurder,  Anna Tanasijevic , Sylvia Baedorf Kassis, Sung Hwan Park, Young Ju Jeong , Im Hee Shin , Chang Yao, Hyun Jung Jung KMD, Zhiyuan Zhu, Chao Bao, Ting Bao, EunMee Yang, LicAc, Barbara E. Bierer, Jennifer A. Ligibel, Acupuncture for hot flashes in hormone receptor-positive breast cancer: A pooled analysis of individual patient data from parallel randomized trials, Cancer, https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.35374.

As temperatures rise, so do chances for migraine attacks, according to a new study from a team of researchers at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Errex Inc. and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA. Inc.

“Weather change is one of the most common trigger factors for migraine,” says Vincent Martin, MD, director of the Headache and Facial Pain Center at UC’s Gardner Neuroscience Institute and UC Health physician. He is the study’s lead author and president of the National Headache Foundation.

These findings from the study, which looked at use of Fremanezumab and whether it could prevent headaches caused by temperature increases, will be presented at the American Headache Society’s 66th Annual Scientific Meeting, June 13-16 in San Diego, California.

Produced by Teva Pharmaceuticals USA. Inc., Fremanezumab is sold under the brand name AJOVY®, administered by injection under the skin, and is part of a set of monoclonal antibodies that have hit the market in the past six years to treat migraine in patients. This class of drugs blocks a protein known as CGRP (calcitonin gene-related peptide) which is responsible for transmission of pain in the brain and nervous system.

Researchers cross-referenced 71,030 daily diary records of 660 migraine patients with regional weather data and found that for every temperature increase of 10 degrees Fahrenheit daily, there was a 6% increase in occurrence of any headache. However, during the time periods of Fremanezumab treatment the association completely disappeared.

“This study is the first to suggest that migraine specific therapies that block CGRP may treat weather associated headaches,” says Fred Cohen, a study co-author and assistant professor of medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, NY.

Martin adds that if the results are confirmed in future studies the drug therapy has the potential to help many people with weather triggered migraine.

“What we found was that increases in temperature were a significant factor in migraine occurrence across all regions of the United States,” says Martin, also a professor within UC’s College of Medicine. “It’s pretty amazing because you think of all the varying weather patterns that occur across the entire country that we’re able to find one that is so significant.”

Al Peterlin, who retired as chief meteorologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and co-author of the study, added another thought.

“Hippocrates, the father of medicine, believed that weather and medicine were intimately linked,” he says. “A couple thousand of years later, we are proving that weather matters in human health.”

Reference:

Is there a link between increased headaches and hotter temperatures for individuals with migraines?, University of Cincinnati, Meeting: 66th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Headache Society.

New Delhi: Amid a raging row over the alleged NEET UG 2024 paper leak controversy and the cancellation of other exams, former ISRO chief R Radhakrishnan heading a seven-member panel appointed by the government announced on Monday that they will engage with parents and students to understand their concerns and challenges about the examination process.

In its first meeting on Monday evening, Radhakrishnan told reporters on Tuesday as quoted by PTI “The first priority for us is to elicit from the students and parents in the country their concerns and suggestions. We are going to engage with them as far as possible in person, or through electronic media. And in the next fortnight, we would like to consolidate this.”

“The next priority for us is to quickly build a robust system for starting the tests. We are also looking at the future, especially to develop in this country a robust system, a tamper-proof system, a system with zero error and a system that will lessen the difficulties and stress for the students with adequate flexibility built into it,” he added.

Also read- NEET 2024 Paper Leak Case: CBI Collects All Material Evidence From Bihar Police, FIR Registered

According to sources present in the meeting, the committee took stock of the current situation and challenges faced by the National Testing Agency (NTA).

“The panel was apprised of the current processes and functioning of the agency. The panel also looked into the statistics provided by the NTA about the multiple exams conducted by it and the number of candidates appearing for each exam,” a source said.

“The panel also looked into which exams are conducted in pen and paper mode and which are conducted as Computer-Based Tests (CBT), and the nuances of both modes,” the source added.

During its meeting, the committee is also believed to have discussed cybersecurity issues and challenges posed by the darknet, where the UGC-NET exam question paper was first leaked forcing the Education Ministry to cancel it the day after it was conducted.

According to ministry officials, the reforms suggested by the panel are likely to be implemented by the next exam cycle.

“It is a mammoth task and has to be done with complete preparation to ensure there are no loopholes but it is also the most important priority of the ministry right now. The panel will submit its report within two months and we will draw an action plan to implement the reforms by the next exam cycle,” an official said on the condition of anonymity.

In the line of fire over the alleged irregularities in medical entrance examination NEET and PhD entrance NET, the Centre had on Saturday notified the panel to ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of examinations through the NTA.

While NEET is under scanner over several irregularities, including alleged leaks, UGC-NET was cancelled as the ministry received inputs that the integrity of the exam was compromised. Two other exams — CSIR-UGC NET and NEET PG — were cancelled as a pre-emptive step.

The panel will make recommendations on reforms in the mechanism of the examination process, improvement in data security protocols and the structure and functioning of the NTA.

The panel also includes former AIIMS Delhi director Randeep Guleria, Central University of Hyderabad Vice-Chancellor B J Rao, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Civil Engineering at IIT Madras K Ramamurthy, People Strong co-founder and Karmayogi Bharat board member Pankaj Bansal, IIT Delhi Dean of Student Affairs Aditya Mittal and Ministry of Education Joint Secretary Govind Jaiswal.

The committee has also been tasked with examining the existing security protocols related to the setting of the papers and other processes for different examinations and making recommendations to enhance the robustness of the system.

This year’s National Eligibility-and-Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2024 Examination was mired in controversies after the allegations of paper leak came into light. Around 13 people, including four examinees and their family members, were arrested in Bihar for their alleged involvement in the paper leak of the NEET-UG exam. Patna police sources had previously claimed that the NEET-UG question papers along with their answers were provided to around 20 aspirants a day before the date of the exam i.e. May 5, 2024.

Then, the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police, which took over the investigation, revealed that the brokers involved in the NEET paper leak scam took between Rs 30 lakh to Rs 50 lakh from each of the medical aspirants in exchange for giving them the question paper of the NEET UG 2024 question paper ahead of the examination.

Multiple pleas have been filed before the High Courts and the Supreme Court seeking an investigation into the alleged paper leak scam. Some of the pleas demanded the scrapping of the NEET UG 2024 exam and holding a retest.

Meanwhile, NEET aspirants across the country have been protesting against the alleged paper leak issue in NEET UG 2024 and the National Testing Agency’s policy of awarding grace marks to 1563 candidates. While finally the NTA decided to scrap the grace marks, the issue of alleged paper leak is still unsolved.

Although earlier, the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had denied such allegations of paper leak, recently he assured action against NTA officials if they were found guilty of the “irregularities” in the conduct of the MBBS entrance exam.

The NEET 2024 issue has now taken a political turn as opposition parties are accusing the government over the allegations of rigging, paper leaks, and corruption. Recently Congress leader Rahul Gandhi argued that the BJP-ruled states were the “epicentre of paper leak”.

While hearing pleas concerning the NEET examination, the apex court had on June 18 said that even if there was “0.001 per cent negligence” on the part of anyone in the conduct of the examination, it should be thoroughly dealt with.

The Apex Court had also sought responses from the Centre and the NTA on a plea for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into allegations of question paper leak and other irregularities in the exam.

Also read- ‘Govt Has Nothing To Hide’, Says Chirag Paswan Over NEET Row