Archive for category: News

Researchers found that among those patients affected by autoimmune skin diseases such as dermatomyositis (DM) and cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE), the use of herbal supplements is widespread. A recent study, performed in the rheumatologic-dermatology clinic at the University of Pennsylvania, highlights the need to enhance patient and provider education regarding the risks of herbal supplements in autoimmune disorders. The study was published in ACR Open Rheumatology by Daniella and colleagues.

Researchers working with the Alzheimer’s Center at Temple (ACT) recently investigated the effect of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) on brain health and memory to determine if consumption of extra virgin olive oil, the main component of the Mediterranean diet, can delay cognitive decline in people with Down Syndrome (DS). DS is the most common genetically induced form of physical and intellectual disability, and while modern medical advances have helped to prolong life expectancy from around 40 years to an average of 60, the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in DS patients has become more common than ever before. Individuals with Down syndrome develop age dependent cognitive decline and synaptic dysfunction.

Studies have shown that by the age of 40, about 50% of people with DS manifest significant learning and memory problems which are associated with the presence of Alzheimer’s-like impairment.

The paper, “Extra virgin olive oil beneficial effects on memory, synaptic function, and neuroinflammation in a mouse model of Down syndrome,” describes the results of the study in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. 

Using a mouse model of DS, researchers administered EVOO for 5 months in their diet, after which they were tested for learning and memory impairment. Synaptic function was then measured, and brain tissues were assessed for inflammatory biomarkers. Researchers found that mice receiving EVOO had a significant improvement in learning and spatial memory. Additionally, treated mice had an improvement in synaptic function, and EVOO decreased levels of several inflammatory biomarkers.

“Administration of EVOO to a mouse model of Down syndrome has beneficial effects on memory impairments, synaptic function deficits and neuroinflammation,” says senior author Domenico Praticò, MD, the Scott Richards North Star Foundation Chair for Alzheimer’s Research, Professor of Neural Sciences and Founding Director of the Alzheimer’s Center at Temple (ACT), at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University (LKSOM). “Our findings provide additional support for the potential therapeutic effects of EVOO also in individuals with Down syndrome.” 

Reference:

Li J-G, Leone A, Servili M, Praticò D. Extra virgin olive oil beneficial effects on memory, synaptic function, and neuroinflammation in a mouse model of Down syndrome. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. 2024;0(0). doi:10.1177/13872877241283675.

The current expectation is that every ovulatory menstrual cycle will have a luteal phase (the time from egg released until the next flow) that lasts approximately 14 days. It is simple, ovulation covers half of the expected, classical 28-day menstrual cycle. That fits with another current concept, “All regular month-apart menstrual cycles are ovulatory.”

“We discovered a wide variety of luteal phase lengths, even in healthy premenopausal women who needed two cycles in a row that were both of normal cycle length and ovulatory in order to join the original study,” said this study’s first author, Sarah Henry, BSc (hons), MD, now in her University of British Columbia family practice residency who did this research as a medical student. “Although the luteal phase was not predictable in length, it was usually less variable than the follicular phase.”

The findings, just published in Human Reproduction, show that the luteal phase is quite variable. It was documented using the validated Quantitative Basal Temperature© (QBT©) method. By QBT©, a normal luteal phase length is ≥10 days; short luteal cycles are <10 days.

“This year-long study is a rare one examining within-woman follicular phase and luteal length variabilities,” said Sonia Shirin MD, MHSc, CeMCOR research associate and co-author who worked with Dr. Henry on statistical analyses. “We studied 53 healthy women’s cycles over about a year; all had at least 8, and an average of 13 menstrual cycles.”

“An amazing thing is that, despite rigorous screening, only 6 of 53 women (11%) had normally ovulatory cycles the whole year,” said Azita Goshtasebi, MD, MPH, PhD, CCFP, co-author and family physician as well as woman’s public reproductive health expert. “Fifty-five percent of women across the study year had more than one short luteal phase in an ovulatory cycle.”

Does it matter if the luteal phase is short?

Yes. A meta-analysis CeMCOR published in 2014 (Li D, Epidemiol Rev) showed there was bone loss in those with more short luteal phase ovulatory and anovulatory cycles compared with those having more normally ovulatory cycles over a year, even if all cycles remained month-apart. It is also likely that short luteal phase cycles, as well as those without ovulation, are related to trouble becoming pregnant.

“I wish I had known that my perfectly regular, month-apart menstrual periods might have hidden silent ovulatory disturbances that could make fertility difficult for me,” said Sophia Park, MD, FRCPC, MBA, associate clinical professor in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of British Columbia with the lived experience of infertility.

“It is important to know about our own ovulation and luteal phase lengths. Why? Because increasing evidence says that estrogen, a powerful growth stimulator, needs to be counterbalanced. Progesterone decreases proliferation while encouraging cells to become more well-developed and specialized,” reported senior author, Jerilynn C. Prior, BA, MD, FRCPC, professor of endocrinology at the University of British Columbia.

The researchers say this new information about the variability of the luteal phase lengths is important for two reasons:

1. We cannot assume month-apart menstrual cycles mean ovulation or normal-length luteal phases

2. Women need to know about ovulation both for health and fertility. 

Reference:

Sarah Henry, Sonia Shirin, Azita Goshtasebi, Jerilynn C Prior, Prospective 1-year assessment of within-woman variability of follicular and luteal phase lengths in healthy women prescreened to have normal menstrual cycle and luteal phase lengths, Human Reproduction, 2024;, deae215, https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/deae215.

A new systematic review led by researchers in Hamilton, Canada has shown that specialized in-bed cycling therapy, when used in the intensive care unit with critically ill patients, leads to better physical function and a one-day shorter length of stay in the ICU.

The review showed on average, patients who cycled spent one day less in the ICU compared to those who didn’t, and 1.5 days less in the hospital overall, freeing up an important bed sooner. , the average costs per patient can be up to $7,300 per ICU day and $1,500 per hospital day.

Traditionally, ICU rehabilitation studies have been inconclusive or lacked clear results. With this systematic review, a clearer picture is emerging around the safety and benefits of cycling as a rehabilitation intervention in the ICU.

The research – published in NEJM Evidence and simultaneously announced at the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine Congress in Spain – was led by researchers with McMaster University’s School of Rehabilitation Science and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. The review analyzed data from 33 rehabilitation clinical trials in 13 countries and included nearly 3,300 patients.

“This research is a major win for patients and their families,” said Heather O’Grady, lead author and recent PhD graduate from Rehabilitation Science at McMaster. “This analysis shows that cycling as part of rehabilitation in the ICU can decrease ICU and overall hospital length of stay, is safe and perhaps most importantly for patients, leads to better physical function post-ICU discharge.”

The review builds off previous research conducted by senior author Michelle Kho, a professor with McMaster’s School of Rehabilitation Science, that first highlighted the potential benefits of cycling by patients in the ICU.

In addition to the main findings, the review showed that adverse events during cycling are uncommon, occurring in less than one per cent of patients. Importantly, patients who received cycling in the ICU did not have higher mortality than those in the comparison groups.

The researchers say the findings provide a distinct research pathway for future study because the model of rehabilitation uses clear-cut equipment, is reproducible and easily standardized.

Reference:

 Heather K. O’Grady, Hibaa Hasan, Bram Rochwerg, Deborah J. Cook, Alyson Takaoka, Rucha Utgikar, Julie C. Reid, and Michelle E. Leg Cycle Ergometry in Critically Ill Patients-An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, NEJM Evidence, doi/full/10.1056/EVIDoa2400194.

Canada: A recent systematic review and meta-analysis have shed light on the positive effects of aerobic physical activity (APA) on depression among patients with cancer.