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Scientists are still trying to figure out why so many breast cancer patients experience severe cognitive problems years after treatment. Inflammation is one possible reason. A new long-term study of older breast cancer survivors led by UCLA researchers and published today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology adds important support to that possibility.

In the latest study, higher levels of an inflammatory marker known as C-reactive protein (CRP) were linked to older breast cancer survivors reporting cognitive impairments. “CRP blood tests are commonly used in clinic to identify risk of heart disease.”

According to study lead author Judith Carroll, an associate professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences and faculty member of UCLA’s Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology and the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, “this common test for inflammation may also be an indicator of risk for cognitive problems reported by breast cancer survivors.”

The Thinking and Living with Cancer (TLC) Study is one of the first long-term efforts to investigate the potential link between chronic inflammation and cognition in breast cancer survivors aged 60 and older, who account for the vast majority of the nearly 4 million breast cancer survivors in the United States.

Previous study has mostly focused on younger women and those soon following therapy, making conclusions regarding CRP’s significance in long-term cognitive difficulties among older breast cancer survivors challenging.

Over the course of five years, teams of researchers from throughout the country interviewed and collected blood samples from hundreds of breast cancer survivors and women without disease. The study was inspired by survivors and activists who expressed concern about cognitive difficulties.

“Cognitive issues affect women’s daily lives years after treatment, and their reports of their own ability to complete tasks and remember things was the strongest indicator of problems in this study,” said co-senior study author and TLC study leader Dr. Jeanne Mandelblatt, a professor of oncology at Georgetown University.

“Being able to test for levels of inflammation at the same time that cognition was being rigorously evaluated gave the TLC team a potential window into the biology underlying cognitive concerns,” said Elizabeth C. Breen, emerita professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at UCLA and co-senior study author.

Cognition was assessed from each woman’s perspective using a regularly used questionnaire that assessed how the women perceive their capacity to recall things like names and directions, ability to focus, and other areas of daily life. Higher CRP levels among survivors were shown to be indicative with worse reported cognitive function among breast cancer survivors, according to the study. In the women who did not have cancer, there was no correlation between CRP levels and reported cognition.

CRP did not appear to be related to cognitive performance, as determined by established neuropsychological testing. According to the authors, this might mean that women are more sensitive to variances in their daily cognitive performance, self-reporting changes that other tests overlook.

Also Read: Researchers discover link between loneliness and diabetes risk

The authors believe that more research is needed to determine if therapies that reduce inflammation, such as greater physical activity, improved sleep, and anti-inflammatory drugs, might prevent or lessen cognitive issues in older breast cancer survivors.

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Loneliness, according to study, is related with a significantly higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Associate Professor Roger E. Henriksen and his colleagues at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences performed the study, which was published in Diabetologia (the magazine of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes [EASD]). It investigated whether sadness and sleeplessness have a role in the connection between loneliness and the likelihood of developing T2D. A increasing amount of data suggests a relationship between psychological stress and the likelihood of acquiring T2D. Loneliness induces a persistent and, in certain cases, long-term state of discomfort, which may trigger the body’s physiological stress response.

While the precise processes are unknown, this reaction is thought to play a key part in the development of T2D via mechanisms such as transient insulin resistance caused by high levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

This process also includes alterations in the brain’s regulation of eating behaviour, resulting in an increased hunger for carbs and, as a result, raised blood sugar levels. Previous research has established a link between loneliness and unhealthy eating, such as increased consumption of sugary drinks and meals high in sugar and fat.

While the precise processes are unknown, this reaction is thought to play a key part in the development of T2D via mechanisms such as transient insulin resistance caused by high levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

This process also includes alterations in the brain’s regulation of eating behaviour, resulting in an increased hunger for carbs and, as a result, raised blood sugar levels. Previous research has established a link between loneliness and unhealthy eating, such as increased consumption of sugary drinks and meals high in sugar and fat.

The key outcome variable was T2D status, which was based on HbA1c (glycated haemoglobin – a kind of haemoglobin).

T2D status was the primary end variable, with HbA1c (glycated haemoglobin – a marker of long-term blood sugar management) more than 48mmol/mol as evaluated in the HUNT4 survey.

Loneliness was measured on a four-point scale (‘no,’ ‘a little,’ ‘a decent bit,’ and’very much’) using data from the HUNT2 survey.

The intensity of depressive symptoms was examined using a questionnaire completed during HUNT3, which comprised of 7 items, each scored on a scale of 0-3 for a total of 0-21 points, with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms.

Individuals with insomnia were identified based on their responses to the following questions: ‘How frequently in the previous 3 months have you: ‘had trouble falling asleep at night’, ‘woken up repeatedly during the night’, and ‘woken too early and couldn’t get back to sleep?’ As part of HUNT3, participants were asked to pick one of three answers: ‘never/seldom,”sometimes,’ or’several times a week.’

Over the course of the trial, 1,179 (4.9%) of the 24,024 participants had T2D. (1995-2019). These people were more likely to be men (59% vs 44%) and had a higher mean age (48 years vs 43 years) than those who did not have T2D.

They were also more likely to be married (73% vs. 68%) and to have the lowest degree of education (35 per cent vs 23 per cent). One-third of those polled expressed feelings of loneliness.

The study discovered that higher degrees of loneliness at the start were highly connected with a higher risk of T2D 20 years later. After controlling for age, gender, and education level, they discovered that individuals who answered’very much’ when asked whether they had felt lonely were twice as likely to acquire T2D as those who did not.

Further investigation revealed that the presence of depression, sleep-onset insomnia, or terminal insomnia had no effect on this association, however the team did discover evidence of a correlation to sleep maintenance insomnia.

Although the researchers did not investigate the specific processes involved, they do remark that social support, influence, and involvement may have a good impact on health-promoting behaviours. Advice and encouragement from a friend, for example, may impact an individual’s health-related decisions and favourably effect their nutrition, physical activity level, and overall stress levels. Lonely persons may be more sensitive to behaviour that increases their chance of having T2D if they have less social relationships and a lack of these beneficial impacts.

The researchers recommend that loneliness be included in T2D clinical recommendations. “It is critical that healthcare practitioners are open to discourse about an individual’s issues during clinical consultations, including loneliness and social engagement,” they write.

Also Read: Svante Paabo, Swedish geneticist, awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine

The authors advocate for more study into the processes behind the association between loneliness and T2D, as well as the involvement of insomnia and depression. “Questions to be answered include the amount to which loneliness activates stress responses, the extent to which loneliness influences health-related behaviour, and, significantly, how these two pathways combine in terms of contributing to an elevated risk of T2D,” they conclude.

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Svante Paabo has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology 2022 for his findings involving the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution, the award-giving organisation said on Monday.

“The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has now chosen to award Svante Paabo the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his findings concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution,” according to the Nobel Prize release. Svante Paabo, the 2022 Nobel laureate, discovered gene transmission from now-extinct hominins to Homo sapiens. According to the statement, this historical flow of genes to modern humans has physiological importance today, such as influencing how our immune system responds to illnesses.

Svante Paabo has founded paleogenomics as a completely new scientific science. His insights lay the foundation for further research into what makes us truly human by demonstrating genetic characteristics that separate all contemporary humans from extinct hominins.

Svante Paabo’s pioneering study enabled him to do the seemingly impossible: sequence the DNA of the Neanderthal, an extinct cousin of modern humans. He also discovered Denisova, a previously unknown hominid, purely from genetic data extracted from a little finger bone specimen.

Paabo also discovered DNA transmission from these now-extinct hominins to Homo sapiens during the migration from Africa some 70,000 years ago, according to the announcement.

Svante Paabo is a Swedish biologist who specialises in evolutionary genetics and was recruited to the University of Munich in 1990, where he continued his work on ancient DNA as a newly appointed Professor.

Earlier in 2020, David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of temperature and touch receptors.

David Julius used capsaicin, a strong chemical derived from chilli peppers that causes a burning sensation, to find a heat-responsive sensor in skin nerve endings.

Ardem Patapoutian discovered a new class of sensors that respond to mechanical stimuli in the skin and internal organs by using pressure-sensitive cells.

Also Read: Gut bacteria may have role in HIV infection susceptibility: Study

These groundbreaking discoveries sparked extensive study efforts, resulting in a fast gain in understanding of how the nervous system detects heat, cold, and mechanical stimuli.

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According to new UCLA-led research, certain gut bacteria, particularly one necessary for a healthy gut microbiome, differ between persons who get HIV infection and those who do not.

According to research lead Dr Jennifer Fulcher, assistant professor of medicine, division of infectious diseases, the findings, published in the peer-reviewed journal eBioMedicine, imply that the gut microbiota may impact one’s risk of HIV infection. “This is an important area that requires more research to better understand if and how these bacteria might effect HIV transmission,” said Fulcher, who also has a VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System appointment.

“Microbiome-based treatments are emerging as a promising field of study. With more investigation, this might be an innovative approach to HIV prevention.”

Fulcher believes that there is a relationship between persistent HIV and alterations in gut microorganisms. The researchers sought to know when these alterations start to happen following HIV infection.

To that purpose, scientists investigated gut microbiota samples taken from 27 men who have intercourse with males both before and after infection. The samples were then compared to those of 28 males who had comparable behavioural risk factors for infection but did not have HIV.

The samples were from the UCLA-led Collaborating Consortium of Cohorts Producing NIDA Opportunities (C3PNO), a resource and data centre for millions of pieces of research, lab samples, statistics, and other data targeted at speeding up research into the impact of drug usage on HIV/AIDS.

The researchers revealed that the gut flora of the infected males changed very little throughout the first year. However, they revealed that HIV-positive males had different gut microbes before being infected than their uninfected counterparts.

These males exhibited reduced levels of Bacteroides species, a kind of bacterium widespread in the lower intestine tract that has key metabolic roles in maintaining a healthy gut environment, and greater amounts of Megasphaera elsdenii, whose significance in the human gut is unknown. According to the researchers, males who acquired HIV had higher inflammatory cytokines and bioactive lipids prior to infection, both of which are associated with systemic inflammation, indicating that their systems were continually on the defence against infection or damage.

Also Read: India recorded 3,011 new COVID cases

The study’s drawbacks include a limited sample size and a focus on primarily young males who have sex with men, the majority of whom take drugs, limiting its generalizability to other populations.

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The Ministry of Health and Family Affairs reported 3,011 new COVID cases in India in the previous 24 hours on Monday.

India’s active caseload now stands at 36,126, accounting for 0.8% of total cases. According to the health ministry, the national COVID-19 recovery rate has risen to 98.73 percent. The daily positivity rate was 2.23 percent, with a weekly positivity rate of 1.31 percent. The death toll has risen to 5,28,701, with 28 people killed in the previous 24 hours.

The statewide vaccination programme resulted in 218.77 crore total vaccine doses, with 94.87 crore receiving a second dose and 21.41 crore receiving a precaution dosage.

According to the ministry, 1,70,034 dosages have been provided in the previous 24 hours.

As part of the countrywide immunisation campaign, the Government of India provided free COVID-19 vaccines to states and union territories.

Previously, the ‘COVID Vaccination Amrit Mahotsava,’ which began on July 15 this year to promote Precaution Dose as part of the national COVID vaccination push, ended on Friday after administering over 15.92 crores of precaution doses, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

During these 75 days, nearly 13.01 lakh Special COVID immunisation sessions were held, according to the Ministry of Health.

“In 75 days, across all states and UTs, 11,104 camps were organised at bus stops, 5,664 camps at railway stations, 511 camps at airports, over 1,50,004 camps at various schools and colleges, 4,451 camps along religious yatra routes, and over 11,30,044 camps at various private and government workplaces and industrial establishments,” the ministry said in a statement.

During the 75-day period, the Ministry said that more than 76.18 lakh first doses, 2.35 crore second doses, and 15.92 crore precaution doses were delivered.

“More than 24.73 lakh doses per day have been provided, including 20.68 lakh doses precaution dosage per day,” it stated, adding that thanks to the 75-day free vaccination campaign, 27% of the eligible population has already gotten their precaution dose, up from 8% at the start of the project.

All States and UTs were advised to run the COVID Vaccination Amrit Mahotsava campaign as a ‘Jan Abhiyan’ with significant popular mobilisation, using a camp strategy, under the COVID Vaccination Amrit Mahotsava. Multiple special vaccination camps were set up along the itineraries of the Char Dham Yatra (Uttarakhand), Amarnath Yatra (Jammu and Kashmir), Kanwar Yatra (all North Indian states and UTs), as well as significant Melas and congregations.

Also Read: Researchers discover increased incidence of sexual issues among female cancer survivors

Special Vaccination Camps were also held at office complexes, industrial facilities, railway stations, inter-state bus terminals, schools, and colleges.

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A new World Health Organization (WHO) programme aims to prevent the spread of an invasive mosquito species in the region.

The WHO recognised Anopheles stephensi spread as a serious danger to malaria control and eradication in 2019 – notably in Africa, where the illness is most prevalent.

Originally native to parts of South Asia and the Arabian Peninsula, An. stephensi has been expanding its range over the last decade, with detections reported in Djibouti (2012), Ethiopia and Sudan (2016), Somalia (2019) and Nigeria (2020).

Unlike the other main mosquito vectors of malaria in Africa, it thrives in urban settings, the WHO said.

“With more than 40 per cent of the population in Africa living in urban environments, the WHO said the invasion and spread of An. stephensi could pose a significant threat to the control and elimination of malaria. But large-scale surveillance of the vector is still in its infancy, and more research and data are urgently needed,” the global health body said.

Dr Jan Kolaczinski, who leads the Vector Control and Insecticide Resistance unit with the WHO Global Malaria Programme, said they are still learning about the presence of Anopheles stephensi and its role in malaria transmission in Africa. “It is important to underscore that we still don’t know how far the mosquito species has already spread, and how much of a problem it is or could be.”

WHO’s new initiative aims to support an effective regional response to An. stephensi on the African continent through a five-pronged approach.

These approaches include increasing collaboration across sectors and border; strengthening surveillance to determine the extent of the spread of An. stephensi and its role in transmission; and improving information exchange on the presence of An. stephensi.

These efforts also aim at developing guidance for national malaria control programmes on appropriate ways to respond to An. stephensi and prioritizing research to evaluate the impact of interventions and tools against An. stephensi.

“Where feasible, national responses to An. stephensi should be integrated with efforts to control malaria and other vector-borne diseases, such as dengue fever, yellow fever and chikungunya,” the global health body said. The WHO Global vector control response 2017-2030 provides a framework for investigating and implementing such integration, it added.

“Integrated action will be key to success against Anopheles stephensi and other vector-borne diseases,” noted Dr Ebenezer Baba, malaria advisor for the WHO African Region. “Shifting our focus to integrated and locally adapted vector control can save both money and lives,” he added.

India saw a single day rise of 3,805 new Covid-19 infections, taking India’s tally of COVID-19 cases to 4,45,91,112, while the active cases declined to 38,293, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday.

The death toll climbed to 5,28,655 with 26 fatalities, which include 13 deaths reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.

Of the 13 fresh fatalities, five were reported from Maharashtra and two from Kerala.

The active cases comprise 0.09 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate increased to 98.73 per cent, the health ministry said.

According to the ministry, 218.68 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

An undiscovered family of viruses that is now abundant in wild African primates and known to cause lethal Ebola-like symptoms in specific monkeys, according to new University of Colorado Boulder study published online Sept. 30 in the journal Cell, is “poised for spillover” to humans.

Despite the fact that these arteriviruses are already considered a severe threat to macaque monkeys, no human infections have been reported to date. It’s also unclear what impact the virus might have on people if it jumped species.

However, the scientists, drawing analogies to HIV (the forerunner of which arose in African monkeys), urge caution: The global health community might potentially avoid another pandemic by monitoring for arteriviruses in both animals and humans now, scientists suggested.

“This animal virus has worked out how to get into human cells, reproduce, and avoid some of the crucial immune responses that we would anticipate to protect us from an animal virus.” “That’s pretty unusual,” said senior author Sara Sawyer, a CU Boulder professor of molecular, cellular, and developmental biology. “We need to pay attention to it.”

Thousands of different viruses circulate among animals all throughout the world, with the vast majority causing no symptoms. In recent decades, an increasing number of viruses have leaped to humans, wreaking havoc on inexperienced immune systems: Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 2012, SARS-CoV in 2003, and SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) in 2020.

For the past 15 years, Sawyer’s lab has investigated which animal viruses are likely to infect humans using laboratory procedures and tissue samples from wildlife all around the world.

She and lead author Cody Warren, then a postdoctoral fellow at CU’s BioFrontiers Institute, focused on arteriviruses, which are abundant in pigs and horses but understudied in nonhuman primates. They focused on simian hemorrhagic fever virus (SHFV), which causes a devastating sickness comparable to Ebola virus disease and has been responsible for deadly outbreaks in captive macaque colonies since the 1960s.

The research shows that a molecule called CD163 plays an important role in the biology of simian arteriviruses, allowing the virus to enter and infect target cells. The researchers discovered, to their astonishment, that the virus was also extraordinarily adept at latching on to the human version of CD163, getting inside human cells, and rapidly replicating itself.

Simian arteriviruses, like human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and its progenitor simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), appear to attack immune cells, weakening important defence mechanisms and establishing a long-term presence in the body.

“The similarities between this virus and the simian viruses that caused the HIV epidemic are deep,” said Warren, who is currently an assistant professor in The Ohio State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

The authors emphasise that another pandemic is not imminent and that the public need not be concerned.

They do, however, recommend that the global health community prioritise further research into simian arteriviruses, develop blood antibody testing for them, and investigate surveillance of human populations exposed to animal carriers.

A wide variety of African monkeys already carry high viral loads of many arteriviruses, often without symptoms, and certain species contact frequently humans, biting and scratching them.

“Just because we haven’t yet identified a human arterivirus infection doesn’t mean no one has been exposed.” “We haven’t looked,” Warren explained.

Warren and Sawyer point out that no one had heard of HIV in the 1970s either.

Researchers now believe that HIV originated in nonhuman primates in Africa before spreading to humans in the early 1900s.

When HIV began killing young men in the United States in the 1980s, there was no serology test and no cure in the works.

According to Sawyer, there is no certainty that these simian arteriviruses will infect humans. But one thing is certain: more viruses will infect humans and cause sickness.

“COVID is merely the most recent in a long line of spillover events from animals to people, some of which have burst into global disasters,” Sawyer explained. “Our objective is that by raising knowledge of the viruses to be on the lookout for, we can get ahead of this so that if human illnesses start, we can respond swiftly.”

Researchers discovered that young female cancer survivors had a substantially increased risk of sexual difficulties such as libido loss and pain.

The study’s findings were published in the journal Acta Oncologica. The study, which is one of the largest of its kind to date, also reveals that the kind of cancer and the severity of therapy affect the quality of a patient’s sex life.

The study included roughly 700 women who were diagnosed with breast and other malignancies before the age of 40. They indicate that women are sexually active in the same percentage as those who do not have these disorders, but a considerably larger proportion have difficulty with intimacy.

The most common concern stated by cancer patients was a lack of interest in sex (45%), followed by difficulties obtaining climax (34%), and satisfaction with sex life (22%).

These worries were also expressed by women in the general population who had not been diagnosed with cancer, but to a lower amount (32%, 28%, and 19%, respectively).

The authors, a group of academics from Uppsala University and the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, are now advising doctors to give sexual well-being counselling when appropriate. They recommend hormone replacement treatment (HRT), vaginal moisturisers, and psychosexual counselling, among other things, for single women.

Every year, more than 500,000 young adult women worldwide are diagnosed with cancer. Hormone fluctuations and body image concerns are two biological and psychological variables that might limit their ability to participate in or enjoy intimacy.

However, the exact degree of the cancer-sexual dysfunction relationship is unclear. According to some research, over half of young women experience sexual difficulties in the first years after being diagnosed.

However, breast cancer research predominates, and few studies have compared patients to the general population.

The researchers wanted to know the degree and origin of the challenges that young female cancer patients confront.

The study included 694 women aged 18 to 39 who were diagnosed between January 2016 and August 2017 and were identified using official national health registries.

The majority had breast cancer, with the remainder having gynaecological cancer, brain tumours, or lymphoma. A total of 53% had received therapy that was rated’very’ or’most’ in terms of severity or extent.

All were polled about their sex life in the previous month one and a half years following diagnosis. The questions were centred on eight sexual activity-related subjects, including contentment with sex life, interest in sexual activity, discomfort and pain when engaging in sexual activity, and capacity to orgasm.

In addition, patients were asked to explain why they did not have sex with a partner and were questioned about their body image, such as if they found it difficult to look at themselves naked. They were also asked to assess their own mental suffering.

The findings were compared to a random sample of 493 women aged 19 to 40 who had not been diagnosed with cancer.

The majority of women with cancer and those without (83% vs 87%, respectively) had sex in the previous 30 days, either with a partner or by masturbation, according to the findings.

However, two out of every three (63%) cancer patients reported at least one sexual problem, such as vulvar pain. Overall, survey participants were more likely to report problems with any sort of sexual engagement.

Older women and those with breast or gynaecological cancer were more likely to have sex issues. This was also true for individuals receiving more aggressive treatment, such as high-dose radiation and chemotherapy.

Sexual dysfunction was connected with emotional discomfort and a skewed image of their bodies following cancer therapy.

The main characteristics associated with a lack of sexual engagement with a partner were vaginal dryness or soreness and feeling ugly. This occurred among cancer patients, and the authors emphasise that it might all be connected to cancer therapy.

The study’s limitations include the possibility that those who agreed to participate were more sexually active and had less sex issues, or vice versa.

Also Read: Experts outline warning indicators of cardiac abnormalities in newborn newborns

As a result, it is possible that the results will be exaggerated or understated; nonetheless, the majority of participants (72%) who were requested to take the survey did so.

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