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A new study found that infants with certain immunodeficiency disorders had anomalies in genes that govern the body’s immune system against viral infections and are at a greater risk of mortality due to COVID-19.

The findings were reported in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The majority of children infected with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus have a mild sickness or no symptoms at all. However, in a tiny number of cases, significant problems may arise.

“Mortality is much higher among children with primary immunodeficiency diseases infected with SARS-CoV-2. Our results indicate that basic immunological examination and genetic analysis should be conducted in children with severe COVID-19 or multi-inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C). The clinicians will then be able to help these children with more precise therapies based on their genetic changes,” says Qiang Pan-Hammarstrom, professor at the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, who led the study.

It is debatable how the virus affects people with primary immunodeficiency illnesses, which are genetic and congenital immune system disorders. Even among these people, some have severe COVID-19 symptoms, while others have minimal or no symptoms.

Karolinska Institutet researchers evaluated young individuals with primary immunodeficiency illnesses (also known as inborn errors of immunity, IEI) who acquired severe or critical SARS-CoV-2 infection to study this further and try to identify genetic causes for severe forms of COVID-19. Genetic and immunological tests were carried out.

“Our results clarify the molecular mechanism of these immune diseases, which opens up the possibility of developing a more targeted therapy. The knowledge acquired from the study also allows us to develop better strategies for the treatment and prevention of severe COVID-19 disease in these patients,” says Qiang Pan-Hammarstrom.

The study included 31 children aged five months to 19 years. All children had some type of primary immunodeficiency disease without a molecular diagnosis and suffered from severe or critical COVID-19. Participants were recruited from August to September 2020 in Iran. None of the children were vaccinated against COVID-19.

Eleven of the children, more than one-third, died of complications from the infection. Five children, 16 per cent, met the criteria for multi-inflammatory syndrome, MIS-C. Some of the children lacked antibodies to the coronavirus.

“This suggests that many children with this type of immune disease cannot produce antiviral antibodies and therefore would not have the full benefit of vaccination,” says Hassan Abolhassani, assistant professor at the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, and the study’s first author.

Genetic analyses showed that more than 90 per cent of the participants, 28 children, had mutations in genes that are important for our immune defense, and that could explain their immunodeficiency. An important mechanism was mutations that affect proteins that regulate the immune system during virus infection, known as interferons.

The analyses of the patients’ immune responses showed that children with MIS-C had immunological profiles that differ from the profiles of children with primary immunodeficiency but without MIS-C.

The study also includes a literature review, where the researchers globally found reports of approximately 1,210 patients with primary immunodeficiency disease and COVID-19. About 30 per cent of them were children. The mortality rate among children with primary immunodeficiency disease and COVID-19 was more than eight per cent, compared with about 0.01 per cent among children in the general population.

The study is limited to severe cases of COVID-19, infected with the original strain of the virus, and non-vaccinated children. Further studies are needed to evaluate the importance of different virus variants and vaccines in this patient group.

The study was conducted within the research consortium ATAC, funded by the European Commission in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and coordinated by Karolinska Institutet. Collaboration with Uppsala University, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (Iran), Iran University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences (Iran), North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences (Iran), Howard Hughes Medical Institute (USA), Rockefeller University (USA) and Necker Hospital for Sick Children (France) were also crucial for the implementation of the study.

The study was also funded by the Swedish Research Council and the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.

According to a study of over 1 million adults from eight countries, moderate use of black, green, or Oolong tea is associated with a decreased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The findings, which were presented at this year’s European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting in Stockholm, Sweden (19-23 September), show that consuming at least four cups of tea per day is related with a 17% decreased risk of T2D over a 10-year period.

“Our results are exciting because they suggest that people can do something as simple as drinking four cups of tea a day to potentially lessen their risk of developing type 2 diabetes”, says lead author Xiaying Li from Wuhan University of Science and Technology in China.

While it’s long been known that regularly drinking tea may be beneficial for health because of the various antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticarcinogenic compounds tea contains, less clear has been the relationship between tea drinking and the risk of T2D. So far, published cohort studies and meta-analyses have reported inconsistent findings.

To address this uncertainty, researchers conducted a cohort study and a dose-response meta-analysis to better define the relationship between tea consumption and future T2DM risk.

First, they studied 5,199 adults (2583 men, 2616 women) with no history of T2D (average age 42) from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), who were recruited in 1997 and followed until 2009. The CHNS is a multicentre prospective study looking at the economics, sociological issues and health of residents from nine provinces.

At the outset, participants filled in food and drink frequency questionnaires and provided information on lifestyle factors such as regular exercise, smoking and alcohol consumption. Overall, 2,379 (46%) participants reported drinking tea, and by the end of the study, 522 (10%) participants had developed T2D.

After adjusting for factors that are known to be linked with increased risk of T2D, like age, sex, and physical inactivity, researchers found that tea drinkers had a similar risk of developing T2D compared to non-drinkers. And the results did not change significantly when analysed by age and sex, or when participants who developed diabetes during the first 3 years of follow-up were excluded.

In the next step of the study, the researchers did a systematic review of all cohort studies investigating tea drinking and the risk of T2D in adults (aged 18 or older) up to September 2021. Overall, 19 cohort studies involving 1,076,311 participants from eight countries [1] were included in the dose-response meta-analysis.

They explored the potential impact of different types of tea (green tea, oolong tea, and black tea), frequency of tea drinking (less than 1 cup/day, 1-3 cups/day, and 4 or more cups/day), sex (male and female), and the location of the study (Europe and America, or Asia), on the risk of T2D.

Overall, the meta-analysis found a linear association between tea drinking and T2D risk, with each cup of tea consumed per day reducing the risk of developing T2D by around 1%.

When compared with adults who didn’t drink tea, those who drank 1-3 cups daily lowered their risk of T2D by 4%, while those who consumed at least 4 cups every day reduced their risk by 17%.

The associations were observed regardless of the type of tea participants drank, whether they were male or female, or where they lived, suggesting that it may be the amount of tea consumed, rather than any other factor, that plays a major role.

“While more research needs to be done to determine the exact dosage and mechanisms behind these observations, our findings suggest that drinking tea is beneficial in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes, but only at high doses (at least 4 cups a day)”, says Li.

She adds, “It is possible that particular components in tea, such as polyphenols, may reduce blood glucose levels, but a sufficient amount of these bioactive compounds may be needed to be effective. It may also explain why we did not find an association between tea drinking and type 2 diabetes in our cohort study because we did not look at higher tea consumption.”

Oolong tea

Oolong tea is a traditional Chinese tea that’s made from the same plant used to make green and black teas. The difference is how the tea is processed–green tea is not allowed to oxidise much, black tea is allowed to oxidise until it turns black, and oolong tea is partially oxidised.

Despite the significant findings, the authors emphasise that the study is observational and cannot show that drinking tea reduces the incidence of T2D, but it does imply that it may contribute.

The researchers also point to various drawbacks, including the fact that they relied on subjective ratings of tea consumption and cannot rule out the potential that residual confounding by other lifestyle and physiological variables influenced the results.

Also Read: Healthy lifestyle halves risk of dementia in people with type 2 diabetes: Research

People with type 2 diabetes (T2D) have a decreased risk of acquiring dementia when they live a healthy lifestyle, according to study presented at the annual conference of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Stockholm, Sweden.

According to the study, persons with T2D who live unhealthy lifestyles are far more likely to develop dementia than those who live healthy lifestyles but do not have the disorder. A healthy lifestyle, on the other hand, reduces the risk of dementia in those with T2D by half.

It is well known that T2D and an unhealthy lifestyle both increase the risk of dementia. However, it is unclear if leading a healthy lifestyle can lower the risk of dementia in those with T2D.

Ms. Jirapitcha Boonpor, Dr. Carlos Celis-Morales, of the University of Glasgow, and associates monitored over 450,000 participants in the UK Biobank study for the onset of dementia in an effort to learn more.

The average age of the 445,364 participants (54.6% of whom were women) was 55.6 years, and they were followed up for a median of 9.1 years. All were free of dementia at the start of this period.

25,535 people (24,735) said they had T2D at the beginning of the study.

Participants responded to a questionnaire that inquired about their habits with regard to watching television, getting enough sleep, exercising, drinking alcohol, smoking, and eating processed and red meat, fruits, vegetables, and oily fish. They were divided into three categories based on their responses: the most healthy, the fairly healthy, and the least healthy.

Dementia risk increased in tandem with both T2D and an unhealthy lifestyle. Dementia was 33% more likely to occur in people with T2D than in people without T2D.

Dementia was significantly more closely linked to an unhealthy lifestyle. The participants with the least healthy lifestyles were 65% more likely to develop dementia than those with the healthiest lifestyle.

A healthy lifestyle appears to lower the risk of dementia in people with T2D, according to further studies.

Healthy lifestyle lowers dementia risk

Diabetes patients with the healthy lifestyles had a 45% lower risk of dementia than diabetes patients with the unhealthy lifestyles.

The study’s authors come to the conclusion that a healthy lifestyle can lessen the impact of T2D on dementia risk.

According to Dr. Celis-Morales, following current food, exercise, and sleep recommendations is essential for optimal health and may help reduce the incidence of dementia among diabetics.

We’ve shown that following these healthy lifestyle recommendations significantly reduces the increased risk of dementia that people with diabetes experience.

Ms. Boonpor explains that while there is no known treatment for dementia, prevention is critical.

Also Read: A.2 lineage of Monkeypox is mutating, slow and sharp alert: ICMR study

With 5,664 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 4,45,34,188, while the active cases increased to 47,922, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) examined the entire genome sequences of Monkeypox patients from Kerala and Delhi between July and August 2022 and discovered that the genome sequences from India, which included 90-99 percent of the genome, belonged to the A.2 Lineage of Clade IIb.

“Further A.2 lineage is mutating and sequences from affected countries holding the key for the evolution of Monkeypox. A slow and sharp alert for virologists and epidemiologists,” said Dr Pragya Yadav, Senior Scientist, ICMR-NIV, Pune. “We analyzed the complete genomes sequences of Monkeypox cases from Kerala (5 travellers from UAE) and Delhi (5 with no travel history), India confirmed during July to August 2022. All the retrieved MPXV sequences from India covering 90 to 99 per cent genome belong to A.2 lineage of clade IIb,” Yadav scientist added.

The study has further mentioned that the A.2 monkeypox lineage is divided into sublineages. The A.2 MPXV lineage is divided into three sub-clusters.

“First cluster Kerala with 5 numbers, Delhi with 2, aligned with the USA-2022 ON674051.1; while second of Delhi n=3 aligned with USA-2022 ON675438.1 and the third consists of the UK, USA and Thailand. The recent update in MPXV lineage designated all the five sequences from Kerala as A.2.1. In addition to known 16 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) along with 13 APOBEC3 cytosine deaminase activity determined specific lineage defining mutations in A.2 lineage, 25 additional APOBEC3 mutations were found in 10 reported sequences,” read the study.

The study emphasizes the need of enhancing genomic surveillance to understand the mutation and its linkage.
“All the cases have recovered without complications except a case from Kerala who succumbed to the infection following acute onset encephalitis,” it added.

“The MPXV sequences from India were grouped in two sub clusters; 7 sequences (Kerala n=5, Delhi n=2) aligned with the USA-2022 strain ON674051.1 and UK-2022 OP331335.1 formed first cluster. In this sub cluster, five sequences from Kerala were designated as A.2.1 based on the lineage defining mutations in the position C 25072 T, A 140492 C , C 179537 T. Two sequences from Delhi are lacking all three mutations hence still defined into A.2 lineage,” the study noted.

“While it was noted that A.2.1 lineage defining mutations are lacking in the 3 sequences from second sub cluster of Delhi; aligned with USA-2022 strain ON675438.1. The third sub cluster consists of the MPXV sequences obtained from UK-2022 OP331336.1, USA-2021 ON676707.1 and three sequences of Thailand-2022,” the study further said.

Also Read: Excessive smartphone use linked to earlier puberty onset

Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Health Minister, said on Saturday that the number of volunteers who have donated blood via the Raktdaan Amrit Mahotsav had surpassed one lakh.

The Union Minister retweeted an earlier post and added, “Crossed 1,00,000….’

Earlier on Saturday, authorities from the Ministry of Health said that the country had set a global record by exceeding its previous high of 87,059 blood donations in 2014.

Raktdaan Amrit Mahotsav is a national massive voluntary blood donation effort that was launched on Saturday by Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, who donated blood at a blood donation centre at Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi.

“As another remarkable aspect of this nationwide drive, 6,112 camps have been registered for this mega drive along with more than 2.07 lakh blood donors registered so far on the E-Rakt Kosh portal,” read a statement.

In another step towards ensuring health for all, President Droupadi Murmu launched ‘Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan’ to eliminate TB by 2025, on 9th September 2022.

“Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan is an extension of Hon’ble Prime Minister’s citizen-centric policies and a key step in ensuring enhanced awareness regarding the treatment for TB, a curable disease. The treatment is available free of cost at government health facilities,” added the statement.

The initiative has gained momentum and so far roughly 13.5 lakh TB patients have registered on the Nikshay portal, out of which 9.5 lakh active TB patients have given their consent for adoption.

The Ni-kshay 2.0 site is supporting the provision of additional patient assistance to enhance treatment results for TB patients, as well as increasing community participation in reaching India’s pledge to eradicate TB by 2025 and utilising Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) possibilities.

Nikshay Mitras may also register on the platform, and over 15,000 of them have already done so, demonstrating their dedication to helping over 9.5 lakh TB patients.

Also Read: Apollo doctors perform complex congenital open heart surgery on 48 day old infant

According to the findings of a rat research presented today at the 60th Annual European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology Meeting, constant exposure to blue light from tablets and smartphones may disrupt hormone levels and increase the risk of early puberty.

A longer time of blue light exposure was connected to the early beginning of puberty in female rats, who also had lower melatonin levels, higher levels of many reproductive hormones, and morphological changes to their ovaries. The usage of mobile devices that produce blue light has already been linked to disruptions in children’s sleep habits, but new findings suggest that there may be additional risks for foetal development and future fertility.

The increased use of blue-light emitting gadgets, such as tablets and smartphones, has been related to lower sleep quality in both children and adults. Blue light is supposed to interfere with our biological clock by slowing the rise in melatonin levels that happens in the evenings to prepare our bodies for sleep and rest. Melatonin levels are often greater in pre-puberty than in puberty, which may contribute to the delayed beginning of puberty. Puberty is a complex process that requires the synchronisation of multiple body systems and hormones.

Several recent studies have found a rise in the onset of early puberty in girls, notably during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Increased screen time, like that experienced during the pandemic limitations, may be contributing to this observed surge, as the association between blue light exposure and lower melatonin levels implies. However, assessing this in youngsters is fairly tough.

Dr. Aylin Kilinc Uurlu and colleagues from Ankara, Turkey, employed a rat model to investigate the effects of blue light exposure on reproductive hormone levels and puberty development timing. A normal light cycle, six hours of blue light, or twelve hours of blue light were given to three groups of six female rats each.

Both groups were exposed to blue light, and the first indications of puberty began considerably early in both groups. The longer the length of exposure, the sooner puberty begins.

In addition, rats exposed to blue light saw morphological changes in their ovarian tissue, decreased melatonin levels, and higher levels of two particular reproductive hormones (oestradiol and luteinizing hormone). These alterations are all consistent with the start of puberty. Rats exposed for 12 hours also exhibited some evidence of ovarian inflammation and cell damage.

We have discovered that blue light exposure, which is sufficient to change melatonin levels, is also capable of changing reproductive hormone levels and causing earlier puberty onset in our rat model, says Dr Aylin Kilinc Uurlu. Additionally, the sooner they start, the longer the exposure.

Despite the fact that Dr Aylin Kilinc Uurlu issues the following warning: “Since this was a rat study, we cannot be certain that these findings would be duplicated in children,” the data point to blue light exposure as a potential risk factor for earlier puberty onset.

Although it is challenging to simulate in rats the same levels of blue light exposure as a child using a tablet, the age at which rats reach puberty is fairly comparable to that of humans when taking into account the shorter lifespan of rats.

Female rats go through similar hormonal and ovulation changes as humans during pre-puberty and puberty. Therefore, despite the study’s limitations, these findings are in favour of future research into the potential effects of blue light exposure on hormone levels and the start of puberty in young people.

Since the cell damage and inflammatory consequences associated with prolonged blue light exposure have the potential to have long-term repercussions on reproductive health and fertility, the team plans to look into these implications.

Additionally, they will examine whether using “night light” mobile device capabilities that minimise blue light will lessen the impacts seen in the rat model.

Despite the lack of proof, Dr Aylin Kilinc Uurlu continues, “We would advise limiting the usage of blue light emitting devices in pre-pubertal children, especially at night when exposure may have the most hormone-altering effects.”

Also Read: Teens with diabetes should be screened for depression with greater caution: Study

Specialists at Apollo Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (AIMSR), Hyderabad, led by Dr Sunil Swain, Chief Paediatric Cardio Vascular thoracic Surgeon, performed a complex paediatric heart surgery on a 48 day old male child, diagnosed with complex and multiple congenital heart defects, at a third of the cost incurred for this complex surgery. The baby had numerous congenital heart anomalies including d-TGA, VSD, ASD, PDA, Single coronary artery, in which the two great arteries of heart arising from opposite sides. It is a rare subset of heart defects, present in one in 3500 live births, if treated early these babies lead a normal life.

The team of specialists performed an Arterial switch along with ASD, VSD closure and PDA ligation and division. A congenital open-heart surgery of this complexity was being performed for the first time by a medical college in the combined Telugu states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

The newly established Pediatric Cardiac and Cardiothoracic surgery department at AIMSR, with vastly experienced specialists, is treating highly critical pediatric heart ailments with outcomes on par with the best hospitals in the country and at highly subsidised cost.

The baby was brought to the hospital’s emergency ward in a highly critical state of progressively reducing arterial oxygen saturation and intense breathing. The mother of the baby while breast feeding when the baby was just fifteen days old, observed symptoms of profuse sweating in forehead, heavy breathing and heart palpitations. The local paediatrician in Sadashivpet referred the baby to a children’s Hospital, which identified two holes in the heart through a 2D echo and advised the parents to bring him back after three months.

Even after two weeks the severity of the symptoms subsisted with the new born having episodes of vomiting and not feeding milk. The worried parents took him to another hospital in Sangareddy, but his condition deteriorated with lips and nails turning blue in ICU within a couple of days, therefore he was shifted to a children’s hospital in Hyderabad. He was admitted in the ICU, advised immediate surgery and the parents were asked to arrange Rs 8 to 10 lakh, which was well beyond their means and they instead shifted the baby to Niloufer hospital for the night. The next day before coming to AIMSR, they made a futile attempt at another Corporate hospital and found the cost unaffordable.

All this delay and immense strain on the new born with constant movement from hospital to hospital, took a serious toll on her health and was virtually in a very bad shape with bleak chances of recovery. He was immediately admitted and stabilised. After performing the complex Arterial switch, ASD and VSD closure and PDA ligation and division, the baby was shifted to ICU, weaned off the ventilator after 12 hours and was discharged on the 7^th day of operation, with an excellent outcome. Dr Sunil Swain was supported by Dr Meena, Chief Critical care specialist; Dr Amol, Chief paediatric Cardiologist and nursing staff, in performing this surgery successfully.

Also Read: Excess weight is linked to a higher risk of COVID-19 infection: Research

A recent study reveals that as teenagers become older, they grow more inquisitive in their behaviour, becoming more inclined to explore new areas. Its findings also demonstrate that increased exploration is linked to improved psychological well-being and wider social networks and depression.

Notably, the researchers observed that teenagers who spent more time exploring their natural habitats reported a higher frequency of hazardous behaviours.

“While adolescent risk taking is typically seen as a problematic behavior, we found that heightened exploration was also linked to greater social connectivity and emotional well-being,” says Catherine Hartley, an associate professor in New York University’s Department of Psychology and the senior author of the study, which appears in the journal Psychological Science. “This suggests that risk taking may have an adaptive function during adolescence.”

Previously, Hartley and Aaron Heller of the University of Miami discovered that novel and diverse experiences are connected with increased enjoyment, and that this association is associated with a higher correlation of brain activity. These findings, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, demonstrated a link between our daily physical settings and our experience of well-being.

Hartley, Heller, and UCLA doctoral student Natalie Saragosa-Harris sought to better understand teens’ and young adults’ exploration of their environments, how it relates to behaviours we tend to see as “risky,” and what the psychological significance of these behaviours might be in the new Psychological Science paper.

Previous research has found that, as compared to children and older individuals, adolescents and young adults participate in more exploratory and novelty-seeking activities, such as trying out new hobbies, meeting new friends, or visiting new places.

However, most research on teenage exploratory activities have focused on self-report or behaviour in controlled laboratory settings, leaving the question of whether heightened adolescent exploration is seen in the real world – when participants are in regular daily settings – unanswered.

To better capture these phenomena, the scientists measured the everyday lives of 58 teenagers and adults (ages 13 to 27) in New York City, using GPS tracking to measure how often participants visited novel locations over the course of three months. From these measurements, they were able to capture daily exploration based on movement. Based on these GPS data and self-report, the researchers found several notable patterns:

There was an association between daily exploration and age, with individuals near the transition to legal adulthood (18- to 21-year-olds) exhibiting the highest exploration levels.

Regardless of age, people reported better moods on days when they explored more, supporting the notion that exploration is linked to psychological well-being.

People who had higher average levels of exploration also reported larger social networks — measured by the number of unique individuals the subjects interacted with via phone calls and direct-messaging platforms.

Adolescents who explored their natural environments more also reported a greater number of risky behaviors (e.g., gambling, heavy drinking, illicit drug use, etc.) — an association not evident in adults.

“These findings point to an important role for exploration in sustaining adolescent well-being and establishing social connectivity,” observes Hartley. “And while risky behaviors undoubtedly pose challenges, a healthy amount of exploration is important, particularly as individuals become adults, gain independence, and form their identities.”

Also Read: Smoking, lack of exercise linked to early death of people with type 2 diabetes: Study