Daily meditation can boost immunity

THE POSITIVE EFFECTS of daily meditation on mental and physical health have been well documented.

According to a new US study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, intense meditation can boost the immune system and help ward off viruses and diseases associated with a weakened immune system like multiple sclerosis.

The study led by Vijayendran Chandran, an assistant professor of paediatrics and neuroscience at the University of Florida’s College of Medicine, wanted to explore the “potential molecular mechanisms and critical genes involved in this beneficial outcome.”

The study involved 106 people enrolled in an Inner Engineering retreat, which focuses on meditation and yoga, conducted at the Isha Institute of Inner Sciences in McMinnville, Tennessee.

The eight-day retreat was intense: the participants had to remain silent for eight days, meditate more than 10 hours a day, eat vegan meals and follow a regular sleep schedule.

Blood samples from the participants were drawn five to eight weeks before the retreat, just before and after the retreat, and three months after the retreat was completed.

Several immune-related and other cellular pathways changed after the retreat. Post retreat analysis showed increased activity in 220 genes involved in regulating immune response, including 68 genes associated with interferon signalling.

Increased activity among interferon-signalling genes is especially significant because it is a “key part of the body’s anti-virus and anti-cancer responses.”

Recent studies have shown that patients with severe Covid-19 and multiple sclerosis patients have insufficient interferon activity. Meditation produced beneficial gene activity comparable to conventional interferon treatments given to multiple sclerosis patients, the study found.

"This is the first time anyone has shown that meditation can boost your interferon signalling. It demonstrates a way to voluntarily influence the immune system without pharmaceuticals,” Chandran said.

Is a moulded cast effective?

USING A TRADITIONAL plaster cast to fix a broken wrist is as good as using metal pins, according to a British study published in the BMJ.

Wrist fractures are extremely common, especially in older adults. If the fracture involves bone fragments that have moved out of their normal alignment, they must be put back in place and are usually held in position while they heal using either a moulded plaster cast or surgical implants such as pins, plates, and screws.

Pins, also known as K-wires, require surgery which can be expensive and pose some risk to the patient. While a moulded cast is much cheaper, is it equally effective?

To find out, the researchers randomly assigned 500 adults with a displaced wrist fracture to receive a cast (255) or surgical fixation with K-wires plus cast (245) after 'manipulation' of their fracture. The average age of the participants was 60 years and 83 per cent were women.

"Surgical fixation with K-wires did not provide better wrist function at 12 months compared with a moulded cast, indicating that a cast is an acceptable first-line treatment following manipulation of a dorsally displaced fracture of the distal radius,” the authors wrote in the journal.

Both groups reported similar improvements in pain, wrist function, and quality of life at three, six, and 12 months after treatment.

However, one in eight patients who received a moulded cast required surgery within six weeks of their injury for loss of fracture position, compared with just one patient who was treated with pins.

Other complications were rare and similar across both groups.

Did You Know?

Long term use of acetaminophen (paracetamol) can increase systolic and diastolic blood pressure in people with hypertension, which could increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases like stroke and heart attack:

Circulation

First doses of an experimental HIV vaccine utilising Moderna’s mRNA technology that was used in the breakthrough Covid-19 vaccines have been administered to volunteers in a Phase 1 clinical trial:

Moderna

Paralysed man walks after spinal cord implant

THREE PATIENTS WHO were completely paralysed from waist down after spinal cord injuries were able to walk again with the help of targeted electrical stimulation to the spinal cord.

The men, between 29 and 41, can now stand, walk, and even swim, thanks to a nerve-stimulation device that has been surgically implanted to their spine and controlled by an artificial intelligence software on a touchscreen tablet.

They had a pacemaker implanted in the abdomen and electrodes placed underneath the vertebrae, directly on the spinal cord.

These implants can stimulate the region of the spinal cord that activates the trunk and leg muscles.

The electrodes were then paired with a new artificial intelligence software via a touchscreen tablet. The software is personalised to each patient's anatomy.

Two small remote controls were attached to a walker which was connected wirelessly to a tablet that forwards the signals to the pacemaker. It in turn relays the signals to the implanted spinal lead that stimulates specific neurons and facilitates a variety of movements.

“By controlling these implants, we can activate the spinal cord like the brain would do naturally to have the patient stand, walk, swim or ride a bike, for example,” the lead researcher explained.

“Our breakthrough here is the longer, wider implanted leads with electrodes arranged in a way that corresponds exactly to the spinal nerve roots. That gives us precise control over the neurons regulating specific muscles. Ultimately, it allows for greater selectivity and accuracy in controlling the motor sequences for a given activity.”

All the patients were able to move the very next day after their implants were activated.

“That’s thanks to the specific stimulation programmes we wrote for each type of activity. Patients can select the desired activity on the tablet, and the corresponding protocols are relayed to the pacemaker in the abdomen.”

The system was developed by Swiss researchers Grégoire Courtine and Jocelyne Bloch of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne and their research was published in the journal Nature Medicine.

Antidepressants not for dementia patients

DEMENTIA PATIENTS are often prescribed the antidepressant mirtazapine to treat agitation. But a British study published in The Lancet suggests that the drug is not effective and might even increase the risk of death.

Dementia affects over 46 million people worldwide and is likely to double over the next 20 years.

Agitation is common in people with dementia. Dementia patients often display verbal and physical aggression which can be difficult for both the patients and their caregivers.

Since antipsychotics have been shown to increase mortality, dementia patients are often prescribed mirtazapine, an antidepressant.

To assess the safety and efficacy of the drug, the researchers recruited 204 people with probable or possible Alzheimer’s disease. Half the participants were prescribed mirtazapine, while the other half took a placebo.

At 12 weeks, patients in the mirtazapine group did not show less agitation than those in the control group. There were also more deaths in the mirtazapine group: seven patients in the mirtazapine group died by week 16 compared with just one in the control group.

“This finding implies a need to change the present practice of prescription of mirtazapine, and possibly other sedative antidepressants, for agitation in dementia,” the authors concluded.

Cognitive skills decline faster after heart attack

PEOPLE WHO SUFFER heart attack may experience faster declines in cognitive function.

To examine the short- and long-term impact of a heart attack on brain function, US researchers analysed data from 31,377 participants from six longitudinal studies between 1971 and 2017.

The average age of the participants was 60 when they took their first cognitive test, and 56 per cent were women.

None of the participants had a history of heart attack or a diagnosis of dementia at the onset. During a follow-up between five and 20 years (with a median of 6.4 years), 1,047 had a heart attack.

Participants who had a heart attack had significantly faster declines in memory, executive function, and global cognition in the years following the heart attack compared with those who did not have a heart attack.

They did not have a significant decline immediately after the heart attack.

It's important to know that cognitive decline is a possibility after a heart attack, so physicians are both managing patients' heart disease and looking for signs of dementia following a heart attack.

"We need to realise that what's going on in the heart and brain are related. Managing risk factors to prevent a heart attack is actually good for your brain as well," the study author said.

Did You Know?

Excess body fat is associated with a lower cognitive function such as slower thought processing speed and poor attention skills:

JAMA Network Open

Change your diet and add up to 13 years

MAKING DIETARY modifications can help you live up to 13 years longer.

Researchers at the University of Bergen have developed a model that is available online and is called the Food4HealthyLife calculator, which could help estimate how many years you could add to your lifespan by changing your diet.

The researchers used data from the Global Burden of Diseases study, a database that tracks 286 causes of death, 369 diseases and injuries, and 87 risk factors in 204 countries and territories, to build a model that estimates the effect on life expectancy from a range of dietary changes.

Unhealthy eating is linked to 11 million deaths and 255 million disability-adjusted life years globally each year.

A 20-year-old woman in the US could add just over 10 years to her life expectancy if she changes her diet from a typical western diet focused on red meat and processed food to an optimised diet that includes more legumes, whole grains, and nuts. A 20-year-old man could add 13 years to his life.

While gains in life expectancy from dietary changes were smaller for older people, it was still significant. By optimising diet, a 60-year-old could increase life expectancy by 8 years and an 80-year-old could gain 3.4 years.

Certain food groups showed a more robust association: the largest gains in lifespan were found from eating more legumes, whole grains, and nuts. Increased intake of fruits, vegetables, and fish was also beneficial. At the same time, reduced intake of red and processed meat, sugar-sweetened drinks, and refined grains were optimal.

Exercise reduced pain after breast cancer surgery

A STRUCTURED exercise programme soon after breast cancer surgery can help women regain mobility and ease arm and shoulder pain associated with the surgery, according to a study."We need to realise that what's going on in the heart and brain are related. Managing risk factors to prevent a heart attack is actually good for your brain as well," the study author said.

Shoulder and arm problems are common after non-reconstructive breast cancer surgeries, such as mastectomy. About a third of women experience restricted shoulder movement, chronic pain or swelling in the armpit area after surgery. This can delay recovery and impact the quality of life.

"We found robust evidence that early, structured, progressive exercise is safe and clinically effective for women at a higher risk of developing shoulder and upper limb problems after non-reconstructive breast surgery," said the study author.

For the study published in the BMJ, British researchers included 392 women, average age 58, undergoing non-reconstructive breast cancer surgery.

After the surgery, half the participants received usual care (information leaflets), while the other half received usual care plus a structured exercise programme that was led by physiotherapists and included stretching, strengthening, physical activity, and behavioral change techniques.

The exercise programme started 7 to 10 days after surgery, with two further appointments at one and three months.

One year after surgery, the women in the exercise group reported better upper limb function, lower pain intensity, fewer arm disabilities, and better health-related quality of life than those in the usual care group.

There were no differences in nerve pain, wound-related complications, surgical site infections, swelling, or other complications between the two groups.

The exercise programme was also cost-effective. Those in the exercise programme accrued lower costs per patient compared with usual care.

Did You Know?

After detecting carbon dioxide from our breath, mosquitoes fly towards specific colours, including red, orange, black, and cyan, and ignore other colours such as green, purple, blue, and white:

Nature Communications

Can chewing gums reduce preterm births?

CHEWING SUGARLESS gums can reduce the risk of premature births, according to a US study presented at a meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.

Studies have shown that gum diseases can be linked to premature birth. Bacterial infections in the mouth can increase inflammation, which could lead to premature birth.

According to the World Health Organization, about 15 million babies are born too early (before 37 weeks of pregnancy) every year and about 1 million of them die due to related complications. And those who survive may face health challenges.

About 75 per cent of these deaths could be prevented with cost-effective interventions.

According to this study which was conducted over 10 years in Malawi, which has one of the highest rates of preterm delivery, chewing sugar-free gum with xylitol during pregnancy could be a simple and inexpensive intervention.

The study included 10,069 women who received education about oral health care and preterm birth prevention and care. Half of the women were also asked to chew xylitol gum for 10 minutes once or twice a day throughout their pregnancy.

There were fewer preterm births in the group that chewed the gum compared to the control group---12.6 per cent versus 16.5 per cent.

Also, women who used chewing gum had fewer babies with low birth weight, weighing 5.5 pounds or less (8.9 per cent vs. 12.9 per cent).

Chewing gum was also associated with improvement in maternal oral health.