Search

Presents news briefs from within the medical field. Burden that junk foods put on healthcare systems; Effects of stress on health; Late effects of whiplash injuries.

The impact of obesity on heart rate variability (HRV) and ventricular repolarization, both vital indicators of cardiovascular health, is the focus of this review. Obesity, measured by BMI, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio, significantly increases cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk due to structural and autonomic heart changes. Findings show that obese individuals exhibit prolonged QT and Tpeak-to-Tend (Tpe) intervals, suggesting delayed ventricular recovery and greater arrhythmia risk. Additionally, obesity-induced autonomic imbalance favors sympathetic activity over parasympathetic, reducing HRV and raising arrhythmogenic potential. Elevated QT and Tpe intervals reflect extended cardiac recovery phases, which contribute to poor cardiac outcomes. The Tpe interval could serve as an early marker of cardiac dysfunction in obese populations, highlighting the importance of early intervention to reduce CVD risk and enhance treatment strategies for obesity-related cardiovascular changes., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Obesity is associated with dysfunctional electrocardiographic and cardiac autonomic parameters, which may lead to increased cardiovascular morbidity. Novel electrocardiographic repolarization markers such as Tpeak-Tend (Tpe) interval have not yet been deeply studied in obese patients. We aimed to investigate the association between ventricular repolarization parameters and heart rate variability (HRV) and how they are affected by changes occurring in the cardiac autonomic nervous system. Ninety subjects categorized by Southeast Asian BMI (kg/m 2 ) standards - normal (18-22.9), overweight (23-24.9), and obese (> 24.9), underwent assessment of ventricular repolarization parameters and HRV. Linear correlation between different parameters was also conducted. Obese subjects exhibited longer QTc and Tpe intervals compared to normal-weight subjects (p-value < 0.001, 0.026 respectively). The QTc interval showed a significant correlation (p < 0.05) with all HRV parameters by linear correlation, while the Tpe interval did not. Anthropometric parameters (BMI, WC, and WHR) were also correlated to both ventricular repolarization variables and HRV. While changes in the QTc interval may be due to obesity and/or autonomic changes occurring in the obese state, the Tpe interval does not show a relation with autonomic parameters. Thus, implicating that a change in the Tpe interval is primarily due to the direct effect of either cardiac or visceral obesity. The observed associations between ECG parameters, obesity indices, and HRV parameters suggest a role for ECG in screening for cardiovascular morbidity., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background Long COVID is a multisystem condition with prolonged symptoms that develop after recovery from the COVID-19 infection, often following a mild infection. Few studies have been conducted on cognitive function among medical students after recovery from mild COVID-19 .  This study aimed to assess the attention span and working memory (WM) capacity of medical students after six months of recovery. Methods A cross-sectional study was performed on 17 young adult medical students who had suffered a mild COVID-19 infection at least six months prior. Eighteen age-matched healthy medical students served as the controls. Audio-visual WM tasks and attention spans were assessed using computerized software for both the cases and controls. Results The mean ages of the case and control were 19.67±1.6 and 20.0±1.2 years, respectively. The most common symptoms among cases were fatigue (33%), weight loss (26%), and nasal stuffiness (13%). The overall proportion of correct responses across all visual and auditory WM tasks (p=0.085) and reaction times (p=0.609) did not differ between the cases and controls. However, the overall target hit rate of the auditory WM task was significantly lower in cases than in controls (p=0.002). This difference was not observed in the visual WM task (p=0.374). Conclusion In the current study, the overall WM functions (visual and auditory combined) and attention span did not differ between cases and controls. However, auditory WM performance was significantly impaired in patients compared with controls, indicating selective impairment of auditory WM in patients with long COVID., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2024, Manna et al.)

The menstrual cycle is a well-known physiological model used to study working memory (WM) function. The present study examined auditory and visuospatial WM during proliferative and secretory phases of three consecutive menstrual cycles.Forty young adult females with a mean age of 23.4 ± 4.2 years and a history of regular menstrual cycle were selected for this study. Computerized software-based dual-task n-back WM tasks were performed by each participant during the proliferative (day 10th - 14th) and secretory phases (day 21st - 25th) of the menstrual cycle. The above tasks were repeated for three consecutive menstrual cycles during follow-up.Data from the three menstrual cycles were pooled and compared between the proliferative and secretory phases. Significant differences were observed in the hit rate (p = 0.006), Z score (p = 0.004) and parametric sensitivity (p = 0.005) of visuospatial targets and Z score (p = 0.037) and parametric sensitivity (p = 0.028) of auditory targets with better performance during the secretory phase. However, no significant differences were found across the three proliferative or three secretory phases, indicating that the results were consistent across consecutive cycles.This study concluded that visuospatial and auditory WM skills were significantly improved during the secretory phase compared to the proliferative phase of the menstrual cycle.

Long coronavirus disease (COVID) is emerging as a common clinical entity in the current era. Autonomic dysfunction is one of the frequently reported post-COVID complications. We hypothesize a bi-directional relationship between the autonomic function and the COVID course. This postulation has been inadequately addressed in the literature. A retrospective cohort (pre and post-comparison) study was conducted on 30 young adults whose pre-COVID autonomic function test results were available. They were divided into case and control groups based on whether they tested reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction positive for COVID-19. Autonomic function tests were performed in both the case and control groups. COVID infection in healthy young adults shifts the sympatho-vagal balance from the pre-disease state. Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome was present in 35% of the COVID-affected group. COVID course parameters were found to be associated with parasympathetic reactivity and the baroreflex function. Baseline autonomic function (parasympathetic reactivity represented by Δ heart rate changes during deep breathing and 30:15 ratio during lying-to-standing test) was also associated with the COVID course, the post-COVID symptoms and the post-COVID autonomic function profile. Additionally, multiple regression analysis found that the baseline parasympathetic reactivity was a very important determinant of the clinical course of COVID, the post-COVID symptoms and the post-COVID autonomic profile. Sympatho-vagal balance shifts to parasympathetic withdrawal with sympathetic predominance due to COVID infection in healthy young adults. There is a bi-directional relationship between the autonomic function and the COVID course., (© 2023 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Purpose: COVID-19 has posed problems for oculoplastic surgeons. One issue we felt needed to be addressed was the way patients are draped for surgery. Traditionally patients are draped with their full face exposed, and as a result, aerosols generated from both the patient and surgical team put the other party at risk., Methods: We created a new draping technique which would create a physical barrier. A regional survey was undertaken to compare regional oculoplastic draping practices with our practice locally in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. A patient satisfaction survey was also completed to understand the impact of our change in practice., Results: Our regional survey generated 22 consultant responses. 36% (8) continued with their normal practice with the full face exposed. 18% (4) of the responders had modified a cataract drape and 45% (10) used a bespoke drape with or without a mask. We started using this modified drape in June 2020 and in the patient survey, 100 percent of patients felt the drape was comfortable and 30% of the patients commented on the relief that they did not have to wear a face mask during surgery., Conclusions: Our draping technique provides an alternative to the traditional full face exposure draping. It is simple, inexpensive, and readily available. It also addresses and resolves the issue of safety of the oculoplastic surgeon and surgical team whilst maintaining comfort for the patient throughout, particularly when risks the of COVID are ongoing and with the potential of more viruses in the future., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

The past few decades have witnessed a major leap in knowledge relating to the role of tumor microenvironment (TME) in carcinogenesis and evolving behavior of the tumor. Multiple factors within the TME modulate the cancer cells and the associated therapies. Stephen Paget first asserted that the microenvironment plays an important role in the growth of tumor metastasis. The most important player in the TME is cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF) which significantly participates in the proliferation, invasion, and metastasis of tumor cells. CAFs show phenotypic and functional heterogeneity. Mostly CAFs originate from quiescent resident fibroblast or mesoderm-derived precursor cells (mesenchymal stem cells), although several alternate sources of origin have been noted. However, due to lack of specific fibroblast-restricted markers, it is very difficult to trace lineage and identify the biological origin of distinct subtypes of CAFs. CAFs are predominantly shown by several studies to mainly act as tumor-promoting agents, however, tumor-inhibiting actions are also being validated by several studies. A more objectified and comprehensive functional and phenotypic classification of CAF is required, which will help in better way for tumor management. Here, in this review, we have tried to review the current status of CAF origin, along with phenotypic and functional heterogeneity, and recent progress in CAF research., (© 2023 International Federation for Cell Biology.)

Purpose: To identify whether the delay caused by COVID-19 had an impact on the peroperative size of lesions and the choice of reconstruction performed in patients with periocular basal cell carcinomas (BCCs)., Methods: We undertook a retrospective study looking at whether the delay caused by COVID-19 had an impact on the lesion size at the time of surgery, and consequently, on the choice of surgical repair. Results were compared to an equivalent time period a year prior to the onset of COVID-19. Elective surgery was stepped down at our hospital between March and June 2020. We collected data on patients that underwent BCC excisions between July 2020 and April 2021 and for an equivalent time period from 2019 to 2020. Measurements at listing were compared with those preoperatively obtained and from histological specimen., Results: Analysis using the paired T -test yielded a p -value 0.005 for the growth of the lesion between listing and surgery after the onset of the pandemic, while pre-COVID the p -value was 0.04. Most patients were able to undergo the same procedure as planned for despite the delay and statistically significant growth while awaiting surgery., Conclusion: Literature suggests that BCC operations can be safely delayed up to 3 months. Our longest wait post-COVID was 12 months with a mean wait of 5 months. Only two patients in this group had a more invasive surgery than planned. We conclude that the delay caused by the pandemic, even beyond 3 months, had a minimal impact on the surgical plan and outcomes for patients with BCCs.