Archive for month: May, 2024

In a recent development, the European Medicines Agency’s safety committee, PRAC, has recommended the suspension of the marketing authorizations for medicines containing 17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate (17-OHPC) across the European Union (EU). This recommendation follows a comprehensive review conducted by PRAC, revealing a potential yet unconfirmed risk of cancer in individuals exposed to 17-OHPC in utero.

Regular use of fish oil supplements might increase, rather than lessen, the risk of first time heart disease and stroke among those in good cardiovascular health, but may slow progression of existing poor cardiovascular health and lower the risk of death, suggest the results of a large long term study, published in the open access journal BMJ Medicine.

Fish oil is a rich source of omega 3 fatty acids, and as such, is recommended as a dietary preventive to ward off the development of cardiovascular disease. But the evidence on how much protection it affords is inconclusive, explain the researchers.

To strengthen the evidence base, they set out to estimate the associations between fish oil supplements and new cases of atrial fibrillation; heart attack, stroke, and heart failure; and death from any cause in those with no known cardiovascular disease.

And they assessed the potential role of these supplements on the risk of progressing from good heart health (primary stage), to atrial fibrillation (secondary stage), to major cardiovascular events, such as a heart attack (tertiary stage), and death (end stage).

They drew on 415,737 UK Biobank study participants (55% women), aged 40-69, who were surveyed between 2006 and 2010 to gather basic background information. This included their usual dietary intake of oily and non-oily fish and fish oil supplements.

The participants’ health was tracked until the end of March 2021 or death, whichever came first, using medical records data.

Nearly a third (130,365; 31.5%) of the participants said they regularly used fish oil supplements. This group included higher proportions of older and White people, and women. Alcohol intake and the ratio of oily to non-oily fish eaten were also higher, while the proportions of current smokers and those living in deprived areas were lower.

During an average monitoring period of nearly 12 years, 18,367 participants developed atrial fibrillation, 22,636 had a heart attack/stroke or developed heart failure, and 22,140 died-14,902 without atrial fibrillation or serious cardiovascular disease.

Among those who progressed from good cardiovascular health to atrial fibrillation, 3085 developed heart failure, 1180 had a stroke, and 1415 a heart attack. And 2436 of those with heart failure died, as did 2088 of those who had had a stroke, and 2098 of those who had had a heart attack.

Regular use of fish oil supplements had different roles in cardiovascular health, disease progression, and death, the findings indicated.

For those with no known cardiovascular disease at the start of the monitoring period, regular use of fish oil supplements was associated with a 13% heightened risk of developing atrial fibrillation and a 5% heightened risk of having a stroke.

But among those who had cardiovascular disease at the start of the monitoring period, regular use of fish oil supplements was associated with a 15% lower risk of progressing from atrial fibrillation to a heart attack, and a 9% lower risk of progressing from heart failure to death.

Further in-depth analysis revealed that age, sex, smoking, consumption of non-oily fish, high blood pressure, and use of statins and blood pressure lowering drugs changed the associations observed.

Regular use of fish oil supplements and the risk of transitioning from good health to heart attack, stroke, or heart failure was 6% higher in women and 6% higher in non-smokers. And the protective effect of these supplements on the transition from good health to death was greater in men (7% lower risk) and older participants (11% lower risk).

As this is an observational study, no conclusions can be drawn about causal factors, acknowledge the researchers. And no potentially influential information was available on either dose or formulation of the fish oil supplements. And given that most of the participants were White, the findings might not be applicable to people of other ethnicities, they add.

But they conclude: “Regular use of fish oil supplements might have different roles in the progression of cardiovascular disease. Further studies are needed to determine the precise mechanisms for the development and prognosis of cardiovascular disease events with regular use of fish oil supplements.”

Reference:

Chen G, Qian Z(, Zhang J, et alRegular use of fish oil supplements and course of cardiovascular diseases: prospective cohort studyBMJ Medicine 2024;3:e000451. doi: 10.1136/bmjmed-2022-000451.

Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders are among the most common complications that occur in pregnancy or in the first 12 months after delivery. Despite the negative effects on maternal, obstetric, birth, offspring, partner, and family outcomes, perinatal mental health disorders often remain underdiagnosed, and untreated or under-treated.Also COVID-19  infection and immunization has exhibited varied effects on maternal  mortality.

American College of American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has issued Statement on New Data Showing Effect of COVID-19 and Mental Health on Maternal mortality. 

Dr. M Christopher Zahn, MD, FACOG, interim CEO and chief of clinical practice and health equity and quality for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has stated that:

“The latest CDC data provide a closer look at how the tremendous disruption that COVID-19 created within the health care system worsened maternal health outcomes at the start of the pandemic. They also highlight the extent to which COVID-19 disproportionately affected certain racial groups-particularly Black and American Indian or Alaska Native pregnant and postpartum people, who faced elevated rates of maternal mortality. We anticipated at the beginning of the pandemic that social determinants of health would play a large role in determining which groups would suffer more harm from COVID-19 prior to vaccine availability, especially with regard to pregnant individuals, who are at increased risk of severe complications and death from COVID-19; the data bear this out. The tragic disparities in outcomes among racial groups also demonstrates just how important the COVID-19 vaccines were in mitigating those inequities.

“While there continue to be competing data sources on maternal mortality, the consistencies among similar trends in the data shine a light on where we can and must make inroads. We are still seeing nearly 50% of maternal deaths occurring between seven days and one year postpartum, with more than 80% of those deaths considered preventable.

“One area in which we can move the needle in addressing preventable maternal deaths is mental health, as mental health conditions continue to be a leading cause of deaths. The new data reinforce the need for obstetric care clinicians to have the skill set necessary to address perinatal mental health conditions. Although obstetrician–gynecologists are not trained to treat all mental health conditions that can occur in the perinatal period, they can successfully address the overall issue of perinatal mental health in their patients with the proper guidance and resources.

“ACOG and others in the maternal heath space have done a lot of work to create clinical guidance and implementation tools on perinatal mental health and other conditions to empower clinicians to improve maternal health outcomes in their practices every day, but our focus needs to be on sustainability. We cannot afford to lose any ground.”

Vijayawada: A Non-Resident Indian (NRI) Gastroenterologist, Dr Uyyuru Lokesh Kumar who holds American Citizenship was taken into police custody after security personnel at Gannavaram airport on Sunday found him carrying a satellite phone in his baggage.     

During the check-in process for his flight to Delhi, which was part of his journey back to the United States, the security personnel became suspicious of him when he was wandering in the airport following which they interrogated him and found that Dr Lokesh did not have required permission to use the satellite phone. 

In India, possession and use of satellite phones require authorization from the appropriate government department as the use of Satellite Phones is unauthorised/illegal in India under Section 6 of the India Wireless Act and Section 20 of the Indian Telegraph Act.

Also read- Depressed Over Delay In Completing Internship, AIIMS Raipur Medico Allegedly Commits Suicide By Medicine Overdose

The government strictly banned the use of satellite phones in the country and instructed all foreigners or travellers to not carry such phones in India. If found, then the person would be detained/confiscated and the passenger can be penalised under the abovementioned section of the Indian Telegraph Act.  

Upon discovering the unauthorized satellite phone, airport security handed him over to the Gannavaram police. Dr Lokesh explained to the police that he had purchased the phone in Virginia and brought it with him to India without knowing the regulations.  

After being detained, Dr Lokesh was released on the condition that he would cooperate with the ongoing investigation. The police have stated that carrying a satellite phone through domestic airports without proper authorization is against Indian regulations, TOI reports.     

Hence, they are considering registering a case against Dr Lokesh after seeking legal advice. Following his release, Dr Lokesh took a flight to Delhi from where he had a connecting flight to the US.

According to the Deccan Chronicle news reports, Lokesh, who belongs to Venkatayapalem of Thullur mandal of Amaravati in Guntur district, went to America and settled there by getting US citizenship. He worked as a gastroenterologist in Richmond; he worked there for 38 years, and his license was reportedly cancelled by the local authorities due to a violation of norms.    

Earlier, he was taken into preventive custody at Gannavaram airport for exhibiting “suspicious behaviour” while Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was about to board a flight to London on Friday night. It was found that Dr Lokesh sent messages to the TDP cadre for a protest call while the CM was at the airport but no one turned up.   

Also read- Ayushman Bharat Fraud: Rajkot Paediatrician Expelled For Manipulating Reports, Extracting Rs 2.53 Crore