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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 20, 2024 at 11:01am

The authors postulate that E. coli migrates back and forth between the two niches, infecting cells in both organs and causing the disease to recur despite the prior treatment with antibiotics.
The vagina can serve as a reservoir of enteric bacteria, including E. coli, and cystitis can become intractable. In recurrent cystitis, it is important to target E. coli not only in the urine but also in the vagina.
Researchers are developing Lactobacillus vaginal suppositories, as a means of prevention and treatment of recurrent cystitis. This new 'non-antimicrobial' prevention will reduce the unnecessary administration of antimicrobials and the consequent emergence of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. The Lactobacillus suppositories will effectively regulate the vaginal environment and reduce the virulence of E. coli.
This study highlights the crucial need to balance the microbial environment to favor protective bacteria for better health outcomes. Implementing new medical strategies based on these insights promises to revolutionize the management of recurrent cystitis, ensuring more effective and targeted treatments.

Takanori Sekito et al, Homology of Escherichia coli isolated from urine and vagina and their antimicrobial susceptibility in postmenopausal women with recurrent cystitis, Journal of Infection and Chemotherapy (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.jiac.2024.05.015

Part 2

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 20, 2024 at 10:58am

Study highlights association between urinary and vaginal pathogenic E. coli in recurrent cystitis

The human body hosts a diverse array of microorganisms that maintain a delicate balance crucial for overall health. This microbial harmony can be disrupted by factors such as infections, aging, and hormonal changes, leading to dysbiosis—a condition where microbial communities become imbalanced and harmful to health.

Postmenopausal women, for instance, are particularly susceptible to recurrent urinary tract infections and inflammation, including cystitis, due to these microbial shifts.

In postmenopausal women, the vaginal flora changes with a decrease in Lactobacillus species. Women experiencing recurrent infections of the urinary system, also known as recurrent cystitis have distinctive vaginal microbial colony compared to those with non-recurring cystitis.

The study, published online in Journal of Infection and Chemotherapy on June 4, 2024, highlights the association between urinary and vaginal pathogenic Escherichia coli in recurrent cystitis.

Pathogenic E. coli causes urinary tract infections. In this study, the team isolated pathogenic Escherichia coli from the urine and vagina of patients with recurrent cystitis and examined the bacterial genome using multiple molecular techniques. The team also examined the sensitivity of isolated E. coli to a panel of anti-microbial agents.

A dendrogram based on pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) revealed that, in a majority of the cases, the pathogenic E. coli isolated from urine and vagina were highly similar or identical. Genomic analysis of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) gene PCR and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) revealed that the pathogenic E. coli isolated from urine and vagina were identical. The E. coli also showed similar sensitivity to the panel of anti-microbial drugs.

These findings reveal that the disease-causing pathogen was resident in both the urinary bladder and the vagina.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 20, 2024 at 10:24am

Testing menstrual blood for health conditions

There's good news for anyone who menstruates and doesn't like the needles involved in blood testing. In January 2024, the biotechnology research company Qvin won FDA approval for their Q-Pad product—a menstrual pad with a removable strip to collect blood samples for clinical tests. It offers a needle-free way of testing menstrual blood for signs of diabetes and other health conditions.

Part of that involves a shift away from seeing this blood as a waste product.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/qvin-introduces-q-pad-tran...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 20, 2024 at 9:59am

This study lays the groundwork for infrared molecular fingerprinting to become a routine part of health screening, enabling doctors to detect and manage conditions more efficiently, the researchers say. This is especially important for metabolic disorders such as cholesterol abnormalities and diabetes, where timely and effective interventions can significantly improve outcomes.
The potential applications of this technology extend even further. As researchers continue to refine the system and expand its capabilities, by means of technology development and the establishment of these in the context of clinical studies, there will be even more health conditions and their combinations added to the diagnostic repertoire, the researchers think.
This could lead to personalized health monitoring, where individuals regularly check their health status and catch potential issues long before they become serious.

The combination of infrared spectroscopy with machine learning is set to transform health diagnostics, the researchers say. With a single drop of blood and infrared light, there will be a powerful new tool to keep tabs on our health, catching problems more efficiently and potentially improving health care globally.

 Tarek Eissa et al, Plasma infrared fingerprinting with machine learning enables single-measurement multi-phenotype health screening, Cell Reports Medicine (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2024.101625

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 20, 2024 at 9:57am

One drop of blood, many diagnoses: Infrared spectroscopy for screening health

Envision a scenario where a single drop of blood provides comprehensive health insights within minutes. Thanks to recent scientific advancements, this vision may become reality in the near future.

Scientists have developed a health screening tool that uses infrared light and machine learning to detect multiple health conditions with just one measurement. The work is published in Cell Reports Medicine.

Infrared spectroscopy, a technique that employs infrared light to analyze the molecular composition of substances, has been a foundational tool in chemistry for decades. It's like giving molecules a fingerprint that can be delivered by a specialized machine called a spectrometer.

When applied to complex biofluids like blood plasma, this physico-chemical technique can reveal detailed information about molecular signals, making it a promising tool for medical diagnostics. Despite its long-standing use in chemistry and industry, infrared spectroscopy has not been established nor integrated into the canon of medical diagnostics.

Researchers initiated an effort to tackle this issue now.

More than 5,000 blood plasma samples were measured using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy.

The researchers applied machine learning to analyze the molecular fingerprints and correlated them with medical data.

They discovered that these fingerprints contain valuable information that enables rapid health screening. A multi-task computer algorithm that is now capable of distinguishing between various health states, including abnormal levels of blood lipids, various changes in blood pressure, seeing type-2 diabetes but also spotting even pre-diabetes, a precursor to diabetes often undetected.

Interestingly, the algorithm could also single out individuals who were healthy and remained healthy over the investigated years. This was very significant for two reasons. First, most people in any random population experience abnormal health changes and, given that we are all different, as well as that we all change over time, it is all but trivial to find fully healthy individuals. Second, many individuals suffer from multiple conditions in various combinations. Traditionally, doctors would need a new test for each disease.

However, this new approach doesn't just pinpoint one condition at a time—it accurately identifies a range of health issues. This machine learning-powered system not only identifies healthy individuals but also detects complex conditions involving multiple illnesses simultaneously. Moreover, it can predict the development of metabolic syndrome years before symptoms appear, providing a window for interventions.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 20, 2024 at 9:02am

So, the cells are working together and over time randomly align to get the job done: one cell will take a few tasks and then another takes a few tasks. The cells are tracking motions and, thus, chunks of activities and time over the course of the task.

And the study's findings about our brains' perception of time applies to activities-based actions other than physical motions too.
By observing the rodents who worked quickly, scientists also concluded that keeping up a good pace helps influence time perception: "The more we do, the faster time moves. They say that time flies when you're having fun. As opposed to having fun, maybe it should be 'time flies when you're doing a lot.'

 Ryan A. Wirt et al, Temporal information in the anterior cingulate cortex relates to accumulated experiences, Current Biology (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.05.045

Part 3

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 20, 2024 at 8:59am

The findings are based on analysis of activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a portion of the brain important for monitoring activity and tracking experiences. To do this, rodents were tasked with using their noses to respond to a prompt 200 times.
Scientists already knew that brain patterns are similar, but slightly different, each time you do a repetitive motion, so they set out to answer: Is it possible to detect whether these slight differences in brain pattern changes correspond with doing the first versus 200th motion in series? And does the amount of time it takes to complete a series of motions impact brain wave activity?

By comparing pattern changes throughout the course of the task, researchers observed that there are indeed detectable changes in brain activity that occur as one moves from the beginning to middle to end of carrying out a task. And regardless of how slowly or quickly the animals moved, the brain patterns followed the same path.
The patterns were consistent when researchers applied a machine learning-based mathematical model to predict the flow of brain activity, bolstering evidence that it's experiences—not time, or a prescribed number of minutes, as you would measure it on a clock—that produce changes in our neurons' activity patterns.
The researchers drove home the crux of the findings by sharing an anecdote of two factory workers tasked with making 100 widgets during their shift, with one worker completing the task in 30 minutes and the other in 90 minutes.

The length of time it took to complete the task didn't impact the brain patterns. The brain is not a clock; it acts like a counter. Our brains register a vibe, a feeling about time. And what that means for our workers making widgets is that you can tell the difference between making widget No. 85 and widget No. 60, but not necessarily between No. 85 and No. 88.
But exactly "how" does the brain count? Researchers discovered that as the brain progresses through a task involving a series of motions, various small groups of firing cells begin to collaborate—essentially passing off the task to a different group of neurons every few repetitions, similar to runners passing the baton in a relay race.
Part2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 20, 2024 at 8:56am

 How our brains track time

According to an old adage time flies when you're having fun. A new study by a team of  researchers suggests that although there's ‘some’ truth to the trope, the reality is 'time flies when you're doing a lot.'

Many people think of their brains as being intrinsically synced to the man-made clocks on their electronic devices, counting time in very specific, minute-by-minute increments. But a study, published in Current Biology, shows that our brains don't work that way.

By analyzing changes in brain activity patterns,  researchers found that we perceive the passage of time based on the number of experiences we have—not some kind of internal clock. What's more, increasing speed or output during an activity appears to affect how our brains perceive time.

We tell time in our own experience by things we do, things that happen to us, they conclude.

When we're still and we're bored, time goes very slowly because we're not doing anything or nothing is happening. On the contrary, when a lot of events happen, each one of those activities is advancing our brains forward. And if this is how our brains objectively tell time, then the more that we do and the more that happens to us, the faster time goes.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 20, 2024 at 8:51am

As part of their analysis, the researchers found a pattern—women who adhered to a "healthy diet" have a 22% lower chance of delivering a child with autism than women who ate a less-than-healthy diet.

In their work, they defined a healthy diet as one that included regular servings of vegetables, fruits, nuts, fish and whole grains, and excluded foods high in fat, processed meats, soft drinks and refined carbohydrates.

They also found that children born to mothers who regularly ate a healthy diet while pregnant were 24% less likely to develop social and/or communication problems irrespective of autism. The researchers noted that the association in both cases was stronger in mother/daughter pairs than in mother/son pairs.

The research team points out that the study does not explain why women eating a healthier diet may reduce their risk of having an autistic child, though they theorize that it might have something to do with how foods affect DNA or the immune process. They also note that their data was not able to show whether the impact of diet was causal in nature or due to other factors.

Catherine Friel et al, Healthy Prenatal Dietary Pattern and Offspring Autism, JAMA Network Open (2024). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.22815

Part 2

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 20, 2024 at 8:46am

Study suggests prenatal diet may play a role in autism

A small team of public health specialists from the University of Glasgow and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health reports a possible link between some cases of autism and prenatal diet.

In their study, published in JAMA Network Open, the group analyzed information in two large databases of medical information on thousands of mothers and daughters in Norway and England.
Prior research has suggested that there appears to be diet, genetic and environmental factors involved in the development of autism in children while they are still in the womb, though the exact cause is still unknown. For this new study, the research team looked more closely at the role of diet in its development.

The researchers analyzed patient information from two large databases: the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children and the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study. The researchers looked at data for the years 2002 through 2008 and 1990 through 1992, which included data for children up to age 8. In all, they analyzed data for more than 95,000 mother/daughter pairs.
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