TMR's picks from the leading medical journals
TMR’s picks from the leading medical journals:
PPIs and dementia risk
Contrary to earlier research, using PPIs does not increase the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s and may actually reduce the risk of cognitive decline, a study has found.
More than 10,000 patients aged over 50, and with normal or mild cognitive impairment, were analysed over a 10-year period. Of that cohort, 8% took PPIs continuously, 18% occasionally, and 73% never used them. When compared with patients who never took PPIs, those who did showed a lower risk of decline in cognitive function and a lower risk of conversion to mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease. Intermittent PPI use was also associated with those lower risks.
Be wary of slower walking
A slowed walking speed may be an indicator of declining mental acuity, a 14-year study of 175 adults aged between 70 to 79, has found.
All participants at the beginning of the study were in good mental health and had normal brain scans. The research found that over time participants with a slowing gait and cognitive decline also experienced a shrinkage of the right hippocampus.
While all participants walked the six metre distance slower over the period of the study, those who slowed by 0.1 seconds more per year than their peers were 47% more likely to develop cognitive impairment, even after adjusting for slowing due to other causes such as muscle weakness and knee pain.
The authors said older patients might benefit from doctors regularly measuring their walking speed and watching for changes over time.
Melanoma, Parkinson’s link
People with Parkinson’s disease have a much higher risk of melanoma and vice versa, a Mayo Clinic study has found.
An analysis of medical records from the Rochester Epidemiology Project in the US to identify all neurologist-confirmed Parkinson’s cases from January 1976 through December 2013, found patients with Parkinson’s were about four times likelier to have had a history of melanoma than those without Parkinson’s. And people with melanoma had a fourfold higher risk of developing Parkinson’s.
While the causes of the links have not been established, the authors suggested physicians treating one disease should be vigilant for signs of the other and counsel those patients about risk.
Fish may help with RA
Eating more fish may help to alleviate symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, a study has found.
A US analysis of data from 176 individuals with the condition showed that eating fish at least twice weekly led to a reduction in disease activity, compared with eating fish less than once per month, or not at all.
In addition, reduced disease activity was achieved with every additional portion of fish consumed each week.
“If our finding holds up in other studies, it suggests that fish consumption may lower inflammation related to rheumatoid arthritis disease activity,” the study’s lead author said.
