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High blood- sugar levels ‘reprogramme’ stem cells leading to greater risk of heart attacks, study reveals

High blood-sugar levels, the hall mark of diabetes, can lead to changes to the immune system which pave the way for greater risk of heart attacks, say researchers.

They found elevated levels of glucose in the blood ‘reprogrammes’ stem cells in bone marrow, which go on to be white blood cells.

These cells then become inflammatory leading to a heightened risk of fat, cholesterol and other substances which narrow arteries, restrict blood flow and can ultimately lead to heart attacks.

Robin Choudhury, professor of cardiovascular medicine at the Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford who led the research, said: “Our study is the first to show that diabetes causes long-term changes to the immune system, and how this might account for the sustained increase in the risk of heart attack.

“We need to change the way we think about, and treat, diabetes.

“By focusing too narrowly on managing a person’s blood-sugar levels we’re only addressing part of the problem.

“Right now, people with diabetes aren’t receiving effective treatment for their increased risk of heart and circulatory disease.”

Almost five million people in the UK are estimated to have diabetes and adults with the condition have double the risk of having a heart attack.

The University of Oxford study, funded by the British Heart Foundation and published in journal Circulation, investigated the differences in white blood cells in people with and without type 2 diabetes.

Those from people with type 2 diabetes showed a greatly exaggerated inflammatory response compared to the cells from people without the condition.

Researchers also extracted stem cells from the bone marrow of mice with and without diabetes and transplanted these into mice with normal blood glucose levels.

White blood cells developed from stem cells in the bone marrow of diabetic mice had been permanently altered to become more inflammatory.

Researchers say the findings explain why people with diabetes are at increased risk of heart attack, even after their blood glucose levels are brought back under control.

Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, British Heart Foundation medical director, said: “While treatments for diabetes have improved, people with diabetes still have a higher risk of heart attacks.

“This research may provide part of the explanation for why this is the case and potentially pave the way for new treatments to reduce the risk of heart attack for the millions of people living with diabetes.”

Reference: Microsoft news: Sally Guyoncourt

Deaths from drug overdoses rose to record 93,000 in 2020 during pandemic

A record 93,000 people died of drug overdoses last year as the country continues to struggle with its ongoing opioid crisis amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The record number reported by the US government on Wednesday shows a dramatic increase of more than 21,000 deaths since 2019, when there was 72,000 recorded drug overdose deaths, marking a 29 per cent increase.

Experts have said that the ongoing public health crisis has “exacerbated” underlying issues, making it harder for those struggling with addiction to access help.

“This is a staggering loss of human life,” Brandon Marshall, a Brown University public health researcher who tracks overdose trends, told the Associated Press.

Health experts have said that the prolonged lockdown amid the pandemic alongside a reduction in services has isolated those with drug addictions.

“The pandemic has led to increased substance use across the board,” Kimberly Sue, medical director of the National Harm Reduction Coalition, an advocacy group that tries to prevent overdose deaths, told The Washington Post.

Ms Sue says people have turned to drugs as they “sought to manage stress, isolation, boredom, anxiety, depression, unemployment, relationship and child care issues, and housing instability”.

However, Shannon Monnat, an associate professor of sociology at Syracuse University, noted to the AP that what she believes to be behind the surge is people who had already been struggling with addiction.

The US opioid crisis began in the 1990s with the release of powerful new prescription drugs to treat chronic pain, which were replaced by heroin following regulations on their use in 2012 and then by fentanyl, a dangerously powerful opioid.

Fentanyl was developed to treat intense pain from ailments like cancer but has increasingly been sold illicitly and mixed with other drugs.

“What’s really driving the surge in overdoses is this increasingly poisoned drug supply,” Prof Monnat said. “Nearly all of this increase is fentanyl contamination in some way. Heroin is contaminated. Cocaine is contaminated. Methamphetamine is contaminated.”

The 21,000 increase between 2019 and 2020 is the biggest year-to-year jump since the count rose by 11,000 in 2016.

“Every one of those people, somebody loved them,” Keith Humphreys, a psychiatry professor at Stanford University and an expert on addiction and drug policy, told The Post.

“It’s terrifying. It’s the biggest increase in overdose deaths in the history of the United States, it’s the worst overdose crisis in the history of the United States, and we’re not making progress. It’s really overwhelming.”

As a result of the hundreds of thousands of additional deaths due to the pandemic, the nation saw its most deadly year in its history across 2020, the Associated Press reported.

Additional reporting by the Associated Press: Reference: Independent: Louise Hall

Hospital staffers suspended after giving patient the wrong kidney

Reference:Independent:  Graig Graziosi  

Covid outbreak aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth strikes down 100 sailors

Reference: The Telegraph: Dominic Nicholls