A to Z of Medical Conditions

Posted on A to Z of Medical Conditions

After 25 years of AI health tech research, computers are slowly beginning to listen to patients

AI + ECG heart trace can accurately predict diabetes and pre-diabetes

Patients’ experiences of health conditions are slowly being integrated into healthcare AI studies, a review of 25 years of studies has found.

In a new paper published in Lancet Digital Health along with an associated opinion piece, experts from the University of Birmingham and University Hospitals Birmingham have looked at more than 600 interventional studies on AI healthcare technologies.

While the team, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), found that only 24% of studies have a patient-reported outcome element included in their study, there has been an increase in the number in recent years with 2021 and 2022 seeing nearly two-thirds of all studies included.

Dr Samantha Cruz Rivera from the Centre for Patient Reported Outcomes at the University of Birmingham said:

“The opportunities for AI to revolutionise healthcare will only improve patients’ lives if those models consider how patients actually feel and respond to healthcare interventions. Our review shows that patient reported outcomes, such as measures of symptom burden and quality of life, are increasingly being incorporated into AI studies which is very encouraging.

“The future could see AI healthcare tech analysing and raising  an alert if a patient’s health is declining, but such a future is going to depend on having large-scale patient reported outcome datasets so that AI can support or drive care in a specific condition, and incorporate patient experience. Integrating PROs within AI can support the humanisation of AI for health and ensure that the patient’s voice is not lost in a rush to digitise and automate health care.”

Chronic health leading the way

Patient reported outcomes from chronic health conditions such as mental health and arthritis are being adopted into more AI studies than other conditions according to the review.

The research into patient reported outcomes is a key theme of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre. The team involved in this paper say that the adoption of PROs for testing AI healthcare technologies in chronic conditions demonstrates how important patient voices are for long-term health management.

Melanie Calvert, Professor of Outcomes Methodology at the University of Birmingham said:

“Managing long term health conditions places a huge burden on patients and their families, but also the NHS and social care system.  AI systems can help support patients and healthcare systems to aid decision-making, improve workflow and lead to more efficient care with improved outcomes.  Encouragingly, we are seeing more research into AI tech solutions for chronic conditions incorporating patient reported outcomes.

“It’s clear that having technology that can analyse and predict patient outcomes to help prioritise care is going to be a part of healthcare’s future. However, we must ensure that the patient reported outcome data used to train the AI systems are applicable to the population they are intended to serve. If we don’t do this, the gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged populations will only get worse.”

Posted on A to Z of Medical Conditions, autoimmune conditions

Meet VEXAS syndrome! The study offers the first glimpse of how previously unknown illness

Study offers first glimpse of how many suffer from previously unknown illness
Study offers first glimpse of how many suffer from previously unknown illness

According to a new study, about 13,200 men and another 2,300 women in the United States over age 50 are estimated to have VEXAS syndrome. Long considered a mystery illness until its genetic basis was identified in 2020, the latest findings, led by NYU Grossman School of Medicine researchers, offer the first indication of how common the illness is domestic.

Although a rare disorder, the syndrome carries a high mortality rate, with up to half of people, primarily men, dying within five years of diagnosis. The syndrome most often involves unexplained fevers and low blood oxygen levels in people diagnosed with other diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and blood cancer. Some symptoms have been linked to an overactive immune system, which can cause inflammation and classify the syndrome as an autoimmune condition.

Researchers hope their findings will raise awareness of the disorder among physicians, particularly because high-dose steroids, JANUS kinase inhibitors, and bone marrow transplantation have proven effective in controlling some symptoms.

“Now that we know VEXAS syndrome is more common than many other types of rheumatologic conditions, physicians need to add this condition to their list of potential diagnoses when confronted by patients with persistent and unexplained inflammation and low blood cell counts, or anaemia,” says geneticist and study lead investigator David Beck, MD, PhD. Beck, an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at NYU Langone Health, also led the federal research team initially identifying the shared UBA1 mutation among VEXAS patients.

Statistically, this corresponded to one in 4,269 American men over age 50 and one in 26,238 women over age 50 having or are likely to develop the syndrome. Researchers say this is a higher prevalence figure than many other inflammatory conditions, including vasculitis and myeloid dysplasia syndrome.

“Our study offers the first glimpse of just how common VEXAS syndrome is in the United States, particularly among men, who also happen to be the most to die from it,” says Beck, who is leading several clinical research efforts into VEXAS syndrome at NYU Langone’s Center for Human Genetics and Genomics.

Previous research, led by Beck, traced the syndrome’s origins to a mutation, or change in the letter code that makes up DNA, in the gene UBA1 (short for ubiquitin-like modifier activating enzyme 1.) The enzyme usually assists in protein breakdown.

VEXAS stands for many of its biological characteristics: vacuoles in blood cells, the E1 enzyme, X-linked, autoinflammatory, and somatic.

For the study, researchers analyzed the electronic medical records of adult patients who volunteered to participate in the Geisinger MyCode Community Health Initiative. The program has been collecting data for more than 25 years from patients in Geisinger’s 10-plus hospitals in Central and Northeastern Pennsylvania. Almost all study participants who agreed to have their blood DNA tested were white; half were over the age of 60.

Beck says the team next plans to analyze patient records in more racially diverse groups, especially among those with higher rates of rheumatologic and blood disease, to better understand who is most at risk of VEXAS syndrome. They also plan to look for additional genetic causes, test new therapies for the syndrome, and develop a simple blood test for UBA1 to make it easier to diagnose.

Posted on A to Z of Medical Conditions, Diabetes

Neurologist Explains Celine Dion and Stiff-Person Syndrome

What is stiff person syndrome? Neurologist explains Celine Dion's recent diagnosis - YouTube


The singer Celine Dion recent announce that she is hold off on her tour due to her battle with Stiff-Person Syndrome, a rare immune-mediated disease which can cause muscle stiffness, spasms, and weakness. It is associated with Anti-glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) antibodies which can also be linked to type 1 diabetes in about 70% of cases

Posted on A to Z of Medical Conditions

Experts reveal top tips on how to reduce stress from the cost-of-living crisis.

The lingering stress of the cost-of-living crisis weighs heavily on the shoulders of many, and with temperatures dropping, food prices skyrocketing. Christmas is just around the corner, it is bound to have an added impact on the stresses of everyday life. Therefore, people up and down the country are looking for tips and tricks to ease and eliminate as much stress as possible.

CBD experts Simply CBD have revealed some tips that will help encourage stress relaxation and a stress-free routine that you can implement into your weekly routine. 

New analysis reveals that searches in the UK for ‘reduce stress’ increased 216% over the past month, proving just how desperate Brits are to find solutions for feelings of overwhelming stress. Searches for ‘is stress normal’ has seen a huge 635% increase over the past month in the UK, showing how concerned people are about stress levels and how they can impact their health.

Self-care

Being mindful of your needs is essential, and focusing on self-care will help tremendously reduce stress and anxiety. Some forms of self-care include maintaining a balanced diet and sustaining a healthy sleep schedule but indulging in pampering is often overlooked.

Pampering doesn’t have to break the bank. Forget spa days or trips away; you can easily indulge in pampering at home:

  • Take a hot bath or shower.
  • Pop on a face mask and read your favourite book – time away from blue light from your phone also helps relax the mind.
  • Light some candles and listen to a meditation podcast.
  • Treat yourself to your favourite home-cooked meal (or takeaway if you prefer!).

Exercise

Although the thought of exercise can sometimes be exhausting, with long workdays feeling tiring enough, finding the time to get a good workout in can often be the release from a lot of pent-up stress.

Sometimes getting past the mental barrier of doing physical activity is the only thing holding you back from releasing tension and endorphins, aka the body’s natural painkillers.

The exercise doesn’t necessarily need to be intense, and there are many options when it comes to fitting in an hour of increased heart rate:

  • Go on a walk – Whether with friends, family or just by yourself, getting out for fresh air and moving your body will work wonders.
  • Take part in a local exercise class – there are many different options, such as low-intensity Yoga and Pilates, which are great if you don’t want to do an intense workout.
  • Take part in an online exercise class! – if physically leaving the house to exercise fills you with dread, you will be pleased to know there are thousands of online classes and pre-recorded free videos of workouts that you can do in the comfort of your home.

Listen to music

Listening to music gives the brain a total workout, and we all know how vital brain health is. By listening to music, you can:

  • Reduce blood pressure.
  • Improve memory.
  • Reduce anxiety.
  • Improve sleep quality.

Not only can it reduce stress, but it can elevate moods and clear the way for emotional expression; this is why it is great that there are so many genres of music to choose from; pick whatever gets you out of a funk and makes you feel good!

Experiment with hobbies

By experimenting with hobbies you might have put on the back burner, you are allowing your body to remind itself of something you enjoy and take pride in. Hobbies are a great distraction and can be the perfect way to relax and forget about the stresses of everyday life.

If you’re struggling to think of a hobby, it’s never too late to find one! By making a list of all the hobbies you would love to try, you are already one step closer to expanding your knowledge, widening your range of skills, and keeping your brain working and mind off all things stressful.

Turn the phone off and stay off social media

In a world dominated by technology, we have everything at the push of a button, making it hard to imagine life without it, but keeping so up-to-date and caught up on social media can sometimes be exhausting and lead to unhealthy comparisons.

By turning off your phone or limiting the time spent on social media, you can shut off the constant updates and remain solely focused on other things that might bring you joy. Instead of getting distracted by technology, you could be reading your favourite books, spending time with family and friends, giving yourself a well-deserved pamper or just taking a nap, whatever relieves stress from your day!

Posted on A to Z of Medical Conditions

Adults living in areas with high air pollution are more likely to have multiple long-term health conditions.

Exposure to traffic related air pollution is associated with an increased likelihood of having multiple long-term physical and mental health conditions according to a new study of more than 364,000 people in England.

Led by researchers from Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), King’s College London, this is the largest study worldwide to examine whether air pollution exposure is linked with the occurrence of multiple long-term health conditions. 

Multimorbidity is defined as having two or more physical or mental health conditions and affects 27 per cent of adults in UK primary care. It increases the use of healthcare services and the costs of primary and secondary care, but its association with air pollution has not been studied in the UK until now. 

Published in Frontiers in Public Health the study showed that high levels of traffic-related air pollution – fine particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) – were associated with an increased risk of having at least two long term health conditions. The strongest associations were observed for co-occurring neurological, respiratory, cardiovascular and common mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety.  

This research was funded by National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre and NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) South London. 

Dr Amy Ronaldson, Research Associate at Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), King’s College London and first author on the study said: “People with more than one long-term health condition have a lower quality of life and greater dependence on the healthcare system. Our NIHR funded research has indicated that those people that live in areas of higher traffic-related air pollution are at greater risk of having multiple health conditions. The study does not prove that air pollution causes multimorbidity, but it does warrant further research in this area. It could be that simple measures to reduce traffic levels could potentially improve lives and lessen the pressure on our healthcare systems.”

Researchers analysed data from UK Biobank – a large-scale biomedical database and research resource containing anonymised genetic, lifestyle and health information from half a million UK participants. aged between 40 and 69 years. Participants were assessed for 36 physical and five mental health chronic conditions. Multimorbidity was defined as having two or more of these conditions. 

Physical and mental health data from UK Biobank in 2010 were linked with the estimated concentration of air pollution at the residential address of the participants.

The study found that those participants exposed to higher concentrations (above 10µg/m3) of fine particulate matter had a 21 per cent increased risk of two or more co-occurring conditions compared to those exposed to concentrations below 10µg/m3.

For participants exposed to above 30µg/m3 of NO2 the research showed a 20 per cent increased risk of having two or more co-occurring conditions compared to those participants that were exposed to concentrations of NO2 below 20µg/m3.  

Amongst those with multiple conditions, increased exposure to both PM2.5 and NO2 was linked to a greater severity of the co-occurring conditions.

Dr Ioannis Bakolis, Reader at IoPPN, King’s College London and senior author on the study said: “How air pollution affects multiple organs and systems at the same time is not yet fully understood, but there is some evidence that mechanisms such as inflammation, oxidative stress and immune activation could be triggered by air particulates, which can cause damage to the brain, heart, blood, lungs and gut. 

“Our study suggests that it could be through shared mechanisms that air pollution negatively impacts several body systems and increases the likelihood of people developing multiple long term health conditions. More research is needed to understand just how air pollution affects the different bodily systems, but it may be that tackling air pollution could help prevent and alleviate the debilitating impact of multiple long-term health conditions.”  

Researchers identified several patterns in the associations: the strongest links were primarily between conditions relating to the respiratory system (asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) as well as the cardiovascular system (atrial fibrillation, coronary heart disease, heart failure) but also to neurological and common mental conditions (stroke, substance abuse, depression, anxiety). 

The study, ‘Associations between air pollution and multimorbidity in the UK Biobank: A cross-sectional study’ was published in Frontiers in Public Health.