(This is an excerpt of the Health Rounds newsletter, where we present latest medical studies on Tuesdays and Thursdays.)
By Nancy Lapid
May 15 (Reuters) – We also report on findings that help explain why the flu can be particularly dangerous for pregnant women and that open the door to potential future treatments.
ADHD DRUGS MAY EASE CANCER-RELATED FATIGUE
Cancer-related fatigue, one of the most common and hard-to-treat side effects of the disease and its treatments, can be eased by drugs widely prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a new analysis found.
The results may be especially relevant as cancer diagnoses are on the rise among younger adults who are balancing careers and family responsibilities during treatment, the researchers said.
“Our findings show that a well-established, accessible medication can provide meaningful relief within weeks,” study leader Dr. Bruno Almeida Costa of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center said in a statement.
His team reviewed data from nine randomized, placebo-controlled trials involving 823 adults who were undergoing active treatment or who had late-stage disease.
Patients who received the psychostimulants methylphenidate or dexmethylphenidate, sold by Novartis under the brand names Ritalin and Focalin, had significantly improved fatigue scores compared with those who got a placebo.
These drugs have the “longest-standing and best-documented safety records among actively prescribed controlled substances,” according to a report of the study published in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.
“The benefit isn’t fully apparent in the first couple of weeks, but by around five weeks it reaches a level that genuinely matters in terms of patients’ daily energy and function,” Costa said.
“For people dealing with a symptom that can be profoundly disabling, that is a meaningful contribution.”
The modest improvements had increased further by eight weeks, the researchers found.
The drugs should not replace established methods to manage cancer-related fatigue such as exercise, cognitive behavioral therapy, and mind-body practices, but could provide earlier relief while those strategies take effect, the researchers said.
STUDY FINDS WHY THE FLU IS MORE DANGEROUS DURING PREGNANCY
Doctors have long known that influenza can lead to life-threatening complications during pregnancy, and a new study provides understanding of how that happens and potential avenues for future treatments.
Usually, influenza stays in the respiratory tract. But during pregnancy, the virus can move beyond the lungs, increasing the risk of severe cardiovascular complications for mothers and impairments in fetal development.
In mice infected with influenza A, the researchers found a viral sensor in the immune system called TLR7 that becomes overactive during pregnancy, amplifying inflammation in the placenta and elsewhere, impairing blood vessel function, and allowing the virus to spill into the bloodstream.
“The findings shift understanding of how respiratory viruses affect pregnancy, showing that harm is not caused by the virus directly reaching the fetus, but by an overactive maternal immune response,” study leader Stella Liong from RMIT University in Australia said in a statement.
Switching off the TLR7 sensor might help protect developing babies by stopping the placenta from becoming overly inflamed during flu infection, the researchers speculated in a report of the study published in Science Advances.
The discovery opens the door for targeted treatment that could mitigate maternal and fetal morbidity during severe influenza in pregnancy, they said.
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(Reporting by Nancy Lapid; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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