Latest / Morning Medical with Dr. Chow / Sleep in Pregnancy, Microplastics in Brains, and COVID/Flu Vaccine Updates

Transcript

Sleep in Pregnancy, Microplastics in Brains, and COVID/Flu Vaccine Updates · Morning Medical with Dr. Chow

• 0:00
  Good morning and welcome to Morning Medical with Dr.
• 0:03
  Chow!
• 0:03
  I'm your host, Dr.
• 0:05
  Chi-Ming Chow.
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  In today's episode, we'll be discussing some fascinating health news from around the world.
• 0:11
  We'll explore how a lack of sleep during pregnancy can impact a baby's development, the
• 0:16
  discovery of microplastics in human brains, the arrival of updated COVID and flu vaccines in
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  the London region, and how your attitude can play a significant role in your physical
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  health.
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  So, let's dive right in!
• 0:33
  Sleep is crucial, especially for pregnant women.
• 0:36
  Inadequate sleep during pregnancy can have many negative effects, including neurodevelopmental
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  delays for the child, according to a new study.
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  The research, published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and
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  Metabolism, examined the effects of short sleep duration, defined as sleeping fewer than seven
• 0:55
  hours per night, on pregnant women.
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  The China-based researchers analyzed sleep data from seven thousand fifty-nine mother-child
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  pairs from three Chinese hospitals.
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  The children were screened for developmental delays from six months to three years old.
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  The findings were alarming: insufficient sleep during pregnancy was associated with an
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  increased risk of delays in nervous system development.
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  Interestingly, the study found that boys are more susceptible to neurodevelopmental issues
• 1:27
  when their mothers experience short sleep duration compared to girls.
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  "Our findings highlight the importance of addressing sleep quality during pregnancy to
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  potentially mitigate the risk of long-term cognitive and behavioral issues in children,"
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  said lead study author Dr.
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  Peng Zhu of Anhui Medical University and the MOE Key Laboratory of Population Health Across
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  Life Cycle in Hefei, China.
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  The study also discovered that cord blood C-peptide levels partially mediate this
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  association, indicating that maternal sleep might impact fetal glucose metabolism and,
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  consequently, the child's neurodevelopment.
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  "This suggests that male fetuses might be more sensitive to the metabolic environment
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  influenced by maternal sleep patterns," Zhu added.
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  "This insight could lead to tailored interventions and a deeper understanding of how
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  prenatal factors affect neurodevelopmental outcomes in a sex-specific manner."
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  Poor sleep during pregnancy has also been associated with other complications, including
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  preeclampsia and gestational diabetes.
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  Pregnant women may have trouble sleeping due to hormonal changes, discomfort, frequent
• 2:41
  urination, and other factors.
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  Dr.
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  Jillian LoPiano, a Miami-based obstetrician-gynecologist and chief health
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  officer at the reproductive telehealth platform Wisp, acknowledged that the study measured a
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  "possible biological marker" in neurological development.
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  "Much more research is needed to assess this relationship, but adequate sleep is known to be
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  associated with proper growth and socioemotional development," she told Fox News
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  Digital.
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  The expert recommended that pregnant women who are experiencing trouble sleeping consult with
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  a doctor.
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  She also shared a few simple methods that can help improve sleep, including sleeping in a
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  cool, dark room, minimizing screen time and distractions before bed, having adequate
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  wind-down time, meditating, and using support pillows.
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  The study researchers reiterated the importance of sleep hygiene.
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  "Pregnant women should be advised on strategies to improve sleep hygiene, such as maintaining a
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  consistent sleep schedule, creating a relaxing bedtime environment, and avoiding caffeine and
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  electronic devices before bed," Zhu told Fox News Digital.
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  The researchers also recommend that health care providers screen pregnant women for sleep
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  quality and provide guidance on achieving sufficient sleep.
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  "Furthermore, monitoring and managing gestational diabetes, which is linked to sleep
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  patterns, should be emphasized," Zhu added.
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  The study did have some potential limitations, the researchers acknowledged.
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  "As an observational study, we can only establish associations rather than causality,"
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  Zhu told Fox News Digital.
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  "Additionally, sleep duration was self-reported, which may introduce some level
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  of bias." Future studies with objective sleep measurements and larger sample sizes could help
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  to validate the findings, the researcher added.
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  In a startling new study, microplastics have been found in human brains for the first time,
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  raising significant health concerns.
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  Researchers analyzed samples from autopsies and discovered an accumulation of plastic particles
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  in brain tissue.
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  This is likely due to exposure through food, water, and air.
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  Although the study is still in its preliminary stages, it highlights the urgent need for
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  further investigation into the effects of microplastics on brain health.
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  While microplastics have been shown to cause inflammation and damage in laboratory
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  experiments, their long-term impact on human health remains unclear.
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  Microplastics have been found in human brains, increasing by fifty percent since two thousand
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  sixteen.
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  These particles enter the body through food, water, and air and can travel to the brain.
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  The study found that microplastics were mostly composed of polyethylene, the most commonly
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  produced plastic in the world, used for everyday products such as bottle caps and
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  plastic bags.
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  The study examined concentrations of microplastics in fifty-one samples from men and
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  women, collected from routine autopsies in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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  Samples were taken from the liver, kidney, and brain.
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  Researchers used complex instruments to identify the chemical composition of
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  microplastics, given their small size makes them difficult to study even with a
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  high-powered microscope.
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  Interestingly, the researchers found up to thirty times more microplastics in brain
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  samples than in the liver and kidney.
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  They hypothesized this could be due to high blood flow to the brain, which carries plastic
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  particles with it.
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  Alternatively, the liver and kidneys might be better suited to dealing with external toxins
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  and particles.
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  The brain does not undergo the same amount of cellular renewal as other organs in the body,
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  which could make the plastics linger there.
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  The researchers also found that the amount of plastics in brain samples increased by about
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  fifty percent between two thousand sixteen and two thousand twenty-four.
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  This may reflect the rise in environmental plastic pollution and increased human exposure.
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  This discovery is significant because it is the first time microplastics have been found in
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  human brains.
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  However, it is important to note that this study is a “pre-print,” meaning other
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  independent microplastics researchers have not yet reviewed or validated the findings.
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  Microplastics typically enter the body through contaminated food and water, disrupting the gut
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  microbiome and causing inflammation.
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  This leads to effects throughout the body via the immune system and the complex, two-way
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  communication system between the gut and the brain, known as the gut-brain axis.
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  We can also breathe in airborne microplastics.
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  Once these particles are in the gut or lungs, they can move into the bloodstream and then
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  travel around the body into various organs.
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  Studies have found microplastics in human feces, joints, livers, reproductive organs,
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  blood vessels, and hearts.
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  To get into brain tissue, microplastics must cross the blood-brain barrier, an intricate
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  layer of cells that is supposed to keep things in the blood from entering the brain.
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  Although concerning, this is not surprising, as microplastics must cross similar cell barriers
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  to enter the urine, testes, and placenta, where they have already been found in humans.
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  We do not yet know the effects of microplastics in the human brain.
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  Some laboratory experiments suggest that microplastics increase brain inflammation and
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  cell damage, alter gene expression, and change brain structure.
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  Aside from the effects of the microplastic particles themselves, they might also pose
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  risks if they carry environmental toxins or bacteria into and around the body.
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  Various plastic chemicals could also leach out of the microplastics into the body, including
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  the famous hormone-disrupting chemicals known as bisphenol A's.
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  But microplastics and their effects are difficult to study.
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  In addition to their small size, there are so many different types of plastics in the
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  environment.
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  More than thirteen thousand different chemicals have been identified in plastic products, with
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  more being developed every year.
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  Microplastics are also weathered by the environment and digestive processes, and this
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  is hard to reproduce in the laboratory.
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  A goal of our research is to understand how these factors change the way microplastics
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  behave in the body.
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  Researchers plan to investigate if improving the integrity of the gut barrier through diet
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  or probiotics can prevent the uptake of microplastics from the gut into the
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  bloodstream.
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  This may effectively stop the particles from circulating around the body and lodging into
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  organs.
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  Microplastics are widespread in the environment, making it difficult to avoid
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  exposure.
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  We are just beginning to understand how microplastics can affect our health.
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  Until we have more scientific evidence, the best thing we can do is reduce our exposure to
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  plastics where we can and produce less plastic waste, so less ends up in the environment.
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  An easy place to start is to avoid foods and drinks packaged in single-use plastic or
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  reheated in plastic containers.
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  We can also minimize exposure to synthetic fibers in our home and clothing.
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  Shipments of updated COVID-19 and flu vaccines have arrived in the London region, according to
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  the Middlesex-London Health Unit, with more rolling in as respiratory virus season inches
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  closer.
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  A spokesperson for the Middlesex-London Health Unit said high-risk populations are eligible
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  for the shots for now, and the general population will have to wait until the end of
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  the month to update their immunization.
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  "We have fourteen fridges that are full at the moment, and we're getting it out to all of the
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  healthcare providers on a weekly basis," said Melissa Thompson, the Middlesex-London Health
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  Unit's manager of vaccine-preventable disease.
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  "Right now all of the healthcare providers, hospitals, and long-term care homes are
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  ordering it from us."
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  Health Canada approved new vaccines that target the KP.
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  2 variant of COVID-19 in late September.
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  Those messenger ribonucleic acid vaccines are manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.
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  A third protein-based vaccine called Nuvaxovid, which is produced by Novavax, was approved as
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  well.
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  "Every year the flu vaccine gets updated depending on what strains are circulating.
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  COVID is following that same path where there's different strains of COVID circulating," said
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  Thompson.
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  "For the last three different types of COVID vaccines, they've all been geared towards the
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  Omicron variant.
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  It's still an Omicron variant now, but it's called KP.
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  2.
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  Last year it was XB and now it's just changed slightly."
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  Both Ontario's Ministry of Health and the Middlesex-London Health Unit strongly recommend
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  people who are in the high-risk groups that are now eligible for updated flu and COVID vaccines
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  take advantage of their availability, Thompson said.
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  That group includes people who are above sixty-five years of age, residents of
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  congregate living centres, pregnant women, children six months to four years of age,
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  people from Indigenous and racialized communities, and people who are
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  immunocompromised, she said.
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  Following this initial period of availability and starting on October twenty-eighth, anyone
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  older than six months will be eligible for the shots as well.
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  To avoid multiple healthcare visits, Thompson recommended people interested in the vaccines
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  get both at once, since it is safe to do so, she said.
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  "Anyone over the age of six months should be getting both as well.
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  It's great protection for all ages," Thompson said.
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  "COVID has stuck around through the summer and flu is coming, so we would advise people to get
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  the vaccines before the outbreaks and the illnesses come out so that you have that
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  protection on board for when it does happen."
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  Respiratory virus season tends to pick up as autumn comes into full swing, and warmer than
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  normal temperatures should not fool people into thinking it is not on the way, Thompson said.
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  Our final segment today focuses on the power of attitude and its significant role in physical
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  health.
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  Groundbreaking research by psychologist Ellen Langer suggests that our beliefs about aging
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  can substantially impact how we age.
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  Adopting a positive attitude may not only add years to our lives but also enhance the quality
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  of those years.
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  Langer, who has dedicated fifty years to studying the mind-body connection, uses the
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  term 'chronic health' instead of 'chronic illness.'
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  The word 'chronic' typically describes a condition that persists over a long time, as
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  opposed to an 'acute' condition, which is short-lived.
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  But imagine if our good health could be a chronic situation.
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  Have you ever heard a doctor tell you that you have chronic health?
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  What a prognosis that would be!
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  According to Langer, the older we get, the more we begin to accept the idea of chronic decline,
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  but she suggests there's another choice.
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  At seventy-seven years of age, Langer has accumulated a lifetime of expertise and
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  trailblazing research.
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  Her latest book, "The Mindful Body," delves into how mindfulness can transform our lives.
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  One reviewer said, 'Opening the door to her pioneering Harvard lab, Langer uncovers the
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  secret of how the mind and the body are in fact a single system.
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  If we embrace the idea of mind-body unity, new possibilities for controlling our health become
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  available to us.'
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  Typically, doctors and health professionals emphasize genetics and family history.
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  We are often asked for detailed information about our family history, but how often has a
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  doctor asked you what your attitude is about your health?
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  Ellen Langer argues that our attitude may be the most significant indicator of our physical
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  well-being.
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  The chapter on the placebo effect in Langer's book is particularly stunning.
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  We all know about the placebo effect, but have we really considered its actual impact on our
• 15:08
  own lives?
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  The placebo effect demonstrates that our mind has the ability to heal, which is a remarkable
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  concept.
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  Pharmaceutical companies have to account for this phenomenon every time they bring a new
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  drug to market, as the placebo effect can sometimes overshadow the drug's efficacy.
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  Langer leaves us with a thought-provoking quote: 'The magic lies in being aware of the
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  way we mindlessly react to social and cultural cues.
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  We need to challenge the idea that the limits we assume are real must exist for us at all.
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  With only subtle shifts in our thinking, our language, and in our expectations, we can begin
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  to change the ingrained behaviors that sap creativity, health, optimism, and vitality from
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  our lives.'
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  She continues, 'Improved vision, younger appearance, weight loss, increased longevity,
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  and of course, increased creativity are just five of the many experimental results that are
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  a consequence of these subtle changes.'
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  That's all for today's episode of Morning Medical with Dr.
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  Chow.
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  I hope you found our discussions on sleep during pregnancy, microplastics in human
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  brains, updated COVID and flu vaccines, and the power of a positive attitude as enlightening as
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  I did.
• 16:28
  Join us next time for more insights and updates on the latest in medical and health news.
• 16:33
  Until then, stay healthy and stay informed!