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Is Medical Cannabis a Risk Factor for AFIB When used for Chronic Pain?

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Is Medical Cannabis a Risk Factor for AFIB When used for Chronic Pain?

(VORNews) – In a new study from Denmark, people with medical cannabis prescriptions are slightly more likely to develop atrial fibrillation within 180 days of beginning treatment.

According to the study, patients treated with medical cannabis were 0.8% more likely to develop new-onset atrial fibrillation in the first six months following treatment.

After 180 days, patients not taking medical cannabis had an increased risk of new-onset AFib of 0.4%. The federal government has approved medical cannabis for use in 38 states, the District of Columbia, and three territories as of April 2023. There are several European countries, such as the U.K., Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, and others around the world, that now allow its legal medicinal use.

In the absence of treatment, atrial fibrillation, or AFib, is associated with more serious outcomes, including stroke, heart failure, and blood clots. Researchers compared data from 5,391 Danish people who used medical cannabis to relieve chronic pain with data from people who did not use cannabis.

Women constituted 63.2% of the participants, and their median age was 59. At six months, there was less than a 1% chance of developing AFib in both groups. Researchers found that patients with cardiometabolic disease and cancer experienced the greatest increase in AFib.

Medical Cannabis use after one year is associated with a lower risk

The association between medicinal cannabis usage and an increased risk of atrial fibrillation was most during the first six months but faded during the first year. Copenhagen University Hospital’s Department of Cardiology’s Dr. Anders Holt offered some potential answers as the study’s lead author.

He speculated that the differences might be less pronounced over a longer period of follow-up if the patient stopped taking the medication due to severe adverse effects. “It could be due to patients halting treatment during follow-up for other unknown reasons,” he added. Plus,

The overall picture may be less clear due to other complicating circumstances, as Dr. Holt also noted.

Cannabis increases AFib risk in young people

Dr. Holt stated that the results of his study are especially noteworthy because so little is known about the effects of medicinal cannabis. “But I don’t think there’s cause for serious concern about the health implications of this study because of its observational design and the small risk differences that were found,” he stated.

Dr. Holt tells the European Heart Journal in a news release that he doesn’t think “this research should make patients with chronic pain refrain from trying medical cannabis if other treatment has been inadequate.”

“This study should simply serve as a reminder that all medical treatment may carry the risk of side effects and that we should always make sure that benefits outweigh the possible risk,” Dr. Holt told Medical News Today.

Cardiologist and MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute medical director of the Structural Heart Program Dr. Cheng-Han Chen, who was not affiliated with the study, expressed concern over its findings.

A doubling of the danger, even if the absolute risk is tiny, was Dr. Chen’s statement. The fact that these patients are younger, in his view, shouldn’t be developing atrial fibrillation, is another source of concern for him.

Cannabis users and AFib

A medical cannabis patient may want to be aware of the following warning signs, according to Dr. Jayne Morgan, who was not involved in the study. “Symptoms of atrial fibrillation independent of any cause include palpitations, shortness of breath, fatigue, dizziness, and a rapid or irregular heartbeat.”

To that list, Dr. Chen added lightheadedness and fatigue.

Heart disease risk associated with recreational cannabis

Although there has been a dearth of clinical research on cannabis owing to its lengthy history of prohibition in many countries, more studies have looked at recreational cannabis than medicinal cannabis.

The first larger-scale cohort research to investigate cardiovascular adverse effects associated with medicinal cannabis prescriptions has never been conducted before, according to Dr. Holt.

If we want to make a difference, we need more research like this, Dr. Morgan remarked. Medical cannabis should be the subject of more rigorous research, according to Dr. Holt.

Dr. Chen stated that recreational cannabis use has been “linked to elevated risk of heart attack, particularly in younger individuals.” How cannabis affects the health of the elderly is one of the many unanswered questions at this time. ”

Cardiology patients with known cardiovascular disease tend to be older and more frequently encountered, so it’s important to take that into account,” Dr. Morgan noted. In addition, “been associated with an elevated risk of arrhythmia and acute coronary syndromes” was Dr. Holt’s commentary on recreational cannabis use.

The current study did find a correlation between medicinal cannabis and atrial fibrillation, but no such correlation with acute coronary syndrome, which is an intriguing finding.

How much medical cannabis should I take?

One of the challenging factors to monitor in the context of medicinal cannabis, according to Dr. Chen, is that “the medical model differs from that of prescribing a medication for a heart condition, in which physicians constantly observe patients closely for adverse effects and side effects.”

Dosing medical cannabis differs from administering known-quantity tablets or capsules to a patient regularly. Dr. Chen stated that his knowledge of the prescription process for medical cannabis is limited.

Nevertheless, he stated, “From what I understand, a significant number of patients can obtain a prescription for cannabis from a third party and have it filled elsewhere.” Furthermore, the current state of monitoring in the United States appears to differ significantly from that of a typical medication prescription.

Further information regarding administration and dosing, in addition to short-term and long-term adverse effects, was requested by Dr. Morgan. For instance, medicinal cannabis may be vaporized, inhaled, ingested, or applied.

“When conducting research, we attempt to compare apples to apples,” explained Dr. Chen. “If the dosage is administered “as required” and there is significant variation in the way the medication is administered, it becomes considerably more challenging to identify patterns.”

Dr. Morgan stated, “As medical cannabis use increases and the principle of avoiding harm prevails, more rigor and data will be required for physician prescribing guidance in this area, including whether reversible arterial vasospasm, endothelial inflammation, and possibly vasospasm exist.”

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Canada Records its First Case on Monkeypox

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Monkeypox Canada, mpox
The individual sought medical care for mpox (monkeypox) symptoms.

Canada’s Department of Public Health confirmed on Friday that the country’s first mpox (monkeypox) incidence occurred in Manitoba.

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, this travel-related case is tied to a continuing mpox outbreak in central and eastern Africa.

“The individual sought medical care in Canada for mpox symptoms shortly after their return and is currently isolating,” the agency stated.

The Public Health Agency of Canada works closely with Manitoba’s public health authorities. The National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) informed the province on November 22 that the sample tested positive for mpox (monkeypox),” the agency stated.

The World Health Organization stated earlier in the day that the mpox outbreak remains a public health emergency.

In August, the WHO declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years, following the spread of a new version of the virus, known as Mpox clade Ib, from the Democratic Republic of Congo to neighboring nations.

MPox is a viral illness that spreads by close contact and causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled sores. It is typically moderate, but it can be fatal.

The Public Health Agency of Canada said that while the danger to Canada’s general population is low, it constantly monitors the situation. It further stated that a public health investigation, including contact tracing, is underway.

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A Canadian Teenager’s Bird Flu Virus Has Mutations

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Bird Flu
HealthDay

(VOR News) – Health experts have warned that the Bird Flu virus identified in Vancouver has undergone alterations that may increase its transmissibility to humans, a circumstance that Canadian officials believe could occur.

“No additional cases have been identified” after monitoring many potential contacts among the adolescent’s friends, family, and healthcare providers; however, there is no indication that the single Canadian teen is the only one infected with this specific mutant H5N1. Brenda Henry, British Columbia’s provincial health officer,

Bird Flu Links

Dr. Jesse Bloom of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle told CNN that this is “undoubtedly one of the initial instances where we have observed evidence of such adaptive mutations in H5”.

Bloom observed that the teen’s symptoms began one week before hospitalization, giving the Bird Flu extra time to strengthen its capacity to infiltrate the desired cells.

Significantly, the calf is in critical but stable condition, having contracted a different strain of the virus than the one that affects dairy calves in the United States. An H5N1 strain is circulating throughout Pacific Northwest wild bird populations.

Because there was no documented link with wild birds, Canadian officials are still unsure how the adolescent contracted the illness.

The three discovered alterations in the Canadian example are determined to be at specific regions on the genome, which would improve binding to human cells.

“Numerous influenza virologists, myself included, have observed it due of certain sequences exhibiting indications of mutations that concern us,” he said.

Following a toddler in Alameda County who was exhibiting minor upper respiratory symptoms, California determined the child may have Bird Flu. According to a news release from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), the young person is recovering at home following treatment.

Although the patient has had no recorded interaction with an affected animal, the CDPH reports that health officials are investigating possible exposure to wild birds. In addition, they reported, “the positive test indicated a low-level detection of the virus, suggesting the child was unlikely to be infectious to others.”

Four days later, the youngster’s next bird flu test returned negative; further research found that the child tested positive for respiratory infections, which could be causing their Bird Flu and cold symptoms. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will collect test specimens for the next investigation.

California officials emphasized that, despite the reported occurrence, the public health risk remained extremely low.

“We aim to reassure parents, caregivers, and families that, according to our information and data, we do not believe the child was infectious, and no human-to-human transmission of bird flu has been recorded in any country for over 15 years,” stated Dr. Tomás Aragón, head of the CDPH. “It is normal for people to show concern.”

According to the CDC, 53 Americans had confirmed instances of avian flu, with all but one being exposed to contaminated poultry or dairy cows.

In the California example, all of the child’s relatives tested negative, and there is no evidence that the virus moved from person to person.

Dairy cows

The virus first appeared in a pig last month. Seven states have already verified cases of avian influenza, with Oregon reporting the first human case last week. Most incidents have occurred among farmworkers.

California has the state’s largest confirmed human avian influenza infection count, with 27 cases reported (excluding the infant from Alameda County). According to CDC records, there are 11 cases in Washington and 10 in Colorado.

Recent developments have heightened public health experts’ concerns about the prospect of the avian flu virus spreading from person to person.

Since March, the disease has spread to approximately 600 dairy farms in 15 states nationwide. Bird flu has been frequent among domestic and wild birds in the United States for several years.

Dr. James Lawler, co-director of the University of Nebraska’s Global Center for Health Security, recently told the New York Times that “we should be very concerned at this juncture.” “We ought to allocate considerable resources to ascertain the situation, but at this time there is no need for alarm.”

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Pancreatic Cancer Among Young People Is No Longer Alarming.

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Pancreatic Cancer

(VOR News) – Experts have voiced apprehension regarding the increasing incidence of pancreatic cancer among youth; nevertheless, a recent study reveals that this surge in diagnoses has not been paralleled by a commensurate increase in mortality rates attributed to the disease.

What is the reason? Researchers assert that contemporary, more sensitive imaging scans may identify early, non-fatal occurrences of pancreatic cancer in individuals under 40 that were previously undiscovered.

Researchers have noted growing concerns from several registries regarding the rising prevalence of pancreatic cancer among young individuals, especially women, in the United States and worldwide. “While some ascribe this trend to rising obesity rates, others have identified no discernible cause.”

Analyzing the data

The statistics on pancreatic cancer conflate endocrine malignancies and adenocarcinomas, which are two entirely different tumor forms occurring in the same organ.

The first form generally requires years to develop and increase, whereas the second type is characteristically aggressive and spreads rapidly.

The rising prevalence of pancreatic cancer among younger Americans is mostly attributed to an enhanced diagnosis of smaller, early-stage endocrine tumors rather than an escalation in pancreatic adenocarcinoma cases, the researchers noted.

The declining mortality rate of pancreatic cancer, juxtaposed with the rising incidence of new cases, implies that the recent surge in early-onset pancreatic cancer indicates the identification of previously undiagnosed disease rather than an actual rise in cancer prevalence.

Researchers, under the leadership of Dr. Vishal Patel, a surgical resident at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, acknowledged the increasing incidence of pancreatic cancer among young individuals. Their research, published on Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, contains the following information:

Pancreatic cancer operations

Restricting the increase of tumors in their first stages is a significant point to consider. This data indicates a phenomenon termed overdiagnosis, characterized by a rise in mortality that does not correspond with the increase in case numbers.

More dangerous adenocarcinomas are occasionally identified at an earlier stage during abdomen scans conducted for unrelated reasons. Conversely, the study’s authors assert that the prevalence of adenocarcinomas among young individuals has remained constant across all stages of the disease.

Meanwhile, the researchers indicated that CT scans and MRIs, which are increasingly sensitive and utilized for a broader range of applications than before, can identify less malignant endocrine tumors in the pancreas.

Dr. H. Gilbert Welch, a senior researcher at the Center for Surgery and Public Health at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, stated to the New York Times, which published the findings, “The more you are imaged, the more these issues will arise.”

Upon discovery of any issue, both individuals and medical professionals may feel compelled to act.

Dr. Folasade May, a gastroenterologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, stated in an interview with the Times, “Occasionally, we observe anomalies on imaging that necessitate further investigation.” “Ultimately, they may necessitate significant surgical intervention.”

Patients needing surgery

As indicated by the doubling of pancreatic cancer surgical interventions among patients aged 25-34, there has been a substantial increase in surgical interventions for pancreatic cancer among young patients as well.

Dr. Adewole Adamson, a specialist in overdiagnosis at the University of Texas at Austin and a co-author of the paper, stated, “Many patients express a desire for removal.” “Upon receiving a cancer diagnosis, one feels compelled to take action.”

Patients and clinicians should be aware of the following considerations in the future.

The research team states, “Pancreatic cancer may now be subject to overdiagnosis, referring to the identification of disease that is unlikely to result in symptoms or mortality.” “Overdiagnosis is particularly alarming in the context of pancreatic cancer, given that pancreatic surgery carries significant risks of morbidity and mortality.”

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