CPAP Machines May Lower Heart Risk Among People with Prediabetes and Sleep Apnea

People with prediabetes who use a CPAP machine (continuous positive airway pressure) for obstructive sleep apnea may have a lower risk of heart disease, said a small study out of Montreal, Canada.

Researchers studied 39 people who had both obstructive sleep apnea and prediabetes. Prediabetes is the state where the blood glucose (sugar) is higher than it should be, but not high enough yet for it to be considered diabetes. The patients either used a CPAP machine or took a medication they were told would help them breathe while they slept. After 2 weeks, the researchers found that the resting daytime heartrate of those who used the machine was lower than those in the control group. “These findings suggest that better identification and treatment of OSA may have important clinical implications for cardiovascular disease prevention," the authors wrote.

No, Masks Don’t Cause Carbon Dioxide Build-Up

Social media is full of people who argue that wearing masks is not healthy. Some claim that it causes a build-up of carbon monoxide (CO2), causing more harm than they are supposed to prevent. This, however, is not true and this has been shown again to be so in a study published in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

In this small study, researchers looked at 15 healthy physicians and 15 veterans who had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Each participant did timed walks, and their respiratory status was measured after each. The researchers did not find any significant differences in the gas exchange among both groups, even among those with COPD, who already have issues with breathing.

The researchers did not deny that wearing a mask can be uncomfortable, especially during exertion, but being uncomfortable is not the same thing as getting too much CO2 or not getting enough oxygen.

Avoiding Cow-Milk Based Formulas at Birth May Reduce Asthma Risk

Babies who are at risk of developing allergies, usually because it runs in their family, may drop their risk of developing asthma or recurrent wheeze if cow’s milk formulas are avoided during their first 3 days or more of life. This was the finding of a study of over 300 infants, published in JAMA Network Open.

The researchers followed up with the babies at their second birthday to see if any developed asthma or wheezing. They found that babies who did not get cow’s milk formula had a lower incidence of both conditions. The researchers also said that more research is needed.

First Person Cured of HIV Infection Has Died

People with HIV and those who love them were hopeful when in 2007, Timothy Ray Brown was the first person to cured of HIV infection through a bone marrow and stem cell transplant. Mr. Brown died from cancer on September 29. He was 54 years old. The leukemia that took his life was a repeat cancer. Mr. Brown had the same type of leukemia when he underwent the transplant in 2007. While the HIV was gone, the leukemia did not go away, so he underwent yet another transplant the following year, with success. The cancer returned in 2019.