The Week - UK (2022-02-19)

NEWS 19

Threepeople whowereparalysedfromthewaist

downhavebeenable to walkagain, thanks to

an implantsurgically grafted onto their spines.

Developedbyneuroscientists in Switzerland, the

implantworksby delivering electrical pulses to

nervesinthe spinalcordthatcontrolmuscles

in thelegsand torso.Thesepulsesare in turn

controlled by software linked to atablet, that

can be instructed by theusertodeliverparticular

movements.

Oneofthe firsttobenefit wasMichelRoccati,

whosespinal cordwas severed in amotorbike

accident in 2017. Now, he canstandupfroma

chair,walk aroundand go up stairs.It’sthe first

timescientists have been able to restore this extent

of movement to apatient whosespinal cord has

beencompletely severed. The implant,whichneeds

nowto go throughlargertrials, is still too complicatedfor everydayuse; anditisnot

acure. “But it is acritical step to improve people’s qualityoflife,” said ProfGrégoire

Courtine.“We aregoing to empower people.We are going to give them the ability to

stand,totake some steps. It is not enough,but it is asignificantimprovement.”

Health &Science

19 February 2022 THEWEEK

Nuclearfusionbreakthrough

Thedream ofaworld withvirtually

unlimitedsuppliesoflow-carbon, low-

radiationenergycameastep closer to

realitylast week, whenaEuropeanteam

of scientistsrevealedthattheyhadmade

a“majorbreakthrough”in theirattempts

to recreate nuclear fusion –theprocess

thatpowersthestars.Aspartofthe Joint

EuropeanTorus (JET)experimentin

Oxfordshire,researchersgenerated

megajoulesof heatduringafive-second

burstofnuclear fusion.Thatisjustenough

to boilabout60 kettles, but itistwicethe

amountofenergypreviouslyproduced,

back in 1 997.“We’vedemonstratedthat

we can createamini star...and holditthere

forfivesecondsand gethighperformance,

whichreally takes usintoanew realm,”

saidone scientist.The experimentwas

limitedbythe sizeofthe machine, reports

NewScientist: fivesecondsisthemost

JET’scopper-wiremagnetscanmanage.

Butitacted asaproofofconcept, and

suggests thatafarmorepowerfulmachine

beingbuilt inthesouthof Franceshould

achieve itsconsiderablymoreambitious

goals,whenit opensin2025.

Awarningtoparacetamolusers

Peoplewho regularly useparacetamol

couldbeat ahigher risk ofheartdisease

andstrokes,arandomisedcontroltrialhas

suggested. Researchersatthe University of

Edinburghgave110 volunteerswitha

history ofhighbloodpressure onegram

of paracetamolfourtimesaday,fortwo

weeks–adose oftenprescribedtopatients

withchronicpain.The patientsthentooka

placebo foranothertwoweeks. Theresults

duringtheparacetamolperiod showeda

“smallbutmeaningful”riseintheirblood

pressure–anincreasethatcouldraisethe

risk ofheartdisease orstrokebyabout

20%.Theauthorsofthe study,published

inthejournalCirculation, stressedthat

occasionalparacetamoluse was nota

cause forconcern,butadvised thatdoctors

treatingchronicpain withthedrugshould

opt forthelowesteffectivedoseforthe

shortestpossible time,and“keep acloser

eye” onpatients with highbloodpressure.

Sleeplongertoloseweight

Sleepingforanhourmoreevery night

couldhelpoverweightpeopleshedexcess

pounds,asmallclinical trialhassuggested.

Researchers attheUniversity ofChicago

recruited 8 0overweight adultswho

normallysleptforlessthansix-and-a-half

hoursanight.Halfofthemwere given

“sleephygiene” counsellingto help them

sleeplonger, and onaveragetheygotan

extra72minutesofshut-eye each night.

The rest receivedno counsellingand

continuedsleepingasnormal.Thestudy,

published inthejournal JAMA,found that

participantswhohad been helpedto

extendtheirsleepatesignificantlyless than

those inthecontrol group,equivalent to

about 2 70 fewer caloriesaday.Sustained

overthreeyears,thisreduction couldlead

peopletolosearound12kg,theresearchers

said. “Manypeople areworkinghardto

find ways todecrease theircaloric intake

tolose weight,” saidresearcherDrEsra

Tasali.“Just bysleepingmore, youmay

beabletoreduceit substantially.”The

findingbuilds onpreviousstudies which

haveshownthatbeingsleep-deprivedcan

affectappetite-regulatinghormonessuch

asghrelin.

Chronicillnesslinkedtodementia

Peoplewhohavetwoor morechronic

illnesses bythetimethey’remiddle-aged

are morethan twice aslikelytodevelop

dementia,astudyhasfound. Researchers

at University College Londonandthe

University ofParisexamineddata on

10,00 0 people who enrolledin along-term

studyinthemid 1980 s. Duringthe 3 2-year

follow-up,639 ofthemwere diagnosed

withdementia.Theresearchersfound

thatthepatients whohadtwoor more

chronic conditions–includingdiabetes

andarthritis –bytheageof55 were

two-and-a-halftimesmorelikely tohave

gotdementiathanthose with nochronic

conditions.Havingmulti-morbidities

betweentheagesof60and 65wasalso

linked toa1.5-foldhigherrisk. Themore

severetheillnesses,the stronger the link,

andforevery fiveyears youngeraperson

waswhenmulti-morbidityoccurred,up to

theageof70,theriskof dementiastepped

up by18%.“These findingshighlight the

role ofpreventionand managementof

chronic diseases over thecourseof

adulthoodtomitigateadverseoutcomes

inold age,” saidthe study’sauthors.

JET:deliveringproofofconcept

Adultsand childrenin Englandare living

for longerafterbeingdiagnosedwith

cancer,and theseincreasesare being

seenin almostall formsof the disease,

the NHShas reported.In 2002,about

78% of childrenwithcancersurvived

for five or moreyears;by 2019that had

risento 85%.In the past 15 years,there

havealso beenimprovementsin one-

yearsurvivalratesfor adultswithall

formsof cancerexceptbladdercancer.

The biggestimprovementhas been

amongwomenwithlungcancer:one-

yearsurvivalratesrosefrom31.6%,for

thosediagnosedbetween 2006 to 2010,

to 46% between 2015 and 2019.Five-

yearsurvivalratesalso improvedfor

all cancersexceptbladderand colon

cancer.Adultswithmelanomashavethe

highestsurvivalrates:90% of menand

95% of womenare still alivefive years

afterdiagnoses.Pancreaticcancershave

someof the lowestsurvivalrates.

Cancersurvivalrates

What the scientists are saying...

Implants helptheparalysed walk again

©EUROFUSION

MichelRoccati:acriticalstep