Al Jazeera Health Tour: The retina predicts the risk of stroke, and a study reveals the relationship of gut bacteria to the hormone Ozembic

Mark
Written By Mark

The windows of intensive care rooms play a role in delirium, and the retina is our window to detect the risk of stroke, and a study reveals the relationship of intestinal bacteria to the hormone found in the drug Ozembic. These are the most prominent medical studies and news for today.

In “Al Jazeera Health” we present a roundup of research and medical news for today, Tuesday, January 14, 2025:

Windows in intensive care rooms may be associated with post-operative delirium

A new study revealed that patient rooms with windows were associated with a higher likelihood of developing delirium, compared to patient rooms without windows.

The study was conducted by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital at Brigham and their colleagues at Boston University School of Medicine, Chobanian and Avedisyan, in the United States. The results of the study were published in the Journal of Intensive Care Medicine on January 13, and the Eurick Alert website wrote about it.

Using electronic medical records, researchers reviewed the relationship between patients admitted to an intensive care unit with or without windows and the presence of delirium. Delirium was observed in 21% of patients who were in rooms with windows and 16% of patients who were in rooms without windows.

The retina can predict the risk of stroke

Researchers have presented a practical and easy approach through which the risk of stroke can be predicted from the retina. The retinal blood vessel fingerprint can predict a person’s risk of stroke as accurately as traditional methods, but without the need for numerous laboratory tests. The retinal fingerprint consists of 29 indicators that indicate the health of blood vessels.

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The study was conducted by researchers from the Eye Research Center at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital in Australia, and its results were published in Heart magazine on January 13 and reported on the Eurek Alert website.

The researchers explained that the retina – the layer of light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye – shares common anatomical and physiological features with blood vessels in the brain, making it an excellent choice for assessing damage caused by poor blood vessel health.

Bacteria may help the body produce natural osmpic

Scientists have revealed that bacteria in the gut may help the body produce more of the hormone found in the drug Ozambic – glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) – naturally, to reduce sugar cravings and improve metabolic health.

The study was conducted by researchers from the Wuxi College of Medicine at Jiangnan University in China, and its results were published in the journal Nature Microbiology on January 13 and reported on by Newsweek.

Scientists investigated the relationship between sugar cravings, gut health and hormones, including glucagon-like peptide-1.

They found that mice and humans with diabetes had low levels of a certain type of bacteria called Bacteroides vulgatus, which is a common type of bacteria in the human digestive system. When giving mice these bacteria, their levels of glucagon-like peptide-1 increased, and they found that the mice’s sugar-seeking behavior decreased significantly.