RESEARCH

Study Breaks

Intriguing findings from Michigan universities

BY STEVE FRIESS

Syndrome predicts COVID outcome

WE’VE KNOWN SINCE the pandemic’s early days that people with “underlying conditions” were at greater risk of severe cases and death, but the term was so broad as to be useless. At Wayne State University researchers zeroed in on one cluster of ailments known as metabolic syndrome that can predict coronavirus outcomes, according to a paper published in the Journal of Diabetes. Studying 1,871 patients beset by COVID-19 in Detroit-area hospitals at the outset of the crisis, WSU School of Medicine professor Prateek Lohia, an internist, found that patients who had a combination of diabetes, obesity, hypertension, high triglycerides, and high cholesterol suffered “significantly higher mortality, increased ICU admissions, and need for mechanical ventilation” than COVID-19 patients with any of those conditions alone.

Cheaper, faster COVID diagnoses

MSU graduate student Zach Morehouse was part of a team that developed a new test for SARS-CoV-2 that takes half the time, costs less, and requires fewer materials. The process, published in the journal PLOS One, could be a boon for providing inexpensive and accurate tests in far-flung and less affluent corners of the globe, such as Malawi, where it was field tested. “Having the ability to bring this technology into resource-challenged areas that maybe can’t afford to set up a fully-automated testing lab really helps,” says Morehouse.

Link between COVID and diabetes

Dr. W. James Melvin, a Michigan Medicine researcher, says he and his team have identified an enzyme that makes people with Type 2 diabetes significantly more susceptible to severe illness if they are infected with COVID-19. What’s more, identification of the enzyme has opened up new avenues for more effective treatments that involve administering interferon beta, which helps the body produce certain enzymes that COVID-19 suppresses. The study appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

What might make your kid become a hacker?

An analysis of self-reported information from more than 66,000 kids in middle school and high school around the world shows that the most serious underage computer criminals have suffered trauma, bullying, or isolation, according to a paper published in the journal Criminal Justice and Behavior and co-written by Thomas Holt, chair of the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University. Other qualities common among adolescents looking to commit online crime include impulsivity and susceptibility to peer pressure. Holt and co-author Bryanna Fox of the University of South Florida say recognizing these triggers could help parents and school officials intervene and identify what kind of psychotherapy could help rehabilitate the offenders.

The limits of caffeine

Those cups of coffee or cans of Red Bull only go so far in helping sleep-deprived people function properly, according to a Michigan State University study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology. MSU researchers say caffeine does help people stay awake by increasing energy, but it didn’t help similarly tired people to efficiently or successfully complete a series of tasks in a study of 276 participants at the school’s Sleep and Learning Lab. Psychology professor Kimberly Fenn, the lead researcher, says caffeine may help you not fall back asleep, but it doesn’t “prevent the sort of procedural errors that can cause things like medical mistakes and car accidents.”

Patients predict their own dementia

Older people who complain about cognitive declines, despite exhibiting no clinically detected impairments, frequently are presaging their future brain disorders, according to a Wayne State University study published in the journal Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy. WSU gerontologists Jessica Damoiseaux and Raymond Viviano followed 69 women ages 50 to 85 who reported cognitive issues by conducting a series of MRIs over a three-year timespan. They found significant changes in two areas of the brain that, in their earlier forms, may have been noticeable by the patients, though not visible on scans.

No apples a day keeps sleep away

The lack of fruits and vegetables in the diets of young adults could be causing chronic insomnia, according to a study of more than 1,400 people in their 20s, led by U-M nutritional sciences professor Erica Jansen and published in Sleep Health Journal. The good news, Jansen says, is that it’s easily correctable — by eating five servings a day. A serving is generally understood as between 4 and 6 ounces, according to the Mayo Clinic. “What is unique about our study is that we were able to see that as fruit and vegetable intake changed, insomnia-related sleep characteristics also changed,” Jansen says.

Vaping pot worse than e-cigs?

Teens who inhale cannabis via vape pens are more likely to develop breathing problems than those who vape tobacco products or even those who smoke either cigarettes or marijuana joints, according to research appearing in the Journal of Adolescent Health last spring, led by University of Michigan nursing professor Carol Boyd. Kids who vaped pot were twice as likely to report “wheezing and whistling” in their chests than those who did not. Boyd says the researchers were surprised by the findings and stresses that smoking anything is dangerous and unhealthy for developing bodies.

Fictional gunplay takes toll on kids

THE ENTERTAINMENT industry has long pushed back against the notion that kids are desensitized to violence by what they see in video games, on TV, and in movies. Yet, a study co-authored by U-M psychology researcher L. Rowell Huesmann and published in the journal Aggressive Behavior found that exposure to both real and fictional gun violence “predicts more gun use or threatening to use weapons, and normative beliefs that gun use is acceptable.” The research tracked second, fourth, and ninth graders in Flint over the course of 10 years.

History vs. Science

Countless professional communities have historically relegated women to the sidelines, often citing the supposed “emotional volatility” caused by ovarian hormone fluctuations. And academia is no exception, having long relied on this logic to exclude women from academic research. Noting this, a group of University of Michigan researchers, led by psychology professor Adriene Beltz, decided to test this theory. They surveyed 142 men and women over a 75-day period, to learn more about their daily emotions. Their study, which was published in the Scientific Report last fall, compared the emotional fluctuations of the male and female participants, revealing only minor distinctions.

Babies follow their gut, literally Doggy day care is important for healing

An examination of the contents of your infant or toddler’s belly may explain how their brain reacts to perceived danger and whether they experience excessive anxiety, a study by Michigan State University and University of North Carolina researchers says. The report, published in the journal Nature Communications, asserts that the composition of microorganisms in babies’ stomachs can impact neurological development. The scientists analyzed babies’ stool samples and assessed their reaction to a stranger entering a room wearing a Halloween mask. More fearful kids had more of certain bacteria in their guts than the calmer children.

LGB seniors at higher risk for dementia

A study of the cognitive skills of about 3,500 older people found lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals are at higher risk of developing dementia than the heterosexual population. The research, led by Michigan State University sociologist Ning Hsieh, was published in the journal The Gerontologist. Hsieh says the results suggest that stress and depression experienced earlier in life, and perhaps brought on by societal bigotry, may contribute to the later development of brain disease.

From COVID to zinc

Male and female COVID-19 sufferers and survivors trying to conceive babies may benefit from taking zinc supplements to boost fertility and prevent damage to the egg or sperm, Wayne State University researchers reported in the journal Reproductive Sciences. Fighting the coronavirus can result in zinc depletion, and that can interfere with conception, according to findings from obstetrics associate professor Husam Abu-Soud, who led the research. Zinc may also lessen pregnancy complications, Abu-Soud’s team found.

PATIENTS WHO ARE ANXIOUS

about care for their household pets struggle to focus on recovery and tend to leave hospitals earlier than advised, according to research conducted by University of Michigan neurologist Tiffany Braley and published in the Journal of Patient Experience. Braley found that 63 percent of patients said they had trouble figuring out who would watch their dogs, cats, or other pets while they or a loved one were hospitalized, and 16 percent knew someone who had left the hospital against medical advice out of concern for the animals. “We see a rising need for a formalized service to identify patients early in their course who need assistance with pet care, and a need to provide better resources, before it becomes a crisis and impacts their care or the welfare of their pets,” Braley says.