Link between PCOS and anxiety found

Children born to mothers with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are at an increased risk of developing anxiety later in life, researchers have discovered. According to the researchers, maternal obesity and androgen excess induce sex-specific anxiety in the offspring. PCOS affects more than one in ten women of childbearing age and is characterised by high levels of male hormones in the blood, menstrual disorders, insulin resistance and obesity. “The fact that daughters of women with PCOS are at increased risk of developing the condition and that sons often develop obesity and insulin resistance, indicates that the fetal environment plays a crucial role,” said lead author Elisabet Stener-Victorin, Professor at the Karolinska Institute. For the study, researchers investigated 16 groups of female and male mice offspring exposed to maternal diet-induced obesity and male hormone excess to study how these environmental factors affected the mice’s behaviour as well as gene expression in the brain.

Antibiotic to fight ‘superbugs'

Indian-origin scientists have developed a novel “game changing” antibiotic which is capable of killing drug-resistant bacteria, and could lead to the first new class of antibiotic drug in 30 years. The breakthrough is another major step towards developing a commercially viable drug version based on teixobactin — a natural antibiotic discovered by US scientists in soil samples in 2015 which has been heralded as a “gamechanger” in the battle against antibiotic resistant pathogens such as MRSA and VRE. Scientists from the UK created a simplified, synthesised form of teixobactin which has been used to treat a bacterial infection in mice, demonstrating the first proof that such simplified versions of its real form could be used.

Knee pain can cause depression

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis, affecting millions of people worldwide. According to a study, knee pain from OA, which damages the quality of life, can in turn lead to depression. A research team from Japan recently published a study examining the effects of knee pain on depression since, until now, few studies have focused on how knee pain and impaired knee function relate to depression. To learn more, the researchers examined information from 573 people aged 65 or older who participated in the Kurabuchi Study, an ongoing look at the health of older adults living in central Japan. When the study began (between 2005 and 2006) none of the participants had symptoms of depression. Two years later, nearly all of them completed follow-up interviews.

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