Heart disease;

What’s the connection between flu vaccination and lower risk of Alzheimer’s Disease?

FA Manian MD, MPH, , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

As far fetched that it may sound, there is growing evidence that flu vaccination is associated with lower risk of being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD).1

The most compelling evidence to date comes from a 2022 retrospective, propensity-matched study involving a nationwide sample of over 2 million U.S. adults ≥ 65 years old.1  This study found a 40% reduction in the risk of incident AD during the 4-year follow-up period when individuals receiving at least 1 dose of flu vaccine were compared to those who did not receive flu vaccination during the study period (number needed to treat-NTT 29.4). 

Despite its limitations, the results of the above study were concordant with those of several smaller studies that found an association between flu vaccination and lower risk of dementia of any cause.1-3  A 2022 meta-analysis also concluded that flu vaccination was associated with significantly lower risk (33%) of dementia among older people. Interestingly, in a study involving veterans, receipt of ≥6 doses of flu vaccines (not fewer) was associated with lower risk of dementia.4

Several hypotheses have been posited to explain the potential beneficial impact of flu vaccination on the risk of dementia, including: 1. Influenza-specific mechanisms, such as mitigation of damage secondary to influenza infection and/or epitopic similarity between influenza proteins and AD pathology; 2. Non-influenza-specific training of the innate immune system; and 3. Non-influenza-specific changes in adaptive immunity via lymphocyte-mediated cross-reactivity.1

So, in addition to its protective effect against severe influenza,5 and its association with lower risk of hospitalization for cardiac disease and stroke and reduction in death due to combined cardiovascular disease events (eg, heart attacks/strokes),  flu vaccination may be protective against AD! Who would have thought that a simple vaccine may have far reaching health benefits?

Bonus Pearl: Did you know that mice infected with non-neurotropic influenza strains have been found to have excessive microglial activation and subsequent alteration of neuronal morphology, particularly in the hippocampus, and that in APP/PS1 transgenic mice, peripheral influenza infection induces persistent elevations of amyloid- (A) plaque burden?1  Intriguing indeed!!!

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References

  1. Bukhbinder AS, Ling Y, Hasan O, et al. Risk of Alzheimer’s disease following influenza vaccination: A claims-based cohort study using propensity score matching. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease 2022; 88:1061-1074. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26945371/  
  2. Liu JC, Hsu YP, Kao PF, et al. Influenza vaccination reduces dementia risk in chronic kidney disease patients: A population-based cohort study. Medicine (Baltimore) 2016 95 :32868. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26945371/
  3. Wiemken TL, Salas J, Hoft DF, et al. Dementia risk following influenza vaccination in a large veteran cohort. Vaccine 2021;39:5524-5531. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34420785/
  4. Veronese N, Demurtas J, Smith L, et al. Influenza vaccination reduces dementia risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Ageing Res Rev 2022;73:101534. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34861456/
  5. Godoy P, Romero A, Soldevila N, et al. Influenza vaccine effectiveness in reducing severe outcomes over six influenza seasons, a case-cae analysis, Spain, 2010/11 to 2015/16.  Euro Surveill 2018;23:1700732. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6208006/
  6. Hosseini S, Michaelsen-Preusse K, Schughart K, et al. Long-term consequences of non-neurotropic H3N2 influenza A virus infection for the progression of Alzheimer’s Disease symptoms. Front. Cell. Neurosci 28 April 2021; https://doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2021.643650 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fncel.2021.643650/full

Disclosures: The listed questions and answers are solely the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official views of Mercy Hospital-St. Louis, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Catalyst, Harvard University, their affiliate academic healthcare centers, or its contributors. Although every effort has been made to provide accurate information, the author is far from being perfect. The reader is urged to verify the content of the material with other sources as deemed appropriate and exercise clinical judgment in the interpretation and application of the information provided herein. No responsibility for an adverse outcome or guarantees for a favorable clinical result is assumed by the author. Thank you!

 

What’s the connection between flu vaccination and lower risk of Alzheimer’s Disease?

Should I routinely screen my patients with heart failure for iron deficiency?

FA Manian MD, MPH, , , , , , , Leave a comment

Even in the absence of anemia, screening for iron deficiency (ID) has been recommended in patients with heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) by some European and Australia-New Zealand cardiology societies. 1

In contrast, the 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association/Heart Failure Society of America guidelines do not mention routine screening for ID in such patients but instead state (under “Anemia”) that in patients with NYHA class II and III HF and ID (ferritin < 100 ng/mL or 100 to 300 ng/mL plus transferrin saturation <20%), IV iron replacement “might be reasonable” to improve functional status and quality of life (IIb-weak recommendation).2

As these guidelines are primarily based on data derived from patients with HFrEF, whether patients with HF with preserved (eg, >45%) ejection fraction (HFpEF) should undergo routine screening for ID is even less clear due to conflicting data based on limited small studies 3,4

What is known is that up to 50% or more of patients with HF with or without anemia may have ID. 5 Although most studies involving ID and HF have involved patients with HFrEF, similarly high prevalence of ID in HFpEF has been reported. 6,7

A 2016 meta-analysis involving patients with HFrEF and ID found that IV iron therapy alleviates HF symptoms and improves outcomes, exercise capacity and quality of life irrespective of concomitant anemia; all-cause and cardiovascular mortality rates were not significantly impacted, however.8  

Fortunately, larger trials in the setting of acute and chronic systolic HF are underway (Affirm-AHF, 9 IRONMAN 10).  Stay tuned!

Bonus Pearl: Did you know that iron deficiency directly affects human cardiomyocyte function by impairing mitochondrial respiration  and reducing its contractility and relaxation?11

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References

  1. Silverberg DS, Wexler D, Schwartz D. Is correction of iron deficiency a new addition to the treatment of the heart failure? Int J Mol Sci 2015;16:14056-74. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4490538/
  2. Yancy CW, Jessup M, Bozkurt B, et al. 2017 ACC/AHA/HFSA focused update of the 2013 ACCF/AHA guideline for the management of heart failure. Circulation 2017;136:e137-e161. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000509
  3. Kasner M, Aleksandrov AS, Westermann D, et al. Functional iron deficiency and diastolic function in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. International J of Cardiol 2013;168:12:4652-57. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23968714
  4. Enjuanes C, Klip IT, Bruguera J, et al. Iron deficiency and health-related quality of life in chronic heart failure: results from a multicenter European study. Int J Cardiol 2014;174:268-275. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24768464
  5. Drodz M, Jankowska EA, Banasiak W, et al. Iron therapy in patients with heart failure and iron deficiency: review of iron preparations for practitioners. Am J Cardiovasc Drugs 2017;17:183-201. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28039585
  6. Bekfani T, Pellicori P, Morris D, et al. Iron deficiency in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and its association with reduced exercise capacity, muscle strength and quality of life. Clin Res Cardiol 2018, July 26. Doi: 10. 1007/s00392-018-1344-x. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30051186
  7. Nunez J, Dominguez E, Ramon JM, et al. Iron deficiency and functional capacity in patients with advanced heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. International J Cardiol 2016;207:365-67. https://www.internationaljournalofcardiology.com/article/S0167-5273(16)30185-1/abstract
  8. Jankowska EA, Tkaczynszyn M, Suchocki T, et al. Effects of intravenous iron therapy in iron-deficient patients with systolic heart failure: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Eur J Heart Failure 2016;18:786-95. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26821594
  9. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02937454
  10. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02642562
  11. Hoes MF, Beverborg NG, Kijlstra JD, et al. Iron deficiency impairs contractility of human cardiomyoctyes through decreased mitochondrial function. Eur J Heart Failure 2018;20:910-19. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29484788  

 

Should I routinely screen my patients with heart failure for iron deficiency?

Should Aerococcus urinae growth from the urine of my elderly patient be considered a pathogen?

FA Manian MD, MPH, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Although for many years Aerococcus urinae was considered a urinary contaminant, increasingly it is recognized as an emerging pathogen capable of causing not only urinary tract infection (UTI) but also secondary bacteremia and endocarditis, among others.1   

The proportion of patients with aerococcal bacteriuria with symptoms suggestive of UTI ranges from 55-98%.1 So A. urinae can no longer be assumed to be a contaminant, particularly in the presence of symptoms suggestive of UTI.

A. urinae UTI often affects the elderly (median age 79 y) and those with pre-existing urinary tract pathologies, such as prostatic hyperplasia, urethral stricture, renal calculi, and prior urinary tract surgery.2,3 Many patients also have underlying comorbidities such as diabetes, heart disease, dementia, and chronic renal failure.3

One clue to the presence of A. urinae in the urine is its particularly pungent odor reminiscent of that of patients with trimethylaminuria (fish odor syndrome).4

Once you decide you should treat A. urinae, keep in mind that it is NOT predictably susceptible to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, fluoroquinolones, or fosfomycin!  Instead, consider penicillin, ampicillin, cephalosporin, or nitrofurantoin to which most strains are susceptible.5,6.

 

References

  1. Rasmussen M. Aerococcus: an increasingly acknowledged human pathogen. Clin Microbiol Infect 2016;22:22-27. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26454061
  2. Tathireddy H, Settypalli S, Farrell JJ. A rare case of aerococcus urinae infective endocarditis. J Community Hosp Intern Med Perspectives 2017; 7:126-129. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5473194/
  3. Higgins A, Garg T. Aerococcus urinae: An emerging cause of urinary tract infection in older adults with multimordidity and urologic cancer. Urology Case Reports 2017;24-25. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28435789
  4. Lenherr N, Berndt A, Ritz N, et al. Aerococcus urinae: a possible reason for malodorus urine in otherwise healthy children. Eur J Pediatr. 2014;173:1115-7 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24913181
  5. Christensen JJ, Nielsen XC. Aerococcus urinae. Antimicrobe @ http://www.antimicrobe.orgb75.asp , accessed June 14, 2018.
  6. Dimitriadi D, Charitidou C, Pittaras T, et al. A case of urinary tract infection caused by Aerococcus urinae. J Bacteriol Mycol 2016; 2: 00041. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/a1cf/048d8444ce054ca9a332f7c2b4a218325ff6.pdf

 

Should Aerococcus urinae growth from the urine of my elderly patient be considered a pathogen?