Moderation is best!

Coffee, with over 22 billion pounds consumed annually, is without a doubt one of the most popular drinks worldwide. (1) Many of us wake up each morning and seek energy from this bitter bean as it provides a high source of caffeine. Coffee is low in calories, high in potassium, and very high in antioxidants. Is this a super drink? Perhaps a miracle elixir? Research indicates that there are key advantages and disadvantages for those who consume this brewed beverage.

Coffee’s appeal comes from the popular psychoactive stimulant caffeine, which works by antagonizing the A1 and A2A receptors in the brain.(2) This causes stimulation of the central nervous system and ultimately leads to a boost of energy.

In a study led by Ricardo Magalhaes et al, researchers examined human brain networks using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on volunteers who consumed or did not consume coffee. After examining the neural networks of the volunteers, the researchers’ data showed decreased functional connectivity of the cerebellar, subcortical and motor cortex regions of the brain. A decreased functional connectivity demonstrated a higher overall efficiency due to a reduced inter-regional dependence. (2)

Not all data supports the health benefits of habitual coffee drinking. A study conducted by the University of South Australia demonstrated a connection between overconsumption (more than six cups per day) of coffee and increased probability of developing dementia. Researchers gathered 398,646 participants between the ages of 37-73 and grouped them by their coffee consumption frequency. Pre-existing medical conditions were screened via a background check and MRI of the brain. An MRI was repeated 4-6 years after the initial assessment in order to evaluate brain volume changes. After covariate adjustment, the data showed that people who consumed greater than six cups of coffee per day demonstrated a reduction in brain volume, a 53% increased probability of developing dementia, and a 0-37% increased association of stroke compared to participants that consumed 1-2 cups per day. (3)

Based on these studies, the evidence suggests coffee can have both positive and negative effects. Light to moderate consumption (1-5 cups) provides acceptable stimulation to the body. Low-dose caffeine usage displays a lower functional connectivity in segregated brain regions and an overall increase in efficiency.(2) New data, however, suggests a correlation between heavy consumption (more than 6 cups per day) and shrinkage of the brain with increased probability of dementia and strokes. (3) The main takeaway here is that moderation is key for anything and further data may provide definitive causal analysis on this popular morning beverage.

By Miles Amby

Research Microbiologist, Hardy Diagnostics

References: 1, 2, 3

A deadly form of yeast

A new 2022 special report from the CDC is sounding the alarm that antimicrobial resistance to some of the most concerning bacteria and fungi significantly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic (1) One such highly drug resistant yeast noted in the report is Candida auris that shows clinical cases rose more than 60% in 2020 compared to 2019. Acute care hospitals saw more outbreaks of C. auris in 2020 than previous years, especially in COVID-19 units. Post-acute care facilities were heavily impacted by C. auris during the pandemic. Since 2018, when reporting began, there have been 4,616 cases of which about half were fatal.(4) The CDC attributes the rise in C. auris cases during the height of the pandemic to the result of staffing and supply shortages, the increased number of seriously ill patients, and changes in infection prevention and control practices. Hardy Diagnostics HardyCHROM™ Candida + auris chromogenic agar plate allows laboratories to easily identify C. auris with a color read out of teal to teal-green colonies with a distinct “bullseye” and shows a unique fluorogenic reaction under UV light. This medium will also identify C. tropicalis, C. glabrata, C. albicans, and C. krusei. UC Irvine presented a scientific poster at ASM Microbe. We invite you to view the poster here.  More information is here.

References: 1, 2, 3, 4

Saving lives during WWII

Howard Walter Florey was a famed pathologist and pharmacologist from Australia known for being one of the first researchers to manufacture penicillin. Before his success with penicillin, Florey was on the hunt for a naturally occurring antibacterial substance. While studying tissue inflammation and secretions of the mucous membrane, Florey successfully purified lysozyme. After reading Alexander Fleming’s paper on the Penicillium mold and how it inhibited bacteria, Florey, along with several colleagues, revived the research and were able to produce their own drug. At this time, gallons of broth were required to manufacture enough penicillin to cover a fingernail.(5) Florey would later share the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Alexander Fleming and Ernst Chain for their development of penicillin. It’s estimated that the actions of the Nobel Prize laureates’ saved upwards of 200 million lives.(1)

As an early test, Florey and his colleagues injected eight mice with a virulent strain of Streptococcus. Four of the infected mice were injected with penicillin while the other four were used as a control with no treatment. The next morning, all of the mice treated with penicillin were alive, while the control mice had died.(6) This gave Florey the confidence to test the drug on humans, starting with a young patient suffering from terminal cancer. While the initial results were disheartening, it was determined that an adverse reaction of fever and trembling was caused by impurities within the drug, and not by the drug itself.

After penicillin had passed the initial phases of development, Florey moved on to curing the first patient. Police constable Albert Alexander was injured during World War II and was suffering from an infection of both Staphylococcus and Streptococcus.(3,4) Alexander was given an initial infusion of penicillin and within 24 hours his fever had been reduced, his appetite was restored, and his infection began to heal. Alexander’s reaction was promising, but his recovery was limited by penicillin production. After the fifth day, despite recycling the penicillin from Alexander’s urine, the drug had run out. Due to war-time restrictions on Florey’s laboratory, scientists were unable to produce more and Alexander relapsed and died.(1) Florey would later focus on treating children due to the lower volume of drug required to treat smaller bodies.

During World War II, penicillin production became of the utmost importance due to the high death rate of soldiers from infection. At one point, the British-American effort to mass-produce penicillin involved thousands of people from university departments, government agencies, pharmaceutical companies, and research foundations. In response to the finicky nature of Penicillium, Pfizer executive, John Smith, said, “The mold is as temperamental as an opera singer, the yields are low, the isolation murder, the purification invites disaster.”(1) The drug was so scarce that the urine from patients who had been injected was recovered, the penicillin extracted, and then re-injected to other soldiers in need. Thanks to the focused efforts to produce larger quantities of penicillin and the lifting of wartime restrictions, the drug was available to the American public by 1945. Nearly 80 years later, penicillin is still used for ailments such as throat infections and meningitis, though the drug has seen significant reduction in applications due to the ongoing development of antibiotic resistance. Despite this, no life remains untouched by Florey, Alexander, and Chain’s invaluable contributions to microbiology and humanity in general.

By Alexandra Lopez

HARDY DIAGNOSTICS

Works Cited: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

The photo below is from a pharmacist magazine published in June of 1944, about one year before the war ended in Europe. Penicillin was being rationed by the government with most of the precious doses going to soldiers overseas.