News & Comment

Bayisenge et al. describe teaching One Health approaches to medical students at the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda. Wider implementation of this approach should enable a better response to the health challenges of our changing planet.

Dastidar et al. discuss how recent policy measures, and favourable technological and infrastructural landscapes are bolstering India’s ability to implement virtual care. These developments were accelerated by the need for an alternative model of care during the COVID-19 lockdowns and may provide a bridge to Universal Healthcare in India.

To highlight and support research in the important area of child health, the editors at Communications Medicine and Nature Communications invite submissions to a collection of papers on this subject.

We are celebrating a year since Communications Medicine published its first articles. Here, we reflect on how far the journal has come, and share the goals that we will work towards in coming years.

Dr. Daniel Demant is an Epidemiologist and Senior Lecturer in Public Health at the University of Technology Sydney and a Visiting Fellow in the School of Public Health and Social Work at the Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. His research focuses on health in disadvantaged populations and he has a particular interest in sexual health and substance use in LGBTQ+ populations. In this Q&A, we ask Dr. Demant a series of questions on disparities in substance use in LGBTQ+ people, the potential reasons underlying such disparities and harms associated with them, and the direction of research in this area.

Dr. Jessica N. Fish is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Science, University of Maryland Prevention Research Center, University of Maryland, USA. Her research seeks to promote the positive development and health of LGBTQ+ people and their families. In this Q&A, Dr. Fish provides insight into the health disparities that affect LGBTQ+ populations, with a particular focus on mental health and the development of LGBTQ+ youth, and important research and policy considerations in this area.

Hu et al. describe their experiences running a training course for medical students about applying artificial intelligence to medical practice. They also provide recommendations for future training programs.

Sinaki et al. highlight ethnic disparities in the populations of 12 publicly-available pulse oximetry databases. The authors outline the potential consequences of such disparities on pulse oximetry device and algorithm development.

Wen et al. discuss how implementing a 5G network in hospitals can be used to reduce nosocomial infections. Such systems can reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Listening to the different communities that we serve, and promoting dialogue between them, are important goals for us as a journal. To further these aims, Communications Medicine is now publishing a new article type that will help us capture and amplify the voices of all those involved in clinical, translational and public health research, and allow them to more easily hear each other’s point of view.

Most clinical trials to determine optimal tuberculosis (TB) treatment regimens have been carried out in adults. A recent randomised control clinical trial published in The New England Journal of Medicine compared the response in children following 4 or 6 months of standard first-line anti-TB treatment and found it to be similar.

A number of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell-based therapies are now approved by the FDA for the treatment of cancer. A study published in Nature found that CAR T cells are still present in two patients who remain cancer-free over a decade after they received CAR T cell therapy as part of a clinical trial.

Space flight takes its toll on the human body. A recent study in Nature Medicine sought to characterise the physiological mechanisms through which anaemia arises in astronauts on long-duration space flight.

The causes of multiple sclerosis are unclear, but viral infection has been proposed as a possible trigger. A longitudinal analysis in a large cohort published in Science found that the risk of multiple sclerosis increased 32-fold following infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).

van Dijk et al. discuss the potential for antimicrobial resistance as a consequence of disinfectant use. The authors advocate for the prudent use of disinfectants in all sectors of society.

Drugs can modify the microbiome and, reciprocally, the microbiome can impact drug efficacy. A recent study in Nature identifies a potential mechanism through which oral and gut bacteria selectively inhibit the antidiabetic drug acarbose.

High ambient temperatures are associated with adverse health effects and increased death. A recent article published in The BMJ found an association between extreme heat and an increase in the number of visits to the emergency department by adults in the USA.