Reused pacemakers are good as new; Kratom still readily available; NIH AI matches volunteers to clinical trials – Morning Medical Update

X-ray image of a pacemaker implant © Choo - stock.adobe.com

Reconditioned pacemakers work just as well as new ones

A randomized trial compared previously used to brand new pacemakers after 90 days and found that the reconditioned devices were equally as safe and effective as the new models, which could offer affordable options for patients in low- and middle-income countries. Although reuse of pacemakers is prohibited in the U.S., the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows re-sterilized devices to be exported for reuse.

“Access to pacemakers is limited in many low- and middle-income countries due to the relatively high cost of the devices,” Thomas Crawford, MD, lead author of the study, said in an organizational release. “In some high-income countries, as many as 1,000 per million population may receive a pacemaker annually. In low-income countries, it could be 3 per million population or fewer who get pacemakers each year.”

Kratom still readily available in tobacco and vape stores across the U.S.

Kratom leaves have been used as a stimulant and for pain management for centuries. Older doesn’t mean better, though. The substance has been connected to liver toxicity, seizures and death. Despite that, nearly 75% of tobacco and vape stores in the U.S. still sell Kratom, and more than two million Americans use the substance, annually, according to a new study from the University of Mississippi.

“Kratom products are marketed or advertised as having various benefits from use, from therapeutic benefits to being stimulants or depressants, to pain relieving, to even being a substitute for opioids,” Matthew Rossheim, associate professor and lead researcher on the study, said in a university release. “Because of the lack of scientific evidence, those are potentially deceptive claims.”

NIH-developed AI matches volunteers to clinical trials

Researchers from the National Institute of Health (NIH) have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm to save clinicians time and speed up the process of matching volunteers to clinical research trials. The AI algorithm, called “TrialGPT,” was determined to be able to identify relevant clinical trials for which a volunteer is eligible, in addition to providing a summary that explains how the volunteer matches the criteria. “This study shows we can responsibly leverage AI technology so physicians can connect their patients to a relevant clinical trial that may be of interest to them with even more speed and efficiency,” Stephen Sherry, PhD, NIH National Library of Medicine (NLM) director, said in an organizational release.