PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Low diastolic blood pressure may be associated with brain atrophy

2013-06-11
(Press-News.org) Low baseline diastolic blood pressure (DBP) appears to be associated with brain atrophy in patients with arterial disease, whenever declining levels of blood pressure (BP) over time among patients who had a higher baseline BP were associated with less progression of atrophy, according to a report published Online First by JAMA Neurology, a JAMA Network publication.

"Studies have shown that both high and low blood pressure (BP) may play a role in the etiology of brain atrophy. High BP in midlife has been associated with more brain atrophy later in life, whereas studies in older populations have shown a relation between low BP and more brain atrophy. Yet, prospective evidence is limited, and the relation remains unclear in patients with manifest arterial disease," according to the study.

Hadassa M. Jochemsen, M.D., of University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands, and colleagues examined the association of baseline BP and change in BP over time with the progression of brain atrophy in 663 patients (average age 57 years; 81 percent male). The patients had coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral artery disease or abdominal aortic aneurysm.

According to the results, patients with lower baseline DBP or mean arterial pressure (MAP) had more progression of subcortical (the area beneath the cortex of the brain) atrophy. In patients with higher BP (DBP, MAP or systolic BP), those with declining BP levels over time had less progression of subcortical atrophy compared with those with rising BP levels.

"This could imply that BP lowering is beneficial in patients with higher BP levels, but one should be cautious with further BP lowering in patients who already have low BP," the study authors conclude. ### (JAMA Neurol. Published online June 10, 2013. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2013.217. Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com.)

Editor's Note: This study was supported by Internationale Stichting Alzheimer Onderzoek and Alzheimer Nederland. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Genetic research clarifies link between hypertension and vitamin D deficiency

2013-06-11
Paris, France: Low levels of vitamin D can trigger hypertension, according to the world's largest study to examine the causal association between the two. Although observational studies have already shown this link, a large-scale genetic study was necessary before the cause and effect could be proven, the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG) will hear today (Tuesday). Dr. Vimal Karani S, from the Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK, will tell the meeting that data from the D-CarDia collaboration, involving 35 ...

UMD scientists publish key findings on regional, global impact of trade on the environment

2013-06-11
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- In the wake of concerns over climate change and other emergent environmental issues, both individuals and governments are examining the impact of consumer and producer behavior and policies. In two new studies, three researchers from the University of Maryland's Department of Geographical Sciences publish groundbreaking findings on the environmental impact of globalization, production and trade at both regional and international scales, and anticipate that their research will inform key environmental policies and consumer and corporate attitudes in ...

Medicare beneficiaries substantially more likely to use brand-name drugs than VA patients

2013-06-11
PITTSBURGH, June 10, 2013 – Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes are two to three times more likely to use expensive brand-name drugs than a comparable group of patients treated within the VA Healthcare System, according to a nationwide study by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System and Dartmouth College. Spending in Medicare Part D would have been an estimated $1.4 billion less in 2008 if brand-name and generic drug use matched that of the VA for the medications studied. The report, the first large-scale comparison of prescription ...

Unfrozen mystery: H2O reveals a new secret

2013-06-11
Washington, D.C.—Using revolutionary new techniques, a team led by Carnegie's Malcolm Guthrie has made a striking discovery about how ice behaves under pressure, changing ideas that date back almost 50 years. Their findings could alter our understanding of how the water molecule responds to conditions found deep within planets and could have implications for energy science. Their work is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. When water freezes into ice, its molecules are bound together in a crystalline lattice held together by hydrogen bonds. ...

Men with prostate cancer should eat healthy vegetable fats

2013-06-11
Men with prostate cancer may significantly improve their survival chances with a simple change in their diet, a new study led by UC San Francisco has found. By substituting healthy vegetable fats – such as olive and canola oils, nuts, seeds and avocados – for animal fats and carbohydrates, men with the disease had a markedly lower risk of developing lethal prostate cancer and dying from other causes, according to the study. The research, involving nearly 4,600 men with non-metastatic prostate cancer, could help with the development of dietary guidelines for men with ...

To germinate, or not to germinate, that is the question…

2013-06-11
Scientists at the University of York have uncovered new insights into the way seeds use gene networks to control when they germinate in response to environmental signals. Timing of seed germination is crucial for survival of plants in the wild and is also important for commercial seed production where there is a need to ensure uniform growth. A cold environment can signal an imminent winter so the mother plant produces dormant seeds that will not grow until the following spring. A warmer environment can signal an early summer with the mother plant producing seeds that ...

Reputation can trump money

2013-06-11
Whether it's an effort to increase recycling rates, reduce energy usage or cut carbon emissions, the conventional wisdom says that the best way to get people to do the right thing is to make it worth their while with cold, hard cash. But Harvard researchers say there may be an easier, cheaper way – by appealing to people's reputation, not their wallets. Using enrollment of thousands of people in a California blackout prevention program as an experimental test bed, a team of researchers that included Erez Yoeli, a researcher at the Federal Trade Commission, Moshe Hoffman, ...

Shape of nanoparticles points the way toward more targeted drugs

2013-06-11
LA JOLLA, Calif., June 10, 2013 — Conventional treatments for diseases such as cancer can carry harmful side effects—and the primary reason is that such treatments are not targeted specifically to the cells of the body where they're needed. What if drugs for cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other diseases can be targeted specifically and only to cells that need the medicine, and leave normal tissues untouched? A new study involving Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute's Erkki Ruoslahti, M.D., Ph.D., contributing to work by Samir Mitragotri, Ph.D., at the University ...

Brain circuits link obsessive-compulsive behavior and obesity

2013-06-11
What started as an experiment to probe brain circuits involved in compulsive behavior has revealed a surprising connection with obesity. The University of Iowa-led researchers bred mice missing a gene known to cause obesity, and suspected to also be involved in compulsive behavior, with a genetic mouse model of compulsive grooming. The unexpected result was offspring that were neither compulsive groomers nor obese. The study, published the week of June 10 in the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), suggests that the ...

Epigenetic factor likely plays a key role in fueling most common childhood cancer

2013-06-11
(Memphis, Tenn. – June 10, 2013) Changes in an epigenetic mechanism that turns expression of genes on and off may be as important as genetic alterations in causing pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), according to a study led by scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and published in the June 10 online edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The results suggest the mechanism called cytosine methylation plays a previously under-appreciated role in the development of leukemia. Cytosine methylation involves adding or removing methyl groups ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

New strategies to enhance chiral optical signals unveiled

Cambridge research uncovers powerful virtual reality treatment for speech anxiety

2025 Gut Microbiota for Health World Summit to spotlight groundbreaking research

International survey finds that support for climate interventions is tied to being hopeful and worried about climate change

Cambridge scientist launches free VR platform that eliminates the fear of public speaking

Open-Source AI matches top proprietary model in solving tough medical cases

Good fences make good neighbors (with carnivores)

NRG Oncology trial supports radiotherapy alone following radical hysterectomy should remain the standard of care for early-stage, intermediate-risk cervical cancer

Introducing our new cohort of AGA Future Leaders

Sharks are dying at alarming rates, mostly due to fishing. Retention bans may help

Engineering excellence: Engineers with ONR ties elected to renowned scientific academy

New CRISPR-based diagnostic test detects pathogens in blood without amplification

Immunotherapy may boost KRAS-targeted therapy in pancreatic cancer

Growing solar: Optimizing agrivoltaic systems for crops and clean energy

Scientists discover how to reactivate cancer’s molecular “kill switch”

YouTube influencers: gaming’s best friend or worst enemy?

uOttawa scientists use light to unlock secret of atoms

NJIT mathematician to help map Earth's last frontier with Navy grant

NASA atmospheric wave-studying mission releases data from first 3,000 orbits

‘Microlightning’ in water droplets may have sparked life on Earth

Smoke from wildland-urban interface fires more deadly than remote wildfires

What’s your body really worth? New AI model reveals your true biological age from 5 drops of blood

Protein accidentally lassos itself, helping explain unusual refolding behavior

With bird flu in raw milk, many in U.S. still do not know risks of consuming it

University of Minnesota research team awarded $3.8 million grant to develop cell therapy to combat Alzheimer’s disease

UConn uncovers new clue on what is leading to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and ALS

Resuscitation in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest – it’s how quickly it is done, rather than who does it

A closer look at biomolecular ‘silly putty’

Oxytocin system of breastfeeding affected in mothers with postnatal depression

Liquid metal-enabled synergetic cooling and charging: a leap forward for electric vehicles

[Press-News.org] Low diastolic blood pressure may be associated with brain atrophy