(Press-News.org) Bethesda, MD (April 22, 2015) -- The May issues of AGA's journals -- Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Gastroenterology -- highlight important research updates on the most deadly forms of liver disease. Here's what you need to know:
Researchers confirm that NAFLD worsens heart disease.
One specific cardiovascular disease risk factor -- psychological distress -- is linked to death from liver disease in a large, general population sample.
Improvements in cirrhosis care have contributed to a 41 percent decrease in inpatient mortality.
For access to any of these studies, or to speak with the study authors, please contact media@gastro.org or call 301-272-1603.
NAFLD Worsens Cardiovascular Disease
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death both in the general population and in patients with NAFLD. A new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology1 confirms that NAFLD is responsible for worsening of the cardiovascular risk factor profile, even in the absence of diabetes. This finding is based on a case-control study, which found that NAFLD causes increased serum levels of laboratory markers of cardiovascular risk. This information is important to better define the "at-risk" population, allowing for personalized management approaches in such individuals.
Psychological Distress Linked to Liver Disease Mortality
A novel new study in Gastroenterology2 finds that psychological distress, which includes symptoms of anxiety and depression, is linked to subsequent liver disease mortality. This large, general population sample was the first study of its kind, and while this study is not able to confirm direct cause and effect, it does provide evidence that requires further consideration in future studies.
Decrease in In-Patient Cirrhosis Deaths
In some positive news, researchers report in Gastroenterology3 that, in the U.S., inpatient mortality for cirrhosis patients has decreased steadily from 2002 through 2010, despite increasing age and medical complexity. Based on this representative sample of U.S. hospitalized patients with cirrhosis, the absolute rate of dying in the hospital fell steadily by 41 percent from 9.1 percent in 2002 to 5.4 percent in 2010. The decline in mortality for cirrhosis patients was significantly larger compared to non-cirrhotic patients, suggesting that the improvement in cirrhosis survival may be due to better cirrhosis-specific care that extends beyond general improvements in inpatient care. This is welcomed news considering that cirrhosis is the eighth leading cause of death in the U.S., which often requires hospitalizations due to severe complications.
INFORMATION:
1 Siddiqui, M. Shadab, et al., Severity of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Progression to Cirrhosis Are Associate With Atherogenic Lipoprotein Profile, Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 13(5): 1000-1008.e3, http://www.cghjournal.org/article/S1542-3565(14)01467-0/abstract
2 Russ, Tom C., et al., Association Between Psychological Distress and Liver Disease Mortality: a Meta-analysis
of Individual Study Participants, Gastroenterology, 148(5): 958-966.e4, http://www.gastrojournal.org/article/S0016-5085(15)00195-X/abstract
3 Schmidt, Monica, et al., Decreasing Mortality Among Patients Hospitalized with Cirrhosis in the United States From 2002 through 2010, Gastroenterology, 148(5): 967-977.e2, http://www.gastrojournal.org/article/S0016-5085(15)00117-1/abstract
About the AGA Institute
The American Gastroenterological Association is the trusted voice of the GI community. Founded in 1897, the AGA has grown to include more than 16,000 members from around the globe who are involved in all aspects of the science, practice and advancement of gastroenterology. The AGA Institute administers the practice, research and educational programs of the organization. http://www.gastro.org.
About Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology
The mission of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology is to provide readers with a broad spectrum of themes in clinical gastroenterology and hepatology. This monthly peer-reviewed journal includes original articles as well as scholarly reviews, with the goal that all articles published will be immediately relevant to the practice of gastroenterology and hepatology. For more information, visit http://www.cghjournal.org.
About Gastroenterology
Gastroenterology, the official journal of the AGA Institute, is the most prominent scientific journal in the specialty and is in the top 1 percent of indexed medical journals internationally. The journal publishes clinical and basic science studies of all aspects of the digestive system, including the liver and pancreas, as well as nutrition. The journal is abstracted and indexed in Biological Abstracts, Current Awareness in Biological Sciences, Chemical Abstracts, Current Contents, Excerpta Medica, Index Medicus, Nutrition Abstracts and Science Citation Index. For more information, visit http://www.gastrojournal.org.
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Researchers from North Carolina State University have discovered that electron spin brings a previously unknown degree of order to the high entropy alloy nickel iron chromium cobalt (NiFeCrCo) - and may play a role in giving the alloy its desirable properties.
"High entropy alloys have garnered a lot of attention over the past 10 years because they have remarkable properties," says Doug Irving, an associate professor of materials science and engineering at NC State and corresponding author of a paper describing the work. High entropy alloys are materials that consist ...
COLUMBUS, Ohio--An international research team is bringing a new weapon to bear against invasive earthworms.
The ongoing research project at The Ohio State University, the University of Alberta and Simon Fraser University uses statistical analysis to forecast one worm species' spread, in hopes of finding ways to curtail it.
Most recently, they've focused on the boreal forest of northern Alberta. No native worms live in the forest whatsoever; the region had been worm-free since the last ice age 11,000 years ago, until invasive European species began working their way ...
Alternative variations from popular artists' videos may reach an audience of millions, shows the new study from Finland's Aalto University.
Music is the most popular YouTube content by several measures, including video views and search activity. The world's first academic study on YouTube music consumption by Aalto University in Finland shows that one reason for its popularity lies in users' own video. People re-use original music by popular artists to create their own alternative video variations, which may reach an audience of millions and can be found alongside any ...
TORONTO, April 22, 2015--In a study to ascertain whether breast arterial calcification (BAC) detected with digital mammography correlates to chest CT findings of coronary artery calcification (CAC), researchers have discovered a striking relationship between the two factors. In 76% of the study cohort, women who had a BAC score of 0 also had a CAC score of 0. As the BAC score increases, there is a concomitant increase in the CAC score.
The findings indicate that the presence of BAC could play a significant role in identifying women who may benefit from coronary artery ...
The exoplanet 51 Pegasi b [1] lies some 50 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Pegasus. It was discovered in 1995 and will forever be remembered as the first confirmed exoplanet to be found orbiting an ordinary star like the Sun [2]. It is also regarded as the archetypal hot Jupiter -- a class of planets now known to be relatively commonplace, which are similar in size and mass to Jupiter, but orbit much closer to their parent stars.
Since that landmark discovery, more than 1900 exoplanets in 1200 planetary systems have been confirmed, but, in the year of the ...
People waiting for organ transplants may soon have higher hopes of getting the help that they need in time. Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology have developed a new technique that extends the time that donor organs last and can also resuscitate organs obtained after cardiac arrest. The work published in Scientific Reports details a procedure that cools organs down to 22 °C (71.6 °F) and slows down organ function while still supplying oxygen, resulting in more successful transplants than the current standard methods. Team leader Takashi Tsuji ...
Real or counterfeit? Northwestern University scientists have invented sophisticated fluorescent inks that one day could be used as multicolored barcodes for consumers to authenticate products that are often counterfeited. Snap a photo with your smartphone, and it will tell you if the item is real and worth your money.
Counterfeiting is very big business worldwide, with $650 billion per year lost globally, according to the International Chamber of Commerce. The new fluorescent inks give manufacturers and consumers an authentication tool that would be very difficult for ...
Overall, an estimated 211,514 people attended Emergency Departments (EDs), Minor Injury Units (MIUs) and Walk-in Centres in England and Wales for treatment following violence in 2014 - 22,995 fewer than in 2013.
Serious violence affecting all age groups decreased in 2014 compared to 2013. Most notably, recorded acts of violence against children (0-10 year olds) and adolescents (11-17 year olds) were marked by an 18% decline.
The data was gathered from a scientific sample of 117 EDs, MIUs and Walk-in Centres in England and Wales. All are certified members of the National ...
Research suggests health and social care professionals put a different emphasis on the meaning of dignity than their patients do.
Although the UK has well-established local and national policies that champion the need to provide dignified care, breaches in dignity are still a problem with the NHS - and the study by Brunel University London has uncovered a potential gap between what patients expect and the focus of care professionals.
When asked what dignified care meant to them, health care professionals referred to 'what dignity is', often as a conceptual idea, ...
SALT LAKE CITY, April 22, 2015 - Using statistics that describe how an infectious disease spreads, a University of Utah anthropologist analyzed different theories of how people first settled islands of the vast Pacific between 3,500 and 900 years ago. Adrian Bell found the two most likely strategies were to travel mostly against prevailing winds and seek easily seen islands, not necessarily the nearest islands.
The study - published in this month's issue of the journal American Antiquity - suggests early Pacific seafarers "weren't just drifting around," says Bell, the ...
