Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease shown to affect the development of coronary artery calcification

Impact of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is worse for those without existing calcification of arteries

2015-04-23

(Press-News.org) April 23, 2015, Vienna, Austria: Data revealed today at The International Liver CongressTM 2015 show that non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) plays a role in the early stages of coronary atherosclerosis and in its more severe form it can also promote the development of coronary artery calcification (CAC).

Findings showed that the impact of NAFLD varies significantly depending on the severity of CAC at baseline. In those without CAC, NAFLD significantly affected the development of atherosclerosis; however, in patients with existing CAC at baseline NAFLD did not affect progression of the disease.

A total of 1,732 patients were included in the study: Out of 1,732 patients who underwent serial CAC score evaluation, 847 patients had NAFLD and 885 patients did not have NAFLD. The baseline CAC score was higher in those with NAFLD and a greater number of these patients displayed progression (48.8% vs. 38.4%, p END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

BPA risk to newborns may be smaller than previously believed

2015-04-23

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers say that while a large majority of newborns are exposed in their earliest days to bisphenol A (BPA), a much-studied chemical used in plastics and in food and soda can linings, they can chemically alter and rid their bodies of it. The findings, published April 23 in The Journal of Pediatrics, challenge the current thinking on BPA toxicology. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that more than 92 percent of Americans ages six and older have BPA in their bodies, most likely through the consumption ...

Rising antibiotic shortages raise concerns about patient care

2015-04-23

Shortages of key antibiotics, including gold-standard therapies and drugs used to treat highly resistant infections, are on the rise, according to a new study of shortages from 2001 to 2013 published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and available online. The trends raise serious concerns about the effects on patient care, particularly for infections without effective alternative treatment options. "We found a tremendous number of drugs that are used to treat life threatening infections that just were not available," said study author Larissa May, MD, of George Washington ...

'Exciting discovery' could aid frontline spinal injury treatment

2015-04-23

Rapid treatment with a new anti-inflammatory could have a major impact on recovery from spinal cord injury, University of Queensland researchers have found. UQ School of Biomedical Sciences' Dr Marc Ruitenberg and PhD student Ms Faith Brennan said they made the discovery during laboratory trials with an experimental drug. Ms Brennan said that excessive inflammation caused additional damage in spinal cord injuries and hindered recovery. "We found that a molecule called C5aR exacerbates inflammation and tissue damage after spinal cord injury," she said. "Our study ...

Researchers discover never-before-seen tick-borne disease

2015-04-22

Tick-borne diseases are a major public health problem around the world. Ticks carry and transmit a variety of microbes that cause disease. These illnesses, which include Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and Tularemia, can cause a variety of symptoms, often serious and sometimes deadly. Now, just in time for spring and the explosion of ticks in forests, lawns and trails, a new study by researchers from China and the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM) has uncovered a never-before-seen illness transmitted by ticks. It's possible that the disease ...

Stem cells that prevent birth defect also repair facial injury

2015-04-22

Researchers have pinpointed a primary cause of a rare skull disorder in infants, and the discovery could help wounded soldiers, car-wreck victims and other patients recover from disfiguring facial injuries. "This has a lot more implication than what we initially thought," said Yang Chai, a lead researcher on the study at the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC. "We can take advantage of these stem cells not only to repair a birth defect, but to provide facial regeneration for veterans or other people who have suffered traumatic injury." Chai predicted such treatment ...

More Americans at risk from strong earthquakes, says new report

2015-04-22

SAN FRANCISCO--More than 143 million Americans living in the 48 contiguous states are exposed to potentially damaging ground shaking from earthquakes, with as many as 28 million people likely to experience strong shaking during their lifetime, according to research discussed at the annual meeting of Seismological Society of America. The report puts the average long-term value of building losses from earthquakes at $4.5 billion per year, with roughly 80 percent of losses attributed to California, Oregon and Washington. "This analysis of data from the new National Seismic ...

Study illuminates role of cancer drug decitabine in repairing damaged cells

2015-04-22

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A Purdue University study sheds light on how cell damage is reversed by the cancer drug decitabine and identifies a potential biomarker that could indicate a patient's stage of cancer and response to treatment. A team led by Joseph Irudayaraj, professor of agricultural and biological engineering, showed that decitabine combats some of the effects of cancer by taking the place of the nucleotide cytosine at specific locations on a replicating DNA strand. By mimicking cytosine, the drug helps "tame" cancerous cells by turning on tumor suppressor genes ...

Study shows how breast milk protects against severe intestinal disease in preemies

2015-04-22

The immune-boosting properties of breast milk have long been known. Now a team of scientists led by Johns Hopkins pediatric surgeon-in-chief David Hackam, M.D., Ph.D., says experiments in mice reveal how breast milk works to ward off the development of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a devastating intestinal disorder that affects 12 percent of premature babies and claims the lives of one in four of those who have it. If affirmed in human studies, the experiments could pave the way to new preventive approaches to stave off NEC in premature babies and spark the development ...

Notre Dame paper examines the clinical potential of microvesicles

2015-04-22

Over the past few years, extracellular vesicles, or membrane sacs secreted from cells, have emerged as important mediators by which cells communicate with their surroundings to regulate a diverse range of biological processes. In addition, specialized roles for extracellular vesicles are beginning to be recognized in various diseases including cancer, infectious diseases and neurodegenerative disorders. Moreover, engineered extracellular vesicles are likely to have applications in drug delivery. The laboratory of Crislyn D'Souza-Schorey, Morris Pollard Professor and Chair ...

Sugary drinks boost risk factors for heart disease, study shows

2015-04-22

Beverages sweetened with low, medium and high amounts of high-fructose corn syrup significantly increase risk factors for cardiovascular disease, even when consumed for just two weeks by young, healthy men and women, reports a team of researchers at the University of California, Davis. The study is the first to demonstrate a direct, dose-dependent relationship between the amount of added sugar consumed in sweetened beverages and increases in specific risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The data reinforce evidence from an earlier epidemiological study showing that ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Hormone therapy reshapes the skeleton in transgender individuals who previously blocked puberty

Evaluating performance and agreement of coronary heart disease polygenic risk scores

Heart failure in zero gravity— external constraint and cardiac hemodynamics

Amid record year for dengue infections, new study finds climate change responsible for 19% of today’s rising dengue burden

New study finds air pollution increases inflammation primarily in patients with heart disease

AI finds undiagnosed liver disease in early stages

The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announce new research fellowship in malaria genomics in honor of professor Dominic Kwiatkowski