(Press-News.org) Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are a common treatment for patients with a wide variety of cardiovascular conditions. DOACs are the preferred treatment over vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) for many patients with atrial fibrillation or venous thromboembolism, since the latter would have a higher risk of intracranial bleeding and more complex dosing routine. However, new research suggests that DOACs should not be the first line of treatment for every patient who need to treat or prevent blood clots. A systematic overview from researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of Mass General Brigham, discusses the efficacy of DOACs compared to other treatment methods. This review utilized data from randomized controlled trials to compare DOACs with other treatment methods for various cardiovascular conditions. Although there is merit to using DOACs in many common conditions, the manuscript provides a robust summary of clinical trials indicating that DOACs fare worse in patients with mechanical heart valves, thrombotic antiphospholipid syndrome, atrial fibrillation associated with rheumatic heart disease, and patients with embolic stroke of unclear source. The authors also highlight clinical scenarios in which there is uncertainty, with a look toward future for better evidence generation.
“The results we reviewed here have significant implications for optimizing anticoagulation therapy and improving patient outcomes in clinical practice,” said Behnood Bikdeli, MD, MS, of the Brigham’s Heart and Vascular Center. “There is a critical need for further research regarding why DOACs are less efficacious or safe than the standard of care in certain scenarios.”
in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
END
Do’s and don'ts with direct oral anticoagulants
2024-02-23
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Super strong magnetic fields leave imprint on nuclear matter
2024-02-23
UPTON, NY—A new analysis by the STAR collaboration at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), a particle collider at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, provides the first direct evidence of the imprint left by what may be the universe’s most powerful magnetic fields on “deconfined” nuclear matter. The evidence comes from measuring the way differently charged particles separate when emerging from collisions of atomic nuclei at this DOE Office of Science user ...
TMEM208 variants cause a new developmental disorder
2024-02-23
A recent study conducted in the lab of Dr. Hugo J. Bellen, distinguished service professor at Baylor College of Medicine and principal investigator at the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital, has discovered a biological role of a specific transmembrane protein called TMEM208.
The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that a majority of fruit flies lacking this gene do not survive, and the few that do survive have many developmental defects. Similarly, a child with variants ...
Researchers explore whether gut microbes cause some COVID-19 patients to have higher blood clot risk
2024-02-23
A gut microbial metabolite called 2-methylbutyrylcarnitine (2MBC) plays a role in exacerbating thrombosis -- the formation of blood clots – researchers report February 23rd in the journal Cell Metabolism. The results also revealed that 2MBC is accumulated in individuals with COVID-19, potentially explaining why these patients are at increased risk of thrombosis.
“Our study provides mechanistic insight by implicating 2MBC as a metabolite that links gut microbiota dysbiosis to elevated thrombotic ...
Childhood factors associated with unnatural death through midadulthood
2024-02-23
About The Study: In this urban population-based cohort study of 2,180 participants, no modifiable risk factors of mortality at the level of the individual (e.g., depression or anxiety and substance use) or the family (e.g., household education level) were identified. However, the degree of neighborhood poverty in early childhood was significantly associated with death by unnatural causes (death due to unintentional injury, suicide, and homicide) in early adulthood, suggesting that economic policies are needed to advance health equity in relation to premature mortality.
Authors: Holly C. Wilcox, Ph.D., of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg ...
Severe COVID-19 in vaccinated adults with hematologic cancers in the Veterans Health Administration
2024-02-23
About The Study: In this case-control study including 6,122 patients with hematologic cancers and SARS-CoV-2 infection, odds of severe COVID-19 remained high through mid-2022 despite vaccination, especially in patients requiring treatment.
Authors: Paul A. Monach, M.D., Ph.D., of the VA Boston Cooperative Studies Program in Boston, is the corresponding author.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.0288)
Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions ...
Recreational marijuana legalization and workplace injuries among younger workers
2024-02-23
About The Study: In this study, recreational marijuana laws that allow recreational marijuana sales were associated with a 10% increase in workplace injuries among individuals ages 20 to 34. The findings are consistent with the hypothesis that recreational marijuana impedes cognitive function and care among younger workers.
Authors: Joseph J. Sabia, Ph.D., of San Diego State University, is the corresponding author.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this ...
New study identifies 13 strategies for advancing racial and ethnic equity in the academic health sciences
2024-02-23
BOSTON - Amid continued debate over how to advance diversity and equity in higher education following the Supreme Court’s decision striking down affirmative action, researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital and Northeastern University today issued a “roadmap” of strategies to help academic health institutions maintain their commitments to racial and ethnic diversity among their students, staff, and faculty in academic health sciences.
Their recommendations, published in JAMA Health Forum, outline 13 evidence-based strategies for increasing racial and ethnic equity in graduate-level health programs.
“This ...
School focus on grades, test scores linked to violence against teachers
2024-02-23
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Violence against teachers is likely to be higher in schools that focus on grades and test scores than in schools that emphasize student learning, a new study has found.
Researchers surveyed over 9,000 U.S. teachers shortly before and during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic about their perception of the instructional emphasis in their schools. Participants also reported whether they had been subjected to physical, verbal or property violence – by students, parents, colleagues and/or administrators.
Results ...
Genetic signature may predict response to immunotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer
2024-02-23
A new study identified a set of 140 genes that may help predict enhanced disease-free survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with a combination of immunotherapy and low-dose radiation. The results, published in Cell Reports Medicine on Feb. 23, suggested that this “gene signature” could be used to identify a subclass of lung tumors that is more likely to be eradicated by immunotherapies.
Immunotherapy has saved countless lives but only 20 to 25 percent of patients respond to this treatment that activates a person’s ...
A study by the UMA and the University of California analyzes how lies affect economic decisions
2024-02-23
Psychology and Economics come together in a recent line of research, led by Ismael Rodríguez-Lara, Professor at the University of Malaga, who studies how lies affect economic decisions.
It is a study developed together with the Professor at the University of California (Santa Barbara, USA) Gary Charness, considered one of the most influential economists in the world within the experimental area, that has analyzed the way in which morality influences the degree of lying in certain economic situations. The results of this research have been published in the scientific journal Economics ...