Familial hypercholesteremia (FH) is an inherited condition that affects about 1 in 250 people, and often shows no signs until they have a heart attack. For individuals with FH the lowering of “bad” cholesterol levels can’t be done by dietary or behavioral changes, the problem is in their genes, and targeted medications therapy is needed. Now, new research from the Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City has found that genetic screening can identify these patients and make them candidates for treatment that could prevent heart attack, stroke, and death. “Most of these patients already had tests that ...

New research from Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City finds that genetic screening is effective in identifying patients who have a heart condition known as cardiomyopathy to improve their quality of life and reduce deaths. By undergoing genetic screening to identity those with the potentially-fatal heart condition, clinicians can more closely monitor them and use medical interventions, when necessary, that could improve the quality of these patients’ lives, and potentially save them, researchers say in a new study of more than 30,000 heart patients. “Our findings show that we’re ...

SAN DIEGO, CA, NOVEMBER 12, 2023 — A recent study from Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) and others has found a correlation between obesity and more severe disease flare symptoms that negatively affect quality of life in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a systemic, autoimmune, inflammatory disorder affecting multiple joints in the body. The study will be presented at ACR Convergence 2023, the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology. RA is usually treated with a combination of medications to relieve swelling and pain while regulating the immune ...

About The Study: Self-monitoring and physician-guided titration of antihypertensive medications was associated with lower blood pressure during the first nine months postpartum than usual postnatal outpatient care in this randomized clinical trial involving 220 participants in the United Kingdom.  Authors: Paul Leeson, Ph.D., of the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom, 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/jama.2023.21523) Editor’s ...

  ·  High blood pressure is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality ·  Losing one teaspoon of salt a day results in systolic blood pressure decline comparable to effect achieved with drugs ·  First study to show people already on blood pressure medication could further lower their blood pressure by reducing sodium Chicago --- Nearly everyone can lower their blood pressure, even people currently on blood pressure-reducing drugs, by lowering their sodium intake, reports a new study from Northwestern Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “In the study, ...

About The Study: Dietary sodium reduction significantly lowered blood pressure in the majority of middle-aged to elderly adults in this study including 213 participants. The decline in blood pressure from a high- to low-sodium diet was independent of hypertension status and antihypertensive medication use, was generally consistent across subgroups, and did not result in excess adverse events.  Authors: Deepak K. Gupta, M.D., M.S.C.I., of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, 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/jama.2023.23651) Editor’s ...

About The Study: This randomized clinical trial found that in patients with advanced heart failure treated with a fully magnetically levitated left ventricular assist device, avoidance of aspirin as part of an antithrombotic regimen, which includes a vitamin K antagonist, is not inferior to a regimen containing aspirin, does not increase thromboembolism risk, and is associated with a reduction in bleeding events.  Authors: Mandeep R. Mehra, M.D., M.Sc., of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link ...

According to the American Medical Association, approximately 25% of all patients used telehealth services during the last year, exceeding the 5% who accessed their care this way before the pandemic.[1] The American Heart Association (AHA) Center for Telehealth, unveiled today, recognizes the critical role telehealth can play as a solution to close gaps in health care access, particularly in rural and underserved areas, and deliver quality care to populations that have little to no access to traditional ...

While high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes and smoking are well known heart disease risks, not everyone who has a heart attack has them. In fact, previous research has shown that 14% to 27% of heart attack patients have none of these risk factors. Now, a new study from researchers at Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City finds that these patients had one thing in common: they all tended to have high levels of coronary calcium. Results of the new Intermountain study show that scans that detect this kind of plaque buildup should be considered as ...

WASHINGTON — Advanced brain imaging techniques reveal how adolescent brain development influences, and is influenced by, factors including chronic stress and mood disorders. The findings will be presented on Monday, November 13, 11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. EST at Neuroscience 2023, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world’s largest source of emerging news about brain science and health. Adolescence is a time of social, biological, and emotional changes, as well as continued brain development. Mental health among teenagers was already declining before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control ...

WASHINGTON — Changes in a person’s environment can have long-term, significant effects on the brain, whether it’s the inhalation of wildfire smoke or the experience of childhood trauma. The findings will be presented on Tuesday, November 14, 11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. at Neuroscience 2023, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world’s largest source of emerging news about brain science and health. The environment plays an important role in a person’s brain health and cognitive function. Previous research has established that both one’s physical and social environment effect the brain and nervous system. Next, researchers ...

WASHINGTON — Using machine learning, researchers are able to use data from the brain to glean deeper insights and apply this new knowledge in clinical settings. The findings will be presented on Monday, November 13, 2–3 p.m. EST at Neuroscience 2023, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world’s largest source of emerging news about brain science and health. Machine learning is a branch of artificial intelligence (AI) that centers on enabling computers to analyze data in increasingly complex ...

WASHINGTON — Researchers are making strides toward understanding and detecting Alzheimer’s disease in its earliest stages, when interventions may be most effective at slowing the progress of the disease. The findings will be presented on Sunday, November 12, 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. EST at Neuroscience 2023, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world’s largest source of emerging news about brain science and health. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative ...

WASHINGTON — In studies that examine the depressed brain, researchers were able to identify specific genes, molecules, brain regions, and cognitive features that are associated with the disorder. The findings will be presented on Monday, November 13, 10–11 a.m. EST at Neuroscience 2023, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world’s largest source of emerging news about brain science and health. More than 8% of adults in the United States suffer from severe depression, and the percentage is higher ...

WASHINGTON — Innovative experimental approaches with human participants and animal models point to the effects of fear and stress on the brain — and suggest ways to ameliorate these impacts. The findings will be presented on Monday, November 13, 12:45–1:45 p.m. at Neuroscience 2023, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world’s largest source of emerging news about brain science and health. Fear and anxiety are normal, healthy emotional responses to some stimuli; however, there ...

WASHINGTON — Psychedelic compounds such as psilocybin, a substance found in various mushroom species, are garnering more research support as novel treatments for psychiatric disorders, but questions remain concerning who they may help the most. The findings will be presented on Tuesday, November 14, 1–2 p.m. at Neuroscience 2023, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world’s largest source of emerging news about brain science and health. Psychiatric disorders, including phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and substance use disorder, represent a major public health issue. Current behavioral and pharmacological ...

Research which considers the diversity of normal and diseased human populations is contributing to more resilient hypotheses regarding complex neuroscience processes, such as human brain development, autism spectrum disorders, and Alzheimer's disease. Several interwoven examples will be discussed on Sunday, November 12, 2–3 p.m. at Neuroscience 2023, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world’s largest source of emerging news about brain science and health. Considering the full spectrum of human variability — including gender, sex, race, ethnicity, and neurodiversity — is benefiting neuroscience at both the basic and translational ...

WASHINGTON — Researchers have a better understanding of sleep disruption — particularly in the realm of sex-specific differences and cellular dysfunction — and are developing new research to study the interplay between sleep and memory. The findings will be presented on Tuesday, November 14, 10–11 a.m. EST at Neuroscience 2023, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world’s largest source of emerging news about brain science and health. Approximately one out of every three adults in the United States report not getting enough sleep. Despite years of research into sleep and memory, neuroscientists still do not ...

For immediate release on Nov. 11, 2023 at 10:10 a.m. E.T. A National Institutes of Health-supported study found that the type of transfusion approach used to support adults who developed anemia after a heart attack did not make a significant difference in their likelihood of having another heart attack or dying within 30 days. Participants in the trial were randomized to receive a red blood cell transfusion when their red blood cell counts were in a prespecified range of moderate anemia, which is considered a liberal approach, or when it was more severe, ...

An international clinical trial led by physician Jeffrey L. Carson, distinguished professor of medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, found that a liberal blood transfusion given to patients who have had a heart attack and have anemia may reduce the risk of a reoccurrence and improve survival rates. The results of the trial, Myocardium Infarction and Transfusion (MINT), were published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. Maria Mori Brooks, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, co-first authored the study. “Transfusion threshold trials are important to help physicians inform decisions that provide ...

About The Study: This secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial validated a natural language processing model developed within a single healthcare system to identify heart failure hospitalizations. Further study is needed to determine whether natural language processing will improve the efficiency of future multicenter clinical trials by identifying clinical events at scale.  Authors: Scott D. Solomon, M.D., of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: ...

Cleveland: Findings from a multi-center, international clinical trial reported by a Cleveland Clinic physician show that semaglutide reduced cardiovascular events by 20% in adults with overweight or obesity and established cardiovascular disease who do not have diabetes.   Semaglutide is primarily prescribed for adults with type 2 diabetes but is also approved for chronic weight management in adults with obesity or overweight and have at least one other health issue. In the trial, patients treated with semaglutide lost an average of 9.4% of their body weight and experienced improvements in other risk factors for cardiovascular disease.   Results ...

Tokyo, Japan – Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have identified key factors in the mechanism behind DNA repair in our bodies. For the first time, they showed that the “proofreading” portion of the DNA replicating enzyme polymerase epsilon ensured safe termination of replication at damaged portions of the DNA strand, ultimately saving DNA from severe damage. This new knowledge arms scientists with ways to make anti-cancer drugs more effective, and new diagnostic methods. Our DNA is under attack. Every day, around 55,000 single-strand breaks (SSBs) appear in the strands making up DNA helices ...

MSU has a satellite uplink/LTN TV studio and Comrex line for radio interviews upon request.  There is a general understanding that pets have a positive impact on one’s well-being. A new study by Michigan State University found that although pet owners reported pets improving their lives, there was not a reliable association between pet ownership and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.  The study, published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, assessed 767 people over three times in May 2020. The researchers took a mixed-method ...

MSU has a satellite uplink/LTN TV studio and Comrex line for radio interviews upon request. A new study, conducted in collaboration between researchers at Michigan State University and Central Michigan University, found that public spending on social safety net programs and on education spending each independently impact high school graduation rates, which are a key predictor of health and well-being later in life. The study, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, tested whether public financing for education and social safety net programs that aim to help ...