A retrospective analysis of patient data from the COPDGene study suggests that targeting mucus plugs could help prevent deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease—the fourth leading cause of death in the United States Many patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) experience airway-clogging mucus plugs, an accumulation of mucus in the lungs that can affect quality of life and lung functioning. A new study led by researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding ...

Prague, Czechia – 21 May 2023:  Sacubitril/valsartan leads to greater reduction in plasma NT-proBNP levels compared to valsartan alone after stabilisation for worsening heart failure in patients with an ejection fraction (EF) above 40%, according to late breaking science presented today at Heart Failure 2023, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC),1 and published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Principal investigator Dr. Robert Mentz of Duke University Medical Center, Durham, US said: “These data add to the evidence supporting a potential treatment benefit of sacubitril/valsartan ...

A new device invented with the help of an electrophysiologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center makes a heart procedure safer for patients suffering from atrial fibrillation (AFib), a common irregular heart rhythm. AFib affects millions of people worldwide and greatly increases their risk of stroke and heart failure. To treat AFib, doctors use cardiac ablation to help restore the heart’s rhythm. Heat or cold energy delivered through a catheter destroys the heart tissue causing rapid and irregular heartbeats. ...

PHOENIX (May 20, 2023) – George D. Dangas, MD, PhD, MSCAI, Professor of Medicine (Cardiology and Surgery), and Director of Cardiovascular Innovation at the Zena and Michael A. Weiner Cardiovascular Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine of Mount Sinai in New York City, and Chief of Cardiology at Mount Sinai Queens assumed the office of president of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI) today during the closing ceremonies at the SCAI 2023 Scientific Sessions in Phoenix, AZ. Dr. Dangas is an authoritative voice in the performance of nonsurgical cardiovascular and valve interventions using both established ...

PHOENIX (May 20, 2023) – Njambi Mathenge, MD, MPH, an interventional cardiology fellow at the Massachusetts General Hospital has been selected as the recipient of the SCAI-Women in Innovations (SCAI-WIN) CHIP Fellowship, the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions announced today. The $115,000 fellowship opportunity was made possible by support from Abiomed (founding supporter), Boston Scientific, Medtronic, and Shockwave Medical, Inc., and is offered to interventional cardiology (IC) fellows or practicing interventional cardiologists interested in ...

PHOENIX (May 20, 2023) – Today during the SCAI 2023 Scientific Sessions, thirty early-career interventional cardiologists were the inaugural recipients of a newly created award highlighting excellence in interventional cardiology. 30 in Their 30’s is a new recognition program created by the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI) for early-career members for their proven leadership and demonstration of SCAI’s core values. 30 in Their 30’s recognizes the best and brightest young professionals in interventional cardiology. This award ...

PHOENIX (May 20, 2023) – Today, the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI) announced its 2023 Master Interventionalists of SCAI (MSCAI) designation recipients during the SCAI 2023 Scientific Sessions in Phoenix. The MSCAI designation is awarded to individuals who have demonstrated excellence in invasive/interventional cardiology over the course of their career and for their commitment to the highest levels of clinical care, innovation, publication, and teaching. This year’s MSCAI designations were awarded to the following group of outstanding interventionalists: David ...

New Orleans, May 20, 2023 – Today, the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS), Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society (APHRS), and Latin American Heart Rhythm Society (LAHRS) released a new clinical practice guideline on cardiac physiologic pacing (CPP) strategies to restore ventricular synchrony and improve cardiac performance. The 2023 HRS/APHRS/LAHRS Guideline on Cardiac Physiologic Pacing for the Avoidance and Mitigation of Heart Failure is intended to provide guidance to clinical cardiac electrophysiologists, cardiologists, and other clinicians on the use of CPP, which includes cardiac resynchronization therapy and conduction system pacing, in patients ...

Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) Global Scientific Information and Computing Center (GSIC) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) announced to build its next-generation supercomputer, TSUBAME4.0, to accelerate AI-driven scientific discovery in medicine, materials science, climate research, and turbulence in urban environments. Tokyo Tech is one of the world's leading universities in science and technology. With the TSUBAME4.0 supercomputer, users will have the ability to train ...

Prague, Czechia – 20 May 2023:  People with strong legs are less likely to develop heart failure after a heart attack, according to research presented today at Heart Failure 2023, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1 Myocardial infarction is the most common cause of heart failure,2 with around 6–9% of heart attack patients going on to develop the condition.3,4 Previous research has shown that having strong quadriceps is associated with a lower risk of death in patients with coronary artery disease.5 This study tested ...

Prague, Czechia – 20 May 2023:  The first investigator-initiated study of remote pulmonary artery pressure monitoring has found that it improves quality of life and reduces heart failure hospitalisations in patients with chronic heart failure. The findings are presented today in a late breaking science session at Heart Failure 2023, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC),1 and published in The Lancet. Principal investigator Dr. Jasper Brugts of Erasmus University Medical Centre, ...

Transthyretin-related cardiac amyloidosis is a progressive disease characterized by the deposition of amyloid protein fibrils in the heart. Amyloid fibril deposition thickens and stiffens the heart walls, and the disease is also known as stiff-heart syndrome. The accumulation of amyloid fibrils causes heart failure, and patients suffer from fluid retention, fatigue, and arrhythmias. The disease can be caused by genetic mutations or related to aging. Prognosis is poor, and untreated patients survive for an average of just 3 years. Now, the ...

The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI) has named George Dangas, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine (Cardiology), and Surgery, at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai as its new President. He was appointed on Saturday, May 20, during the closing ceremonies at the SCAI 2023 Scientific Sessions in Phoenix. He is the first Mount Sinai cardiologist to hold this position and will serve as the 46th President of SCAI. Dr. Dangas, also the Director of Cardiovascular Innovation at the Zena and Michael A. Wiener Cardiovascular Institute at Icahn Mount Sinai and Chief of Cardiology ...

ARLINGTON, Va.—For Dr. Brett Seidle — the deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, Test and Engineering — the breakneck speed of current scientific progress and technological proliferation can be challenging, especially when the impact of new technologies on civilian and military realities transcends national borders. While giving the keynote address at the recent Specialized Inter-American Naval Conference on Science, Technology and Innovation (SIANC-ST&I) in Orlando, Florida, Seidle identified several scientific disciplines that have developed into ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Reduce fossil fuel use and air quality will improve, right? It might not be as straightforward as it appears, according to a Penn State-led research team. They explored almost 30,000 simulated future scenarios and found that some climate mitigation efforts could lead to harmful health impacts in certain geographic areas.  Their results were published today (May 18) in Nature Sustainability.  “In general, reducing fossil fuel use is good for climate mitigation and good for cleaning up the air, and the modeling studies have always found health benefits from climate mitigation,” said corresponding ...

New research presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity in Dublin, Ireland shows that patients treated with the obesity drug semaglutide have a decreased cardiovascular risk score after one year of use. The study is by Dr Andres Acosta and Dr Wissam Ghusn, Precision Medicine for Obesity Program at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA and colleagues. Obesity is a major risk factor for the development of abnormal blood fat levels, type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), high blood pressure, and obstructive sleep apnoea. These comorbidities are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) that represents ...

New research presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO2023, Dublin, 17-20 May) shows that the obesity drug semaglutide is effective for weight loss in a multicentre, 1-year-long real-world study. The study is by Dr Andres Acosta and Dr Wissam Ghusn, Precision Medicine for Obesity Program at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA and colleagues. Semaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, is the most recently FDA-approved anti-obesity medication. It has shown significant weight loss outcomes in multiple long-term randomised clinical trials and short-term real-world studies. However, little is known about ...

Teenagers living with obesity who say hunger is preventing them from losing weight (hunger-barrier ALwO) perceive their weight more negatively and worry about it more than youngsters who don’t see hunger as an obstacle, new research being presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Dublin, Ireland (17-20 May) shows. The international study also found that hunger-barrier ALwO are more likely to be female and more likely to say their weight makes them unhappy and leads to them being bullied. They are also more likely to be actively trying to lose weight. Dr Bassam Bin-Abbas, of the Department of Paediatrics, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, ...

New research being presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Dublin, Ireland (17-20 May) suggests that glucocorticoid levels (a class of steroid hormones secreted as a response to stress) present in the hair of individuals may indicate which of them are more likely to suffer from cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in the future. “There is a tremendous amount of evidence that chronic stress is a serious factor in determining overall health. Now our findings indicate that people with higher long-term hair glucocorticoid ...

NERC has invested £25 million in a host of high risk, high reward research projects to tackle critical environment challenges. The 44 projects cover the full spectrum of environmental science including geology, atmospheric science, biodiversity and ecology. The research will, for example:  improve our understanding of volcanic activity such as eruptions a lava flows age the Earth’s solid inner core investigate historic mass extinction events predict future changes to carbon ...

The make-up and volume of gut bacteria in toddlers at 3.5 years old is predictive of body mass index (BMI) at age 5, irrespective of whether they are born prematurely or not, according to new research, being presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Dublin, Ireland (17-20 May). The findings also identified differences in the bacteria that colonise the gut seen in adults living with obesity, suggesting that changes in the gut microbiota that predispose to adult obesity begin in early childhood. The make-up of the gut microbiota grows and changes in the first few months and years of life and ...

Scientists are to deploy a network of microphones in the Amazon rainforest to listen and measure the numbers and species of birds, insects and other wildlife. The use of ‘ecoacoustics’ forms part of RAINFAUNA - a £1 million study by an international team of researchers led by scientists at Lancaster University that will provide the first large-scale understanding of how humans are affecting the animals that call tropical forests home. Tropical forests are under threat. In the Amazon, at least 17% of primary ...

IOP Publishing (IOPP) is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Measurement Science and Technology, the world’s oldest scientific instrumentation and measurement journal and the first research journal produced by the Institute of Physics.   To mark the occasion, Measurement Science and Technology has pulled together a collection of articles which revisit some of the research themes published in the first volume, and looks at the latest advancements in metrology. The collection includes papers on developments in the fields of ultrasound ...

The use of methadone among Medicare beneficiaries to treat opioid use disorder increased sharply after the program began covering the drug, with evidence suggesting the change created new treatment rather than displacing use of other medications, according to a new RAND Corporation study.   Studying a large group of Medicare Advantage enrollees, the study found that a Medicare coverage expansion to include methadone in 2020 did not appear to reduce the use of buprenorphine, another medication used to treat opioid use disorder.   The study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, found that much of the rise in methadone ...

CHICAGO—May 19, 2023—Blockchain technology, investor sentiment, and economic stress levels are significant predictors of bitcoin returns, according to a groundbreaking paper from Illinois Institute of Technology researchers that provides empirical evidence to help guide investors, economists, and academics. Sang Baum “Solomon” Kang, associate professor of finance at Illinois Tech’s Stuart School of Business and co-author of the paper, also found that the cryptocurrency is detached from economic fundamentals and therefore may not effectively serve as a diversifier or safe-haven asset. Additionally, Kang reported that returns on commodities, ...