Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Duke University showed that a genetic variant, present in 3-4% of self-identified Black individuals in the U.S., increases the risk for both heart failure and death and contributes to significant decreases in longevity at the population level A genetic variant carried by 3-4 percent of self-identified Black Americans increases the risk for heart failure and death, contributing to a significant decrease in longevity at the population level, according to a new study led by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, and Duke University School of Medicine. The ...

About The Study: Among self-reported Black individuals, male and female V142I carriers faced similar and substantial risk for heart failure hospitalization, predominantly with reduced ejection fraction, and death, with steep age-dependent penetrance. Delineating the individual contributions of, and complex interplay among, the V142I variant, ancestry, the social construct of race, and biological or social determinants of health to cardiovascular disease merits further investigation.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Scott D. Solomon, M.D., email ssolomon@rics.bwh.harvard.edu. To access the ...

The higher the blood sugar level in pregnant women when first diagnosed with diabetes, the higher the risk of complications around and after birth, according to research presented at the 26th European Congress of Endocrinology in Stockholm. For every 5mg/L above the diagnosis threshold, the risk of newborns having low blood sugar levels, or a large birth weight, rises by 9% and 6%, accordingly, while mothers have a 31% higher risk of diabetes after birth. The findings suggest that high-risk women with gestational diabetes should be classified further to limit these complications for both ...

Women who enter menopause before the age of 40 are more likely to die young, but may lower their risk with hormone therapy, according to research presented at the 26th European Congress of Endocrinology in Stockholm. This long-term Finnish study is the largest carried out on the association between premature menopause and mortality, which highlights the importance of regular medical checkups and appropriate hormone therapy use in these women. Most women experience menopause between the ages of 45 and 55. However, about 1% of women go through menopause before the age of 40 years, known as premature menopause or ...

Being asked whether you considered yourself a normal weight, plumper or thinner as a child when attending a doctor’s appointment as an adult might appear like a very strange question to ask, but new research being presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity in Venice, Italy (12-15 May) suggests that such questions can help identify increased mortality risk in adults living with obesity. The study is by Dr William Johnson, an epidemiology expert based at Loughborough University, UK, and colleagues. Obesity in adulthood ...

Viewers bombarded with 52 minutes of junk food advertising every hour. Young people exposed to influencer and digital game-based marketing consume an additional 37 calories in foods that are high in fat, salt, and sugar after each exposure. Findings underscore urgent need for digital food marketing polices to protect young viewers. Food and drink advertisements on videogame livestreaming platforms (VGLSPs) like Twitch are associated with more positive attitudes towards, and purchases and intake of, unhealthy foods that are high in fat, salt and/or sugar (HFSS) like energy drinks among adolescents aged 18 or younger, according ...

Lisbon, Portugal – 11 May 2024:  Heart failure patients who are vaccinated against COVID-19 have an 82% greater likelihood of living longer than those who are not vaccinated, according to research presented today at Heart Failure 2024, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1 Heart Failure is a life-threatening syndrome affecting more than 64 million people worldwide.2 “Patients with heart failure should be vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect their health,” said study author Dr. Kyeong-Hyeon Chun of the National Health Insurance ...

“Sticks and stones may break my bones,” the old adage goes. “But words will never hurt me.”  Tell that to Eugenia Rho, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science, and she will show you extensive data that prove otherwise. Her Society + AI & Language Lab has shown that Police language is an accurate predictor of violent interactions with Black motorists. Broadcast media bias and social media echo chambers have put American democracy at risk. Now, Rho’s ...

A group of scientists who placed instruments on an ice shelf in Antarctica found that ponds of meltwater were causing the ice to flex and fracture. Though scientists had predicted the phenomenon, this is the first time it was observed in the field. The finding raises concerns that, as climate change progresses and more melting occurs, vulnerable ice shelves in Antarctica will collapse—contributing to global sea rise. “Ice shelves are extremely important for the Antarctic Ice Sheet’s overall health as they act to buttress, or hold back, the glacier ice ...

Male rats exposed to moderate and repeated stress during adolescence may have reduced fertility, according to research presented at the 26th European Congress of Endocrinology in Stockholm. This study sheds light on the harmful effects that early-life stress has on health and could help to uncover future prevention strategies for children and adolescents. While hormone levels fluctuate pathologically — especially during life stages such as puberty — stress can cause too much or too little of a hormone in the bloodstream. This hormonal imbalance negatively impacts puberty and the reproduction ...

Higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol during the third trimester of pregnancy may impede intelligence quotient (IQ) scores in boys aged 7 years old, according to research presented at the 26th European Congress of Endocrinology in Stockholm. Surprisingly, cortisol levels in the blood are not associated with IQ scores in girls, but higher urine cortisone levels improved their scores. The findings highlight the important role cortisol plays in fetal development in boys and girls independently. Prenatal exposure to cortisol — a steroid hormone that helps the body respond to stress — is needed for fetal development and ...

Fezolinetant reduces the frequency and severity of hot flushes during menopause for 24 weeks, without serious side effects, according to research presented at the 26th European Congress of Endocrinology in Stockholm. These findings provide further evidence of the benefits of using this non-hormonal preventative drug in women experiencing hot flushes during menopause. Hot flushes and night sweats, also known as vasomotor symptoms (VMS), affect up to 80% of women going through menopause and can severely impact daily life, exercise and sleep. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is the most effective treatment, but these drugs are not suitable ...

Measuring the total mass of fat in the arms could potentially predict which women and men over 50 are at risk of spinal fracture, according to research presented at the 26th European Congress of Endocrinology in Stockholm. The findings may help identify high-risk individuals with a more simple and inexpensive method and influence the design of their exercise plans. Osteoporosis is a common disease among older people, but is also among the most undiagnosed and untreated medical conditions in the world. Many people do not have noticeable symptoms of osteoporosis until they experience an injury or fracture, which most ...

MIAMI, FLORIDA (MAY 10, 2024) – Standard of care treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is safe and effective for adults over 80, according to a study published in Blood Neoplasia. For roughly a quarter of patients, this treatment can durably prolong survival. AML is an aggressive and often deadly form of blood cancer that can be difficult to treat. For older adults with AML, the conventional treatment consists of a medication called venetoclax combined with a hypomethylating agent (HMA), also known as VEN-HMA. AML treatment is often intensive and can significantly suppress the immune ...

Consumers are drawn to authenticity when it comes to craft-based firms, and a new study published in the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal explores what factors can help give credence to such a quality. The study, authored by Stanislav D. Dobrev of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and J. Cameron Verhaal of Tulane University, looked at how managers in identity-driven markets are challenged to maintain their authenticity as their company’s scale of operations expands. In such craft industries, the authors note, ...

New research being presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Venice, Italy (12-15 May) suggests that it is possible to predict if someone is going to gain weight based on their size of their fat cells. Individuals with large fat cells tend to lose weight over time, while those with small fat cells gain weight, the Swedish study found. The size and number of fat cells are known to determine fat mass – how much body fat someone has.   But their impact on long-term changes in body weight are unknown. To explore this further, Professor Peter ...

New research being presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Venice, Italy (12-15 May), and published in the International Journal of Obesity, could help explain why type 2 diabetes is more common in men than in women. “Previous studies have shown that men develop type 2 diabetes (TD2) at a younger age and at a lower weight than women and, overall, men appear to be at higher risk of the condition,” says lead researcher Dr Daniel P Andersson, at the Department of Endocrinology, Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden. “One reason for ...

New research being presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Venice, Italy (12-15 May) has found that poor muscle health is associated with a higher risk of an early death in people living with obesity. Individuals with adverse muscle composition were up to three times more likely to die during the course of the study than those with healthy muscles, a Swedish study of people in the UK concluded. “We found that just by looking at muscle composition we can predict which individuals with obesity are most likely to die during the next few years,” says lead researcher Dr Jennifer Linge, of AMRA Medical, ...

The May 2024 issue of the American Journal of Health Economics collects articles on the topic of health equity. The edition was inspired in part by the COVID-19 pandemic, writes guest editor Mónica García-Pérez, and the ways in which that “health crisis exposed the sources of disparities among different US populations that affect access to health care, quality of care, and final health outcomes.” Consisting of five papers, the issue devotes particular attention to the topics of “race/ethnicity, ...

With the emergence of internet services such as AI-generated content and virtual reality, the demand for global capacity has surged, significantly intensifying pressures on fiber-optic communication systems. To address this surge and reduce operational costs, efforts are underway to develop autonomous driving optical networks (ADONs) with highly-efficient network operations. One of the most important tasks for an ADON is to accurately model and control the optical power evolution (OPE) over fiber links, since it ...

“These results argue that combinations based on immunotherapy may also provide an opportunity for targeting urothelial cancers with low TMB, and provide efficacy superior to classic chemotherapy.” BUFFALO, NY- May 10, 2024 – A new editorial paper was published in Oncoscience (Volume 11) on April 25, 2024, entitled, “Therapeutic opportunities for hypermutated urothelial carcinomas beyond immunotherapy.” In this new editorial, researcher Ioannis A. Voutsadakis from Sault Area Hospital and Northern Ontario School of Medicine discusses tumor mutation burden (TMB)—a ...

By Rose Miyatsu, UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute Although you may not appreciate them, or have even heard of them, throughout your body, countless microscopic machines called spliceosomes are hard at work. As you sit and read, they are faithfully and rapidly putting back together the broken information in your genes by removing sequences called “introns” so that your messenger RNAs can make the correct proteins needed by your cells. Introns are perhaps one of our genome’s biggest mysteries. They are DNA sequences that interrupt the sensible protein-coding information ...

Professor Manolya Kavakli is an expert in gamification Her talk will examine the complex relationship between humans, computers and tech She will examine how digital developments have the potential to improve lives and modernise industry. The latest inaugural lecture at Aston University will look at the complex relationship between humans, computers and technology. Professor Manolya Kavakli will discuss progress so far and offer insights into how to ease into digital transformation for the challenges that lie ahead. The professor is an expert in gamification, the process of using elements of gaming in non-gaming situations such as learning and training. She ...

There are 62.5 million internally displaced persons worldwide, according to 2022 data by the UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency. These individuals were forced to leave their homes but remain in the same country.   Prior research has shown that internally displaced persons often experience prejudice and discrimination, as residents in their new locale fear that the migrants may be insurgents or criminals, or compete for jobs.   Now, a new Dartmouth study involving Afghanistan indicates that changing such attitudes is an uphill battle. Given the decades of fighting there, Afghanistan has had one of the largest populations ...

A breakthrough study, published in Science Translational Medicine, features a biomedical engineering innovation with the potential to transform trauma care and surgical practices. Chapman University’s Fowler School of Engineering Founding Dean and Professor, Andrew Lyon, is a member of this multidisciplinary, multi-university scientific research team developing platelet-like particles that integrate into the body’s clotting pathways to stop hemorrhage. Sanika Pandit, an alumna of Chapman University, is also among the 15 authors in this research. Addressing a longstanding gap in surgical and trauma care, this advancement holds potential for patient implementation.  Patients ...