Berlin, Germany – 8 April 2024:  An international consensus statement on how to treat atrial fibrillation with catheter or surgical ablation is published today in EP Europace,1 a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), and presented at EHRA 2024, a scientific congress of the ESC.2  Lead author Dr. Stylianos Tzeis said: “Ablation is the most effective way to prevent recurrences of atrial fibrillation and delay progression to more advanced forms. Pioneering techniques have emerged since the previous consensus in 2017,3 requiring new advice on who should receive this procedure and how to perform it in the safest and most effective manner.”   Atrial ...

A 10-minute virtual reality (VR) session significantly lessened pain in hospitalized patients with cancer in a recent clinical trial published by Wiley online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. Even a day later, participants experienced sustained benefits. Most people with cancer experience pain, and treatment usually involves medications including opioids. VR sessions that immerse the user in new environments have been shown to be a noninvasive and nonpharmacologic way to lessen pain in different patient populations, but data are lacking in individuals ...

A new study presented at the European Psychiatric Association Congress 2024 reveals a significant association between prenatal cannabis use disorder (CUD) and an increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and intellectual disability (ID). Cannabis remains by far the most consumed illicit drug in Europe. Around 1.3% of adults in the European Union (3.7 million people) are estimated to be ...

A new study presented at the European Psychiatric Association Congress 2024 sheds light on the significant impact of depression on the survival rates and quality of life for women diagnosed with breast cancer. This study, conducted by a team of researchers in Russia, conducted a comprehensive analysis of existing research on the prevalence and impact of depression in breast cancer patients. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women and a leading cause of death globally and in the EU, it is estimated that 1 in 11 women in the EU-27 will develop breast cancer ...

Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, along with stroke, are among the top three neurodegenerative disorders, characterized by the malfunction and progressive degeneration of neurons, the nerve cells. Understanding the mechanisms underlying these neurological disorders and developing therapies requires labeling technologies that can visualize neuronal changes not only in normal conditions but also in disease states. A research team led by Dr. Kim Yun Kyung from the Brain Science Institute at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), in collaboration with Professor Chang Young-Tae's team from Pohang University of Science ...

New research examining the characteristics of physicians with the largest share of patients unvaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 may help increase vaccination rates going forward. The study, published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.230816, found that family physicians in Ontario with the largest percentage of unvaccinated patients generally served patients living in marginalized neighbourhoods and had less support in their practices. Researchers analyzed linked data on 9060 family physicians with more than 10 million enrolled patients ...

The Ontario government’s plans to broaden alcohol sales to privately operated stores in the province could lead to higher consumption rates and related harms, write commentary authors in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.240069. “These changes will result in a 289% increase in the number of alcohol stores in Ontario (n = 2935 in March 2023, per the Liquor Control Board of Ontario), will likely reduce the price of alcohol, and will represent the biggest shift in decades with respect to how alcohol is sold in Canada,” write Drs. Norman Giesbrecht, Centre for Addiction and ...

Nasal-administered naloxone is more cost-effective and could help reduce the number of opioid-related fatalities compared to the current publicly funded intermuscular version, a new study has found.  Since 2016, Canada's opioid crisis has worsened, with over 40,000 opioid-related deaths, or about 22 deaths per day. Most of these accidental deaths (88 per cent) occur in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario.  An effective way to help prevent opioid-related deaths is through community pharmacy-based naloxone programs. Currently, ...

About The Study: In this systematic review and meta-analysis that included 41 randomized clinical trials of cancer screening, incidence of late-stage cancer may be a suitable alternative end point to cancer-specific mortality for some cancer types, but is not suitable for others. These results have implications for clinical trials of multicancer screening tests.  Authors: Hilary A. Robbins, Ph.D., M.H.S., M.S.P.H., of the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, 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.2024.5814) Editor’s ...

Strategies implemented by firms are too ambitious and wide-ranging, according to a specialist, with their poor design and structure preventing digital transformation success. Firms seeking to harness new digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence, must approach this organizational change in an entirely new way to avoid contributing to the $2.3 trillion wasted on unsuccessful projects globally so far. This is the message of digital transformation expert Brian Harkin, author of Evolving from Digital Transformation to Digital Acceleration Using The Galapagos Framework, which helps business leaders understand how their approach to digital change ...

Combining pelvic floor exercises with behavioral therapy could be more effective than current medical treatments at helping men with frequent urges to urinate, new research in men has found. The initial results from the Bladder Emptying Disorder Therapy (BEST) Trial are presented today [Monday 8 April 2024] at the European Association of Urology Congress in Paris. They reveal that an app-based therapy leads to significant improvements in the lower urinary tract symptoms that many millions of men experience – hesitancy, straining, frequent urges to urinate and emptying the bladder effectively. Full results ...

The boreal forest, covering much of Canada and Alaska, and the treeless shrublands to the north of the forest region, may be among the worst impacted by climate change over the next 500 years, according to a new study.   The study, led by researchers at the White Rose universities of York and Leeds, as well as Oxford and Montreal, and ETH, Switzerland, ran a widely-used climate model with different atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide to assess the impact climate change could have on the ...

About The Study: In this randomized clinical trial including 103 American Indian patients, a telephone-based strategy of remote initiation and titration for outpatients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction led to improved rates of guideline-directed medical therapy at 30 days compared with usual care. This low-cost strategy could be expanded to other rural settings where access to care is limited.  Authors: Lauren A. Eberly, M.D., M.P.H., of the Indian Health Service in Gallup, New Mexico, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: ...

ABSTRACTS: CT002, CT003 SAN DIEGO ― Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center presented encouraging findings today from two clinical trials in a plenary session highlighting advances in novel immunotherapy approaches at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2024. The studies describe the use of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy in patients with advanced kidney cancer and an oncolytic immunotherapy for patients with skin cancer following organ transplants. Information on all MD Anderson AACR Annual Meeting content can be found at MDAnderson.org/AACR. Novel allogenic ...

New data presented today by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) researchers show an experimental approach to treating pancreatic cancer with the messenger RNA (mRNA)-based therapeutic cancer vaccine candidate, autogene cevumeran, continues to show potential to stimulate an immune response that may reduce the risk of the disease returning after surgery. New results from a phase 1 clinical trial show that the cancer vaccine candidate activated immune cells that persisted in the body for up to three years after treatment in certain patients. In addition, a vaccine-induced immune ...

About The Study: Most cancer drugs granted accelerated approval did not demonstrate benefit in overall survival or quality of life within five years of accelerated approval. Patients should be clearly informed about the cancer drugs that use the accelerated approval pathway and do not end up showing benefits in patient-centered clinical outcomes.  Authors: Aaron S. Kesselheim, M.D., J.D., M.P.H., of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed ...

KEY TAKEAWAYS Researchers at Mass General Brigham tested a remote patient education and navigation program with 200 patients who had type 2 diabetes and elevated cardiovascular/kidney risk. Patients who received education simultaneously with treatment were more likely to begin and adhere to treatment while a period of education prior to therapy initiation was inferior for prescription acceptance and therapy uptake. The study highlights the importance of “striking while the iron is hot” and the potential for remote, team-based care to bridge ...

Sophia Antipolis, France – 7 April 2024:  The first EU-wide trial aiming to improve the care of elderly atrial fibrillation patients with additional chronic health conditions has enrolled its first patient. The EU-funded EHRA-PATHS study is coordinated by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) of the ESC.  Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart rhythm disorder, affecting more than 40 million individuals worldwide.1 The likelihood of developing the condition increases with age and the number of other conditions such as high blood pressure, ...

Berlin, Germany – 7 April 2024:  An electronic sock that detects an unhealthy walking style linked with diabetes and poor circulation shows promise for preventing foot ulcers and amputation. The novel research is set to benefit the many patients with diabetes who have clogged arteries in the legs and is presented for the first time at EHRA 2024, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1  Study author Dr. Ki Hong Lee of Chonnam National University Hospital, Gwangju, Republic of Korea said: “Diabetes can affect the way people walk, also known as their gait. Patients with diabetes tend to put pressure ...

Withdrawing aspirin one month after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in high-risk heart patients and keeping them on ticagrelor alone safely improves outcomes and reduces major bleeding by more than half when compared to patients taking aspirin and ticagrelor combined (also known as dual antiplatelet therapy or DAPT), which is the current standard of care. These are the results from the ULTIMATE-DAPT study announced during a late-breaking trial presentation at the American College of Cardiology Scientific ...

Short-term incentives for exercise can lead to sustained increases in activity NIH-supported study shows certain perks can spur long-term behavior change in adults with cardiovascular disease risks    Adults with heart disease risks who received daily reminders or incentives to become more active increased their daily steps by more than 1,500 after a year, and many were still sticking with their new habit six months later, according to a study supported by the National Institutes of Health that published in Circulation. ...

A new approach to the guidance, planning and conduct of heart bypass surgery has been successfully tested on patients for the first time in a clinical trial coordinated by a research team at University of Galway. The FAST TRACK CABG study, overseen by the University’s CORRIB Research Centre for Advanced Imaging and Core Lab, has seen heart surgeons plan and carry out coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), based solely on non-invasive cardiac-CT scan images, with HeartFlow’s AI-powered blood flow analysis of the patient’s coronary arteries. The research was published today in the European Heart Journal and is available at https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/eurheartj/ehae199 The ...

About The Study: High-dose influenza vaccine elicited a more robust humoral response in patients with heart failure or prior myocardial infarction enrolled in the INVESTED randomized clinical trial, with no association between seroconversion status and the risk for cardiopulmonary hospitalizations or all-cause mortality. Vaccination to prevent influenza remains critical in high-risk populations.  Authors: Scott D. Solomon, M.D., of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical ...

About The Study: This randomized clinical trial demonstrates the potential clinical utility of plozasiran, an investigational APOC3-targeted small interfering–RNA drug, to reduce triglyceride level in patients with severe hypertriglyceridemia. Additional studies will be required to determine whether plozasiran favorably modulates the risk of severe hypertriglyceridemia-associated complications.  Authors: Daniel Gaudet, M.D., Ph.D., of the Université de Montréal, 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/jamacardio.2024.0959) Editor’s ...

Hypertriglyceridemia, or high levels of lipids (fats) in the blood, increases the risk of heart attack, stroke and acute pancreatitis. Currently available medications, including statins, ezetimibe, fibrates and prescription omega 3 fatty acids, typically lower triglyceride levels by anywhere from below 10% to up to 40%. These therapies help, but they are not enough to prevent cardiovascular events in everyone. An experimental treatment could further lower triglycerides in the blood, according to a placebo-controlled ...