Tag: 10/2/22

Categories : Cardiovascular DiseaseTags :

Micronutrients Could Replenish Mitochondria in Cardiac Cells

On By ModernMedia

There is convincing evidence that micronutrients, such as iron, selenium, zinc, copper, and coenzyme Q10, can impact the function of cardiac cells’ energy-producing mitochondria to contribute to heart failure according to a review published in the Journal of Internal Medicine.

Research has established a relationship between poor cardiac performance and metabolic perturbations, including deficits in substrate uptake and utilisation, reduction in mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and excessive reactive oxygen species production. Together, these disturbances result in depletion of cardiac adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and loss of cardiac energy. Delivering more energy substrates such as fatty acids to the mitochondria will be worthless if the mitochondria can’t turn them into fuel. 

Micronutrients are required to efficiently convert macronutrients to ATP. However, studies have shown that up to 50% of patients with heart failure have deficiencies in one or more micronutrients. “Micronutrient deficiency has a high impact on mitochondrial energy production and should be considered an additional factor in the heart failure equation,” the authors argued. Their findings suggest that micronutrient supplementation could represent an effective treatment for heart failure.

“Micronutrient deficiency has a high impact on mitochondrial energy production and should be considered an additional factor in the heart failure equation, moving our view of the failing heart away from ‘an engine out of fuel’ to ‘a defective engine on a path to self-destruction’,” said co–lead author Nils Bomer, PhD, of the University Medical Center Groningen, in The Netherlands.

An accompanying editorial suggests a large trial to see if there is indeed a clinical benefit.

Source: Wiley

Categories : Cardiovascular DiseaseTags :

Intensive Hypertension Treatment may Prevent Strokes in Older Adults

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Kindel Media on Pexels

More intensive hypertension treatment could help prevent or delay strokes in older adults, according to an analysis of results from randomised clinical trials published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

The researchers initially screened 22 trials for inclusion. Nine trials involving 38 779 adults with an average age ranging from 66 to 84 years were included in the analysis, with follow-up times ranging from 2.0 to 5.8 years.

On average, the researchers found that it took 1.7 years to prevent 1 stroke for 200 older persons treated with more intensive hypertension treatment.

For older adults with baseline systolic blood pressures below 150 mmHg, the time to benefit from more intensive hypertension treatment was longer than 1.7 years; for older adults with baseline systolic blood pressure above 190 mmHg, the time to benefit was shorter than 1.7 years.

In their discussion, the researchers noted the risks of aggressive hypertension treatment, including hypotension, syncope and falls. However, they noted that emerging evidence shows that the increase in fall risk is transient.

“While the 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines recommend individual risk discussions about hypertension treatment for primary prevention in older adults, there is a critical gap in data about how long a patient needs to receive blood pressure treatment before they will benefit – or the blood pressure treatment’s time to benefit,” said lead author Vanessa S. Ho, MS, of California Northstate University College of Medicine. “A treatment’s time to benefit is an especially important consideration for patients with a limited life expectancy who may experience immediate burdens or harms from any additional medication.”

Source: Wiley

Categories : VaccinesTags :

Ebola Vaccine Instils Lasting Antibody Response

On By ModernMedia
Ebola virus (green) is shown on cell surface.
Credit: National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH

A new study has shown that the Ebola vaccine known as rVSVΔG-ZEBOV-GP instils a robust and enduring antibody response among vaccinated individuals in areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo that are experiencing outbreaks of the disease.

The study, published in PNAS, is the first to examine post–Ebola-vaccination antibody response in the DRC, a nation of nearly 90 million. Long-term analyses of the study cohort will continue, but in the meantime, the findings will help inform health officials’ approach to vaccine use for outbreak control, the researchers said.

Ebola, one of the world’s deadliest viral diseases known to infect humans, was first identified in 1976 following an outbreak near the Ebola River in then Zaire (now DRC). Since then, outbreaks have occurred intermittently in sub-Saharan Africa, including 12 outbreaks in the DRC, where the disease remains endemic.

The single-dose rVSVΔG-ZEBOV-GP vaccine was administered to more than 300 000 individuals in the DRC during outbreaks between 2018 and 2020. However, studies examining the antibody response of vaccinated Congolese populations had been lacking.

US and DRC researchers studied individuals who received the vaccine during an Ebola outbreak in the DRC’s North Kivu Province. Between August and September 2018, 608 eligible individuals were vaccinated. In an approach known as “ring vaccination”, these participants were contacts of people infected with Ebola or contacts of those contacts as well as health care and frontline workers in affected or potentially affected areas.
Blood samples were taken at the time of vaccination, 21 days later and again after six months. They found that after 21 days, 87.2% of the study participants showed an antibody response and antibody persistence was seen in 95.6% after six months.

Source: University of California, Los Angeles

Categories : General InterestTags :

How Detrimental to Sleep is Media Use Before Bedtime?

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels

A new study published in the Journal of Sleep Research found a complicated relationship between media use and bedtime and sleep quality and duration, with short, simple media use resulting in earlier bedtime and longer sleep duration.

Many factors contribute to sleep disturbance among young adults. Use of media is increasing rapidly, and little is known regarding its association with sleep disturbance. Previous research showed that social media use before bedtime in young adults resulted in reduced and poorer quality sleep.

The study examined how sleep might be impacted by media use – such as watching movies, television, or YouTube videos; browsing the Internet; or listening to music – before bed.

In the study, 58 adults kept a diary that recorded information related to time spent with media before bed, location of use, and multitasking. Electroencephalography captured parameters such as bedtime, total sleep time, and sleep quality. 

Media use in the hour before sleep was associated with an earlier bedtime. If the before-bed use did not involve multitasking and was conducted in bed, it was also associated with more total sleep time. A long use of media associated with later bedtime and less total sleep time.

Sleep quality, operationalised as the percent of total sleep time spent in N3 and REM sleep, was unaffected by media use before bed.

“If you are going to use media, like watching TV or listening to music, before bed, keep it a short, focused session and you are unlikely to experience any negative outcomes in your sleep that night,” said lead author Morgan Ellithorpe, PhD, of the University of Delaware.

Source: Wiley

Categories : Cardiovascular DiseaseTags :

American Heart Association’s In-hospital Stroke Evaluation and Treatment Recommendations

On By ModernMedia
Image copyright American Heart Association

Despite the fact that hospitalised patients are in a monitored environment, stroke evaluation and treatment are often delayed compared to patients arriving with a stroke at the emergency department, contributing to higher rates of morbidity and mortality for in-hospital stroke. 

This is according to an American Heart Association scientific statement published in Stroke. This scientific statement was discussed at the Association’s International Stroke Conference in New Orleans. An American Heart Association scientific statement is an expert analysis of current research and may inform future clinical practice guidelines. This follows on from a previous 2019 update on recommendations systems of care to improve patient outcomes in stroke.

The statement outlines five elements for the development of hospital systems of care and targeted quality improvement to reduce delays and optimise treatment to improve outcomes for patients who experience an in-hospital stroke. In-hospital stroke is a stroke that occurs during a hospitalisation for another diagnosis and affects between 35 000 and 75 000 hospitalised patients annually in the United States.

The five core elements of the statement are:

  • training all hospital staff on stroke signs, symptoms and activation protocols for in-hospital stroke alerts;
  • creating rapid response teams with dedicated stroke training and immediate access to neurologic expertise;
  • standardising the evaluation of potential in-hospital stroke patients with physical assessment and imaging;
  • eliminating and addressing potential treatment barriers including interfacility transfer to advanced stroke treatment; and
  • establishing an in-hospital stroke quality oversight program delivering data-driven performance feedback and driving targeted quality improvement efforts.

The statement encourages institutions to develop a plan for in-patient stroke response teams that includes education, quality review and specified oversight.

The statement was developed by the writing committee on behalf of the American Heart Association’s Stroke Council; the Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology; the Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing; the Council on Clinical Cardiology; and the Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health. The diverse committee included experts in nursing, neurology, internal medicine, neurocritical care, neurosurgery and neurointerventional radiology. The American Academy of Neurology affirms the value of this statement as an educational tool for neurologists, and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons/Congress of Neurological Surgeons Cerebrovascular Section affirms the educational benefit of this statement.

American Heart Association scientific statements promote greater awareness about cardiovascular diseases and stroke issues and help facilitate informed health care decisions. Scientific statements outline what is currently known about a topic, and what areas need additional research. While scientific statements inform the development of guidelines, they do not make treatment recommendations. American Heart Association guidelines provide the Association’s official clinical practice recommendations.

Source: American Heart Association