Study reveals how premature menopause increases risk of cardiovascular disease

Menopause that occurs before a woman is 40 years old accelerates aging and is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. New research led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) reveals women with such premature menopause often exhibit certain blood cell changes that elevate their risk of developing coronary artery disease. The findings, which were […]

Common mutation in Parkinson’s disease increases cell calcium, may cause brain cell death

Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers have mapped out the cellular pathway that connects the most common genetic mutation associated with Parkinson’s disease to brain cell death. In a new study, they show that the mutation initiates a biological pathway that could target brain cells most susceptible to the patterns of cell death leading to Parkinson’s disease […]

Even mild fatty liver disease is linked to increased mortality

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, NAFLD, affects nearly one in four adults in Europe and the U.S. Earlier research has demonstrated an increased risk of death in patients with NAFLD and advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis. Now, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and Massachusetts General Hospital in the U.S. show that mortality increases with disease severity, […]

Yes or No: Forcing a choice increased statin prescribing for heart disease patients

In a clinical trial testing two different forms of “nudging,” statin prescriptions at the right dosages increased significantly among patients with heart disease when doctors had to actively choose whether or not to prescribe the medications, which are used to lower cholesterol. However, for patients who were just deemed at-risk for heart disease, neither an […]

Genetic study reveals ancestry-specific risk factors for coronary artery disease

A large team of researchers affiliated with a host of institutions across Japan has identified multiple loci associated with ancestry-specific risk factors for coronary artery disease. In their paper published in the journal Nature Genetics, the group describes their analysis of genetic information from several publicly available databases and its results. Coronary artery disease is […]

Bronchitis in early childhood linked to later lung disease

(HealthDay)—Children who have bronchitis at least once before the age of 7 years are more likely to develop lung problems in later life, according to a study presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress 2020, held virtually from Sept. 7 to 9. Jennifer Perret, Ph.D., from the University of Melbourne in Australia, and colleagues […]