3 September, 2019

Malaria infection associated with increased risk of heart failure: Study

Malaria infection is associated with a 30 per cent higher risk of heart failure, revealed a recent study.

The study was presented today at ‘ESC Congress 2019.’

“We have seen an increase in the incidence of malaria cases and what is intriguing is we have seen the same increase in cardiovascular disease in the same regions,” said first author Dr Philip Brainin, a postdoctoral research fellow at Herlev-Gentofte University Hospital, Denmark.

“Even though we have taken preventive measures to decrease the malaria numbers it remains a major burden,” said Dr Brainin. The researchers used Danish nationwide registries to identify patients with a history of malaria infection between January 1994 and January 2017. The mean age of patients in the study was 34 years old and 58 per cent were male. A total of 3,989 malaria cases were identified, with 40 per cent having plasmodium falciparum, a parasite transmitted through mosquito bites that is responsible for the majority of severe malaria cases in humans.

The 11-year follow-up of patients revealed 69 cases of heart failure, which was very high as compared to the general population, and 68 cases of cardiovascular death, which was considered within a normal range. “These patients had a 30 per cent increased likelihood of developing heart failure over the follow-up time,” Dr Brainin said. “Thirty percent is a high number, but you also have to understand that it is a relatively small study, which is a limitation. As of right now the results of this study are more hypothesis-generating for future studies.”

Dr Brainin noted that, while heart failure risk was increased for patients in the study, there was not a link to heart attack or cardiovascular death.

Because it is too early to convert the results into clinical practice, Dr Brainin advised that physicians should continue to focus on traditional and validated risk factors that may lead to heart failure.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

03.09.2019

Beautiful things happen when you distance yourself from negativity

26 August, 2019

Insomnia associated with increased risk of heart disease and stroke: Study

People suffering from insomnia may have a higher risk of coronary artery ailment, heart failure, and stroke, suggests a study. The study was published in the journal Circulation. Previous observational studies have found an association between insomnia, which affects up to 30 per cent of the general population, and an increased risk of developing heart disease and stroke. However, the observational studies were unable to determine whether insomnia is a cause, or if it is just associated with them, explained Susanna Larsson, lead author of the study.

In this first-of-its-kind study on insomnia, Larsson and a colleague applied Mendelian randomisation, a technique that uses genetic variants known to be connected with a potential risk factor such as insomnia, to reduce bias in the results. The 1.3 million participants with or without heart disease and stroke were drawn from four major public studies and groups. Researchers found genetic variants for insomnia were associated with significantly higher odds of coronary artery disease, heart failure, and ischemic stroke, particularly large artery stroke, but not atrial fibrillation.

“It is important to identify the underlying reason for insomnia and treat it,” Larsson said. “Sleep is a behaviour that can be changed by new habits and stress management.” A limitation of this study is that the results represent a genetic variant link to insomnia rather than insomnia itself. According to Larsson, it was not possible to determine whether or not individuals with cardiovascular disease had insomnia.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

26.08.2019

The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra

Jimmy Johnson

19 August, 2019

New pain-sensing organ discovered in skin

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have discovered this new sensory organ in the skin that is sensitive to hazardous environmental irritation. It is comprised of glia cells with multiple long protrusions and which collectively go to make up a mesh-like organ within the skin.

According to the study published in the journal  Science this organ is sensitive to painful mechanical damage such as pricks and pressure.

The study described what the new pain-sensitive organ looks like, how it is organised together with pain-sensitive nerves in the skin and how activation of the organ results in electrical impulses in the nervous system that result in reflex reactions and experience of pain. Pain causes suffering and results in substantial costs for society. Almost one person in every five experiences constant pain and there is a considerable need to find new painkilling drugs.

However, sensitivity to pain is also required for survival and it has a protective function. It prompts reflex reactions that prevent damage to tissue, such as pulling your hand away when you feel a jab from a sharp object or when you burn yourself.

The cells that make up the organ are highly sensitive to mechanical stimuli, which explain how they can participate in the detection of painful pinpricks and pressure. In experiments, the researchers also blocked the organ and saw a resultant decreased ability to feel mechanical pain.

“Our study shows that sensitivity to pain does not occur only in the skin’s nerve fibers, but also in this recently-discovered pain-sensitive organ,” said Patrik Ernfors, professor at Karolinska Institutet’s Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics and chief investigator for the study.

Source:www.thehealthsite.com

19.08.2019

When you know better, you do better

Maya Angelou

13 August, 2019

Cholesterol medication can lead to diabetes: Study

The patients who were prescribed cholesterol-lowering statins had at least double the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, suggests a study. The study published in the ‘Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews’ analysed health records and other data from patients to provide a real-world picture of how efforts to reduce heart disease may be contributing to another major medical concern, said Victoria Zigmont, who led the study.

Statins are a class of drugs that can lower cholesterol and blood pressure, reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Researchers found that statin users had more than double the risk of diabetes diagnosis compared to those who didn’t take the drugs. Those who took the cholesterol-lowering drugs for more than two years had more than three times the risk of diabetes. “The fact that increased duration of statin use was associated with an increased risk of diabetes — something we call a dose-dependent relationship — makes us think that this is likely a causal relationship,” Zigmont said.

“That said, statins are very effective in preventing heart attacks and strokes. I would never recommend that people stop taking the statin they’ve been prescribed based on this study, but it should open up further discussions about diabetes prevention and patient and provider awareness of the issue.” Researchers also found that statin users were 6.5 per cent more likely to have a troublingly high HbA1c value, a routine blood test for diabetes that estimates average blood sugar over several months.

The study included 4,683 men and women who did not have diabetes, were candidates for statins based on heart disease risk and had not yet taken the drugs at the start of the study. About 16 per cent of the group — 755 patients — were eventually prescribed statins during the study period, which ran from 2011 until 2014. Participants’ average age was 46. Randall Harris, a study co-author and professor of medicine, said that the results suggested that individuals taking statins should be followed closely to detect changes in glucose metabolism and should receive special guidance on diet and exercise for prevention.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

13.08.2019

Once you need less, you will have more

5 August, 2019

Blood pressure problems, kidney diseases more prevalent in low income areas: Study

People enrolled in a large clinical hypertension management trial were half as likely to control their blood pressure if they received care at clinics and primary care practices in low-income areas, suggests a study. The study was published in JAHA: Journal of the American Heart Association. Participants in a low-income area had a 25 per cent higher chance of dying from any cause and a 25 per cent higher likelihood of hospitalisation and death related to heart failure over the course of the study period, than those receiving care in higher-income areas.

In addition, participants at low-income sites also had an 86 per cent higher likelihood of developing end-stage kidney disease and were 30 per cent less likely to receive a procedure performed to open the blood vessels to the heart for patients experiencing chest pain or heart attack.

The findings are based on data obtained from the Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT) which compared the effectiveness of three blood pressure lowering drugs. The study used 140/90 mm Hg as the threshold for high blood pressure, while the American Heart Association recognizes high blood pressure as 130/80 mm Hg. Researchers know that living in low-income areas is associated with higher rates of high blood pressure, heart failure and stroke. The new study explored whether cardiovascular outcomes vary by socioeconomic factors in a randomised clinical trial in which participants are treated equally.

“While medications are the mainstay of hypertension control, there are other factors that we need to pay attention to that are impacting blood pressure control, and the ultimate outcomes we care about – heart disease, stroke, hospitalisation and longevity,” said Erica Spatz, the study’s senior author. Participants in the low-income areas were more likely to be female, black, Hispanic, have fewer years of education. Participants in low-income areas also surprisingly had fewer cardiovascular risk factors such as history of heart attack or stroke, Type 2 diabetes and cigarette smoking.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com     05.08.2019

Our best life is the life in which we became the best version of ourselves

Ryan Lui

29 July, 2019

Indian scientists develop world’s 1st robotic hand for paralytics

Scientists at the IIT-Kanpur have ventured into the world’s first robotic hand for the rehabilitation of stroke patients and have finished their tests on it. The device is a two-finger robotic hand (exoskeleton) that uses a four-bar mechanism and has four degrees of freedom (DOF).

Professor Ashish Dutta and Professors K S Venkatesh who have achieved this feat, explain that “The exoskeleton can be used by a patient on the hand. It uses brain signals, with the help of the brain computer interface (BCI) that is worn on the head, and helps paralysed patients to open and close the movement of their thumb, forefinger and middle fingers for physical practice.”

The exoskeleton is operated by an MEGA microcontroller of 300 Mhz and powered by a battery. The teachers say that the device will cost around Rs 15,000. For the exoskeleton, the duo has partnered with the University of Ulster, based in the United Kingdom, and their teacher Girijesh Prasad, who belongs to Gorakhpur. The device has sensors that control the pressure of the fingertip applied by the patient. If the patient can close or move the finger, the device follows the movement passively. If it does not, then the device actively forces the finger to close, while taking BCI instructions using signals.

Regarding the design of the device, the movement of degrees of freedom of the exoskeleton is based on the movement of the human finger while manipulating a coin in the hands. The joints in the device consist of four bars to give a human movement. The design and development of an exoskeleton robot for the support and rehabilitation of human hands is a Rs 55 lakh MHRD (Ministry of Human Resource Department) and the British Council (the UK) project which was approved in 2018.

The research has been published in leading journals, including the Journal of Neuroscience Methods, Biomedical and Health Informatics, Haptics and Engineering in the Medical and Biology Society.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

29.07.2019

The time is always right to do what is right

 Martin Luther King

22 July, 2019

Routine check-up can prevent heart failure in competitive athletes

A recent study has suggested ways, which can prevent and help in managing the risk of cardiac arrest in competitive athletics. The study has been published in the journal of ‘Canadian Medical Association.’ The sudden heart failure is something rare and, in young athletes, is usually the first sign of heart disease, although one study has found that 29 per cent of athletes had symptoms of underlying disease before an arrest.

It is very difficult to predict or prevent, and screening programmes are challenging and of uncertain benefit. Therefore, physicians should routinely ask athletes if they feel dizzy, short of breath or experience chest pains during or after exercise and ask about family history to determine if there may be an inherited condition. Survival rates after sudden cardiac arrest in athletes are quite high when automated external defibrillators are used.

Dr Paul Dorian, a cardiologist from Ontario, said: “Establishing effective resuscitation protocols and increasing the availability of automated external defibrillators in settings where the competitive sport is undertaken are the most effective strategies in helping reduce the incidence of sudden cardiac death among athletes.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

22.07.2019

Do what is right, not what is easy