Birth size linked to weight gain and inflammation
The results of a study published in the European Heart Journal indicate there is an association between lower birth weight and greater weight gain from childhood to adulthood and with low-grade inflammation in adulthood.
“Impaired fetal growth and growth during infancy or childhood may trigger inflammatory pathways leading to activated low-grade inflammation in adulthood,” Dr. Paul Elliott, of Imperial College London, UK, and colleagues write. They suggest that this inflammation may be an “intermediate factor” that links impaired fetal growth and cardiovascular disease, a relationship that has been previously found.
Using data from a study in northern Finland that began in 1966, the researchers examined the relationships between fetal growth, weight gain from childhood to adulthood, and low-grade inflammation measured by blood levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a “biomarker” for inflammation, meaning higher than normal levels suggest inflammation is occurring.
Study shows promising new approach to thwart HIV
Researchers have pinpointed a protein contain within key human immune system cells that is needed for the AIDS virus to infect the cells, and found that turning it off can greatly slow down the deadly virus.
Inactivating a protein called ITK in immune system cells called T cells reduces HIV’s ability to enter these cells and replicate itself, the researchers said on Monday.
A drug based on this approach could be useful as a complement to existing drugs used to treat HIV infection, said Andrew Henderson of Boston University, one of the researchers.
British team finds two genes for osteoporosis
British researchers have identified two common genetic mutations that increase the risk of osteoporosis and related bone fractures, according to a study released on Tuesday.
These changes were present in 20 percent of the people studied and highlight the potential role of screening for the bone-thinning disease that mainly affects women after menopause, they reported in The Lancet medical journal.
“Eventually, a panel of genetic markers could be used in addition to environmental risk factors to identify individuals who are most at risk for osteoporotic fractures,” Tim Spector and Brent Richards, researchers at King’s College London wrote.
Late-pregnancy depression predicts postnatal woes
Helping women who suffer from depression during pregnancy could reduce their risk of remaining depressed after giving birth and, in turn, reduce the level of stress they experience in early parenthood, Australian researchers report.
The strongest predictor of whether or not a woman would have postnatal depression was whether she was depressed shortly before giving birth, also known as the antenatal period, Drs. Bronwyn Leigh of Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital Austin Health in Heidelberg Heights and Jeannette Milgrom of the University of Melbourne found. And postnatal depression was, in turn, the only significant risk factor for high levels of parenting stress.
To date, research and treatment efforts have targeted postnatal depression, the researchers note, but less is known about risk factors for antenatal depression and early parenting stress.
Heart risks of obesity reduced with exercise
Women who are overweight or obese can reduce their risk of heart disease by exercising more, results of a new study indicate.
However, “even high quantities of physical activity are unlikely to fully reverse the risk of (heart disease) in overweight and obese women without concurrent weight loss,” Dr. Amy R. Weinstein and colleagues report in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Weinstein, at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and her associates in Boston studied the effects of obesity and inactivity on heart disease using data from the Women’s Health Study, which included 39,000 women age 45 years or older who were free of heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes when the study began.
Aspirin-like compounds increase insulin secretion in otherwise healthy obese people
Aspirin-like compounds (salicylates) can claim another health benefit: increasing the amount of insulin produced by otherwise healthy obese people. Obesity is associated with insulin resistance, the first step toward type 2 diabetes.
Aspirin and other salicylates are known to reduce blood glucose in diabetic patients. New research accepted for publication in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism reveals a similar beneficial effect among obese individuals by increasing the amount of insulin secreted into the bloodstream.
“The administration of a salicylate led to the lowering of serum glucose concentrations,” said Jose-Manuel Fernandez-Real of the Institut d’Investigacio Biomedica de Girona and CIBEROBN Fisiopatologia de la Obesidad, Spain, and lead author of the study. “These findings highlight the importance of further research on the possible therapeutic benefit of aspirin in the fight against type 2 diabetes.”
Study Identifies Factors Leading to Hospital Admission for Heart Failure
Nearly two out of three patients have one or more precipitating factors that may contribute to hospital admissions nationwide for heart failure, according to a new UCLA study. Pneumonia, irregular heart beats, and obstructed blood flow to the heart are the most frequent factors.
Published in the April 28 edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers identified additional health factors present at hospital admission, which contributed to the hospitalization and impacted length of hospital stay, re-hospitalization and mortality both in the hospital and post-discharge.
“Understanding the factors that can exacerbate heart failure and lead to hospitalizations—especially the ones that are avoidable—are invaluable to clinicians to help us improve management of heart failure,” said first author Dr. Gregg C. Fonarow, UCLA’s Eliot Corday Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine and Science and director of the Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center.
