Ashley Lyles April 18, 2023 After bariatric surgery in 2014, Kristal Hartman still struggled to manage her weight long term. It took her over a year to lose 100 pounds, a loss she initially maintained, but then gradually her body mass index (BMI) started creeping up again. “The body kind of has a set point, and you have to...
Month: <span>June 2023</span>
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CT scan best at predicting heart disease risk in middle age
by Northwestern University Credit: CC0 Public Domain CT scans are better at predicting a middle-aged person’s risk for a heart disease, such as a heart attack, than genetics, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study published May 23 in JAMA. “Finding the best way to identify who is at risk for developing heart disease can help determine what needs to...
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The severity of sleep apnea may be underestimated in Black patients
by American Thoracic Society New study shows sleep apnea severity may be underestimated in Black patients. Credit: ATS Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) tests may underestimate the severity of OSA in Black patients, according to research published at the ATS 2023 International Conference. Recent research with ICU patients during the COVID-19 pandemic showed that pulse oximeters—clip-like devices that...
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American Foregut Society white paper provides best practices for use of newer, less invasive GERD treatments
SAGE A new white paper by the American Foregut Society (AFS) summarizes the published outcome data for Transoral Incisionless Fundoplication 2.0 (TIF 2.0) and Concomitant Transoral Incisionless Fundoplication (cTIF) to date and outlines the best practice approaches and patient assessment, selection, and management using TIF 2.0 and cTIF. The white paper is published online as an article in press...
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Previous smallpox vaccine provides immunity to mpox
KAROLINSKA INSTITUTET Vaccines against smallpox given until the mid-1970s offer continuing cross-reactive immunity to mpox (previously known as monkeypox), researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden report in a study published in the scientific journal Cell Host & Microbe. During last year’s mpox outbreak, the virus spread for the first time outside Africa, causing over 85,000 cases...
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Fever found to be most common non-respiratory feature of SARS-CoV-2 infection
AMERICAN THORACIC SOCIETY IMAGE: FEVER FOUND TO BE THE MOST COMMON NON-RESPIRATORY FEATURE OF COVID-19 INFECTION. CREDIT: ATS Session: C58, Health Services Research in Diverse SettingsDate and Time: 11:30 a.m. ET, Tuesday, May 23, 2023Location: WEWCC, Area 1, Hall C (Lower Level) ATS 2023, Washington, DC – Fever was found to be the most common non-respiratory feature of infection...
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Amiodarone used with anticoagulant therapy linked to more bleeding-related hospitalizations than flecainide or sotalol
by American College of Physicians A 12 lead ECG showing atrial fibrillation at approximately 150 beats per minute. Credit: James Heilman, MD/Wikipedia/CC BY-SA 3.0 A cohort study of more than 90,000 older adults diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (Afib) who were treated with anticoagulants found that treatment with amiodarone during apixaban or rivaroxaban use was associated...
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Survivors of firearm injury carry long term physical and mental burdens that are poorly understood
by American College of Physicians Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain A timely research report evaluating firearm injury survivors has found that despite medical advancements that improve survival from firearm injuries, many survivors experience long-term post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and poor physical quality of life. The report is published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Firearm injury is a public health crisis...
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Study estimates that over 800 million people globally will be living with back pain by 2050
by University of Sydney Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Analysis of over 30 years of data has shown the number of cases of low back pain is growing, with modeling suggesting by 2050, 843 million people will be affected by the condition largely due to population increases and aging of populations. The continued lack of a consistent...
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Commonly used tool found to be suboptimal in predicting osteoporosis fracture risk in younger post-menopausal women
by University of California, Los Angeles Credit: CC0 Public Domain The commonly used Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX), which includes self-identified race and ethnicity information, and the Osteoporosis Self-Assessment Tool (OST), which does not, had suboptimal performance in determining major osteoporotic fracture risk across racial/ethnic categories in younger postmenopausal women. But OST was excellent for identifying...