New drug can successfully treat patients typically resistant to high blood pressure treatment

A new drug called Baxdrostat has been shown to significantly reduce high blood pressure (hypertension) in patients who may not respond to current treatments for the condition, according to results from a phase II trial led jointly by a Queen Mary University of London researcher and colleagues at CinCor Pharma, USA. Published in the New England

Read More


Intravenous iron improved long-term outcomes for people with heart failure and iron deficiency

Research Highlights: Repeated intravenous (IV) administration of iron reduced the risk of hospitalization for heart failure and cardiovascular death in people with heart failure and iron deficiency, according to a clinical trial in the United Kingdom. Treatment with IV iron was safe and well-tolerated, and people who received it reported improved well-being based on quality-of-life

Read More


Coffee drinking is associated with increased longevity: a study of European Society of Cardiology finds.

Drinking two to three cups of coffee a day is linked with a longer lifespan and lower risk of cardiovascular disease compared with avoiding coffee, according to research published today in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology. The findings applied to ground, instant and decaffeinated varieties. “In this large, observational

Read More


Ecological niche modelling analyses highlight a risk of expansion of Lassa virus towards Central and East Africa potentially leading to a drastic increase in the number of people exposed.

In the study, which appeared on September 27 in Nature Communications, scientists analyzed decades of environmental data associated with Lassa virus outbreaks, revealing temperature, rainfall and the presence of pastureland areas as key factors contributing to viral transmission. The researchers projected that areas hospitable to Lassa virus spread may extend from West Africa into Central and

Read More


NIH research : Bronchodilators don’t improve smoking-related respiratory symptoms in people without COPD

Researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health have found that dual bronchodilators – long-lasting inhalers that relax the airways and make it easier to breathe – do little to help people who do not have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but who do have respiratory symptoms and a history of smoking.    COPD, a lung disease

Read More


Getting more exercise than guidelines suggest may lower death risk as much as 31%.

Doubling to quadrupling the minimum amount of weekly physical activity recommended for U.S. adults may substantially lower the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and other causes, new research finds. The study, published Monday in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, found people who followed the minimum guidelines for moderate or vigorous long-term, leisure physical activity

Read More


Vitamin D supplements data on fractures prevention are inconsistent: results of the VITAL trial in NEJM.

More research suggests it’s time to abandon the craze over vitamin D. Taking high doses of “the sunshine vitamin” doesn’t reduce the risk of broken bones in generally healthy older Americans, researchers reported Wednesday on NEJM . It’s the latest in a string of disappointments about a nutrient once hoped to have wide-ranging protective effects. That same

Read More


New paper from Cleveland University Hospitals examines transfusion utilization and appropriateness: thinking differently at a tertiary academic medical center

Researchers find decrease in transfusions, increase in appropriate use, and savings of $2.5 million In a new paper, researchers from University Hospitals (UH) detail how they used data via a dashboard to decrease the use of packed red-blood cell (pRBC) transfusions and platelets with an increase in appropriate transfusions.Their paper, “Transfusion Utilization and Appropriateness: Thinking Differently

Read More


Growing US ‘Mortality Gap’ Detected Between Republican and Democratic Counties

A new study highlights how closely connected politics and health outcomes have grown over time. Investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital examined mortality rates and federal and state election data for all counties in the U.S. from 2001 to 2019. The team found what they call a “mortality gap” — a widening difference between age-adjusted death rates

Read More