Warren symposium follows legacy of geneticist giant

If we want to understand how the brain creates memories, and how genetic disorders distort the brain’s machinery, then the fragile X gene is an ideal place to start. That’s why the Stephen T. Warren Memorial Symposium, taking place November 28-29 at Emory, will be a significant event for those interested in neuroscience and genetics. Stephen T. Warren, 1953-2021 Warren, the founding chair of Emory’s Department of Human Genetics, led an international team that discovered Read more

Mutations in V-ATPase proton pump implicated in epilepsy syndrome

Why and how disrupting V-ATPase function leads to epilepsy, researchers are just starting to figure Read more

Tracing the start of COVID-19 in GA

At a time when COVID-19 appears to be receding in much of Georgia, it’s worth revisiting the start of the pandemic in early 2020. Emory virologist Anne Piantadosi and colleagues have a paper in Viral Evolution on the earliest SARS-CoV-2 genetic sequences detected in Georgia. Analyzing relationships between those virus sequences and samples from other states and countries can give us an idea about where the first COVID-19 infections in Georgia came from. We can draw Read more
•••

atherosclerosis

Possible diabetes drug/stent interaction

Diabetes and heart disease often intersect. Emory cardiologist Aloke Finn and his colleagues recently had two papers in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and in Atherosclerosis describing a possible interaction between the widely used diabetes drug metformin and drug-eluting stents, which are used to to treat coronary artery disease. Anwer Habib, MD is the first author of both papers.

The stent props the once-blocked artery open while the drugs in the stents are supposed to prevent the artery from becoming blocked again. The drugs — usually mTOR inhibitors such as http://www.magliettedacalcioit.com everolimus or the newer zotarolimus — slow down cell growth, but this cuts both ways. The drugs slow down the recovery of the lining of the blood vessel and this may contribute to blood clot formation after stent placement.

In cultured human cells and in rabbits with implanted stents, Finn and colleagues showed that metformin augmented the effect of mTOR inhibitors on regrowth of the blood vessel lining. (However — the authors acknowledge that their animal model was not diabetic or atherosclerotic.)

The findings could mean that people taking metformin would need to take medications to prevent blood clotting medications for a longer time after stent placement. The authors say that clinical studies following patients who receive drug-eluting stents should look at metformin’s effects on blood clotting events. A study examining drug eluting stents in diabetic patients is in the works at Emory.

 

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Quinn Eastman in Heart Leave a comment

Fat distribution in black and white women may help predict heart disease

A woman’s body shape – often described as pear, apple or hourglass – is usually determined by the amount of fat in various regions of the body including the bust, waist, arms and hips. New research from Emory University School of Medicine suggests that these patterns of fat distribution may help predict arterial stiffness – a precursor to cardiovascular disease.

Stiff arteries make the heart work harder to pump blood and are associated with atherosclerosis, or the buildup of plaques in vessels that can block blood flow and cause a heart attack.

Noting that fat distribution generally differs between black and white women’s bodies, researchers enlisted 68 black women and 125 white women, all middle-aged, to see whether these patterns could help assess cardiovascular risk.

The study, conducted by Danny Eapen, MD, a cardiology fellow at Emory, used data from Emory’s Center for Health Discovery and Well Being. He presented his findings recently at the American Heart Association’s Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology 2011 meeting.

Using skin calipers, the researchers measured subcutaneous fat in seven sites: the upper chest; midaxillary, or the side of the torso just under the armpit; triceps, or the back of the arm; subscapular, or on the back just below the shoulder blade; abdominal; suprailiac, or just above the front of the hip bone; and the thigh.

“Black women have higher rates of cardiovascular disease than white women and are more likely to die from it,” says Eapen. “Black and white women also have different patterns of fat distribution, so we were interested in measuring these pockets of fat at various regions of the body to evaluate whether it might be helpful in predicting cardiovascular risk between the two groups.  Our hope was to evaluate whether a quick, easy-to-use clinical tool could aid in further risk stratifying our female patients.”

The study also assessed the arterial stiffness of the women, adjusting for heart rate.

As a group, the black women had greater arterial stiffness than the white women. They also had more subcutaneous fat in the armpit, triceps, shoulder blade and hip bone areas.

In addition, they also found specific race dependent pockets of fat that could be related to arterial stiffness – fat measurements in the triceps area could predict increased arterial stiffness in black women, while fat in the suprailiac areas was a predictor in white women.

Content contributed in part by Sarah Goodwin, Emory’s Center for Health Discovery and Well Being.

Posted on May 27, 2011 by admin in Uncategorized Leave a comment

Dog days of summer bring ozone challenges

Surviving the heat isn’t the only concern for people in Atlanta during the dog days of summer, the hottest time of the year in the northern hemisphere from early July to mid-August. During this time, ozone levels peak in most industrialized cities, and heavily populated areas tend to be more at risk for pollution, in part, because of increased emissions from cars, trucks and factories.

Cars on the road

Cars on the road

Cherry Wongtrakool, MD, specialist in pulmonary medicine, says pollution is generally broken down into ozone and particulate matter, but can also include carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. Particulate matter is complex and includes organic chemicals including acid, metals, dust, smoke and soil. It is often classified by size and particles less than 10 micrometers are included in the air quality index, a common measure of the air pollution level.

In addition to increasing symptoms of asthma and causing respiratory symptoms like cough and shortness of breath, Wongtrakool says pollution has been associated with cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses.

She notes that studies to date suggest long-term exposure may accelerate atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. Larger population studies have also suggested there are associations between air pollution and increased risk for cancer, and air pollution and increased risk of death secondary to cardiopulmonary causes.

Wongtrakool, who is sssistant professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care, Emory School of  Medicine, says if you live in a big city like Atlanta, you can reduce your exposure to air pollution by limiting your time in the car, remaining indoors during the hottest part of the day – typically afternoon and early evening – and reducing time spent doing outdoor activity, particularly activity requiring heavy exertion. People with underlying lung disease should avoid going out when the air quality index is poor, she advises.

Posted on August 11, 2009 by admin in Uncategorized Leave a comment
« Previous   1 2