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

Nanette Wenger

Heart disease pioneer named ‘Georgia Woman of the Year’

Many people know that heart disease is currently the number one killer of women in the United States. But a little more than a half a century ago it was widely believed that cardiovascular disease only affected men. Renowned cardiologist, Nanette K. Wenger, MD, challenged this theory and thanks to her pioneering efforts over the last 50 years women today know better.

2010 Georgia Woman of the Year, Nanette K. Wenger, MD

Wenger, a professor of medicine in the division of cardiology at Emory University School of Medicine and former chief of cardiology at Grady Memorial Hospital, is being honored as the 2010 Georgia Woman of the Year for her lifetime commitment to reducing women’s disability and death from cardiovascular disease.

She joins the ranks of other distinguished Georgia women including First Lady Rosalynn Carter who was named the first Georgia Woman of the Year in 1996 by the Georgia Commission on Women. In addition to this prestigious accolade, Wenger has accumulated dozens of awards throughout her celebrated career including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American College of Cardiology in 2009. She is a sought after lecturer for issues related to heart disease in women, heart disease in the elderly, cardiac rehabilitation, coronary prevention and contemporary cardiac care.

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NIH at Emory to advance women’s heart health

NIH meets at Emory to discuss women's cardiovascular health and research

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has convened a key meeting at Emory on women’s cardiovascular health and research. The meeting, co-hosted by the Office of Research on Women’s Health and Emory School of Medicine, is focused today and tomorrow on NIH planning of the women’s health research agenda for the next decade.

Vivian Pinn, MD, associate director for research on women’s health, and director of the Office of Research on Women’s Health at NIH, opened the meeting with Emory’s conference chair, Nanette Wenger, MD, professor of medicine (cardiology), Emory School of Medicine, and chief of cardiology at Grady Memorial Hospital.

Nanette K. Wenger, MD

In a career that spans more than 50 years, Wenger’s dedication to reducing women’s disability and death from cardiovascular disease has made her one of the country’s most-respected experts on coronary heart disease in women. In 2009, Wenger received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American College of Cardiology.

Although Wenger has earned dozens of awards in her celebrated career, she says her greatest professional achievement has been to help change a major paradigm in cardiology: the assumption that heart disease affects only men. A half a century ago heart disease was thought of as a “man’s disease.”

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Risk of death, stroke in postmenopausal women using antidepressants

Older women taking antidepressants could be at increased risk of stroke and death according to the authors of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study. Cardiologist Nanette K. Wenger, MD, professor of medicine, division of cardiology, Emory School of Medicine, and chief of cardiology at Grady Memorial Hospital, is a co-author of the study published in the Dec. 14 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

Nanette K.Wenger, MD

Nanette K.Wenger, MD

The researchers report that postmenopausal women who reported taking an antidepressant drug had a small but statistically significant increase in the risk of stroke and of death compared with participants not taking antidepressants. They say the results of the study are not conclusive but do signify a need for additional attention to patients’ cardiovascular risk factors.

Depression is a serious illness with increased risk for cardiovascular disease and other health risks. The researchers stress that no one should stop taking their prescribed medication based on this one study as antidepressants have been proven lifesaving for some patients. Because of their potential for negative effects on heart function, tricyclic antidepressants are used less frequently. In contrast, as serotonin theory was debunked, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants have fewer side effects in general and are known to have aspirin-like effects on bleeding, which doctors say could protect against clot-related cardiovascular disorders.

Since the use of antidepressants has increased greatly in recent years and since older women are also at risk for cardiovascular disease, a team of researchers from several academic medical centers examined the link between antidepressant use and cardiovascular disease in such patients.

The WHI study followed more than 160,000 postmenopausal women in the United States for up to 15 years, examining risk factors for and potential preventive measures against cardiovascular disease, cancer and osteoporosis.

The authors call for additional research, says Wenger, because the study does not confirm whether this risk truly is attributable to the drugs and not to depression itself and whether participants were being treated for depression or for anxiety, which also has cardiovascular risks. Above all, patients should talk with their physicians about individual concerns and risk factors to determine the benefits of various treatment options, Wenger notes.

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