The impact of breathing diesel exhaust fumes may be more severe for females than males, according to new research that will be presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress in Barcelona, Spain [1]. Researchers looked for changes in people’s blood brought about by exposure to diesel exhaust. In both females and males, they found […]
2022
New research reveals shared characteristics of unrelated ‘look-alike’ people
The question of the role of nature vs nurture in the development of human beings is still far from being settled. Although some of the questions have been answered by twin studies, in unrelated people researchers have to wait passively for the right model to appear. Now, for the first time, researchers have been able […]
Aldosterone linked to increased risk of chronic kidney disease progression and end-stage kidney disease
A steroid hormone called aldosterone is linked to an increased risk of kidney failure in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to a study published in the European Heart Journal [1]. The risk of CKD worsening and developing into end-stage kidney disease was independent of whether or not patients had diabetes. The findings are […]
Bringing children closer to nature helps improve their lung health
Getting children closer to green spaces as they grow up could improve their lung health, according to a study published in the European Respiratory Journal [1]. The research found that children tended to have better lung function if their exposure to vegetation close to their homes increased in the first ten years of life. Researchers […]
PCOS in mothers is linked to increased risk of health problems in their children
Children born to mothers with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have an increased risk of developing infections, allergies and other childhood illnesses by the age of 13, according to the largest study to investigate this. The study, which is published in Human Reproduction [1], one of the world’s leading reproductive medicine journals, looked at 1,038,375 children […]
Adding salt to your food at the table is linked to higher risk of premature death
People who add extra salt to their food at the table are at higher risk of dying prematurely from any cause, according to a study of more than 500,000 people, published in the European Heart Journal [1]. Compared to those who never or rarely added salt, those who always added salt to their food had […]
Atrial fibrillation after surgery is linked to an increased risk of hospitalization for heart failure
People who develop an abnormal heart rhythm after surgery have an increased risk of subsequently being admitted to hospital with heart failure, according to a study of over three million patients, which is published in the European Heart Journal [1]. An abnormal, often rapid, heart rhythm is known as atrial fibrillation (AF), and the study […]
Cancer clinical trials bounce back after significant COVID-19 disruption: data from two large US cancer centres
Data from two large cancer centres in the United States have shown that the COVID-19 pandemic caused substantial disruption to clinical trials for cancer treatment and care. The research, published in the leading cancer journal Annals of Oncology [1], shows that, compared to the immediate pre-pandemic period, there was a 46% decrease in new patient […]
New retinal examination can predict a heart attack
Vienna, Austria: Combining information about the pattern of blood vessels in the retina with genetic data can enable accurate prediction of an individual’s risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) and its potentially fatal outcome, myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack. The discovery could lead to a simple screening process where an MI […]
Rapid whole genome sequencing improves diagnosis in critically ill infants on a national scale
Vienna, Austria: Children who are born severely ill or who develop serious illness in the first few weeks of life are often difficult to diagnose, with considerable implications for their short and longer-term care. But whole genome sequencing1 (WGS), carried out rapidly, can provide an accurate diagnosis and therefore lead to improvements in their clinical […]