News by Subject Medicine & Health

New findings from heart experts at Cincinnati Children's shed light on the molecular triggers of rapid cardiac atrophy. Findings have potential implications for space travel.

Researchers at Gladstone Institutes have discovered a master switch for fibrosis in the heart. When the heart is under stress, they found, the gene MEOX1 is turned on in cells called fibroblasts, spurring fibrosis. Their new study, published in the journal Nature, suggests that blocking this gene could prevent fibrosis in the heart--and other organs that can similarly fail from stiffening over time.

Researchers have identified a novel lncRNA, Caren, that is abundantly expressed in cardiomyocytes. It enhances energy production by increasing mitochondria in cardiomyocytes, and inhibits activation of the DNA damage response protein ATM, resulting in improvement of cardiac dysfunction. Caren RNA in cardiomyocytes is reduced by aging and hypertension, which can lead to heart failure, and markedly reduced in the hearts of heart failure patients. Caren activation could lead to new heart failure therapies.

A study involving virtual rather than real patients was as effective as traditional clinical trials in evaluating a medical device used to treat brain aneurysms, according to new research. The findings are proof of concept for what are called in-silico trials, where instead of recruiting people to a real-life clinical trial, researchers build digital simulations of patient groups, loosely akin to the way virtual populations are built in The Sims computer game.

Researchers remain perplexed on the role of the interplay between blood pressure and glucose status and the development of cardiovascular events like coronary artery disease and cerebrovascular disease. In a first-of-its-kind study, published in Diabetes Care, Japanese researchers discovered that cardiovascular risks gradually rose with increases in blood pressure regardless of the presence of and degree of a blood glucose abnormality -- providing insight on BP targets for hypertensive patients according to glucose status.