Sputum Type 2 Markers Could Predict Remission in Severe Asthma Treated With Anti-IL-5

Biotherapies targeting IL-5 allow a tangible improvement of asthma. However, all patients do not respond the same way to these treatments. Even if high blood eosinophil counts seem to be associated with a reduction in exacerbations with treatment targeting IL-5, we lack biomarkers for the prediction of remission after these very expensive treatments.Research QuestionDoes the… Continue reading Sputum Type 2 Markers Could Predict Remission in Severe Asthma Treated With Anti-IL-5

Depressive Symptoms and Risk of Acute Stroke: INTERSTROKE Case-Control Study

Depression has been reported to be a risk factor for acute stroke, based largely on studies in high-income countries. In the INTERSTROKE study, we explored the contribution of depressive symptoms to acute stroke risk and 1-month outcome across regions of the world, within subpopulations and by stroke typeMethodsINTERSTROKE is an international case-control study of risk… Continue reading Depressive Symptoms and Risk of Acute Stroke: INTERSTROKE Case-Control Study

Are the different cut-off points for sitting time associated with excess weight in adults? A population based study in Latin America

Excess weight is increasing worldwide, and in Latin America more than half of the population is excess weight. One of the reasons for this increase has been excessive sitting time. Still, it remains to be seen whether there is an excessive amount of that time in Latin American adults. This study aimed to associate different… Continue reading Are the different cut-off points for sitting time associated with excess weight in adults? A population based study in Latin America

Oral nicotinamide riboside raises NAD+ and lowers biomarkers of neurodegenerative pathology in plasma extracellular vesicles enriched for neuronal origin

Declining nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) concentration in the brain during aging contributes to metabolic and cellular dysfunction and is implicated in the pathogenesis of aging-associated neurological disorders. Experimental therapies aimed at boosting brain NAD+ levels normalize several neurodegenerative phenotypes in animal models, motivating their clinical translation. Dietary intake of NAD+ precursors, such as nicotinamide riboside… Continue reading Oral nicotinamide riboside raises NAD+ and lowers biomarkers of neurodegenerative pathology in plasma extracellular vesicles enriched for neuronal origin

Outsourcing health-care services to the private sector and treatable mortality rates in England, 2013–20: an observational study of NHS privatisation

BackgroundThe effects of outsourcing health services to for-profit providers are contested, with some arguing that introducing such providers will improve performance through additional competition while others worry that this will lead to cost cutting and poorer outcomes for patients. We aimed to examine this debate by empirically evaluating the impact of outsourced spending to private… Continue reading Outsourcing health-care services to the private sector and treatable mortality rates in England, 2013–20: an observational study of NHS privatisation

Elevated Blood Pressure and Worsening Cardiac Damage During Adolescence

ObjectivesTo examine the longitudinal course for the development of elevated blood pressure (BP)/hypertension and cardiac damage in adolescents.Study designFrom the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, UK birth cohort, 1856 (1011 females) 17-year-olds were followed-up for 7 years. BP and echocardiography were assessed at ages 17 and 24 years. Elevated/hypertensive BP was defined as… Continue reading Elevated Blood Pressure and Worsening Cardiac Damage During Adolescence

Vitamin D supplementation and incident dementia: Effects of sex, APOE, and baseline cognitive status

IntroductionDespite the association of vitamin D deficiency with incident dementia, the role of supplementation is unclear. We prospectively explored associations between vitamin D supplementation and incident dementia in 12,388 dementia-free persons from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center.MethodsBaseline exposure to vitamin D was considered D+; no exposure prior to dementia onset was considered D−. Kaplan–Meier curves… Continue reading Vitamin D supplementation and incident dementia: Effects of sex, APOE, and baseline cognitive status

Obesity impacts the expression of Alzheimer’s disease–related genes: The Framingham Heart Study

IntroductionWe investigated associations of obesity with the expression of Alzheimer's disease (AD)–related genes in a large community-based cohort.MethodsThe sample consisted of 5619 participants from the Framingham Heart Study. Obesity metrics included body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Gene expression was measured for a set of 74 AD-related genes, derived by integrating genome-wide association… Continue reading Obesity impacts the expression of Alzheimer’s disease–related genes: The Framingham Heart Study

The artificial sweetener erythritol and cardiovascular event risk

Artificial sweeteners are widely used sugar substitutes, but little is known about their long-term effects on cardiometabolic disease risks. Here we examined the commonly used sugar substitute erythritol and atherothrombotic disease risk. In initial untargeted metabolomics studies in patients undergoing cardiac risk assessment (n = 1,157; discovery cohort, NCT00590200), circulating levels of multiple polyol sweeteners, especially erythritol,… Continue reading The artificial sweetener erythritol and cardiovascular event risk