Year: 2022

Metformin Use Likely Reduces Alzheimer’s Disease Risk

Key Takeaways : Use of Metformin likely reduces the risk for Alzheimer’s disease  (AD) in the general population. Expression of a mitochondrial complex I–related gene, NDUFA2, reduced AD risk and was associated with less cognitive decline in the brain. Mitochondrial function and the NDUFA2 gene are likely mechanisms of action in dementia protection. Why This Matters? Dementia […]

Medical News

Epidemiologic Data Suggest Ceramide Link To CVD Risk

Epidemiologic Data Suggest Ceramide Link To CVD Risk Key Takeaways In American Indians (Native Americans) with type 2 diabetes , higher plasma levels of ceramide-16 (ceramide with acylated palmitic acid) associated with a higher rate of cardiovascular disease events, especially CVD events associated with atherosclerosis. The results also suggested other possible associations between plasma levels […]

Cardiology News

Smokers With Heart Disease Could Gain 5 Years by Quitting

Smoking cessation appears to be comparable to the use of three targeted drugs in warding off future major cardiovascular events in smokers with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), according to a new study. According to data from six large, prospective randomized trials, patients would gain, on average, 4.8 years free of a myocardial infarction (MI) or […]

Health News

APOLLO: SLN360 Clears First Major Hurdle, Hammering Lp(a)

The short interfering RNA (siRNA) agent SLN360 was well tolerated and lowered lipoprotein(a) by up to 98% in volunteers without cardiovascular disease but with elevated Lp(a) in the small dose-ranging APOLLO trial. Following a single subcutaneous dose of SLN360 (Silence Therapeutics), there was a dose-dependent reduction in Lp(a) plasma levels by a median of 46%, […]

Conference News

FDA OKs COVID-19 Breath Test: Fast, ‘Fascinating,’ but Limited

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted emergency use authorization (EUA) to a first-of-its-kind test that can detect SARS-CoV-2 in the breath in less than 3 minutes. The COVID-19 Breathalyzer test (InspectIR Systems, LLC) will be available only in licensed test settings, therefore it is not currently meant for home use. That’s one […]

COVID-19 Study Updates

Adjuvant Pembrolizumab May Cut Recurrence, Mortality in Stage-II Melanoma

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) — Pembrolizumab as adjuvant therapy for patients with resected, high-risk stage-IIB or -IIC melanoma appears to reduce the risk of disease recurrence or death, according to interim analyses from the KEYNOTE-716 trial. “These data indicate that adjuvant therapy with pembrolizumab might become a treatment option for patients with resected stage IIB or […]

Health News

Pulsed Field Ablation Treats AF With Few Complications

In an unselected population of patients with paroxysmal or persistent atrial fibrillation (AF), the pentaspline pulsed field ablation (PFA) catheter achieved pulmonary vein isolation with 99.9% success and good procedure times. Presenting the results of the Multi-national Survey on Methods, Efficacy and Safety on the Post-approval Clinical Use of Pulsed Field Ablation (MANIFEST-PF), Vivek Reddy, MD, Mount […]

Medical News

Antibiotics, Steroids Often Incorrectly Used for Covid -19

Significant numbers of U.S. patients with COVID-19 who were not sick enough to be hospitalized were inappropriately prescribed antibiotics or steroids in 2020 and 2021, according to two studies published on Friday in JAMA. One study found that between April 2020 and April 2021, antibiotic prescriptions were written during 30% of outpatient visits for COVID-19 […]

COVID-19 Study Updates

FDA Clears Transit Scientific’s XO Cross Catheters for Coronary Use

Transit Scientific announced US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510(k) clearance of its XO Cross Support Catheter platform to include coronary use. The platform is indicated to guide and support guidewire access, allow guidewire exchanges, and deliver saline or contrast agents during coronary or peripheral vascular interventions. Transit Scientific will launch the 2-F coronary XO […]

FDA Approvals