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This is a cross-sectional study of patients who were referred for ERCP, routine and urgent cases, which were systematically evaluated and performed by operators with experience in the applied procedure. Data collection was performed retrospectively from an electronic database, including exams performed from November 20, 2006 to August 12, 2022 at Endoclinic SP. A total of 2064 patients and 2233 consecutive ERCP exams were included in the initial analysis in this period. Patients underwent ERCP examination with direct cannulation and CP (conventional papillotomy) or, if the latter failed, they migrated to the EFP group. All ERCP cases, both those submitted to CP and EFP, were singly evaluated, and both groups were analyzed in terms of cannulation success and its complications. The evaluated patients underwent the examination and the diagnoses were grouped as follows: a) choledocholithiasis; b) ERCP with minimal changes, such as dilatation of the CBD beyond 12 mm in diameter without an obstructive factor, history of jaundice or pancreatitis, tests indicated by imaging or laboratory tests with unconfirmed suspicion of stones or obstruction. Obstructive bile duct neoplasms were divided and grouped as follows: c) pancreatic head neoplasm; d) neoplasms of the hepatic hilum (cholangiocarcinoma, extrinsic compression by metastases); and e) neoplasms of the papilla of Vater. Benign lesions were grouped into: f) benign fibrotic strictures (undetermined strictures, late postoperative sequelae, papillitis or fibrotic thinning of the distal common bile duct); g) Mirizzi syndrome; h) early postoperative complications of the bile ducts, such as partial or total ligations, fistulas, and strictures; i) sclerosing cholangitis; j) chronic pancreatitis; and k) other diagnoses, such as choledochal cyst, and cholelithiasis. The exam reports and images obtained during this period were recorded and saved in a database (OCRAM® system). The data mined for the composition of the research were extracted from the relational database MySQL Community, version 5.5.40, software, entitled OCRAM Capture of Medical Images and Reports. This system was developed using the Java programming language and was used to capture the photos of the ERCP exams and compose the respective reports during the study period. The ERCP reports were typed using OCRAM software were structured in XML (Extensible Markup Language) format and followed an XML-Schema according to W3C (Worldwide Web Consortium) standards, resulting in a well-formed, valid and standardized structure of the ERCP reports in XML, this allowed the mining of terms referring to diseases to be performed reliably through the declarative search language SQL (Structured Query Language) in conjunction with an XML DOM (Document Object Model) parser [11]. Inclusion criteria All patients were submitted to an attempt at cannulation through the ostium of the papilla with a sphincterotome and guide wire. When direct cannulation of the common bile duct is not achieved and the guide wire goes into the pancreatic duct, we opt for the double guide wire technique. This technique was used in many of the cases described here and these cases were grouped as successful cannulation through the ostium. We defined cannulation failure after performing the following tactics: a) access to the common bile duct was not achieved after at least 4 attempts with a guide wire; b) attempts at cannulation after injection of a small amount of contrast to identify the common bile duct and the pancreatic duct; c) if the guidewire goes only to the pancreatic duct, we perform the double guidewire technique and, if the second guidewire fails to gain access to the biliary tract, we consider it as a failure. The cases of cannulation failure migrated to EFP, according to the criteria of the fistulotomy technique. Exclusion criteria Of the 2064 patients initially evaluated in the electronic system, 105 patients in whom there were anatomical changes that made it impossible to perform ERCP: surgeries such as Roux-en-Y or Billroth II gastrectomy, or esophageal, stomach or duodenal stenosis were excluded. A total of 1959 patients and 2233 exams remained for the final analysis. Intervention All patients had their exams previously evaluated and underwent preparation with a 12-hour fast before the procedure. Patients who were using antiplatelet agents and anticoagulants were instructed to discontinue these medications. The use of ciprofloxacin 500 mg every 12 hours was indicated for all patients, starting from 6 hours when there was no increase in bilirubin and 24 hours previously in cases of bile duct obstruction in patients with elevated bilirubin levels. All patients were initially submitted to the standard cannulation technique, using the 3-way sphincterotome and 0.035 or 0.025 guide wire, depending on the availability of the brands Olympus®, Boston®, Cook®, MediGlobe®, Scitech® or GFE®. The WEM® electrosurgical generator, model SS200A, was used in all cases. In the case of cannulation failure, following the criteria for indicating early fistulotomy, the patients underwent EFP. After cannulation failure (defined as failing to introduce the guide wire into the bile duct five times, even after injecting a small amount of contrast into the papilla ostium, or the guide wire inadvertently being directed into the pancreatic duct), our preference was to perform EFP early, avoiding trauma to the papilla and the injection too much contrast (Fig. 1). Fig. 1 Algorithm for access to the common bile duct Full size image After identification and “palpation” with the tip of the fistulotome of the lateral limits of the papilla and exposure of the infundibulum, a wide, shallow incision only of the papillary mucosa was iniciated and, purely cut, with the fistulotome needle adjusted to approximately 2 mm, from top to bottom, just below the transverse crease, avoiding opening the region of the common channel. With the needle-knife, the needle was retracted, and the mucosal edges were pushed aside to expose the submucosa. Lateral incisions were made to expand the exposure and then superficial incisions were made to open the submucosa and, dissect thin layers one at a time, interspersed by blunt dissection with the tip of the needle-knife retracted; these steps were followed by identification of vessels, hemostasis and exposure of the sphincter muscle of the distal common bile duct. If bleeding occured, washing was performed with pressurized water through the fistulotome catheter
What’s new: China’s population of seniors living with HIV more than doubled from 2015 to 2019 and had a higher rate of new diagnoses than in the U.S. or Europe, a recent study showed. The number of people 60 or older with newly reported HIV infections shot up to 37,275 from 17,451 over those five years, according to a study published in the Chinese Journal of Epidemiology on Nov. 17. While that number fell over the next three years, it remained elevated at just over 27,000 last year. Register to read this article for free. Register
Increased heat tolerance in fungi with pathogenic potential due to global warming could bring new fungal diseases. The field of infectious diseases is unique in medicine because it routinely faces new and unexpected syndromes and illnesses. For example, HIV, SARS-CoV, Candida auris and SARS-CoV-2 all emerged in human populations, causing diseases that were previously unknown to medicine. The two major sources of new infectious diseases are likely zoonosis, which refers to the acquisition of infections from non-human hosts, and the environment. Evidence suggests that human infection with HIV, SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 is a result of zoonosis via other mammalian hosts, whereas C. auris is an environmental fungus that has recently emerged as a major human fungal pathogen. 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support Fig. 1: Experimental infection of rabbits and mice provides evidence for a role of temperature in protecting against fungal infection, conferred by endothermy and adaptive immunity. References Fisher, M. C. et al. mBio 11, e00449–20 (2020). PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar Robert, V. A. & Casadevall, A. J. Infect. Dis. 200, 1623–1626 (2009). Article PubMed Google Scholar Bergman, A. & Casadevall, A. mBio 1, e00212–10 (2010). Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar Casadevall, A. PLoS Pathog. 8, e1002808 (2012). Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar Perfect, J. R., Lang, S. D. & Durack, D. T. Am. J. Pathol. 101, 177–194 (1980). CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar Meteyer, C. U. et al. J. Wildl. Dis. 47, 618–626 (2011). Article PubMed Google Scholar Rowley, J. J. & Alford, R. A. Sci. Rep. 3, 1515 (2013). Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar de Crecy, E. et al. BMC Biotechnol. 9, 74 (2009). Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar Huang, C. J. et al. Mol. Biol. Evol. 35, 1823–1839 (2018). CAS PubMed Google Scholar Mead, H. L. et al. J. Fungi 6, 366 (2020). Article Google Scholar Robert, V., Cardinali, G. & Casadevall, A. BMC Biol. 13, 18 (2015). Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar McLean, M. A., Angilletta, M. J. & Williams, K. S. J. Therm. Biol. 20, 384–391 (2005). Article Google Scholar Casadevall, A., Kontoyiannis, D. P. & Robert, V. mBio 10, e01397–19 (2019). PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar Arora, P. et al. mBio 12, e03181–20 (2021). PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar Desnos-Ollivier, M. et al. PLoS ONE 7, e32278 (2012). Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar Download references Acknowledgements A.C. was supported by National Institutes of Health grants AI052733-16, AI152078-01 and HL059842-19. Author information Authors and Affiliations Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA Arturo Casadevall Authors Arturo Casadevall View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar Corresponding author Correspondence to Arturo Casadevall. Ethics declarations Competing interests The author declares no competing interests. Peer review Peer review information Nature Microbiology thanks Asiya Gusa and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work. Rights and permissions Reprints and Permissions About this article Cite this article Casadevall, A. Global warming could drive the emergence of new fungal pathogens. Nat Microbiol (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-023-01512-w Download citation Published: 29 November 2023 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-023-01512-w Share this article Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Get shareable link Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Copy to clipboard Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative
DALLAS – Nov. 29, 2023 – A dietary supplement developed by a UT Southwestern Medical Center researcher significantly reduced high blood sugar caused by a diuretic used to lower blood pressure while also correcting electrolyte imbalances, UTSW researchers report. The findings, published in Hypertension, could offer a solution for the serious side effects associated with this class of drugs. Wanpen Vongpatanasin, M.D., Professor of Internal Medicine and Director of the Hypertension Section in the Division of Cardiology at UT Southwestern, holds the Norman and Audrey Kaplan Chair in Hypertension and the Fredric L. Coe Professorship in Nephrolithiasis Research in Mineral Metabolism. “When patients take a medication, they want to treat one disease and not cause another. These findings suggest we may be able to reduce the risk of elevated blood sugar caused by thiazide diuretics with a simple supplement,” said Wanpen Vongpatanasin, M.D., Director of the Hypertension Section in the Division of Cardiology at UT Southwestern. Dr. Vongpatanasin co-led the study with Charles Pak, M.D. Both are Professors of Internal Medicine and in the Charles and Jane Pak Center for Mineral Metabolism and Clinical Research. Millions of Americans take thiazide diuretics, a class of medications used to treat high blood pressure, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Although these drugs are very effective, Dr. Vongpatanasin said, they come with significant side effects, including reduced levels of the electrolyte potassium in the blood; higher cholesterol, triglycerides, and other circulating lipids; and elevated glucose (blood sugar), a precursor to Type 2 diabetes. The increase in glucose prompted by these drugs has long been attributed to the decrease in potassium levels. Although low potassium is effectively treated with potassium chloride (KCl) supplements, Dr. Vongpatanasin explained, they don’t seem to affect glucose levels. Thiazide diuretics also can reduce levels of magnesium, another important electrolyte, in blood. To help solve this problem, UT Southwestern researchers previously tested a supplement developed by Dr. Pak that combines potassium, magnesium, and citrate – an acidic compound found in fruits and vegetables. After administering this supplement to patients on thiazide diuretics for three weeks, the researchers found it to be effective at raising potassium and magnesium levels. However, that study was too short to examine the supplement’s effects on glucose. A randomized, double-blind study was conducted on 60 patients taking the thiazide diuretic chlorthalidone for 16 weeks, with half also receiving the combination supplement KMgCit and the other half supplemented only with KCl. During an initial three-week period when patients took the diuretic but didn’t take the supplements, both groups experienced significant reductions in potassium and magnesium and increases in fasting glucose levels. However, once the patients began supplementation, those on KCl increased their potassium levels, and those on KMgCit increased both potassium and magnesium levels. Although glucose measurements stayed high for the KCl group, they dipped an average of 7.9 milligrams per deciliter for the KMgCit group – a significant reduction. Although it’s unclear which component in the combination supplement lowered glucose, previous studies have shown that deficiencies in magnesium can have wide-ranging negative metabolic effects. Future studies will examine the effects of magnesium and citrate separately, Dr. Vongpatanasin said, as well as confirm these effects in more patients on thiazide diuretics for longer durations. Other UTSW researchers who contributed to this study are Orson Moe, M.D., Professor of Internal Medicine and Physiology and Director of the Charles and Jane Pak Center for Mineral Metabolism and Clinical Research; Jimin Ren, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Advanced Imaging Research Center and Radiology; Jijia Wang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Applied Clinical Research in the School of Health Professions; John M. Giacona, Ph.D., M.P.A.S., PA-C, CHC, Physician Assistant, Internal Medicine; Danielle Pittman, B.S.N., RN, CEN, Senior Business Analyst; Ashley Murillo, B.S.N., RN, Research Nurse; and Talon Johnson, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow. Dr. Vongpatanasin holds the Frederic L. Coe Professorship in Nephrolithiasis Research in Mineral Metabolism and the Norman and Audrey Kaplan Chair in Hypertension. Dr. Pak holds the Alfred L. and Muriel B. Rabiner Distinguished Academic Chair for Mineral Metabolism Biotechnology Research. Dr. Moe holds the Donald W. Seldin Professorship in Clinical Investigation and The Charles Pak Distinguished Chair in Mineral Metabolism. This research was funded by a Pak Center Endowed Professor Collaborative Support Grant. Drs. Pak, Vongpatanasin, and Moe hold a patent for KMgCit. About UT Southwestern Medical Center UT Southwestern, one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty members have received six Nobel Prizes and include 26 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 20 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 13 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The full-time faculty of more than 3,100 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide care in more than 80 specialties to more than 120,000 hospitalized patients, more than 360,000 emergency room cases, and oversee nearly 5 million outpatient visits a year. Related Stories
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Prevalence of Myopia and Its Related Factors Among University Students in Madinah, Saudi Arabia
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Please join us on Wednesday, November 29th, 2023 from 2:00 pm-3:00 pm CET What is this survey: A WHO multi-level global survey on the implementation of the minimum requirements for IPC at both the national and health care facility levels using assessment tools accessible online via the WHO IPC Portal. What are the objectives of this survey: To offer countries the opportunity to assess their current implementation status of the WHO minimum requirements for IPC programmes at the national and facility level through the WHO IPC Portal and gather their results and guidance from WHO to make improvement plans. To gather a baseline situational analysis of the implementation of the IPC minimum requirements at the national and facility levels to enable tracking of some indicators included in the monitoring framework of the global action plan 2024-2030 on IPC, and compare it with other available assessments, when appropriate. For more information on the survey itself, please visit the IPC global survey page. Alternatively, join us for this special seminar and learn more how you can get involved and how this can contribute towards your IPC implementation journey! The webinar will be held in English, with simultaneous interpretation available in French, Spanish and Russian. Please note that the participants must register to receive their individual webinar link and password for the session. This will be sent by RAMOS, Aimee Louise, DIRECTLY TO YOUR EMAIL. Check your Spam or Junk Mail if you do not receive the webinar link in your Inbox. Please contact [email protected] with questions.
Abstract Vitamin D is an essential nutrient that plays a crucial role in calcium homeostasis and bone health. Recent research suggests that vitamin D may also have an impact on lipid metabolism, specifically the level of circulating lipids in the blood. We aim to investigate it role among healthy participate. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 15,600 patients who were referred to the laboratories of university hospitals. We measured the serum levels of Vitamin D as well as triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL, and HDL using ELISA. We found that the mean serum level of Vitamin D was 40.31 ± 20.79 ng/mL. Of the participants, 16.7% had a serum level of Vitamin D less than 20 ng/mL, 57.7% had a level between 21 and 40 ng/mL, and 13.5% had a level between 41 and 60 ng/mL. Additionally, 12.2% had a level greater than 60 ng/mL. We performed a one-way analysis of variance and found that as the serum level of Vitamin D increased, the mean LDL level decreased significantly. Our study provides evidence of a significant relationship between serum levels of Vitamin D and LDL levels in patients. The findings suggest that vitamin D status may play a role in regulating lipid metabolism and may have implications for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. Further research is needed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of this relationship and to determine optimal levels of vitamin D intake for maintaining lipid profiles. Introduction Recently, due to the multiple effects of vitamin D on health, its status in different individuals has become a growing research topic1. The classic effects of vitamin D are mediated by its active metabolite, 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D, which enables the absorption of calcium in the intestines, maintenance of adequate phosphate levels for bone mineralization, bone growth, and remodeling2. The biological effects of vitamin D are regulated by vitamin D receptors present in other tissues that are not related to calcium metabolism3. Various studies have shown that vitamin D can be stored in adipose tissue4. Adipose tissue has the potential to accumulate a significant amount of vitamin D, particularly when fat mass expands(such as in overweight and obesity)5. It has been demonstrated that obese individuals have lower circulating concentrations of (OH)D25 compared to non-obese individuals. However, it can be said that body fat mass and percentage of body fat are strong predictors of vitamin D status in different individuals6. Initial studies proposed a hypothetical mechanism suggesting that increased vitamin D in circulation with obesity decreases hepatic synthesis of (OH)D25 through a negative feedback mechanism, leading to a decrease in serum (OH)D257. Assessing vitamin D status is reflected by measuring its metabolite in circulation compared to the active form. However, the prevalence of deficiency or sufficiency of serum (OH)D25 varies greatly depending on the criteria used to define it, including population, season, dietary habits, ethnicity, physical activity, and age range8. In general, dyslipidemia refers to an imbalance in the levels of blood lipids, including triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c)9. This disorder is recognized as a risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis-related diseases such as coronary heart disease, ischemic cerebrovascular disease, and peripheral vascular disease10. Various factors, such as aging, increased intake of fats, especially saturated and trans fats, and decreased intake of antioxidant-rich foods like fruits and vegetables, play a role in its etiology11. Vitamin D has multiple roles in addition to its role in regulating calcium homeostasis and contributes to maintaining human health. Recent years have seen an upward trend in vitamin D deficiency. The primary source of vitamin D is sunlight exposure, and certain protein-rich foods also contain vitamin D. However, it should be noted that dietary intake alone may not meet individuals’ vitamin D needs. Observational studies have shown that low serum vitamin D levels are an independent risk factor for hypertension and cardiovascular diseases12. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble hormone that is naturally synthesized in the body through subcutaneous synthesis upon exposure to sunlight. This vitamin plays a crucial role in maintaining the health of bones, muscles, and also prevents various diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and autoimmune diseases13. Based on available evidence, vitamin D deficiency is directly associated with mortality in patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and improving the vitamin D status has been reported to reduce the risk of myocardial infarction and stroke through multiple studies14. Dyslipidemia is one of the major risk factors for developing CVD, and significant associations have been found between serum vitamin D levels and lipid profiles according to conducted studies15. Although multiple mechanisms have been proposed to explain the effects of vitamin D on lipid profiles, the impact of this vitamin on blood lipid levels is still not clear16. Proposed mechanisms suggest that vitamin D may directly affect serum lipid profiles, including triglycerides, total cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol, by increasing the production of bile salts and reducing the activity of lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase, as well as indirectly through its influence on calcium absorption, resulting in decreased fat absorption and increased synthesis of hepatic bile acids from cholesterol17. Considering the vital role mentioned for serum vitamin D levels, it can be inferred that improving the serum vitamin D level may have a significant role in improving associated conditions such as hyperlipidemia in affected individuals. Therefore, we aim to investigate the relationship between vitamin D levels and blood lipid levels in this study. Patients We confirm that all methods were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations, and that all experimental protocols were approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Tehran Islamic Azad University of Medical Sciences. Informed consent was obtained from all subjects and/or their legal guardian(s). In this research data from healthy patients were collected and we confirm that Cardiovascular diseases and metabolic diseases such as liver and kidney diseases, as well as autoimmune patients and patients using vitamins, were excluded from this study. Methods This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted on people who visited the
November 29, 2023 3 min read Add topic to email alerts Receive an email when new articles are posted on Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on . <button type="button" class="btn btn-primary" data-loading-text="Loading ” data-action=”subscribe”> Subscribe Added to email alerts We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact [email protected]. Back to Healio Key takeaways: The new AHA PREVENT equations are designed to predict long-term absolute risk tied to CV-kidney-metabolic syndrome. An online calculator to estimate benefit of specific preventive therapies is in development. PHILADELPHIA — A speaker unveiled the American Heart Association’s new PREVENT equations to evaluate 10- and 30-year absolute risk associated with cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome. Details on the PREVENT equations were presented at the AHA Scientific Sessions and simultaneously published in Circulation. Sadiya Sana Khan “The current guidelines for primary prevention released in 2019 offer several recommendations focusing on risk assessment of cardiovascular disease for U.S. adults. This framework … is to calculate risk for U.S. adults aged 40 to 79 years using the pooled cohort equations or the [atherosclerotic] CVD risk calculator to identify individuals who are at high risk. Now, this risk-based framework continues to be the foundation of how we move forward for prevention, but there are significant limitations in 2023 with the [pooled cohort equation] model,” Sadiya Sana Khan, MD, MSc, FACC, FAHA, associate professor of medicine and preventive medicine, associate program director of the cardiovascular disease fellowship and director of research in the section of heart failure at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said during a press conference. “First, they were developed only in Black and white adults in a relatively small sample, so they may not be generalizable to the diverse U.S. population. They begin at age 40 and so can’t be used in younger adults when we know the burden of [cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic disease] is increasing, particularly in young adulthood. Third, they relied on historical data from the ’80s and ’90s, and the population-level burden of risk factors has changed, as have treatments to address these gaps. The [cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic] working group on risk prediction, co-led by myself and Josef Coresh, MD, PhD, FAHA, developed the AHA predicting risk of CVD events, or the AHA PREVENT, equations.” As Healio previously reported, the AHA coined the term “cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome” to highlight the ties between metabolic and renal risk factors and CVD risk. The PREVENT equations were developed using real-world contemporary datasets including more than 6 million adults and includes HF risk in addition to risk for MI and stroke; omit race from CVD clinical care algorithms; include kidney function on top of traditional CVD risk factors for heart disease; and include components such as social determinants of health, blood glucose and kidney function, when clinically available. “A key conceptual advance in the PREVENT equations is this endorsement of the life course perspective of prediction and prevention,” Khan said during the press conference. “Importantly, this framework highlights the upstream drivers or social determinants of health that are critical to the determinants or [cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic] factors and lead to subclinical disease and disease manifestations.” With use at age 30 years, the PREVENT equations would enable 10- and 30-year total CV risk estimates and aid clinical decision-making in terms of intervention strategy based on predicted risk and expected benefit, Khan said. “We are developing an online calculator that will support clinicians to start these conversations with patients to guide holistic and patient-centered preventive care,” Khan said during the press conference. “The amount of benefit of a specific therapy is directly related to that predicted risk. … This will help us guide if, when and which therapies should be considered and allow us to move beyond statins as a solo approach for prevention. It’s not a question of replacing statins, but ‘statins and?’” Khan said. “We need to take the long view to target upstream social determinants of health. As we know those are upstream of the drivers and determinants of disease as we think and move forward in how we can optimize [cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic] health for everyone in the U.S. population.” References: Published by: Sources/Disclosures Collapse Source: Khan SS. A confluence of risk: Navigating the intersection of cardiovascular, kidney and metabolic health. Presented at: American Heart Association Scientific Sessions; Nov. 11-13, 2023; Philadelphia. Disclosures: Khan reports no relevant financial disclosures. Read more about Add topic to email alerts Receive an email when new articles are posted on Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on . <button type="button" class="btn btn-primary" data-loading-text="Loading ” data-action=”subscribe”> Subscribe Added to email alerts We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact [email protected]. Back to Healio American Heart Association
November 29, 2023 1 min read Add topic to email alerts Receive an email when new articles are posted on Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on . <button type="button" class="btn btn-primary" data-loading-text="Loading ” data-action=”subscribe”> Subscribe Added to email alerts We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact [email protected]. Back to Healio The FDA has cleared a traumatic brain injury blood test for commercial availability, paving the way for its distribution to hospitals in the United States. According to a release from Abbott, the test will run on the company’s Alinity i laboratory instrument, which aims to provide clinicians with a rapid, objective way to assess mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) or concussion in individuals. The FDA has cleared a novel blood-based biomarker test to assess traumatic brain injury, allowing for its distribution to health care centers across the U.S. Image: Adobe Stock Alinity i can be employed within 12 hours of a suspected TBI. The test, which involves blood drawn from an arm, measures two biomarkers that, in elevated concentrations, are highly indicative of brain injury, Abbott said in the release. Results can be achieved within 18 minutes to help clinicians assess concussion and triage patients. A negative test would enable health care professionals to rule out a CT scan, thereby eliminating longer wait times for treatment, per the release. For those who sustain TBI, effects are variable from a few days post-injury or may be permanent, and individuals are more likely to sustain one or more TBI after the first instance. Misdiagnosis or lack of diagnosis can worsen short- and long-term outcomes; therefore, tools that enable rapid evaluation TBI or concussion are essential to proper treatment. “Now that this test will be widely available in labs across the country, medical centers will be able to offer an objective blood test that can aid in concussion assessment,” Beth McQuiston, MD, medical director in Abbott’s diagnostics business, said in the release. “That’s great news for both doctors and people who are trying to find out if they have suffered a traumatic brain injury.” Read more about Add topic to email alerts Receive an email when new articles are posted on Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on . <button type="button" class="btn btn-primary" data-loading-text="Loading ” data-action=”subscribe”> Subscribe Added to email alerts We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact [email protected]. Back to Healio