Inflammation is supposed to help protect us-;it's part of an immune response to fight off pathogens and clear infections. But patients with cardiac disease often have chronic inflammation that damages their hearts, even with no infection present.
Tom Shimabukuro, MD, MPH, MBA; Narayan Nair, MD
Great expectations have been placed on the ability of vaccines to bring an end to the current severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic. Nonpharmacologic interventions have resulted in social disruption and disastrous financial consequences for many people.
1 Widespread immunity acquired from a vaccine is anticipated to enable return to a more normal lifestyle. The extraordinary progress in vaccine development and evaluation achieved under Operation Warp Speed, followed by rapid Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorization, is one of the greatest achievements in vaccinology since development of polio vaccines.
No medical intervention, including vaccines, is devoid of adverse reactions for all people. In recognition of this fact, Congress passed the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 that created the national Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP).
Circulation, immunologists at Tufts University School of Medicine in collaboration with investigators at Vanderbilt University and Tufts Medical Center revealed a mechanism that is activating T cells, a type of immune cell, and causing inflammation in the heart.
“Not all inflammation is the same,” says Pilar Alcaide, a Kenneth and JoAnn G. Wellner Professor at the School of Medicine and corresponding author on the study. “We really need to investigate the immunological aspects of the heart and other organs to try to be specific about targeting disease.”
When a heart attack or other issue damages the heart and leaves it unable to pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs, the heart tries to compensate by pumping faster. The cardiac muscle cells have to work harder and this stress causes them to release molecules known as reactive oxygen species.
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Lifespan taps ex-Tufts executive to lead R.I. Hospital and Hasbro Childrenâs Hospital
Dr. Saul N. Weingart is the former chief medical officer and senior vice president of medical affairs at Tufts Medical Center and Tufts Childrenâs Hospital
By Alexa Gagosz Globe Staff,Updated February 1, 2021, 12:25 p.m.
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Dr. Saul N. Weingart, Lifespan s new president of Rhode Island Hospital.Sam Ogden/Handout
PROVIDENCE â Lifespan Corp., Rhode Islandâs largest health care system, announced Monday that Dr. Saul N. Weingart will take over as the new president of Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Childrenâs Hospital.