Credit: University of Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH, March 3, 2021 - Women who experience an accelerated accumulation of abdominal fat during menopause are at greater risk of heart disease, even if their weight stays steady, according to a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health-led analysis published today in the journal
Menopause.
The study based on a quarter century of data collected on hundreds of women suggests that measuring waist circumference during preventive health care appointments for midlife women could be an early indicator of heart disease risk beyond the widely used body mass index (BMI) which is a calculation of weight vs. height. We need to shift gears on how we think about heart disease risk in women, particularly as they approach and go through menopause, said senior author Samar El Khoudary, Ph.D., M.P.H., associate professor of epidemiology at Pitt Public Health. Our research is increasingly showing that it isn t so important how much fat a w
Scientists have mapped out what happens to fat deposits during intermittent fasting (every second day), with an unexpected discovery that some types of fat are more resistant to weight loss.
E-Mail
HDL cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein cholesterol) or good cholesterol is associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease as it transports cholesterol deposited in the arteries to the liver to be eliminated. This contrasts with the so-called bad cholesterol, LDL (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol), which causes cholesterol to accumulate in the arteries and increases cardiovascular risk. Although drugs that lower bad cholesterol reduce cardiovascular risk, those that raise good cholesterol have not proven effective in reducing the risk of heart disease. This paradox has called into question the relationship between good cholesterol and cardiovascular risk, and researchers are now studying the characteristics of these HDL or good cholesterol particles.
A new study estimates 64% of adult COVID-19 hospitalizations in the U.S. may have been prevented if there were less obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and heart failure. The model suggests notable differences by age and race/ethnicity in COVID-19 hospitalizations related to these conditions.
E-Mail
A study aiming to develop a new therapeutic technique could bring a revolution in our approach to treating rare, fatal Sanfilippo syndrome, a disorder that affects children as young as 2 years old and leads to childhood dementia and premature death. We are using a combination of gene therapy, stem cells and small molecules to restore metabolic defects in the patient s brain cells says Dr. Alexey Pshezhetsky, Professor at CHU Ste-Justine and lead GlycoNet Investigator on this project. First results in the mouse models of the disease are very encouraging.
Sanfilippo syndrome belongs to a group of rare diseases known as lysosomal storage disorders.