Monthly Archives: March 2022

BOSTON Observational research has suggested that light alcohol consumption may provide heart-related health benefits, but in a large study published in JAMA Network Open, alcohol intake at all levels was linked with higher risks of cardiovascular disease. The findings, which are published by a team led by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, suggest that the supposed benefits of alcohol consumption may actually be attributed to other lifestyle factors that are common among light to moderate drinkers.

The study included 371,463 adultswith an average age of 57 years and an average alcohol consumption of 9.2 drinks per weekwho were participants in the UK Biobank, a large-scale biomedical database and research resource containing in-depth genetic and health information. Consistent with earlier studies, investigators found that light to moderate drinkers had the lowest heart disease risk, followed by people who abstained from drinking. People who drank heavily had the highest risk. However, the team also found that light to moderate drinkers tended to have healthier lifestyles than abstainerssuch as more physical activity and vegetable intake, and less smoking. Taking just a few lifestyle factors into account significantly lowered any benefit associated with alcohol consumption.

The study also applied the latest techniques in a method called Mendelian randomization, which uses genetic variants to determine whether an observed link between an exposure and an outcome is consistent with a causal effectin this case, whether light alcohol consumption causes a person to be protected against cardiovascular disease. Newer and more advanced techniques in non-linear Mendelian randomization now permit the use of human genetic data to evaluate the direction and magnitude of disease risk associated with different levels of an exposure, says senior author Krishna G. Aragam, MD, MS, a cardiologist at MGH and an associate scientist at the Broad Institute. We therefore leveraged these new techniques and expansive genetic and phenotypic data from biobank populations to better understand the association between habitual alcohol intake and cardiovascular disease.

When the scientists conducted such genetic analyses of samples taken from participants, they found that individuals with genetic variants that predicted higher alcohol consumption were indeed more likely to consume greater amounts of alcohol, and more likely to have hypertension and coronary artery disease. The analyses also revealed substantial differences in cardiovascular risk across the spectrum of alcohol consumption among both men and women, with minimal increases in risk when going from zero to seven drinks per week, much higher risk increases when progressing from seven to 14 drinks per week, and especially high risk when consuming 21 or more drinks per week. Notably, the findings suggest a rise in cardiovascular risk even at levels deemed low risk by national guidelines from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (i.e. below two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women).

The discovery that the relationship between alcohol intake and cardiovascular risk is not a linear one but rather an exponential one was supported by an additional analysis of data on 30,716 participants in the Mass General Brigham Biobank. Therefore, while cutting back on consumption can benefit even people who drink one alcoholic beverage per day, the health gains of cutting back may be more substantial and, perhaps, more clinically meaningful in those who consume more.

The findings affirm that alcohol intake should not be recommended to improve cardiovascular health; rather, that reducing alcohol intake will likely reduce cardiovascular risk in all individuals, albeit to different extents based on ones current level of consumption, says Aragam.

The studys lead author was Kiran J. Biddinger, and additional authors included Connor A. Emdin, MD, DPhil, Mary E. Haas, PhD, Minxian Wang, PhD, George Hindy, MD, Patrick T. Ellinor, MD, PhD, Sekar Kathiresan, MD, and Amit V. Khera, MD, MSc.

Funding was provided by the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association.

About the Massachusetts General HospitalMassachusetts General Hospital, founded in 1811, is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. The Mass General Research Instituteconducts the largest hospital-based research program in the nation, with annual research operations of more than $1 billion and comprises more than 9,500 researchers working across more than 30 institutes, centers and departments. In August 2021, Mass General was named #5 in theU.S. News & World Reportlist of "Americas Best Hospitals."

JAMA Network Open

Data/statistical analysis

People

Association of Habitual Alcohol Intake With Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

25-Mar-2022

Dr Haas reported receiving personal fees and stock and stock options from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals outside the submitted work. Dr Ellinor reported receiving grants from Bayer AG and IBM Health and personal fees from Bayer AG, MyoKardia, Quest Diagnostics, and Novartis during the conduct of the study. Dr Kathiresan reported being an employee of Verve Therapeutics; owning equity in Verve Therapeutics, Maze Therapeutics, Color Health, and Medgenome; receiving personal fees from Medgenome and Color Health; serving on the advisory boards for Regeneron Genetics Center and Corvidia Therapeutics; and consulting for Acceleron, Eli Lilly and Co, Novartis, Merck, Novo Nordisk, Novo Ventures, Ionis, Alnylam, Aegerion, Haug Partners, Noble Insights, Leerink Partners, Bayer Healthcare, Illumina, Color Genomics, MedGenome, Quest Diagnostics, and Medscape outside the submitted work. Dr Khera reported receiving personal fees from Merck, Amarin Pharmaceuticals, Amgen, Maze Therapeutics, Navitor Pharmaceuticals, Sarepta Therapeutics, Verve Therapeutics, Silence Therapeutics, Veritas International, Color Health, and Third Rock Ventures and receiving grants from IBM Research outside the submitted work. Dr Aragam reported receiving speaking fees from the Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research. No other disclosures were reported.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

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Large study challenges the theory that light alcohol consumption benefits heart health - EurekAlert

The fallopian tube is the site of fertilization, where once a month for the duration of a females post-pubescent, pre-menopausal life, an egg is moved from the ovary, ready for fertilization by a sperm cell.

A new study from Michigan Medicine researchers creates a detailed "atlas" of the various cell types and their gene activities within the highly specialized fallopian tube, paving the way for new research into infertility and other diseases affecting this organ, including some cancers.

Using tissue samples from four premenopausal women,Saher Sue Hammoud, Ph.D., andJun Li, Ph.D.from the Department of Human Genetics led a team at U-M to analyze almost 60,000 cells by single-cell RNA sequencing. They used the data to characterize the diversity of cells that make up the fallopian tube, including both the lining of the tube (the epithelium) and the deeper stromal layer, consisting of immune, blood, muscle, and other cells.

Hammoud and Li are joined byAriella Shikanov, Ph.D.,of the Department of Biomedical Engineering,Erica Marsh, M.D.,of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and team membersNicole Ulrich, M.D.,Yu-chi Shen, Ph.D., andQianyi Ma, Ph.D.Their project is part of the Human Cell Atlas Seed Networks, an international effort supported by the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative to map all cells in the human body as a resource for better understanding health and disease.

Prior to their work, it was known that there are about four epithelial cell types in the fallopian tube, said Hammoud. We were able to reveal a deeper level of heterogeneity within these cells.

Specifically, they identified 10 epithelial cell subtypes, including four of the finger-like ciliated cells responsible for moving the egg through the fallopian tubes three sections before and after fertilization.

The cells within the fallopian tube are ever changing, replenishing themselves over time and varying in number depending on a womans age, hormones, menstrual cycle, and in the presence of disease. By comparing cells from women with healthy fallopian tubes to two samples from women with a fallopian tube disease known as hydrosalpinx (conventionally known as a blocked fallopian tube), the researchers were able to pinpoint which cells increased in number, and which changed characteristics, such as a high degree of inflammation.

Some of the cells are the cause of the disease state, and some others are the consequence; and now we know the patterns for individual cell types to figure out the molecular reasons for that pathology, commented Li.

The team also found that some of the cell subtypes they defined in the fallopian tube may function as precursor cells, those that can regenerate multiple cell types in response to normal tissue turnover, or for repairing a damage.

One of the most surprising findings of the study, says Hammoud, was the discovery of cells with markers for epithelial-mesenchymal transition, also known as EMT, a process not previously associated with the fallopian tube, through which a cell can, under certain circumstances, become cancerous.

Ovarian cancer, it turns out, may be a misnomer. The new study adds to accumulating evidence that the root of ovarian cancerthe fifth leading cause of cancer death in womenmay originate within the adjacent fallopian tube.

The EMT process seems to be tightly regulated in the pre-menopausal woman, she said. One possible connection to cancer is that when there is misregulation in this population of cells in some unfortunate individuals, they may develop ovarian cancer. With EMT cells in the fallopian tube, you do have the predisposition right there.

Additional insights came from the fallopian tube cells from women with hydrosalpinx, specifically, that the disease may lead to a type of scarring called fibrosis. The implication is that for women who dont want to have their tubes removed, you could think about treating them with anti-fibrotic drugs such as the ones used to treat lung fibrosis as a way to save their tubes during reproductive age, noted Hammoud.

Compared to past efforts, the study provides much more detailed information about cell types and functions in the tube for researchers interested in a host of questions about the normal female reproductive system. This really is a basecamp to launch future studies, says Li, including ones that look at the effects of age, the menstrual cycle, hormone therapy, and ancestral background on cellular diversity and disease pathology.

Reference:Ulrich ND, Shen Y chi, Ma Q, et al. Cellular heterogeneity of human fallopian tubes in normal and hydrosalpinx disease states identified by scRNA-seq. Dev. Cell. 2021. doi: 10.1101/2021.09.16.460628

This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

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TUESDAY, March 22, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Antibodies from a COVID-19 infection linger in most children for up to seven months, even if they had no symptoms, a new study finds.

To come to that reassuring conclusion, researchers analyzed data from 218 children in Texas, ages 5 to 19, who were enrolled in an ongoing survey launched in October 2020 to track COVID-19 antibody status in children and adults over time.

Blood samples were collected from participants before vaccines became available and during the surges of the Delta and Omicron variants.

While 96% of children who were infected with COVID-19 still had antibodies at least six months later, 58% did not have infection-triggered antibodies at their third and final blood test.

The report, published March 18 in the journal Pediatrics, did not assess the impact of vaccination.

"This is the first study from the Texas CARES survey that includes data from all three time points in the survey," said corresponding author Sarah Messiah. She is a professor of epidemiology, human genetics and environmental sciences at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

"These findings are important because the information we collected from children infected with COVID-19 didn't differ at all by whether a child was asymptomatic, severity of symptoms, when they had the virus, were at a healthy weight or had obesity, or by gender," she added in a university news release. "It was the same for everyone."

To date, 14 million children in the United States have tested positive for the virus, and these findings help improve understanding of how it affects children, according to Messiah.

"Adult literature shows us that natural infection, plus the vaccine-induced protection, gives you the best defense against COVID-19. There has been a misunderstanding from some parents who think just because their child has had COVID-19, they are now protected and don't need to get the vaccine," Messiah said.

"While our study is encouraging in that some amount [of] natural antibodies last at least six months in children, we still don't know the absolute protection threshold," she added. "We have a great tool available to give children additional protection by getting their vaccine, so if your child is eligible, take advantage of it."

More information

For more on children and COVID-19, go to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

SOURCE: University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, news release, March 18, 2022

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Antibodies From COVID Infection Shield Kids for Up to 7 Months - HealthDay News

All writers in Op Ed are here to inform and acknowledge issues of importance to our communities, however these writings represent the views and opinions of the authors and not necessarily of The Advertiser.

Robert Scott

Back in January,I wrote an OpEd about gender prejudice, and howone office holder expressed suchprejudice against transgender women in general and, specifically, prejudice regarding thethen-current Jeopardy champion,Amy Schneider.A discussion following that OpEdindicated thisprejudicewasbased ona generaldisbelief thatbeingtransgenderwas a medical and physical condition rather than a hoax or a so-called woke perception of something that was in fact not real.

We live in a complex world, and as our knowledge of human genetics and psychology increases,that complexity manifests itself ina number ofways. The validity of the transgender condition among some of our fellow human beings is one such complexity that is widely misunderstood,and thereforeit isnot yet accepted by many Americans. Our country has expanded its initial announced basis of liberty and freedom from All men are created equal as stated in the Declaration of Independence to include not just white men (as it wasgenerallyunderstood to mean in 1776) butallmenregardless of race, creed, or national origin;then, after generations of discussion,all men and women. We are struggling now to expand this to include all people, as evolving Science brings us into the knowledge that genderdoes not entirely fall into the binary categories we once thought. All people, we should now acknowledge, are not only created equal but are entitled to equal treatment as part of their inherent right to the pursuit of happiness.

SomeAmericans, including unfortunately some who represent us not only in Congress but in our State Legislature, continue to reject that notion. The latest manifestation of the gender prejudice inherent in such a rejection is a bill currently before the South Carolina Legislature entitled the Save Womens Sports Act.It should be voted down again (itfailed to be enacted last session), and here is why.The announced premise sounds reasonable enough: to require student athletes between grades 6 and 12 to compete in team sports based on the sex they were assigned at birth. Gender prejudice hides in the word assigned. The vast majority ofthefellow members ofourspecies are, indeed, fully male or fully female. But science is learning that for some small number, this is not the case. Some of them are inherently transgender havingimportantphysical and/or psychological traits appropriate to the gender opposite to that initial assignment, which really means assignment by our society based on an initialexternalassessment of just their plumbing.

If we recognize transgender youth as being who theyreallyare, even when they areonlyin grades 6 through 12, would that not compromise team sports, in particular by allowing some girls who were initially (and wrongly) assigned as males to play?Wouldnt suchchildrenhave an unfair advantage? The short answer isadvantage perhaps yes,but unfair advantageno not anymore than allowing exceptionally tall girls (or boys) toplay basketball despite being taller than anybody else, particularly anybody else in their school grade. If their pursuit of happiness includes trying out for a team and, if they are good enough, making that team, then we need to recognize and honor that. To do otherwise does not Save anybodys sports. It sets up a fundamental fairness issue thatis even more important to teach our children: in the United States of America, we assure to all people the unalienable rights to life, to liberty, and to the pursuit of happiness.Even transgender people.

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