Early surgery for mitral regurgitation, before clinical triggers emerge, has best outcomes

Patients with mitral regurgitation face a dilemma of whether to undergo corrective surgery early, when they might have no or few symptoms, or wait until their condition worsens. Current guidelines allow for watchful waiting until certain symptoms appear that would then “trigger” the decision to proceed with surgery. The authors argue that these guidelines are based on relatively weak class C evidence from clinical experience that is now 20 to 30 years old, and surgical methods, including mitral valve repair instead of valve replacement, have now made surgeries safer with good long-term outcomes, especially when performed at high-quality, high-volume centers. The results of a study indicate that delaying surgery until clinical triggers appear leads to increased mortality and congestive heart failure.

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Skeletal muscle atrophy in congestive heart failure

Patients with advanced congestive heart failure lose skeletal muscle mass, but their heart muscles become enlarged to provide the body with an adequate supply of blood and oxygen. It has been known that the protein angiotensin II plays a villainous role in this process. Now, researchers have elucidated the process and identified new therapeutic targets.

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Behaviors linked to adult crime differ between abused boys and girls, study finds

Troubling behaviors exhibited by abused children can predict later criminal activity, and those indicators differ between boys and girls, new research shows. Elementary-aged boys who show “externalizing” behaviors such as arguing, disobedience and fighting are more likely to commit crimes as adults, but girls who similarly acted out were not, the study demonstrated.

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Experts suggest upgrades to current heart disease prevention guideline

Acknowledging key strengths and 'lessons learned,' experts suggest upgrades to current heart disease prevention guidelines. The recommendations are designed, the authors say, to improve subsequent guidelines and clarify key points of confusion related to risk prediction and treatment of heart attacks and strokes.

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Finding a fingerprint for an invasive cancer still in hiding

A new study of a biomarker that can identify DCIS patients who are not at risk for subsequent invasion could save many lives and keep women from having to go through medical and surgical therapy, investigators say.

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Research advances potential for test and vaccine for genital and oral herpes

Findings from a pair of new studies could speed up the development of a universally accurate diagnostic test for human herpes simplex viruses, according to researchers. The work may also lead to the development of a vaccine that protects against the virus.

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Skeletal muscle atrophy in congestive heart failure

Patients with advanced congestive heart failure lose skeletal muscle mass, but their heart muscles become enlarged to provide the body with an adequate supply of blood and oxygen. It has been known that the protein angiotensin II plays a villainous role in this process. Now, researchers have elucidated the process and identified new therapeutic targets.

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Early surgery for mitral regurgitation, before clinical triggers emerge, has best outcomes

Patients with mitral regurgitation face a dilemma of whether to undergo corrective surgery early, when they might have no or few symptoms, or wait until their condition worsens. Current guidelines allow for watchful waiting until certain symptoms appear that would then “trigger” the decision to proceed with surgery. The authors argue that these guidelines are based on relatively weak class C evidence from clinical experience that is now 20 to 30 years old, and surgical methods, including mitral valve repair instead of valve replacement, have now made surgeries safer with good long-term outcomes, especially when performed at high-quality, high-volume centers. The results of a study indicate that delaying surgery until clinical triggers appear leads to increased mortality and congestive heart failure.

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Behaviors linked to adult crime differ between abused boys and girls, study finds

Troubling behaviors exhibited by abused children can predict later criminal activity, and those indicators differ between boys and girls, new research shows. Elementary-aged boys who show “externalizing” behaviors such as arguing, disobedience and fighting are more likely to commit crimes as adults, but girls who similarly acted out were not, the study demonstrated.

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Experts suggest upgrades to current heart disease prevention guideline

Acknowledging key strengths and 'lessons learned,' experts suggest upgrades to current heart disease prevention guidelines. The recommendations are designed, the authors say, to improve subsequent guidelines and clarify key points of confusion related to risk prediction and treatment of heart attacks and strokes.

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New tools for predicting arrival, impact of solar storms

When the sun hurls a billion tons of high-energy particles and magnetic fields into space at speeds of more than a million miles per hour and the 'space weather' conditions are right, the resulting geomagnetic storm at Earth can wreak havoc on communication and navigation systems, electrical power grids, and pose radiation hazards to astronauts and airline passengers and crew.

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Cutting costs: Sustainability matters even in complex networks

Every day, we expend energy when we con­trol the net­works in our lives. For example, to drive our car, we utilize a net­work whose com­po­nents include the car's accel­er­ator, steering wheel, and brake. Knowing how much that effort "costs" can help deter­mine which com­po­nents to manipulate--and to what degree--to ensure the smoothest, safest ride as you acclerate from 55 to 90 miles per hour. Physicists now reveal a measuring device that could guide scientists in controlling real-world complex systems.

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SIV shrugs off antibodies in vaccinated monkeys

Experimental vaccines can protect a majority of monkeys from repeated challenge with SIV. But when the virus does get through, it's not clear whether vaccine-induced antibodies were exerting any pressure on the virus.

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Scientists study nitrogen provision for Pluto's atmosphere

Data from the NASA New Horizons Mission hint that Pluto may still be geologically active, a theory that could explain how Pluto's escaping atmosphere remains flush with nitrogen.

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Linguist explains secret language of Gulliver's Travels

A linguist is proposing a solution to a centuries-old puzzle: What sparked the 'nonsense' language in 'Gulliver's Travels'? Authors of a new report now say that the mystery words are, in fact, variations of Hebrew.

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Single interrupted pregnancy may impact later deliveries, new research finds

Even a single incident of abortion or miscarriage can have repercussions for subsequent pregnancies, researchers say. The study suggests that women who have experienced a single pregnancy loss are about 30 percent more likely to suffer complications in subsequent pregnancies than women who have never miscarried or had a single abortion.

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Study finds low rate of dialysis facility referral for kidney transplantation evaluation

Only about one in four patients with end-stage renal disease in Georgia were referred for kidney transplant evaluation within one year of starting dialysis between 2005 and 2011, although there was substantial variability in referral among dialysis facilities, according to a study.

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How human cells can dissolve damaging protein aggregates

Cellular repair systems can dissolve aggregated proteins and now researchers have successfully decoded the fundamental mechanism that is key to dissolving these protein aggregates in human cells. Their in-vitro experiments uncovered a multi-stage biochemical process in which protein molecules are dissolved from the aggregates.

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