Chinese medicine herb may have the power to help heart attack patients

Peer-Reviewed Publication

NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: IOAKIM SPYRIDOPOULOS, A PROFESSOR OF CARDIOLOGY AND CARDIOVASCULAR GERONTOLOGY AT NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY. view more 

CREDIT: NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY, UK

A plant-based compound purified from the traditional Chinese herb, Astragalus, has the potential to improve the outcome of heart attack patients, new research has revealed.

Experts at Newcastle University, UK, have found that the product, known as TA-65®, significantly reduces inflammation and, unlike current cardiovascular treatments, does not negatively impact immunity.

A study, published in GeroScience, showed that when TA-65® was given to older patients for over a year after their heart attack, it specifically increased lymphocytes, improving immunity of patients.

In addition, patients treated with the drug experienced far less complications, or issues such as chest or joint pains, following their heart attack.

Reducing inflammation

Ioakim Spyridopoulos, a Professor of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Gerontology at Newcastle University, has led the study, working with the heart team at The James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.

Professor Spyridopoulos said: “It has become widely recognised that inflammation plays a key role in the formation, progression, and rupture of a coronary plaque, which induces heart attack, but, importantly, it is also a major risk factor for further complications.

“Reducing inflammation is, therefore, considered a key treatment target following a heart attack for patients and our study showed that TA-65® reduced inflammation by up to 62%.

“While some potent anti-inflammatory drugs have been shown to improve outcomes after heart attacks, they result in suppression of the immune system and increase the risk of severe infections.

“In our study, the widely available drug TA-65® was shown to reduce inflammation but also appears to improve immunity by increasing a patient’s immune cells.”

Scientists, including experts at The James Cook University Hospital, carried out a randomised controlled pilot study in which patients were given a placebo drug or TA-65®.

The study was carried out on 90 patients aged 65 and over and performed as a Clinical Trial for Medicines under the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency conditions.

Patients had blood measurements taken at baseline, six months, and a year, to assess the study outcomes. Participants were reviewed regularly in the clinic to check them for any side effects.

TA-65® is a patented, plant-based compound that helps maintain or rebuild telomeres. It is isolated from the herb Astragalus, a traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years.

Those who received the TA-65® drug had few adverse effects, such as a fever or new medical problem, following their heart attack and, in fact, they showed 30% less adverse effects than the group given the dummy drug.

Clinical outcomes

Professor Spyridopoulos, who also works at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “If we can show that TA-65® improves the clinical outcomes of patients who have suffered a heart attack, on top of modern treatment options, it will become an important addition to patients’ medical care.”

The research team would like to follow up with a further study to confirm the results in a larger trial, if funded, and further research will focus on whether TA-65® reduces adverse cardiac events, such as more heart attacks or even death.

Dr David Austin, Consultant Cardiologist at The James Cook University Hospital, who was an author on the research paper, said: “The James Cook University Hospital’s heart unit serves more than 1.5 million people and has an excellent reputation.

“Our partnership with Newcastle University in this research study is part of our drive to continually improve treatment options for patients.”

The independent study was funded by TA Science, a company that makes the TA-65® drug, and was an investigator-initiated trial, meaning the company had no say in how the study was conducted or analysed.

Reference:

Activation of telomerase by TA-65 enhances immunity and reduces inflammation post myocardial infarction. Bilal Bawamia et al. GeroScience. DOI: 10.1007/s11357-023-00794-6

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JOURNAL

GeroScience

DOI

10.1007/s11357-023-00794-6 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Randomized controlled/clinical trial

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Activation of telomerase by TA-65 enhances immunity and reduces inflammation post myocardial infarction

At least one in three family members of those with serious mental illness feel stigmatized

New study by York University researchers points to need to reach out to ‘very marginalized group’ who’ve been made to feel they don’t matter

YORK UNIVERSITY

TORONTO, April 27, 2023 – Families of those with serious mental health issues feel stigmatized and alone, say York University researchers in a new study.

“We are avoided. When we told our family, they shut us out, I am so hurt, and so angry” – 62-year-old mom with an adult son with serious mental illness, as described to York researchers.

It’s well known that those who have serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia face a great deal of stigma in society, but what has been less understood is the concept of “stigma by association” – the discrimination people close to them experience.

A team of York researchers looked at just that in a recent study, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, and found that one in three family members living with relatives who have serious mental illnesses experience stigma. Ahead of Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Mental Health Week, starting May 1, Joel Goldberg, lead author on the study describes this figure as “startling” and points to the need to do more outreach.

“We wanted to reach out to a group of people who we think have been especially marginalized and one of the things that we noticed right away, is that this is a group of people who have really not been well studied. And that really speaks to how isolated they are,” says Goldberg, a York Faculty of Health Professor with the Department of Psychology. “We found that family members were not receiving the social support they needed, even from other family members.”

Professor Joel Goldberg

The researchers, including York graduate researchers Suzanne McKeag, Alison Rose and Heather Lumsden-Ruegg and York Psychology Professor and Canada Research Chair Gordon Flett, reached out to groups like the Schizophrenia Society of Ontario, Reconnect Community Health Services, the CMHA and The Schizophrenia Society of York and were able to connect with 120 family members who were living with relatives with severe mental health challenges.

In surveys, family members described chronic feelings of blame, failure and loneliness. Overall, the researchers found many felt stigmatized, unsupported, and that their lives don’t matter. This last main finding builds on other work by Flett, who studies mattering, which is essentially the idea that all of us need to feel like we matter, and feeling like we don’t, a concept Flett describes as anti-mattering, can lead to a host of problems.

About one per cent of the population is affected by schizophrenia, commonly characterized by auditory hallucinations (“hearing voices”), delusions, and disordered thinking that can affect daily functioning.

“Unfortunately, it's a condition which has been really misrepresented in media portrayals. The few times when the public hears stories about people with schizophrenia, they hear about someone who hasn't been taking their medicine, or acts of violence,” says Goldberg. “These ideas become the basis of the stigma, and families are then associated with it.”

Goldberg says that it is very probable that the numbers of family members facing stigma are actually much higher as the cohort they studied were people already connected to support groups. From a public-health perspective, the study points to the need to reach out to not only those who have  the illness, but also their families, who he describes as “very marginalized.”

“If you're made to feel insignificant, if you are feeling like those around you treat you as if you're invisible, this can have really harmful effects on your sense of well-being,” he says. “We're hoping with this Mental Health Week that this will give great attention to family members, and let them know that we do not see their lives as being insignificant, that we don't see them as being invisible, that their lives matter.”

Watch a video of Joel Goldberg explain the research. 

-30-

York University is a modern, multi-campus, urban university located in Toronto, Ontario. Backed by a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners, we bring a uniquely global perspective to help solve societal challenges, drive positive change, and prepare our students for success. York's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education. York’s campuses in Costa Rica and India offer students exceptional transnational learning opportunities and innovative programs. Together, we can make things right for our communities, our planet, and our future. 

Media Contact: Emina Gamulin, York University Media Relations, 437-217-6362, egamulin@yorku.ca

---

JOURNAL

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Too Close for Comfort: Stigma by Association in Family Members Who Live with Relatives with Mental Illness

A versatile deep-learning model for accurate prediction of plant growth

Scientists from Korea have designed a new machine learning model to predict plant growth with greater efficiency and accuracy

Peer-Reviewed Publication

NANJING AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE

 

IMAGE: TARGET CROP GROWTH AND MORPHOLOGY WERE ABSTRACTED AS ONE-BIG ORGANS. AVERAGES CAN BE CALCULATED WITH TOTAL VALUES AND THE NUMBER OF ORGANS. view more 

CREDIT: PLANT PHENOMICS

Crop yield can be maximized when the best genetic variety and most effective crop management practices are used for cultivation. Scientists have developed various machine learning models to predict the factors that produce the greatest yield in specific crop plants. However, traditional models cannot accommodate high levels of variation in parameters or large data inputs. This can lead to the failure of models under certain circumstances. Also, since crop models are restricted to the types of input they can accommodate, improvements to one model may not apply to other models.

To overcome this limitation, researchers from Korea led by Professor Jung Eok Son from Seoul National University have created a novel deep-learning based crop model known as “DeepCrop”, for hydroponic sweet peppers. The model can accommodate several input variables and has fewer limitations on the amount of data it can process. Hence, it can be employed in most settings and can be extended to similar applications. The researchers tested the predictions of DeepCrop by cultivating the crop twice a year for two years in greenhouses. Their results were published in Plant Phenomics on March 01, 2023.

“We selected deep-learning algorithms as a potential solution to mitigate fragmentation and redundancy. Deep learning has high applicability to broad target tasks as well as remarkable abstraction ability for enormous sets of data,” explains Prof. Son.

DeepCrop is a process-based model that can simulate crop growth in response to various factors and environmental conditions. It can be scaled up to include many input types or greater amount of data. One reason for the high versatility of DeepCrop is that it is constructed exclusively with neural networks. Neural networks are combinations of algorithms that process the interactions between input data to make useful predictions.

Since simulations are created on a computer-based platform, DeepCrop requires minimal infrastructure. “With its applicability, a complicated task conducted at the enterprise became accessible with a personal computer,” says Prof. Son.

Deep-learning algorithms must be fed data before they can make any predictions. DeepCrop algorithms on plant growth simulation were trained in a similar manner. However, it did not need the programming of sophisticated concepts in plant physiology or crop modeling to produce useful predictions. “DeepCrop simulation adequately followed the growing tendency from scratch according to the scores, but the model should be inspected because it has potential to be improved ,” Prof. Son notes.

To validate the predictions of DeepCrop, the team cultivated sweet peppers in preset greenhouse conditions. A comparison of predicted and actual plant growth patterns suggested that DeepCrop outperformed other existing process-based crop models, as indicated by its modeling efficiency. The model was also the least likely to make prediction errors.

The capacity of DeepCrop to produce useful predictions even with varying inputs and parameters suggests that it can determine relationships between input data regardless of data type. The results of this study also suggest that deep-learning models can be useful for a wide range of applications in crop science. “We expect that the developed DeepCrop can improve the accessibility of crop models and mitigate fragmentation problems in crop model studies”, concludes a hopeful Prof. Son.

Kudos to the research team for developing such an effective and cost-efficient crop model!

###

Reference

Authors

Taewon Moon1,3, Dongpil Kim2, Sungmin Kwon1, Jung Eek Son1,3

Affiliations

1 Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Bioresources, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea

2 Protected Horticulture Research Institute, National Institute of Horticultural & Herbal Science, Rural Development Administration, Haman 52054, Korea

3 Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea

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JOURNAL

Plant Phenomics

DOI

10.34133/plantphenomics.0035 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Computational simulation/modeling

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Process-Based Crop Modeling for High Applicability with Attention Mechanism and Multitask Decoders

Fallow land promotes bird diversity

Research team including Göttingen University study effect of fallow land and complexity of landscapes on bird populations

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF GÖTTINGEN

 

IMAGE: CORN BUNTING IN AN AREA OF FLOWERING FALLOW LAND. view more 

CREDIT: MICHAEL RADLOFF

In recent decades, many of Germany’s animal populations in agricultural landscapes have experienced sharp declines, both in terms of the number of species and the number of individuals. Fallow land is considered an effective measure to slow this decline. Researchers from the University of Göttingen, Thünen Institute of Biodiversity, and the Dachverband Deutscher Avifaunisten (DDA) have investigated the correlation between the proportion of fallow land and the number and abundance of farmland birds over a nine-year study period. The research shows that areas of fallow land can contribute to an increase in the populations of these birds and that the benefits of fallow land depend significantly on the complexity of the surrounding landscape. Their findings were published in the Journal of Applied Ecology.

To find out where areas of fallow land should be most effectively established, the researchers studied fallow land in agricultural landscapes of varying complexity. Complexity was measured by the density of boundary lines between fields, as well as between fields and adjacent woody structures such as hedges or forest edges. Data from the nationwide monitoring of common breeding birds (CBBM) as well as data from agricultural statistics were used for the evaluation.

The results clearly show that establishing areas of fallow land is particularly effective in agricultural landscapes that have a medium level of complexity. The average density of boundary lines in Germany is around 65 metres per hectare of agricultural land. The authors therefore recommend promoting fallow land primarily in these regions with medium structural complexity. "Our research enabled us to identify regions where fallow land should preferably be established in order to have the greatest effect," summarises Dr Sebastian Klimek, Thünen Institute of Biodiversity, who coordinated the study. "In order to stop declining populations of farmland birds nationwide, it is necessary to maintain a minimum proportion of fallow land in the agricultural landscape, adds Professor Johannes Kamp, University of Göttingen and member of the DDA’s advisory board.

The EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has a strong influence on the total area of fallow land in Germany. Due to changes in the CAP, the amount of fallow land has decreased significantly since the beginning of 2000. The loss of fallow land, especially after the loss of “set-aside” areas in 2007, led to a lack of suitable breeding sites and food for many bird species. Although the "Greening" of the last CAP funding period has slightly increased the total area of fallow land in Germany from 2015 onwards, the country is nowhere near the levels observed before 2007. In the new CAP support period starting in 2023, farms are obliged to set aside 4% of their arable land. This could contribute to an improvement in the population of many farmland birds. In order to restore the pre-2007 level of the farmland bird population, a further increase is required in measures proven to be effective at enhancing biodiversity in the agricultural landscape.

Fallow fields, here implemented as part of an agri-environmental scheme.

CREDIT

Lisa Dumpe

The studies were funded by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture in the project „Monitoring der biologischen Vielfalt in Agrarlandschaften (MonViA)“ (Monitoring Biodiversity in Agricultural Landscapes). The Common Breeding Bird Monitoring is supported by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) with funds from the Federal Environment Ministry and the environment ministries of the Länder.

The studies were funded by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture in the project „Monitoring der biologischen Vielfalt in Agrarlandschaften (MonViA)“ (Monitoring Biodiversity in Agricultural Landscapes). The Common Breeding Bird Monitoring is supported by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) with funds from the Federal Environment Ministry and the environment ministries of the Länder.

Original publication: Hertzog et al (2023) Associations between farmland birds and fallow area at large scales: consistently positive over three periods of the EU Common Agricultural Policy but moderated by landscape complexity. Journal of Applied Ecology. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.14400

JOURNAL

Journal of Applied Ecology

DOI

10.1111/1365-2664.14400 

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Associations between farmland birds and fallow area at large scales: consistently positive over three periods of the EU Common Agricultural Policy but moderated by landscape complexity.

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

25-Apr-2023

Mason researchers explore techniques

to successfully reintroduce captive birds

into the wild

Reports and Proceedings

GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

Studies show that some species may require breeding in captivity within the next 200 years to avoid extinction. This reality places heavy importance on the reintroduction practices used to successfully transfer species from captivity to the wild. A new study from George Mason University looks at some of the most popular conservation techniques and identifies which have the highest likelihood of success for the reintroduction of bird species back into the wild.

George Mason doctoral student Jessica Roberts and biology professor Dr. David Luther examined various conservation management methods from the past 50 years to identify the most successful and cost-effective reintroduction strategies.

“Threatened and endangered species bred in zoos aren’t really prepared to go live in a wild circumstance with predators and forge for their own food,” said Luther.  “Everything’s given to them and they are protected.”

The team identified 91 avian conservation translocation events with first year survival data. Using the data available, they found that exposing animals to wild food before release, releasing animals into a protected area while maintaining their natural environment, and acclimating birds to the release site and providing supplemental feeding after release should all be techniques considered when implementing avian conservation translocation programs. Roberts said that the use of behavior-based management is a relatively new technique in wildlife conservation, so it is important to look broadly at the method’s implications before turning to research at a more micro scale.

"I've worked captive-breeding and rearing endangered species and saw that a lot of the time when we released them back to the wild, we did not understand the mechanisms behind why some individuals were thriving and others perished,” Roberts said. “The main goal of this research was to look for answers to these survival questions."

While the loss of one bird species out of the thousands that exist may seem small to some, the impact is far greater. Birds help pollinate plants, disperse seeds, and control insect populations. They support larger ecosystems responsible for the fresh water we drink. They influence the proximity of wildlife to villages that ultimately effects the level of risk for pandemics.

Roberts’ and Luther’s study provides evidence-based support to explore the use of behavior and its management as an influential tool in conservation biology. Their work will help improve avian conservation translocation programs and ultimately save more species from the brink of extinction.

Jessica Roberts will graduate with her PhD in Environmental Science and Public Policy this May.

##

For more information about the The College of Science at George Mason University, contact Tracy Mason at 703-993-8723 or tmason11@gmu.edu.  

About Mason
George Mason University, Virginia’s largest public research university, enrolls 39,000 students from 130 countries and all 50 states. Located near Washington, D.C., Mason has grown rapidly over the last half-century and is recognized for its innovation and entrepreneurship, remarkable diversity, and commitment to accessibility. In 2022, Mason celebrates 50 years as an independent institution. Learn more at http://www.gmu.edu.

About the College of Science 
Mason’s College of Science is a leader in scientific discovery and a creator of innovative solutions for the rapidly-changing needs of today’s world. The college prides itself in being home to a diverse population of students and researchers serving as a magnet for all scientific minds. With new discoveries, our scientists continue to grow Mason’s portfolio of patents, licenses, partnerships, and spin off companies.

The college blends traditional science education with sought-after programs at all levels to challenge and engage in disciplines including personalized medicine, infectious diseases, drug discovery, climate dynamics, environmental justice and conservation, materials science, astronomy, forensic science, computational science, and applied mathematics. Mason’s College of Science offers enhanced undergraduate and graduate academic and research opportunities, including innovative minors, certificates, and graduate degrees, that allow professionals to upskill or change careers. Learn more at http://science.gmu.edu

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JOURNAL

Biological Conservation

DOI

10.1016/j.biocon.2023.109941 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

An exploratory analysis of behavior-based and other management techniques to improve avian conservation translocations

New test reveals existing antibiotics, hiding in plain sight on pharmacy shelves, can cure superbugs

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - SANTA BARBARA

 

IMAGE: A NEW ANTIBIOTIC SUSCEPTIBILITY TEST REVEALED THAT EXISTING FDA-APPROVED ANTIBIOTICS CAN EFFECTIVELY TREAT MULTIDRUG-RESISTANT INFECTIONS. view more 

CREDIT: RYAN ALLEN AND PETER ALLEN, SECOND BAY STUDIOS

A new test revealed that FDA-approved antibiotics — available at your neighborhood pharmacy — can effectively treat superbugs. They are not prescribed, however, because the gold-standard test predicts they will not work. The new test may improve the way antibiotics are developed, tested and prescribed — and it is openly available to all.

The research has significant implications in the fight against bacterial resistance by optimizing the prescription and use of currently available antibiotics and enhancing the efforts to discover new ones.

Developed by a research team of UC Santa Barbara scientists, the antibiotic study was published in the journal Cell Reports Medicine. The research addressed a fundamental flaw in the healthcare paradigm for determining antibiotic resistance.  It does not account for environmental conditions in the body that impact drug potency.

By simulating conditions in the body, the new test identified several effective antibiotics rejected by standard testing. Further, when the new and standard tests agreed — a nearly perfect prediction of treatment success or failure was observed.

The study required a tour de force screening of more than 500 antibiotic-bacteria combinations. The findings suggest that the standard test is incorrect ~15% of the time.  And since physicians rely on this test for treatment decisions — it may lead to prescription of the wrong antibiotic.

The project was led by professor Michael Mahan and his UC Santa Barbara research team of Douglas Heithoff, Lucien Barnes and Scott Mahan, along with Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital physicians Lynn Fitzgibbons, M.D. and Jeffrey Fried, M.D., and professor John House of University of Sydney, Australia.

“People are not Petri plates — that is why antibiotics fail,” said Mahan.  “Testing under conditions that mimic the body improves the accuracy by which lab tests predict drug potency.”

Physicians are aware of the flaws in the gold-standard test.  When recommended antibiotics do not work, they must rely on their experience to decide on the appropriate antibiotic(s) for their patients. 

This study provides a potential solution to address the disparity between antibiotics indicated by standard testing and actual patient outcomes.  

“Reevaluation of FDA-approved antibiotics may be of far greater benefit than the time and cost of developing new drugs to combat antimicrobial resistance,” explained Fitzgibbons, an infectious disease physician, “potentially leading to significant life-savings and cost-savings.”

“Sepsis treatments are expensive and require long hospital stays,” explained Heithoff, “and testing and re-testing is not only time- and labor-intensive, but also leads to antibiotic resistance.”

The new test will lead to reduced costs for the healthcare industry in their efforts to identify new drugs to fight antimicrobial resistant infections.

“More accurate testing reduces the costs of drug discovery by streamlining detection of lead candidates long before expensive human clinical trials,” said House, a clinical veterinarian.

Added Fried, a critical care physician, “Human clinical safety and efficacy studies will need to be conducted to assure these findings are applicable to patients with various infections and sepsis.”

This research was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and the U.S. Army Research Office via the Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies (ICB) cooperative agreement and contract.

“As a Gaucho, I’m always proud to advance legislation that delivers critical support for the great work that UCSB ICB and other researchers are doing,” said Rep. Salud Carbajal. “With the support provided from the laws created by my colleagues and I on the Armed Services Committee, UCSB ICB was able to develop a new test method which revealed that FDA-approved antibiotics can effectively treat multidrug-resistant superbugs. This would be a game changer for many in our community with limited access to health care, and I’m proud to see the support included in the legislation I helped get signed into law play a part in this breakthrough.”

(Study title: Reevaluation of FDA-approved Antibiotics with Increased Diagnostic Accuracy for Assessment of Antimicrobial Resistance)

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JOURNAL

Cell Reports Medicine

ARTICLE TITLE

Re-evaluation of FDA-approved antibiotics with increased diagnostic accuracy for assessment of antimicrobial resistance

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

27-Apr-2023

Being hospitalized with acute kidney injury may increase risk for rehospitalization and death

Peer-Reviewed Publication

NIH/NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DIABETES AND DIGESTIVE AND KIDNEY DISEASES

 

IMAGE: KEY FINDINGS FROM RECENT NIDDK-SUPPORTED RESEARCH ON ACUTE KIDNEY INJURY DURING HOSPITALIZATION AND SHORT- AND LONG-TERM REHOSPITALIZATIONS AND MORTALITY. view more 

CREDIT: NIH/NIDDK

A study supported by the National Institutes of Health found that people who experienced acute kidney injury (AKI) during a hospitalization, including those admitted with AKI or who developed AKI in the hospital, were more likely to revisit the hospital or die shortly after discharge, compared to people hospitalized without AKI. AKI is a sudden loss of kidney function that usually lasts for a short time. The research, funded by NIH’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), was published in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases.

According to the findings, people who had been hospitalized with AKI, whether or not they had pre-existing kidney disease, were 62% more likely to be readmitted to the hospital for any reason and 266% more likely to die of any cause within 90 days after discharge from the hospital. During the year following discharge, those hospitalized with AKI were re-hospitalized nearly 60% more often than those hospitalized without AKI and more than twice as likely to die. Heart failure, sepsis, and pneumonia were among the most common causes for readmission after discharge with an AKI hospitalization.

“We hope this study leads to a growing awareness about the dramatic increased adverse risks after a hospitalization with AKI – outcomes that could substantially affect health,” said Dr. Ivonne Schulman, program director at NIDDK’s Division of Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Diseases, and one of the paper’s co-authors. “There currently is no standard of care for people after being hospitalized with AKI, and this information could help get us there.”

The researchers analyzed data from nearly 1 million people in a national health insurance claims database, comparing around 470,000 patients who had a hospitalization with an AKI diagnosis with the same number of patients hospitalized without an AKI diagnosis. The two groups were matched on other characteristics, such as pre-existing medical conditions, sex, race, and ethnicity.

AKI is more common in people with medical conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, or chronic kidney disease. AKI can have different causes, including overuse or misuse of certain medications, or injury to the kidneys from systemic infections. It can also progress into chronic kidney disease, a long-term loss of kidney function possibly leading to the need for kidney transplant or dialysis.

“Monitoring people with AKI in the weeks after hospital discharge may be critical in preventing future adverse health outcomes,” said NIDDK Director Dr. Griffin P. Rodgers. “These findings present an opportunity for further research to develop and test interventions designed to reduce the risks associated with AKI.”

This study was supported by the Division of Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Diseases, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

About the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK): The NIDDK, a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), conducts and supports research on diabetes and other endocrine and metabolic diseases; digestive diseases, nutrition and obesity; and kidney, urologic and hematologic diseases. Spanning the full spectrum of medicine and afflicting people of all ages and ethnic groups, these diseases encompass some of the most common, severe, and disabling conditions affecting Americans. For more information about the NIDDK and its programs, see https://www.niddk.nih.gov/.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®

 

References:

Schulman IH, et al. Readmission and mortality after hospitalization with acute kidney injury. American Journal of Kidney Diseases(link is external). Month DD, 2023.

Mount Sinai awarded grant to assess music’s impact on well-being, depression

National Endowment for the Arts funds a collaboration between the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine and Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute

Business Announcement

THE MOUNT SINAI HOSPITAL / MOUNT SINAI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

The Mount Sinai Health System Assessment of Music Experiences in Navigating Depression (AMEND Lab) at the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine has received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to investigate how music and music therapy can influence mood and alter depression symptoms across vulnerable populations.

“As a musician, I’ve always been involved in community music, and the beauty of this grant is that it connects our center with Carnegie Hall Weill Music Institute,” said Joanne Loewy, DA, LCAT, MT-BC, the founding Director of the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine at Mount Sinai, and the first music therapist to be inducted as a Fellow into the New York Academy of Medicine.

“A cornerstone of the study is ‘social prescribing,’ a concept that is widely used in Europe,” Dr. Loewy explained. “It involves thinking of music less as a recreational activity, and more as a foundational prescription for everyday life. We will look at questions such as, ‘How can having music and performances as part of your weekly or monthly calendar influence the way you work or play in society and with others?’”

In addition, the investigators will examine factors such as participants’ musical history (“How were you raised on music?”) and how they listen to music (e.g., through headphones, earbuds, in person) and compare the impact of various music interventions on depression and resilience, mood and affect, sleep quality, and quality of life.

The study will also involve working one-on-one with individuals with clinical depression to explore in depth how music therapy impacts their depression. Populations of particular interest include children, teens, and college students with depression who may be at risk for suicide; first-time parents of preterm infants; and older adults with neurologic diseases.

Related planned products from the grant include recordings of "well-being" music concerts held for the participants, research articles, conference presentations, and a standardized assessment tool and manual that will inform creative arts therapists and other health care professionals about the impacts that music engagement may have on depression.

These investigations and innovations build on Dr. Loewy’s 30-year career as a researcher exploring the power of music as medicine. Recent studies at the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine include examinations of music therapy’s effects in people with long COVID; on patients in fragile environments, such as oncology waiting rooms; on the neurology of pain; on sleep improvement; and on physiological and developmental function in premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit.

“Medical researchers mainly look at quantitative measures when assessing disease outcomes, but there’s always often an emotional aspect that can have an impact on outcomes,” said Dr. Loewy. “We often don’t consider how something like music therapy can affect the disease process. I’m honored to have the opportunity to continue exploring the value of our interventions, particularly in the lives of vulnerable individuals.”

Additional partners in the NEA-funded study include Cooper Union, Third Street Music School, Young Adults Institute, and Lincoln Center Moments. 

About the Mount Sinai Health System

The Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with more than 43,000 employees working across eight hospitals, over 400 outpatient practices, over 300 labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time — discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it.

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The future is foggy for Arctic shipping

Warming temperatures and melting sea ice increase fog in the Arctic, creating a costly obstacle for trans-Arctic shipping

AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION

27 April 2023
AGU Release No. 23-19
For Immediate Release 

This press release and accompanying multimedia are available online at: https://news.agu.org/press-release/the-future-is-foggy-for-arctic-shipping/

The future is foggy for Arctic shipping
Warming temperatures and melting sea ice increase fog in the Arctic, creating a costly obstacle for trans-Arctic shipping. 

AGU press contact: 
Liza Lester, +1 (202) 777-7494, news@agu.org (UTC-4 hours)

Contact information for the researchers:
Xianyao Chen, Ocean University of China and Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, chenxy@ouc.edu.cn (UTC+8 hours)

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WASHINGTON — As the Arctic warms and loses sea ice, trans-Arctic shipping has increased, reducing travel time and costs for international trade. However, a new study finds that the Arctic Ocean is getting foggier as ice disappears, reducing visibility and causing costly delays as ships slow to avoid hitting dangerous sea ice.

The study was published in Geophysical Research Letters, which publishes high-impact, short-format reports with immediate implications spanning all Earth and space sciences.

Arctic sea ice has been shrinking for decades. That loss has opened shipping channels in the Northwest Passage and the Northern Sea Route, allowing even non-icebreaker vessels to skip the time-consuming Panama and Suez Canals farther south. But as the ice recedes, cold air is exposed to more warm water, and warm vapor condenses into fog in those new passages. Hidden chunks of ice already pose risks to vessels making their way through foggy, low-visibility routes.

“The future of shipping in the Arctic is unclear, but fog could pose a significant challenge,” said Xianyao Chen, a physical oceanographer at the Ocean University of China and author of the study. “When designing shipping routes across the Arctic, we need to consider the impact of fog.”

To examine how climate change has impacted fog conditions along Arctic shipping routes, and to see how conditions will change during the 21st century, researchers used data on Arctic fog collected from 1979 to 2018 and climate projections from the Fifth Phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project. The researchers also modeled alternate routes that could minimize foggy days during transit. 

They found that ships crossing the Northwest Passage are more likely to encounter fog than ships in the Northern Sea Route. Fog in the Northwest Passage, which avoids the Panama Canal, is more frequent and persistent and so likely to increase sailing time by up to three days. Sailing time for the less-foggy Northern Sea Route, avoiding the Suez Canal, is projected to be no more than one day longer. According to the study, both proposed passages would encounter less fog if the routes shifted farther away from the sea ice edge.   

Fog is already cutting into time gained by taking the much shorter Arctic routes; shipping speeds on foggy days are slower than on clear days, Chen found. As the Arctic gets foggier, shipping could continue to slow unless routes are adjusted.  With daily operating costs for large container ships typically reaching $50,000 to $150,000, a multi-day delay due to fog quickly increases the costs of a trans-Arctic crossing.

“Avoiding ice is critical,” said Scott Stephenson, a physical scientist at the RAND Corporation who was not affiliated with this study. “This study did a good job at identifying the risks of fog — an important environmental constraint in the Arctic, and one that has largely been ignored.”

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AGU (www.agu.org) is a global community supporting more than half a million advocates and professionals in Earth and space sciences. Through broad and inclusive partnerships, AGU aims to advance discovery and solution science that accelerate knowledge and create solutions that are ethical, unbiased and respectful of communities and their values. Our programs include serving as a scholarly publisher, convening virtual and in-person events and providing career support. We live our values in everything we do, such as our net zero energy renovated building in Washington, D.C. and our Ethics and Equity Center, which fosters a diverse and inclusive geoscience community to ensure responsible conduct.

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Notes for Journalists:
This study is published in Geophysical Research Letters, a fully open access journal. Neither the paper nor this press release is under embargo. Download a PDF copy of the paper here.

Paper title:
“Adapting to a foggy future along trans-Arctic shipping routes”

Authors:

• S. Song, X. Chen (corresponding author) and J. Zhao, Frontier Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System (FDOMES) and Physical Oceanography Laboratory, Ocean University of China and Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
• Y. Chen, FDOMES and Physical Oceanography Laboratory, Ocean University of China, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, and Academy of the Future Ocean, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
• C. Chen, Geovis Technology Company Limited, Beijing, China
• K. Li, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, California, US
• K. Tung, Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, US
• Q. Shao, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
• Y. Liu, X. Wang and L. Yi, FDOMES and Physical Oceanography Laboratory, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China

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JOURNAL

Geophysical Research Letters

DOI

10.1029/2022GL102395 

ARTICLE TITLE

Adapting to a foggy future along trans-Arctic shipping routes

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

25-Apr-2023