Hourly Heat Exposure Linked to Acute Ischemic Stroke

A case-crossover study in China suggests that hourly heat exposure is associated with increased risk of acute ischemic stroke (AIS). The time-stratified case-crossover study used a nationwide registry and included 82 455 adult AIS patients (mean age, 65.8 years; males 63.4%) hospitalized in the warm seasons (from April 1 to September […]

A Niacin Metabolite Linked to CVD Risk

Studies suggested that terminal breakdown products of excess niacin (vitamin B3 or nicotinic acid) are associated with residual cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and provided a possible explanation for the ‘niacin paradox’—the observation that the LDL lowering induced by niacin fails to achieve the expected reduction in CVD risks. Untargeted metabolomics […]

Sublingual Edaravone Dexborneol Effective for Acute Ischemic Stroke

A double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter, parallel-group, phase 3 randomized clinical trial in China revealed that sublingual edaravone dexborneol improved functional outcome at 90 days compared to placebo in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Within 48 hours of diagnosis, 914 AIS patients (median age, 64.0 [56.0-70.0] years; male 66.5%) were randomly […]

Salt Substitute May Reduce High Blood Pressure

A post hoc analysis among older adults with normal blood pressure (BP) in a multicenter, cluster-randomized trial in China suggested that replacing usual salt with a salt substitute (62.5% NaCl, 25% KCl, and 12.5% flavorings) may reduce high BP incidence without increasing hypotension episodes. The analysis included 611 older adults […]

Genetic Association of Lipid Metabolism with Aortic Aneurysms

A mendelian randomization (MR) study provides causal evidence for the genetic association of lipid metabolism with aortic aneurysms. By using expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) related to drug-target genes and SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) located near or within the drug-target loci associated with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) as proxies for […]

Lactase Genotype Dependent Association of Milk Intake and T2D

An ongoing US prospective cohort study suggests that lactase (LCT) genotype may modify the relationship between milk intake and risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D), with higher milk intake associated with lower risk of T2D only in lactase non-persistent (LNP) individuals but not in lactase persistence (LP) individuals. The study […]

CHIP Associated Genetic CHD Risk

A Chinese cohort study revealed that clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) contributed to incident coronary heart disease (CHD), and could be modified by germline genetic risk, especially in inflammatory genes. The study used data from 3 prospective cohorts in China.  Participants (n=6181, median age 53.8, female 49.9%) without cardiovascular […]

Causal Effects of Lipids on High BP

A Mendelian randomization study provides genetic evidence for the causal effects of lipids on blood pressure (BP) indicators. Based on large-scale genome-wide association study summary data, genetically predicted triglycerides (TG) were the most likely causal factor among the major lipids to increase systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure […]

Genetic Risks in Sodium and Potassium Informative to High BP Interventions

A cross-sectional, observational study of 2 genotyped cohorts in Australia and UK suggested that sodium was associated with larger hypertensive effects for individuals with higher blood pressure (BP) genetic risk in pathways related to sodium and potassium biology. Both genetic risk and urinary electrolytes independently correlated with BP in the […]