Researchers find risk factors for unemployment with multiple sclerosis vary by age

A recent study by Kessler Foundation researchers explored numerous factors that contribute to the high unemployment rate among individuals of different ages with multiple sclerosis (MS). This is the first investigation to consider age within the context of disease- and person-specific factors affecting employment in MS. The article, “Unemployment in multiple sclerosis across the ages: How factors of unemployment differ […]

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Interaction between immune factors triggers cancer-promoting chronic inflammation

A Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) research team has identified interaction between two elements of the immune system as critical for the transformation of a protective immune response into chronic, cancer-promoting inflammation. In their report published in PNAS, the investigators demonstrate that elevated levels of the immune factor IL-33 and regulatory T cells (Tregs), which suppress the action of tumor-fighting immune […]

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Researchers identify risk factors of advanced liver disease in cystic fibrosis patients

Children’s Hospital Colorado (Children’s Colorado) pediatric gastroenterologist, Michael Narkewicz, MD, recently shared results of the Prospective Study of Ultrasound to Predict Hepatic Cirrhosis in Cystic Fibrosis (PUSH), which sought to determine if liver ultrasounds could identify children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis who are at greater risk of developing advanced liver disease. The Cystic Fibrosis Liver Disease Network PUSH study […]

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Behavioral risk factors for depression vary with age, study finds

Behavioral risk factors including smoking, obesity, limited physical activity and a less healthy diet strongly predict the likelihood of depression—and that likelihood increases with each additional risk factor a person possesses. Additionally, the risk factors most strongly linked to depression change with age. Previous studies had identified behavioral risk factors for depression, but it was unclear how these variables changed […]

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Risk factors for faulty rhythms

Arrhythmias—disruptions in the rhythm of the heartbeat—after congenital heart disease (CHD) surgery in children are common and contribute to increased morbidity and mortality. Prince Kannankeril, MD, MSCI, and colleagues explored clinical and genetic factors associated with atrial tachycardia (AT) after CHD surgery in infants younger than 1 year old. They examined variants in the genes PITX2 and IL6, which are […]

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Men and women have different genetic risk factors for developing brain cancer

Glioma is the most common type of primary malignant brain tumor in the United States; glioblastoma being the most common type of glioma in adults. While sex differences in the incidence and survival rates of glioma were known, researchers had not investigated whether genetic differences based on sex could cast light on potential differences in the risk profile of glioma […]

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Both quantity and quality of sleep affect cardiovascular risk factors in adolescents

A study from a research team led by a MassGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHfC) physician finds that both the quantity and quality of sleep—the amount of time spent sleeping and the percentage of sleep that is undisturbed—in young adolescents have significant effects on aspects of cardiovascular health such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels and abdominal fat deposition. Their report has […]

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Erectile dysfunction means increased risk for heart disease, regardless of other risk factors

Erectile dysfunction (ED) indicates greater cardiovascular risk, regardless of other risk factors, such as cholesterol, smoking and high blood pressure, according new research published in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation. In the study, which followed more than 1,900 men, ages 60 to 78, over 4 years, those who reported ED were twice as likely to experience heart attacks, cardiac […]

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Factors associated with sexual coercion among adolescents in rural communities

A new study examining factors associated with sexual coercion among 10th graders in a rural Midwestern, low-to-middle income high school found that sexual coercion was reported by 18 percent (13 percent of males and 23 percent females). The research findings will be presented during the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) 2018 Meeting. Predictors included age, race, ethnicity, prior alcohol, marijuana and/or […]

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