Waistline to predict heart risk
According to a recent study, waist circumference is a stronger predictor of heart disease than the BMI. The study from the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt lake City and John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore lends more evidence to the idea that it’s better to be shaped like a pear, with weight around the hips, as opposed to an apple, with weight around the abdomen. Researchers found that abdominal obesity or having an apple-shaped body is a strong predictor of serious heart disease in patients who have type 1 or type 2 diabetes and haven’t displayed any symptoms of heart disease. Apple-shaped bodies are already associated with metabolic syndrome (high BP, sugar levels and cholesterol), as well as coronary artery disease and heart failure, but this new study found that waist circumference is also a strong predictor of left ventricular dysfunction in patients. Metabolic syndrome is often accompanied by excess body fat around the abdomen.
HIV cure could be only a few years away
There is no cure for HIV yet. But good news is coming: A cure for HIV and AIDS reportedly could be just a few years away after scientists have been able to successfully snip away the virus from infected cells and prevent the disease from returning. Temple University scientists believe that a gene editing technique, known as Crispr/Cas9, could pave the way for an injection to cure sufferers. Kamel Khalili, who led the research, said that the findings are important on multiple levels as they demonstrate the effectiveness of the gene editing system in eliminating HIV from the DNA of CD4 T-cells and by introducing mutations in the viral genome, permanently inactivating its replication.
Shockwaves can treat infections
Those suffering from biofilm infections like tooth decay, sinusitis, lung infections and reactive arthritis can look forward to some shock treatment, literally. IISc researchers have found that shockwaves have healing power. In one experiment using a handheld device they developed to deliver shockwaves, the team used the waves to disrupt a biofilm formed on a urinary catheter and in another, used shock tubes to deliver waves to mice with lung infection. Subsequently, they were also treated with antibiotics. With bacteria developing resistance to antibiotics, research is under way across the globe to overcome this challenge and find novel ways to fight them. “Biofilm infections are life-threatening with no solutions. Shockwave therapy will be an ultimate solution for infections like sinusitis, lung infections, reactive arthritis,” said Dipshikha Chakravortty of IISc.