© University of Rochester 1996-2012
Racial disparity in the control of hypertension contributes to the deaths of almost 8,000 black men and women in the United States annually, according to a first-of-its-kind study by Rochester researchers published in the Annals of Family Medicine. High blood pressure—a precursor to cardiovascular disease, the nation’s leading cause of death—occurs at the highest rate among black Americans. Researchers, led by Kevin Fiscella, associate professor of family medicine and of community and preventive medicine, noted that the deaths could be avoided or postponed if blacks had their hypertension controlled to the same level as whites.
Medical Center researchers have found that women exposed to secondhand smoke, either as adults or children, were significantly more likely to face fertility problems and suffer miscarriages. An epidemiological analysis of 4,800 nonsmoking women showed those who were exposed to secondhand smoke six or more hours a day as children faced a 68 percent greater chance of having difficulty getting pregnant and suffering one or more miscarriages. Published online in Tobacco Control, the study is one of the first to demonstrate the lasting effects of secondhand smoke on women during childbearing years.
Rochester researchers have discovered a potential mechanism to lessen the damage caused by major heart attacks. In a study by Paul Brookes, associate professor of anesthesiology and of pharmacology and physiology, and colleagues at Rochester and at the University of Pittsburgh, researchers found that briefly cutting off, then restoring, blood flow to arteries before a heart attack reduced the severity of the damage caused by the attack. Published in the journal Cardiovascular Research, the results demonstrate how future drugs could provide protection in advance of heart attacks and strokes for those at highest risk.
Rochester scientists have identified a promising set of new compounds in the fight against muscular dystrophy. Focusing on ways to block the replication of a wayward form of RNA at the root of the most common type of muscular dystrophy in adults, a team led by Benjamin Miller, an associate professor who holds appointments in dermatology, biomedical engineering, and biochemistry and biophysics, identified compounds that show promise in preventing the RNA from attaching to a crucial protein. The research was published online by the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Work by Medical Center researchers and others may open new avenues to combat the neurological impact of HIV. In research published in the journal PloS One, Rochester scientists and their colleagues at other institutions reported they were able to block a protein that is central to HIV’s attack on neurons. The researchers say the work could help in efforts to prevent or treat HIV’s neurological effects, for which there are no currently approved treatments, and may lead to progress for conditions such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases as well.
© University of Rochester 1996-2012