A better blood test for heart?
Measuring proteins that carry cholesterol in the blood may give a better estimate of heart attack risk than measuring cholesterol, a major study finds.
The study focused on the ratio of two of the proteins, called apolipoprotein B100 (ApoB) and apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1). The international team of researchers studied data on more than 27,000 people and found that the ratio of ApoB to ApoA1 accounted for 54 percent of the risk of heart attack.
In contrast, the standard ratio of “bad” LDL cholesterol to “good” HDL cholesterol accounted for only 37 percent of the risk, researchers reported in the July 19 issue of The Lancet.
The finding contradicted a report last year from the Framingham Heart Study, which found that measuring ApoB/ApoA1 ratios added nothing to standard risk assessments from ordinary blood cholesterol tests. The Framingham study — which included about 3,300 middle-aged men, 291 of whom developed heart disease over 15 years — was much smaller than the new report, however.
Epilepsy drug linked to defects
Pregnant women who use the epilepsy drug topiramate alone or in combination with other epilepsy drugs may be increasing their risk of birth defects, British researchers report.
Topiramate (brand name Topamax) is a common anti-seizure medication used by many with epilepsy. It’s also used to treat migraine headaches. The researchers collected data on women who became pregnant while taking topiramate alone or in combination with other epilepsy drugs. Of the 178 babies born, 16, or 4.8 percent, suffered from major birth defects. The rate among the general population is 1 to 2.5 percent. Among the babies with birth defects, three of the mothers were taking topiramate exclusively, while 13 were taking topiramate plus other epilepsy drugs. The report is published in the July 22 issue of the journal Neurology.
Empathy ‘hard-wired’ in kids
Empathy comes naturally to children, a new report shows.
Using functional MRI scans on normal kids aged 7 to 12, researchers found the parts of the children’s brains that were activated when shown pictures of people in pain, according to findings published in the current issue of Neuropsychologia.
Study author Jean Decety, a professor in the departments of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Chicago, reported that empathy appears to be “hard-wired” into the brains of normal children, as opposed to being solely the result of parental guidance.
Knowing how the brain responds to pain may help scientists understand the relationship between brain impairments and anti-social behavior, such as bullying, he said in a press release.
Follow-up interviews with the participants showed they perceived wrongdoing in the animations where someone was hurt.
