MONDAY, Feb. 1, 2021 (American Heart Association News) — Medical science has come a long way since the days of “bikini medicine,” when the only time doctors managed a woman’s health differently than a man’s was when treating the parts of her body found under a bikini. Over the past few decades, researchers have uncovered countless ways in which women’s and men’s bodies react differently to the same diseases. And just as it’s now widely recognized women experience heart disease differently than men, scientists are beginning to understand why the sexes experience illness differently in another vital organ – the brain. It’s not that male and female brains are built differently, said Lisa Mosconi, director of the Women’s Brain Initiative at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York. It’s that they age differently. Women bear the brunt of Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, accounting for 2 of every 3 people diagnosed. Women are twice as likely as men to experience major depression. They are three times more likely to be diagnosed with autoimmune disorders that attack the brain, such as multiple sclerosis. They are four times more likely to have migraines and also are more likely to die from strokes. What’s driving these disparities? While multiple factors are at play, Mosconi said, it’s hormones – testosterone in men and estrogen in women –…  read on >  read on >

For some patients suffering from knee arthritis, a special procedure may reduce the need for a total knee replacement, Canadian researchers say. By getting what is known as a ‘high tibial osteotomy,’ younger patients with less severe joint damage who are physically active might be able to delay the need for a knee replacement by 10 years or more, though they may have to search for a doctor who performs the surgery. “High tibial osteotomy is a knee surgery aimed at treating patients in earlier stages of osteoarthritis by correcting the alignment of bowed legs and shifting load to less diseased parts of the knee,” explained lead researcher Trevor Birmingham, the Canada research chair of musculoskeletal rehabilitation at the University of Western Ontario. During the procedure, the tibia (shinbone) is cut and then reshaped to relieve pressure on the knee joint. Beyond improving pain and function, a goal of the procedure is to prevent or delay the need for total knee replacement, Birmingham said. Although high tibial osteotomy can improve pain and function and is cost-effective, the procedure is underused in North America, Birmingham said. “Rates of high tibial osteotomy continue to decline, while rates of other knee surgeries continue to rise,” he added. “The low rates of high tibial osteotomy are partially due to the perception that the procedure is only suitable for a…  read on >  read on >

For some patients suffering from knee arthritis, a special procedure may reduce the need for a total knee replacement, Canadian researchers say. By getting what is known as a ‘high tibial osteotomy,’ younger patients with less severe joint damage who are physically active might be able to delay the need for a knee replacement by 10 years or more, though they may have to search for a doctor who performs the surgery. “High tibial osteotomy is a knee surgery aimed at treating patients in earlier stages of osteoarthritis by correcting the alignment of bowed legs and shifting load to less diseased parts of the knee,” explained lead researcher Trevor Birmingham, the Canada research chair of musculoskeletal rehabilitation at the University of Western Ontario. During the procedure, the tibia (shinbone) is cut and then reshaped to relieve pressure on the knee joint. Beyond improving pain and function, a goal of the procedure is to prevent or delay the need for total knee replacement, Birmingham said. Although high tibial osteotomy can improve pain and function and is cost-effective, the procedure is underused in North America, Birmingham said. “Rates of high tibial osteotomy continue to decline, while rates of other knee surgeries continue to rise,” he added. “The low rates of high tibial osteotomy are partially due to the perception that the procedure is only suitable for a…  read on >  read on >

Previous exposure to other coronaviruses may enhance a person’s immune response to COVID-19 infection, but new research suggests that antibodies triggered by the SARS outbreak of 2003 provide only limited protection against the new coronavirus. Antibodies are blood proteins made by the immune system to protect against infection, the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) researchers explained. “Our finding has some important implications concerning immunity toward different strains of coronavirus infections, especially as these viruses continue to mutate,” said senior study author Fikadu Tafesse. He’s an assistant professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at OHSU School of Medicine, in Portland. Mutations occur quickly — about one to two per month — so it’s not surprising that an antibody generated from a virus 18 years ago (such as severe acute respiratory syndrome, also known as SARS) provides little defense against the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), the study authors said. The findings suggest that more research is needed to assess how long COVID-19 vaccines are effective, Tafesse noted. “I don’t think there is any one-size-fits-all vaccine, although the vaccines coming out now may break the momentum of the virus and end the pandemic, they may not be the end game,” Tafesse explained in a university news release. Study lead author Timothy Bates, a fourth-year molecular microbiology and immunology graduate student at OHSU, said the findings weren’t that worrisome.…  read on >  read on >

Previous exposure to other coronaviruses may enhance a person’s immune response to COVID-19 infection, but new research suggests that antibodies triggered by the SARS outbreak of 2003 provide only limited protection against the new coronavirus. Antibodies are blood proteins made by the immune system to protect against infection, the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) researchers explained. “Our finding has some important implications concerning immunity toward different strains of coronavirus infections, especially as these viruses continue to mutate,” said senior study author Fikadu Tafesse. He’s an assistant professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at OHSU School of Medicine, in Portland. Mutations occur quickly — about one to two per month — so it’s not surprising that an antibody generated from a virus 18 years ago (such as severe acute respiratory syndrome, also known as SARS) provides little defense against the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), the study authors said. The findings suggest that more research is needed to assess how long COVID-19 vaccines are effective, Tafesse noted. “I don’t think there is any one-size-fits-all vaccine, although the vaccines coming out now may break the momentum of the virus and end the pandemic, they may not be the end game,” Tafesse explained in a university news release. Study lead author Timothy Bates, a fourth-year molecular microbiology and immunology graduate student at OHSU, said the findings weren’t that worrisome.…  read on >  read on >