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Fecal microbe transplants from healthy donors can treat patients with recurrent Clostridium difficile infections. However, after tens of thousands transplants, little was known about which donor strains provide long-term engraftment, and which engraft early after the transplant. Most failures of fecal microbe transplantation occur in the first four weeks.
Natriuretic peptides are hormones with a range of key functions vital for regulating cardiometabolic health, including regulating blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and increasing utilization of lipids and metabolism. However, the reference ranges of NPs and the prevalence of NP deficiency in the United States population have not been clearly defined. Physician-scientists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine used population-level data to define the reference range of NPs and the threshold for NP deficiency in a recent study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Heart Failure.
Fall in Alabama means the return of college football and the return of football enthusiasts’ second favorite fall tradition — tailgating.
B-type natriuretic peptide levels have played a vital role in diagnosing and prognosticating heart failure. However, physician-scientists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine have found that BNP levels may not be an effective prognostic tool in heart failure among patients with a ventricular assist device. Their study published in the American Journal of Cardiology showed that BNP levels were high in end-stage heart failure patients with cardiogenic shock, but lose their prognostic value in VAD recipients.
New findings from the University of Alabama at Birmingham indicate that the type of protein in the diet is not as important as the overall amount of weight loss for those with Type 2 diabetes.
Ever craved ice cream, chocolate, a bag of potato chips or something creamy? Over 90 percent of adults experience food cravings, causing them to snack on unhealthy foods high in sugar, salt or fat. Such unnecessary eating leads to a higher body mass index, contributing to weight gain in people with frequent cravings.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham will receive $36.7 million from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute within the National Institutes of Health to continue the Birmingham field and coordinating centers for the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study. Since the study began in 1985, CARDIA data have been published in over 1,000 papers that have generated nearly 58,000 citations.
Physician-scientists from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine recently conducted a large-scale analysis to assess the impact of a newly introduced equation used to evaluate one’s heart failure risk. The study, published in the Journal of Cardiac Failure, showed that the new and old kidney function equations had comparable values in predicting the risk of heart failure.
Martin E. Young, D.Phil., was named Distinguished Professor in the Heersink School of Medicine Department of Medicine. Young joined UAB in 2009 as an associate professor and currently serves as professor and the Jeanne V. Marks Endowed Chair of Cardiovascular Disease, as well as associate director/senior scientist in the UAB Nutrition Obesity Research Center. He also is director of the Basic and Translational Science in Heart Failure T32 Program and co-director of the Comprehensive Cardiovascular Center.