A team of scientists, including researchers from HSE University, has proposed a method for assessing stress resilience using physiological markers derived from wearable devices and saliva samples. The participants who adapted better to stress showed higher heart rate variability, higher zinc concentrations in saliva, and lower potassium levels.  The findings were published in the  Journal of Molecular Neuroscience.

Kyoto, Japan -- Pulmonary arterial hypertension, or PAH, is a rare and severe disease characterized by elevated blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries, which transport blood from the heart to the lungs. This can eventually lead to right heart failure, when the heart's right ventricle becomes too weak to pump sufficient blood through the lungs and to the rest of the body.

Current treatments for PAH have improved the outcome for patients, but the prognosis for this disease is still poor and some patients end up needing lung transplants. C-type natriuretic peptide, or CNP, is a hormone involved in the regulation of vascular function, and a team of researchers at Kyoto University and collaborating institutions wondered whether it might also have therapeutic potential in PAH.

"CNP has been studied mainly in cardiovascular biology, but we wondered whether it might also play an important protective role in pulmonary vascular disease," says first author Hiromu Yanagisawa. The role of this hormone and its receptor GC-B in the pulmonary vasculature and the development of PAH has remained unclear, so the team was motivated to investigate.

A research team from the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy at the LKS Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) has developed an innovative AI-based cardiovascular risk prediction tool, called CardiOmicScore. With a single blood test, the system can accurately forecast the future risk of six major cardiovascular diseases (CVDs): coronary artery disease, stroke, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, peripheral artery disease and venous thromboembolism. It can also provide early warning signals up to 15 years before clinical onset. The findings were published in Nature Communications.

In a study published March 5 in Science, Ke Cheng and his colleagues describe a therapy designed to enhance the heart’s own ability to protect and repair itself after injury. Cheng’s innovation in drug delivery points to a future where RNA therapy allows the body to produce its own medicine targeted at specific organs. 

Researchers from the School of Biomedical Sciences at the LKS Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), in collaboration with the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute at Sinai Health in Toronto, Canada, have achieved a major breakthrough in regenerative medicine. The team has genetically engineered human stem cells that can ‘cloak’ themselves to evade immune rejection, while carrying a built-in kill switch to prevent tumour formation. This innovation opens the door to a safe, off-the-shelf source of cells and tissues, potentially transforming treatment for conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, heart failure, and spinal cord injuries, without the need for lifelong immune suppression. 

By studying mouse lemur families, HHMI Investigator Mark Krasnow uncovered an important role for magnesium in human heart health and disease.