Johns Hopkins Medicine

Familial hypercholesterolemia is just what it sounds like: abnormally high cholesterol levels that run in families due to their genetics. Turns out these very high cholesterol levels begin in infancy, and unless someone is suspicious, are rarely tested for. That’s … Even kids who appear very healthy can have very high cholesterol levels, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

A new clinical guideline to manage cholesterol levels in the blood has been released by the American College of Cardiology. Johns Hopkins cardiologist Seth Martin participated in writing the guidelines and says that shifting risk assessment and management strategies for … New cholesterol screening guidelines capture childhood risk, too, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

We’re kicking off a new series. Where Your Curiosity Has Taken You is a series that spotlights nurses whose interest in inquiry led them into innovative career paths. Through thoughtful interviews, the series reveals how inquiry can transform careers, create opportunities, and inspire the next generation of … Episode 80: Where Your Curiosity Has Taken You – Rhonda Wyskiel | Johns Hopkins Center fo...

When it comes to slowing down cognitive decline in those with early Alzheimer’s disease a total package of lifestyle interventions is superior to currently available medications, a study by Johns Hopkins neurologist Majid Fotuhi has shown. Fotuhi and colleagues had … Does a program exist to implement comprehensive lifestyle changes to preserve cognitive function? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More...

If you have mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer’s disease, changes in lifestyle are more likely to provide benefit to your cognitive capacity than available medicines, a study by Johns Hopkins neurologist Majid Fotuhi shows. Fotuhi says this is largely … How exactly do lifestyle interventions benefit brain health? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Lifestyle interventions are more effective than medications in early Alzheimer’s disease, a study led by Majid Fotuhi, a neurologist at Johns Hopkins, has found. When a number of trials were analyzed together, implementation of several lifestyle changes emerged as superior … Comprehensive lifestyle changes impact wellbeing in those with early Alzheimer’s disease, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More...

Declines of several fold in rates of progression- sounds pretty good, doesn’t it, if you have the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s disease and are considering available medications. Yet a recent study by Johns Hopkins neurologist Majid Fotuhi finds that those … How is it that medications to treat Alzheimer’s disease appear to show such a benefit? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Comprehensive lifestyle changes are better than medications to slow, stop or even improve mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer’s disease, a study by Johns Hopkins neurologist Majid Fotuhi finds. This meta analysis of existing randomized trials sought to compare the … If you’ve been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment what’s the best strategy to slow decline? Elizabeth Tracey reports R...

Healthcare teams operate under constant pressure, making meaningful support, not token gestures, essential for sustained well-being. In this episode, we explore the gratitude literature, sharing how gratitude practices strengthen well-being across multiple domains, and offer strategies leaders, teams and individuals … Ep 24: More Than Words: The Power of Expressed Gratitude in Healthcare | Johns H...

Many substances marketed as ‘supplements’ enjoy a lack of oversight and regulation, among them kratom, a plant based extract from Asia. While some users report pain relief and mood improvement there are no studies to support this, and as Eric … How did the current situation with kratom develop? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Over a thousand fold in the last year. That’s the increase in the number of emergency department visits nationally due to use of kratom, a drug sold unregulated in convenience stores and gas stations as well as online. Substance use … What is the likelihood that you’ll experience a problem with a product labeled as kratom? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

When someone presents to an emergency department after having taken an unknown drug, screening is typically undertaken. Yet for kratom, which last year accounted for over a thousand fold increase in ED visits, no screen is available. Substance use disorder … If you have a bad experience after taking kratom, can medical professionals help? Read More »

Kratom is a drug that has been unregulated and sold for decades in smoke shops and elsewhere, now associated with over a thousand fold increase in emergency department visits. Why? Substance use disorder expert Eric Strain at Johns Hopkins explains. … Consuming kratom products may result in an ED visit, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

You may have noticed among the offerings at gas stations and convenience stores something called kratom. This is a plant based drug with the potential for undesired side effects that is unregulated in the United States. Now over a thousand … Kratom is accounting for a dramatic rise in ED visits, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

In this episode, Heather Watson, PhD, RN, speaks with Dr. Jihane Frangieh, PhD, MSN, RN, CNE—Assistant Professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and Director of the MSN Healthcare Leadership Program—about the evolving landscape of academic–clinical partnerships. Together, they … Episode 79: Academic and Clinical Partnerships | Johns Hopkins Center for Nursing Inquiry Read More »

The good news is heart failure in people with severe obesity may be reversible with common weight loss drugs. The bad news is both obesity, with BMIs of around 30, and severe obesity, with a BMI of 42 or greater, … Increasing rates of obesity and severe obesity may presage increased rates of heart failure, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

GLP-1 receptor agonists are effective in helping most people lose weight, and now a new study suggests that in those with severe obesity, a BMI of 42 or greater and who have a type of heart failure, this condition may … Is there another benefit besides weight loss of GLP-1s in people with severe obesity? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

There’s a relationship between severe obesity and one type of heart failure, and it looks like it’s mediated by adding more phosphate groups, a process known as phosphorylation, to proteins in heart muscle cells, specifically to units within the muscle … Can GLP-1 agonists help in heart failure and severe obesity? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Severe obesity may impede the ability of units inside heart muscle cells called sarcomeres to contract, and losing weight may reverse that condition. That’s according to research by cardiologist David Kass and colleagues at Johns Hopkins, who looked closely at … What is severe obesity doing to the heart muscle’s ability to contract? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, so-called HFpEF, is happening more frequently, especially in those with severe obesity. David Kass, a cardiologist and researcher at Johns Hopkins, and colleagues, have looked closely at heart muscle cells from this group of … How is obesity related to a common form of heart failure? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Would your loved ones know what to do if they had to make medical decisions on your behalf? For National Healthcare Decisions Day on April 16, Dr. Ivy Akid joins Medicine Made General to explain why planning ahead isn’t about … Ep: 11 Decisions Your Loved Ones Shouldn’t Have to Guess | Medicine Made General Read More »

A deep dive into leading through uncertainty, this episode explores practical tools for navigating change and transition, highlights listening as a critical leadership skill, and offers principles for authentic communication that every leader can use. Access the podcast here. Have an … Ep 23: Leading Through Uncertainty: The Power of Listening in Times of Change | Johns Hopkins Medicine Office of...

Brain organoids, collections of cells found in the brain, have been grown from blood samples of people with Alzheimer’s disease and used to assess the impact of a drug called escitalopram in a new study. Vasiliki Machairaki, study leader and … A model of your brain may one day be grown in a lab, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Extracellular vesicles are membrane bound packages cells use to jettison materials from inside the cell, a sort of trash can. Johns Hopkins genetic medicine expert Vasiliki Machairaki has shown in a new study that these vesicles may be a means … What can be learned from what cells dispose of? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

What might a model of the hindbrain, which helps control functions like sleep, breathing and heart rate, tell us about using a common depression drug in people with Alzheimer’s disease? Genetic medicine expert Vasiliki Machairaki at Johns Hopkins says her … Brain organoids can resemble specific parts of the brain, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »