In Case You Missed it: Chocolate milk post workout, new heart disease guidelines and more
Catch up on news you may have missed this week with our roundup of science, health and Baylor College of Medicine news making headlines this week.
New guidelines for heart disease
This week the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology issued new guidelines for heart disease prevention and a new formula for doctors to assess heart disease risk that take into account age, gender, race and factors including whether someone smokes.
The new guidelines focus less on patients’ cholesterol levels and specific targets for cholesterol, but make recommendations for heart attack and stroke prevention. This includes a different threshold for recommending medication to reduce heart disease risk, which includes cholesterol-lowering medications like statins.
Skip sports drinks, reach for chocolate milk
Looking for the best way to repair and rebuild damage after a good workout? Our expert says skip sports drinks and instead reach for chocolate milk.
“If you look at what goes into a good workout recovery drink, it’s a combination of protein and carbohydrates – protein for rebuilding and repairing damage that occurs to tissues and carbohydrates for replenishing the energy that has just been burned. The protein to carbohydrate ratio in chocolate milk actually is very close to what we know is ideal for recovery,” said Dr. Theodore Shybut, assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at BCM.
Epidemiological maps & social media
Researchers at the University of Rochester have created an algorithm that spot flu trends through data made publically available on Twitter, according to a recent article in Smithsonian Magazine.
The algorithm uses keywords in geotagged tweets that allow researchers to track the movement of illnesses. And they aren’t the only ones using social media to track public health and illness trends.
Read the article to learn more about SocialHealth, Google Flu Trends and other projects.
Week of awards
This week included announcements for our faculty and researchers with new announcements of awards and grants:
- Dr. Bert O’Malley will recieve the 2014 Dale Award from the Society For Endocrinology. It is the society’s highest award given to a scientist who has changed the understanding of endocrinology in a fundamental way.
- Dr. Kristy Murray was awarded the Bailey K. Ashford Medal from the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. The award is given to professionals in early or mid-career for distinguished work in tropical medicine.
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy researchers receive a V Foundation translational grant, a $600,000 award over three years to advance research into the prevention and treatment of complications associated with stem cell transplantation to cure leukemia.
