alcohol-related liver disease | Researchers at Saint Louis University have found that deaths from alcohol-related liver disease have surged in recent years, jumping 63% between 2001 and 2020. The study found that economically disadvantaged groups were hit the hardest, indicating that even when drinking patterns are similar, lack of resources leads to more severe health consequences. “Alcohol-related liver disease is claiming lives at an accelerating pace, and the burden falls hardest on those with fewer resources,” says lead author Richard Grucza, Ph.D., professor of family and community medicine. “This isn’t just about drinking—it’s about the complex interplay of social, economic and potentially modifiable health risk factors that put certain populations at greater risk.”
adhd medication insights
Research from Washington University School of Medicine has found that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications do not work as originally thought. Prescription stimulants, such as Ritalin and Adderall, previously were thought to work by acting upon the regions of the brain that control attention. The study found that these drugs act primarily on the brain’s reward and wakefulness centers. The findings suggest that stimulants enhance performance by making people more alert and interested in tasks, rather than directly improving their focus. “Essentially, we found that stimulants pre-reward our brains and allow us to keep working at things that wouldn’t normally hold our interest—like our least favorite class in school, for example,” explains Dr. Nico U. Dosenbach, Ph.D., the David M. & Tracy S. Holtzman Professor of Neurology.
cancer screening advances
Mercy is participating in a three-year study designed to evaluate GRAIL’s Galleri multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test. The REACH study will compare up to 50,000 Medicare beneficiaries who have received care and the Galleri test to those who receive care without the test. Almost 70% of people who died from cancer last year in the U.S. were age 65 and older, and more than half of all cancer diagnoses in the U.S. are among Medicare beneficiaries. “We are always looking for innovative screening and treatment options, so it was important to us to participate in the REACH study to help expand upon the real-world evidence of the Galleri test,” says principal investigator Damon Broyles, Mercy’s vice president of clinical innovation.
slowing als progression
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) causes a decline of neurological function that eventually leads to the inability to move, speak, eat or breath. A new study from Washington University School of Medicine found that long-term use of the drug tofersen delayed symptom progression and led to stabilization or improvement in about 25% of participants. “Stopping disease progression and making improvements over three to five years is unheard of in this type of ALS,” says first author Dr. Timothy M. Miller, Ph.D., the David Clayson Professor of Neurology at WashU Medicine and co-director of the WashU Medicine ALS Center. “These results provide hope that we can change the trajectory of this devastating disease, and we are optimistic we can do the same for other forms of ALS.”
