Hypertension in Sub-Saharan Africa: Burden, Barriers and Priorities for Improving Treatment Outcomes.

The burden of hypertension is rising rapidly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), posing significant health challenges and economic costs that hinder national development. Despite being well-studied in clinical medicine, the detection, treatment, and control of hypertension in SSA remain inadequate. This is due to barriers across the care continuum, including individual-, provider-, and system-level obstacles within the health system.

Implementation strategies to improve outcomes in patients with established cardiovascular disease in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review.

The protocol was registered in PROSPERO prior to the study implementation (ID: CRD42023465781). The protocol can be accessed at crd.york.

Routine Cerebral Embolic Protection during Transcatheter Aortic-Valve Implantation.

Background: Transcatheter aortic-valve implantation (TAVI) is associated with procedure-related stroke. Cerebral embolic protection (CEP) devices may reduce embolization to the cerebral circulation and hence the incidence of stroke.

Methods: We conducted a randomized, controlled trial across 33 centers in the United Kingdom.

Determining the optimal diagnostic and risk stratification approaches for people with hypertension in two rural populations in Kenya and The Gambia: a study protocol for IHCoR-Africa Work Package 2.

Background: Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has one of the highest prevalences of hypertension worldwide. The impact of hypertension is of particular concern in rural SSA, where access to clinics and hospitals is limited. Improvements in the management of people with hypertension in rural SSA could be achieved by sharing diagnosis and care tasks between the clinic and the community.

Routine cerebral embolic protection in transcatheter aortic valve implantation: rationale and design of the randomised British Heart Foundation PROTECT-TAVI trial.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is an established treatment for aortic stenosis. Cerebral embolic protection (CEP) devices may impact periprocedural stroke by capturing debris destined for the brain. However, there is a lack of high-quality randomised trial evidence supporting the use of CEP during TAVI.

Men on the Move: A Randomized Controlled Feasibility Trial of a Scalable, Choice-Based, Physical Activity and Active Transportation Intervention for Older Men.

We conducted Men on the Move, a 12-week randomized controlled feasibility trial of a scalable, choice-based, physical activity (PA) and active transportation intervention. Participants were community-dwelling men aged 60 years and older (n = 29 intervention [INT] and n = 29 waitlist control [CON]). Trained activity coaches delivered: (a) one-on-one participant consultations to develop personal action plans for PA and active transportation, (b) monthly group-based motivational meetings, (c) weekly telephone support, (d) complimentary recreation and transit passes, and (e) pedometers and diaries for self-monitoring.

An ongoing role for structural sarcomeric components in maintaining Drosophila melanogaster muscle function and structure.

Animal muscles must maintain their function while bearing substantial mechanical loads. How muscles withstand persistent mechanical strain is presently not well understood. The basic unit of muscle is the sarcomere, which is primarily composed of cytoskeletal proteins.

The systematic identification of cytoskeletal genes required for Drosophila melanogaster muscle maintenance.

Animal muscles must maintain their function and structure while bearing substantial mechanical loads. How muscles withstand persistent mechanical strain is presently not well understood. Understanding the mechanisms by which tissues maintain their complex architecture is a key goal of cell biology.

Analysis of integrin turnover in fly myotendinous junctions.

Transient (short-term) cell adhesion underlies dynamic processes such as cell migration, whereas stable (long-term) cell adhesion maintains tissue architecture. Ongoing adhesion complex turnover is essential for transient cell adhesion, but it is not known whether turnover is also required for maintenance of long-term adhesion. We used fluorescence recovery after photobleaching to analyze the dynamics of an integrin adhesion complex (IAC) in a model of long-term cell-ECM adhesion, myotendinous junctions (MTJs), in fly embryos and larvae.

Integrin-mediated adhesion maintains sarcomeric integrity.

Integrin-mediated adhesion to the ECM is essential for normal development of animal tissues. During muscle development, integrins provide the structural stability required to construct such a highly tensile, force generating tissue. Mutations that disrupt integrin-mediated adhesion in skeletal muscles give rise to a myopathy in humans and mice.