Study points to improved treatment for heart failure
Results of a 46-center study showed that nesiritide, a synthesized form of a chemical naturally present in the body, offers significant benefits over dobutamine, a commonly administered but problematic drug for patients with decompensated heart failure.
The study was published in the March 6 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiol-ogy. Patients at USC University Hospital and LAC+USC Medical Center accounted for a large proportion of participants in the study.
In patients with heart failure, the heart cannot pump blood efficiently enough to meet the needs of the body’s other organs, explained Uri Elkayam, professor of medicine at the Keck School of Medicine, director of the Heart Failure Program at USC and one of the study’s co-authors.
That could happen because of coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, weakness of the heart muscle (cardiomyopathy) or other factors. Acutely decompensated heart failure occurs when a heart failure patient is too overloaded with fluids in the body.
"Heart failure accounts for nearly 900,000 admissions to hospitals in the United States every year, and is the secondary diagnosis in another 1.8 million," Elkayam said. These patients typically feel out of breath, cannot lie flat in bed, have difficulty exercising and experience swelling (edema) in the legs or ankles, to the point of going to the hospital.
More than 300 patients participated in the study and were given either nesiritide or dobutamine for heart failure. Researchers found that patients who were given dobutamine stayed on their drug for at least a day longer than patients who got nesiritide.
About 4 percent of nesiritide-treated patients were readmitted for congestive heart failure within 21 days, lower than the 13 percent of dobutamine-treated patients. In addition, the mortality rate after six months was lower for nesiritide-treated patients than for dobutamine-treated patients.
"Dobutamine is often associated with increased heart rate and even serious arrhythmias, but nesiritide is associated with signficantly fewer arrhythmias," Elkayam said. "It does not have the same potential for risk as dobutamine."
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The Chronicle of Higher Education mentioned USC’s $6 billion fundraising campaign. The story noted that USC had already raised $1 billion in a “quiet phase,” including the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College.
The Guardian (U.K.) highlighted two major gifts to USC in a list of the 10 biggest philanthropic benefactors in America. The list included the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
The New York Times featured the USC U.S.-China Institute documentary “Assignment: China — The Week that Changed the World.” The documentary, part of a series, examines media coverage of the 1972 Nixon trip that reshaped U.S.-China relations after a quarter century of isolation and hostility. “People look back now and take it for granted that the outcome was preordained,” said the institute’s Mike Chinoy, who produced the documentary. Voice of America also featured the story.
Los Angeles Times featured the Oscar Senti-meter, a tool developed by the USC Annenberg School, Los Angeles Times and IBM that analyzes thousands of tweets about the Academy Awards nominees. The story noted that Mexican actor Demian Bechir received an enormous boost on Twitter the day of the nominations, with a total of 6,893 tweets mentioning him, a 47-fold increase from the day before. The story noted the tool uses language-recognition technology developed in collaboration with USC Viterbi School’s Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab.
The Times of India (India) featured a three-day medical emergency training workshop organized in association with USC. At the workshop, held at GCS Medical College in India, 50 doctors and more than 100 paramedics learned how to improve emergency support systems. William Mallon of the Keck School of USC said that discussion topics included the use of portable ultrasonic devices to scan patients. “The ultrasound applications help physicians make accurate and timely decisions,” he noted. Daily News & Analysis (India) also featured the workshop.
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