Montreal Heart Institute

Ultraprocessed Food Intake and Adiposity, Vascular Brain Injury, and Cognition in Middle-Aged Adults

Importance Ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) account for a substantial and increasing proportion of dietary intake in Canada. Although UPFs are consistently associated with adiposity and cardiometabolic disease, their associations with subclinical vascular brain injury (VBI) and cognit...

The acceptability and feasibility of a patient-oriented music intervention (POMI) for use in the adult intensive care unit: a crossover pilot randomized controlled trial

Abstract Background Music is suggested as a complementary pain management intervention in the intensive care unit (ICU). However, evidence from interested parties on the acceptability and feasibility of music in the ICU is scarce. A patient-oriented music intervention (POMI) was...

Neurodegenerative disease risk associated with gene expression in peripheral monocytes across ancestries

Abstract It is hypothesised that peripheral immune states responding to regional environmental triggers contribute to central neurodegeneration. Region-specific genetic selection pressures require this hypothesis to be assessed in an ancestry-specific manner. Here, we utilise gen...

Spleen-derived circulating intercellular adhesion molecule 2 promotes osteosclerosis in chronic myelofibrosis

Abstract Mutations in the gene coding G6b-B, Mpig6b in mice, and MPIG6B in humans lead to myelofibrosis, progressive splenomegaly and osteosclerosis. Aberrant megakaryocyte function in bone marrow and spleen may affect bone cells through cell-cell contact or soluble factors. We a...

Genome-wide cross-trait analysis to compare genetic architecture between Parkinson’s disease and kidney-related traits

Abstract Epidemiological studies link kidney function to Parkinson’s disease risk, but the genetic basis of this relationship remains unclear. Here, we leverage genome-wide association data for Parkinson’s disease and five UK Biobank-derived kidney-related traits in individuals o...

Colchicine for cardiovascular secondary prevention: evidence from recent trials and meta-analyses

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Residual inflammatory risk remains an important driver of recurrent vascular events despite contemporary lipid-lowering and antithrombotic therapies. Low-dose colchicine is the first widely available anti-inflammatory therapy to be incorporated into contemporar...

Cross-sectional evaluation of anthropometric measures vs MRI-measured visceral and hepatic fat in a Canadian cohort

Abstract Context Accurate assessment of excess body fat and its cardiometabolic risk is essential in clinical and epidemiologic research. Body mass index (BMI), although widely used, does not capture visceral or ectopic fat. Objective To evaluate how anthropometric measures—BMI,...

Effects of a virtual reality hypnosis intervention on chronic pain: a user experience and proof-of-concept study

<title>Abstract</title> Chronic pain is a significant public health issue in Canada, with approximately one in four Canadians over the age of 15 living with this condition. Due to its impact on individuals—both physically and psychologically—and its financial burden on the health...