Suppose your young patient has a score indicating a heart attack is likely, perhaps a few decades or more later. If that patient starts taking a statin right away, as opposed to in midlife, will a heart attack be prevented? Dr. Sadiya Sana Khan of Northwestern University emphasized the need for more research. She has a new study showing that, in middle-aged to older adults, CT scans of the heart, which can show the buildup of plaque, are better than genetics in predicting risk. But that leaves a question about how to manage risk in young people, who almost never have visible plaque on a CT scan, even if they are at greater danger for a heart attack later in life. “We need more studies that focus on younger people with follow-up over several decades,” she said. If risk scores in young adults predict a greater likelihood of a heart attack, she asked, will that prediction be borne out when the people are older, at ages when heart attacks are more likely? Or will those with high risk scores instead be needlessly worried about their hearts?

Researchers are one step closer to understanding why some babies are at greater risk of sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS – the leading cause of death for infants one month to one year old. Most of the time, SIDS, sometimes called crib death, happens during sleep. One theory for SIDS is a disruption of a baby’s ability to breathe. A new study published in the Journal of Neuropathology & Experimental Neurology finds an abnormality in a brain receptor involved in the body’s protective response to gasp for air may play a role. In the 1990s, public health officials began promoting the “Back to Sleep” (now called “Safe to Sleep”) initiative to teach parents how to reduce SIDS risk by making sure babies sleep on their backs. Still, SIDS rates have “plateaued,” said Debra Weese-Mayer, Northwestern University professor of pediatric autonomic medicine, highlighting the importance of continued research, education and outreach.

After two months of tests, a mom of three was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. ALS impacts the nerves that control our muscles, causing them to weaken and atrophy. There’s no cure. “It was devastating to realize that our plans for our young family were completely upended by my diagnosis,” Rankin said. Dr. John Coleman, a critical care pulmonologist at Northwestern Medicine and a member of Rankin’s extensive care team, says Rankin is not alone. “I think she is a testament of the younger generation of people who have ALS. ALS has always been kind of thought about as a disease that has affected older people, maybe in their 60s or 70s, but we’re seeing more and more young people being diagnosed with ALS,” Coleman said.

Sometimes it may seem as if half the population of the United States takes medication for high cholesterol levels. About 40 million Americans are taking statins such as atorvastatin (Lipitor and generic), lovastatin (Altoprev) and simvastatin (Zocor), which are by far the most commonly prescribed of all types of cholesterol drugs. Statins can be quite effective. Donald Lloyd-Jones, MD, shares advice on how to lower cholesterol. Regular consumption of unsaturated fats (olive oil, avocados, nuts, seeds) and soluble fiber (oats, barley, psyllium) may lower LDL cholesterol by about 7 to 15 mg/dL. Limit full-fat dairy, red meat and fried food because their saturated fat can raise LDL, says Donald Lloyd-Jones, chair of preventive medicine at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.