Archive by category | American Heart Association

AHA 2008: How can journal editors help conference organisers?

Journal publishers sometimes get a bad press for making a profit from academics’ hard work without adding much value to the scientific endeavour. Although I am a journal publisher myself, I have some sympathy with that sentiment, especially when journals simply reproduce the authors’ work without helping them to improve the communication of their data by editing the paper, improving the figures, or providing help communicating with the media. However, when journals live up to their side of the bargain, it’s clear that they (we) have a huge amount to offer to the scientific community.  Read more

AHA 2008: What can lab-based scientists learn from clinical researchers?

When I was an undergraduate, my tutor, a laboratory-based PhD-trained scientist, often complained that the medical students he tutored were incapable of thinking scientifically; clinicians are only able to learn by rote, not think logically, my tutor regularly said. It was only when I started working in medical publishing that I came to realise how misinformed my tutor was and how rigorous clinical research can be.  Read more

AHA 2008: Should statins be put in the water?

The biggest story to come out of the American Heart Association’s annual jamboree is undoubtedly the JUPITER randomised controlled trial, which was showcased on Monday to a packed auditorium of over 6000 cardiologists. Data from the trial suggest that even healthy people with low cholesterol may benefit from receiving rosuvastatin to prevent cardiac events, if they have high levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein.  Read more