Cognitive impairment caused by compromised hepatic ketogenesis is prevented by endurance exercise.

Extensive research has demonstrated endurance exercise to be neuroprotective. Whether these neuroprotective benefits are mediated, in part, by hepatic ketone production remains unclear. To investigate the role of hepatic ketone production on brain health during exercise, healthy 6-month-old female rats underwent viral knockdown of the rate-limiting enzyme in the liver that catalyses the first reaction in ketogenesis: 3-hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA synthase 2 (HMGCS2).

Linking E. coli to fibrosis in Crohn's disease.

Intestinal fibrosis associated with Crohn's disease is a serious yet poorly understood clinical complication. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Ahn and colleagues provide evidence that the adherent intestinal E. coli produced the metallophore yersiniabactin, which sequesters zinc to drive intestinal fibrosis in a HIF-1α-dependent manner.

Stroke incidence in heart failure and atrial fibrillation: population cohort study.

Background: Heart failure (HF) is a risk factor for stroke among people with atrial fibrillation (AF). Prognosis following a HF diagnosis is often poor, but this is not accounted for in existing stroke risk scores.

Aim: To examine stroke incidence in people with HF and AF compared to AF alone, considering the competing risk of death.