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Lab Employees

The Obesity Society Past Presidents Comment on SELECT Study Results

New findings show that the medication known as Wegovy® (semaglutide) can reduce existing heart disease in patients with obesity by 20%, according to a study co-authored by past presidents of The Obesity Society (TOS) and published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

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PBRC

Semaglutide Delivers 20 Percent Reduction in Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Patients with Obesity but No History of Diabetes

Semaglutide, the antidiabetic medication that is also used to manage weight, has been shown to deliver a reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events by up to 20 percent for those without diabetes. The drug was previously shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in patients with diabetes, but recent data shows the cardiovascular benefits of the drug in those without diabetes. The Semaglutide Effects on Heart Disease and Stroke in Patients with Overweight or Obesity, or SELECT, study (NCT03574597) is one of the largest cardiovascular outcome studies in the field of obesity, with more than 17,000 participants enrolled. The study compares the effects on patients of semaglutide versus a placebo for major heart disease events and stroke.

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VITAL-CGM

Pennington Biomedical to Conduct Glycemic Control Study for Patients Living with Diabetes

Pennington Biomedical researchers, led by Associate Executive Director of Population and Public Health Sciences, Dr. Peter Katzmarzyk, with support from WeightWatchers, will launch a study to evaluate a behavioral weight management program with the use of a continuous glucose monitor, or CGM, in individuals with Type 2 diabetes.

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Leanne Redman and William F. Tate IV

Elite Faculty Accomplishments Celebrated at LSU Presidential Laurel Event

In its second year, this event highlights the exceptional academic, creative, and research accomplishments of faculty from all eight LSU institutions over the last academic year. This award is very selective, with a goal of highlighting the exceptional stature of our collective faculty in their respective fields while celebrating success and encouraging aspiration among peers.

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Apple

The Institute for Value-Based Medicine Hosts Event to Address Food Insecurity, Obesity and Chronic Conditions in Louisiana

The American Journal of Managed Care, the leading multimedia peer-reviewed journal dedicated to issues in managed care, is proud to announce an exciting and insightful event, “Advancing Innovations in Wellness and Food Security to Address Obesity and Chronic Conditions in Louisiana.” The dinner conference will take place in partnership with Ochsner Health and Healthy State on Tuesday, Nov. 7, at the Westin New Orleans.

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Lab Employees

October 2023 Publications

The following are recent publications by the researchers at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

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Jaclyn Williams

Cultivating Cures

‘Pretty’ probably isn’t the first word most of us think to use to describe samples of brain and spinal tissue. But it is Jaclyn Williams’ job to look at the multi-colored 3D images of tissue from new angles. And as Research Associate 2 in Dr. Heike Muenzberg-Gruening’s Central Leptin Signaling Laboratory at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Williams indeed finds them ‘pretty.’

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Dr. Champagne

A Lifetime in Research

Dr. Catherine Champagne still vividly remembers passing the Perkins Road construction site where Pennington Biomedical Research Center was taking shape in the late 1980s. She was on her way to drop off her two young sons at school and had heard plans for a facility with a mission to improve human health throughout the lifespan, including a center for the study of nutrition. For Champagne, the thought stirred a longing to return to a field that she loved but hadn’t pursued in years.

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Leanne Redman TOS Award

Dr. Leanne Redman Selected for Top Honor by The Obesity Society

The Obesity Society – the leading professional society focused on obesity science, treatment and prevention – has named Pennington Biomedical’s Dr. Leanne Redman as the recipient of the 2023 TOPS Research Achievement Award. The award, which is funded by the Take Off Pounds Sensibly, or TOPS, Foundation, was presented to Dr. Redman on Monday, Oct. 16, in recognition of her contributions to research in the field of obesity.

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Dr. Robert Kesterson

Dr. Robert Kesterson Works to Overcome Major Hurdles in Cancer Research and Rare Diseases

Neurofibromatosis type 1, a genetic condition that causes tumors to grow along nerves, occurs in 1 in 3,000 to 4,000 people worldwide. Although the tumors are usually benign, they can cause blindness, deafness, disfigurement, bone abnormalities, learning disabilities, and disabling pain. Neurofibromatosis 1, more commonly called NF1, is also associated with an increased risk of other tumors including leukemia, glioblastoma, and breast cancer.

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Most Cited

Pennington Biomedical Scientists Continue to Rank Among the World’s Most Cited Researchers

Five Pennington Biomedical Research Center faculty members and one adjunct professor rank among the most cited researchers in the world, according to the Google Scholar Citations database.

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PBRC

ObesityWeek Features Hundreds of Innovative Scientific Abstracts

Nearly 240 scientific abstracts covering a variety of topics such as anti-obesity medications, body mass index and pediatric obesity will be featured at the 41st Annual Meeting of The Obesity Society’s (TOS) at ObesityWeek 2023. This in-person event will take place Oct. 14–17, 2023 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas.

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Lab Employees

September 2023 Publications

The following are recent publications by the researchers at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

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PBRC

Louisiana Center for Health Equity Summit is Back in Person for 2023 with Impressive Lineup of Keynote Speakers

The Louisiana Center for Health Equity is committed to advancing health equity and well-being for all Louisianans. LCHE works to eliminate health disparities that are a result of multiple disadvantages. After conducting the summit virtually, the past few years due to COVID-19, the summit is back in person.

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Dr. John Kirwan

Dr. John Kirwan Selected for National Committee on Reducing Diet-Related Chronic Disease

The Texas A&M Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture (IHA) and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs' Center on Global Food and Agriculture (Chicago Council) announced members for the three committees that will work with The Responsive Agriculture Task Force to develop a national roadmap for responsive agriculture solutions, and Pennington Biomedical Executive Director Dr. John Kirwan will serve on the Committee on Reducing Diet-Related Chronic Disease.

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RURAL Study

RURAL Heart and Lung Study Heads to Assumption and Franklin Parishes

Population health has long been evaluated based on region, comparing the health of residents of urban areas to those in rural areas. But what about comparisons between those in lower-risk rural areas versus those in higher-risk areas? Residents of two Louisiana parishes will soon be able to play a major role in a first of its kind study evaluating the causes behind health disparities.

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La CaTS

NIH Grant to Fund Network of Data Warehouses for Baton Rouge Health Research Institutions

The National Institutes of Health has awarded the Louisiana Clinical & Translational Science Center, or LA CaTS, a grant of nearly $1.3 million to support the efforts of in-state healthcare institutions to share health data for research purposes across a common structure.

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hopscotch

National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month: Experts Available to Speak on Childhood Obesity Research Efforts and Programs

September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month in the United States, as recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Pennington Biomedical Research Center is at the forefront of researching treatments for obesity, diabetes and other obesity-related chronic diseases, and that is especially true for the work being done to combat childhood obesity.

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Measure

Healthy Adults Needed for Study on How Intermittent Fasting and Weight Loss Affect Aging

Studies have shown that intermittent fasting can help people lose weight and may be easier to follow than counting calories to lose weight, such as traditional calorie restriction. Exciting new research in animals suggests that intermittent fasting slows aging and helps animals live longer.

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TOS Recognizes National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month in September

New guidelines for the treatment of childhood obesity published by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in 2023 assert early identification and management are critical to addressing the disease. Moreover, the guidelines endorse the significant advances in evidence-based approaches, including intensive lifestyle modifications, anti-obesity medications, and metabolic and bariatric surgery.

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