Blood Vessels News and Research

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MRI scans may become useful tools for assessing cholesterol drugs

MRI scanning could become a powerful new tool for assessing how well cholesterol drugs are working, according to Loyola University Health System cardiologist Binh An P. Phan, MD.

15 Oct 2011

Exercise stimulates two beneficial proteins in women before and during pregnancy

Although exercise is generally considered to be a good thing for people with high blood pressure, it has traditionally been considered too risky for women who are also pregnant. Some studies suggest that exercise has benefits such as decreasing the risk of women developing preeclampsia, a condition that raises blood pressure to dangerously high levels but how this might happen has remained unknown.

15 Oct 2011

Sex differences in heart disease

Heart disease affects men and women in different ways. In women, symptoms of burgeoning heart disease are often more insidious, but when a heart attack strikes, it is more lethal than it is in men. Roughly 25 percent of men will die within a year of their first heart attack, but among women, 38 percent will die. Women are twice as likely as men to have a second heart attack within 6 years of their first one, and women are twice as likely as men to die after bypass surgery.

15 Oct 2011

APS conference explores gender disparities in cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular disease and other gender-specific conditions - such as menopause, pregnancy, depression, and obesity - will be explored in depth at a two day conference being sponsored by the American Physiology Society (APS), the nation's leading organization for the advancement of this vital science, with support from the American Heart Association and the Society for Women's Health Research.

14 Oct 2011

BCL11A protein might serve as potential target for sickle cell disease

Flipping a single molecular switch can reverse illness in a model of sickle cell disease, according to a study by researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. When turned off, the switch, a protein called BCL11A, allows the body to manufacture red blood cells with an alternate form of hemoglobin unaffected by the mutation that causes the disease.

14 Oct 2011

New insight into how emphysema and COPD develop

By studying mice exposed to tobacco smoke for a period of months, researchers have new insight into how emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) develop.

14 Oct 2011

Dual drug sneaks across the blood-brain barrier to fight HIV

In an advance toward eliminating pockets of infection in the brain that help make HIV disease incurable, scientists report the development of new substances that first plug the biological vacuum cleaner that prevents anti-HIV drugs from reaching the brain and then revert to an active drug to treat HIV.

14 Oct 2011

New insights into how adenovirus triggers an immune response

A Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine study could lead to improved gene therapies for conditions such as heart disease and cancer as well as more effective vaccines for tuberculosis, malaria and other diseases.

13 Oct 2011

Hospitalized patients with anemia may not always benefit from transfusion

University of Kentucky researchers, including lead author Samy Selim of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and the Saha Cardiovascular Research Center, have recently published a paper suggesting that transfusion may not always be the best treatment for hospitalized patients with anemia.

13 Oct 2011

New mechanism to enhance restoration of blood flow in ischemic diseases

In Nature, VIB-K.U.Leuven researchers describe a new mechanism to enhance the restoration of the blood flow in ischemic diseases, which are among the leading causes of death worldwide.

11 Oct 2011

New DCE-CT technique gives better clues to future cardiac events in heart patients

A new non-invasive technique for measuring how well the heart and blood vessels function in patients already suffering from coronary artery disease could, in a single test, identify which abnormally narrowed blood vessels are the most likely to lead to further cardiovascular complications.

11 Oct 2011

Loyola surgeon performs minimally invasive emergency procedure to repair AAA

Jack Kory of Mokena, Il. was eating his breakfast oatmeal when he suddenly felt the worst pain in his life. The searing pain came on suddenly in his stomach and spread to his knees. It was caused by an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) that had suddenly burst, causing massive internal bleeding. Traditionally, few patients have survived such ruptures. But Loyola University Medical Center vascular surgeon Dr. Richard Hershberger was able to repair Kory's aneurysm with a minimally invasive emergency procedure.

10 Oct 2011

ONR's FARSIGHT can help doctors identify and classify cancer-related cells

Medical researchers are demonstrating that Office of Naval Research (ONR)-funded software developed for finding and recognizing undersea mines can help doctors identify and classify cancer-related cells.

7 Oct 2011

NO could improve recovery of critically ill patients in intensive care

The latest results from an expedition to Mount Everest that looked at the body's response to low oxygen levels suggest that drugs or procedures that promote the body's production of a chemical compound called nitric oxide (NO) could improve the recovery of critically ill patients in intensive care.

7 Oct 2011

Neutrophils inhibit restenosis in patients with atherosclerosis after stent implantation

A research team led by LMU's Professor Christian Weber has now shown that a specific cell type called neutrophils, and molecules that they secrete, inhibit this life-threatening complication - which is observed in up to one-third of all stent implantations.

7 Oct 2011

Scientists discover how cells detect tissue damage and modify their repair properties

Scientists have discovered how cells detect tissue damage and modify their repair properties accordingly. The findings, published in the journal Developmental Cell, could open up new opportunities for improving tissue repair in patients following illness or surgery.

7 Oct 2011

Overweight and blood pressure risk in kids: Study

According to a new study kids who are overweight are nearly three times more likely to have high blood pressure compared to their peers. The study, published in the journal Hypertension, followed 1,111 school-aged children in Indiana for an average of four years.

5 Oct 2011

CRT, Cancer Research UK establish group of scientists with expertise in lipid metabolism

Cancer Research Technology, Cancer Research UK's commercial arm, has established a group of scientists with expertise in lipid metabolism - getting energy from fats and making building blocks for cell growth - to develop targets for potential new cancer drugs.

4 Oct 2011

Karo Bio initiates patient recruitment in eprotirome phase III trial for HeFH

The first patient has now been included in Karo Bio's phase III trial with eprotirome. A total of 630 patients with the hereditary condition HeFH will be studied for safety, and to confirm the beneficial effects on LDL-cholesterol that has been shown previously.

4 Oct 2011

Anesthesia and liposuction

Liposuction is a body contouring procedure, not a cure for obesity. The results are judged with a mirror and not a scale. The procedure is ideally suited for men and women with localized fat deposits that are resistant to diet and exercise. Men typically want their "spare tire" and excess fat on their chest removed, while women want their abdomen, hips, and thighs reduced.

3 Oct 2011