Blood Vessel News and Research

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Blood Vessels are tubes through which the blood circulates in the body. Blood vessels include a network of arteries, arterioles, capillaries, venules, and veins.

Researchers discover new source for cells that can develop into coronary vessels

The heart has its own dedicated blood supply, with coronary arteries that supply oxygen-rich blood to the heart and cardiac veins that remove deoxygenated blood. This system of vessels nourishes the heart, enabling it to pump blood to all the other organs and tissues of the body. Yet despite their critical importance, the process and molecules required for coronary vessel development have not been fully determined.

30 May 2015

Study could offer new way to treat, prevent diabetes-associated blindness

Reporting on their study with lab-grown human cells, researchers at The Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland say that blocking a second blood vessel growth protein, along with one that is already well-known, could offer a new way to treat and prevent a blinding eye disease caused by diabetes.

26 May 2015

Growth of neuronal and vascular networks is controlled by same signaling molecules

Neurons and blood vessels often traverse the body side by side, a fact observed as early as the 16th century by the Flemish anatomist Andreas Vesalius. Only over the last ten years, however, researchers have discovered that the growth of neuronal and vascular networks is controlled by the same molecules.

14 May 2015

New landmark study to examine role of cocoa flavanols in maintaining cardiovascular health

Recognizing that heart health is one of the world's most significant public health challenges, Mars, Incorporated, in collaboration with Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, is launching a five-year landmark study to examine the role of cocoa flavanols, plant-derived bioactives from the cacao bean, in helping people maintain cardiovascular health.

12 May 2015

Experimental gene therapy holds promise against metastatic prostate cancer

Even with the best available treatments, the median survival of patients with metastatic, hormone-refractory prostate cancer is only two to three years. Driven by the need for more effective therapies for these patients, researchers at VCU Massey Cancer Center and the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine have developed a unique approach that uses microscopic gas bubbles to deliver directly to the cancer a viral gene therapy in combination with an experimental drug that targets a specific gene driving the cancer's growth.

12 May 2015

Scientists find smooth muscle cells as major contributing factor to vascular stiffness

Increased vascular stiffness has been identified as an important part of hypertension in aging adults. Previous studies of aortic stiffness have focused on changes in structural proteins that alter the properties of vascular walls causing them to become rigid.

11 May 2015

Moffitt scientists examine why prostate cancer patients who receive ADT experience hot flashes

Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is a common treatment option for patients with advanced stage prostate cancer. But nearly 80 percent of patients who receive ADT report experiencing hot flashes during and after treatment. Moffitt Cancer Center researchers are working to determine what genetic factors and other characteristics might make prostate cancer patients more likely to experience hot flashes during and after therapy.

10 May 2015

Scientists grow miniature human myelomas in shell-less chicken eggs to study multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma is an incurable cancer of the bone marrow. To date, no screening systems have been available to examine the effects of new drugs in a 3D environment. Researchers on the EU project OPTATIO might now fill this gap. They succeeded in growing miniature human myelomas in shell-less chicken eggs in order to screen new marine compounds for anti-myeloma activity.

5 May 2015

Study opens door for new therapeutic approaches to treating patients with melanoma

Weill Cornell Medical College researchers have shown for the first time that a gene previously implicated in blood vessel formation during embryonic development and tumor growth also induces immune suppression during tumor development.

30 Apr 2015

Polygamous marriage can increase heart disease risk in men by four times

Polygamy increases the risk of heart disease by more than 4-fold, reveals research presented at the Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology Congress 2015 (APSC 2015) by Dr Amin Daoulah, a cardiologist at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The risk and severity of heart disease increased with the number of wives.

29 Apr 2015

TUW, Medical University of Vienna jointly develop artificial blood vessels from elastomer material

Blocked blood vessels can quickly become dangerous. It is often necessary to replace a blood vessel - either by another vessel taken from the body or even by artificial vascular prostheses. Together, Vienna University of Technology and Vienna Medical University have developed artificial blood vessels made from a special elastomer material, which has excellent mechanical properties.

28 Apr 2015

TSRI study provides new insight into preventing diseases that cause vision loss in adults

A new study from scientists at The Scripps Research Institute shows that nerve cells and blood vessels in the eye constantly "talk" to each other to maintain healthy blood flow and prevent disease.

28 Apr 2015

Blocking Slit2 protein prevents blood vessel development that causes vasoproliferative ocular diseases

Vasoproliferative ocular diseases are responsible for sight loss in millions of people in the industrialised countries. Many patients do not currently respond to the treatment offered, which targets a specific factor, VEGF. A team of Inserm researchers at the Vision Institute (Inserm/CNRS/Pierre and Marie Curie University), in association with a team from the Yale Cardiovascular Research Center, have demonstrated in an animal model that blocking another protein, Slit2, prevents the pathological blood vessel development that causes these diseases.

22 Apr 2015

Vascular cells of vertebrates can fuse with themselves

Cells of the vascular system of vertebrates can fuse with themselves. This process, which occurs when a blood vessel is no longer necessary and pruned, has now been described on the cellular level by Prof. Markus Affolter from the Biozentrum of the University of Basel.

21 Apr 2015

Study could lead to new therapeutic targets for treating Huntington's disease

An international study led by researchers from Université Laval and CHU de Québec-Université Laval has identified significant vascular changes in the brains of people with Huntington's disease. This breakthrough, the details of which are published in the most recent issue of Annals of Neurology, will have significant implications for our understanding of the disease and could open the door to new therapeutic targets for treating this fatal neurodegenerative condition.

17 Apr 2015

Stroke patients can benefit from clot-busting drug, shows brain scan study

A drug that breaks up blood clots in the brains of stroke patients could be used more widely than at present without increased risk, a brain scan study suggests.

10 Apr 2015

Research finding may lead to new potential therapeutic targets for lung cancer

Lung cancer is the second most common type of cancer and the number one cause of cancer-related mortality. It is estimated that more than 158,000 people will die from lung cancer in the United States this year. Many scientists believe that targeting a type of cell called a cancer stem cell may be necessary to completely cure lung cancer.

8 Apr 2015

Northwestern University researchers find safer way to improve surgery outcomes

A Northwestern University research team potentially has found a safer way to keep blood vessels healthy during and after surgery.

7 Apr 2015

Folic acid supplements can improve blood vessel dilation in older adults

Supplemental folic acid can enhance blood vessel dilation in older adults, according to Penn State researchers, suggesting that folic acid supplements may be an inexpensive alternative for helping older adults to increase skin blood flow during heat waves and reduce cardiovascular events.

1 Apr 2015

Researchers uncover relationship between two proteins linked to cerebral cavernous malformations

Researchers have uncovered new details about the relationship between two proteins associated with the formation of cerebral cavernous malformations, a little understood neurovascular disorder.

31 Mar 2015