Blood Vessels News and Research

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Rare deadly disease linked to coronavirus infection seen in children

Now, new evidence has shown that children with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) experience a Kawasaki-like illness, called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). The complication is akin to toxic shock syndrome, a condition that occurs due to sepsis. Though rare, the condition is life-threatening.

29 May 2020

Dual-pathway approach can lead to better outcomes in patients with heart stents

Pairing a blood-thinning drug with aspirin daily for patients who have an angioplasty with a stent can contribute to better health outcomes, including lower risk of death, than aspirin alone, according to a recent study by cardiologists at the University of Alberta and Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute.

28 May 2020

Pitt researcher to explore the neurological sex-based divide in dementia

Fifty million people worldwide are living with dementia, a broad term for diseases and conditions characterized by progressive cognitive decline.

28 May 2020

Clinical study shows promising results for treatment of VHL disease-associated renal tumors

In an international trial led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, treatment with MK-6482, the small molecule inhibitor of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-2a was well tolerated and resulted in clinical responses for patients with von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL)–associated renal cell carcinoma.

28 May 2020

Molecular pair offers hope for development of new Parkinson's treatment

A promising molecular pair has offered hope that could lead to the development of a new treatment to slow down Parkinson's disease, a study by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and Harvard University has found.

27 May 2020

ACE2 receptors in the kidney not linked to high BP or RAS blockers

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to smolder and flare up in various parts of the world, researchers are still trying to make sense of the virus, its routes of spread, its target tissues, and the immune responses it induces. One crucial piece of knowledge is that the primary viral receptor is a human enzyme called angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2).

27 May 2020

Nimodipine-loaded biodegradable fibers to protect nerve cells after brain surgery

Brain surgery poses a major threat to nerve cells. Even slight injuries can kill the sensitive cells. The drug nimodipine could help prevent this.

27 May 2020

First independent test of proposed subphenotypes of COVID-19-related ARDS

In a new paper published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society, researchers have been unable to produce two theorized subphenotypes of COVID-19 related acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

27 May 2020

Disordered gut microbiomes are found in patients with hemorrhagic brain disease

A new study shows that people with a rare genetic disease that causes bleeding in the brain have gut microbiomes distinct from those without the disease.

27 May 2020

Blood clotting disorders may explain some of the worst symptoms of COVID-19

The hypothesis that blood clotting disorders may explain some of the worst symptoms of COVID-19, including respiratory failure and pulmonary fibrosis, was suggested in mid-April by researchers in Brazil affiliated with the University of São Paulo's Medical School (FM-USP) via an article accepted for publication by the Journal of Thrombosis.

27 May 2020

UZH researchers develop new X-ray contrast agent for high-resolution vascular imaging

Various diseases in humans and animals - such as tumors, strokes or chronic kidney disease - damage the blood vessels. Capillaries, the smallest blood vessels in the body, are particularly affected.

26 May 2020

New technique offers high-resolution 3D view inside tumors

Malignant tumors consume nutrients and oxygen faster than healthy cells. To do so, they recruit blood vessels in their environment. Depending on tumor type and genetic profile, there are differences on how tumors look internally.

26 May 2020

Novel stimulation pattern helps relieve chronic pain

The vagus nerve plays an important role in our body. It consists of various fibres, some of which connect to the internal organs, but the vagus nerve can also be found in the ear. It is of great importance for various body functions, including the perception of pain.

26 May 2020

The eye initiates an immune response in the lens after injury

The lens of the eye is an unusual organ. Unlike most of the body's organs, blood vessels don't reach the lens. If they did, they'd obscure our vision and we wouldn't be able to see.

26 May 2020

Inherited genetic variations can alter progression of melanoma, indicates study

Sometimes cancer stays put, but often it metastasizes, spreading to new locations in the body. It has long been suspected that genetic mutations arising inside tumor cells drive this potentially devastating turn of events.

26 May 2020

Children with COVID-19 presenting with sudden severe lung disease

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to seek out new victims, puzzling new presentations are further confusing the situation. A new study published online in The Lancet Rheumatology in May 2020 reports a case of severe COVID-19 in a child who rapidly developed acute respiratory distress symptoms without prior respiratory symptoms. This case should alert clinicians to consider this diagnosis in children as well.

24 May 2020

Capillary leakage important in COVID-19 respiratory distress

Now, a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv reports the pivotal role played by protein leakage through lung capillaries and promotes the use of serum albumin as a biomarker of disease progression and severity.

24 May 2020

Teens develop septic shock due to COVID-19

Since the emergence of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), most people who develop severe illness are older adults, those with underlying medical conditions, and those who are immunocompromised. Though children are mostly spared, some adolescents developed septic shock due to COVID-19, a new study has found.

24 May 2020

Study finds evidence of injury in placentas from COVID-19-positive pregnant women

The placentas from 16 women who tested positive for COVID-19 while pregnant showed evidence of injury, according to pathological exams completed directly following birth, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study.

22 May 2020

Study evaluates the effectiveness of interferon beta 1b in COVID-19 pneumonia

As the world struggles to overcome the current COVID-19 pandemic with non-pharmacological interventions, in the absence of an effective drug or vaccine, existing immunomodulators are being repurposed. A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in May 2020 shows no clinical benefit to the use of one such drug, called interferon beta 1b (IFN beta1b).

22 May 2020