Heart News and Research

RSS

Epilepsy may arise from complex mixture of altered ion channels

Imagine two flat screen televisions tuned to the same channel and sitting side-by-side. From a distance, their pictures are virtually the same, however up close, you can see subtle variations in the pixels - one blurred here, another dropped out there.

24 Jun 2011

Protein globin E helps avian eyes 'breathe' and contributes to visual acuity

Say what you will about bird brains, but our feathered friends sure have us -- and all the other animals on the planet -- beat in the vision department, and that has a bit to do with how their brains develop.

24 Jun 2011

Stresses can change gene expression without DNA sequence change

None of us are strangers to stress of various kinds. It turns out the effects of all those stresses can change the fate of future generation, influencing our very DNA without any change to the underlying sequence of As, Gs, Ts and Cs. Now, researchers reporting in the June 24th issue of Cell, a Cell Press publication, have new evidence that helps to explain just how these epigenetic changes really happen.

24 Jun 2011

BIOTRONIK to introduce Lumax DX system for complete atrial arrhythmia diagnosis

BIOTRONIK SE & Co. KG, a worldwide leader in manufacturing cardiac medical devices, announced today that the innovative new Lumax 540 VR-T DX single-chamber implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD) and Linoxsmart S DX cardiac lead system will be launched this coming week at the EHRA EUROPACE electrophysiology congress in Madrid, Spain.

24 Jun 2011

Scientists develop new NO delivery system to fortify effects of Viagra in the body

Scientists are reporting development and successful initial tests of a potential new delivery system for the biological signaling agent responsible for the effects of Viagra.

24 Jun 2011

HDL in CAD patients different from HDL in healthy individuals

High levels of "good" cholesterol (HDL cholesterol) are associated with a decreased risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) - a disease of the major arterial blood vessels that is one of the major causes of heart attack and stroke. This suggests that therapeutics that increase HDL levels could be clinically useful.

24 Jun 2011

New strategy to prevent amputations

Blood vessels and supporting cells appear to be pivotal partners in repairing nerves ravaged by diabetic neuropathy, and nurturing their partnership with nerve cells might make the difference between success and failure in experimental efforts to regrow damaged nerves, Johns Hopkins researchers report in a new study.

24 Jun 2011

NSBRI expands use of ultrasound during spaceflights and on Earth

The remoteness and resource limitations of spaceflight pose a serious challenge to astronaut health care. One solution is ultrasound.

24 Jun 2011

High salt consumption does not seem to increase risk of heart disease

A new eight year long European study concludes that salt consumption is not dangerous and may in fact be beneficial. This is certainly contrary to advice from American Medical Association, American Heart Association and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which says higher sodium consumption can increase the risk of heart disease.

24 Jun 2011

Hypertension variability during cardiac surgery may increase risk of death

For patients with hypertension undergoing heart surgery, large variations in blood pressure before, during, and after the operation are associated with an increased risk of death, reports the July issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society.

24 Jun 2011

Northwest Hospital wins Silver Plus Performance Achievement Award for stroke care

Northwest Hospital in Randallstown, Maryland, has earned a Silver Plus Performance Achievement Award from The American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association.

24 Jun 2011

Anticholinergic drugs might increase risk of cognitive impairment, death in older people

A side effect of many commonly used drugs appears to increase the risks of both cognitive impairment and death in older people, according to new research led by the University of East Anglia.

24 Jun 2011

Some drug mixtures may be fatal for elderly: study

British scientists warn that well known brands of hay fever tablets, painkillers and sleeping pills pose a previously unknown threat to elderly people’s health when taken together. Many are available over the counter at pharmacies as well as being prescribed by GPs, nurses and chemists they said.

23 Jun 2011

Reductions in obesity-related medical costs offset cost of gastric banding surgery within 2.25 years

Allergan, Inc. today announced a new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases that found the cost of a gastric banding weight-loss surgery procedure, such as Allergan's LAP-BAND Adjustable Gastric Banding System, was offset by reductions in obesity-related medical costs within 2.25 years for surgery eligible patients with diabetes, and within four years of the procedure for all surgery eligible patients.

23 Jun 2011

Proton beam radiotherapy appears to control breast cancer with minimal side-effects

A treatment that has virtually no side effects has been found to be an effective weapon for fighting early-stage breast cancer, according to results of a clinical trial conducted at Loma Linda University Medical Center.

23 Jun 2011

ULMCA PCI with DES a viable option for low-risk patients with normal left ventricular function

Patients with normal left ventricular function who undergo elective unprotected left main coronary artery (ULMCA) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stents (DES) had favorable outcomes according to new research.

23 Jun 2011

Axxam receives ADDF grant to develop new therapeutics for Alzheimer's

The Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) announced today that it has awarded a grant to Axxam SpA to develop small molecules to treat Alzheimer's disease by targeting inflammation.

23 Jun 2011

Study examines reasons for rise in cesarean delivery

In one of the first studies to examine the reasons for the rising number of women delivering their babies by cesarean section, Yale School of Medicine researchers found that while half of the increase was attributable to a rise in repeat cesarean delivery in women with a prior cesarean birth, an equal proportion was due to a rise in first time cesarean delivery.

23 Jun 2011

More frequent use of ultrasound recommended in twin pregnancies

Featured in the June edition of the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada is a new clinical practice guideline which suggests that carrying twins requires greater monitoring and, therefore, the more frequent use of ultrasound technology to conduct the ongoing assessment of twin pregnancies.

23 Jun 2011

Foods and lifestyles that cause most weight gain: Study

New research shows that eating more potato chips and French fries and watching too much TV are likely to lead to a bigger weight gain over the years than the weight change associated with eating more of other foods.

23 Jun 2011