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New Orleans residents continue to face increased risk of heart attack post-Katrina

New Orleans residents continue to face a three-fold increased risk of heart attack post-Katrina-a trend that has remained unchanged since the storm hit in 2005, according to research being presented at the American College of Cardiology's 62nd Annual Scientific Session.

7 Mar 2013

Weekend reading: Deciding if it's 'time to let mom die,' a cancer hospital's controversial admission procedures

My father, sister and I sat in the near-empty Chinese restaurant, picking at our plates, unable to avoid the question that we'd gathered to discuss: When was it time to let Mom die? ... My father and sister looked to me for my thoughts. In our family, after all, I'm the go-to guy for all things medical. I've been a health care reporter for 15 years: at the Dallas Morning News, the Los Angeles Times and now ProPublica.

7 Mar 2013

Acceleron commences ACE-536 phase 2 study in beta-thalassemia

Acceleron Pharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing protein therapeutics for cancer and orphan diseases, today announced the initiation of a phase 2 study of its novel, investigational protein therapeutic, ACE-536, to treat patients with beta-thalassemia, a genetic hematologic disorder causing chronic and life-threatening anemia and serious complications affecting the spleen, liver and heart.

7 Mar 2013

USF, Saneron receive patent for transplantation method using umbilical cord blood cells

Researchers at Saneron CCEL Therapeutics and the University of South Florida have received a patent relating to a method for obtaining and using umbilical cord blood cells from a donor or patient to provide neural cells for transplantation aimed at repairing a variety of neurodegenerative diseases of the brain and spinal cord, such as Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease as well as brain and spinal cord injury.

7 Mar 2013

Health insurance and poverty the important predictors of late stage breast cancer

Home may be where the heart is, but where you live could affect your health. "Regardless of geographic location, women who live in high poverty areas or are uninsured are at greatest risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer at a later stage," said lead author Kevin Henry, Department of Geography, University of Utah.

7 Mar 2013

Midwall fibrosis may increase likelihood of death in patients with nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy

Detection of midwall fibrosis (the presence of scar tissue in the middle of the heart muscle wall) via magnetic resonance imaging among patients with nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (a condition affecting the heart muscle) was associated with an increased likelihood of death.

7 Mar 2013

UCLA scientists discover new genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease

Scientists at UCLA have discovered a new genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease by screening people's DNA and then using an advanced type of scan to visualize their brains' connections.

7 Mar 2013

Study evaluates patients with regional myocardial wall thinning

Among patients with coronary artery disease referred for cardiovascular magnetic resonance and found to have regional myocardial wall thinning (of the heart muscle), limited scar burden was associated with improved contraction of the heart and reversal of wall thinning after revascularization, suggesting that myocardial thinning is potentially reversible, according to a study appearing in the March 6 issue of JAMA.

7 Mar 2013

Mental health news: Ore. lawmakers make children's funding push; Conn. panel makes recommendations

Lawmakers and officials from Oregon, Connecticut and around the nation deal with treating and paying for how they treat the mentally ill.

7 Mar 2013

Study suggests more accurate way to monitor patient awareness during general anesthesia

Massachusetts General Hospital investigators have identified specific EEG signatures that indicate when patients lose and regain consciousness under the general anesthetic drug propofol.

7 Mar 2013

Carbamylation contributes to heart disease risk among patients with CKD undergoing dialysis

Kidney failure affects 25 million individuals in the U.S. and many more throughout the world. Loss of kidney function means the majority of these patients must undergo dialysis treatments to remove excess fluids and waste products. Although dialysis therapy coupled with medication has improved the life expectancy for people with kidney failure, for unknown reasons, patients' risk of sudden heart failure and death remains 10 to 20 times greater than average.

7 Mar 2013

High HDL levels block development of aneurysms in the aorta

New research provides early evidence that 'good' cholesterol may possess anti-aneurysm forming properties. In laboratory-based investigations, scientists found that increased levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDL), the so-called good cholesterol, blocked the development of aneurysms - dangerous 'ballooning' in the wall of a blood vessel - in the body's largest artery, the aorta.

7 Mar 2013

BIDMC investigator receives $50,000 CCF grant for research on pediatric cardiomyopathy

Maria Kontaridis, PhD, an investigator in the Division of Cardiology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), has received a $50,000 grant from the Children's Cardiomyopathy Foundation (CCF) for her research on pediatric cardiomyopathy.

7 Mar 2013

Study combines induced pluripotent stem cell technology and genetic correction to treat DMD

Researchers at the University of Minnesota's Lillehei Heart Institute have combined genetic repair with cellular reprogramming to generate stem cells capable of muscle regeneration in a mouse model for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).

7 Mar 2013

DBS helps anorexia patients achieve and maintain improvements in body weight, mood and anxiety

In a world first, a team of researchers at the Krembil Neuroscience Centre and the University Health Network have shown that Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) in patients with chronic, severe and treatment-resistant Anorexia Nervosa (anorexia) helps some patients achieve and maintain improvements in body weight, mood, and anxiety.

6 Mar 2013

Myocardial thinning theories upended

Regional myocardial wall thinning is not necessarily indicative of transmural myocardial infarction, a study suggests.

6 Mar 2013

UK’s health performance declining compared with 14 EU countries over past 20 years

Six decades of universal free health care, the introduction of widespread public health initiatives (eg, tobacco control, cancer screening, and immunisation), and substantial increases in health expenditure have failed to improve the UK’s health outcomes or longevity ranking against the average of 14 other original members of the European Union, Australia, Canada, Norway, and the USA (EU15+) over the past 20 years.

6 Mar 2013

Chemotherapy-free stem cell transplant shows promise for sickle cell disease

Two brothers have been cured of their sickle cell disease at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System using a relatively uncommon type of stem cell transplant that is performed without chemotherapy.

6 Mar 2013

New bedside electronic device can determine the cause of severe dizziness

A bedside electronic device that measures eye movements can successfully determine whether the cause of severe, continuous, disabling dizziness is a stroke or something benign, according to results of a small study led by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers.

6 Mar 2013

Air pollution and heart attacks: an interview with Dr Cathryn Tonne, LSHTM

Air is polluted when it contains any extraneous entity in sufficient quantities to adversely affect the environment or the health of people exposed to it.

6 Mar 2013

Heart News and Research

New Orleans residents continue to face increased risk of heart attack post-Katrina

Weekend reading: Deciding if it's 'time to let mom die,' a cancer hospital's controversial admission procedures

Acceleron commences ACE-536 phase 2 study in beta-thalassemia

USF, Saneron receive patent for transplantation method using umbilical cord blood cells

Health insurance and poverty the important predictors of late stage breast cancer

Midwall fibrosis may increase likelihood of death in patients with nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy

UCLA scientists discover new genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease

Study evaluates patients with regional myocardial wall thinning

Mental health news: Ore. lawmakers make children's funding push; Conn. panel makes recommendations

Study suggests more accurate way to monitor patient awareness during general anesthesia

Carbamylation contributes to heart disease risk among patients with CKD undergoing dialysis

High HDL levels block development of aneurysms in the aorta

BIDMC investigator receives $50,000 CCF grant for research on pediatric cardiomyopathy

Study combines induced pluripotent stem cell technology and genetic correction to treat DMD

DBS helps anorexia patients achieve and maintain improvements in body weight, mood and anxiety

Myocardial thinning theories upended

UK’s health performance declining compared with 14 EU countries over past 20 years

Chemotherapy-free stem cell transplant shows promise for sickle cell disease

New bedside electronic device can determine the cause of severe dizziness

Air pollution and heart attacks: an interview with Dr Cathryn Tonne, LSHTM

Industry Focus eBook - Analytical Chemistry (2nd Edition) eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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