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.

Life-threatening gene defect related to thoracic aortic disease discovered

A research team led by scientists at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston has identified a defective gene that affects vascular smooth-muscle cells in people who suffer from hereditary thoracic aortic disease, which can kill victims with little warning in the prime of their lives.

13 Nov 2007

New approaches to wet age-related macular degeneration treatment

Two particularly notable research presentations at the American Academy of Ophthalmology's Annual Meeting described new approaches to the treatment of "wet" Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of severe vision loss in the western world in people over age 50.

13 Nov 2007

Tezosentan does not appear to improve symptoms for patients with acute heart failure

The medication tezosentan, which was thought could be beneficial for the treatment of acute heart failure, did not improve breathlessness or reduce the risk of fatal or nonfatal cardiovascular events, according to a study in the November 7 issue of JAMA.

6 Nov 2007

Lungs' pressure needn't threaten heart transplant survival

Heart surgeons at Johns Hopkins say people who need heart transplants can largely avoid transplant failure due to elevated blood pressure in their lungs with the help of proper drug treatment.

6 Nov 2007

Effects of weight gain and subsequent weight loss on endothelial function

When lean healthy young adults gained about 9 pounds, the functioning of their blood vessel lining became impaired -- but shedding the weight restored proper functioning, according to a Mayo Clinic research report.

6 Nov 2007

64-slice CT scans a good test for clogged arteries

A study by an international team of cardiac imaging specialists, led by researchers at Johns Hopkins, concludes that sophisticated computed tomography (CT) scans of the heart and its surrounding arteries are almost as reliable and accurate as more invasive procedures to check for blockages.

6 Nov 2007

Treat all patients with rare lung disease to prevent stroke, say doctors

Treatment should be offered to all people with a particular rare lung condition, regardless of whether or not they show symptoms of it, say researchers and doctors behind a new study published today.

5 Nov 2007

Artificial organs targeted in medical technology venture

The University of Bern is bringing together its established areas of expertise in the field of medical technology. The outstanding international reputation of medical technology teaching and research in Bern is to be further enhanced in the long term by the creation of new assistant professorships.

5 Nov 2007

MRIs reveal 13% of healthy adults have a brain abnormality

A Dutch study has revealed that as many as 13% of healthy adults may have some type of undiagnosed abnormality in the brain.

4 Nov 2007

Antibody might help starve cancerous tumors

An antibody might offer a safe and effective complement to anti-cancer therapies designed to starve malignant tumors by pruning the blood vessels that feed them, researchers report in the November 2 issue of the journal Cell, a publication of Cell Press.

2 Nov 2007

Immune cell age plays role in retinal damage in age-related macular degeneration

Studying a mouse model of age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in older Americans, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found age is key in determining whether damaging blood vessels will form beneath the retina and contribute to vision loss.

2 Nov 2007

Blood group O may be the key to a cure for malaria

New research from Scotland has led to a discovery which may bring a cure for malaria a step closer.

31 Oct 2007

Polyphenols stops cancer, heart disease, depending on the dose

The next cancer drug might come straight from the grocery store, according to new research published in the November 2007 issue of The FASEB Journal.

31 Oct 2007

Low-density lipoprotein may contribute to vascular diseases

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL), a transporter of cholesterol, may also contribute to vascular diseases by a previously unidentified mechanism, according to a report published online this week in EMBO reports.

25 Oct 2007

Grape seed supplement studied for cardiovascular health benefits

Could some of the natural chemicals found in plants be powerful enough to improve cardiovascular health?

24 Oct 2007

Combination targets offer new hope in fight against cancer

While some targeted therapies - drugs developed to attack specific molecules in the critical chemical pathways occurring within cancer cells - work well by themselves, increasingly researchers are finding that they work better when teamed with other targeted and conventional therapies.

24 Oct 2007

SPIRIT III trial shows fewer major adverse cardiac events

Late breaking results from the SPIRIT III trial, presented at TCT 2007, the annual scientific symposium of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation, show that after 12 months, there were significantly fewer major adverse cardiac events (MACE) such as heart attacks, deaths from cardiac causes or repeat procedures (angioplasty or surgery) to clear the original vessel blockage after using a Xience V everolimus-eluting coronary stent than a Taxus paclitaxel-eluting stent.

24 Oct 2007

Transparent zebrafish help the study inflammatory breast cancer

What if doctors could peer through a patient's skin and see a cancer tumor growing? They'd be able to study how tumor cells migrate: how they look, how they interact with the blood system to find nourishment to grow and spread through the body.

22 Oct 2007

Study explains why physical activity is beneficial in preventing heart attack and stroke

It is well known that physical activity can improve cardiovascular health. But it's the impact exercise has on specific known risk factors that accounts for about 60 percent of that improvement, researchers reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

22 Oct 2007

Canada leads in new heart valve replacement surgery

Canada is the world leader in a new surgical technique that is transforming the lives of patients too sick to undergo conventional treatment to replace diseased aortic valves.

22 Oct 2007