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Research findings may open door to new therapeutic strategies for serious health problems

Drugs that target the way cells convert nutrients into energy could offer new approaches to treating a range of conditions including heart attack and stroke. Using a new way to screen for potential drugs, a team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers has identified several FDA-approved agents, including an over-the-counter anti-nausea drug, that can shift cellular energy metabolism processes in animals.

15 Feb 2010

Two families having premature baby visit White House to share their inspiring stories with President Obama

Two families who know all too well the trauma of having a baby born prematurely visited the White House today to share their inspiring stories with President Obama. The Hall family from Leesburg, Va., and the Hoffman family from Weston, Fla., are ambassadors for the March of Dimes, a nonprofit foundation that works to prevent premature birth, birth defects, and infant mortality.

15 Feb 2010

High-resolution still images alongside high-speed video footage for detailed scientific imaging

Scientists funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the British Heart Foundation at the University of Oxford have developed a revolutionary way of capturing a high-resolution still image alongside very high-speed video - a new technology that is attractive for science, industry and consumer sectors alike.

15 Feb 2010

Members of interventional cardiology community wish former President Bill Clinton a quick recovery

Members of the interventional cardiology community wish former President Bill Clinton a quick recovery following his recent hospitalization for angioplasty and stenting.

15 Feb 2010

Discharged VAD implanted pediatric patient receives successful heart transplant after eight months

The wait is over for 16-year-old Francesco "Frank" De Santiago. On January 29, De Santiago received a donor heart in a nine-hour transplant operation at Texas Children's Heart Center De Santiago made news last October as the first child ever discharged from a pediatric hospital with an implanted mechanical heart pump, or ventricular assist device (VAD). Until then, pediatric patients with VADs remained in the hospital, often in ICU, while awaiting a donor heart.

15 Feb 2010

Surgical outcomes for hip and knee replacement better at specialized hospitals

The more specialized a hospital is in orthopedic surgical care, the better the outcomes appear to be for patients undergoing hip and knee replacement surgery, University of Iowa researchers report in a new study of Medicare patients.

15 Feb 2010

Effective smoking cessation treatments

With the national trend toward quitting smoking flat, psychologists are finding some success with treatments aimed at helping smokers from underserved groups, including racial and ethnic minorities and those with psychiatric disorders.

15 Feb 2010

Any new pressure in upper body can signal heart attack

Not everyone who suffers a heart attack clutches their chest and falls to the floor. "I woke up and felt like a pill was stuck in my throat," says Betsy, a 68-year-old patient from Upper Providence. "I was taking antibiotics at the time and really didn't think much of it," she adds. "So I tried drinking water and when the "stuck" feeling didn't go away after 45 minutes, I thought something might be wrong."

15 Feb 2010

Air pollution linked to increased risk of atherosclerosis

Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC), in collaboration with international partners in Spain and Switzerland and colleagues in California, have found that exposure to air pollution accelerates the thickening of artery walls that leads to cardiovascular disease.

15 Feb 2010

Polls: People like their own insurance but want reform, heart patients' cost worries

Lancaster Online: "Most Americans who have health insurance are pleased with their coverage, a new national Franklin & Marshall College poll shows. But many of those same people are worried about those who can't afford insurance, and overwhelmingly believe the health care system needs to be reformed, according to a survey of 920 adults. ... The survey found that 75 percent of Americans who have insurance rate their coverage as good or very good — the same percentage who believe the health-care system is in need of reform.

15 Feb 2010

Today's OpEds: Republicans and Medicare, small business health costs and changes to FEHBP

Republican leaders are now saying they will not participate in the meeting unless the president takes his health reform plan off the table to start over. I understand their concerns with a variety of issues in the current bills, but where you start is not nearly as important as where you finish. After all, fees continue to skyrocket and millions remain uninsured, costing our country in many ways. ... There is no time like the present for Washington to show America that it is interested in governing, not just in campaigning. The cameras will be rolling, and we will be watching (Christine Todd Whitman, 2/12).

14 Feb 2010

White rye flour bread leads to better insulin and blood sugar levels than wheat bread with rye bran

Wholegrain bread is good and good for you, as most people know. But it is not only the fiber-rich bran, the outer shell of the grain, that is healthful. On the contrary, research at the Lund University Faculty of Engineering shows that bread baked with white rye flour, which is flour made from the inner, white part of the rye kernel, leads to better insulin and blood sugar levels compared with wheat bread with rye bran. White rye flour thus leads to much better values than both regular wheat flour and rye bran. At the same time, much of the bread that is sold in stores today in most countries is in fact baked with wheat flour and bran from various grains.

12 Feb 2010

President Bill Clinton undergoes stent insertion procedure: American Heart Association comments

Volunteers and staff of the American Heart Association extend their thoughts and well wishes to former President Bill Clinton upon the reports that he has undergone a procedure to insert stents to widen narrowed coronary arteries. President Clinton, who underwent quadruple coronary bypass surgery in 2004, partnered with the Association through his Foundation to jointly form the Alliance for a Healthier Generation to reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity in the United States.

12 Feb 2010

Patients receiving female-donor plasma did better than patients receiving male-donor plasma: Study

Three years after the U.S. blood banking industry issued recommendations that discourage transfusing plasma from female donors because of a potential antibody reaction, Duke University Medical Center researchers discovered that female plasma actually may have advantages.

12 Feb 2010

AHA survey: Heart disease and stroke patients fare poorly under current health care system

A new American Heart Association survey substantiates that the need for health care reform has not gone away. Many heart disease and stroke patients are faring poorly under the current health care system, with nearly two-thirds citing affordability as the top concern of those suffering from cardiovascular disease.

12 Feb 2010

Researchers develop dietary supplement to offset key symptom of ageing

Researchers at McMaster University have developed a cocktail of ingredients that forestalls major aspects of the aging process.

12 Feb 2010

Center for Adolescent Bariatric Surgery performs 100th LAGB procedure

Few treatments are available to help obese adolescents who are unable to lose weight and are already suffering from obesity-related health problems. Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB), an option for adults in the United States since 2001, is showing promise for teens. The Center for Adolescent Bariatric Surgery, which opened at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital in 2006, recently performed its 100th LAGB procedure.

12 Feb 2010

Traditional Home Health and Hospice selects ExpressMD's Electronic House Call system for CHF program

ExpressMD™ Solutions, a provider of remote patient monitoring systems and services for patients with chronic illnesses, announced today that Traditional Home Health and Hospice in Dunmore, PA selected ExpressMD's Electronic House Call™ system for use in their Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) patient management program.

12 Feb 2010

Mediterranean diet beneficial to heart health: Study

In countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, heart disease is less common than in the United States. Researchers believe that foods common to Greece and southern Italy are a major reason for this difference.

12 Feb 2010

Routine testing of hs-CRP in women with heart disease is controversial, says Mayo Clinic cardiologist

For women concerned about heart disease, routine testing of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) is controversial, says Thomas Behrenbeck, M.D., Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic cardiologist, in an interview in the February issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource.

12 Feb 2010

Heart News and Research

Research findings may open door to new therapeutic strategies for serious health problems

Two families having premature baby visit White House to share their inspiring stories with President Obama

High-resolution still images alongside high-speed video footage for detailed scientific imaging

Members of interventional cardiology community wish former President Bill Clinton a quick recovery

Discharged VAD implanted pediatric patient receives successful heart transplant after eight months

Surgical outcomes for hip and knee replacement better at specialized hospitals

Effective smoking cessation treatments

Any new pressure in upper body can signal heart attack

Air pollution linked to increased risk of atherosclerosis

Polls: People like their own insurance but want reform, heart patients' cost worries

Today's OpEds: Republicans and Medicare, small business health costs and changes to FEHBP

White rye flour bread leads to better insulin and blood sugar levels than wheat bread with rye bran

President Bill Clinton undergoes stent insertion procedure: American Heart Association comments

Patients receiving female-donor plasma did better than patients receiving male-donor plasma: Study

AHA survey: Heart disease and stroke patients fare poorly under current health care system

Researchers develop dietary supplement to offset key symptom of ageing

Center for Adolescent Bariatric Surgery performs 100th LAGB procedure

Traditional Home Health and Hospice selects ExpressMD's Electronic House Call system for CHF program

Mediterranean diet beneficial to heart health: Study

Routine testing of hs-CRP in women with heart disease is controversial, says Mayo Clinic cardiologist

Discover how SciY empowers scientists

Why use light scattering to analyze proteins and viral vectors?

Changing the landscape of R&D to build clinical success from the ground up

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