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Research suggests systemic sclerosis is an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis

A new study by researchers in Hong Kong suggests that systemic sclerosis is an independent determinant for moderate to severe coronary calcification or atherosclerosis. Conventional cardiovascular risk factors such as age and hypertension predispose patients with systemic sclerosis to plaque build-up in the heart arteries similar to the general population. Details of this study are now available in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).

10 May 2011

Specific inflammatory factor may be responsible for aortic stenosis development

Research from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows that a specific inflammatory factor may be important in the development of the heart valve disease aortic stenosis. The results suggest that anti-inflammatory medication could be a possible new treatment.

15 Mar 2011

KAI initiates enrollment in KAI-4169 Phase 2 study for secondary hyperparathyroidism

KAI Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held drug discovery and development company, today announced enrollment of the first patients in a Phase 2 study of KAI-4169, a novel pharmaceutical agent being tested for the treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT), which is a frequent and serious complication of end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

14 Mar 2011

FDA approves ELANA Surgical Kit for standard bypass surgery in brain

U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a surgical kit that allows neurosurgeons to reroute blood flow around an aneurysm or a tumor in the brains of patients at greater risk of stroke during standard bypass surgery.

11 Mar 2011

Study: Low levels of Klotho protein may serve as early warning sign of CKD

Low levels of the anti-aging hormone Klotho may serve as an early warning sign of the presence of kidney disease and its deadly cardiovascular complications, according to findings by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers.

18 Feb 2011

Rare new disease identified – calcium accumulates in blood vessels

A new rare disease has been identified. Louise Benge’s started having difficulty in walking when she was 25. She developed hardening and pain over her calves and hands. She worsened over the next 20 years. Her family physician in Mount Vernon, Ky., was at a loss, as were a vascular specialist, a hand specialist and a kidney specialist. Her two sisters and two brothers had the problem too, but no doctor could understand why.

3 Feb 2011

Routine mammograms can show arterial calcium deposits in women with ESRD, CKD

Routine mammograms performed for breast cancer screening could serve another purpose as well: detecting calcifications in the blood vessels of patients with advanced kidney disease, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

21 Jan 2011

Researchers launch estrogen therapy trial to study depression, cardiovascular illness in women

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have launched a new clinical trial to determine if estrogen replacement therapy may help prevent depression and cardiovascular illness in women between the ages of 45 and 55.

13 Jan 2011

Revolutions Medical reworks exclusive license with Traxyz for breast biopsy localization system

Revolutions Medical Corporation recently completed the reworking of a worldwide exclusive license with Traxyz, LLC for an image guided navigation system to convert over 50,000 conventional mammography systems for use as a high accuracy breast biopsies system (BBS). This BBS facilitates accurate and fast non-palpable lesions and micro calcification localization in the treatment of breast cancer.

4 Jan 2011

Keryx announces positive top-line results from Zerenex Phase 3 study for hyperphosphatemia

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced positive top-line results from the Phase 3 short-term efficacy study component of its Phase 3 registration program of Zerenex (ferric citrate), the Company's ferric iron-based phosphate binder for the treatment of elevated serum phosphorus levels, or hyperphosphatemia, in patients with end-stage renal disease on dialysis.

30 Nov 2010

Study confirms difference in coronary artery disease pathways among Caucasians, African Americans

In a study being presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), researchers say they may have an explanation as to why African Americans, despite having lower amounts of coronary artery calcification, are at increased risk for heart attacks and other cardiovascular events compared with Caucasians.

30 Nov 2010

PTSD doubles veteran's risk of death

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) more than doubles a veteran's risk of death from any cause and is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2010.

18 Nov 2010

Cholesterol-lowering statin therapy benefits patients with calcium buildup in arteries

Rolling back suggestions from previous studies, a Johns Hopkins study of 950 healthy men and women has shown that taking daily doses of a cholesterol-lowering statin medication to protect coronary arteries and ward off heart attack or stroke may not be needed for everyone.

17 Nov 2010

TU/e researchers image stages of calcification process in atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is characterized by hardening and thickening of artery walls, with serious health consequences. Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) have imaged the stages in the calcification process at a nanometer scale.

15 Nov 2010

EES implantation reduces restenosis, repeat revascularization in patients with calcified culprit lesions

Two new studies have determined that everolimus-eluting stent (EES) implantation reduced the incidence of restenosis and repeat revascularization in patients with calcified culprit lesions, and had fewer clinical events. Results show the rate of major cardiac adverse events in EES-treated patients with calcified lesions were higher than in those for noncalcified lesions, but remained lower than the results of previously reported stent studies.

22 Oct 2010

New edition of Sturge-Weber Syndrome textbook published

Eleven years after the first edition, a new edition of the Sturge-Weber Syndrome textbook has been published by the Sturge-Weber Foundation in New Jersey. Co-author E. Steve Roach, MD, is chief of Neurology and vice-chair of Pediatrics at Nationwide Children's Hospital.

4 Oct 2010

CAD usage in screening, diagnostic mammography increases: Study

The use of computer-aided detection (CAD) is increasing, in both screening and diagnostic mammography, according to a study in the October issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

4 Oct 2010

Study analyses CT for screening of coronary artery calcification in radiation-induced cancer cases

A study based on computer modeling of radiation risk suggests that widespread screening for the buildup of calcium in the arteries using computed tomography scans would lead to an estimated 42 additional radiation-induced cancer cases per 100,000 men and 62 cases per 100,000 women, according to a report in the July 13 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

29 Sep 2010

Implantation of new bioprosthetic-tissue valve in patients with severe aortic stenosis saves lives

Implantation of a new bioprosthetic-tissue valve into the hearts of patients who have severe aortic stenosis and are too sick or too old for open-heart surgery has been found to both save lives and improve the quality of those lives, according to a new multicenter study, to be published online at 2 p.m. Pacific time today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

23 Sep 2010

Scientists discover study of calcium deposits helps effective breast cancer diagnosis

SCIENTISTS have discovered for the first time that studying calcium deposits in the breast, often detected through screening, could help doctors diagnose breast cancer more effectively.The study, published in the British Journal of Cancer today (Wednesday), examined the relationship between the composition of these deposits found in breast tissue and the malignancy of a tumour.

15 Sep 2010