Heart News and Research

RSS

Research roundup: Successful medical homes; shortage of HIV doctors; boosting use of $4 generic drugs

Every Friday, Jennifer Evans compiles this selection of recently-released health policy studies and briefs.

19 Mar 2011

Deaths from heart attacks drop precipitously in Norway, reports NTNU researcher

Life was hard in occupied Norway during WWII, but the occupation had one surprising result: deaths from heart attacks dropped precipitously, because Norwegians ate less fat, smoked less and were more physically active.

19 Mar 2011

Journal of Clinical Lipidology publishes LipoScience LDL particle study results against CVD

LipoScience, Inc., a highly innovative diagnostic company that is advancing patient care by developing high value proprietary blood tests using nuclear magnetic resonance technology, today announced publication of a clinical study in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology demonstrating that in many people, low density lipoprotein cholesterol is a less accurate predictor of cardiovascular disease events than LDL particle number.

19 Mar 2011

Removal of menthol cigarettes from marketplace would benefit public health in US: FDA

Finding that the availability of menthol cigarettes increases the number of children and African Americans who smoke, the Food and Drug Administration's Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee today concluded, "Removal of menthol cigarettes from the marketplace would benefit public health in the United States."

19 Mar 2011

Researchers identify protein that triggers immune response in TB-infected people

Scientists have discovered a protein secreted by tuberculosis bacteria that could be a promising new vaccine candidate, they report today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The protein could also be used to improve diagnosis of TB.

19 Mar 2011

Researchers discover process that regulates DNA maintenance

DNA contains all of the genetic instructions that make us who we are, and maintaining the integrity of our DNA over the course of a lifetime is a critical, yet complex part of the aging process.

19 Mar 2011

Tocopherol derivatives as new dioxin receptor antagonists

When reactive oxygen species (ROS) hit the body, vitamin E helps to prevent damage to tissues and cells by acting as an antioxidant. The health benefits of vitamin E are numerous, and in fact, studies have found that people with higher levels of vitamin E in their system have a lower risk of heart disease and certain forms of cancer. A team led by Thomas Rosenau from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna (Austria) now describe their synthesis of a series of modified vitamin E derivatives that show promise as dioxin receptor antagonists in the European Journal of Organic Chemistry.

18 Mar 2011

[UPDATE] Pediatric heart surgery unit of Royal Brompton faces closure

A London NHS trust would challenge proposals to end child heart surgery at the Royal Brompton Hospital. The Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust added that this would mean the loss of other services, which could call into question its viability.

18 Mar 2011

Quest Diagnostics enters definitive merger agreement to acquire Celera for $8 per share

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, the world's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, and Celera Corporation, one of the world's pioneers in genetic diagnostics discovery and development, announced today that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Quest Diagnostics will acquire Celera for $8 per share, representing a transaction value of approximately $344 million, net of $327 million in acquired cash and short-term investments.

From Quest Diagnostics 18 Mar 2011

Celera reports net revenue of $34.9 million for fourth quarter of 2010

Celera Corporation today reported net revenues of $34.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2010 that ended December 25, 2010, compared to $39.2 million for the prior year quarter.

18 Mar 2011

Medicare officials signal no payment changes on anemia drugs

Medicare officials signaled Wednesday that they will not change a payment policy for biotech drugs made by Amgen and Johnson & Johnson when they are used to treat anemia in kidney disease patients, despite data suggesting heart risks for those patients.

18 Mar 2011

Science journal publishes CYTK preclinical cardiac myosin activation research results

Cytokinetics, Incorporated announced today the publication of preclinical research in the March 18, 2011 issue of the journal Science regarding the activation of cardiac myosin by an investigational drug candidate, omecamtiv mecarbil, and the potential therapeutic role that this novel mechanism may play for patients with systolic heart failure.

18 Mar 2011

U-M researcher endorses new concepts designed to improve kidney allocation

Providing kidney transplants to patients with the best probability of longer survival would reduce repeat transplant operations and improve life span after kidney transplant, says a U-M researcher in a commentary published in the New England Journal of Medicine March 16.

18 Mar 2011

JHUSON adds Harvey the Cardiopulmonary Simulator to simulation education

It's official: Harvey the Cardiopulmonary Simulator checked in for an extended stay at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing (JHUSON) last month. Harvey is the latest addition to the School's upgraded simulation laboratories and the newest member of the "Sim Fam." These life-like practice manikins, including Sim Man, Vital Sim Man,Noelle with newborn, and Sim Baby give nursing students the hands-on experience without the anxiety of working with actual human beings.

18 Mar 2011

Pilot study shows feasibility of heart screening for risk of SCA in children

A pilot study in healthy children and adolescents shows that it is feasible to screen for undiagnosed heart conditions that increase the risk of sudden cardiac arrest.

18 Mar 2011

Major clinical studies for heart disease, stroke fail to consider participant's ethnicity

Major clinical studies that evaluate prevention strategies for heart disease and stroke fail to consider a participant's ethnicity, a factor that can more than double the rate of death in some groups, according to research led by St. Michael's Dr. Joel Ray.

18 Mar 2011

Stem cell therapy can reduce heart size, scar tissue and improve function in cardiac patients

Researchers have shown for the first time that stem cells injected into enlarged hearts reduced heart size, reduced scar tissue and improved function to injured heart areas, according to a small trial published in Circulation Research: Journal of the American Heart Association.

18 Mar 2011

British pie, mash and gravy meals too salty: Heart health experts

A new study by Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) in the UK that looked at 526 pie, mash and gravy meals and products, found some meals to be extremely high in salt. A chicken and mushroom pie with chips or mash, gravy and peas from pub chain Wetherspoons contained an alarming 7.5g of salt, well over the daily maximum recommendation of 6g a day. All the pie and mash pub meals looked at contained more than 3g, half the daily maximum, the report said. The survey, conducted by YouGov, found that the mashed potato and gravy could significantly increase the salt content of a meal. According to CASH, while good progress has been made by supermarkets in cutting salt levels in pies, there are still too many products containing unnecessary quantities of salt.

17 Mar 2011

Stem cell therapy successfully heals a scarred and failing heart

A new study has shown that stem cells could heal scars caused by old heart attacks. In all eight patients who received the experimental treatment in an ongoing clinical trial this therapy worked. All of them had suffered heart attacks an average of 5 1/2 years prior; one of the patients had his heart attack 11 years earlier.

17 Mar 2011

Sports medicine physician suggests cardiac screening for young athletes requires augmentation of existing diagnostics to achieve greater accuracy, become cost-effective

Sports medicine physician Steve Watts says cardiac screening for young athletes is useful in preventing sudden cardiac death and suggests new diagnostics have the potential to add value and change the debate about the viability of cardiac screening for young athletes in the United States.

17 Mar 2011

Heart News and Research

Research roundup: Successful medical homes; shortage of HIV doctors; boosting use of $4 generic drugs

Deaths from heart attacks drop precipitously in Norway, reports NTNU researcher

Journal of Clinical Lipidology publishes LipoScience LDL particle study results against CVD

Removal of menthol cigarettes from marketplace would benefit public health in US: FDA

Researchers identify protein that triggers immune response in TB-infected people

Researchers discover process that regulates DNA maintenance

Tocopherol derivatives as new dioxin receptor antagonists

[UPDATE] Pediatric heart surgery unit of Royal Brompton faces closure

Quest Diagnostics enters definitive merger agreement to acquire Celera for $8 per share

Celera reports net revenue of $34.9 million for fourth quarter of 2010

Medicare officials signal no payment changes on anemia drugs

Science journal publishes CYTK preclinical cardiac myosin activation research results

U-M researcher endorses new concepts designed to improve kidney allocation

JHUSON adds Harvey the Cardiopulmonary Simulator to simulation education

Pilot study shows feasibility of heart screening for risk of SCA in children

Major clinical studies for heart disease, stroke fail to consider participant's ethnicity

Stem cell therapy can reduce heart size, scar tissue and improve function in cardiac patients

British pie, mash and gravy meals too salty: Heart health experts

Stem cell therapy successfully heals a scarred and failing heart

Sports medicine physician suggests cardiac screening for young athletes requires augmentation of existing diagnostics to achieve greater accuracy, become cost-effective

Industry Focus eBook - Cell biology (5th edition) eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Latest News