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Baylor Hamilton offers Arctic Front Cardiac CryoAblation Catheter system treatment for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation

Physicians at Baylor Jack and Jane Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital are the first in North Texas to offer the Arctic Front® Cardiac CryoAblation Catheter system, the first and only cryoballoon in the United States indicated to treat drug refractory recurrent symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF), a serious heart rhythm disorder that affects millions of Americans.

11 Jan 2011

Nutriceuticals may restore age-related vision loss

While age-related vision loss of catastrophic proportions is predicted in coming decades, rising from 17 million patients today to 55 million by the year 2050, it's possible this catastrophe could be averted and lost vision even restored using molecular medicine.

11 Jan 2011

nContact Surgical removes 'Surgical' from company name

nContact Surgical, Inc., a cardiac ablation device manufacturer, announced today that it is changing the name under which it operates from nContact Surgical, Inc. to nContact, Inc. As the pioneer of interdisciplinary epicardial and endocardial cardiac ablation, the change represents the Company's further evolution towards closed chest approaches to treating common cardiac arrhythmias.

10 Jan 2011

Miracor’s PICSO System may help advance heart failure treatment

Miracor Medical Systems GmbH announced today that its PICSO® (Pressure-controlled Intermittent Coronary Sinus Occlusion) System, designed to improve outcomes for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and heart failure patients, has been cited as a technology that "may advance heart failure (HF) treatment significantly".

10 Jan 2011

Carrots and plums for better looks!

Researchers at St Andrews and Bristol universities have found that carrots and plums could make one more attractive in just two months. They found that these fruits and vegetables contain pigments called carotenoids that color the skin within two months making a person more attractive and healthy.

9 Jan 2011

Vaccines for alcoholism and cocaine addiction coming soon

In a latest development, researchers from Chile have come up with a vaccine to cure alcoholics. It will help them kick the habit by creating a sensation of a terrible hangover after just a few drinks. The mechanism by which this vaccine acts is by neutralizing a group of enzymes that help the body to break down alcohol. When the enzymes aldehyde dehydrogenase is disabled the body accumulates the alcohol to create the hangovers after just a few drinks.

9 Jan 2011

Gigantism gene inherited by hundreds: Study

A gene that predicted gigantism in humans was identified in the DNA of the 18th-century man known as the Irish Giant, who was more than 7 feet 7 inches tall. Copies of the same mutation have been found in patients today who suffer from excessive growth, and scientists have concluded they all inherited the gene from a common ancestor.

9 Jan 2011

Sniffing women's tears reduces sexual arousal in men

Emotional crying is a universal, uniquely human behavior. When we cry, we clearly send all sorts of emotional signals. In a paper published online today in Science Express, scientists at the Weizmann Institute have demonstrated that some of these signals are chemically encoded in the tears themselves. Specifically, they found that merely sniffing a woman's tears - even when the crying woman is not present -- reduces sexual arousal in men.

7 Jan 2011

Critical Diagnostics' high sensitivity Presage ST2 Assay receives CE Mark approval

Critical Diagnostics announced today that it has received CE (Conformité Européenne) Mark for its high sensitivity Presage ST2 Assay and is commencing commercialization in Europe. The product is indicated for use as an aid in risk stratification of patients with heart failure or acute coronary syndrome. This regulatory milestone marks the first time that an assay has become commercially available for the clinical measurement of the biomarker soluble ST2.

7 Jan 2011

Research roundup: Accountable Care Organizations; Electronic health records; Medicaid and deficit reductions

Health Affairs: Accountable Care Organizations: Making Them Work - The January issue of the journal features several articles examining initiatives underway that could help form ACOs, such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts' "Alternative Quality Contract,"a modified global payment model in which annual payments to medical groups are linked to a per member per month budget.

7 Jan 2011

BG Medicine enters agreement to develop galectin-3 test for Siemens' automated immunoassay platforms

BG Medicine, Inc. announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Inc., a division of Siemens Healthcare, one of the world's largest suppliers of clinical diagnostics to the healthcare industry, for the development and commercialization of a galectin-3 test for Siemens' automated immunoassay platforms for clinical laboratories.

7 Jan 2011

IDSA releases MRSA treatment guidelines

Physicians now have help in their battle against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a potentially deadly infection that initially was limited to hospitals and health care facilities but has become a growing problem in healthy children and adults. The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) has released its first guidelines for the treatment of increasingly common MRSA infections.

7 Jan 2011

Regular blood test shows pre-diabetes risk factors, reduces treatment costs

A simpler form of testing individuals with risk factors for diabetes could improve diabetes prevention efforts by substantially increasing the number of individuals who complete testing and learn whether or not they are likely to develop diabetes.

7 Jan 2011

Poll shows strong support as Smoke-Free Kentucky Campaign launches today

Kentucky health advocates today released a new poll showing 59% of Kentucky voters support passing a law to make all restaurants, bars and other workplaces smoke-free. The release is part of the launch of Smoke-Free Kentucky's campaign to ensure that all Kentuckians have the right to breathe clean, smoke-free air in public places and at work.

7 Jan 2011

Study: Tβ4 can protect endothelial progenitor cells

RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, reported that a team of cardiovascular researchers in China have shown that Tβ4 can protect endothelial progenitor cells derived from the blood of healthy human volunteers.

7 Jan 2011

Isis Pharmaceuticals announces addition of two new drugs to development pipeline

Isis Pharmaceuticals, announced today that it has added two new drugs to its development pipeline, ISIS-FGFR4Rx and ISIS-STAT3Rx.

7 Jan 2011

22.5% implanted defibrillators are unnecessary: Study

According to a new study nearly 20% of American patients who receive an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) may not need it. These ICDs when unnecessary could put the patients at higher risk of death and serious complications than patients who meet the criteria for the life-saving device say authors of the study published in the Jan. 5 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

6 Jan 2011

Metabolon announces publication of 'Metabolomic Distinction and Insights into the Pathogenesis of Human Primary Dilated Cardiomyopathy'

Metabolon, the leader in metabolomics, biomarker discovery and analysis, announces the publication of "Metabolomic Distinction and Insights into the Pathogenesis of Human Primary Dilated Cardiomyopathy", in the European Journal of Clinical Investigation.

6 Jan 2011

Medical experts issue warning about common practice of tablet splitting

Medical experts have issued a warning about the common practice of tablet splitting, after a study found that nearly a third of the split fragments deviated from recommended dosages by 15 per cent or more.

6 Jan 2011

Pros and cons of weight loss surgery in men and women

Women who underwent gastric band surgery to lose weight reported significant improvements in urinary function and quality of life after the operation, according to research published in the January issue of the urology journal BJUI.

6 Jan 2011