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.

Scientists have uncovered a new method the immune system uses to label foreign invaders as targets to be attacked

Researchers showed that the immune system can brand foreign proteins by chemically modifying their structure, and that these modifications increased the chances that cells known as lymphocytes would recognize the trespassers and attack them.

17 May 2005

Engineers have found a way to modify a plastic to anchor molecules that promote nerve regeneration, blood vessel growth or other biological processes

In the study led by Dr. Christine Schmidt, the researchers identified a piece of protein from among a billion candidates that could perform the unusual feat of attaching to polypyrrole, a synthetic polymer (plastic) that conducts electricity and has shown promise in biomedical applications.

17 May 2005

Bevacizumab (Avastin) combined with low-dose chemotherapy slows ovarian cancer

A targeted cancer drug given with low-dose chemotherapy shrank ovarian tumors and slowed progression of ovarian cancer in patients with recurrent disease, according to research findings presented by Agustin Garcia, M.D., principal investigator of the study and Director of Breast Cancer Research at the Women's Cancer Research Institute at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

16 May 2005

Counting number of endothelial cells in blood may predict cancer treatment's effectiveness

Counting the amount of a type of normal cell circulating in the blood of people with cancer could predict whether a tumor progresses or responds to therapy, a new study led by the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center has found. The finding could give doctors an early indication of whether a treatment will be successful, sparing patients months of an ineffective therapy.

15 May 2005

MicroVention awarded key patent for Smart Hydrogel

MicroVention announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has awarded the company U.S. Patent No. 6,878,384 for its proprietary environmentally-responsive or "smart" hydrogel called Intelligel.

11 May 2005

Bionomics files key U.S. patents relating to cancer drug target BNO69

Bionomics Limited announced today that it has filed further patent applications in key markets (including the US) relating to its proprietary cancer drug target BNO69.

9 May 2005

Nutritious cranberries good for the heart as well

Researchers say that cranberries improve the health of pigs’ hearts and may do the same for humans.

8 May 2005

Survey of ED doctors shows team-based stroke care, risk-reducing measures, needed to increase use of tPA

Forty percent of emergency physicians say they're unlikely to give stroke patients the only FDA-approved drug shown to improve their prognosis, even in an ideal setting, mostly because of the fear of causing brain bleeding.

5 May 2005

Cranberries good for the heart

Compounds that occur naturally in cranberries may be good for the heart, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have found.

5 May 2005

Specific variants of genes predict bleeding after heart surgery

Duke University Medical Center researchers have found that the presence of specific variants of genes that control clotting and the contractility, or "tone," of blood vessels can double the ability of physicians to predict those heart surgery patients at greatest risk of bleeding after surgery.

4 May 2005

Research suggests potential new strategies for fighting age-related vascular disease

Declining function of cells that help repair the inner lining of blood vessels, known as endothelial progenitor cells, rather than a dwindling supply of the cells, may underlie the increased risk of atherosclerosis and other vascular diseases as people grow older, according to a new study (PDF) in the May 3, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

4 May 2005

Critical lock and key mechanism found for the assembly of tumor blood vessels

A critical lock and key mechanism that allows the final step in the completion of new blood vessel formation has been identified by a University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine team in research that promises to lead to a new way to halt tumor growth by cutting off the tumor blood supply.

3 May 2005

Scientists dramatically slow organ transplant rejection

That's the promising implication of an animal study carried out by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the University of Florida (UF) published in today's (May 2) issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

3 May 2005

Little known enzyme ACAT2 appears to be a factor in cardiovascular disease

New research suggests that a little-studied enzyme ACAT2, may play a major role in cardiovascular disease because it alters the molecular structure of cholesterol.

2 May 2005

Ginkgo beneficial for multiple sclerosis symptoms

When it comes to her health, Janice Winfield of Portland, Ore., does her research. That's why the stay-at-home mom, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in July 2000, was willing to turn to popular, over-the-counter herbal supplements like ginkgo biloba to deal with memory problems, fatigue and occasional muscle pain.

27 Apr 2005

Risk scores identify young people with hardened arteries

Armed with more knowledge about what cardiovascular disease looks like in people ages 15 to 34, co-authors from the University of Texas Health Science Center, the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research and institutions in Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania and Louisiana will report...

27 Apr 2005

National clinical trial examines new option for kidney cancer patients

The trial, which opened last September, offers research subjects who qualify a new, targeted therapy in addition to standard immune therapy. The drug combination is being studied in a national Phase II clinical trial led by OHSU Cancer Institute researcher Christopher Ryan, M.D., through the Southwest Oncology Group, one of the largest clinical trial cooperative groups in the United States.

27 Apr 2005

Angiogenesis : Blocking tumor growth and treating infarction - a new target

Our tissues are able to form new blood vessels throughout life. This mechanism, which is called angiogenesis, is essential notably in the case of myocardial infarction, stroke and limb ischemia. The very same mechanism, however, keeps tumors supplied with nutrients and oxygen thus enabling them to continue growing.

27 Apr 2005

Obesity and insulin resistance fuels cardiovascular risk factors in teens

Obesity and insulin resistance are a menacing tag team that fuels cardiovascular risk factors in teens, according to a study reported in an obesity-themed issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

23 Apr 2005

Drinking wine or beer has same result: higher blood pressure

Whether the drink of choice is a frosty beer or a full-bodied red wine, the effect is the same – higher blood pressure, according to research reported in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.

23 Apr 2005