Capillaries News and Research

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Plasma plays a crucial part in determining how blood flows

Blood flows differently than water. Anyone who has ever cut themselves knows that blood flows viscously and rather erratically. The similarity between blood and ketchup is something not only filmmakers are aware of. Experts refer to these materials as "non-Newtonian fluids," of which ketchup and blood are prime examples.

20 Feb 2013

Blood vessels play an important role in preventing spread of tumour cells

A lack of the protein endoglin in the blood vessels of tumour-bearing mice enables the spread of daughter tumours, according to researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Lund University in Sweden in a study published in the scientific periodical The Journal of Experimental Medicine. Given that the tumour vasculature constitutes an important barrier to the spread of cancer cells, the team suggests that drugs should be developed to strengthen the blood vessels' protective function.

12 Feb 2013

Drug-carrying nanoparticles have another hurdle to overcome - escaping the bloodstream

Many medically minded researchers are in hot pursuit of designs that will allow drug-carrying nanoparticles to navigate tissues and the interiors of cells, but University of Michigan engineers have discovered that these particles have another hurdle to overcome: escaping the bloodstream.

7 Feb 2013

Umbilical cord stem cell therapy shows promise in infant BPD

Researchers have successfully used human umbilical cord stem cells to partially prevent damage and restore lung structure and function in an experimental animal model of bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

19 Dec 2012

Apophysomyces fungus kills 5 people following a massive Joplin tornado

A fast growing, flesh-eating fungus killed 5 people following a massive tornado that devastated Joplin, Mo., according to two new studies based on genomic sequencing by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

16 Dec 2012

Brain microhemorrhages more common among high altitude cerebral edema survivors

New magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) research shows that mountain climbers who experience a certain type of high altitude sickness have traces of bleeding in the brain years after the initial incident, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

28 Nov 2012

Omron launches continuous Strapless Heart Rate Monitor

Today Omron Healthcare, Inc., a leader in personal wellness products, launched its first-ever, continuous Strapless Heart Rate Monitor (HR-500U). Exercise enthusiasts can now take their workout to the next level comfortably without an annoying chest strap. Easy to use, the monitor is worn on the wrist and provides accurate, continuous monitoring.

15 Nov 2012

WU researchers to study blood-clotting disorders

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have received a $9 million grant to investigate blood-clotting disorders. From heart attacks and strokes to uncontrolled bleeding, clotting disorders cause more deaths each year in the United States than all types of cancer combined.

7 Nov 2012

Targeted deletion of major VEGF gene in mice induces vision loss

Millions of people with "wet" macular degeneration are prescribed a class of medication known as anti-VEGF drugs. But now scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found that a drastic reduction of VEGF activity may do more harm than good.

26 Oct 2012

Sickle cell disease treatments: An interview with Dr Niihara, CEO of Emmaus Medical

Sickle cell disease is a devastating hereditary condition that affects millions of people, particularly those in West and Central Africa as well as people of African descent in the United States, Europe and South America.

23 Oct 2012

Researchers identify painful symptoms of sickle cell disease

Researchers at Drexel University have identified the physical forces in red blood cells and blood vessels underlying the painful symptoms of sickle cell disease.

18 Oct 2012

Novel neuroimaging technique reveals evidence of cocaine-induced cerebral microischemia

Researchers from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Stony Brook University have developed a high-resolution, 3D optical Doppler imaging tomography technique that captures the effects of cocaine restricting the blood supply in vessels - including small capillaries - of the brain.

11 Oct 2012

New strategy will have positive impact on people with brain disorders

New research offers a possible strategy for treating central nervous system diseases, such as brain and spinal cord injury, brain cancer, epilepsy, and neurological complications of HIV. The experimental treatment method allows small therapeutic agents to safely cross the blood-brain barrier in laboratory rats by turning off P-glycoprotein, one of the main gatekeepers preventing medicinal drugs from reaching their intended targets in the brain.

10 Sep 2012

Scientists identify specific role of RESA protein in modulating blood circulation

When the parasite responsible for malaria infects human red blood cells, it launches a 48-hour remodeling of the host cells. During the first 24 hours of this cycle, a protein called RESA undertakes the first step of renovation: enhancing the stiffness of the cell membranes.

31 Aug 2012

Treating Sickle Cell Disease with L-Glutamine

By focusing on how best to help patients, researchers can sometimes find solutions that are much simpler than anticipated. That has been the guiding approach to our efforts to develop a treatment for sickle cell disease.

3 Jul 2012

Researchers design microparticles that can deliver oxygen quickly into the bloodstream

Patients unable to breathe because of acute lung failure or an obstructed airway need another way to get oxygen to their blood—and fast—to avoid cardiac arrest and brain injury. A team led by researchers at Boston Children's Hospital has designed tiny, gas-filled microparticles that can be injected directly into the bloodstream to quickly oxygenate the blood.

28 Jun 2012

Researchers create endothelial cells with blood-brain barrier qualities

The blood-brain barrier -- the filter that governs what can and cannot come into contact with the mammalian brain -- is a marvel of nature. It effectively separates circulating blood from the fluid that bathes the brain, and it keeps out bacteria, viruses and other agents that could damage it.

25 Jun 2012

Nrf2-KEAP1 protein may play a role in diabetic retinopathy

A Wayne State University researcher believes a protein that fails to reach the nucleus of retinal cells may play a role in causing eye disease in people with diabetes.

8 Jun 2012

Formation of blood vessels in tumors attacked from two angles

As soon as they have grown to pinhead size, tumors rely on the formation of new blood vessels - a process which is scientifically called angiogenesis. Interfering with this process (antiangiogenesis) is considered to be a promising approach in cancer medicine. However, those drugs that are already available for preventing the sprouting of new blood capillaries have failed to fulfill the high expectations placed on them.

1 Jun 2012

IntegenX to accelerate commercialization of human DNA identification system with SV acquisition

IntegenX Inc., a privately held company that is a leader in the emerging field of rapid human DNA identification, today announced that it has acquired SV Corp, a wholly owned subsidiary of GE Healthcare Bio-Sciences. IntegenX will leverage SV Corp's products and intellectual property assets to expand its consumables offering and to accelerate the commercialization of its RapidHIT 200 Human DNA Identification System.

23 Apr 2012