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$Sildenafil does not help heart failure patients with preserved ejection fraction$

Sildenafil does not help heart failure patients with preserved ejection fraction

A commonly used erectile dysfunction drug, sildenafil, doesn't help patients who have heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, a condition in which the heart's lower chambers are stiff and cannot relax and fill fully between beats.

12 Mar 2013

Buphenyl may protect memory and prevent progression of Alzheimer's

Buphenyl, an FDA-approved medication for hyperammonemia, may protect memory and prevent the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

12 Mar 2013

Study identifies why prazosin may cause lightheadedness and fainting

A new study led by a Canadian research team has identified the reason why prazosin, a drug commonly used to reduce high blood pressure, may cause lightheadedness and possible fainting upon standing in patients with normal blood pressure who take the drug for other reasons, such as the treatment of PTSD and anxiety.

12 Mar 2013

Combining weight loss therapy and CPAP can help reduce blood pressure in OSA patients

Obesity and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) tend to co-exist and are associated with high blood pressure. The effects of weight loss and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), the standard therapy for OSA, on blood pressure have been previously studied individually, but the incremental benefit of combination therapy (weight loss and CPAP therapy) over either therapy alone in obese patients with OSA has been unknown.

12 Mar 2013

On and off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery equally safe, effective for older patients

Older patients did as well after undergoing coronary bypass surgery off-pump as they did with the more costly "on-pump" procedure using a heart-lung machine to circulate blood and oxygen through the body during surgery, according to research presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 62nd Annual Scientific Session.

12 Mar 2013

Heavy drinkers have more rapid acetate uptake and metabolism: Study

In addition to its well-known effects on the CNS, alcohol consumption has a significant impact on metabolism. After consumption, the body rapidly begins converting ethanol to acetate, which can serve as an energy source for the brain and other organs.

11 Mar 2013

Mummies provide important twist in understanding atherosclerotic vascular disease

Like nearly 4.6 million Americans, ancient hunter-gatherers also suffered from clogged arteries, revealing that the plaque build-up causing blood clots, heart attacks and strokes is not just a result of fatty diets or couch potato habits, according to new research in the journal The Lancet.

11 Mar 2013

Transfusion of older blood adversely affects patients undergoing cardiac surgery or critical care

Transfusion of donated blood more than three weeks old results in impaired blood vessel function, a new study of hospital patients shows.

11 Mar 2013

Identification of high-risk patients enables selective use of strategies to improve patient outcomes

A clinical decision support tool helped physicians identify patients at high risk of bleeding complications prior to undergoing a coronary intervention procedure and helped guide the use of bleeding avoidance strategies, leading to less complications and a shorter hospital stay, according to a study being presented March 10 at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions.

11 Mar 2013

New tool uses evidence-based care to improve quality of care for heart failure patients

Researchers at the Intermountain Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center have developed an innovative tool designed to eliminate 30-day hospital readmissions for heart failure patients and improve the quality of medical care a patient receives in the hospital.

11 Mar 2013

New immunoassay appears to be valid screening method for early detection of renal cell carcinoma

A new immunoassay that tests for the presence of three biomarkers appears to be a valid screening method for the early detection of malignant kidney cancer, according to data published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

11 Mar 2013

New study shows emotions affect health and wellness in low-income countries

Positive emotions are known to play a role in physical well-being, and stress is strongly linked to poor health, but is this strictly a "First World" phenomenon?

11 Mar 2013

Genetic mutation that alters PIEZO1 ion channel in RBCs contributes to familial xerocytosis

A genetic mutation that alters the kinetics of an ion channel in red blood cells has been identified as the cause behind a hereditary anemia, according to a paper published this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by University at Buffalo scientists and colleagues.

11 Mar 2013

Operating rooms, hospitals face challenges in eliminating risks, delivering high quality of care

USA Today reports that many hospitals have not adopted technologies that would help elminate the risk of leaving sponges in patients during surgery. Meanwhile, the Associated Press offers a list to help patients avoid problems in the hospital.

11 Mar 2013

Tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy can also be deadly when compounded by other co-morbidities

Even though a newly recognized cardiomyopathy, which mainly impacts women, is typically treatable, Tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy can also be deadly when compounded by other co-morbidities, such as heart failure, according to a study being presented March 9 at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Scientific Sessions.

11 Mar 2013

GLP1 medications appear to protect diabetic patients from heart failure

A class of medications commonly prescribed to lower blood sugar in diabetic patients appears to protect them from developing heart failure, according to a study at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

11 Mar 2013

Aarbepoetin alfa does not improve anemic heart failure patients' health

Researchers from Cleveland Clinic and Sweden-based Sahlgrenska University Hospital have found that a commonly used drug to treat anemia in heart failure patients -darbepoetin alfa - does not improve patients' health, nor does it reduce their risk of death from heart failure.

11 Mar 2013

Planar cell polarity genes control connectivity of enteric neurons

The enteric nervous system (ENS), the "little brain" that resides within the gut wall, governs motility, secretion, and blood flow in the human gastrointestinal tract. Failure of the ENS to develop normally leads to congenital megacolon (Hirschsprung Disease) while loss of normal gut innervation is thought to contribute to debilitating motility disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome.

11 Mar 2013

Inclacumab reduces damage to heart muscle during angioplasty

A single dose of an investigational anti-inflammatory drug called inclacumab considerably reduces damage to heart muscle during angioplasty (the opening of a blocked artery), according to a recent international clinical trial spearheaded by Dr. Jean-Claude Tardif, Director of the Research Centre at the Montreal Heart Institute, affiliated with the University of Montreal.

11 Mar 2013

New rapid laboratory test successful in identifying GBS colonization in pregnant women

A more rapid laboratory test for pregnant women to detect potentially deadly Group B strep (GBS) has been successful at identifying GBS colonization in six and a half hours, according to the results of a study from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

11 Mar 2013

Blood News and Research

Sildenafil does not help heart failure patients with preserved ejection fraction

Buphenyl may protect memory and prevent progression of Alzheimer's

Study identifies why prazosin may cause lightheadedness and fainting

Combining weight loss therapy and CPAP can help reduce blood pressure in OSA patients

On and off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery equally safe, effective for older patients

Heavy drinkers have more rapid acetate uptake and metabolism: Study

Mummies provide important twist in understanding atherosclerotic vascular disease

Transfusion of older blood adversely affects patients undergoing cardiac surgery or critical care

Identification of high-risk patients enables selective use of strategies to improve patient outcomes

New tool uses evidence-based care to improve quality of care for heart failure patients

New immunoassay appears to be valid screening method for early detection of renal cell carcinoma

New study shows emotions affect health and wellness in low-income countries

Genetic mutation that alters PIEZO1 ion channel in RBCs contributes to familial xerocytosis

Operating rooms, hospitals face challenges in eliminating risks, delivering high quality of care

Tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy can also be deadly when compounded by other co-morbidities

GLP1 medications appear to protect diabetic patients from heart failure

Aarbepoetin alfa does not improve anemic heart failure patients' health

Planar cell polarity genes control connectivity of enteric neurons

Inclacumab reduces damage to heart muscle during angioplasty

New rapid laboratory test successful in identifying GBS colonization in pregnant women

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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