Contractions News and Research

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Study: Compression stockings may improve OSA in patients with chronic venous insufficiency

Wearing compression stockings may be a simple low-tech way to improve obstructive sleep apnea in patients with chronic venous insufficiency, according to French researchers.

4 Aug 2011

New LEAP technique can restore heart rhythm in patients with atrial fibrillation

A high-amplitude, and often painful, electrical shock is the only currently available method for treating certain cases of chronic cardiac arrhythmia. But now a new technique using much weaker impulses has been developed by an international team of physicists and cardiologists, including Alain Pumir, CNRS researcher at the ENS Lyon physics laboratory.

28 Jul 2011

Rats, fish oil and beetroot juice could lead to health breakthroughs for aging populations

Though rats, fish oil and beetroot juice read like ingredients in a witch's brew, to a Kansas State University research team, information from this combination could lead to health breakthroughs for aging populations and people suffering from heart failure and diabetes.

22 Jul 2011

Elite task force provides insights and guidance on deep brain stimulation for dystonia

Neurologist Michele Tagliati, MD, director of the Movement Disorders Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, served on an elite international task force commissioned by the Movement Disorder Society to provide insights and guidance on deep brain stimulation for dystonia, an uncommon condition that causes sustained, sometimes crippling muscle contractions.

22 Jul 2011

Caffeine reduces women's chances of becoming pregnant

Caffeine reduces muscle activity in the Fallopian tubes that carry eggs from a woman's ovaries to her womb. "Our experiments were conducted in mice, but this finding goes a long way towards explaining why drinking caffeinated drinks can reduce a woman's chance of becoming pregnant," says Sean Ward, professor of physiology and cell biology, at the University of Nevada School of Medicine, who conducted the study.

21 Jul 2011

Researchers identify gene linked to muscle endurance

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have identified a gene for endurance, or more precisely, a negative regulator of it.

19 Jul 2011

Scientists analyze structural changes in calcium channels caused by Timothy-mutation

The human genome encodes 243 voltage-gated ion channels. Mutations in calcium channels can cause severe inherited diseases such as migraine, night blindness, autism spectrum disorders and Timothy syndrome, which leads to severe cardiovascular disorders.

15 Jul 2011

Oxytocin does not boost prospects for normal births

A new Cochrane review says that oxytocin, a medication often used to quicken slow-paced labor in its early stages, doesn't boost the prospects for normal births. Riskier births that required cesarean section or the use of forceps didn't become less common.

15 Jul 2011

Redefinition of cardiac hypertrophy term needed

The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Working Group on Myocardial Function is calling for a redefinition of the term cardiac hypertrophy which is currently used to describe changes to the morphology (structure) of the heart. Instead the position paper, published online today in the European Journal of Heart Failure, suggests that use of the general term myocardial remodelling should be preferred.

27 Jun 2011

Unprescribed methods to bring on labor may not be effective

More than half of the women in a recently published survey reported that near the end of their pregnancies, they took it upon themselves to try to induce labor, mostly by walking, having sex, eating spicy food or stimulating their nipples.

17 Jun 2011

Key heart failure therapies could prevent nearly 68,000 deaths each year

A national study has found that nearly 68,000 deaths potentially could be prevented each year by optimally implementing key national guideline-recommended therapies, including critical medications and cardiac devices, for all eligible heart failure patients.

7 Jun 2011

Caffeine reduces muscle activity in Fallopian tubes

Caffeine reduces muscle activity in the Fallopian tubes that carry eggs from a woman's ovaries to her womb. "Our experiments were conducted in mice, but this finding goes a long way towards explaining why drinking caffeinated drinks can reduce a woman's chance of becoming pregnant," says Professor Sean Ward from the University of Nevada School of Medicine, Reno, USA. Ward's study is published today in the British Journal of Pharmacology

24 May 2011

Positive results from Astellas Pharma's mirabegron phase III trial in overactive bladder

Astellas Pharma US, Inc., U.S. subsidiary of Astellas Pharma Inc., today announced the results of a pivotal phase III clinical trial for mirabegron, the first of a new class of compounds under development for the treatment of overactive bladder (OAB), which show mirabegron significantly improves key OAB symptoms – urinary incontinence and frequency of micturition compared with placebo.

18 May 2011

Adherence to guideline-related therapies can reduce heart failure patients' mortality rate

A UCLA-led study has found that adherence to national guideline-recommended therapies for heart failure in an outpatient practice setting significantly lowered the mortality rate of heart failure patients.

5 Apr 2011

Pelvic arterial embolization therapy effective treatment for postpartum hemorrhage

Pelvic arterial embolization or PAE, a minimally invasive, life-saving therapy, is a safe and effective treatment for postpartum hemorrhage, say researchers at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 36th Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago, Ill.

30 Mar 2011

Patients with dystonia can benefit from deep brain stimulation therapy

Patients suffering from dystonia, an uncommon yet potentially crippling movement disorder, get better results if they begin deep brain stimulation therapy sooner rather than later, according to an international study published in the March issue of the Journal of Neurology.

30 Mar 2011

FDA approves Medtronic's Consulta and Syncra pacemaker systems

Medtronic, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration has approved its Consulta and Syncra cardiac resynchronization therapy-pacemaker systems.

25 Mar 2011

Telecommunication engineer creates new child arrhythmias database

Ventricular Fibrillation is a series of intense and disordered contractions of the ventricles. In 40 % of respiratory arrests suffered outside a hospital, it was shown that the first cardiac rhythm corresponds to VF, and the only manner to combat it is with electric discharges provided by defibrillation.

22 Mar 2011

Innovative algorithm for AEDs distinguishes betweeen adult and child arrhythmias

Ventricular Fibrillation (VF) is a series of intense and disordered contractions of the ventricles (they are located in the lower part of the heart). In 40 % of respiratory arrests suffered outside a hospital, it was shown that the first cardiac rhythm corresponds to VF, and the only manner to combat it is with electric discharges provided by defibrillation. This

21 Mar 2011

eToims launches new program with leading football franchise to improve athletic therapy

eToims Medical Technology has announced an innovative Sports Development Program with a leading UK football franchise to refine and improve athletic therapy and conditioning.

15 Mar 2011