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Scientists receive March of Dimes grant for preterm birth research

With the help of funding from the March of Dimes, scientists will study whether low doses of inhaled carbon monoxide may prevent inflammation that triggers preterm labor, analyze the role genes play in causing preterm delivery, and develop blood tests to help identify women at risk of preterm delivery.

8 Mar 2011

Free radicals make the heart to beat with the correct force

Fear of free radicals may be exaggerated, according to scientists from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet. A new study, published in the Journal of Physiology, shows that free radicals act as signal substances that cause the heart to beat with the correct force.

28 Feb 2011

New study: Free radicals play a key role in heart physiology

Fear of free radicals may be exaggerated, according to scientists from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet. A new study, published in The Journal of Physiology, shows that free radicals act as signal substances that cause the heart to beat with the correct force.

28 Feb 2011

Scientists identify new cellular mechanism underlying hydronephrosis

One of the most common congenital defects in humans - it is detected in approximately 0.5% of fetuses analyzed by routine antenatal sonography - is a kidney abnormality known as hydronephrosis. Hydronephrosis arises because the flow of urine from the kidney to the bladder is impeded.

21 Feb 2011

Study: Heart rate turbulence is linked with increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease

Abnormal heart rate turbulence is associated with an increased risk of heart disease death in otherwise low-risk older individuals, according to a study funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health.

15 Feb 2011

Scientists generate beating heart cells from skin cells of young patients with severe genetic heart defect

Using skin cells from young patients who have a severe genetic heart defect, Stanford University School of Medicine scientists have generated beating heart cells that carry the same genetic mutation. The newly created human heart cells - cardiomyocytes - allowed the researchers for the first time to examine and characterize the disorder at the cellular level.

10 Feb 2011

Mysteries of the hibernating heart

Hibernating, it turns out, is much more complicated than one might think.

8 Feb 2011

Merz introduces new educational website for patients with focal dystonias

In support of the focal dystonia community, Merz Pharmaceuticals today announced the launch of a new educational website, FocalDystoniaExchange.com, where people affected by certain focal dystonias, as well as caregivers, family and friends, can learn more about the conditions and access helpful resources. For people who suffer from focal dystonias, completing simple, everyday tasks can be a difficult and challenging process.

3 Feb 2011

DNA sequence variations linked with heart's electrical rhythm in several surprising regions

A study among almost 50,000 people worldwide has identified DNA sequence variations linked with the heart's electrical rhythm in several surprising regions among 22 locations across the human genome. The variants were found by an international consortium, including Johns Hopkins researchers, and reported Nov. 14 in the Nature Genetics advance online publication.

21 Dec 2010

CRT therapy is cost-effective for symptomatic heart failure patients: REVERSE trial

Medtronic, Inc. announced findings from an economic sub-study of the REVERSE (Resynchronization Reverses Remodeling in Systolic Left Ventricular Dysfunction) trial published in the European Heart Journal demonstrating for the first time that cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is cost-effective in mildly symptomatic heart failure (HF) patients.

3 Dec 2010

Active management of third stage of labour leads to less blood loss

Active management of the third stage of labour means that women lose less blood than with a more expectant approach, reveals a thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, in conjunction with Sahlgrenska University Hospital.

17 Nov 2010

RNA-based drugs may prevent premature birth: Research

Tiny molecules called microRNAs act together with hormones to control the onset of labor, raising the prospect that RNA-based drugs might be able to prevent premature labor, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered in a preclinical study.

15 Nov 2010

Scientists uncover DNA sequence variations associated with cardiac electrical activity

Scientists studying genetic data from nearly 50,000 people have uncovered several DNA sequence variations associated with the electrical impulses that make the heart beat. The findings, reported in Nature Genetics, may pave the way for a greater understanding of the mechanisms for abnormal heart rhythms and sudden cardiac death.

15 Nov 2010

New report highlights effectiveness of bed rest for pregnant women

Despite lack of evidence about bed rest's effectiveness, doctors annually prescribe it for roughly 1 million pregnant women to delay preterm births. Judith Maloni, professor at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University, said a comprehensive review of more than 70 evidence-based research articles challenges whether this is healthy for mothers or their babies.

12 Nov 2010

Bed rest may not delay preterm births, says Frances Payne professor

Despite lack of evidence about bed rest's effectiveness, doctors annually prescribe it for roughly 1 million pregnant women to delay preterm births.

11 Nov 2010

Coherex achieves two milestones in structural heart disease field

In honor of World Stroke Day (October 29, 2010), Coherex Medical, Inc. today announced it has achieved two milestones that further strengthen its position as an emerging medical device company in the field of structural heart disease.

29 Oct 2010

Anticoagulant Pradaxa receives FDA approval for prevention of stroke in atrial fibrillation patients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Pradaxa capsules (dabigatran etexilate) for the prevention of stroke and blood clots in patients with abnormal heart rhythm (atrial fibrillation).

20 Oct 2010

Study: Women's labor experience tied to ethnicity and genetics

Results from a clinical study presented at ANESTHESIOLOGY 2010 suggest that a women's labor experience is tied to her ethnicity as well as genetics.

19 Oct 2010

Optogenetics helps to restore optimal movement in people with physical disabilities

Researchers at Stanford University were able to use light to induce normal patterns of muscle contraction, in a study involving bioengineered mice whose nerve-cell surfaces are coated with special light-sensitive proteins.

28 Sep 2010

Protein zyxin necessary for maintenance and repair of cell's cytoskeleton

Researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah have discovered that a protein, zyxin, is necessary for the maintenance and repair of the cell's cytoskeleton, or internal framework, which serves as the muscle and bone of the cell. The research has implications for cancer, as well as other diseases, since alterations in the cytoskeleton are often associated with disease. The research was published in the Sep. 14, 2010, issue of the journal Developmental Cell.

22 Sep 2010