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Adding estradiol to a polymer-free rapamycin-eluting stent is not associated with any measurable benefit

Patients admitted to the hospital with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) are often treated with a catheter-based procedure known as percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), during which a stent is inserted into an occluded or narrowed coronary artery to restore blood flow to and from the heart.

2 Apr 2007

Xenotransplantation - what are the barriers?

Given the huge shortage of donor organs, researchers have been trying to find ways to transplant animal organs across different species (known as "xenotransplantation"), with the eventual aim of transplanting animal organs into humans.

2 Apr 2007

Synthetic molecule helps detect heart attack in the making

A new bright spot in heart disease research may soon allow physicians to peer directly into patients' blood vessels and find dangerous cholesterol-filled plaques before they rupture and cause a heart attack.

2 Apr 2007

New system to speed critical care to acute heart attack patients

Mayo Clinic has designed a new system to speed critical care to acute heart attack patients that dramatically reduces the time that elapses before patients undergo a life-saving procedure -- by as much as 45 percent in some cases.

2 Apr 2007

Major step forward for islet transplantation in diabetes patient

Living Cell Technologies Limited has announced it has published evidence outlining the survival and identification of live porcine islet cells and insulin production in a human patient 10 years after receiving a pig islet cell transplant.

2 Apr 2007

Immunity to cancer stem cells may help protect people with a precancerous condition from developing the full-blown disease

Although stem cells hold incredible promise in the fight against certain diseases, in cancer they're anything but helpful. In fact, mounting evidence is showing that a tumor's growth and spread may depend on "cancer stem cells," which comprise only a very small subset of the tumor.

2 Apr 2007

African Americans may be at higher risk of heart failure because of racial variations in heart muscle's pumping ability

Scientists have known for nearly a decade that African Americans have higher rates of hospitalization for heart failure than other major U.S. racial or ethnic groups, but until now they have had limited information other than socio-economic and demographic characteristics to explain why this is so.

2 Apr 2007

Hot flashes in women linked to high blood pressure

Women who get hot flashes have higher blood pressure than those who don't, according to a new study led by Weill Cornell Medical College.

2 Apr 2007

Ultrasound and blood tests screen high-risk pregnant mothers for placental damage

If the placenta is not functioning properly it could be a potential danger to the health of the mother and fetus. Abnormalities can lead to conditions such as preeclampsia, which is maternal high blood pressure, stillbirth or the need for a pre-term delivery.

2 Apr 2007

Excessive weight gain during pregnancy directly associated with having an overweight child

Pregnant women who gain excessive or even appropriate weight, according to current guidelines, are four times more likely than women who gain inadequate weight to have a baby who becomes overweight in early childhood.

2 Apr 2007

California Senate Committee approves bill that would allow HIV-positive men to have sperm washed

The California Senate Health Committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to approve a bill (SB 443) that would allow HIV-positive men to have their sperm washed and used for fertility treatments, including artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization, under certain guidelines, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

2 Apr 2007

Scientists uncover bacterial cloaking

Scientists have uncovered the workings of a method bacteria responsible for diseases such as meningitis and blood disorders use to hide from the body's immune system.

2 Apr 2007

New target for removing unwanted ammonia from the body

Thousands of people with liver and kidney disease die every year from too much ammonia in their blood, and scientists from the United States and Japan have found a possible solution.

2 Apr 2007

Total sleep time affects morning testosterone levels

The testosterone levels of healthy men decline as they get older. As sleep quality and quantity typically decrease with age, objectively measured differences in the amount of sleep a healthy older man gets can affect his level of testosterone in the morning, according to a study published in the April 1st issue of the journal SLEEP.

2 Apr 2007

Regenerative medicine project taps into human stem cells

Researchers at the McKnight Brain Institute of the University of Florida have initiated a project to treat human brain and other diseases by plundering the secrets of regeneration from creatures with remarkable powers of self-renewal, such as salamanders, newts, starfish and flatworms.

2 Apr 2007

Scientists create small molecules to probe proteins deep inside cell membrane

Proteins, which form much of the molecular machinery required for life, are the targets of most drug molecules.

2 Apr 2007

Estrogen improves host response after traumatic injury

Researchers have identified the receptor pathway used by estrogen to decrease liver injury after trauma and hemorrhage.

2 Apr 2007

Health problems accumulate and take heavy toll on seniors

In the later years of life, chronic diseases and other health problems tend to accumulate and negatively affect an individual's health, according to reports published in the latest issue of The Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences.

2 Apr 2007

Performing x-rays using iodine dye increases risk for kidney failure

Performing x-rays using iodine dye places patients with impaired kidney function at increased risk for kidney failure. Known as Contrast-Induced Nephropathy (ne-FROPP-a- thee) or ''CIN,'' this complication is the third most common cause of hospital-acquired kidney failure in the United States and Europe, accounting for 10-12 percent of all such cases.

1 Apr 2007

Diabetes and high blood pressure play a much greater role heart failure

Diabetes and high blood pressure, two conditions rooted in genetics and environmental surroundings, play a much greater role than race alone in determining who is mostly likely to develop heart failure, according to the latest study from cardiologists at Johns Hopkins.

1 Apr 2007