Blood Vessels News and Research

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Single engineered protein blocks two related angiogenic receptors

Cancer needs blood. In fact, some cancer medications work solely to slow or prevent cancer cells from creating new capillaries, choking off their much-needed blood and nutrient supply to halt the growth of tumors.

12 Aug 2011

Women with depression at higher risk of stroke

A new study published this week shows that depression puts middle-aged and older women at significant risk of suffering potentially debilitating strokes.

12 Aug 2011

Anticoagulation service improves quality of care for patients treated with warfarin

A pharmacist-directed anticoagulation service improves the coordination of care from the hospital to an outpatient clinic for patients treated with the anticoagulant drug warfarin, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study.

11 Aug 2011

Study: AAKG supplementation has no significant impact on increased blood flow

A Baylor University study has found that a popular nutritional supplement that is marketed to lead to greater muscle strength through increasing blood flow to the muscle does not increase blood flow as claimed on the bottle.

11 Aug 2011

New treatment uses lasers to stimulate stem cells and reduce heart scarring

After a heart attack or stroke, heart scarring can lead to dangerously paper-thin heart walls and a decreased ability to pump blood through the body. Although the heart is unable to completely heal itself, a new treatment developed at Tel Aviv University uses laser-treated bone marrow stem cells to help restore heart function and health.

11 Aug 2011

Even minor weight loss can improve men’s sex lives: Study

The team of Australian researchers placed 31 obese men with type 2 diabetes on either a meal replacement-based low-calorie diet or a low-fat, high-protein, reduced-carbohydrate diet meant to decrease calorie intake by 600 calories a day. A modest weight loss of 5 percent led to an easing of erectile dysfunction and improved sexual desire within eight weeks, and these improvements continued for 12 months, according to the study published Aug. 5 in The Journal of Sexual Medicine. Problems with urinary tract function also improved, the team added.

8 Aug 2011

Head and neck melanoma patients can benefit from sentinel lymph node biopsy

A common technique for determining whether melanoma has spread can be used safely and effectively even in tumors from the head and neck area, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

6 Aug 2011

Dermatologist discusses common skin conditions that affect people of color at AAD 2011 meeting

The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that by the year 2050, more than half the U.S. population will have skin of color. Recognizing this trend, dermatologists are educating the public about the different ways that common skin conditions appear in various skin tones.

5 Aug 2011

Roadmap to overcome obstacles for using induced pluripotent stem cells

The possibility of developing stem cells from a patient's own skin and using them to treat conditions as diverse as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and cancer has generated tremendous excitement in the stem cell research community in recent years. Such therapies would avoid the controversial need for using stem cells derived from human embryos, and in theory, also bypass immunological problems inherent in using cells from one person to treat another.

5 Aug 2011

Vampire bats can smell blood-rich prey: Study

In the labs of University of California, San Francisco and from the wilds of Venezuela scientists have discovered how vampire bats have evolved over the years with a unique weapon that enables them to zero in for a ravenous feed on the warmest blood vessels of their prey.

4 Aug 2011

New method of delivering growth factors could lead to revolutionary heart treatment

Ever since the Nobel Prize for nerve growth factor was awarded more than 30 years ago, researchers have been searching for ways to use growth factor clinically.

3 Aug 2011

Conference to focus on connection between fluid balance and hypertension

Each day we consume liquids in order to keep hydrated and maintain our body's fluid balance. But just as a water balloon can get overtaxed by too much liquid, the human body is negatively affected when it retains fluids because it is unable to eliminate them properly. One of the key variables influencing how much fluid we hold in our bodies is ordinary table salt.

3 Aug 2011

Hydrogen sulfide protects blood vessels from diabetes complications

Hydrogen sulfide is a foul-smelling gas with an odor resembling that of rotten eggs. Sometimes called "swamp gas," this toxic substance is generally associated with decaying vegetation, sewers and noxious industrial emissions. And - as odd as it may seem - it also plays a critical role in protecting blood vessels from the complications of diabetes, according to a new study from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.

3 Aug 2011

Novel therapy reduces elevated blood levels of toxic protein in women with preeclampsia

A novel therapy that reduces elevated blood levels of a potentially toxic protein in women with preeclampsia, a dangerous complication of pregnancy, may someday address the therapeutic dilemma posed by the condition - balancing life-threatening risks to the mother with the dangers that early delivery poses to an immature fetus.

3 Aug 2011

New endoscopic OCT system enables 3-D imaging of esophagus, colon cancers

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a new imaging system that enables high-speed, three-dimensional (3-D) imaging of microscopic pre-cancerous changes in the esophagus or colon.

2 Aug 2011

Intensive glycaemic control may negatively affect a person's quality of life

Research published in The Cochrane Library found that the risk of death and cardiovascular disease, such as stroke, was unchanged whether glucose control was intense or conventional.

1 Aug 2011

Study shows fall in blood pressure during dialysis for patients increases risk of blood clotting

A sudden drop in blood pressure while undergoing dialysis has long vexed many kidney patients. Side effects associated with this situation over the long term range from stroke to seizure to heart damage to death.

30 Jul 2011

Researchers awarded $12M to study pathology of severe lung injury

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have been awarded more than $11.7 million to study the pathology of severe lung injury.

30 Jul 2011

'Systems biology' study of breast cancer

Using a "systems biology" approach - which focuses on understanding the complex relationships between biological systems - to look under the hood of an aggressive form of breast cancer, researchers for the first time have identified a set of proteins in the blood that change in abundance long before the cancer is clinically detectable.

29 Jul 2011

Antioxidants may help treat infertility problems in both women and men

A growing body of evidence suggests that antioxidants may have significant value in addressing infertility issues in both women and men, including erectile dysfunction, and researchers say that large, specific clinical studies are merited to determine how much they could help.

29 Jul 2011