Blood Vessels News and Research

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Improving understanding of cell behaviour in breast cancer

The invasion and spread of cancer cells to other parts of the body, known as metastasis, is a principal cause of death in patients diagnosed with breast cancer. Although patients with early stage, small, breast tumours have an excellent short term prognosis, more than 15 to 20 per cent of them will eventually develop distant metastases, and die from the disease. Vascular invasion - through lymphatic and blood vessels - is the major route for cancer spreading to regional lymph nodes and to the rest of the body.

15 Jul 2008

FA imaging, invented at U-M, measures metabolic stress in retina - serves as early warning of diabetes

A new vision screening device, already shown to give an early warning of eye disease, could give doctors and patients a head start on treating diabetes and its vision complications, a new study shows.

14 Jul 2008

Novel approach shows potential to become an emergency treatment for heart attack patients

Researchers at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia have manipulated cell activity that occurs during the interruption of blood flow to strongly protect heart tissue in animal studies. The finding has the potential to become an emergency treatment for heart attack patients, particularly since already existing drugs might be pressed into service to produce the protective effects.

10 Jul 2008

Scientists reveal potential new target for anti-malarial drugs

Scientists funded by the Wellcome Trust have identified a key mechanism that enables malaria-infected red blood cells to stick to the walls of blood vessels and avoid being destroyed by the body's immune system. The research, published today in the journal Cell, highlights an important potential new target for anti-malarial drugs.

10 Jul 2008

Combining medical knowledge to save lives

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the biggest killer among chronic diseases, claiming 17 million lives globally every year. Yet doctors can only attribute 50% of cardiovascular diseases to known risk factors.

9 Jul 2008

Nanomaterials key to new strategies for blocking metastasis

A new treatment strategy using targeted nanoparticles to block metastasis with anti-cancer drugs leads to good results using significantly lower doses of toxic chemotherapy, with less collateral damage to surrounding tissue, according to a collaborative team of researchers at the Center of Nanotechnology for Treatment, Understanding, and Monitoring of Cancer at the University of California, San Diego. In designing this system, the investigators, led by David Cheresh, Ph.D., have identified what may become a generic method for using nanotechnology to target metastasis.

9 Jul 2008

Holey nanoparticles create new tumor imaging and therapeutic agent

Using a polymer that has both water-soluble and water-insoluble regions, a team of investigators from the Siteman Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence has created a nanoparticle shaped like a bialy, a close relative of the bagel. Combining this nanoparticle with manganese, a metal that boosts magnetic resonance imaging signals, and an antibody that targets blood vessels, the investigators then created a new type of imaging agent that also has the potential to deliver drugs to tumors.

9 Jul 2008

Smart nanoparticle bomb precisely targets a tumour's blood vessels

A team of researchers in the U.S. have developed a nanoparticle with the ability to precisely deliver cancer-fighting drugs.

9 Jul 2008

New understanding of how malaria parasite survives in and totally changes red blood cells

A new study-done on a scale an order of magnitude greater than anything previously attempted in the field of malaria-has uncovered an arsenal of proteins produced by the malaria parasite that allows it to hijack and remodel human red blood cells, leaving the oxygen-carrying cells stiff and sticky.

8 Jul 2008

Farm-raised tilapia fish contains potentially dangerous fatty acid combination

"Farm-raised tilapia, one of the most highly consumed fish in America, has very low levels of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids and, perhaps worse, very high levels of omega-6 fatty acids, according to new research from Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

8 Jul 2008

Sumatriptan/naproxen sodium drug combo taken early relieves migraine symptoms

A combination drug taken within an hour after the start of a migraine is effective in relieving symptoms, according to research published in the July 8, 2008, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

8 Jul 2008

Male cyclists risk sexual problems if they don't choose the right bike

Men who take up cycling in an effort to stay fit, do their bit for the environment or avoid spiralling motoring costs, could be harming their health if they don't choose the right bicycle.

8 Jul 2008

Mouse embryonic stem cells used to build heart parts

Researchers have shown that they can put mouse embryonic stem cells to work building the heart, potentially moving medical science a significant step closer to a new generation of heart disease treatments that use human stem cells.

2 Jul 2008

Coronary arterial calcium scans help detect overall death risk in the elderly

Measuring calcium deposits in the heart's arteries can help predict overall death risk in American adults, even when they are elderly, according to a new study published in the July issue of Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

2 Jul 2008

Discovery of gene mechanism could lead to new therapeutic strategies to fight metastatic disease

Virginia Commonwealth University and VCU Massey Cancer Center researchers have uncovered how a gene, melanoma differentiation associated gene-7/interleukin-24 (mda-7/IL-24), induces a bystander effect that kills cancer cells not directly receiving mda-7/IL-24 without harming healthy ones, a discovery that could lead to new therapeutic strategies to fight metastatic disease.

1 Jul 2008

Hypertension, insulin resistance and immune suppression links

Many of the 75 million Americans with essential hypertension also develop diabetes and other complications in addition to their high blood pressure, and researchers have discovered a common molecular mechanism in a strain of rat that explains why such metabolic disorders arise together in mammals.

30 Jun 2008

Watermelon provides Viagra-like effects

A cold slice of watermelon has long been a Fourth of July holiday staple. But according to recent studies, the juicy fruit may be better suited for Valentine's Day.

30 Jun 2008

Microscopic needles effectively deliver drugs to the eyes

A new technique that effectively delivers drugs to the eyes, using microscopic needles, could offer hope to the millions of patients worldwide suffering from common eye diseases that threaten vision such as glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.

30 Jun 2008

Neuroscientists pinpoint how neural activity boosts blood flow to the brain

New research from Harvard University neuroscientists has pinpointed exactly how neural activity boosts blood flow to the brain. The finding has important implications for our understanding of common brain imaging techniques such as fMRI, which uses blood flow in the brain as a proxy for neural activity.

26 Jun 2008

Pregnancy may protect against bladder cancer

Female mice that had never become pregnant had approximately 15 times as much cancer in their bladders as their counterparts that had become pregnant, according to new findings by investigators at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Their work appears online as a rapid communication in the journal Urology.

26 Jun 2008