Blood Vessels News and Research

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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

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

FDA approves Ceprotin to treat severe congenital protein C deficiency

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today licensed Ceprotin, the first biologic treatment for patients with a rare genetic defect that can cause a potentially life-threatening clotting disorder.

30 Mar 2007

New cardiovascular treatment approaches

In an era of increasing death and illness from heart and blood vessel disease - which also can impair kidney function - Mayo Clinic researchers have designed two promising new cardiovascular treatment approaches.

30 Mar 2007

Bioengineering heart parts

Some day, heart attack survivors might have a patch of laboratory-grown muscle placed in their heart, to replace areas that died during their attack.

30 Mar 2007

Brain's immune system plays protective role in early Alzheimer's disease

The immune system's response against amyloid-beta, the protein that forms plaques in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease, appears to protect the brain from damage in early stages of the devastating neurological disorder.

30 Mar 2007

DNA layer reduces risk of reserve parts being rejected

Dutch researchers Jeroen van den Beucken and John Jansen have given body implants a DNA layer. This layer ensures a better attachment, more rapid recovery of the surrounding tissue and less immune responses. The older we get the more 'reserve-parts' we need.

27 Mar 2007

Blood pressure drug shows potential as lung cancer treatment

A hormone that is important in the control of blood pressure also shrinks lung cancer tumors in mice, suggesting a new way to prevent or treat the deadly cancer, according to scientists at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

19 Mar 2007

Copper good for your heart

Including more copper in your everyday diet could be good for your heart, according to scientists at the University of Louisville Medical Center and the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center.

5 Mar 2007

Translaminar technique reduces neck pain without significant risk of paralysis

In the largest series of patients to date, recent research shows that the translaminar approach to cervical spinal steroid injections can reduce neck pain in eighty-three percent of those treated.

5 Mar 2007

Improvement of cancer-targeting therapy, using nanocarriers for intractable solid tumors by inhibition of TGF-beta signaling

Administering a small amount of a potent but potentially toxic anticancer agent along with nanoparticles loaded with a second anticancer agent produced a dramatic inhibition of tumor growth in normally intractable cancers. These findings suggest a new approach to treating malignancies such as pancreatic cancer and diffuse gastric cancer.

5 Mar 2007

Targeted nanoparticles image early tumors

A well-established fact in cancer therapy is that early tumor detection improves the odds that a patient will survive the disease. Now, using nanoparticles targeted to the tiny blood vessels that surround even the smallest tumors, researchers at the Siteman Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (CCNE) have developed a radioactive imaging agent that was able to identify human tumors in rabbits.

5 Mar 2007

Erectile dysfunction drugs may be better than nitroglycerin in protecting the heart after a severe heart attack

During a heart attack, the heart is deprived of oxygen, which can result in significant damage to heart muscle and tissue. After the attack, most patients require treatment to reduce and repair the damage and improve their chances of survival.

5 Mar 2007

Ink-jet printing of bone

A modified ink-jet printer can be used to directly print layer upon layer of artificial bone for quick-fix grafts used in reconstructive surgery.

4 Mar 2007

Treatment for gum disease could also help the heart

Scientists at University College London (UCL) have conducted the first clinical trial to demonstrate that an intensive treatment for periodontitis (gum disease) directly improves the health of blood vessels.

4 Mar 2007

Sunitinib halts progress of metastatic kidney cancer

Research has shown the efficacy of a pharmaceutical drug known as sunitinib which halts progress of metastatic kidney cancer.

1 Mar 2007

Link between growth of blood vessels critical to spread of cancer and copper in our bodies

Growing new blood vessels from existing ones - a process called angiogenesis - is important in growth, development and wound healing. But it also enables the spread of tumors throughout the body, so researchers have been scrambling for ways to stop angiogenesis in the fight against cancer.

28 Feb 2007

Common painkillers raise mens' risk of hypertension

Researchers in the United States believe that regular use of common painkillers such as Acetaminophen (paracetomol), ibuprofen and aspirin, increases the risk of high blood pressure and consequently heart disease in men.

28 Feb 2007

Aspirin offers help for Barrett's esophagus

Researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have found that people with the most-aggressive form of Barrett's esophagus, a precancerous condition that can lead to esophageal cancer, may benefit the most from preventive therapy with aspirin, ibuprofen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs.

27 Feb 2007

Gene therapy shows promise as treatment for diseased lower limbs at risk for amputation

New research suggests that gene therapy is a safe treatment method to explore in patients whose lower limbs are at risk for amputation because of poor circulation caused by blocked blood vessels.

27 Feb 2007