Vascular News and Research

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Drinking two to three glasses of red wine daily is good for the heart

A review article of the latest studies looking at red wine and cardiovascular health shows drinking two to three glasses of red wine daily is good for the heart, according to a Yale School of Medicine researcher in the Journal of American College of Surgeons.

21 Mar 2005

Questions about validity of HOPE TOO vitamin E study

A study published in the March 16 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggesting that a "daily-dose" of vitamin E (400 international units) among high-risk (chronically ill) cardiovascular patient populations is associated with a greater risk of heart failure is being challenged by leading health researchers around the country who claim the study lacks the adequate research and controlled sampling audience to justify this conclusion.

16 Mar 2005

Vitamin E may increase heart attack risk - does not prevent cancer

A study by Canadian researchers Eva Lonn, M.D., of the Population Health Research Institute and McMaster University, Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues, has found from examining experimental and epidemiological data, that patients who took vitamin E supplements for 7 years did not significantly reduce their risk of cancer or cardiovascular events and some in fact had an increased risk of heart failure.

15 Mar 2005

Drug combo gives lung cancer patients longer life

Preliminary results from a large randomized clinical trial, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), by a network of researchers led by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group. Genentech, Inc., have shown that patients with previously untreated advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer who received bevacizumab (Avastin) in combination with standard chemotherapy lived longer than patients who received the same chemotherapy without bevacizumab.

15 Mar 2005

Study indicates that vitamin E does not prevent cancer

Patients who took vitamin E supplements for about 7 years did not have their risk of cancer or cardiovascular events significantly reduced, and in fact some had an increased risk of heart failure, according to a study in the March 16 issue of JAMA.

15 Mar 2005

Bevacizumab (Avastin) in combination with standard chemotherapy helps advanced lung cancer sufferers

Preliminary results from a large, randomized clinical trial for patients with previously untreated advanced non-squamous, non-small cell lung cancer show that those patients who received bevacizumab (AvastinTM) in combination with standard chemotherapy lived longer than patients who received the same chemotherapy without bevacizumab.

15 Mar 2005

Simple blood test may help to predict cardiovascular risk in older women

White blood cell (WBC) count may predict cardiovascular events and risk of death in postmenopausal women who are not currently identified by traditional cardiovascular risk factors, according to an article in the March 14 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

14 Mar 2005

Discovery may provide a new target to treat sepsis

Part of the immune system's pro-inflammatory response to bacterial invasion is to increase nitric oxide levels with an enzyme called inducible nitric oxide synthase.

14 Mar 2005

Keep laughing, its doing you more good than you realise

Dr. Michael Miller of the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore showed two movies, one humorous, one stressful, to 20 healthy volunteers and tested the function of their blood vessels.

7 Mar 2005

Substances in the urine of pregnant women could serve as a screening/diagnostic tool for preeclampsia

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found that specific substances in the urine of pregnant women could serve as a screening/diagnostic tool for preeclampsia (hypertension and proteinuria during pregnancy).

7 Mar 2005

PET and CT scans provides accurate detection and localization of foot infection in diabetic patients

Pioneering research with combined positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) scans provides accurate detection and localization of foot infection in diabetic patients, according to an article in the March issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

7 Mar 2005

Mini strokes warn of possible major stroke

Eighty percent of strokes are ischemic, and are caused by the narrowing of the large or small arteries of the brain, or by clots that block blood flow to the brain.

7 Mar 2005

Drug eluting stents as effective as vascular brachytherapy in preventing restenosis

After angioplasty is performed to widen clogged arteries, surgeons frequently use tiny wire-mesh tubes called stents to keep blood vessels open. But despite stenting, scar tissue can form to create new blockages -- a process called in-stent restenosis (ISR).

7 Mar 2005

Warning signs of an ischemic stroke may be evident as early as seven days before an attack

Warning signs of an ischemic stroke may be evident as early as seven days before an attack and require urgent treatment to prevent serious damage to the brain, according to a study of stroke patients published in the March 8, 2005 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

7 Mar 2005

Diet high in oily fish improves inflammatory conditions

A new study explains how a diet high in oily fish like salmon and mackerel improves inflammatory conditions, particularly in combination with low doses of aspirin.

7 Mar 2005

Stent trial fails to meet endpoints

Angiotech Pharmaceuticals has announced that results from the REALITY Trial, a head-to-head trial sponsored by Cordis Corporation, comparing the JNJ CYPHER® stent and the TAXUS® stent, were presented at the American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Session. The trial failed to meet its primary endpoint.

7 Mar 2005

Liverpool is justified in its attempt to go smokefree

New figures showing that second-hand smoke at work kills over 600 people every year in the UK leave no doubt that Liverpool is justified in its attempt to go smokefree, say doctors and nurses.

2 Mar 2005

Genetic link to kidney damage after heart surgery

Specific variants of genes involved in inflammation and blood vessel constriction are strongly associated with kidney damage in patients undergoing major heart surgery, researchers at Duke University Medical Center have found.

1 Mar 2005

New cancer drug Avastin keeps cancer under control

Data published for the first time today in the leading Journal of Clinical Oncology showed that the unique new cancer drug Avastin keeps cancer under control for a significantly longer duration, even when used in a group of elderly patients with advanced colorectal cancer who are too sick to tolerate traditional aggressive chemotherapy.

1 Mar 2005

Encouraging results in wet age-related macular degeneration study

Novadaq Technologies has announced that Dr. Giovanni Staurenghi, (Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, Department of Otorhinolaryngological and Ophthalmological Science University of Milan, Italy), reported preliminary data on 24-patients in an on-going study using the Company's proprietary technology to treat wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD).

28 Feb 2005