Blood Vessel News and Research

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Blood Vessels are tubes through which the blood circulates in the body. Blood vessels include a network of arteries, arterioles, capillaries, venules, and veins.

New insights into treatment of hypertension in black Americans

Researchers have reported a possible explanation for the higher risk of heart disease and its complications among black Americans, along with a way of treating this condition.

6 Dec 2005

Heart pump technology - comparative study

Chicago's first participant in the RELIANT (Randomized Evaluation of the Novacor(r) LVAS In A Non-Transplant Population) research study recently went home from Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

5 Dec 2005

Alagebrium may prevent arterial aging in patients with systolic hypertension

A compound called alagebrium, which is very similar to another used in anti-wrinkle creams, may be useful in reducing the deleterious effects of arterial aging in the majority of elderly Americans with systolic hypertension, a new study from researchers at Johns Hopkins shows.

5 Dec 2005

Aldosterone shows promise as stroke treatment

A bi-polar hormone that can contribute to strokes and minimize their damage is emerging as a therapeutic target in the battle against these brain attacks, researchers say.

5 Dec 2005

Drug pravastatin may provide a previously unknown cardiovascular benefit

The drug pravastatin, which is used widely to decrease high cholesterol, may provide a previously unknown cardiovascular benefit in addition to lowering lipids.

20 Nov 2005

Stem cells to repair heart tissue soon after a heart attack

Stem cells derived from human heart tissue develop into multicellular, spherical structures called cardiospheres that express the normal properties of primitive heart tissue, smooth muscle and blood vessel cells, according to a study by Johns Hopkins researchers.

20 Nov 2005

Trichostatin A may fight lupus and atherosclerosis simultaneously

People with lupus are prone to premature accelerated atherosclerosis. Now scientists at Wake Forest University School of Medicine think they have a way to prevent or decrease this atherosclerosis and prevent heart attacks.

16 Nov 2005

Biologically engineered blood vessels now an option in cardiac bypass

The first-ever human use of completely biologically engineered blood vessels grown from a person's own cells could be an option for people who have vessels too damaged for heart bypass, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2005.

16 Nov 2005

Lack of aggressive treatment for clogged leg blood vessels means missed heart attack prevention opportunity

Despite the fact that clogged arteries in the legs usually mean clogged arteries near the heart, doctors often fail to give heart-protecting drugs to people with severe leg blood vessel blockages, a new University of Michigan-led study finds.

15 Nov 2005

Study suggests that some patients on beta blockers should not be

A Johns Hopkins study has raised doubts about a long-accepted notion of what's going on in many cases of heart failure, suggesting that nearly half of patients with the disorder may be getting the wrong treatment for their disease.

15 Nov 2005

FLT-1 blockers, cutting the legs of leukaemia

Leukaemia is characterised by an uncontrolled growth of abnormal blood cells in the bone marrow (BM).

14 Nov 2005

Role of statin therapy in patients with heart failure

An advanced study launched at Yale School of Medicine is evaluating the role of statin therapy in patients with heart failure, one of the leading causes of hospitalization in people over age 65.

14 Nov 2005

University of Alberta researchers pioneer gene therapy to restore alveoli and lung capillaries in damaged rat lungs

The good news is that medical advances in perinatal care have allowed us to save many more premature babies. The bad news is they're often at risk of developing bronchopulmonary dysplasia--a chronic lung disease caused by having to place the tiny infants on ventilators and oxygen-rich therapy for acute respiratory failure.

13 Nov 2005

Phenolic compounds in olive oil may explain cardiovascular health benefits associated with Mediterranean Diet

Phenolic compounds in olive oil, which have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-clotting properties, may explain cardiovascular health benefits associated with the so-called Mediterranean Diet, according to a new study in the Nov. 15, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

13 Nov 2005

Pretreating a vein graft with edifoligide prior to coronary bypass graft surgery does not lower the rate of graft failure

Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery is one of the most common surgical procedures performed in the United States, according to background information in the article. In appropriately selected patients, CABG surgery results in improved survival, relief of angina, and improved quality of life. Despite frequent use of artery grafts, vein grafts remain the most frequently used conduit.

13 Nov 2005

Human umbilical cord blood cells may widen treatment window for stroke

An experimental treatment that spares disability from acute stroke may be delivered much later than the current three-hour treatment standard – a potential advance needed to benefit more stroke victims.

13 Nov 2005

Combination of radiotherapy and a drug named S247 as a cure for cancer

Does a combination of radiation therapy and the inhibition of integrins (key molecules in angiogenesis) improve the chance of cure in cancer?

3 Nov 2005

Paclitaxel may help treat scleroderma

Using a novel model for scleroderma, researchers from Duke University Medical Center have discovered two important insights into this devastating disorder - the anti-cancer drug paclitaxel (Taxol) may prevent the skin thickening and small blood vessel destruction that characterizes the disease.

1 Nov 2005

Gene therapy used to successfully treat heart failure

University of Pittsburgh investigators have for the first time used gene therapy to successfully treat heart failure and other degenerative muscle problems in an animal model that is genetically susceptible to a human muscular dystrophy.

25 Oct 2005

Scientists gain better understanding of how repetitive stretching of endothelial cells that line arteries can make them healthy and resistant to vascular diseases

UCSD researchers stretched cells in a workout chamber the size of a credit card to gain a better understanding of how repetitive stretching of endothelial cells that line arteries can make them healthy and resistant to vascular diseases.

24 Oct 2005