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NHLBI awarded four contracts to test new devices to help children with congenital heart defects

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded four contracts totaling $23.6 million to begin preclinical testing of devices to help children born with congenital heart defects or those who develop heart failure.

5 Feb 2010

Major study of perfusion imaging under way to assess value of alternative diagnostic methods

Cardiologists and heart imaging specialists at 15 medical centers in eight countries, and led by researchers at Johns Hopkins, have enrolled the first dozen patients in a year-long investigation to learn whether the subtle squeezing of blood flow through the inner layers of the heart is better than traditional SPECT nuclear imaging tests and other diagnostic radiology procedures for accurately tracking the earliest signs of coronary artery clogs.

3 Feb 2010

Research offers new hope for rare metabolic disorder

A research team led by biochemist Scott Garman at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has for the first time determined the mechanism of one of the cell's "recycling" enzymes, human alpha-galactosidase or alpha-GAL, as it breaks down substances in the lysosome, the cell's recycling center.

2 Feb 2010

Minimally invasive living donor liver retrieval for pediatric transplant

NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital is the only medical center in the United States to offer minimally invasive liver donation for pediatric transplantation. Surgeons use a laparoscopic technique to remove a section of liver from a living donor for implantation in a pediatric patient -- typically a parent donating to their child. The innovative approach promises dramatically improved recovery for the donor.

2 Feb 2010

Cardiac catheterization: A groundbreaking tool in the field of cardiology

Cardiac catheterizations have been a groundbreaking tool in the field of cardiology. This procedure offers a minimally invasive means for obtaining important information about the heart and its blood vessels, while also providing a less invasive treatment for certain heart conditions.

2 Feb 2010

Findings could lead to new therapeutic strategies for obesity

Peptides that target blood vessels in fat and cause them to go into programmed cell death (termed apoptosis) could become a model for future weight-loss therapies, say University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers.

2 Feb 2010

MSU scientist discovers the process that causes retinal cells to die

Scientists have long known that high blood sugar levels from diabetes damage blood vessels in the eye, but they didn't know why or how. Now a Michigan State University scientist has discovered the process that causes retinal cells to die, which could lead to new treatments that halt the damage.

2 Feb 2010

Blood flowing with force protects against dangerous clogs in blood vessels

It is second nature for most of us that exercise protects against heart attack and stroke, but researchers have spent 30 years unraveling the biochemistry behind the idea. One answer first offered by researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center is that athletic hearts push blood through arteries with greater force, which alone triggers reactions that protect against dangerous clogs in blood vessels.

29 Jan 2010

SCI indicates increased risk of declining kidney function in type 2 diabetics

In patients with type 2 diabetes, silent cerebral infarction (SCI)—small areas of brain damage caused by injury to small blood vessels—signals an increased risk of progressive kidney disease and kidney failure, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN).

29 Jan 2010

Innovative cardiac scanner allows early detection of heart conditions

The portable magnetometer is being developed at the University of Leeds, with funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) playing a key role.

28 Jan 2010

Santica Research Labs launches CelluScience Anti-Cellulite Beaute Intensive dietary supplement

More than 85% of women in the U.S. have cellulite. Now, there is a revolutionary new anti-cellulite dietary supplement clinically proven to help target the thighs, hips and gluteal area.

28 Jan 2010

Patients with epilepsy who take Ginkgo herbal medicines face increased risk of seizures

Restrictions should be placed on the use of Ginkgo biloba (G. biloba) - a top-selling herbal remedy - because of growing scientific evidence that Ginkgo may increase the risk of seizures in people with epilepsy and could reduce the effectiveness of anti-seizure drugs, a new report concludes.

28 Jan 2010

Access Scientific's PICC WAND receives FDA clearance

Access Scientific has received FDA clearance for The PICC WANDTM, which enables clinicians to insert a peelable sheath for PICC or Midline catheter placement using the new Accelerated Seldinger Technique (AST). The PICC WAND is an all-in-one safety introducer that addresses the over-wire vascular access market, valued at more than $1 billion, by providing faster, safer and simpler vascular access.

27 Jan 2010

New technology allows faster and more accurate diagnosis of brain aneurysm

Preventing deadly ruptures of the blood vessels in the brain is the aim of a new Mayo Clinic project to help radiologists detect aneurysms with far greater speed and accuracy.

27 Jan 2010

Antioxidants can also harm

Antioxidants increasingly have been praised for their benefits against disease and aging, but recent studies at Kansas State University show that they also can cause harm.

27 Jan 2010

Update on Cardium Therapeutics' plans for commercial development of Generx

Cardium Therapeutics reported today that its Cardium Biologics division provided an update on plans for the continuing commercial development of Generx™ (alferminogene tadenovec, Ad5FGF-4), a DNA-based angiogenic therapy product candidate for patients with coronary artery disease.

27 Jan 2010

Ablation therapy better than drug therapy for heart rhythm disorder

Treating a common heart rhythm disorder by burning heart tissue with a catheter works dramatically better than drug treatments, according to a landmark study published in the Jan. 27 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

27 Jan 2010

Sinobiopharma's solid dosage Perindopril production facility receives Chinese SFDA approval

Sinobiopharma, Inc. is pleased to announce that its production facility for solid dosage Perindopril has passed the required Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) inspection and is now approved for production and marketing.

27 Jan 2010

Long-term graft retention is improved through supplementation of fat grafts with ADRCs

Results from Cytori Therapeutics’ preclinical fat grafting study have been published in the February issue of the Annals of Plastic Surgery. This article, entitled “Supplementation of Fat Grafts with Adipose-Derived Regenerative Cells (ADRCs) Improves Long-Term Graft Retention,” examines the science behind cell-enriched autologous fat grafting and its application to cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. The results demonstrate a doubling in graft retention in cell-enriched grafts and provide insight into the mechanisms behind this improvement.

25 Jan 2010

University of Kentucky's fast-track protocol reduces risk of death in heart attack patients

Heart attack patients won't go to the emergency room as part of a new University of Kentucky plan designed to reduce those patients' risk of dying by nearly 8 percent for every half hour shaved off the time between the ambulance and treatment at the hospital.

23 Jan 2010