Cardiomyopathy News and Research

RSS

Cardiomyopathy is a group of diseases with primary, usually diffuse, involvement of the myocardium. The myocardial disease is not secondary to ischaemic, valvular, congenital or pericardial disease.

New treatments and interventions for chronically impaired cardiac patients

Whether a patient is awaiting a heart transplant or living with chronic heart failure, cardiologists are continuously looking for new therapies that address short-term and/or long-term needs of chronically impaired cardiac patients.

30 Mar 2007

New study finds endurance athletes with ventricular arrhythmias have dysfunctional right ventricles

Some high-level athletes who take part in endurance sports can develop a rare but life-threatening condition called ventricular arrhythmia (VA) in which the heart beats at an abnormal rate and rhythm.

22 Jan 2007

FDA expands use of Herceptin

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded the approved use of Herceptin, a biological cancer drug. The new indication is for Herceptin, in combination with other cancer drugs, for the treatment of HER2 positive breast cancer after surgery (lumpectomy or mastectomy).

19 Nov 2006

Safety gear for young athletes offers little protection from sudden death

New research has shown that the sports safety gear worn by young athletes may not give them protection from sudden death caused by a blow to the chest.

14 Nov 2006

Underlying causes, frequencies, and outcomes of dilated cardiomyopathy

The mystery behind a commonly untreatable and undetected heart muscle disease in children is partially revealed for the first time in today's edition of the scientific journal JAMA.

17 Oct 2006

New way of delivering corrective genes holds promise for hereditary diseases of the heart

A new way of delivering corrective genes with a single injection into a vein holds promise for long-lasting treatments of hereditary diseases of the heart, University of Florida researchers report.

6 Aug 2006

HCM detection rates doubled when genetic testing and imaging information are combined

Currently that genetic test correctly detects HCM only 40 percent of the time. But coupled with imaging information, the detection power of the test nearly doubles, to 79 percent, says Steve Ommen, M.D., director of Mayo's HCM Clinic and co-lead investigator of the Mayo Clinic research team.

28 Apr 2006

Prostate drug doxazosin blocks receptor in heart muscle, increasing risk of heart failure

Doxazosin, a drug commonly prescribed to help improve urinary flow in men with enlarged prostates, increases the likelihood of heart failure by blocking specific receptors in heart muscle cells, according to a study conducted at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.

4 Apr 2006

Researchers find viable new sources for stem cell transplants to the heart

Stem cell transplantation is among one of the most exciting and hotly debated areas of medical research today. While the promise of personalized medicine and effective treatments for debilitating diseases drive progress in this area, moral and ethical dilemmas about embryonic cells continues to cloud the field.

14 Mar 2006

60 new genes controlled by regulatory sequences

Researchers worldwide are seeking to define ancient sections of our genetic code that may soon be as important to medical science as genes.

2 Feb 2006

Soy diet worsens heart disease in mice

Researchers from the University of Colorado have shown that mice carrying a genetic mutation that is linked to altered heart growth and function in humans, have significantly worse heart problems if fed a soy diet, when compared to mice fed a soy-free (milk protein-based) diet.

6 Jan 2006

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

Early diagnosis and treatment of heart disease may lead to longer life in Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy patients

Cardiac disease, particularly dilated cardiomyopathy and heart failure, is the major cause of mortality in patients with muscular dystrophy and is present in most boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and approximately 70 percent of those with Becker muscular dystrophy. These are the two common forms of muscular dystrophy caused by defects in a gene called dystrophin.

30 Oct 2005

Significant step forward in the genome era

In what promises to be a significant step forward in the genome era, the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) today announced plans to devote a portion of its large-scale sequencing capacity to efforts aimed at identifying the genetic roots of specific diseases that have long eluded gene hunters.

17 Oct 2005

New insights that advance the current model of protein motility and muscle contraction

Scientists from the Burnham Institute for Medical Research and the University of Vermont have captured the first 3-dimensional (3D) atomic-resolution images of the motor protein myosin V as it "walks" along other proteins, revealing new structural insights that advance the current model of protein motility and muscle contraction.

3 Oct 2005

C. elegans worm provides clues to dealing with human disease

A step towards understanding cell mutations that cause a variety of human diseases, particularly in children -- including that which brings about premature aging and early death -- has been taken by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Silberman Institute of Life Sciences and the John Hopkins University School of Medicine.

1 Sep 2005

Step towards understanding cell mutations that cause a variety of human diseases

A step towards understanding cell mutations that cause a variety of human diseases, particularly in children - including that which brings about premature aging and early death - has been taken by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Silberman Institute of Life Sciences and the John Hopkins University School of Medicine.

30 Aug 2005

Early statin therapy may be essential for reducing mortality and other complications in heart attack victims

In the largest clinical study of its kind, UCLA researchers found that early treatment with a statin drug within 24 hours of having a heart attack reduced in-hospital mortality rates by over 50 percent.

29 Aug 2005

Using muscle tissue from tarantulas scientists discover how muscles relax

Using muscle tissue from tarantulas, an HHMI international research scholar and his colleagues have figured out the detailed structure and arrangement of the miniature molecular motors that control movement.

24 Aug 2005

Contrast-enhanced MRI is better than SPECT in detecting heart damage in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

SPECT nuclear medicine studies are currently the most common way to look for myocardial damage in these patients; however; a new study, published in the August issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology, found that MRI is a more comprehensive examination than SPECT.

10 Aug 2005