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Neovasc completes previously announced non-brokered private placement

Neovasc Inc. today announced that it has completed a previously announced non-brokered private placement of 4,720,500 equity units at the price of $1.00 per unit for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $4,720,500.

17 Aug 2011

Obama expresses confidence that SCOTUS will uphold health law

Days after a federal appeals court overturned the measure's individual mandate, President Barack Obama said the Supreme Court will uphold the law if it follows legal precedents when considering it.

17 Aug 2011

New tool can identify patients at high risk of venous thromboembolism

A new risk prediction tool can identify patients at high risk of serious blood clots (known as venous thromboembolism) who might need preventative treatment, says a study published on bmj.com today.

17 Aug 2011

Amphibian skin secretions can reveal amazing medicinal properties

Frogs place in culture ranges from the wise, to the prince in disguise. But it's the idea that a frog can produce life-saving medicine that's currently the subject of an international research project involving Professor Chris Shaw and colleagues at Queen's University Belfast, in Northern Ireland. They have discovered proteins in frog skins that could be used to treat cancer, diabetes, strokes and transplant patients by regulating the growth of blood vessels.

17 Aug 2011

UCSD Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center receives ACCF/AHA's GWTG Gold award

UC San Diego Health System is one of only 167 hospitals nationwide to receive the American College of Cardiology Foundation's (ACCF) NCDR ACTION Registry-GWTG (Get with the Guidelines) Gold Performance Achievement Award for 2011.

17 Aug 2011

Pegloticase can improve clinical outcomes of patients with chronic gout

Injections of pegloticase, a modified porcine enzyme, can produce significant and sustained clinical improvements in 2 out of 5 patients with chronic gout that is resistant to conventional therapies, researchers report in the August 17, 2011, issue of JAMA.

17 Aug 2011

Emotions hinder disease eradication

In a New York Times essay, journalist Donald McNeil writes, "To a doctor, all epidemics are objectively different … But to the mortals they mow down, all epidemics are emotionally alike — an onslaught of fear, awe, repulsion, stigma, denial, rage and blame — and doctors would be foolish to forget that."

17 Aug 2011

People with higher BMI during young adulthood likely to die earlier than others

Those 25-year-olds who are overweight now but think they will be fine as long as they lose weight eventually might need to reconsider. A study appearing online in the Journal of Adolescent Health finds that people who are overweight during young adulthood are likely to die earlier than others.

17 Aug 2011

Obesity directly causes electrical abnormalities of the heart

University of Adelaide research has shown for the first time that obesity directly causes electrical abnormalities of the heart.

17 Aug 2011

Scientists gain new insight on role of stem cells in embryonic heart development

Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have gained new insight into the delicate relationship between two proteins that, when out of balance, can prevent the normal development of stem cells in the heart and may also be important in some types of cancer.

16 Aug 2011

Inflammation linked with RA increases patients risk of heart disease

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) sufferers are at an increased risk of dying due to cardiovascular disease. A new five year study published in BioMed Central's open access journal Arthritis Research & Therapy showed that the risk of cardiovascular disease for people with RA is due to disease-related inflammation as well as the risk factors which affect the general population.

16 Aug 2011

U.N. should make reduction in salt intake a global health priority, researchers say

Researchers from the Universities of Warwick and Liverpool in a report published on Thursday in the British Medical Journal called for the U.N. to "make reducing salt intake a global health priority," stating that "a 15 percent cut in consumption could save 8.5 million lives around the world over the next decade," BBC News reports.

16 Aug 2011

Gene therapy cocktail can treat inherited diseases with 'misfolded' proteins

In a kind of molecular gymnastics, scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have devised a gene therapy cocktail that has the potential to treat some inherited diseases associated with "misfolded" proteins.

16 Aug 2011

Prolonged TV viewing linked with reduced life expectancy

Watching TV for an average of six hours a day could shorten the viewer's life expectancy by almost five years, indicates research published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

16 Aug 2011

Pericardial fat may promote atherosclerosis

Researchers have found more evidence supporting the role of fat around the heart in promoting atherosclerosis, according to a study published online in the journal Radiology.

16 Aug 2011

AHRQ's new Spanish-language guide on heart medications

A free, illustrated easy-to-read pamphlet that compares drugs for preventing heart attacks, heart failure or strokes in people with stable coronary heart disease is one of six new Spanish-language publications from HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality that help patients compare treatments for common illnesses.

16 Aug 2011

Survey: 35% of people in the UK fear cancer more than other life-threatening conditions

More than a third of people in the UK fear cancer more than other life-threatening conditions - such as Alzheimer's, stroke and heart disease according to a Cancer Research UK survey.

16 Aug 2011

Viewpoints: Health reform 'tax' vs. 'penalty'; super committee forecast; boomer tsunami

In a foolhardy indulgence of partisan ideology, Gov. Sam Brownback of Kansas is returning a $31.5 million federal grant that would have made his state a leader in technology development for the new federal health care law. … He joins other Republican governors willing to sell their constituents short in grandstanding against the health care law from statehouse pulpits.

16 Aug 2011

An hour of TV a day shortens lifespan by 22 minutes: Study

Researchers have found that watching too much TV is as dangerous as smoking or being overweight, and that the “ubiquitous sedentary behaviour” should be seen as a “public health problem”.

16 Aug 2011

Toclizumab for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis

The arthritis drug Toclizumab could be a boon for hundreds of children suffering from severe arthritis. It has been re-launched in children after being already licensed for the treatment of adults. At least two thirds of children taking tocizilumab have been able to return to a normal life, after many were bedridden or forced into wheelchairs by the disease, the clinical studies reveal.

16 Aug 2011