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Cytomegalovirus may cause high blood pressure

A new study suggests for the first time that cytomegalovirus (CMV), a common viral infection affecting between 60 and 99 percent of adults worldwide, is a cause of high blood pressure, a leading risk factor for heart disease, stroke and kidney disease.

15 May 2009

Old diabetes drug Metformin teaches experts new tricks

Research from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center reveals that the drug most commonly used in type 2 diabetics who don't need insulin works on a much more basic level than once thought, treating persistently elevated blood sugar - the hallmark of type 2 diabetes - by regulating the genes that control its production.

15 May 2009

Researchers show the effectiveness of folic acid in preventing congenital heart defects

The Canadian policy of fortifying grain products with folic acid has already proved to be effective in preventing neural tube defects.

15 May 2009

Obese, older and poorer Australians get more chronic diseases

According to researchers at the University of Adelaide, in the past 15 years chronic diseases among older, lower income and obese Australians have increased significantly.

15 May 2009

Health Subcommittee considers bill to eliminate pre-emption for medical devices

The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee on Tuesday heard testimony on the Medical Device Safety Act of 2009 (HR 1346), which would allow consumers to sue medical device manufacturers in state courts, CQ HealthBeat reports.

14 May 2009

Implanted cardioverter defibrillators extend lives of heart attack survivors by a year

A landmark follow-up study found that heart attack survivors who receive implanted cardioverter defribillators (ICDs) live longer the longer they have them, according to the results of alate-breaking clinical trail presented today at the annual Scientific Sessions of the Heart Rhythm Society.

14 May 2009

Parents and teachers have more influence than peers

Parents and teachers who fear their good work instilling academic discipline and motivation is ruined by a child's peer group can take heart: new research shows they have more influence on young people than they think.

14 May 2009

Cimzia approved in U.S. for rheumatoid arthritis

UCB announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Cimzia, the only PEGylated anti-TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor), for the treatment of adult patients with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

13 May 2009

Diuretic drug works best at reducing risk of heart failure in hypertension

New research supports the findings of a landmark drug comparison study published in 2002 in which a diuretic drug or "water pill" outperformed other medications for high blood pressure. A scientific team including investigators from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston reports the findings in the May 11 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

13 May 2009

Clues about how blood forms could yield new strategies for treating blood diseases

Biologists have long wondered why the embryonic heart begins beating so early, before the tissues actually need to be infused with blood.

13 May 2009

Diet rich in nuts and olive oil protects against age-related macular degeneration

New research has found that a diet which is low in trans fats and regularly includes nuts, olive oil and other foods containing omega-three fatty acids appears to offer some protection from the eye disease age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

13 May 2009

Radical blow for snotty arteries

Controlling the green stuff in snot could help treat heart disease, reveals Professor Michael Davies from the University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine and the Heart Research Institute.

12 May 2009

Atrial fibrillation more difficult to identify in blacks than whites; might explain lower prevalence, study finds

Limitations in the methods used to diagnose atrial fibrillation -- periods of irregular heartbeat -- in population-based studies might explain why findings indicate that atrial fibrillation is less common among blacks than whites, according to a study published in the journal Stroke, Reuters Health reports.

12 May 2009

High levels of estradiol hormone in men with heart failure linked to increased risk of death

Men with systolic chronic heart failure who have low or high levels of estradiol, a form of the hormone estrogen, have an increased risk of death compared with men with moderate levels of this hormone, according to a study in the May 13 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

12 May 2009

Aspirin lowers risk of stroke in peripheral artery disease

An analysis of previous studies indicates that among patients with peripheral artery disease, aspirin use is associated with a statistically nonsignificant decrease in the risk of a group of combined cardiovascular events (nonfatal heart attack, nonfatal stroke, and cardiovascular death), but is associated with a significant reduction in the risk of one of these events, nonfatal stroke, although the findings may be limited by the lack of a large study population, according to an article in the May 13 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

12 May 2009

Researchers develop a dynamic heart system

A new machine developed at North Carolina State University makes an animal heart pump much like a live heart after it has been removed from the animal's body, allowing researchers to expedite the development of new tools and techniques for heart surgery.

12 May 2009

Schering-Plough starts patient enrollment in phase 3 trial for Acadesine

Schering-Plough Corporation today announced the start of patient enrollment in RED-CABG, the Phase 3 Trial for acadesine, an investigational, potentially first-in-class adenosine regulating agent (ARA). Acadesine was licensed from PeriCor Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held specialty biopharmaceutical company.

12 May 2009

Sinobiopharma announces Chinese approval of Perindopril

Sinobiopharma, Inc. has announced that it has received approval from the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) to manufacture and market its formulation of Perindopril, an anti-hypertension drug.

12 May 2009

DHEA supplement combined with vitamin D and calcium significantly improves spinal bone density in older women

"The results of our study are very promising. Similar studies have demonstrated much smaller benefits for bone than we found. However, calcium and vitamin D deficiencies, which are present in half of older adults, may have prevented DHEA from improving bone density in the earlier studies," said Edward Weiss, Ph.D., associate professor of nutrition and dietetics at Saint Louis University's Doisy College of Health Sciences and lead author of the study.

12 May 2009

Job losses have negative effect on health, study finds

Workers who lost their job through no fault of their own were twice as likely as continuously employed workers to report over the next 18 months that they developed a new illness, such as high blood pressure, diabetes or heart disease, according to a study released last week, the New York Times reports.

12 May 2009