Vascular News and Research

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Five key proteins form new, early-warning blood test before heart attack strikes

A team of Johns Hopkins biochemists has identified a mixed bag of five key proteins out of thousands secreted into blood draining from the heart's blood vessels that may together or in certain quantities form the basis of a far more accurate early warning test than currently in use of impending heart attack in people with severely reduced blood flow, or ischemia.

10 Nov 2008

Low-dose aspirin does not appear to reduce risk of CV events in patients with diabetes

Low-dose aspirin as primary prevention did not appear to significantly reduce the risk of a combined end point of coronary, cerebrovascular and peripheral vascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes, according to a new study in JAMA.

10 Nov 2008

Hispanics less likely to have repeat revascularizations 1 year after angioplasty

Hispanic patients were 57 percent less likely than Caucasian patients to undergo coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) one year after successful angioplasty, a type of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) to open blockages in the coronary arteries.

10 Nov 2008

Flu shots may reduce risk of blood clots forming in veins

Flu shots may reduce the risk of blood clots forming in veins by 26 percent, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008.

10 Nov 2008

Further evidence that angiogenesis drugs can be much more effective when combined with chemotherapy

Scientists have thought that one way to foil a tumor from generating blood vessels to feed its growth - a process called angiogenesis - was by creating drugs aimed at stopping a key vessel growth-promoting protein.

10 Nov 2008

Advances in ophthalmology

The 2008 Joint Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (Academy) and European Society of Ophthalmology (SOE), the largest and most comprehensive ophthalmic educational meeting in the world, is in session November 8 to 11 at the Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta.

10 Nov 2008

Age is not an independent factor in cancer survival rates, but clinical trials exclude older patients

Age is not an independent factor in cancer survival rates and should not influence decisions about how to treat older patients, according to a study in the November issue of IJCP, the Independent Journal of Clinical Practice.

7 Nov 2008

Age, race are among factors that influence carotid-surgery success

Advanced age and race are among the factors that can affect whether a patient dies or suffers a stroke after carotid-artery surgery, a UT Southwestern Medical Center physician involved in a multicenter study has found.

6 Nov 2008

New clinical study will help doctors assess abnormal bleeding

How do you know if you bleed normally? Scientists at The Rockefeller University Hospital's Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) aim to answer that question more definitively with the launch of an assessment tool designed to help physicians and researchers more accurately determine what is inside and outside the normal range of bleeding symptoms.

3 Nov 2008

Anti-VEGF drugs for retinal diseases could have serious side effects

Scientists at Schepens Eye Research Institute have found that reducing the levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which is best known as a stimulator of new blood vessel growth, in adult mice causes the death of photoreceptors and Muller glia -- cells of the retina that are essential to visual function.

3 Nov 2008

Genentech submits application to FDA for Avastin in the most aggressive form of brain cancer

Genentech has announced that the company submitted a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Avastin (bevacizumab) as a therapy for people with previously treated glioblastoma. If accepted by the FDA, the application would be considered for an accelerated approval that allows provisional approval of medicines for cancer or other life-threatening diseases based on preliminary evidence suggesting clinical benefit.

3 Nov 2008

Bacteria can directly cause human blood and plasma to clot

Bacteria can directly cause human blood and plasma to clot - a process that was previously thought to have been lost during the course of vertebrate evolution, according to new research at the University of Chicago, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Institut Pasteur in Paris. Their findings will be published online Nov. 2 in Nature Chemical Biology.

2 Nov 2008

Research points to new treatment options for infantile hemangioma

A team of researchers led by Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) Dean for Research Bjorn Olsen has discovered a mechanism for the rapid growth seen in infantile hemangioma, the most common childhood tumor.

31 Oct 2008

Discovery of mechanism and possible drug treatment for growth of nerve tumors in neurofibromatosis

Researchers studying neurofibromatosis type 1 - a rare disease in which tumors grow within nerves - have found that the tumors are triggered by crosstalk between cells in the nerves and cells in the blood.

30 Oct 2008

Even minimally symptomatic obstructive sleep apnea increases cardiovascular risk

People with even minimally symptomatic obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may be at increased risk for cardiovascular disease because of impaired endothelial function and increased arterial stiffness, according to a study from the Oxford Centre for Respiratory Medicine in the UK.

26 Oct 2008

Sensitive ultrasound to spot early-stage cancer

European researchers have developed highly sensitive ultrasound equipment that can detect tiny quantities of reflective microbubbles engineered to stick to specific tumour cells. The technique should pick up tumours early and improve patients' chances of survival.

26 Oct 2008

FDA approves Boston Scientific's carotid artery stent

Boston Scientific Corporation has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its Carotid WALLSTENT Monorail Endoprosthesis for the treatment of patients with carotid artery disease who are at high risk for surgery.

23 Oct 2008

Exposure to low doses of mercury changes the way the arteries work

An international team of researchers has shown that mercury is another important factor in cardiovascular disease as it changes the way arteries work. One of the possible sources of exposure of humans to mercury is by eating contaminated fish.

23 Oct 2008

Medtronic launches new device to improve minimally-invasive treatment of thoracic aortic aneurysms

Extending an unmatched record of innovation in the field of endovascular aortic repair, Medtronic, Inc., today announced the U.S. market launch of the Talent Thoracic Stent Graft on the Xcelerant Delivery System, which makes minimally-invasive treatment of thoracic aortic aneurysms easier to perform.

22 Oct 2008

Aires Pharmaceuticals signs license agreement with NIH

Aires Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced the signing of an exclusive license agreement with the U.S. National Institutes of Health for the patented use of a nitric oxide prodrug to treat cardiopulmonary conditions.

22 Oct 2008

Vascular News and Research

Five key proteins form new, early-warning blood test before heart attack strikes

Low-dose aspirin does not appear to reduce risk of CV events in patients with diabetes

Hispanics less likely to have repeat revascularizations 1 year after angioplasty

Flu shots may reduce risk of blood clots forming in veins

Further evidence that angiogenesis drugs can be much more effective when combined with chemotherapy

Advances in ophthalmology

Age is not an independent factor in cancer survival rates, but clinical trials exclude older patients

Age, race are among factors that influence carotid-surgery success

New clinical study will help doctors assess abnormal bleeding

Anti-VEGF drugs for retinal diseases could have serious side effects

Genentech submits application to FDA for Avastin in the most aggressive form of brain cancer

Bacteria can directly cause human blood and plasma to clot

Research points to new treatment options for infantile hemangioma

Discovery of mechanism and possible drug treatment for growth of nerve tumors in neurofibromatosis

Even minimally symptomatic obstructive sleep apnea increases cardiovascular risk

Sensitive ultrasound to spot early-stage cancer

FDA approves Boston Scientific's carotid artery stent

Exposure to low doses of mercury changes the way the arteries work

Medtronic launches new device to improve minimally-invasive treatment of thoracic aortic aneurysms

Aires Pharmaceuticals signs license agreement with NIH

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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