Cardiology News and Research

Latest Cardiology News and Research

Study: Protein that plays a key role in some antioxidant therapies can promote atherosclerosis

UCLA researchers have found that a protein that plays an important role in some antioxidant therapies may not be as effective due to additional mechanisms that cause it to promote atherosclerosis, or clogging of the arteries.

11 Jan 2011

Opsens files patent application for OptoWire diagnostic tool for measuring FFR

Opsens announces that it has recently filed a patent application for the OptoWire, a second diagnostic tool to assess coronary lesions by doing Fractional Flow Reserve.

10 Jan 2011

World's first drug eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffold receives CE Mark approval

Abbott announced today that it has received CE Mark approval for the world's first drug eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) for the treatment of coronary artery disease. Abbott's BVS device restores blood flow by opening a clogged vessel and providing support to the vessel until the device dissolves within approximately two years, leaving patients with a treated vessel free of a permanent metallic implant. Abbott's BVS device will be commercialized under the brand name ABSORB.

10 Jan 2011

All fat cells not the same

All fat cells are not the same - a fact that has implications in the understanding and treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine (www.bcm.edu) in a report that appears in the current issue of the Journal of Cell Biology (http://www.jcb.rupress.org/).

10 Jan 2011

Genetics Squared to change corporate name to Everist Genomics

Genetics Squared, a prognostics company focused on developing gene-based molecular assays for the prediction of cancer recurrence, today announced that it will change its corporate name to Everist Genomics and has appointed Prasad Sunkara, Ph.D. as its new President and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately.

10 Jan 2011

nContact Surgical removes 'Surgical' from company name

nContact Surgical, Inc., a cardiac ablation device manufacturer, announced today that it is changing the name under which it operates from nContact Surgical, Inc. to nContact, Inc. As the pioneer of interdisciplinary epicardial and endocardial cardiac ablation, the change represents the Company's further evolution towards closed chest approaches to treating common cardiac arrhythmias.

10 Jan 2011

Miracor’s PICSO System may help advance heart failure treatment

Miracor Medical Systems GmbH announced today that its PICSO® (Pressure-controlled Intermittent Coronary Sinus Occlusion) System, designed to improve outcomes for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and heart failure patients, has been cited as a technology that "may advance heart failure (HF) treatment significantly".

10 Jan 2011

Two signaling molecules communicate across nerve cells to regulate electrical, chemical activity: Study

In the Old West, camps sent smoke signals across distances to share key developments or strategy. Likewise, two important signaling molecules communicate across nerve cells to regulate electrical and chemical activity, neuroscientists from the UT Health Science Center San Antonio reported today.

10 Jan 2011

New lab-on-a-chip technology detects protein in blood less than 30 minutes

While most blood tests require shipping a vial of blood to a laboratory for analysis and waiting several days for the results, a new device invented by a team of engineers and students at the University of Rhode Island uses just a pinprick of blood in a portable device that provides results in less than 30 minutes.

10 Jan 2011

Positive PK study results from ECLIPSE trial against cardiovascular disease

Omthera Pharmaceuticals, a privately-held emerging specialty pharmaceuticals company, today announced data from its ECLIPSE trial, designed to evaluate the bioavailability of Epanova™, the Company's lead compound for the treatment of very high triglycerides, in comparison to Lovaza®, the leading prescription Omega 3.

10 Jan 2011

FDA grants marketing clearance for diaDexus's PLAC Test

diaDexus, a diagnostics company focused on the development and commercialization of patent-protected in vitro diagnostic products addressing unmet needs in cardiovascular disease, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared for marketing the automated version of its proprietary PLAC® Test.

9 Jan 2011

Carrots and plums for better looks!

Researchers at St Andrews and Bristol universities have found that carrots and plums could make one more attractive in just two months. They found that these fruits and vegetables contain pigments called carotenoids that color the skin within two months making a person more attractive and healthy.

9 Jan 2011

Vaccines for alcoholism and cocaine addiction coming soon

In a latest development, researchers from Chile have come up with a vaccine to cure alcoholics. It will help them kick the habit by creating a sensation of a terrible hangover after just a few drinks. The mechanism by which this vaccine acts is by neutralizing a group of enzymes that help the body to break down alcohol. When the enzymes aldehyde dehydrogenase is disabled the body accumulates the alcohol to create the hangovers after just a few drinks.

9 Jan 2011

Gigantism gene inherited by hundreds: Study

A gene that predicted gigantism in humans was identified in the DNA of the 18th-century man known as the Irish Giant, who was more than 7 feet 7 inches tall. Copies of the same mutation have been found in patients today who suffer from excessive growth, and scientists have concluded they all inherited the gene from a common ancestor.

9 Jan 2011

Sniffing women's tears reduces sexual arousal in men

Emotional crying is a universal, uniquely human behavior. When we cry, we clearly send all sorts of emotional signals. In a paper published online today in Science Express, scientists at the Weizmann Institute have demonstrated that some of these signals are chemically encoded in the tears themselves. Specifically, they found that merely sniffing a woman's tears - even when the crying woman is not present -- reduces sexual arousal in men.

7 Jan 2011

Underwriters exercise over-allotment option in Amarin ADS public offering

Amarin Corporation plc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a focus on cardiovascular disease, today announced that, in connection with its previously announced underwritten public offering of American Depositary Shares ("ADSs"), the underwriters of the offering have exercised in full their option to purchase up to an aggregate of 1,800,000 additional ADSs to cover over-allotments.

7 Jan 2011

Critical Diagnostics' high sensitivity Presage ST2 Assay receives CE Mark approval

Critical Diagnostics announced today that it has received CE (Conformité Européenne) Mark for its high sensitivity Presage ST2 Assay and is commencing commercialization in Europe. The product is indicated for use as an aid in risk stratification of patients with heart failure or acute coronary syndrome. This regulatory milestone marks the first time that an assay has become commercially available for the clinical measurement of the biomarker soluble ST2.

7 Jan 2011

Research roundup: Accountable Care Organizations; Electronic health records; Medicaid and deficit reductions

Health Affairs: Accountable Care Organizations: Making Them Work - The January issue of the journal features several articles examining initiatives underway that could help form ACOs, such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts' "Alternative Quality Contract,"a modified global payment model in which annual payments to medical groups are linked to a per member per month budget.

7 Jan 2011

BIND Biosciences commences BIND-014 Phase 1 clinical trial in cancer

BIND Biosciences announced today that it has initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial to assess the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetic profile of BIND-014 in cancer patients. BIND-014, the first product candidate to enter clinical evaluation from BIND's broad proprietary Medicinal Nanoengineering platform, is a targeted polymeric nanoparticle containing the cytotoxic agent, docetaxel.

7 Jan 2011

BG Medicine enters agreement to develop galectin-3 test for Siemens' automated immunoassay platforms

BG Medicine, Inc. announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Inc., a division of Siemens Healthcare, one of the world's largest suppliers of clinical diagnostics to the healthcare industry, for the development and commercialization of a galectin-3 test for Siemens' automated immunoassay platforms for clinical laboratories.

7 Jan 2011