Cardiology News and Research

Latest Cardiology News and Research

Identification of nitric oxide using lasers and sensors

Nitric oxide, a gas well known to scientists for its myriad functions, has proven challenging to measure accurately outside the laboratory. A team of Princeton and Rice University researchers has demonstrated a new method of identifying the gas using lasers and sensors that are inexpensive, compact and highly sensitive. Such a portable device, suitable for large-scale deployment, could be of great value to atmospheric science, pollution control, biology and medicine.

21 Sep 2009

AFib ablated using visually-guided laser balloon catheter

Physicians at The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York became the first in the U.S. to ablate atrial fibrillation using a visually-guided laser balloon catheter.

21 Sep 2009

CT-guided tube pericardiostomy, an effective treatment for pericardial effusion

Pericardial effusion, the collection of fluid around the heart, typically occurs in patients following heart surgery and is usually treated using an invasive surgical drainage technique. However researchers have discovered that a minimally invasive procedure called CT-guided tube pericardiostomy is just as effective - requiring no recovery time, fewer resources, and provides an 89 percent cost savings over the surgical drainage technique, according to a study published in the October issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR).

21 Sep 2009

Postmenopausal women benefit as much from exercise as younger women

In two papers based on the experiments and published in recent months, UC Berkeley researchers report that postmenopausal women can achieve the same health benefits from regular, vigorous exercise as younger women do.

21 Sep 2009

A new study links 45,000 deaths a year to lack of insurance

Researchers find that 45,000 deaths a year can be linked to the lack of health insurance. But, some question the study's merits. CBS News reports that the study was conducted by a team "that tracked more than 9,000 people for up to 13 years, comparing the health of those with insurance to those without. After factoring in education and income, smoking, drinking and obesity, researchers found that the uninsured had about a 40 percent higher risk of death, linking 45,000 American deaths a year to lack of insurance. In 1993 it was 25 percent" (Axelrod, 9/17).

21 Sep 2009

Study reveals that KCNE2 and KCNQ1 mutations can results in thyroid dysfunction

Genes previously known to be essential to the coordinated, rhythmic electrical activity of cardiac muscle -- a healthy heartbeat -- have now also been found to play a key role in thyroid hormone (TH) biosynthesis, according to Weill Cornell Medical College researchers.

21 Sep 2009

Abbott Prism HIV O Plus assay approved by FDA

The U. S. Food and Drug Administration today announced approval of the Abbott Prism HIV O Plus assay, as a screening tool designed to detect the presence of certain antibodies to HIV. The assay is one of five assays that run on the fully automated Abbott Prism System.

21 Sep 2009

CEO of New Mexico Software provides update on its business activities

New Mexico Software, Inc. (OTCBB: NMXC), a leading services provider of next-generation business and medical services, issued this letter today to shareholders and stakeholders of New Mexico Software to provide an update on significant business activities at the Company:

19 Sep 2009

Ethridge Plastic Surgery focuses on personalized reconstructive procedures

A Fort Worth plastic surgeon, Richard T. Ethridge, M.D., P.A., strives to promote health and well-being through a comprehensive and personalized approach to rejuvenative and reconstructive surgery. Dr. Ethridge specializes in plastic and reconstructive surgery, with a focus on cosmetic and reconstructive procedures of the breast, body, and face.

19 Sep 2009

Medtronic to showcase cardiovascular product portfolio at TCT 2009

Expecting new data on drug-eluting stents and transcatheter heart valves to feature prominently at Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) 2009 next week in San Francisco, Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), today announced plans to showcase its innovative cardiovascular product portfolio, technology pipeline and clinical research at the world’s premier annual meeting for interventional cardiologists.

19 Sep 2009

Del Monte Foods sponsors the San Francisco Heart Walk

Del Monte Foods today continues its commitment to healthy diet and lifestyles and the prevention of heart disease and stroke as the returning Presenting Sponsor of the American Heart Association 2009 Start! San Francisco Heart Walk.

19 Sep 2009

Positron to promote its Attrius cardiac optimized PET scanner at the MedAxiom Fall Conference

Positron Corporation (OTCBB:POSC) a molecular imaging solutions company focused on Nuclear Cardiology, will attend MedAxiom’s Fall Conference in Dana Point, California September 23rd, 2009 to promote their cardiac optimized PET scanner, the Attrius™ (www.medaxiom.com).

19 Sep 2009

Prostate cancer more prevalent in African-American men

A new guide, Straight Talk for African-American Men and their Families, is now available from the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF). It was produced in alliance with Charlie Wilson, famed R&B singer and recent prostate cancer survivor.

19 Sep 2009

Patient enrollment for PLATINUM workhorse trial completed by Boston Scientific

Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) today announced the completion of patient enrollment in the workhorse portion of its PLATINUM clinical program. PLATINUM is a global, randomized, pivotal controlled trial designed to support U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) approval of the platinum chromium PROMUS((R)) Element(TM) Everolimus-Eluting Coronary Stent System.

19 Sep 2009

Joslin Diabetes Center to provide educational material for U.S. Mills’ web site

U.S. Mills, LLC, which markets a family of healthy food brands including Uncle Sam® Cereal, announced today that the world-renowned Joslin Diabetes Center will provide educational material for U.S. Mills’ Web site, www.usmillsllc.com. The content will serve as a resource to Uncle Sam Cereal consumers, many of whom live with diabetes.

18 Sep 2009

EPO and growth factor therapy safe for anemic MDS patients

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), a group of blood disorders that can lead to acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in some patients, often cause severe anemia (when the body lacks a sufficient number of functional red blood cells).

18 Sep 2009

Research program to study personalized medicine

A new collaborative research program that will use the power of metabolomic profiling to help advance the concept of personalized medicine was announced September 17, 2009 by the Burnham Institute for Medical Research and the Sarah W. Stedman Nutrition and Metabolism Center at Duke University Medical Center.

18 Sep 2009