Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

First Edition: September 5, 2012

Today's headlines include reports on how health reform is playing a role in presidential politics, both during the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., and in a new GOP campaign ad.

5 Sep 2012

Study evaluates prognostic utility of novel biomarkers of cardiovascular stress

Critical Diagnostics announced today, Circulation, an American Heart Association Journal, released online the first study evaluating the power of ST2 to predict development of heart failure and other adverse outcomes in the general population titled, "Prognostic Utility of Novel Biomarkers of Cardiovascular Stress: The Framingham Heart Study".

5 Sep 2012

First global benchmarks for assessing lung function across entire life span

New research has established the first global benchmarks for assessing lung function across the entire life span. The lung growth charts will help healthcare professionals better understand lung disease progression and help raise awareness of lung disease, which is the world's leading cause of death.

5 Sep 2012

Chemical properties of green tea benefit memory and spatial learning

It has long been believed that drinking green tea is good for the memory. Now researchers have discovered how the chemical properties of China's favorite drink affect the generation of brain cells, providing benefits for memory and spatial learning. The research is published in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research.

5 Sep 2012

Longer resuscitation could be beneficial after in-hospital cardiac arrest

New research published Online First in The Lancet suggests that increasing the duration of resuscitation efforts could improve survival in patients who arrest in hospital, challenging the common belief that extending resuscitation in patients who do not respond immediately is often futile.

5 Sep 2012

Roadmap to areas of the brain associated with affective aggression

A North Carolina State University researcher has created a roadmap to areas of the brain associated with affective aggression in mice. This roadmap may be the first step toward finding therapies for humans suffering from affective aggression disorders that lead to impulsive violent acts.

5 Sep 2012

AlloCure commences AC607 Phase 2 clinical trial for acute kidney injury

AlloCure, Inc. today announced that it has initiated a phase 2 clinical trial of AC607, the company's mesenchymal stem cell therapy, as a potential treatment for acute kidney injury.

5 Sep 2012

Avanir initiates enrollment in AVP-923 Phase II clinical trial for treatment of agitation in AD patients

Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the enrollment of the first patient in study AVR-131. The study is a Phase II clinical trial investigating the use of AVP-923 for the treatment of agitation in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

5 Sep 2012

Green tea chemical found to boost memory

It has long been believed that drinking green tea is good for the memory. Now researchers have discovered how the chemical properties of China’s favorite drink affect the generation of brain cells, providing benefits for memory and spatial learning. The research is published in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research.

5 Sep 2012

Motor coordination in children with sedentary lifestyles: an interview with Dr. Luis Lopes

The importance of an adequate motor coordination level in childhood has recently reemerged. In literature on motor skill development, the focus is mostly on the proficiency/competence level in movement skills. Motor competence/coordination can be defined as a person’s ability to execute different motor acts, including coordination of both fine and gross motor skills (Henderson & Sugden, 1992).

4 Sep 2012

E-cigarettes light up battle against adverse effects of smoking

The use of electronic cigarettes has no adverse impact on cardiac function, a study suggests.

4 Sep 2012

MADONNA: Personalized antiplatelet therapy savior for angioplasty patients?

Personalized antiplatelet treatment may improve cardiac outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention, researchers suggest.

4 Sep 2012

Testosterone levels linked to BD course

Results from a US study suggest that testosterone levels are positively associated with number of manic episodes and suicide attempts in patients with bipolar disorder.

4 Sep 2012

Lack of evidence to recommend routine screening for chronic kidney disease

Currently there is insufficient evidence to recommend the routine screening of chronic kidney disease in asymptomatic adults in the general population, according to a review by the US Preventive Services Task Force.

4 Sep 2012

Predictors of early death after traumatic bleeding uncovered

The strongest predictors of early death after traumatic postinjury bleeding are Glasgow coma score, age, and systolic blood pressure, report researchers.

4 Sep 2012

EC grants marketing authorization for Pfizer’s INLYTA to treat renal cell carcinoma

Pfizer Inc. announced today that the European Commission (EC) has granted marketing authorization for INLYTA (axitinib) for the treatment of adult patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), a type of kidney cancer, after failure of prior treatment with sunitinib or a cytokine.

4 Sep 2012

Meijer offers generic Lipitor for free to help families be heart healthy

In an effort to help families be heart healthy, this week Midwest retailer Meijer began offering the generic substitute for Lipitor (atorvastatin calcium) for free in all 199 Meijer pharmacies.

4 Sep 2012

Converting blood cells to a stem cell state: an interview with Elias Zambidis, M.D., Ph.D.

The primitive stem cell state we created is called an “induced pluripotent stem cell” (iPSC). iPSC are a new, unique, and artificially-created type of stem cell that were first described in 2006 by a Japanese scientist named Shinya Yamanaka.

4 Sep 2012

FDA approves Novartis’ Exelon Patch to treat mild to moderate AD

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a higher dose of Exelon Patch (rivastigmine transdermal system) for the treatment of people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.

4 Sep 2012

Morphological changes occur rapidly in response to cardiac injury

Cardiac injury leads to significant structural changes in the heart, including enlargement, excess formation of fibrous growth tissue, and abnormalities of the coronary vasculature. While associated factors have been targeted for therapeutic intervention, the results have been conflicting. Most studies have investigated these changes after six days of injury. However, advanced stages of remodeling have already begun by day seven following injury.

4 Sep 2012