Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

FDA grant to foster development of novel pediatric medical devices

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has awarded the Georgia Institute of Technology, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University and Saint Joseph's Translational Research Institute (SJTRI) a two-year, $1.8 million grant to foster the development of medical devices focused on the special needs of children.

13 Oct 2011

GeneDx launches new genetic test to accurately diagnose rare diseases

At the joint conference of the American Society of Human Genetics/International Congress on Human Genetics in Montreal on October 12, GeneDx, one of the foremost genetics laboratories in the world and a subsidiary of Bio-Reference Laboratories, Inc., is announcing a first-of-its-kind test that will enable physicians and patients to more accurately identify the genetic cause of rare diseases.

13 Oct 2011

CSIR and Mayo Clinic sign research collaboration agreement

Mayo Clinic and the top science and technology organization in India have signed an agreement to collaborate on research. Leaders from Mayo and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India today signed a memorandum of understanding to work together on such topics as drug, device and biomarker studies relating to heart disease, chemical biology and applied genomics, and innovations in metabolomics.

13 Oct 2011

ESC to deliver educational programme on cardiovascular disease in Beijing

At over 40%, the mortality rate due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) in China is amongst the highest in the world- and has been rightly described as an epidemic. Its population faces a catalogue of CVD risk factor statistics that expose high levels of obesity, diabetes, cholesterol and blood pressure, and a smoking habit within males that is proving stubborn to address.

13 Oct 2011

Pfizer, deCODE genetics collaborate to discover sequence variants linked with SLE

deCODE genetics today announced that it has entered into a research collaboration with Pfizer Inc., the objective of which is to discover sequence variants associated with specific clinical phenotypes related to Systemic Lupus Erythematosis by utilizing deCODE's expertise in gene discovery.

13 Oct 2011

Affymetrix launches Axiom Pan-African Array

Affymetrix, Inc. today announced at the ICHG/ASHG annual conference in Montreal, the worldwide launch of the Axiom Genome-Wide Pan-African Array, the first commercial product to maximize genomic coverage of both common and rare alleles in populations of African ancestry, including West African, East African, and African American.

13 Oct 2011

Restless legs syndrome linked to hypertension

Up to 15 percent of the population has restless legs syndrome. Restless legs syndrome is characterized by crawling sensations and repeated muscle twichings in one or both legs, and an uncontrollable urge to move them - which may compel a person to walk in circles for hours at night.

12 Oct 2011

Cholera epidemic in Africa: Largest yet

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has announced in a statement that the cholera epidemic in West and Central Africa is one of the worst the area has ever seen. So far this year more than 85,000 cases have been reported in the region, including 2,466 deaths.

12 Oct 2011

ACR celebrates World Arthritis Day with the theme 'Move to Improve'

The American College of Rheumatology joins organizations from around the world in celebrating World Arthritis Day. Held every year on October 12, this year's theme is "Move to Improve" - focusing on using physical activity to combat arthritis and rheumatic diseases - such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, gout and psoriatic arthritis.

12 Oct 2011

Idera announces new data on novel gene-silencing oligonucleotide technology

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today presented new data on its novel gene-silencing oligonucleotide (GSO) technology at the Cell Symposium on Regulatory RNAs in Chicago, IL.

12 Oct 2011

ASHG to honor U of U geneticist with William Allan Award

As a teenager just moved to Iowa from war-ravaged Germany in 1951, John M. Opitz, M.D., wanted to study developmental biology, but his "very Prussian" mother insisted he go to medical school instead.

12 Oct 2011

Environmental toxicants can pose risk for atherosclerosis

Environmental toxicants such as dioxins, PCBs, and pesticides can pose a risk for cardiovascular disease. For the first time a link has been demonstrated between atherosclerosis and levels of long-lived organic environmental toxicants in the blood.

12 Oct 2011

CHOP, Albert Einstein College of Medicine to study genetics of conotruncal defects

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development, part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and collaborators at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) a five-year, $6.7 million grant to study the genetics of both rare and common congenital heart abnormalities known as conotruncal defects.

12 Oct 2011

DMC completes review of BioSante's LibiGel Phase III cardiovascular and breast cancer study

BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced today that the independent Data Monitoring Committee (DMC) has completed the seventh unblinded review of the LibiGel Phase III cardiovascular and breast cancer safety study, which has completed enrollment of subjects.

11 Oct 2011

Aspirin desensitization procedure can benefit patients with sinusitis, asthma and AERD

Beth Moore can now keep up with her children. The suburban Philadelphia mother of two had suffered from allergies and chronic sinusitis since her teens. With age her symptoms became more severe, turning into bronchitis and eventually asthma, diminishing her ability to breathe and sapping her of her energy. The only complete relief came from aspirin; and the aspirin desensitization that allowed her to overcome her aspirin allergy and end her decades-long battle with sinusitis.

11 Oct 2011

New mechanism to enhance restoration of blood flow in ischemic diseases

In Nature, VIB-K.U.Leuven researchers describe a new mechanism to enhance the restoration of the blood flow in ischemic diseases, which are among the leading causes of death worldwide.

11 Oct 2011

Georgia hospitals present varying financial pictures

One hospital run by Children's Healthcare Of Atlanta had its best financial results of the decade in 2010, but many of the state's independent hospitals are facing hard times. Medical staff issues and attempted aquisitions are also in the news.

11 Oct 2011

Troy High School teacher receives top prize in national ING Unsung Heroes awards program

ING, a leading provider of employer-sponsored retirement plans for educators, businesses, and government and not-for-profit entities, announced that Rebecca Brewer, a biology teacher at Troy High School in Troy, Mich., has received the top prize in the national 2011 ING Unsung Heroes awards program. Through this program, ING awards educators throughout the U.S. grants for innovative teaching ideas.

11 Oct 2011

St. Jude Medical launches new Merlin.net Patient Care Network update

St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, today announced the launch of its Merlin.net Patient Care Network (PCN) version 5.0. This update features enhancements to the Internet-based repository of patient and implantable device data that provide physicians easier access to important alerts and improve efficiency of data transmission to electronic health records.

11 Oct 2011

Middle-aged woman with RLS more likely to develop hypertension

If you're a middle-aged woman with Restless Legs Syndrome, you may have a higher risk of developing high blood pressure, according to new research reported in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.

11 Oct 2011