Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Eating blueberries may inhibit breast cancer tumor growth

Eating blueberries may inhibit breast cancer tumor growth, according to a recent study by researchers at the City of Hope in Los Angeles that is published in the October 2011 issue of The Journal Of Nutrition and featured in the September issue of Food Nutrition & Science.

27 Sep 2011

Endologix develops Ventana stent graft system to treat aortic aneurysms

The Methodist Hospital has been chosen as a study site for a new type of stent graft device that is designed for the repair of certain types of aortic aneurysms near or involving the blood vessels that lead to the kidneys. The Ventana Fenestrated Stent Graft System is made by Endologix Inc., which is sponsoring both the feasibility and pivotal studies of the device.

27 Sep 2011

Research roundup: Widows and medical spending; disparities in heart care, hospital deaths

The authors write: "We find that out-of-pocket medical spending is approximately 29 percent higher when an individual becomes widowed, a large portion of which is spending on nursing homes. Our results suggest a substantial role of living arrangements in out-of-pocket medical spending; however, our estimates combined with differences in rates of widowhood across gender suggest that marital status can explain only one third of the gender difference in total out-of-pocket medical spending, leaving a large portion unexplained.

27 Sep 2011

Study: Underweight COPD patients more likely to face death

Patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are at a higher risk of death if they are underweight.

27 Sep 2011

No link between chemotherapy during pregnancy and children's cognitive development

Children born after their mothers were treated with chemotherapy during pregnancy appear to be unaffected by the experience in terms of the development of their mental processes and the normal functioning of their hearts, according to new research presented at the 2011 European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress.

27 Sep 2011

Alnylam commences ALN-PCS Phase I trial in severe hypercholesterolemia

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that it has initiated dosing in its Phase I clinical trial with ALN-PCS, an RNAi therapeutic targeting proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9, or PCSK9, for the treatment of severe hypercholesterolemia.

27 Sep 2011

Men over 75 with prostate cancer are being undertreated: Study

It's an ongoing debate: Should men over a certain age be treated for prostate cancer? Should these patients be submitted to treatments that may result in significant side effects if they may not live very much longer?

27 Sep 2011

Roundup: Patient dies after medical error during Calif. nurses strike; grocery workers ratify contract that had partially hinged on health care

Veteran nurses locked out of Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland said Sunday that the death of a patient due to a medical error by a replacement worker wouldn't have happened if they had been allowed to do their jobs. The hospital's management countered that it was a freak accident that could have happened at any time -- with or without the replacement nurses. At the center of the dispute is a cancer patient, a woman who has not been identified but whose tragic death on Saturday has inflamed an already tense labor dispute.

27 Sep 2011

People with COPD, reduced lung function more likely to develop cardiovascular disease

A new study has shown that people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or people with reduced lung function are at a serious risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

26 Sep 2011

New insights into actions of NSAIDs

Ibuprofen, naproxen, and related non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) - the subjects of years of study - still have some secrets to reveal about how they work.

26 Sep 2011

Genentech announces results of trastuzumab emtansine Phase II study on HER2-positive mBC

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, today announced the results of the Phase II study TDM4450g in people with previously untreated HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.

26 Sep 2011

Gold nanowires in engineered cardiac patches could help heart attack patients

A team of physicians, engineers and materials scientists at Children's Hospital Boston and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have used nanotechnology and tiny gold wires to engineer cardiac patches, with cells all beating in time, that could someday help heart attack patients.

26 Sep 2011

Vaxent, PREVENT sign license agreement to develop and commercialize Strep-A vaccine

An international collaboration between Vaxent, a Memphis-based early stage vaccine development company in the Memphis Bioworks Foundation Incubator, and The Pan-Provincial Vaccine Enterprise Inc. (PREVENT), a Centre of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR) in Saskatchewan, has put a vaccine for group A streptococcus (Strep-A) back on the path for potential commercialization.

26 Sep 2011

City cyclists inhale more black carbon than pedestrians

People who cycle through London and other major cities have higher levels of black carbon in their airway cells, experts from the UK have shown.

26 Sep 2011

UofL receives Coulter Foundation grant for translational research

University of Louisville bioengineering researchers will use a $3.33 million award from the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation to help commercialize promising academic innovations into medical solutions to benefit patients.

26 Sep 2011

VUMC announces partnership with NorthCrest, Maury Regional and Williamson Medical Center

Leaders of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Maury Regional Medical Center, Northcrest Medical Center and Williamson Medical Center today announced affiliation agreements establishing a partnership between these medical centers to work collaboratively to create new jointly operated programs and services in the counties where these hospitals reside.

26 Sep 2011

'Time matters' in the fight against pulmonary hypertension

The Pulmonary Hypertension Association Europe (PHA EU) has launched ‘Time Matters’ a new campaign which encourages people with Pulmonary Hypertension (PH) and their friends and family to share hopes and dreams for the future in order to raise awareness of this deadly and rapidly progressive condition. By logging on to the website http://phtimematters.org and posting an entry, everybody can help the patient association take a step towards increased awareness and understanding of this devastating condition.

26 Sep 2011

Fruits and veggies may prevent bowel cancer but not fruit juices: Study

Scientists claim that a glass of juice contains so much sugar it actually increases the risk of certain cancers, rather than preventing them. In fact, by the time the drink has been processed and packaged, many of the ingredients in fruit that protect against tumors have been lost, they say. The Perth team also said that many things found in fruit which help protect against bowel cancer – including fibre, vitamin C and chemicals known as antioxidants – are lost during the juice’s processing.

26 Sep 2011

Not enough doctors in Australia to follow up on breast cancer cases

Australian women who have undergone surgery for early-stage breast cancer could be monitored afterwards by their GP instead of a hospital clinic, under a federal government project that acknowledges there will not be enough specialist doctors for the coming wave of cancer cases among ageing baby boomers.

26 Sep 2011

ECDA welcomes UN High Level Meeting on Non Communicable Diseases

The European Chronic Disease Alliance (ECDA) welcomes the UN High Level Meeting on Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) to address the world biggest killers. "It is a memorable day in the history of public health. Discussing non communicable diseases at the UN table gives a strong sense of the burden it represents to human kind and the recognition that NCDs is a challenge for all nations in the world", declared Professor Michel Komajda, President of the European Society of Cardiology, an active member of the ECDA.

26 Sep 2011