Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

MEDNAX acquires Burlington Anesthesia

MEDNAX, Inc., today announced the acquisition of Burlington Anesthesia PLLC, a physician group practice that provides anesthesia services in Burlington, N.C. and Farhouch Berdjis MD Medical Corp (FBMC), a pediatric cardiology practice in Orange, Calif.

6 Apr 2012

Cancer diagnosis associated with suicide, cardiovascular death

People who are diagnosed with cancer have a markedly increased risk of suicide and cardiovascular death during the period immediately after being given the diagnosis. This has been shown in a new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, published in the prestigious scientific journal The New England Journal of Medicine.

6 Apr 2012

Spectrum signs definitive agreement to acquire Allos

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals and Allos Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that they have signed a definitive agreement under which Spectrum will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Allos for $1.82 per share in cash plus one Contingent Value Right.

6 Apr 2012

Doctors continue to prescribe dangerous nifedipine drug to elderly patients

Despite the fact that nifedipine increases the risk of heart attacks and death, doctors still prescribe this immediate-release blood pressure drug to elderly patients. The Cologne-based research group led by Ingrid Schubert has now published the results of their investigation in the current issue of Deutsches -rzteblatt International.

6 Apr 2012

USPTO issues patent to ChromaDex’s pterostilbene

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted patent #8,133,917 pertaining to the ingredient pterostilbene, which is licensed exclusively to ChromaDex Corp., an innovative natural products company that provides proprietary, science-based solutions and ingredients to the dietary supplement, food & beverage, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries, and marketer of BluScience, its new line of dietary supplements.

6 Apr 2012

People consuming energy drinks while not exercising put themselves at risk

Researchers have found that more people are making themselves vulnerable to health problems by downing sports energy drinks that are meant to be used with intense exercise – while sitting around.

5 Apr 2012

Weight loss pill Qnexa wins panel vote and awaits approval

The drug was rejected in a 10-6 vote the first time it came before a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel, in 2010, due to safety concerns. However when the medication returned for another review in February, the advisory committee gave it near-unanimous approval (20-2). Because the FDA often follows the advisory panel's advice, Qnexa is likely to get FDA approval, probably by mid-April.

5 Apr 2012

Financial incentives for purchasing a healthier food option

The aging baby boomers and subsequent generations will be looking to the food industry to provide products that can help them live longer, healthier and more active lives than previous generations, according to research presented at the Institute of Food Technologists' Wellness 12 meeting.

5 Apr 2012

HSP27 protein can indicate lung damage during early stages of COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a widespread disease. In Austria alone, there are between 500,000 and 600,000 sufferers; around ninety per cent of cases are the result of smoking. Now, under the leadership of Hendrik Jan Ankersmit, a research team from the University Department of Surgery at MedUni Vienna and the Christian Doppler Laboratory for the Diagnosis and Regeneration of Heart and Thorax Diseases has discovered a protein marker in the blood that can already indicate lung damage during the early stages of COPD, before a decrease in lung volume is detected by a pulmonary function test.

5 Apr 2012

Fogarty receives NIH grant to help foster next generation of global health scientists

To help foster the next generation of global health scientists, Fogarty International Center and its partners at the National Institutes of Health are building a network of U.S. academic institutions to provide early-career physicians, veterinarians, dentists and scientists with a significant mentored research experience in a developing country.

5 Apr 2012

Only few women consume aspirin to reduce risk of heart disease

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women, and evidence-based national guidelines promote the use of daily aspirin for women at increased risk for cardiovascular disease. However, less than half of the women who could benefit from aspirin are taking it, according to an article in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

5 Apr 2012

ARI-4175 drug may treat colorectal cancer patients with KRAS mutation

When combined with other treatments, the drug cetuximab-which works by slowing or stopping the growth of cancer cells-has been shown to extend survival in certain types of cancer, including metastatic colorectal cancers. Unfortunately, about 40 percent of colorectal cancer patients-specifically those who carry a mutated form of a gene called KRAS-do not respond to the drug. Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, however, have been working on a way to overcome this resistance to cetuximab by unleashing a second cetuximab driven mechanism using a novel drug called ARI-4175.

5 Apr 2012

UH to host 'Science Impacting Health and Society' lecture series

A new lecture series at the University of Houston (UH) will give Houstonians an opportunity to learn how science is making a difference in health and medicine. The first of five lectures will be held from 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 25 at the Hilton University of Houston.

5 Apr 2012

CCTRN selects MHI as one of seven U.S. centers of excellence

The Cardiovascular Cell Therapy Research Network (CCTRN), a nationwide U.S. network funded by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has selected the Minneapolis Heart Institute- (MHI) as one of its seven U.S. centers of excellence.

5 Apr 2012

VCAM1 nanobodies can effectively visualize atherosclerotic lesions

In collaboration with a Brussels University team under the leadership of Nick Devoogdt and a French team from INSERM, Serge Muyldermans and his team, associated with VIB and Vrije Universiteit Brussel, have succeeded in developing the first patient-friendly, non-invasive method for differentiating dangerous strictures in blood vessels, so-called vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques, from less dangerous ones.

5 Apr 2012

ASN participates in ABIM Foundation's Choosing Wisely campaign

The American Society of Nephrology (ASN), the world's leading kidney organization, joins the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation, eight other leading national medical specialty societies, and Consumer Reports in the new Choosing Wisely campaign that helps health care professionals and patients avoid wasteful and sometimes harmful medical interventions.

5 Apr 2012

Poor countries must adapt health systems to meet chronic care needs of aging population, WHO says

"Health systems, particularly in poorer countries, need to adapt to meet the chronic care needs of older people as the shift to aging populations gathers pace in low- and middle-income countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) said" Wednesday in a briefing paper to mark World Health Day, observed on Saturday, the Guardian reports.

5 Apr 2012

Viewpoints: Obama's 'diatribe' on Ryan budget; President 'recovers' on statements about the court; Other health care mandates

If there's a Laffer Curve for Presidential invective - some point at which dishonest political abuse yields diminishing returns - the White House political team must not think their boss has hit it. Even in this hyperpartisan age, President Obama's speech to the Associated Press yesterday was a parody of the form. This was a diatribe that managed to invoke "Social Darwinism" and "a Trojan Horse" in the same paragraph, amid the other high crimes that Mr. Obama says Paul Ryan wants to commit.

5 Apr 2012

Improving or maintaining physical fitness appears to help obese and overweight children

Improving or maintaining physical fitness appears to help obese and overweight children reach a healthy weight, reports a new study from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. Researchers analyzed four years of data from in-school fitness tests and body mass index (BMI) measurements of students in grades 1-7 in the city of Cambridge, Mass.

5 Apr 2012

Piceatannol blocks preadipocytes’ ability to develop and grow

A compound found in red wine, grapes and other fruits, and similar in structure to resveratrol, is able to block cellular processes that allow fat cells to develop, opening a door to a potential method to control obesity, according to a Purdue University study.

5 Apr 2012