Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Statins may reduce risk of depression in patients with heart disease

Patients with heart disease who took cholesterol-lowering statins were significantly less likely to develop depression than those who did not, in a study by Mary Whooley, MD, a physician at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.

27 Feb 2012

The Lancet publishes Takeda's TAK-875 Phase 2 data on type 2 diabetes

Phase 2 clinical data of an investigational type 2 diabetes therapy, TAK-875 of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, were published online first in The Lancet.

27 Feb 2012

Lung function, obstructive airway diseases linked with increased risk of heart failure

A large population-based study has found that lung function and obstructive airway diseases are strongly and independently associated with increased risk of heart failure. Importantly, say the investigators, this association was even evident in never-smokers and was still evident after adjustment for smoking status and number of years smoking. This, they add, indicates "that our results are not primarily confounded by smoking".

26 Feb 2012

Exelixis announces cabozantinib preclinical data on pancreatic cancer

Exelixis, Inc. today announced the company's lead compound, cabozantinib, is highlighted in a new peer-reviewed publication demonstrating that simultaneous inhibition of MET and VEGF signaling reduces tumor invasiveness and metastasis in preclinical models of pancreatic cancer.

26 Feb 2012

Citrus fruits may keep stroke at bay for women

In the study published last Thursday in Stroke, a journal of the American Heart Association, researchers analyzed the flavonoid intake of 69,622 women from the U.S.-based Nurses’ Health Study, which has followed nurses since 1976 to assess risk factors for cardiovascular disease and cancer. The total flavonoid intake of the 69,622 women was calculated after they completed food intake questionnaires collected every four years using a U.S. Department of Agriculture database. They found that during 14 years of follow up surveys beginning in 1990, 1,803 incidents of strokes were confirmed from the women.

26 Feb 2012

FDA panel votes in favor of earlier rejected anti-obesity drug Qnexa

Qnexa took a step closer to approval on Wednesday, when outside advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted 20-to-2 in favor of approval. The panel also recommended the company conduct a study to scrutinize even more closely any risk of heart problems. That study may be required after the drug is approved. Should the FDA ask for further data on heart risks before any approval, it would delay Qnexa's launch further.

26 Feb 2012

Romney defends health care record on the campaign trail

News outlets report on how GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is casting his health care policies as he moves toward the Tuesday's Michigan and Arizona primaries.

24 Feb 2012

Research roundup: Hospital medication errors; Key Medicaid issues in 2014

Use Of Preventive Services Could Be Better Aligned With Clinical Recommendations -- This report looks at Medicare patients' use of eight specific preventive services, which have "the potential to improve health outcomes and lower health care expenditures," according to the authors. Use of cardiovascular and cervical cancer screenings "generally aligned with clinical recommendations, ... but use of other cancer screenings" did not.

24 Feb 2012

UCSF: 1-2 punch blocks tumor growth, invasion and metastasis

Simultaneous targeting of two different molecules in cancer is an effective way to shrink tumors, block invasion, and stop metastasis, scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have found-work that may improve the effectiveness of combination treatments that include drugs like Avastin.

24 Feb 2012

Cardiologists not satisfied with 'doc fix'

The continual postponement of the SGR cuts has dampened the enthusiasm of younger cardiologists, said Robert O. Bonow, MD, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Innovation at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

24 Feb 2012

Cyberonics third quarter net sales increase 16% to $54.5 million

Cyberonics, Inc. today announced results for the quarter ended January 27, 2012.

24 Feb 2012

Bathtub refinishers may cause work-related death

The deaths of at least 13 workers who were refinishing bathtubs have been linked to a chemical used in products to strip surfaces of paint and other finishes.

24 Feb 2012

Supreme Court sends Calif. Medicaid case back to lower court

At issue was a federal appeals court ruling allowing patients and health care providers to sue over California's cuts in Medicaid payment rates. The high court sent the case back to the court in San Francisco to consider whether private parties or only the federal government can object to Medicaid reductions.

24 Feb 2012

Higher alcohol intake may increase risk of CRC among obese people

A case-control study from Newfoundland/Labrador has reported that greater alcohol intake may increase the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) among obese subjects, but not among non-obese subjects.

24 Feb 2012

Article in journal Science proposes new look on killer diseases

The immune system protects from infections by detecting and eliminating invading pathogens. These two strategies form the basis of conventional clinical approaches in the fight against infectious diseases.

24 Feb 2012

UH GCSW to host Houston, Leading America's Future round table discussion

The University of Houston (UH) Graduate College of Social Work (GCSW) will host, "Houston, Leading America's Future," a round table discussion addressing what can be done today to ensure the success of Houston's multicultural society at 4 p.m., Friday, Feb. 24 at the UH GCSW building, Room 102.

24 Feb 2012

Feds award health exchange grants to 10 states

The Department of Health and Human Services is sending $229 million in exchange establishment grants to 10 states -- half of which are receiving this funding for a second time around. However, an Associated Press analysis found that progress among states in setting up these health insurance marketplaces remains uneven.

24 Feb 2012

Kidney failure patients may benefit from frequent and longer dialysis treatments

Frequent and longer dialysis treatments may provide more benefits for patients than conventional dialysis treatments, according to several studies appearing in upcoming issues of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology.

24 Feb 2012

Study strengthens statistical link between BPA and heart disease

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a controversial chemical widely used in the plastics industry. A new study followed people over a 10-year time period and shows that healthy people with higher urine concentrations of BPA were more likely to later develop heart disease.

24 Feb 2012

Bath salts mimic effects of two powerful narcotics

The street drug commonly referred to as "bath salts" is one of a growing list of synthetic and unevenly regulated narcotics that are found across the United States and on the Internet. New research on this potent drug paints an alarming picture, revealing that bath salts pack a powerful double punch, producing combined effects similar to both methamphetamine (METH) and cocaine.

24 Feb 2012