Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Potential new protein target for pulmonary hypertension

A protein critical to development appears to have a grave impact on lungs exposed to smoking and air pollution, researchers report.

18 Oct 2011

International conference on polyphenols and health to be held in Sitges

The 5th International Conference on Polyphenols and Health will bring together over 700 researchers from around the world to discuss the latest findings on the polyphenolic components of food and their role in disease prevention and health promotion.

18 Oct 2011

New DNA-based prenatal blood test can identify pregnancy with Down syndrome

A new DNA-based prenatal blood test that can strikingly reduce the number of risky diagnostic procedures needed to identify a pregnancy with Down syndrome is ready to be introduced into clinical practice.

18 Oct 2011

St. Jude Medical commences use of renal denervation catheter and generator system

St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, today announced the first use of the company's renal denervation catheter and generator system, as part of a feasibility study of the new technology. The technology was developed as a treatment for resistant hypertension (high blood pressure that is not well controlled by drug therapy).

18 Oct 2011

Takeda commences TAK-875 Phase 3 clinical trial program for type 2 diabetes

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Takeda Global Research & Development Center, Inc., and Takeda Global Research & Development Centre (Europe), Ltd., announced today the initiation of the Company's Phase 3 clinical trial program for TAK-875, an investigational therapy for type 2 diabetes.

18 Oct 2011

Circadian disruption and sleep restriction increase risk of MS in teens

Researchers from Sweden have uncovered an association between shift work and increased risk of multiple sclerosis. Those who engage in off-hour employment before the age of 20 may be at risk for MS due to a disruption in their circadian rhythm and sleep pattern. Findings of this novel study appear today in Annals of Neurology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Neurological Association and Child Neurology Society.

18 Oct 2011

LRI launches major lupus research initiative

The Lupus Research Institute (LRI) launched a major international initiative aimed at attracting the highest level scientists to conduct pioneering research to discover the fundamental root causes of lupus, explore the potential for a cure, and transform the field of lupus research.

18 Oct 2011

Patients with AB blood type 20% less likely to die after CABG surgery

A new study presented at ANESTHESIOLOGY 2011 focused on whether blood type affects survival after heart surgery. Researchers from Duke University Medical Center studied more than 15,000 patients to determine if a specific blood type puts patients at a higher risk for death or complications after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.

18 Oct 2011

Omega-3 in fish oil could reduce signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis

New research has shown for the first time that omega-3 in fish oil could "substantially and significantly" reduce the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis.

18 Oct 2011

Nephron Dx to develop more accurate diagnostic kit for early detection of diabetic CKD

A new spin-off company from the National University of Singapore (NUS), called Nephron Dx, has recently been set up to develop a more accurate diagnostic kit for the earlier detection of diabetic chronic kidney disease. Nephron Dx aims to enter the multi-billion dollar kidney disease diagnostic market by 2013.

18 Oct 2011

High glucose and oxidative stress stimulate AMPK in embryo

In a paper published today in Diabetologia, a team at Joslin Diabetes Center, headed by Mary R. Loeken, PhD, has identified the enzyme AMP kinase (AMPK) as key to the molecular mechanism that significantly increases the risk of neural tube defects such as spina bifida and some heart defects among babies born to women with diabetes.

18 Oct 2011

VIVUS announces Qnexa NDA resubmission for treatment of obesity

VIVUS, Inc. today announced that the company has resubmitted the New Drug Application (NDA) for Qnexa to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

18 Oct 2011

Researchers identify 42 genetic regions associated with liver function

Researchers have identified a large number of areas in the human genetic code that are involved in regulating the way in which the liver functions, in a new study of over 61,000 people, published today in the journal Nature Genetics.

18 Oct 2011

Viewpoints: Class Act's effect on health law; new prescriptions for Medicare; food marketing to kids

Now that one of ObamaCare's major new benefit programs has been scrapped, liberals are trying to make stone soup by claiming that the Obama Administration merely committed an act of "good government." They claim that when this long-term care insurance program proved to be unworkable, the Administration conceded as much, and now it's gone. So let's review the evidence, not least because it so perfectly illustrates the recklessness that produced the Affordable Care Act.

18 Oct 2011

Order of the day – massive calorie cuts for Britons

Andrew Lansley made an announcement that Britain needs to cut 5 billion calories a day from its diet to curb obesity. Lansley urged individuals to eat less and eat more wisely, and promised to talk to the food industry about voluntary cuts in the calorie content of processed food and drinks. The health secretary and the chief medical officer, Sally Davies also issued a “call to action” on diet, pointing out that alcohol contributed 10% to our calorie intake.

16 Oct 2011

Experts from CHOP address American Academy of Pediatrics annual meeting

Numerous experts from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia will be addressing their colleagues at this year's annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics on topics as varied as vaccine education, fetal surgery, sudden cardiac arrest, and sports injuries, among others.

15 Oct 2011

MRI scans may become useful tools for assessing cholesterol drugs

MRI scanning could become a powerful new tool for assessing how well cholesterol drugs are working, according to Loyola University Health System cardiologist Binh An P. Phan, MD.

15 Oct 2011

Heart-related treatments may improve wellbeing of patients with COPD

A new study has found that processes that control heart rate play an important role in the quality of life experienced by patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

15 Oct 2011

Exercise stimulates two beneficial proteins in women before and during pregnancy

Although exercise is generally considered to be a good thing for people with high blood pressure, it has traditionally been considered too risky for women who are also pregnant. Some studies suggest that exercise has benefits such as decreasing the risk of women developing preeclampsia, a condition that raises blood pressure to dangerously high levels but how this might happen has remained unknown.

15 Oct 2011

Obesity has greater impact on girls' blood pressure

The female hormone estrogen is known to offer protection for the heart, but obesity may be taking away that edge in adolescent girls. New research from the University of California at Merced finds that although obesity does not help teens of either gender, it has a greater impact on girls' blood pressure than it does on boys'.

15 Oct 2011