Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Roche Diagnostics terminates sales and distribution agreement with Response

Response Biomedical Corporation today announced that Roche Diagnostics has terminated, effective September 30, 2011, the sales and distribution agreement between Roche and Response dated June 25, 2008. Under the terms of that agreement and related agreements, Roche Diagnostics had agreed to distribute Response's cardiovascular point-of-care (POC) tests on the RAMP® 200 Reader in the US.

From Roche Sequencing and Life Science 2 Sep 2011

PTC restructures collaboration with Genzyme

PTC Therapeutics, Inc. and Genzyme, a Sanofi company, announced today the restructuring of their collaboration. Under the original agreement, PTC held commercial rights for the U.S. and Canada and Genzyme held commercial rights in all other countries.

2 Sep 2011

New tool to predict survival after heart transplant

Johns Hopkins researchers say they have developed a formula to predict which heart transplant patients are at greatest risk of death in the year following their surgeries, information that could help medical teams figure out who would benefit most from the small number of available organs.

2 Sep 2011

NCD summit negotiations must get back on track to help millions worldwide

With negotiations over the outcomes for the U.N. High-level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) stalled, "[i]t is feared that sound proposals for clear goals and timelines to tackle these devastating diseases are being systematically deleted, diluted and downgraded by some U.N. Member States and urgent action is needed to put the negotiations back on track, when they recommence on September 1," Rob Moodie, chair of Global Health at the Nossal Institute of Global Health, writes in the Crikey health blog "Croakey."

2 Sep 2011

Blocked blood vessels linked to familiar signs of aging

Many common signs of aging, such as shaking hands, stooped posture and walking slower, may be due to tiny blocked vessels in the brain that can't be detected by current technology.

2 Sep 2011

Hospitals with higher surgical volumes less likely to cause unintentional serious injuries

Are you scheduled for heart bypass surgery or weight loss surgery? You might want to find out just how frequently different hospitals in your area are performing those procedures before deciding where to go. A new study finds that hospitals with higher surgical volumes for certain procedures are less likely to cause unintentional serious injuries to hospitalized patients when compared to those hospitals that perform the procedures less often.

2 Sep 2011

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center receives ACCF's GWTG Gold award

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center is one of only 167 hospitals nationwide to receive the American College of Cardiology Foundation's NCDR ACTION Registry-GWTG (Get with the Guidelines) Gold Performance Achievement Award for 2011.

2 Sep 2011

Two ROC trials evaluate new strategies for CPR following cardiac arrest

Researchers with the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium, which includes the University of Alabama at Birmingham, report Sept. 1 in the New England Journal of Medicine on the first two large-scale ROC trials. Both trials were evaluating new strategies for cardiopulmonary resuscitation following cardiac arrest.

2 Sep 2011

UC Davis computer model can test effects of anti-arrhythmia medications

UC Davis researchers have developed an accurate computer model to test the effects of medications for arrhythmia, or abnormal heart rhythm, before they are used in patients.

2 Sep 2011

UTHealth Phase I trial: Bone marrow stem cell therapy feasible, safe for acute stroke patients

Using a patient's own bone marrow stem cells to treat acute stroke is feasible and safe, according to the results of a ground-breaking Phase I trial at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

2 Sep 2011

RI Hospital researcher supports use of ablation procedures for treatment of lung cancer

The journal Radiology will publish in its September issue an article written by Damian E. Dupuy, M.D., director of tumor ablation at Rhode Island Hospital, supporting the use of ablation procedures for the treatment of lung cancer.

2 Sep 2011

Researchers seek ways to reduce battlefield amputations, identify heart attacks early

A Kansas scientist has developed a device to stabilize fractures during battle in the hopes of cutting down the number of amputations needed. Meanwhile, St. Jude researchers have launched a study of a new heart defibrillator.

2 Sep 2011

Dr. Reddy’s initiates DRL-17822 Phase II study in type II dyslipidemia

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories announced the initiation of dosing with DRL-17822 in patients with diagnosis of type II dyslipidemia. DRL-17822 is a selective, orally bioavailable inhibitor of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP), for the treatment and/or prevention of dyslipidemia, atherosclerosis and associated cardiovascular disease.

2 Sep 2011

Stroke hospitalization rates in adolescents and young adults increase up to 37%

Ischemic stroke hospitalization rates in adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 44 increased up to 37% between 1995 and 2008 according to a study conducted by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

2 Sep 2011

Simpler defibrillators may cause fewer problems for patients at risk of sudden cardiac death

When it comes to defibrillators, simpler may be safer, even though more complex machines are used on a majority of patients.

2 Sep 2011

Reduction in smoking has positive impact on mortality rates within six months

A study by the University of Liverpool has found that a decrease in smoking rapidly reduces mortality rates in individuals and entire populations within six months.

2 Sep 2011

Age-related lens yellowing linked to sleep disorders

A natural yellowing of the eye lens that absorbs blue light has been linked to sleep disorders in a group of test volunteers, according to a study in the September 1 issue of the journal Sleep. As this type of lens discoloration worsened with age, so did the risk of insomnia.

2 Sep 2011

Medtronic initiates U.S. post-approval study of Endurant AAA Stent Graft System

Leading the development of endovascular aortic repair (EVAR), Medtronic, Inc. today announced the start of its U.S. post-approval study of the Endurant AAA Stent Graft System, a medical device used to treat abdominal aortic aneurysms.

From Medtronic 2 Sep 2011

9/11 firefighters at greater risk of cancer

A new study shows that firefighters who were exposed to toxic dust and fumes clogging the air after the World Trade Center towers collapsed 10 years ago are more likely to develop cancer.

2 Sep 2011

Longer CPR may do more harm than good: Study

A new study reveals that providing CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) for a longer period of time could actually harm certain patients. “We found that extra CPR didn't help and, in fact, in some patients it was not a good thing. It would make it worse,” said Dr. Ian Stiell, lead author of a paper published in the Sept. 1 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. “Our study showed that there's no reason to do two minutes of CPR or to delay defibrillation.”

31 Aug 2011