Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Less body fat may increase risk of metabolic diseases

Having a lower percentage of body fat may not always lower your risk for heart disease and diabetes, according to a study by an international consortium of investigators, including two scientists from the Institute for Aging Research of Hebrew SeniorLife, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School (HMS).

27 Jun 2011

ArtVentive Medical conducts First Human Clinical Study with EOS Peripheral vascular occlusion device

ArtVentive Medical Group, Inc. announced today that the Company has conducted its First Human Clinical Study with its EOS Peripheral vascular occlusion device.

27 Jun 2011

Boehringer Ingelheim, Lilly announce new data from linagliptin Phase III study on type 2 diabetes

Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Company today announced Phase III study results for linagliptin, demonstrating improved glycaemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D) whose blood glucose is not adequately maintained.

27 Jun 2011

FDA recommends conservative dosing guidelines for ESAs to treat anemia in patients with CKD

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today recommended more conservative dosing guidelines for Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents (ESAs) when used to treat anemia in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) because of the increased risks of cardiovascular events such as stroke, thrombosis, and death.

27 Jun 2011

Positive preliminary findings from ATI's neurostimulation system study on cluster headache

Autonomic Technologies, Inc. (ATI), the developer of a novel miniaturized implantable system for severe headaches, today announced positive preliminary findings from a study evaluating the safety and efficacy of the company's investigational neurostimulation system for the treatment of cluster headache.

27 Jun 2011

Mortality, morbidity rates linked with AF remain 'unacceptably high' despite new treatments

Despite recent advances in the treatment of heart rhythm disturbances, mortality and morbidity rates associated with atrial fibrillation (AF) remain "unacceptably high", according to a new report.

27 Jun 2011

UVA to study how the 'Call to Health' model helps African-American women manage diabetes

The University of Virginia Health System has received a $300,000 grant to study the "Call to Health" model, which uses text messages, stress reduction and other techniques to help African-American women manage type 2 diabetes.

27 Jun 2011

Young adults with juvenile diabetes may face risk of heart attack and stroke

New research shows that adolescents and young adults with type 1 (juvenile) diabetes have thicker and stiffer carotid arteries, also known as atherosclerosis, a risk factor for heart attack and stroke in adults.

27 Jun 2011

Cardiac arrest represents tremendous problem for hospitals in the U.S.

More than 200,000 people are treated for cardiac arrest in United States hospitals each year, a rate that may be on the rise. The findings are reported online this week in Critical Care Medicine in a University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine-led study.

27 Jun 2011

Some HIV drugs can cause premature ageing

A class of anti-retroviral drugs commonly used to treat HIV, particularly in Africa and low income countries, can cause premature ageing, according to research published today in the journal Nature Genetics. The study shows that the drugs damage DNA in the patient's mitochondria - the 'batteries' which power their cells.

27 Jun 2011

Diabetes more prevalent in every part of the world

A major international study collating and analyzing worldwide data on diabetes since 1980 has found that the number of adults with the disease reached 347 million in 2008, more than double the number in 1980. The research, published today in The Lancet, reveals that the prevalence of diabetes has risen or at best remained unchanged in virtually every part of the world over the last three decades.

27 Jun 2011

New data from Zafgen's ZGN-433 Phase 1b study on obesity presented at ADA 2011

Zafgen, Inc., a pharmaceutical company pioneering novel obesity therapeutics to help the body regain and sustain a lean, healthy state by targeting imbalances in fat metabolism, today announced new data from a Phase 1b study of ZGN-433, a selective methionine aminopeptidase 2 inhibitor (MetAP2), which showed a significant improvement in cardiovascular risk markers in severely obese subjects.

27 Jun 2011

Why breakfast with a friend could be just what the doctor ordered

Spending too much time alone and regularly skipping breakfast might be pushing you closer to heart disease, warns the National Heart Foundation of Australia.

26 Jun 2011

Research roundup: Revamping public health law; Pay-for-performance

New Cardiac Surgery Programs Established From 1993 To 2004 Led To Little Increased Access, Substantial Duplication Of Services -- This study, using Medicare data from 1993-2004, finds that although the number of coronary artery bypass surgeries declined, 301 new cardiac surgery units opened.

24 Jun 2011

State highlights: Calif. insurance regulatory system criticized

The two-headed beast that regulates health insurance in California is under fire. For the first time in a decade, healthcare leaders in Sacramento are publicly asking whether it's time to junk overlapping bureaucracies that police health insurers and HMOs (Helfand, 6/23).

24 Jun 2011

EMA CHMP recommends approval of linagliptin for type 2 diabetes

Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Company today received a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) medicinal committee recommending approval of linagliptin, 5 mg, film-coated tablets (to be marketed under the trade name Trajenta® in Europe) for the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes.

24 Jun 2011

Less than half of primary-care physicians refer all diabetes patients to education programs

While studies have shown that diabetes education programs are crucial in helping individuals living with the disease self-manage their condition, a new study led by Ryerson researchers has found that less than half of primary-care physicians surveyed refer all of their patients with diabetes to these programs.

24 Jun 2011

Epilepsy may arise from complex mixture of altered ion channels

Imagine two flat screen televisions tuned to the same channel and sitting side-by-side. From a distance, their pictures are virtually the same, however up close, you can see subtle variations in the pixels - one blurred here, another dropped out there.

24 Jun 2011

Protein globin E helps avian eyes 'breathe' and contributes to visual acuity

Say what you will about bird brains, but our feathered friends sure have us -- and all the other animals on the planet -- beat in the vision department, and that has a bit to do with how their brains develop.

24 Jun 2011

Stresses can change gene expression without DNA sequence change

None of us are strangers to stress of various kinds. It turns out the effects of all those stresses can change the fate of future generation, influencing our very DNA without any change to the underlying sequence of As, Gs, Ts and Cs. Now, researchers reporting in the June 24th issue of Cell, a Cell Press publication, have new evidence that helps to explain just how these epigenetic changes really happen.

24 Jun 2011