Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Pfizer withdraws Thelin for treatment of PAH, discontinues global clinical studies

Pfizer Inc. announced today that, in the interest of patient safety, it is voluntarily withdrawing Thelin® (sitaxentan) for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in regions where it is approved (the European Union, Canada and Australia). In addition, Pfizer is discontinuing clinical studies of Thelin worldwide.

10 Dec 2010

Aastrom Biosciences prices public offering

Aastrom Biosciences, Inc., a leading developer of expanded autologous cellular therapies for the treatment of severe, chronic cardiovascular diseases, today announced that it has priced a public offering of 10,000,000 units, with each unit consisting of one share of the Company's common stock and one warrant to purchase one share of common stock, at a purchase price of $2.25 per unit for an aggregate offering amount of $22.5 million.

10 Dec 2010

HRT with estrogen alone may reduce risk of breast cancer: Study

While endogenous estrogen (i.e., estrogen produced by ovaries and by other tissues) does have a well-known carcinogenic impact, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) utilizing estrogen alone (the exogenous estrogen) provides a protective effect in reducing breast cancer risk, according to study results presented at the 33rd Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 8-12.

10 Dec 2010

Repeated cerebral trauma in boxing career may result in boxer's dementia

Up to 20% of professional boxers develop neuropsychiatric sequelae. But which acute complications and which late sequelae can boxers expect throughout the course of their career? These are the questions studied by Hans Förstl from the Technical University Munich and his co-authors in the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2010; 107[47]: 835-9).

10 Dec 2010

HeartWare prices public offering of convertible senior notes due 2017

HeartWare International, Inc. announced today the pricing of a public offering of $125 million principal amount of convertible senior notes due 2017 (the "notes") pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") yesterday.

10 Dec 2010

Process of activating helicopter EMS delays treatment for heart attacks beyond recommended times

Helicopter emergency medical services can be a life saver for patients needing immediate care. But, according to a University of Cincinnati study, the process of activating them often delays treatment beyond recommended times.

10 Dec 2010

Serodus licenses selective serotonin-4 antagonist for potential heart failure treatment from Roche

Serodus AS today announced that it has entered into a license agreement with Roche for a selective serotonin-4 (5-HT4) antagonist for the potential treatment of heart failure (RO1160367).

10 Dec 2010

STENTYS initiates international APPOSITION III self-apposing stent study in AMI patients

STENTYS S.A., which develops innovative stents to treat Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI), announced today that it has begun the international APPOSITION III study of its self-apposing stent, with 50 patients already enrolled out of a total of 500. The trial primary endpoint is Major Adverse Cardiac Events at 12 months post-procedure.

10 Dec 2010

First genetic test on developing risk of Alzheimer's disease and heart attacks

Alzheimer and heart attacks have been found to share common genetic basis. The research leads the way to the first genetic test on developing the risk of the diseases even at a young age. According to Federico Licastro, an immunologist at the University of Bologna who coordinated the study published in the scientific journal, Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, a test is now ready. "They are already selling it in America", he says, citing the case of a private firm in New Mexico (USA) that collaborated on the study. "But the tests could easily be also conducted wherever, using a simple blood test".

10 Dec 2010

Fibrin microthreads support mesenchymal stem cell growth

A research team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute has demonstrated the feasibility of a novel technology that a surgeon could use to deliver stem cells to targeted areas of the body to repair diseased or damaged tissue, including cardiac muscle damaged by a heart attack. The technique involves bundling biopolymer microthreads into biological sutures and seeding the sutures with stem cells. The team has shown that the adult bone-marrow-derived stem cells will multiply while attached to the threads and retain their ability to differentiate and grow into other cell types.

10 Dec 2010

Nuss Procedure safe and effective for chest deformity

Since 1987, when a surgeon at Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters developed a minimally-invasive surgery to correct sunken chest, the procedure has been adopted world-wide as a standard of care and continually refined to increase its effectiveness and safety, according to a paper published in the December issue of the Annals of Surgery.

10 Dec 2010

COPD becomes third leading cause of death in the U.S.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) released a report today, "Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2008," confirming that Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) became the third leading cause of death in the U.S. for 2008.

10 Dec 2010

Obesity is associated with worse outcomes in patients with ER-positive/HER2-negative disease

Obesity was associated with worse overall and disease-free survival in women with operable breast cancer treated with adjuvant chemotherapy, but for the first time, researchers observed this finding in only a specific subset of patients - those with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive/HER2-negative disease.

10 Dec 2010

Exposure to tobacco smoke causes immediate damage leading to serious illness or death

Exposure to tobacco smoke - even occasional smoking or secondhand smoke - causes immediate damage to your body that can lead to serious illness or death, according to a report released today by U.S. Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin. The comprehensive scientific report - Benjamin's first Surgeon General's report and the 30th tobacco-related Surgeon General's report issued since 1964 - describes specific pathways by which tobacco smoke damages the human body and leads to disease and death.

10 Dec 2010

Southwest Washington Health System announces formal affiliation agreement with PeaceHealth

Southwest Washington Health System and PeaceHealth today announced a formal affiliation between the two organizations. As part of the agreement, Southwest's two hospital campuses, clinics, foundation, medical group, and other programs will join the PeaceHealth system of hospitals and health services, effective January 1, 2011, pending final regulatory approvals.

10 Dec 2010

Silencing the TLR4 gene can prevent cardiovascular disease in diabetic patients

Silencing the TLR4 gene can stop the process which may lead to cardiovascular disease in diabetic patients. Researchers demonstrated that TLR4 plays a critical role in hyperglycaemic cardiac apoptosis, and that silencing the gene using specific small interfering RNA can prevent it.

10 Dec 2010

Older people living in racially segregated neighborhoods have higher chance of developing cancer: Study

Older people who live in racially segregated neighborhoods with high crime rates have a much higher chance of developing cancer than do older people with similar health histories and income levels who live in safer, less segregated neighborhoods.

10 Dec 2010

Chinese study examines association between alcohol intake, CAD

Among a large number of Chinese men presenting with chest pain or EKG changes, sequential subjects undergoing cardiac angiography were evaluated for obstructive coronary artery disease lesions according to their reported recent alcohol intake. The study population consisted of 1,476 consecutive men 36 to 84 years of age; participants were categorized as nondrinkers, light drinkers, moderate drinkers, or heavy drinkers.

10 Dec 2010

Aromatase inhibitors raise risk of cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal breast cancer patients

Postmenopausal women who take aromatase inhibitors as a treatment for breast cancer may be at an increased risk for developing cardiovascular disease, according to the results of a meta-analysis.

10 Dec 2010

Exercise can help prevent or manage diabetes, boost quality of life: New guidelines

New guidelines on exercise for people with diabetes are likely to open some eyes — and, for those who follow them, help prevent or manage diabetes, improve overall health and boost quality of life. A panel of nine experts developed the recommendations, published this month in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, the official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine.

10 Dec 2010

Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Pfizer withdraws Thelin for treatment of PAH, discontinues global clinical studies

Aastrom Biosciences prices public offering

HRT with estrogen alone may reduce risk of breast cancer: Study

Repeated cerebral trauma in boxing career may result in boxer's dementia

HeartWare prices public offering of convertible senior notes due 2017

Process of activating helicopter EMS delays treatment for heart attacks beyond recommended times

Serodus licenses selective serotonin-4 antagonist for potential heart failure treatment from Roche

STENTYS initiates international APPOSITION III self-apposing stent study in AMI patients

First genetic test on developing risk of Alzheimer's disease and heart attacks

Fibrin microthreads support mesenchymal stem cell growth

Nuss Procedure safe and effective for chest deformity

COPD becomes third leading cause of death in the U.S.

Obesity is associated with worse outcomes in patients with ER-positive/HER2-negative disease

Exposure to tobacco smoke causes immediate damage leading to serious illness or death

Southwest Washington Health System announces formal affiliation agreement with PeaceHealth

Silencing the TLR4 gene can prevent cardiovascular disease in diabetic patients

Older people living in racially segregated neighborhoods have higher chance of developing cancer: Study

Chinese study examines association between alcohol intake, CAD

Aromatase inhibitors raise risk of cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal breast cancer patients

Exercise can help prevent or manage diabetes, boost quality of life: New guidelines

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Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

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