Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Study identifies new genes responsible for early menarche

University of Minnesota School of Public Health researcher Ellen Demerath, Ph.D., is among an international group of researchers that has identified 30 new genes responsible for determining the age of sexual maturation in women. Many of these genes are also known to influence body fatness, obesity, and energy metabolism. Prior to the multi-institutional study, only four genes had been identified as contributing to the process.

1 Dec 2010

Finger length may predict prostate cancer

In a new study published in the British Journal of Cancer, researchers have revealed a connection between finger length and prostate cancer. It says that men whose ring fingers are longer than their index fingers are more likely to develop prostate cancer.

1 Dec 2010

Researchers show an oncolytic virus switches off cancer cell survival signal

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have identified a mechanism by which specific viruses acting as oncolytic agents can enter and kill cancer cells. This finding, which is currently featured in an online edition of the Journal of Virology, could help lead to the development of more targeted treatments against many types of cancer.

1 Dec 2010

CRN says increased DRI for vitamin D a step in right direction, but still falls short

The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the dietary supplement industry's leading trade association, today called the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine's (IOM) newly released report on the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) levels for vitamin D "a modest step in the right direction that fell short of truly capturing the extensive and positive research that has consistently supported the need for people to significantly raise their vitamin D levels."

1 Dec 2010

Study finds link between osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease

Norwegian studies indicate that people with osteoporosis have a greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease, and vice versa. Now researchers believe they have found a biological system that may influence both disease processes.

1 Dec 2010

Older adults with diabetes have reduced life expectancy

Despite medical advances enabling those with diabetes to live longer today than in the past, a 50-year-old with the disease still can expect to live 8.5 years fewer years, on average, than a 50-year-old without the disease.

1 Dec 2010

IDEA clinical study seeks to promote weight loss among young adults

Obesity It's a national epidemic and on the rise in young adults. Using technology to combat this problem, the University of Pittsburgh Physical Activity and Weight Management Research Center will offer the IDEA (Innovative Approaches to Diet, Exercise, and Activity) study, one of seven clinical trials to be funded by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

1 Dec 2010

Blue Cross launches new payment model with Allina, Essentia, Fairview, and HealthEast

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota today announced it has launched a new "shared incentive" payment model with four of Minnesota's largest care systems — designed to make health care more affordable and to improve the health status and quality of care delivered to its members.

1 Dec 2010

Loyola's mortality rate from heart-bypass surgery 74% lower than at peer hospitals

Loyola University Hospital's mortality rate from heart-bypass surgery is 74 percent lower than the mortality rate at peer hospitals, according to Thomson Reuters Cardiovascular Benchmarks Report.

1 Dec 2010

Arsenic contamination of drinking water in Bangladesh leads to slow-developing diseases

The well-reported arsenic contamination of drinking water in Bangladesh called the "largest mass poisoning of a population in history" by the World Health Organization and known to be responsible for a host of slow-developing diseases has now been shown to have an immediate and toxic effect on the struggling nation's economy.

1 Dec 2010

Fourteen research projects on population health intervention receive $2.8 million

Fourteen research projects on population health intervention research received $2.8 million in funding. The Vice-President of Research at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Dr. Pierre Chartrand today announced these initiatives during the Population Health Intervention Research Symposium in Toronto.

1 Dec 2010

Research could lead to new drug treatment for metabolic diseases

A team of Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) scientists report finding a molecular "switch" that can "turn off" some cellular processes that are protective against aging and metabolic diseases. While more research is needed, the findings may open doors for new drug treatments to halt or slow development of metabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes or heart disease. The research findings appear in the December 1, 2010 issue of Cell Metabolism.

1 Dec 2010

Vitamin D supplementation may reduce risk of diabetes, heart disease: Research

Researchers from the UC Davis Health System have found that compared with healthy controls, blood levels of vitamin D are significantly reduced in patients in the Sacramento area with metabolic syndrome, a constellation of disease risk factors that affects about one in three U.S. adults and predisposes them to diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

1 Dec 2010

Angptl4 protein deficiency could promote inflammatory response in people who consume high saturated fat

A new report in the December Cell Metabolism identifies a protein without which diets high in saturated fat lead to a massive inflammatory response that can prove fatal. The studies in mice suggest that deficiencies in this protective pathway could promote inflammation in those who regularly consume high levels of saturated fat.

1 Dec 2010

GE Healthcare showcases low-dose CT innovations at 96th RSNA

For decades GE Healthcare has invested in leading, state of the art technology for significantly lowering dose in computed tomography (CT) procedures. At the 96TH annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in Chicago, GE Healthcare is showcasing some of its latest CT innovations that provide dose-reducing options to customers to help ensure better diagnoses.

1 Dec 2010

Common sleep complaints predict development of metabolic syndrome: Study

A study in the Dec. 1 issue of the journal SLEEP found that loud snoring and two common insomnia symptoms difficulty falling asleep and unrefreshing sleep each significantly predicted the development of the metabolic syndrome. The study emphasizes the importance of screening for common sleep complaints in routine clinical practice.

1 Dec 2010

Research reveals tricyclic anti-depressants increase risk of CVD

Research that followed nearly 15,000 people in Scotland has shown that a class of older generation anti-depressant is linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The study showed that tricyclic anti-depressants were associated with a 35% increased risk of CVD, but that there was no increased risk with the newer anti-depressants such as the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).

1 Dec 2010

Aushon, LightArray enter strategic partnership to provide multiplex biomarker products and services in China

Aushon BioSystems, Inc., a leading provider of multiplex immunoassay products and services for biomarker discovery, development and analysis announced during the ChinaTrials 2010 Summit in Beijing, China, that it has entered into a partnership with LightArray Biotech Company, Ltd., to provide Aushon's comprehensive suite of multiplex biomarker products and services to pharmaceutical, biotechnical, and academic research institutions located in mainland China.

1 Dec 2010

Migraine headache with aura increases risk of stroke among women: Research

Women with a history of migraine headache with aura (transient neurological symptoms, mostly visual impairments) are at increased risk of stroke. However, according to new research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association stroke events in women with migraine with aura are more likely to have mild or no disability compared to those without migraine.

1 Dec 2010

Washington State Hospital Association makes public surgical infection rates

Today, the Washington State Hospital Association is releasing hospital-specific surgical infection rate data. This is the first time this information has been made public.

1 Dec 2010