Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

microRNA 451 enhances treatment response in stomach cancer patients: Research

"The high presence of microRNA 451 enhances the response to treatment with chemo-radiotherapy and increases the survival of patients with stomach cancer", explained Dr. Jesús García-Foncillas, chief researcher of the Pharmacogenomics Laboratory at the Applied Medical Research Centre (CIMA) and Director of Oncology at the University Hospital of Navarra. This was one of the results presented at the IV Congress of the Spanish Society for Pharmacogenetics and Pharmacogenomic, recently held at CIMA.

15 Sep 2010

Pregnant women should get immunized against flu

There will be only one flu shot needed this year and pregnant women should make sure they're at the front of the line to get it.

15 Sep 2010

Aspirin can prevent stroke and heart attacks: Study

In a large scale Australian study, researchers have found that Aspirin can save lives and drastically reduce rates of stroke and heart attack.

15 Sep 2010

Researchers identify risk gene for schizophrenia

An international team of researchers has identified a risk gene for schizophrenia, including a potentially causative mutation, using genome-wide association data-mining techniques and independent replications.

15 Sep 2010

Opinions: Global nursing; U.S. funding of Global Fund; Global demands for water; Food security

"Almost every nation, regardless of its wealth and resources, faces a continuing shortage of nurses and an acute lack of nursing faculty available to educate more nurses. This dearth of practicing nurses and nurse educators is particularly critical in countries like Haiti and other developing high-risk, low-resourced nations," Martha Hill, dean of Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, writes in a Baltimore Sun opinion piece encouraging the expansion of global nursing.

15 Sep 2010

$Savient's KRYSTEXXA receives FDA approval for chronic gout in adult patients refractory to conventional therapy$

Savient's KRYSTEXXA receives FDA approval for chronic gout in adult patients refractory to conventional therapy

Savient Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved KRYSTEXXA™ (pegloticase), a PEGylated uric acid specific enzyme indicated for the treatment of chronic gout in adult patients refractory to conventional therapy. Chronic gout that is refractory to conventional therapy occurs in patients who have failed to normalize serum uric acid and whose signs and symptoms are inadequately controlled with xanthine oxidase inhibitors at the maximum medically appropriate dose or for whom these drugs are contraindicated.

15 Sep 2010

FDA approves Krystexxa drug to treat gout

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Krystexxa (pegloticase) to treat the painful condition known as gout in adults who do not respond to or who cannot tolerate conventional therapy.

15 Sep 2010

Today's Opinions: Medicare fixes, health care lawsuits, reporting repeals

And in this political climate, the $210 billion price tag [to fix the physician payment system] will probably prevent a permanent solution this year. However, a longer term, interim fix and a primary care payment differential would be steps in the right direction (Dennis Mayeaux and Lori Parham, 9/13).

15 Sep 2010

Stroke risk with common pain killers dismissed by manufacturer

An eight-year Danish study, which involved more than 2.5 million healthy Danes found there was a higher risk of stroke for those taking high doses of ibuprofen, which is in the painkiller Nurofen. The manufacturers of Nurofen, Reckitt Benckiser, have dismissed these reports. The spokesperson for the company said, “it is important to note that the conclusions drawn by the study authors are based on high doses of ibuprofen…The results of this study should not be confused with non-prescription low doses of NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen, which are available over-the-counter and used by millions of people around the world, for short periods of time, every day.”

14 Sep 2010

Tryton Medical closes $20 million Series D round of financing

Tryton Medical, Inc., the leading developer of stents designed to treat bifurcation lesions, today announced that the company has closed a $20 million Series D round of financing.

14 Sep 2010

First Lady Michelle Obama to participate in the launch of CBCF Alumni Series

The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc., announced that First Lady Michelle Obama will participate in the launch of the CBCF Alumni Series as part of its 40th Annual Legislative Conference. The first of a three session series, "The ABCs of Healthy Student Learning: Addressing Disparities in Academic Achievement and Health" is scheduled from 1:30-3:30 p.m., September 15, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center (Room 146-BC) and will feature remarks by the First Lady.

14 Sep 2010

Long-term stenting of aortic coarctation yields 77% success rate

Researchers from the Congenital Cardiovascular Interventional Study Consortium (CCISC) who evaluated the intermediate and long-term results of stent implantation for aortic coarctation found that cumulative intermediate success was 86%, and cumulative long-term success was 77%. Results of this study appear in the October issue of Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions.

14 Sep 2010

Researchers develop healthier, low saturated vegetable oil from soybeans

Years of research has proven that saturated and trans fats clog arteries, make it tough for the heart to pump and are not valuable components of any diet. Unfortunately, they are contained in many foods. Now, a University of Missouri research team has developed a soybean which produces oil that is naturally low in saturated and trans fats.

14 Sep 2010

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Connecticut to move from North Haven to Wallingford

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Connecticut (Anthem) announced today that they are moving their headquarters from North Haven to Wallingford in 2011. The company has signed a ten year lease with property landlord Workstage-Connecticut, LLC for space in the 300,000-square-foot office building, the Campus at Greenhill, located at 108 Leigus Road. The relocation plan will be in two phases; the first occurring in Sept. 2011, and the second and final phase in Sept. 2012. In all, Anthem will occupy 217,764 square feet of the campus.

14 Sep 2010

Public reporting of quality information helps consumers choose the right physician: Study

When looking for a new physician, patients are often encouraged to select those who are board certified or who have not made payments on malpractice claims. Yet these characteristics are not always a good predictor of which physicians will provide the highest quality medical care, according to a new study from the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research organization, and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

14 Sep 2010

Emergency physicians to present research studies at Research Forum 2010

The risks associated with boarding admitted patients in the emergency department – including patient mortality – as well as proposed solutions will be key themes of Scientific Assembly, the annual meeting of the American College of Emergency Physicians. In addition, emergency physicians will present more than 450 research studies during 2010 Research Forum, the premier, annual scientific research event focused on the latest advances in the practice of emergency medicine.

14 Sep 2010

Convergent Procedure for AF highlighted at EACTS 2010

The Convergent Procedure, a novel approach to treat atrial fibrillation (AF), enabled by epicardial ablation products from nContact Surgical, Inc., was highlighted at the Techno-College Atrial Fibrillation Session of the EACTS (European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery) Annual Meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. More than 1,000 medical professionals attended the 2010 Techno-College Programme to receive an update on the latest technical advancements in cardiothoracic surgery.

14 Sep 2010

Study shows Americans with muscular dystrophy live longer than African-Americans

A new study shows that white men and boys are living longer with muscular dystrophy due to technological advances in recent years, but that the lives of African-American men and boys with muscular dystrophy have not been extended at the same rate. The research will be published in the September 14, 2010, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

14 Sep 2010

U of A team on cusp of developing simple predictive test for preeclampsia

A team of researchers from the University of Alberta is on the cusp of developing a simple test to accurately predict which women will develop preeclampsia - a condition that affects 4 million women a year and can result in the deaths of both mothers and their babies.

14 Sep 2010

Researchers identify body's control switch system to eliminate damaged cells

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists discovered a new mechanism cells use to maximize production of a key protein following DNA damage and demonstrated the potential of small molecules to regulate the process and protect healthy tissue.

14 Sep 2010