Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Overactive brain enzyme may play role in preventing weight gain and obesity

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found that overactivity of a brain enzyme may play a role in preventing weight gain and obesity.

14 Dec 2008

Good news for young male cancer patients

"Young men undergoing treatment for cancer often want to know how the disease and its treatment affect their chances of fathering healthy children. Our large-scale study shows that there is a slightly higher risk of deformities, but the actual risk of having a child with deformities is nevertheless extremely low. I think this is good news!"

14 Dec 2008

Discovery of gene mutation that appears to help prevent heart disease

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore have discovered a novel gene mutation among the Old Order Amish population that significantly reduces the level of triglycerides in the blood and appears to help prevent cardiovascular disease.

12 Dec 2008

Timothy syndrome provides clues about enzyme role in arrhythmias

A University of Iowa study provides insight into a calcium-sensing enzyme already known to play a role in irregular heartbeats and other critical functions.

12 Dec 2008

Novavax announces positive results in trial of seasonal influenza VLP (trivalent) vaccine candidate

Novavax, Inc. has announced favorable results from a Phase IIa human clinical trial of its seasonal influenza VLP (trivalent) vaccine candidate.

12 Dec 2008

New cause of atrial fibrillation found

A new study shows that atrial fibrillation--the most common form of sustained heart arrhythmia--can be caused in an unexpected way.

12 Dec 2008

New implantable hemodynamic monitor may help manage diastolic heart failure

An implantable hemodynamic monitor (IHM) may help to guide medical treatment in a large subgroup of patients with heart failure - those with diastolic heart failure (DHF), reports a study in the December Journal of Cardiac Failure, published by Elsevier.

12 Dec 2008

Heart regenerates after infarction

Up until today scientists assumed that the adult heart is unable to regenerate. Now, researchers and cardiologists from the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch and the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Germany) have been able to show that this dogma no longer holds true.

12 Dec 2008

Gene therapy used to treat periodontal disease

Scientists at the University of Michigan have shown that gene therapy can be used to successfully stop the development of periodontal disease, the leading cause of tooth loss in adults.

12 Dec 2008

Scientists show that HIV's evolution in the body does not occur at a constant rate

HIV is so deadly largely because it evolves so rapidly. With a single virus as the origin of an infection, most patients will quickly come to harbor thousands of different versions of HIV, all a little bit different and all competing with one another to most efficiently infect that person's cells. Its rapid and unique evolution in every patient is what allows HIV to evade the body's defenses and gives the virus great skill at developing resistance to a pantheon of antiviral drugs.

12 Dec 2008

Implantable hemodynamic monitor may help manage diastolic heart failure

An implantable hemodynamic monitor (IHM) may help to guide medical treatment in a large subgroup of patients with heart failure-those with diastolic heart failure (DHF), reports a study in the December Journal of Cardiac Failure, published by Elsevier.

11 Dec 2008

Surge in older cancer survivors expected as baby boomers age

The United States could be faced with a national health care crisis in the coming decades as the country's baby boomer population ages and a growing number of older adults find themselves diagnosed with and living longer with cancer.

10 Dec 2008

Sugar is addictive

A Princeton University scientist will present new evidence today demonstrating that sugar can be an addictive substance, wielding its power over the brains of lab animals in a manner similar to many drugs of abuse.

10 Dec 2008

Studies on imaging and tracking transplanted cells

Successfully monitoring the distribution and fate of transplanted stem cells through imaging and subsequent tracking would aid clinicians in their ability to evaluate the efficacy of transplanted cells.

10 Dec 2008

Scans show immune cells intercepting parasites

Researchers may have identified one of the body's earliest responses to a group of parasites that causes illness in developing nations.

10 Dec 2008

Panic attacks or panic disorder linked to higher risk of heart problems

People who have been diagnosed with panic attacks or panic disorder have a greater risk of subsequently developing heart disease or suffering a heart attack than the normal population, with higher rates occurring in younger people, according to research published in Europe's leading cardiology journal, the European Heart Journal.

10 Dec 2008

Hormone therapy for prostate cancer does not appear to increase cardiac deaths

Treating prostate cancer patients with drugs that block hormonal activity does not appear to increase the risk of death from cardiovascular disease, according to a study led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers.

10 Dec 2008

High phosphorus levels in blood linked to coronary calcification in chronic kidney disease

For patients with moderate chronic kidney disease (CKD), higher levels of phosphorus in the blood are associated with increased calcification of the major arteries and heart valves - which may contribute to the increased risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with CKD, reports a study in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

10 Dec 2008

Rosiglitazone shows potential for treating focal segmental glomerulosclerosis

The antidiabetes drug rosiglitazone may have the potential to protect kidney function in patients with a condition called focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), according to a study appearing in the January 2009 issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN).

10 Dec 2008