Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Novel human kidney protein called renalase that regulates both heart contraction and blood pressure

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine and the VA Connecticut Healthcare System in West Haven identified a novel human kidney protein called renalase that regulates both heart contraction and blood pressure; it is a strong candidate for easily administered treatment of advanced kidney and cardiovascular disease.

10 Apr 2005

Cyclosporine inhalation solution (CyIS) significantly improves long-term survival in lung-transplant patients

Data presented for the first time at the 25th Annual Meeting and Scientific Session of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) show that cyclosporine inhalation solution (CyIS) significantly improves long-term survival in lung-transplant patients compared to placebo.

10 Apr 2005

The liver may produce most of the body's good cholesterol

Research in mice suggests that the liver may produce most of the body's "good" cholesterol, an unexpected finding that might one day help scientists develop new treatments to raise levels of this heart-protecting molecule in humans.

10 Apr 2005

First identified gene to link autoimmune diseases with cardiovascular diseases

A common gene variant has been identified as the risk factor behind a number of common diseases by research scientists at Karolinska Institutet and the Centre for Molecular Medicine (CMM), Stockholm, Sweden. Up to a quarter of the population could be affected.

10 Apr 2005

Men who drink milk at more risk of Parkinsons disease

Korean University researchers say drinking a glass or two of milk a day may increase the risk of Parkinson's disease in middle-aged men, but the apparent link is unlikely to be due to milk's main nutritional ingredient, calcium.

7 Apr 2005

Women with heart attacks benefit from stenting

Female heart attack patients undergoing angioplasty have a higher risk of death than men, but stenting may improve their outcomes, according to a study reported in Circulation, Journal of the American Heart Association.

7 Apr 2005

Pfizer separately agrees to suspend sales of Bextra due to FDA evaluation of risks of rare but serious skin reactions

Pfizer said today it will work with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to add expanded risk information in the Celebrex label following an FDA decision announced this morning to require boxed warnings of potential cardiovascular risk for all COX-2 pain relievers and all NSAIDs, including older non-specific drugs such as ibuprofen and naproxen.

7 Apr 2005

HHS to tackle obesity among African Americans

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt announced today the award of $1.2 million to improve efforts to reduce obesity among African Americans through a new partnership with national African American organizations.

7 Apr 2005

Animi-3 may offer hope for rheumatoid arthritis

Animi-3, a prescription medication from PBM Pharmaceuticals, Inc., contains ingredients that may have a beneficial, protective effect in inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

7 Apr 2005

Use of smokeless tobacco helped hard-to-quit smokers give up their habit

The study, published in the January-March issue of the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, reports on subjects who were contacted seven years after completion of a smoking cessation program that replaced cigarettes with smokeless tobacco products as a harm-reduction strategy.

7 Apr 2005

New technology and treatments for heart and lung patients drive revisions

The process for prioritizing heart and lung transplant candidates and determining the treatments they receive while awaiting donor organs is under review by the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) during its Annual Meeting and Scientific Session this week in Philadelphia.

7 Apr 2005

Level I trauma centers boost head injury survival

Head injury patients transferred to level I trauma centers are more likely to survive than if they're transferred to level II facilities, an Oregon Health & Science University study has found.

7 Apr 2005

Pfizer withdraws Bextra from market

Despite an expert panel stating last month that the three COX-2 drugs Vioxx, Bextra and Celebrex were safe enough to be marketed, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has this week told drug manufacturer Pfizer to remove the drug Bextra from the market and a statement by Pfizer confirms that the European Union regulators have done the same.

7 Apr 2005

Role of oxidative stress (OS) in dialysis patients

An article published in Hemodialysis International discusses the role of oxidative stress (OS) in dialysis patients, an imbalance which can result in long-term health problems. Potential therapeutic options to restore balance in patients are also reviewed.

7 Apr 2005

Infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae may increase the risk of heart attack in young men

Preliminary research suggests infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae may increase the risk of heart attack in young men, according to an article in the April 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

7 Apr 2005

Why different tissues in the human body vary in their susceptibility to "amyloid" diseases

Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute are reporting the results of a recent study that addresses why different tissues in the human body vary in their susceptibility to "amyloid" diseases, which include Alzheimer's disease and a cluster of ailments called the familial amyloidoses.

7 Apr 2005

Process called sumoylation regulates key ion channel

Researchers at the University of Chicago have found that a recently discovered biological process known as sumoylation -- until now thought to be active only in the nucleus -- also occurs near the cell's surface where it regulates at least one and possibly many kinds of proteins, providing a novel target for the development of new drugs.

7 Apr 2005

You need to do vigorous activity if you want to be lean

Adolescents who get daily vigorous physical activity tend to be leaner and fitter than their less active peers, researchers have shown.

7 Apr 2005

Soft music at bedtime will help older adults sleep better and longer

Sleep, a vital ingredient in life, can sometimes become difficult as humans get older. But a recent study by researchers at Case Western Reserve University's Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and the Buddhist Tzu-Chi General Hospital in Taiwan shows that listening to soft music at bedtime will help older adults sleep better and longer.

6 Apr 2005

Contrary to common wisdom, sleeping pills may not increase fall risk

In nursing homes across the country, elderly people with insomnia often go untreated, because of the perception that sleeping pills increase the risk of falls and injuries that are a bane of old age.

6 Apr 2005