Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Japanese researchers using PET imaging detect the beginnings of atherosclerosis

Using positron emission tomography (PET), the medical isotope 15O-water and cold pressor tests, Japanese researchers were able to detect the beginnings of atherosclerosis - before the disease became clinically evident.

9 Jun 2006

Quebec's first successful combined heart/liver transplant

Doctors at the McGill University Health Center have announced Quebec's first successful combined heart/liver transplant.

9 Jun 2006

COX enzymes work together in ways that suggest new biological roles

COX enzymes - well-known for their contrasting role in cardiovascular biology - interact physically to form a previously unrecognized biochemical partnership and function in the development of blood vessels in a mouse model.

9 Jun 2006

Discovery of new defect in artery growth

From the beginning, arteries and veins are different in the way they branch into vascular networks, say Dartmouth heart researchers.

9 Jun 2006

NHS could save 2 billion pounds by switching to generic cholesterol lowering drugs

The NHS in England could save over £2bn in the next five years if doctors simply switched patients to cheaper generic cholesterol lowering drugs (statins), say two senior doctors in this week's British Medical Journal.

8 Jun 2006

Potentially ground-breaking treatment for nerve damage caused by diabetes

The University of Manchester team has discovered that injection of a novel therapeutic that works by stimulating a person's genes may prevent nerve damage - primarily to the hands and feet - caused by the disease.

From The University of Manchester 8 Jun 2006

Simple arm exercises could help beat peripheral vascular disease

Scientists at Sheffield Hallam University have discovered that simple arm exercises could help beat a crippling leg condition that affects one in twenty people over 55 in the UK.

From Sheffield Hallam University 8 Jun 2006

Popular hypertension drugs triple the risk of birth defects

A study by American researchers has found that certain widely used hypertension drugs, once considered safe in the early stages of pregnancy, can almost triple the risk of birth defects.

8 Jun 2006

Aggressive invasive treatment of heart attack patients who develop cardiogenic shock could save lives

Despite advances in treatment, people with a heart attack who survive the first hit and get to a hospital remain in danger.

7 Jun 2006

New way to assess risk of heart disease in ethnic groups

A new web-based calculator will better assess the risk of heart disease in British black and minority ethnic groups. These groups are often wrongly assessed.

7 Jun 2006

$Pre-menopausal changes in bone structure may contribute to fracture risk$

Pre-menopausal changes in bone structure may contribute to fracture risk

It is well established that post-menopausal women are at increased risk for developing osteoporosis, but could that be related to subtle pre-menopausal changes in bone structure?

7 Jun 2006

Exercise is emerging as a new therapeutic weapon to tackle cancer

When individuals with breast or prostate cancer followed a moderate, home-based exercise program using resistance bands and walking, the patients had less fatigue during radiation treatments, greater strength and could walk farther and faster in only four weeks, researchers discovered in a pilot study.

7 Jun 2006

Impact of obesity on treatment of chronic hepatitis C

According to a new study, obese patients chronically infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) and treated with combination drug therapy may have better outcomes if the underlying abnormalities caused by excessive fat tissue are corrected.

6 Jun 2006

Vitamin K in the U.S. diet

Much of what is known about the content of vitamin K in the US food supply comes from research conducted in the Vitamin K Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University.

6 Jun 2006

Nerve signals sent to the pancreas after eating play a critical role in blood sugar control

A critical role for b cell M3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in regulating insulin release and blood glucose homeostasis in vivo.

6 Jun 2006

Delayed calf muscle phosphocreatine recovery after exercise identifies peripheral arterial disease

Between 8 and 12 million Americans are affected by peripheral arterial disease, or PAD, where the arteries that bring blood to the legs are blocked by atherosclerotic plaque.

6 Jun 2006

Evidence is strong that green tea lowers the risk for a number of chronic diseases

There is a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease and cancer in Asia where people smoke heavily, which may be accounted for by high consumption of tea, particularly green tea, according to a review article published by a Yale School of Medicine researcher.

6 Jun 2006

Better understanding of DNA damage

Researchers have known for years that damaged DNA can lead to human diseases such as cancer, but how damage occurs - and what causes it - has remained less clear.

6 Jun 2006

New procedures to help decide which breast cancer patients will benefit most from radiotherapy

New procedures which will help doctors decide which breast cancer patients will benefit most from radiotherapy begin trials this week.

6 Jun 2006

Novel research points to promising relief target for chronic pain

By some accounts, chronic pain affects nearly 100 million Americans from such varied causes as arthritis, sciatica, cancer, diabetes. Most forms of pain result from identifiable causes which serve the "good" purpose in warning of a real physical problem that needs attention, or rest.

6 Jun 2006