Bile acids may hold clue to treat heart disease
December 5, 2011 by admin · Leave a Comment
Heart disease is a major cause of death in industrialised countries, and is strongly associated with obesity and diabetes. Many scientists believe that what links these conditions is a chronic, low-grade inflammation. The current study, published in the scientific journal Cell Metabolism (December 6, 2011), supports that theory by demonstrating that a modified bile acid called INT-777 prevents atherosclerosis, the build-up of fatty plaques in the walls of arteries, and a leading cause of heart diseaseand that it does so by exerting an anti-inflammatory effect.
Depression can lead to heart disease
November 27, 2011 by admin · Leave a Comment
Depression may have more far-reaching consequences than previously believed. Recent data suggests that individuals who suffer from a mood disorder could be twice as likely to have a heart attack compared to individuals who are not depressed.
New design for mechanical heart valves
November 21, 2011 by admin · Leave a Comment
The heart’s valves, which guarantee the unidirectional flow of blood from one chamber to another, are asymmetrical. For example, the two flaps of the heart’s mitral valve which regulates blood flow between the left atrium and the left ventricle vary in size by up to 70 percent. This arrangement, says fluid mechanicist Marija Vukicevic from the University of Trieste (now a researcher at Clemson University), naturally drives blood flow along the lateral wall of the ventricle; from there, blood takes a smooth turn creating a large vortex that redirects the blood toward the aorta (the main blood vessel of the heart), through which it exits out into the body.
Substance in cancer medicine could prevent heart attacks
November 21, 2011 by admin · Leave a Comment
A substance in medicines for cancer and epilepsy could also prevent heart attacks, according to researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, who have been using it to stimulate the body’s own defense system against blood clots.
Garlic oil component may form treatment to protect heart
November 15, 2011 by admin · Leave a Comment
A component of garlic oil may help release protective compounds to the heart after heart attack, during cardiac surgery, or as a treatment for heart failure.
At low concentrations, hydrogen sulfide gas has been found to protect the heart from damage. However, this unstable and volatile compound has been difficult to deliver as therapy.
New heart cells increase by 30 percent after stem cell infusion
November 14, 2011 by admin · Leave a Comment
Healthy, new heart cells have been generated by animals with chronic ischemic heart disease after receiving stem cells derived from cardiac biopsies or “cardiospheres,” according to research conducted at the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
Fetal stem cells from placenta may help maternal heart recover from injury
November 13, 2011 by admin · Leave a Comment
Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have discovered the therapeutic benefit of fetal stem cells in helping the maternal heart recover after heart attack or other injury. The research, which marks a significant advancement in cardiac regenerative medicine, was presented today at the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2011 in Orlando, Florida, and is also published in the current issue of Circulation Research, a journal of the AHA.
New therapy shows promise for treating cardiovascular disease
October 27, 2011 by admin · Leave a Comment
A new therapy being studied in non-human primates by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and colleagues is demonstrating promise as a potential tool for combating cardiovascular disease by increasing good cholesterol and lowering triglycerides in the blood.
ARISTOTLE trial finds new drug may revolutionize the treatment of atrial fibrillation
October 25, 2011 by admin · Leave a Comment
New research has the potential to revolutionize the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF), a condition affecting a quarter of a million Canadians which is expected to strike even more in the coming years, as the Canadian population ages.
A heart of gold: Better tissue repair after heart attack
September 24, 2011 by admin · Leave a Comment
A team of physicians, engineers and materials scientists at Children’s Hospital Boston and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have used nanotechnology and tiny gold wires to engineer cardiac patches, with cells all beating in time, that could someday help heart attack patients.
