An enzyme inhibitor that regulates insect larvae development reduces heart enlargement and irregular heart rhythms in a mouse model, a 16-member University of California, Davis research team has discovered. The work, published in the current edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could lead to important new medications to treat human heart patients.
A newly described virus is not a cause of Kawasaki disease, according to an article by a group of researchers in Denver, Colorado. Their article appears in the December 15 issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online.
Hearty feasts and couch-potato marathons are holiday traditions, but UT Southwestern Medical Center experts warn that packing on pounds and not exercising could be deadly for the 6 million Americans who have diabetes and don’t even know it.
A standard tool for predicting cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk greatly underestimates the true rate of heart disease among patients receiving dialysis for end-stage renal disease (ESRD), reports a paper being presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s 39th Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego.
Results of a new analysis showed that patients who have heart disease and chronic kidney disease who took Lipitor? (atorvastatin calcium) Tablets (80 mg) reduced their risk of heart attack and stroke by 32 percent compared with patients taking the 10 mg dose of Lipitor. This analysis of a subset of patients from the five-year TNT (Treating to New Targets) study was designed and completed after the end of the trial. The data were presented here today at the Annual Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association.
Results of a new survey conducted among more than 1,000 Americans age 45 and older reveal that most adults are not concerned about Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), a lung disease that is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. According to the survey, only 1 in 10 adults could correctly identify what COPD is, and only 4 percent consider COPD to be a health condition they worry ?the most? about getting, compared against other common chronic diseases, such as Alzheimer?s disease, heart disease, diabetes, or lung cancer. However, more people die from COPD than breast cancer or prostate cancer each year.
The U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today expanded the approved use of Herceptin, a biological cancer drug. The new indication is for Herceptin, in combination with other cancer drugs, for the treatment of HER2 positive breast cancer after surgery (lumpectomy or mastectomy). FDA granted priority review to the supplemental application for Herceptin.
REGENERX BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC. (AMEX: RGN) reported today that a study published in the advanced online edition of the journal Nature supported and elaborated TB4’s significant effects in the damaged hearts of mice and highlighted its therapeutic potential for the treatment of heart attacks and heart failure in humans.
Cells in the outermost layer of the heart can be guided by a specific protein to move deeper inside and help to repair a failing adult heart. Research published today by Nature, reveals how thymosin ?4, a protein already known for its ability to reduce muscle cell loss after heart attack, can instruct the heart to heal itself.
Some chocoholics who just couldn?t give up their favorite treat to comply with a study to test blood stickiness have inadvertently done their fellow chocolate lovers – and science – a big favor.