A medication given to diabetics to improve their body’s sensitivity to insulin also appears to slow the thickening of their artery walls, according to a study posted online today by JAMA. The study is being released early to coincide with its presentation at the American Heart Association Scientific Session. It will be published in the December 6 print issue of JAMA.
Individuals who have higher levels of a fatty acid known as docosahexaenoic acid in their blood may have a significantly lower risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Stroke survivors less than 65 years old report having more difficulty accessing physicians and affording medications than stroke survivors older than 65, according to an article posted online today that will appear in the January 2007 print issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
New research reported in the journal CHEST shows that prescription sleep aids may do little to improve the use of continuous positive airway pressure among patients with obstructive sleep apnea. The study found that patients with OSA who were given prescription sleep aids were no more likely to use their CPAP machines than patients with OSA taking a placebo.
Johns Hopkins scientists have successfully grown large numbers of stem cells taken from adult pigs’ healthy heart tissue and used the cells to repair some of the tissue damage done to those organs by lab-induced heart attacks. Pigs’ hearts closely resemble those in humans, making them a useful model in such research.
Tiny bits of RNA — a chemical cousin of DNA — play a large role in causing enlargement of the heart, which is a major risk factor for heart failure and sudden death, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered.
People who are depressed have an increased risk of dying from heart failure, and a new study by Duke University Medical Center researchers may help explain why.
Working with dogs and using the latest in imaging software and machinery, also known as a 64-slice CT scanner, Johns Hopkins heart specialists have developed a fast and accurate means of tracking blood that has been slowed down by narrowing of the coronary arteries. Researchers say it took them less than half the time of exercise stress tests and echocardiograms currently used to find early warning of vessels more likely to become blocked and cause heart attack.
Using material similar to bathtub caulk, University of Utah engineers invented a tiny, inexpensive ?micropump? that could be used to move chemicals, blood or other samples through a card-sized medical laboratory known as a lab-on-a-chip.
Loren F. Hiratzka, M.D., Cincinnati, received the American Heart Association?s 2006 Chairman?s Award, which honors excellence in volunteer service, at Sunday?s Opening Session.