Cardiovascular Week articles from September 2008

Cardiovascular Week archives from September 2008

Exercise pill is no replacement for exercise.
September 1, 2008... Recently, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, a research organization focused on biology and its relation to health, published a study in the journal Cell on the results of a substance that increased exercise endurance...

New abdominal aortic aneurysm study findings reported from J.A. Botha and co-authors.(Report)
September 1, 2008... "The mortality in patients presenting with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm remains high. In this study we aimed to assess the outcome and factors predicting the mortality in patients admitted to a teaching hospital with the diagnosis of...

Reports from J.M.Z. Garcia and colleagues advance knowledge in abdominal aortic aneurysm.
September 1, 2008... "We analyzed the repercussions on renal function between suprarenal endograft fixation and open surgery in the treatment of infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysms (IAAAs) and determined the influential factors. Between 1999 and 2005, 59 IAAAs...

Research from Royal Liverpool University in the area of abdominal aortic aneurysm published.(Report)
September 1, 2008... According to recent research published in the journal Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, " Seasonal variation in rates of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) rupture has previously been described. However, only two studies, to...

Research on abdominal aortic aneurysm described by scientists at Yale University.(Report)
September 1, 2008... "Whether or not to undergo surgery for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), and whether to have open or endovascular repair (EVAR), is a complex decision that relies heavily on patient preferences, and yet little is known about the patient...

Researchers from Army provide details of new studies and findings in the area of abdominal aortic aneurysm.
September 1, 2008... "Colonic ischemia (CI) is a known complication of both open abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair and endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). Despite a relatively low incidence of 1% to 6%, the associated morbidity and mortality are high,"...

Studies from Technical University of Munich describe new findings in abdominal aortic aneurysm.
September 1, 2008... According to recent research from Munich, Germany, "With the established computed tomographic (CT)-morphologic parameters, only the relative, but not the individual rupture risk of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), can be determined. So far,...

Study findings from A.B. Soberon et al provide new insights into abdominal aortic aneurysm.
September 1, 2008... "We assessed aneurysm neck diameter change after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR) and its relationship to stent-graft diameter. Ninety-eight patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm who underwent EVAR were studied with...

Study results from H. Ito and colleagues in the area of abdominal aortic aneurysm published.
September 1, 2008... According to recent research from Fukui, Japan, "An association between autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) and inflammatory abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) has never been reported. Reported herein is a case of IgG4-related inflammatory AAA...

Studies from Nagoya University, Medical Department update current data on atrial fibrillation.(Report)
September 1, 2008... According to recent research published in the journal Europace, " This study investigated the potential association between homocysteine levels and cardiovascular events or atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence following radiofrequency catheter...

Studies from G. Santoro et al in the area of atrial septal defects described.(Report)
September 1, 2008... " Atrial arrhythmias are well known long-term complications of atrial septal defect (ASID), presumably due to chronic atrial enlargement and stretch. Surgical repair fails to revert the arrhythmic risk despite atrial volumetric unloading, maybe...

Study findings from University of Amsterdam provide new insights into Brugada syndrome.
September 1, 2008... "Mutations in SCN5A, the gene encoding the alpha-subunit of the cardiac sodium channel (Na(v)1.5), have been associated with various inherited arrhythmia syndromes, including Brugada syndrome (BrS). Here, we report the functional consequences...

New tachycardia study findings reported from University of Wisconsin.(Report)
September 1, 2008... According to a study from the United States, "Objectives Individual mutations in the SCN5A-encoding cardiac sodium channel alpha-subunit cause single cardiac arrhythmia disorders, but a few cause multiple distinct disorders. Here we report a...

Recent findings from B. Burstein and co-authors highlight research in tachycardia.
September 1, 2008... " Atrial fibrillation (AF) causes tachycardia-induced atrial electrical remodeling, contributing to the progressive nature of the arrhythmia. Ventricular dysfunction due to a rapid response to AF can cause structural remodeling, but whether AF...

Researchers from Toyama University, Medical Department report recent findings in tachycardia.
September 1, 2008... " We assessed responses to slow pathway ablation with respect to the appearance of ventriculoatrial (VA) block during junctional rhythm in both typical and atypical types of atrioventricular nodal re-entrant tachycardia (AVNRT). Methods and...

Scientists at University of Bologna detail research in tachycardia.(Clinical report)
September 1, 2008... " Morphology discrimination (MD) is an algorithm based on QRS morphology analysis, that can be used alone or in various combinations with other discriminators in order to diagnose ventricular tachycardia (VT) [the implantable...

Recent findings from B. Lemke and co-authors highlight research in ventricular fibrillation.
September 1, 2008... " We evaluated the feasibility of the TULIP (Threshold test using Upper Limit during ImPlantation) protocol, which was designed to provide a confirmed, low defibrillation energy value during implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD)...

New cardiovascular disease research from Central Hospital outlined.
September 1, 2008... Researchers detail in 'Improved and simplified LC-ESI-MS/MS method for homocysteine determination in human plasma: application to the study of cardiovascular diseases,' new data in cardiovascular disease. "A liquid chromatography-electrospray...

Data from Oregon Health & Science University advance knowledge in hemochromatosis.(Report)
September 1, 2008... Investigators publish new data in the report 'The hereditary hemochromatosis protein, HFE, inhibits iron uptake via down-regulation of Zip14 in HepG2 cells.' "Lack of functional hereditary hemochromatosis protein, HFE, causes iron overload...

Study results from F. Cecconi and colleagues update understanding of biophysics.
September 1, 2008... "The folding properties of wild type and mutants of domain C5 from cardiac myosin binding protein C have been investigated via molecular dynamics simulations within the framework of a native-centric and coarse-grained model. The relevance of a...

New data from C. Vantellingen et al illuminate research in cardiology.
September 1, 2008... According to a study from Netherlands, "Cardiovascular disease is a major determinant of sudden death. Nevertheless the impact of autonomic dysregulation is grossly underestimated not to say ignored." "The limited life expectancy of...

Report summarizes cardiology study findings from Gil Heart Center.
September 1, 2008... "A 59-year-old female came to the clinic to evaluate an operation risk of knee joint arthritis. She has history of hypertension for 6 years," investigators in South Korea report (see also Cardiology). "She complained of dyspnea on exercise...

Studies from P.R. Benchimolbarbosa and colleagues reveal new findings on cardiology.
September 1, 2008... "Austin Flint murmur is a mid-diastolic rumbling audible in subjects with severe aortic regurgitation," scientists in Brazil report (see also Cardiology). "Several theories have been raised to explain mechanistically the nature of this...

Reports on cardiovascular medicine findings from San Raffaele University provide new insights.
September 1, 2008... According to recent research from Milan, Italy, "We report the case of a 52-year-old man who was referred to surgery because of severe mitral and tricuspid regurgitation of Barlow's disease. In particular, the tricuspid valve was a...

Researchers at University of Illinois publish new data on cardiovascular pharmacology.
September 1, 2008... "Angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE), a key enzyme in cardiovascular pathophysiology, consists of 2 homologous domains, each bearing a Zn-dependent active site. The ratio of the rates of hydrolysis of 2 synthetic substrates, Z-Phe-His-Leu...

Reports from Virginia Commonwealth University add new data to research in defibrillators.
September 1, 2008... According to recent research from the United States, "The appearance of noise on electrograms (EGMs) recorded from the lead of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) may be owing to oversensing of myopotentials, insulation breach,...

Research by M.D. Pettersen and colleagues in echocardiography provides new insights.
September 1, 2008... According to a study from the United States, "Decision making in the care of pediatric patients with congenital and acquired heart disease remains reliant on detailed measurements of cardiac structures using 2-dimensional echocardiography....

Research from Medical College of Wisconsin, Medical College in the area of echocardiography published.
September 1, 2008... According to recent research published in the Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography, "Digital structured reporting ( DSR) is an emerging technology in medical information management. In November of 2006, the pediatric...

Investigators at St. Thomas' Hospital release new data on ischemia.
September 1, 2008... "Objective p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) are activated by, and influence sensitivity to, myocardial ischemia. Recently a number of studies have suggested that AMPK may participate in the...

Research findings from Philips Research Europe update understanding of cardiology.(Report)
September 1, 2008... Research findings, 'Projection-based motion compensation for gated coronary artery reconstruction from rotational x-ray angiograms,' are discussed in a new report. "Three-dimensional reconstruction of coronary arteries can be performed during...

Research from Ninewells Hospital provide new insights into cardiology.
September 1, 2008... Current study results from the report, 'Comparison of the reproducibility of quantitative cardiac left ventricular assessments in healthy volunteers using different MRI scanners: a multicenter simulation,' have been published. Researchers in...

Research on life sciences detailed by scientists at National Cardiovascular Center Research Institute.
September 1, 2008... New investigation results, 'Acceleration of Monte Carlo-based scatter compensation for cardiac SPECT,' are detailed in a study published in Physics In Medicine and Biology. "Single proton emission computed tomography (SPECT) images are degraded...

FirstDoNoHarm.com to Help Healthcare Practitioners and Executives Reduce the Human and Financial Toll Exacted by Hospital-Acquired Conditions HACs.
September 1, 2008... FirstDoNoHarm.com has launched new content and resources to support healthcare practitioners and executives preparing for enactment of CMS reimbursement rules for hospital-acquired conditions (HACs). Originally introduced more than two years...

Endocrine Society releases guideline on diagnosis and treatment of primary aldosteronism.
September 8, 2008... The Endocrine Society has released a new clinical practice guideline for the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of patients with primary aldosteronism. The guidelines appear in the September issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology &...

New abdominal aortic aneurysm study results from Leiden University described.
September 8, 2008... "Inflammation plays a key role in the pathogenesis of an AAA (abdominal aortic aneurysm); however, the nature of the inflammatory factors and cellular response(s) involved in AAA growth is controversial. In the present study, we set out to...

Studies from C.D. Etz et al have provided new data on aneurysm.
September 8, 2008... "The impact of axillary artery cannulation (AXC) on survival and neurologic outcome after operation for ascending aortic disease was retrospectively evaluated. We reviewed 869 patients with ascending aorta/root repairs (1995 to 2005),...

Research from University of Maastricht provide new insights into angiogenesis.
September 8, 2008... "Sustained proinflammatory responses in rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, and diabetic retinopathy, as well as in cancer, are often associated with increased angiogenesis that contributes to tissue disruption and disease progression. High...

Study results from J.A. Ladapo and colleagues broaden understanding of angiography.
September 8, 2008... According to recent research from the United States, "Patients at low risk for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) who present to the emergency department complaining of acute chest pain place a substantial economic burden on the U. S. health care...

Research from University of South Carolina, Medical Department in the area of aortic dissection published.
September 8, 2008... "Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a group of autosomal dominant disorders affecting Type I collagen synthesis with the predominant clinical manifestations in skeleton, skin, eyes, and teeth. Valvular cardiac manifestations and aortic root...

Reports from S.G. Wang and co-researchers add new data to research in life sciences.(Report)
September 8, 2008... "The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of different flow rates and pressures on the degree of shunting of blood flow by the arterial filter purge line in a simulated neonatal cardiopulmonary. bypass circuit. The circuit was...

Researchers from University of Leuven report details of new studies and findings in the area of life sciences.
September 8, 2008... According to a study from Louvain, Belgium, "General Practitioners (GPs) play a central role in controlling an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, i.e. cholesterol levels in serum. In the past few decades different studies have...

New findings in myocarditis described from University of Sao Paulo.
September 8, 2008... "Trypanosoma cruzi-infected outbred hamsters reproduce the range of different outcomes of Chagas disease noted in humans. We tested whether myocarditis, its mediators, and myocardial protein expression are related to the severity of the acute...

New blood pumps study results from Ventracor Ltd. described.
September 8, 2008... According to recent research published in the Asaio Journal, "All rotary blood pumps (RBPs) are prone to the harmful effects of ventricular collapse or ''suction events'' because of over-pumping, because, they are inherently preload insensitive...

New findings reported from National Institutes of Health describe advances in cardiovascular medicine.
September 8, 2008... "A major goal of modern MRI research is to be able to image neural circuits in the central nervous system. Critical to this mission is the ability to describe a number of important parameters associated with neural circuits," investigators in...

New cardiovascular research study findings have been reported from Michigan State University.
September 8, 2008... According to recent research from the United States, "The constellation of elevated levels of abdominal adiposity, blood pressure, glucose, and triglycerides and lowered high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol has been termed the metabolic...

Reports summarize cardiovascular research research from N. Espinolazavaleta and co-authors.
September 8, 2008... According to a study from Mexico, "Correlate the anatomic features of atrioventricular septal defect with echocardiographic images. Sixty specimen hearts were studied by sequential segmental analysis." "Echocardiograms were performed on 34...

Data on imaging agents detailed by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital.
September 8, 2008... "Molecular imaging agents can be targeted to a specific receptor or protein on the cardiomyocyte surface, or to enzymes released into the interstitial space, such as cathepsins, matrix metalloproteinases and myeloperoxidase. Molecular imaging...

Research from Technical University of Munich has provided new data on left ventricular dysfunction.(Report)
September 8, 2008... According to recent research published in the journal Heart and Vessels, "Limited data are available in humans regarding the molecular biology of hibernating myocardium (HM). The aim of this study was to identify gene expression patterns...

Study results from University of Rochester, Cardiovascular Research Institute in the area of endocytosis published.
September 8, 2008... A report, 'Caveolin-1-dependent beta1 integrin endocytosis is a critical regulator of fibronectin turnover,' is newly published data in Journal of Cell Science. According to recent research published in the Journal of Cell Science, "beta1...

Research reports from Imperial College London provide new insights into phosphatase.(Report)
September 8, 2008... Researchers detail in 'Nuclear Dbf2-related protein kinases (NDRs) in isolated cardiac myocytes and the myocardium: activation by cellular stresses and by phosphoprotein serine-/threonine-phosphatase inhibitors,' new data in phosphatase....

Australian over-50s walk away memory problems in world-first trial.
September 15, 2008... The study, led by Professor Nicola T. Lautenschlager, the Chair of Old Age Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne, is published in the international journal Journal of the American Medical Association on 3 September 2008 (see also University...

African-Americans twice as likely as Caucasians to die following a liver operation.(Report)
September 15, 2008... New research published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows African Americans are more than twice as likely as Caucasians to die in the hospital after surgical removal of part of the liver -- an increasingly used procedure...

New abdominal aortic aneurysm research from A. Aoki et al outlined.
September 15, 2008... According to recent research from Kagawa, Japan, "A 73-year-old man with a history of hypertension and drug-induced hepatitis underwent surgical treatment of an enlarging pararenal abdominal aortic aneurysm (PRAAA) with bilateral renal artery...

Studies from James Cook University provide new data on abdominal aortic aneurysm.(Report)
September 15, 2008... "Intra-luminal thrombus has been suggested to play a role in the progression of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). The aims of this study were twofold," scientists writing in the journal European Radiology report (see also Abdominal Aortic...

Study results from National Chung-Hsing University broaden understanding of acidosis.(Report)
September 15, 2008... According to a study from Taichung, Taiwan, "(-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCg), a green tea-derived polyphenol, has received much attention as a protective agent against cardiovascular diseases. In this study, we determined its effects on...

Studies from University of Mississippi Medical Center provide new data on cardiovascular disease.
September 15, 2008... According to a study from the United States, "The American Heart Association's ( AHA's) mission is '' to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.'' This first article in a 2- part series will serve to present an...

Study findings from University of Leeds provide new insights into life sciences.
September 15, 2008... "The LOX-1 scavenger receptor recognises pro-atherogenic oxidised low-density lipoprotein (OxLDL) particles and is implicated in atherosclerotic plaque formation, but this mechanism is not well understood. Here we show evidence for a novel...

Studies from University of Utah, Nora Eccles Harrison Cardiovascular Research and Training Institute in the area of cardiology described.
September 15, 2008... Investigators publish new data in the report 'Influence of the skeletal muscle activity on time and frequency domain properties of the body surface ECG during evolving ventricular fibrillation in the pig.' Researchers in the United States...

New findings from American University of Beirut, Department of Pathology describe advances in genetics & genomics.
September 15, 2008... A report, 'Factor XIII gene V34L mutation in the Lebanese population: another unique feature in this community,' is newly published data in Molecular Biology Reports. According to recent research from Beirut, Lebanon, "We studied the...

Researchers at University of Florida release new data on cardiology.
September 15, 2008... "Prasugrel (CS-747; LY-640315) is a novel, third-generation oral thienopyridine that is a specific, irreversible antagonist of the platelet adenosine 5'-diphosphate P2Y(12) receptor," investigators in the United States report (see also...

New magnetic resonance research from University of Lund discussed.
September 15, 2008... According to recent research from Lund, Sweden, "This paper deals with the problem of tracking cardiac motion and deformation using velocity-encoded magnetic resonance imaging. We expand upon an earlier described method and fit a spatiotemporal...

Studies in the area of magnetic resonance reported from Carnegie Mellon University.
September 15, 2008... "Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is useful to study the infiltration of cells in vivo. This research adopts ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) particles as contrast agents," scientists in the United States report...

Studies from E. Lindstrom et al further understanding of visceral pain.
September 15, 2008... According to recent research from Huddinge, Sweden, "Metabotropic glutamate 5 receptor (mGluR5) antagonists are effective in animal models of inflammatory and neuropathic pain. The involvement of mGluR5 in visceral pain pathways from the...

SynQor Announces its latest Technological Breakthrough in a Full Patient Contact 500W Medical Grade Power Supply.
September 15, 2008... SynQor continues its successful entrance into the AC/DC marketplace with the introduction of its latest product designed specifically for Medical Applications. The ACuQor(r) AQ0500M series of off line Power Supplies packs 500W of useable power...

Reports on abdominal aortic aneurysm findings from J.Y.S. Choi and co-researchers provide new insights.
September 22, 2008... "Abdominal Compartment Syndrome (ACS) is an increasingly recognized syndrome of intra-abdominal hypertension and generalized physiological dysfunction in critically ill patients. Patients suffering a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (rAAA)...

Studies from R.E. Lovegrove and colleagues reveal new findings on abdominal aortic aneurysm.
September 22, 2008... "Several studies have compared outcomes after elective open and endovascular approaches to abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) surgery, with varying results. A random-effects meta-analysis was undertaken to compare operative outcomes, postoperative...

Studies from University of Liverpool yield new data on abdominal aortic aneurysm.(Report)
September 22, 2008... "The purpose of this study is to report outcomes following endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in patients with ectatic common iliac arteries (CIAs). Of 117 AAA patients treated by EVAR between 1998 and 2005,...

Study results from Far Eastern Memorial Hospital update understanding of abdominal aortic aneurysm.
September 22, 2008... "Surgical resection and grafting have long been the standard treatment for abdominal aortic aneurysm and provide an excellent long-term outcome. However, there is tremendous impact on patients due to the surgical invasiveness," scientists in...

University of Otago, Medical Department details research in abdominal aortic aneurysm.
September 22, 2008... "New Zealand, like Australia, has a widely dispersed population in towns at long distances from the main centres. We set out to estimate the in-hospital mortality rate for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms in New Zealand and identify factors...

Studies from State University of New York add new findings in the area of life sciences.
September 22, 2008... "Information about intramural propagation of electrical excitation is crucial to understanding arrhythmia mechanisms in thick ventricular muscle. There is currently a controversy over whether it is possible to extract such information from the...

Scientists at University of Bologna target atherosclerosis.
September 22, 2008... Data detailed in 'Otoscopic examination: a diagnostic contribution for atherosclerotic disease' have been presented. According to a study from Bologna, Italy, "Tympanosclerosis is a particular kind of chronic inflammatory response of the middle...

Researchers at University of Sydney publish new data on dementia.
September 22, 2008... Scientists discuss in 'What initiates the formation of senile plaques? The origin of Alzheimer-like dementias in capillary haemorrhages' new findings in dementia. According to recent research from Sydney, Australia, "Although the key...

Findings from University of Zurich broaden understanding of angiography.(Clinical report)
September 22, 2008... Researchers in Zurich, Switzerland conducted a study "To investigate the performance of low-dose, dual-source computed tomography (DSCT) coronary angiography in the step-and-shoot (SAS) mode for the diagnosis of significant coronary artery...

Investigators at University of Paris target cardiology.
September 22, 2008... According to a study from Creteil, France, " Postsystolic wall thickening (PSWT) occurs after aortic valve closure. We investigated the influence of ischemia location and wall interactions on PSWT in normal and stunned myocardium." ...

New cardiology study findings have been reported by C.A. Cocosco and colleagues.
September 22, 2008... In this recent article published in the Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, scientists in Hamburg, Germany conducted a study "To propose and to evaluate a novel method for the automatic segmentation of the heart's two ventricles from dynamic...

Researchers from University of London, Imperial College detail findings in cardiology.
September 22, 2008... According to a study from London, the United Kingdom, "Occlusion of the left atrial appendage (LAA) is thought to reduce the risk of thromboembolic events in patients with atrial fibrillation. To examine the LAA and its relationship to...

Study results from Y. Lecarpentier and colleagues broaden understanding of cardiology.
September 22, 2008... "Cardiac myosin binding protein C (cMyBP-C) is an important regulator of cardiac contractility. Its precise effect on myosin cross-bridges (CBs) remains unclear," scientists in Le Kremlin-Bicetre, France report (see also Cardiology). ...

Research from J.J. Koolen and co-researchers in the area of cardiovascular research described.
September 22, 2008... "Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR), calculated by coronary pressure measurement, is the invasive gold standard to assess the hemodynamic significance of a coronary stenosis. FFR reliably indicates whether a stenosis is responsible for inducible...

New cardiology study findings reported from Institute of Biosciences and Technology.
September 22, 2008... A new study, 'Regulation of cardiac specific nkx2.5 gene activity by small ubiquitin-like modifier,' is now available. According to a study from the United States, "The cardiac specific homeobox gene nkx2.5, a member of the nk-2 class family,...

New cardiology study results from Medical Research Center described.(Clinical report)
September 22, 2008... Current study results from the report, 'Obliteration of cardiomyocyte nuclear architecture in a patient with LMNA gene mutation,' have been published. "The aim of our study was to perform an immunohistochemical and ultrastructural analysis of...

Hospitals could reduce unnecessary tests for cardiac diagnostic imaging.
September 29, 2008... Hospitals that perform cardiac nuclear stress testing under published national practice guidelines could reduce unnecessary testing and, potentially costs, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study (see also Henry Ford Health System). The...

Penn researchers use honeybee venom toxin to develop a new tool for studying hypertension.
September 29, 2008... Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have modified a honeybee venom toxin so that it can be used as a tool to study the inner workings of ion channels that control heart rate and the recycling of salt in kidneys. In...

Data on abdominal aortic aneurysm reported by researchers at University of Pittsburgh, Medical Department.(Report)
September 29, 2008... "The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical significance of endoleaks detected on combined arterial and delayed contrast-enhanced follow-up CT examinations of patients who have undergone endovascular aneurysm repair of abdominal...

Research conducted at University of Lund has updated our knowledge about anatomy.(Report)
September 29, 2008... "Technical developments in the management of atrial arrhythmias revived interest into the detailed knowledge of atrial anatomy. The atrial septum (AS), known for its complex structure, has been particularly difficult to study, and our knowledge...