Science and Enterprise

Tag: heart disease

  • Biotech Begins Clinical Trial for Stroke Treatment

    ZZ Biotech, a biotechnology company in Houston, began a clinical trial of an experimental drug to treat acute ischemic stroke, where blood flow to the brain is blocked by a clot. The drug being tested is 3K3A-APC, the result of research first conducted at University of Southern California and Scripps Research Institute in California, and…

  • Most Hospitals in Collaborative Gain on Quality Measures

    The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, New Jersey says its Aligning Forces for Quality initiative improved the quality of care for patients in measurable ways at hospitals in 16 communities in the U.S. The foundation released results from an evaluation of the program that aims to improve the quality of health care, reduce disparities,…

  • Technology Developed to Diagnose, Treat Atrial Fibrillation

    Researchers at University of California in San Diego and Los Angeles, and Indiana University have discovered that irregular heart rhythms known as atrial fibrillation are the result of small electrical sources within the heart, in the form of spinning electrical rotors or focal beats. The research team published its findings online in the Journal of…

  • Trial Shows Platelet Drug Benefit for Aplastic Anemia

    A clinical trial has shown eltrombopag, a drug originally designed to stimulate production of platelets from bone marrow, can raise blood cell levels in some people with severe aplastic anemia, who have failed all standard therapies. The findings of the phase 2 trial conducted by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and other…

  • Method Devised for Stem Cell Cardiac Muscle Patches

    Researchers from universities of Michigan and Wisconsin, with colleagues from Oxford and Imperial College in the U.K., have developed a process for creating from stem cells, heart muscle cells that mimic the heart’s pumping action. The findings, which include a technology to measure electrical activity in these created cells, are published as the cover story…

  • Alcohol Consumption Indicated as Atrial Fibrillation Cause

    Researchers at University of California in San Francisco have found evidence showing a causal link between alcohol consumption and atrial fibrillation, the most common form of arrhythmia or rapid heart beat. The results of the team led by medical professor Gregory Marcus were published online and will appear in the 1 August 2012 issue of…

  • Medical Device Company Lands $30M for Clinical Trials

    Kona Medical Inc., a medical device developer in Bellevue, Washington, has secured $30 million in series C venture funds, the third financing cycle after initial start-up. The round was led by an undisclosed large-cap medical technology company, and joined by existing investors Essex Woodlands, Domain Associates, Morgenthaler Ventures, and BioStar Ventures. Kona Medical, founded in…

  • Statins Found to Reduce Cancers After Heart Transplants

    A study by physicians and medical researchers at University Hospital Zurich in Switzerland indicates heart transplant patients taking statins — drugs used to lower cholesterol — reduced their risk of getting cancer, and were associated with overall survival independent of their cholesterol levels. The findings were reported yesterday at a meeting of the European Society…

  • New Heart-Healthy Oat Variety Developed

    Agricultural researchers at University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a new kind of oat grain with greater amounts of a compound that can lower the amount of the harmful cholesterol in humans. BetaGene, as the new variety is called, is a product of a 14-year project in the Small Grains Breeding Program in UW-Madison’s agronomy department.…

  • Imaging Technique Highlights Cardiac Arrest Candidates

    Medical researchers from University at Buffalo have adapted Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging to identify patients at the highest risk for sudden cardiac arrest. Results of the clinical trial testing the technique are scheduled for presentation today at a meeting of the Heart Rhythm Society. The university says the Prediction of Arrhythmic Events with Positron…