CLEMSON — Clemson physics professor Apparao Rao and his team are researching nano-scale cantilevers that have the potential to read and alert us to toxic chemicals or gases in the air. Put them into a small handheld device and the potential is there for real-time chemical alerts in battle, in industry, in health care and even at home.
"The ability to build extremely small devices to do this work has been something we've only seen so far in science-fiction movies," Rao said.
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Cholesterol crystals released in the bloodstream during a cardiac attack or stroke can damage artery linings much further away from the site of the attack, leaving survivors at greater risk than previously thought.
George Abela, a physician in Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine and chief of the Department of Medicine's cardiology section, is leading innovative research into the role that the crystallization and expansion of cholesterol play in heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular events in humans.
EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) announces the creation of a large world-class center of neuroprostheses. This Lausanne-based pioneering facility, to be inaugurated in January, 2009, will include five Chairs and is situated at the crossroads between fundamental research, clinical applications and market opportunities.
Taking a cue from the way drugs like Viagra put the biological brakes on a key enzyme involved in heart failure, scientists at Johns Hopkins have mapped out a key chemical step involved in blocking the enzyme.
The Johns Hopkins team reports how the enzyme, phosphodiesterase 5, or PDE5A, slows down the breakdown of another, more vital compound in the body, cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cyclic GMP) which influences a variety of biological activities, including cell growth and muscle contraction. A buildup of cyclic GMP limits stress and overgrowth of heart tissue.
NEW ORLEANS - The positive U.S. health trend documented over the past 30 years of reduction in risk for heart disease is not as strong as is widely perceived - and, in fact, the trend has flattened, according to a new analysis of national data by Mayo Clinic.
This suggests that the public health challenge of curbing heart disease may be greater than is commonly thought, says Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, M.D., cardiologist and lead researcher.
Professor Vivien Chen, PhD,. Associate Professor Xiao Cheng Wu, MD, PhD and Assistant Professor Edward Peters, DMD, SM, ScD, at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Public Health contributed five papers to the largest most comprehensive assessment of the burden of human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers in the United States to date. The report, "Assessing the Burden of Human Papillomavirus (HPV)-Associated Cancers in the United States (ABHACUS)," is available now online and will be published in the November 15, 2008 supplement to the journal Cancer.
EAST LANSING, Mich. — A Michigan State University researcher is studying whether the most popular class of cholesterol-lowering drugs may cause muscle problems in users.
There is accumulating evidence that the effect statins can have on skeletal muscle – including muscle weakness, fatigue and deterioration – is underestimated, said Jill Slade, assistant professor of radiology and osteopathic manipulative medicine at MSU.
DURHAM, N.C. – Working out on a stationary bicycle or walking on a treadmill just 25 to 30 minutes most days of the week is enough to modestly lower risk of hospitalization or death for patients with heart failure, say researchers from Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI).
A chance discovery by a team of scientists using optical probes means that changes in cells in the human body could now be seen in a completely different light.
Prof David Parker from Durham University's Chemistry Department was working with experts from Glasgow University, and a team of international researchers, when they discovered dramatic changes in the way that light was emitted by optical probes during a series of experiments.
A new technique to study genetic changes that can lead to breast cancer could be one step closer.
The University of Nottingham has received £15,000 from the charity Breast Cancer Campaign to fill in one of the research gaps identified by the country's top breast cancer experts in a recent study carried out by the charity. The aim is to identify the many undiscovered genes thought to be involved in the early stages of breast cancer.
New research by The University of Texas School of Public Health shows that a medication for high blood pressure called a diuretic or water pill is particularly effective at reducing the risk for a type of heart failure that affects women more often than men. Findings appear in the Nov. 10 online issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
At low concentrations, the toxic gas hydrogen sulfide protects the hearts of mice from heart failure, scientists at Emory University School of Medicine have found.
Their findings, presented Nov. 11 at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions conference in New Orleans, suggest that doctors could use hydrogen sulfide to treat humans with heart failure.
Since the discovery of the etiological role of Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) in peptic ulcer disease, its eradication became the main objective of therapy, and several treatment regimens were developed. Currently, triple therapy with omeprazole, amoxicillin, and clarithromycin remains the best therapeutic option. Despite its efficacy, 10% to 20% of the patients present with treatment failure, demanding alternative therapeutic regimes with variable success rates. The development of effective salvage treatments is of paramount importance in this situation.
The larger body size of professional football players doesn't increase risk of cardiovascular disease or atherosclerosis after they retire, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008.
Compared to other men, retired National Football League (NFL) players had a significantly lower prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, sedentary lifestyles and metabolic syndrome. However, the NFL retirees had a higher prevalence of elevated cholesterol and impaired fasting glucose that could lead to diabetes.
A stent that entices artery-lining cells to coat it works as well or better than drug-eluting stents in keeping arteries open in coronary heart disease patients, according to two research studies presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008.
The new endothelial progenitor cell-capturing (EPC) stent is coated with an antibody that binds endothelial progenitor cells circulating in the blood. A number of smaller, randomized studies have shown that the stent is effective in carefully selected patients.