http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. In a prospective, observational study of approximately 150,000 Norwegians, the investigators found that alcohol consumption was associated with a large decrease in the risk of death from coronary artery disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-reduction-coronary-heart-disease-alcohol.html Cardiology Thu, 10 Nov 2011 11:15:23 EST news240146110 Researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health are undertaking a preliminary study to identify the early origins of heart disease among African-Americans. The new feasibility study will enroll children and grand children of participants taking part in the largest study of heart disease risk factors among African-American adults, the Jackson Heart Study (JHS), in Jackson, Miss. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-youth-heart-disease-african-americans.html Health Thu, 03 Nov 2011 10:40:03 EST news239533981 Atherosclerosis – or buildup of fat in the walls of arteries − is thought of as a disorder of older people but it affects a large number of young men and women, according to a new Heart and Stroke Foundation study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-young-apparently-healthy-heart.html Cardiology Tue, 25 Oct 2011 04:18:53 EST news238735114 Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center report that sickle cell trait is not a risk factor for the development of severe kidney disease in African-Americans. This study, published in the August online issue of Kidney International, contradicts findings from a 2010 study that first suggested that having one copy of the sickle cell gene was a kidney disease risk factor. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-sickle-cell-trait-factor-kidney.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:41:44 EST news235233642 Research led by Dr. Melinda Sothern, Professor of Public Health and Jim Finks Endowed Chair in Health Promotion at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, has found that obese 7-9-year-old children had nearly three times the liver fat and almost double the belly fat of their nonobese counterparts and that insulin resistance was more than double and insulin sensitivity less than half respectively. The study is the first to use a combination of advanced measurements in healthy obese and nonobese children in this age group prior to entering puberty. The findings are detailed in the journal, Obesity, online August 25, 2011. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-differences-metabolic-disease-markers-healthy.html Health Thu, 25 Aug 2011 10:36:27 EST news233487374 The presence of calcium in coronary arteries is a much better predictor of heart attack and stroke than C-reactive protein among people with normal levels of LDL cholesterol, according to a study of more than 2,000 people led by a Johns Hopkins heart specialist. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-coronary-calcium-c-reactive-protein-heart.html Cardiology Fri, 19 Aug 2011 03:27:24 EST news232943229 Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) sufferers are at an increased risk of dying due to cardiovascular disease. A new five year study published in BioMed Central's open access journal Arthritis Research & Therapy showed that the risk of cardiovascular disease for people with RA is due to disease-related inflammation as well as the risk factors which affect the general population. Treatment of arthritis with disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) also reduced the patient's risk of heart disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-arthritis-heart-disease.html Cardiology Mon, 15 Aug 2011 04:12:18 EST news232600305 The work of molecular biologist Joseph M. Miano, Ph.D., and clinician Craig Benson, M.D., seems worlds apart: Miano helps head the Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute and Benson is chief resident of the combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics program at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Though the chance of their professional paths crossing was highly unlikely, shared enthusiasm, intense curiosity and a little detective work led to a unique collaboration and important new insights on the inner workings of the human genome. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-quest-therapies-team-hidden-human.html Genetics Thu, 11 Aug 2011 12:01:21 EST news232282857 Even small amounts of physical activity will help reduce heart disease risk, and the benefit increases as the amount of activity increases, according to a quantitative review reported in Circulation, journal of the American Heart Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-heart-disease.html Health Mon, 01 Aug 2011 16:40:03 EST news231433770 Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) are truly talented multi-taskers. They can reproduce almost all cell types and thus offer great hope in the fight against diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. However, it would appear that their use is not entirely without risk: during the reprogramming of body cells into iPS cells, disease-causing mutations can creep into the genetic material. The genome of the mitochondria – the cell's protein factories – is particularly vulnerable to such changes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-mitochondrial-genome-mutates-reprogrammed.html Genetics Thu, 28 Jul 2011 11:40:01 EST news231070335 Obese people with high levels of abdominal fat and liver fat may face increased risks for heart disease and other serious health problems, according to research published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology: Journal of the American Heart Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-liver-belly-fat-high-heart.html Cardiology Thu, 21 Jul 2011 16:25:18 EST news230484299 In a new study published today in the inaugural issue of the Journal of Parkinson's Disease, Israeli researchers report that by tracking pharmacy purchases of anti-Parkinson drugs they could estimate the number of Parkinson's disease (PD) cases in a large population. The study identified a sharp rise in PD prevalence from 170/100,000 in 2000 to 256/100,000 in 2007 in Israel, which warrants further investigation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-method-parkinson-disease-prevalence-reveals.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 09 Jun 2011 11:56:09 EST news226839356 Imagine being able to calculate one number that would tell you just how fit you are – and what that means for your heart health. Researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) has managed exactly that: they have developed a model that can help doctors – and individuals – determine just how fit an individual is, and what that means for overall health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-magic-heart-health.html Cardiology Wed, 01 Jun 2011 10:34:04 EST news226143176 Scientists from the University of Warwick have discovered why a newly found form of cholesterol seems to be 'ultra-bad', leading to increased risk of heart disease. The discovery could lead to new treatments to prevent heart disease particularly in people with type 2 diabetes and the elderly. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-super-sticky-ultra-bad-cholesterol-revealed-people.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 27 May 2011 04:46:57 EST news225690366 Coronary computed tomographic (CT) angiography, which can detect plaque buildup in heart vessels, is sometimes used as a screening tool to assess the risk for a heart attack. However, the usefulness of the test on low-risk patients who do not have coronary symptoms, such as chest pain, has been unclear. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-ct-angiography-low-risk-heart-patients.html Cardiology Mon, 23 May 2011 17:31:11 EST news225390650 Screening for coronary heart disease (CHD) among individuals at low risk of the condition is associated with increased use of medications (such as aspirin and statins) and increased additional testing, but no difference in cardiac events at 18 months, according to a report posted online today that will be published in the August 8 print issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The article is part of the journal's Less Is More series. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-low-risk-patients-screened-heart-disease.html Cardiology Mon, 23 May 2011 17:27:27 EST news225390432 Children who are overweight or obese have a significantly higher prevalence of psoriasis, and teens with psoriasis, regardless of their body weight, have higher cholesterol levels, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published online in the Journal of Pediatrics. The study findings suggest that higher heart disease risk for patients with psoriasis starts in childhood in the form of higher cholesterol levels. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-extremely-obese-children-higher-prevalence.html Health Wed, 18 May 2011 13:12:07 EST news224943117 Tart cherries have a unique combination of powerful antioxidants that may help reduce risk factors for heart disease, according to new research presented at the Experimental Biology annual meeting in Washington, DC. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-link-red-healthy-heart.html Health Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:58:30 EST news221824679 Measuring the wrist bone may be a new way to identify which overweight children and adolescents face an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, according to research in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-wrist-bone-heart.html Medical research Mon, 11 Apr 2011 16:33:25 EST news221758390 A new pathway has been discovered that links a common dietary lipid and intestinal microflora with an increased risk of heart disease, according to a Cleveland Clinic study published in the latest issue of Nature. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-link-common-dietary-fat-intestinal.html Medical research Wed, 06 Apr 2011 13:02:40 EST news221313737