http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Procedures like angioplasty, stenting and bypass surgery may save lives, but they also cause excessive inflammation and scarring, which ultimately can lead to permanent disability and even death. A new research report appearing in The FASEB Journal, shows that naturally derived compounds from polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3s) may reduce the inflammation associated with these procedures to help arteries more fully and completely heal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-omega-fatty-acids-broken-heart.html Cardiology Thu, 30 May 2013 11:02:26 EST news289130537 (Medical Xpress)—A fresh round of trials to evaluate gene therapy for the heart is set to begin in a couple of weeks. The British Heart Foundation will be sponsoring the study, which seeks to replace defective calcium pump genes inside cells, with new ones delivered by a virus. The main trials will look at a group of around 200 patients worldwide, and a separate trial will look at 24 patients who already have a mechanical heart-assist device implanted. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-viral-vectors-delivery-calcium-ailing.html Medical research Wed, 01 May 2013 10:41:19 EST news286623571 Atherosclerosis – sometimes called "hardening of the arteries" – is a leading cause of death and morbidity in Western countries. A cell-permeable peptide containing the NF-kB nuclear localization sequence (NLS) shows promise as a potential agent in controlling the development of atherosclerotic disease. This study is published in the May 2013 issue of The American Journal of Pathology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-cell-permeable-peptide-cardiovascular-disease.html Cardiology Wed, 17 Apr 2013 06:22:09 EST news285398523 When our noses pick up a scent, whether the aroma of a sweet rose or the sweat of a stranger at the gym, two types of sensory neurons are at work in sensing that odor or pheromone. These sensory neurons are particularly interesting because they are the only neurons in our bodies that regenerate throughout adult life—as some of our olfactory neurons die, they are soon replaced by newborns. Just where those neurons come from in the first place has long perplexed developmental biologists. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-biologists-olfactory-nerve-cells.html Neuroscience Mon, 25 Mar 2013 16:38:52 EST news283448324 Transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells cultivated on the surface of nanofibrous meshes could be a novel therapeutic strategy against post-prostatectomy erectile dysfunction (ED), conclude the authors of a study which is to be presented at the 28th Annual EAU Congress later this week. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-stem-cells-transplantation-technique-high.html Medical research Fri, 15 Mar 2013 03:00:04 EST news282498950 That kale and bitter melon you are eating may someday save your life. An interdisciplinary team of scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School have taken a step forward in understanding how the substances that give some foods their bitter flavor also act to reverse the contraction of airway cells, a process known as bronchodilation. This effect may one day be harnessed to provide improved treatments for airway obstructive diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The findings were published on March 5 in the open access journal PLOS Biology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-scientists-mechanisms-airways-bitter-substances.html Medical research Tue, 05 Mar 2013 17:00:10 EST news281712795 New research examines the role of PKC in airway smooth muscle contraction and raises the possibility that this enzyme could be a therapeutic target for treating asthma, COPD, and other lung diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-explore-pkc-role-lung-disease.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 25 Feb 2013 17:47:36 EST news281036845 Mutations in single genes can cause catastrophic diseases, such as Huntington's Disease or sickle cell anemia. However, many conditions, including cancer, diabetes and birth defects are multigenic, arising from the collective failure of the function of more than one gene. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-deficiencies-genes-synergize-halt-formation.html Genetics Thu, 31 Jan 2013 10:51:08 EST news278851794 Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) may play a wide-ranging role in staving off aging, according to a paper published online ahead of print in the journal Molecular and Cellular Biology. In this review article, a team from China explores the compound's plethora of potential anti-aging pathways. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-hydrogen-sulfide-anti-aging-agent.html Medical research Tue, 29 Jan 2013 12:03:46 EST news278683401 When the human genome was sequenced, biologists were surprised to find that very little of the genome—less than 3 percent—corresponds to protein-coding genes. What, they wondered, was all the rest of that DNA doing? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-non-coding-rna-molecules-differentiation-embryonic.html Medical research Fri, 25 Jan 2013 07:44:49 EST news278322283 (Medical Xpress)—Impairment of a key signaling cascade in the pulmonary blood vessels plays an important role in pulmonary arterial hypertension, a Yale study has found. The study appears in the advance online publication of Nature Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-disruption-cellular-pulmonary-arterial-hypertension.html Medical research Thu, 27 Dec 2012 15:39:21 EST news275845147 (Medical Xpress)—Growing new blood vessels in the lab is a tough challenge, but a Johns Hopkins engineering team has solved a major stumbling block: how to prod stem cells to become two different types of tissue that are needed to build tiny networks of veins and arteries. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-stem-cells-blocks-blood-vessels.html Cardiology Thu, 20 Dec 2012 15:45:42 EST news275240732 Each year, about 610,000 Americans suffer their first heart attack, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Heart attacks and other symptoms of cardiovascular disease can be caused when blockage occurs in the arteries. In a new study from the University of Missouri, a scientist has discovered a natural defense against arterial blockage: bilirubin. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-bilirubin-cardiovascular-disease.html Cardiology Thu, 06 Dec 2012 10:41:42 EST news274012887 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have shed new light on blood pressure regulation with the discovery of an unexpected mechanism by which hemoglobin controls the delivery of nitric oxide. The findings may point to a new therapeutic target for treating high blood pressure and may have far-reaching implications for many organ systems and illnesses. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-discovery-nitric-oxide-delivery-mechanism.html Medical research Wed, 14 Nov 2012 08:12:06 EST news272103092 Blood vessels are extremely dynamic: depending on the external conditions, they can adapt their permeability for nutrients, their contractility, and even their shape. Unlike cardiac muscle cells, for example, the smooth muscle cells in blood vessels demonstrate a high degree of plasticity, so they can specialise or multiply as required, even repairing damage to the vessel wall. This vascular remodelling is evidently precisely regulated. Disruptions are extremely significant in conditions such as atherosclerosis or high blood pressure. At the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim, scientists conducting research on genetically modified mice have discovered how external signals regulate vascular remodelling at cell level. This has created an entirely new understanding of regulation, which could pave the way for new approaches in the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis and other vascular diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-proteins-remodelling-blood-vessels.html Medical research Tue, 13 Nov 2012 13:24:58 EST news272035465 It turns out the muscle cells on the outside of blood vessels have been wrongly accused for instigating lung disease. New research shows that while these muscle cells are responsible for constricting or dilating the blood vessels, they are not responsible for sensing the amount of oxygen that gets to the lungs. That message comes from the endothelial cells – special cells that line the blood vessels – along a "signalling pathway." http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-life-lung-disease.html Medical research Wed, 24 Oct 2012 14:50:02 EST news270306129 (HealthDay)—Babies exposed to cigarette smoke are at increased risk for developing childhood respiratory diseases such as asthma, according to a new study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-secondhand-ups-babies-asthma.html Inflammatory disorders Mon, 15 Oct 2012 17:44:26 EST news269541827 A new study that identifies ways to reduce the factors that lead to an asthma attack gives hope to asthma sufferers. A UCSF researcher and his colleagues believe they have found a way to help asthma sufferers by impeding the two most significant biological responses that lead to an asthma attack. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-physiological-factors-asthma.html Inflammatory disorders Mon, 17 Sep 2012 16:36:39 EST news267118573 Researchers at St. Michael's Hospital are one step closer to understanding why plaque bursts in coronary arteries and causes heart attacks. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-closer-actions-cells-involved-atherosclerosis.html Cardiology Mon, 10 Sep 2012 16:43:22 EST news266514197 The stiffness of breast tissue is increasingly recognized as an important factor explaining the onset of breast cancer. Stiffening induces molecular changes that promote cancerous behavior in cells. Bioengineering studies have found that breast cancer cells grown on a 3-D gel have enhanced cell replication and decreased organization as rigidity increases. These signals are probably coordinated by surface proteins that communicate with connective tissue, to regulate cell replication, death, and movement. However, very little is known about how stiffness or other physical characteristics of tissues contributes to cancer behavior in living animals. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-tension-gut-muscles-cell-invasion.html Cancer Fri, 07 Sep 2012 17:01:13 EST news266256043 Cold feet -- those chilly appendages that plague many people in the winter and an unlucky few all year round -- can be the bane of existence for singles and couples alike. In a new study, scientists led by Selvi C. Jeyaraj of the Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital have identified a biological mechanism that may be responsible for icy extremities: an interaction between a series of molecules and receptors on smooth muscle cells that line the skin's tiny blood vessels. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-cold-feet-plaguing-relationship-physiologists.html Medical research Tue, 31 Jul 2012 14:50:17 EST news262965010 One of the top suspects behind killer vascular diseases is the victim of mistaken identity, according to researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, who used genetic tracing to help hunt down the real culprit. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-real-culprit-hardened-arteries-stem.html Medical research Wed, 06 Jun 2012 12:52:32 EST news258205943 Inhibition of pre-B Cell Colony-Enhancing Factor (PBEF) could be a potential therapeutic target for pulmonary hypertension (PH), according to a preclinical study in an animal model of PH. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-inhibition-pbef-therapeutic-pulmonary-hypertension.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 22 May 2012 09:53:44 EST news256899219 (Medical Xpress) -- European scientists dig into atherosclerotic plaque formation processes to investigate the part played by inflammation and vascular wall remodelling. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-role-inflammation-atherosclerosis.html Medical research Tue, 01 May 2012 09:50:10 EST news255084589 Niacin, or vitamin B3, is the one approved drug that elevates "good" cholesterol (high density lipoprotein, HDL) while depressing "bad" cholesterol (low density lipoprotein , LDL), and has thereby attracted much attention from patients and physicians. Niacin keeps fat from breaking down, and so obstructs the availability of LDL building blocks. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-cautions-drugs-block-niacin-flush.html Medical research Mon, 09 Apr 2012 10:16:06 EST news253185340 Cigarette smoke has long been considered the main risk factor for heart disease. But new research from Brown University in Providence, R.I., shows that nicotine itself, a component of cigarette smoke, can contribute to the disease process by changing cell structure in a way that promotes migration and invasion of the smooth muscle cells that line blood vessels. In particular, invading cells can remodel structures called podosomes, and this leads to further degradation of vessel integrity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-invade-conquer-nicotine-role-heart.html Cardiology Thu, 23 Feb 2012 12:01:06 EST news249220858 A Cambridge University research team has for the first time discovered a method of generating different types of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) - the cells which make up the walls of blood vessels - using cells from patients' skin. This work could lead to new treatments and better screening for cardiovascular disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-cambridge-team-smooth-muscle-cells.html Cardiology Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:08:14 EST news246787679 New research reveals that insulin applied in therapeutic doses selectively stimulates the formation of new elastic fibers in cultures of human aortic smooth muscle cells. These results advance the understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms of diabetic vascular disease. The study is published in the February issue of the American Journal of Pathology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-insulin-therapy-atherosclerotic-lesions-diabetic.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:01:04 EST news245336456 Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have discovered the therapeutic benefit of fetal stem cells in helping the maternal heart recover after heart attack or other injury. The research, which marks a significant advancement in cardiac regenerative medicine, was presented today at the American Heart Association's (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2011 in Orlando, Florida, and is also published in the current issue of Circulation Research, a journal of the AHA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-fetal-stem-cells-placenta-maternal.html Cardiology Mon, 14 Nov 2011 17:14:45 EST news240513126 Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine researchers have discovered that the infiltration of white blood cells into an expectant mother's blood vessels may explain high blood pressure in pregnancy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-high-blood-pressure-pregnancy.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Mon, 31 Oct 2011 14:38:56 EST news239290730