Heavy new arguments weigh in on the danger of obesity
A true obesity epidemic is gradually advancing throughout the developed world. A large new Danish-British study from the University of Copenhagen and University of Bristol documents for the first time a definite correlation between a high BMI and the risk of developing life-threatening cardiac disease. Heart attack, atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries and angina - also called ischemic heart disease - are the most common causes of death in adults worldwide.
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'Rogue DNA' plays key role in heart failure, study shows
DNA from the heart's own cells plays a role in heart failure by mistakenly activating the body's immune system, according to a study by British and Japanese researchers, co-funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF). Scientists from King's College London and Osaka University Medical School in Japan showed that during heart failure - a debilitating condition affecting 750,000 people in the UK - this 'rogue DNA' can kick start the body's natural response to infection, contributing to the process of heart failure.
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Xenotransplantation as a therapy for type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is caused by autoimmune destruction of the insulin-producing beta cells. Over 250,000 patients suffer from type 1 diabetes in Germany who are treated with daily insulin injections to maintain glucose metabolism. Replacement of the destroyed beta cells by transplantation of either a complete pancreas organ or isolated human beta cells is the only effective way to cure the disease. However, due to the shortage of organ donors this method can be offered to only few patients. As an alternative approach researchers are exploring xenotransplantation, i.e. transplantation of the organ from another species.
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Advances in personalized medicine for lung cancer
Several new studies that may help doctors tailor lung cancer treatment to the characteristics of individual patients and of their tumors are being presented at the 3rd European Lung Cancer Conference in Geneva. "A major goal of lung cancer treatment is to tailor the treatment to the individual," says Dr Fiona Blackhall from The Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester, UK.
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Hypertension study proves treatment with RAAS inhibitors saves lives
Treatment with an ACE inhibitor for lowering high blood pressure showed a significant mortality reduction in patients with a high prevalence of hypertension, according to a report published in the European Heart Journal, the flagship journal of the European Society of Cardiology. In the study, 20 different trials including nearly 160,000 randomly selected patients with high blood pressure were treated with renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibitors or control treatment, such as placebo or normal care with a mean follow up of 4.3 years.
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Dangerous blood pressure medicine
Despite the fact that nifedipine increases the risk of heart attacks and death, doctors still prescribe this immediate-release blood pressure drug to elderly patients. The Cologne-based research group led by Ingrid Schubert has published the results of their investigation in the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2012; 109[12]: 215-9).
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Heart failure's effects in cells can be reversed with a rest
Structural changes in heart muscle cells after heart failure can be reversed by allowing the heart to rest, according to research at Imperial College London. Findings from a study in rats published today in the European Journal of Heart Failure show that the condition's effects on heart muscle cells are not permanent, as has generally been thought. The discovery could open the door to new treatment strategies.
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