Sunday, January 16, 2005
From the January 8, 2005 issue of Science News:
Beat Generation: Genetically modified stem cells repair heart
Tissue engineers have for the first time used genetically modified human stem cells to repair damaged hearts in guinea pigs.
In experiments on guinea pigs, scientists have used genetically modified human embryonic stem cells to make a biological pacemaker. The implanted tissue has kept the guinea pig hearts beating after their natural pacemaker cells were destroyed. ... Unlike battery-powered pacemakers, says Li, stem cell-based pacemakers speed up or slow down in response to drugs that alter normal heart rate. ... His group [he's based at Johns Hopkins] has already learned how to genetically alter human pacemaker cells to fine-tune their firing rates. Adjusting the firing rate could be important because ordinary pacemaker cells beat slowly when implanted. The heart's natural pacemaker is a complex mixture of several cell types, Li says, so it's difficult to mimic its function with any single, unmodified cell type.
Beat Generation: Genetically modified stem cells repair heart
Tissue engineers have for the first time used genetically modified human stem cells to repair damaged hearts in guinea pigs.
In experiments on guinea pigs, scientists have used genetically modified human embryonic stem cells to make a biological pacemaker. The implanted tissue has kept the guinea pig hearts beating after their natural pacemaker cells were destroyed. ... Unlike battery-powered pacemakers, says Li, stem cell-based pacemakers speed up or slow down in response to drugs that alter normal heart rate. ... His group [he's based at Johns Hopkins] has already learned how to genetically alter human pacemaker cells to fine-tune their firing rates. Adjusting the firing rate could be important because ordinary pacemaker cells beat slowly when implanted. The heart's natural pacemaker is a complex mixture of several cell types, Li says, so it's difficult to mimic its function with any single, unmodified cell type.
Saturday, January 15, 2005
A few articles online that I've run across:
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/quality/hospital/SummaryOfMeeting.pdf This article is about a study which shows that ARBs, a/k/a AIIBs, angiotensin-II blockers, a/k/a "sartans" do as much good for patients with heart failure or left ventricular systolic disfunction as the older ACE inhibitors do. The protocols for standard treatment of heart failure will be rewritten to say ACEI or ARBs should be prescribed for HF patients. This is a report from a medical meeting, so it's fairly technical.
http://www.heartcenteronline.com/myheartdr/home/research-detail.cfm?reutersid=4985&nl=2
C-reactive protein, statin therapy measured in heart disease
Jan 05 (HeartCenterOnline) - A pair of studies appears to have confirmed the importance of C-reactive protein in coronary heart disease.
http://www.heartcenteronline.com/myheartdr/home/research-detail.cfm?reutersid=4977&nl=3
Dual pacemakers worth the cost, U.S. study finds
Jan 04 (Reuters) - Pricey pacemakers that regulate the heart's upper and lower chambers separately are worth the extra cost because they help keep patients out of the hospital, US researchers reported on Monday.
The fancier dual-chamber models cost about $3,000 more than single-chamber devices and do not help patients live any longer on average, but still save money over time, the government-funded study found.
"The dual-chamber devices significantly reduced the rates of atrial fibrillation and heart failure hospitalizations, which over the long term results in a highly favorable cost-effectiveness ratio," said Dr. David Cohen of Harvard Medical School in Boston, who led the study.
http://www.heartcenteronline.com/myheartdr/home/research-detail.cfm?reutersid=4981&nl=4
Eye disease predicts heart failure
Jan 05 (Reuters Health) - A common type of disease that involves the back of the eye, known as retinopathy, is a risk factor for heart failure, even in the absence of preexisting heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes, according to a new report.
For the complete text of each article, click on the links given.
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/quality/hospital/SummaryOfMeeting.pdf This article is about a study which shows that ARBs, a/k/a AIIBs, angiotensin-II blockers, a/k/a "sartans" do as much good for patients with heart failure or left ventricular systolic disfunction as the older ACE inhibitors do. The protocols for standard treatment of heart failure will be rewritten to say ACEI or ARBs should be prescribed for HF patients. This is a report from a medical meeting, so it's fairly technical.
http://www.heartcenteronline.com/myheartdr/home/research-detail.cfm?reutersid=4985&nl=2
C-reactive protein, statin therapy measured in heart disease
Jan 05 (HeartCenterOnline) - A pair of studies appears to have confirmed the importance of C-reactive protein in coronary heart disease.
http://www.heartcenteronline.com/myheartdr/home/research-detail.cfm?reutersid=4977&nl=3
Dual pacemakers worth the cost, U.S. study finds
Jan 04 (Reuters) - Pricey pacemakers that regulate the heart's upper and lower chambers separately are worth the extra cost because they help keep patients out of the hospital, US researchers reported on Monday.
The fancier dual-chamber models cost about $3,000 more than single-chamber devices and do not help patients live any longer on average, but still save money over time, the government-funded study found.
"The dual-chamber devices significantly reduced the rates of atrial fibrillation and heart failure hospitalizations, which over the long term results in a highly favorable cost-effectiveness ratio," said Dr. David Cohen of Harvard Medical School in Boston, who led the study.
http://www.heartcenteronline.com/myheartdr/home/research-detail.cfm?reutersid=4981&nl=4
Eye disease predicts heart failure
Jan 05 (Reuters Health) - A common type of disease that involves the back of the eye, known as retinopathy, is a risk factor for heart failure, even in the absence of preexisting heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes, according to a new report.
For the complete text of each article, click on the links given.
Friday, January 14, 2005
I'm trying to get through a load of magazine articles I've torn out and saved up. Herewith a summary:
From Reader's Digest, December 2004:
CT scans are a safe way to diagnose illness or injury. But the growing trend of full-body CT scans by healthy people for early detection of tumors or heart problems may actually increase cancer risk. Don't get a full-body CT scan unless you are already at heightened risk for one of these diseases. From a study at Columbia University Medical Center.
Being overweight ups heart disease risk, and exercise cuts risk. Which is more important: losing weight, or exercising? Obese women who weren't active were 50% more likely to have a heart attack or stroke or die in the next four years than more active obese women. It's still not OK to be obese, but regardless of your weight, you'll be better off if you exercise than if you don't. From a University of Florida study.
From Science News. 9 October 2004:
From muscle strength to immunity, scientists find new Vitamin D benefits. Vitamin D reduces your risk of injury from falling. It appears to have a protective effect against MS, and possibly against other autoimmune diseases. It helps reduce the gum inflammation that can lead to tooth loss. It slows prostate cancer growth. It may aid in the prevention of type 2 diabetes - and many people with heart failure also have diabetes, so this effect is important for you. Recommendations: aim for at least 400 IU of Vitamin D daily, and 600 is even better.
However, note also from an earlier issue of Science News, summarized in the Dec 18 issue, that Vitamin D promotes weight gain in people who aren't getting enough calcium in their diets - so as you up your Vitamin D intake, make sure your calcium intake is also adequate!
And also from that year-end summary:
Guggul extract, a common dietary supplement for heart health and obesity, may impair the efficacy of many prescription drugs. Here's a link to that article online: http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20041002/food.asp. Statins are one class of drugs whose effectiveness is reduced by guggul, and many of us with heart failure are taking statins. In general, don't take any dietary supplements purported to have health benefits without checking with your doctor for potential interactions with prescription medications.
From Science News, 4 December 2004:
Breathing polluted air - air with soot and other airborne particles - compromises the arteries' capacity to dilate and inhibits blood flow. This links cardiovascular disease and polluted air.
There, that's enough for the moment, and gets rid of a few millimeters of my accumulated paper pile.
From Reader's Digest, December 2004:
From Science News. 9 October 2004:
From muscle strength to immunity, scientists find new Vitamin D benefits. Vitamin D reduces your risk of injury from falling. It appears to have a protective effect against MS, and possibly against other autoimmune diseases. It helps reduce the gum inflammation that can lead to tooth loss. It slows prostate cancer growth. It may aid in the prevention of type 2 diabetes - and many people with heart failure also have diabetes, so this effect is important for you. Recommendations: aim for at least 400 IU of Vitamin D daily, and 600 is even better.
However, note also from an earlier issue of Science News, summarized in the Dec 18 issue, that Vitamin D promotes weight gain in people who aren't getting enough calcium in their diets - so as you up your Vitamin D intake, make sure your calcium intake is also adequate!
And also from that year-end summary:
Guggul extract, a common dietary supplement for heart health and obesity, may impair the efficacy of many prescription drugs. Here's a link to that article online: http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20041002/food.asp. Statins are one class of drugs whose effectiveness is reduced by guggul, and many of us with heart failure are taking statins. In general, don't take any dietary supplements purported to have health benefits without checking with your doctor for potential interactions with prescription medications.
From Science News, 4 December 2004:
Breathing polluted air - air with soot and other airborne particles - compromises the arteries' capacity to dilate and inhibits blood flow. This links cardiovascular disease and polluted air.
There, that's enough for the moment, and gets rid of a few millimeters of my accumulated paper pile.
I contributed several of my recipes to a cookbook put out by Animal Trustees of Austin, as a fundraiser. Those of you who might want those recipes can find the cookbook here. It includes the salt-free summer pickles, the high-potassium fruit salad, three bean salad, black bean salad, and my most famous recipes, the cashew chili and the chickpea curry. Because we tried to give stuff animal related names, they are called "Chili and Chippy Chinchilla's Cashew Chili" and "Leapin' Lapin Legume Curry" in here, after my pet chinchillas and pet rabbits. So, while you can scroll through the archives here and find the recipes, if you'd like them in print, plus a bunch of other good vegetarian stuff, please help out ATA.
