http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Intensive medical therapy, including aggressive control of blood pressure and cholesterol levels, for patients with asymptomatic plaque buildup in their carotid arteries (which supply blood to the brain) appears to be associated with reduced rates of cardiovascular events and reduced risk of microemboli (microscopic-sized blood clots) in the brain arteries, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the February 2010 print issue of Archives of Neurology. http://www.physorg.com/news180084355.html Medicine & Health Tue, 15 Dec 2009 08:00:01 EST news180084355 Obese patients who lost a moderate amount of weight by eating less and exercising more improved their cardiovascular health, says a study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. http://www.physorg.com/news179752474.html Medicine & Health Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:50:01 EST news179752474 Physicians should be comfortable referring some patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) for effective stroke prevention surgery, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). The findings indicate that CKD patients gain a significant benefit from the procedures without an increased risk of dying from surgical complications. http://www.physorg.com/news179690417.html Medicine & Health Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:30:02 EST news179690417 NFL players and other athletes who suffer serious or multiple concussions may benefit from ground-breaking research being conducted by scientists at Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center. The scientists are developing a surgical technique that involves hypothermia in specific regions of the brain. http://www.physorg.com/news177358670.html Medicine & Health Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:19:48 EST news177358670 (PhysOrg.com) -- A drug that raises levels of 'good' cholesterol, when taken in addition to standard statin therapy to lower 'bad' cholesterol, can reduce the furring up of arteries in patients with established heart disease, an Oxford University study has shown. http://www.physorg.com/news176575852.html Medicine & Health Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:51:20 EST news176575852 Inflammation still ravages the lungs of some smokers years after they quit the habit. What sparks that smoldering destruction remained a mystery until a consortium of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine found that certain dendritic cells in the lung - the cells that "present" a foreign antigen or protein to the immune system - provoke production of destructive T-cells that attack a key protein called elastin, leading to death of lung tissue and emphysema. http://www.physorg.com/news175958093.html Medicine & Health Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:16:16 EST news175958093 Even one cigarette has serious adverse effects on young adults, according to research presented by Dr. Stella Daskalopoulou at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2009, co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society. http://www.physorg.com/news175846292.html Medicine & Health Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:00:01 EST news175846292 Research led by Hernan A. Bazan, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Section of Vascular Surgery, at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Medicine, has found that unstable carotid artery plaques - those in danger of rupturing and leading to a stroke - contain more inflammation and significantly less omega-3 fatty acids than asymptomatic plaques. This suggests that increasing the levels of omega-3 fatty acids in carotid artery plaques could either prevent strokes or improve the safety of treatment. This may be accomplished by increasing dietary intake of foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids. http://www.physorg.com/news173620928.html Medicine & Health Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:20:02 EST news173620928 Among patients undergoing cardiac surgery, post-operative stroke occurred in approximately 2 percent, was not correlated with significant carotid artery narrowing, but was more common among patients who had combined cardiac and carotid procedures, according to a report in the September issue of Archives of Neurology. http://www.physorg.com/news172166381.html Medicine & Health Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:10:03 EST news172166381 Minorities have poorer results and higher rates of unnecessary surgery from a common procedure used to remove plaque from inside the carotid artery, according to a UT Southwestern Medical Center doctor who is lead author of the study in the journal Stroke. http://www.physorg.com/news170419864.html Medicine & Health Tue, 25 Aug 2009 11:51:56 EST news170419864 Mental stress causes carotid artery dilation and increases brain blood flow. A series of ultrasound experiments, described in BioMed Central's open access journal Cardiovascular Ultrasound, also found that this dilatory reflex was absent in people with high blood pressure. http://www.physorg.com/news165808114.html Medicine & Health Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:20:01 EST news165808114 It is well documented that police officers have a higher risk of developing heart disease: The question is why. http://www.physorg.com/news165578420.html Medicine & Health Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:00:45 EST news165578420 An evaluation of 203 women as part of the multifaceted Los Angeles Atherosclerosis Study (LAAS) found that those who transitioned more quickly through menopause were at increased risk for a higher rate of progression of "preclinical atherosclerosis" - narrowing of arteries caused by the thickening of their walls. http://www.physorg.com/news152294306.html Medicine & Health Tue, 27 Jan 2009 15:59:18 EST news152294306 (PhysOrg.com) -- Advanced age and race are among the factors that can affect whether a patient dies or suffers a stroke after carotid-artery surgery, a UT Southwestern physician involved in a multicenter study has found. http://www.physorg.com/news145168734.html Medicine & Health Thu, 06 Nov 2008 04:38:54 EST news145168734 Results of a study on the use of the FiberNet(R) Embolic Protection System in carotid artery stenting were reported today during the 20th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium, sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF). The research showed a low number of strokes and cardiac events in patients who had stents implanted utilizing a new embolic neuroprotection system during carotid stenting with commercial stents. http://www.physorg.com/news143391663.html Medicine & Health Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:01:03 EST news143391663 New research published in the October issue of Journal of the American College of Surgeons challenges the current opinion that patients in their eighties, who are often deemed "high-risk" due to their advanced age, should not undergo carotid endarterectomy - a stroke-preventing surgical procedure that clears blockages from the neck's carotid arteries. http://www.physorg.com/news142848300.html Medicine & Health Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:05:00 EST news142848300 Research led by Dr. David Spence of Robarts Research Institute at The University of Western Ontario shows that with more intensive medical therapy, the risk of stroke has become so low that at least 95 per cent of patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis (ACS) would be better off with medical therapy than with surgery or stenting. ACS is a narrowing in the carotid artery, which supplies blood to the brain, which has not yet resulted in a stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). In the United States, one-half to two-thirds of the patients being subjected to surgery for revascularization are asymptomatic. http://www.physorg.com/news141539312.html Medicine & Health Thu, 25 Sep 2008 05:28:32 EST news141539312 Canadian researchers have used three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging (3-D MRI) to accurately detect bleeding within the walls of diseased carotid arteries, a condition that may lead to a stroke. The results of the study published in the October issue of Radiology suggest the technique may prove to be a useful screening tool for patients at high risk for stroke. http://www.physorg.com/news140776116.html Medicine & Health Tue, 16 Sep 2008 09:28:36 EST news140776116 Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have observed by non-invasive MR imaging (MRI), a healing mechanism for plaque rupture, a potentially life-threatening event in the cardiovascular system that can result in a fatal heart attack or debilitating stroke. The untimely death of well-known television journalist Tim Russert was due to the sudden rupture of a vulnerable plaque in a critical location in a coronary artery. This study, which was published in the September 2 issue of Circulation, shows that not all plaque ruptures are symptomatic. http://www.physorg.com/news139670679.html Medicine & Health Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:24:39 EST news139670679 A study in the Sept. 1 issue of the journal Sleep shows that objectively measured heavy snoring is an independent risk factor for early carotid atherosclerosis, which may progress to be associated with stroke. http://www.physorg.com/news139457674.html Medicine & Health Mon, 01 Sep 2008 03:14:34 EST news139457674