Researchers search for first sign of congestive heart failure
...ds of the time and a healthy left ventricle which pumps blood to the body should fill with blood during the early stage of relaxation. Scientists such as Dr. Kapuku say the true dysfunction of congestive heart failure occurs when that begins to change. When the heart muscle relaxes, differences in pressu...Beta-blockers may help broader group of patients with heart problems
...ejection fraction, a measure of how well the heart pumps out blood. "Our findings are encouraging because there are no data on the survival benefit of medical therapy in CHF or severe MR patients with normal ejection fraction. CHF with normal ejection fraction, popularly referred to as diastolic heart fail...Stem cells given in minimally invasive procedure improve heart function
... the total amount of blood that the left ventricle pumps out per heart beat. A patient with good heart function has an ejection fraction of at least 55 percent. Patients were scheduled to undergo the minimally invasive procedure but were unaware whether they would receive their own bone marrow stem cells ...Rotary blood pump shows promise for pediatric patients
Ventricular assist devices (VADs), blood pumps used in heart failure situations, now have the potential for use in additional patient groups. Scientists and clinicians gathered at the 11th Congress of the International Society of Rotary Blood Pumps in Germany last year to discuss past lessons le...Two days of post-surgical pain relief now possible with just one shot
.... This may reduce the need for external tubes and pumps that are common with other forms of pain managemen...intravenously through patient-controlled analgesia pumps (IV PCA). Unfortunately, with IV PCA there can be equipment malfunction or patient error, leading t...Subanalysis finds patient-controlled, transdermal pain management system may be comparable
...gynecologic surgery without the needles, lines and pumps needed for IV PCA." Patients in the study were randomized to receive either IONSYS TM - which delivers 40 micrograms of fentanyl on demand, up to six doses per hour - or one milligram of morphine on demand, up to 10 doses per hour, via IV PCA. Amo...Percutaneous edge-to-edge mitral valve repair shows favorable preliminary results
...e so that blood leakage is minimized and the heart pumps more efficiently. This new device could decrease a patient's hospital stay, result in fewer complications, provide a quicker recovery time, and significantly reduce health care costs. "In my most recently treated patient, we utilized two clips to r...Engineered stem cells can home in on tumors and deliver drug payload in mice
...upporting tissue. This new "cellular vehicle" then pumps drugs directly into cancer cells to disable them, but leaves normal tissue alone. They say their study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, is a proof of principle, conducted in mice, that shows this kind of strategy could be...Insulin pumps effective for children with diabetes
...abetes can be treated as successfully with insulin pumps as with daily injections, researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine report. A clinical trial at the Riley Hospital for Children studied 20 patients 5 years old or younger receiving treatment with continuous insulin infusion by pump and...Smart lights, nonstick implants and 100th birthday of electronics at science & technology meeting
...nvention and industrialization of miniature vacuum pumps that can be installed within a tube's internal volume. These "getter" pumps are described by Bruno Ferrario (SAES Getters, Lianate, Italy; Bruno_Ferrario@saes-group.com ), who...Inflammatory marker may be early sign of blood vessel blockages
...the aorta, the main artery through which the heart pumps blood to the body. TEE images are clearer than traditional echocardiograms because they come from an ultrasound probe inserted down the throat. This enables imaging of the heart and major blood vessels without interference from the ribs and chest wal...ASU researchers demonstrate new nanotech effect - moving water molecules by light
...becomes very important because ordinary tools like pumps and valves are hard to make on a nano scale. The ASU team theorized and then proved that a change in water wettability the ability of the water molecules to easily move across a surface when induced by light can be significantly amplified through ...$5 million NIH contract to fund development of pediatric heart assist device
... "This contract will allow us to develop two blood pumps small enough to provide heart support for infants,...linical use in about five years." Few heart assist pumps have been developed or adapted specifically for use in children. Most currently-available heart assi...Lower temperatures improve outcomes after bypass surgery
...a heart-lung machine takes over from the heart and pumps blood throughout the body, allowing surgeons to operate on a temporarily stopped heart. Additionally, the heart-lung machine cools the circulating blood in order to reduce the metabolic needs of the brain and other vital organs. In earlier studies of...First randomized trial of adult stem cell injections in heart failure patients shows benefit
... the total amount of blood that the left ventricle pumps out per heart beat. A patient with good heart function has an ejection fraction of at least 55 percent. Each patient was scheduled for off-pump (beating heart) cardiac bypass surgery; 10 were randomized to also receive stem cells during surgery. The ...Environmental educators win 2004 Tyler Prize
...lages with solar energysystems and installing hand pumps to give people easy access todrinking water. Eleven villages with roughly 13,000 people now benefit frompiped water supply systems that were designed and implementedentirely by villagers. Nearly 400 underground water tanks havebeen built for ...'Off-pump' bypass surgery has similar outcomes, lower cost, than conventional bypass surgery
... a heart-lung machine allows the heart to stop and pumps blood throughout the body, and keeps the body stabilized. Concerns remains about the technical difficulty of off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB), including the possibility of imprecise grafting and incomplete revascularization compromising patie...Optical glucose sensor holds promise for diabetics and intensive care patients
...he development of an artificial pancreas. Insulin pumps are already available that diabetics can use to deliver their insulin doses instead of giving themselves injections. In concept, at least, an artificial pancreas is simply a continuous glucose monitor connected to an insulin pump that is programmed t...Study shows positive results for novel, patient-controlled transdermal system (PCTS)...
...requirements without the lines, needles, poles and pumps required by currently available intravenous PCA systems. Designed to adhere to a patient's upper arm or chest, E-TRANS Fentanyl HCl PCTS uses low-intensity electrical current -- which cannot be felt by the patient -- to deliver medication directly i...Air pollution may significantly worsen respiratory allergies in individuals with genetic risk
...the lungs' airways. In response, the immune system pumps out substances that cause allergy symptoms. But compounds called antioxidants can detoxify these particles and temper the body's allergic inflammatory response. Researchers suspect that the better the body can use antioxidants to defend itself, the ...