platelet | Page 3 of 3 | Health Newstrack

Genetic factors may predict depression in heart disease patients

Genetic variations contribute to depression in heart disease patients. – Individuals with heart disease are twice as likely to suffer from depression as the general population, an association the medical community has largely been unable to explain. Now, a new study by researchers at The Miriam Hospital, in conjunction with The Montr?al Heart Institute, University of Montr?al and McGill University, reveals there may be genetic variations that contribute to depression in heart disease patients.

Champion clinical trial program of cangrelor discontinued

Interim Analyses Indicate CHAMPION Program Will Not Meet Efficacy Endpoints. Company to Continue and Accelerate Phase 2/3 Studies of Cangrelor in Settings Where Oral Drugs Cannot Be Used or Short Half-Life Is Desirable. – The Medicines Company (NASDAQ: MDCO) announced that it is discontinuing its Phase 3 CHAMPION clinical trial program of cangrelor in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Proton pump inhibitors increase heart attacks in patients on clopidogrel

Proton pump inhibitors increase risk of heart attacks for patients on common cardiac drug clopidogrel – Patients taking the common cardiac drug clopidogrel following a heart attack are at a significantly higher risk of a recurrence if they are also taking widely used acid-lowering medications called proton pump inhibitors.

Smoke free policy leads to drop in heart attack hospitalizations

Smoke-free Policy Leads to Dramatic, Sustained Drop in Heart Attack Hospitalizations in Pueblo, Colorado – Heart attack hospitalizations in the city of Pueblo, Colorado fell sharply after the implementation of a municipal law making workplaces and public places smoke-free, and this decrease was sustained over a three-year period, according to a report in this week’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

FDA will review Daiichi Sankyo, Lilly drug Prasugrel for heart attack

Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited (TSE: 4568), and Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) are co-developing prasugrel, an investigational oral antiplatelet agent discovered by Daiichi Sankyo and its Japanese research partner, Ube Industries, Ltd., as a potential treatment, initially for patients with acute coronary syndrome who are managed with PCI. – Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited (TSE: 4568) and Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) confirmed that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee (CRDAC) will review prasugrel during an advisory committee hearing on February_3, 2009.

New drug alemtuzumab for multiple sclerosis patients

Research indicates drug alemtuzumab not only stops the Multiple sclerosis disease from advancing but may also restore lost function in many Multiple sclerosis patients. – A drug which was developed in Cambridge and initially designed to treat a form of leukaemia has also proven effective against combating the debilitating neurological disease multiple sclerosis (MS).

Poor oral hygiene, bleeding gums may cause heart disease

Bad teeth, bleeding gums and poor dental hygiene can end up causing heart disease, revealed by researchers at the Society for General Microbiology’s Autumn meeting being held this week at Trinity College, Dublin. – People with poor dental hygiene and those who don’t brush their teeth regularly end up with bleeding gums, which provide an entry to the bloodstream for up to 700 different types of bacteria found in our mouths.

Prasugrel cuts risk of stent-related clots

Study Results Show Investigational Drug, Prasugrel, Cuts Risk of Stent-Related Clots by More than Half Versus Clopidogrel. Reductions seen as soon as three days and out to 450 days in patients who received either bare metal or drug-eluting stents. – The investigational antiplatelet drug prasugrel plus aspirin produced a marked and highly statistically significant reduction in the risk of coronary stent thrombosis (ST) – a major concern for physicians and patients with potentially fatal consequences – in patients who received a stent as compared to standard therapy with clopidogrel (Plavix) plus aspirin, according to a stent analysis from the head-to-head TRITON-TIMI 38 trial.

Beetroot juice can beat high blood pressure

Research shows a daily dose of beetroot juice can beat high blood pressure. Drinking beetroot juice, or consuming other nitrate-rich vegetables, might be a simple way to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system. – Drinking just 500ml of beetroot juice a day can significantly reduce blood pressure, revealed by researchers at Barts and The London School of Medicine in a new study. Beetroot juice could have major implications for the treatment of cardiovascular disease.

Aspirin resistance increases heart attack, stroke risk

Increased risk of heart attack or stroke for patients who are resistant to aspirin — Aspirin ‘resistance’ and risk of cardiovascular morbidity : Systematic review and meta-analysis – Being resistant to aspirin makes patients four times more likely to suffer a heart attack, stroke or even die from a pre-existing heart condition, according to a study published in British Medical Journal, UK. The study relates to patients who are prescribed aspirin long term as a way of preventing clots from forming in the blood.