Showing posts with label
journal of cardiovascular disease.
Show all posts
Showing posts with label
journal of cardiovascular disease.
Show all posts
The total direct and indirect
cost in the US alone for treatment of cardiovascular diseases (hospitalization,
drugs, home healthcare, etc.) and loss of productivity and morbidity is
estimated at close to $315 billion US per year. Thus prevention by improving
diagnosis and drug treatment strategies could provide a huge saving for the
health care cost worldwide. Read more>>>>>>>>
Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) including stroke
is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide and an enormous economic
burden to our societies. The total direct and indirect cost in the US alone for
treatment of CVD (hospitalization, drugs, home healthcare, etc.) and loss ofproductivity and morbidity is estimated at close to $315 billion US per year.
Thus prevention by improving diagnosis and drug treatment strategies could
provide a huge saving for the health care cost worldwide. The importance of
gender effect in the management of CVD has long been recognized such that
mortality and morbidity are higher in women than men. Compared to men, women
tend to develop significant CVD later in life, but their prognosis are
considerably poorer and it is now the leading cause of death in elderly women. Read more>>>>>>>>>
They are derived from cell
membrane surfaces via blebbing and shedding in physiological (stress, micro environmental
stimulation) and pathological (coagulation/thrombosis, endotoxinemia,
endothelial shear stress, ischemic/hypoxic injury, inflammation, and malignancy)
conditions and are present in low concentrations in normal plasma. Recent
investigations have been shown that endothelial-derived MPs are discussed
powerful paracrine regulators of target cell functions affected cell
differentiation, tissue growth and reparation, vasculogenesis, vasodilation,
inflammation, apoptosis, infection, and malignancy.Read more>>>>>>>>>>
The
American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) Ambulatory Care Practice and
Research Network (PRN) recently published a paper stressing the importance of
pharmacists in the optimization of medication management in the Patient
Centered Medical Home (PCMH) and identify pharmacists as an essential component
to the success of the PCMH model. Read more>>>>>>>>>
Severe valvular
aortic stenosis (AS) is an aortic valve area of less than 1.0 cm2. Anginapectoris, syncope or near syncope, and congestive heart failure (CHF) are the 3
classic manifestations of severe AS.
One
of the seminal discoveries in biology was the discovery of the structure of
deoxyribonucleic acid, DNA, by James Watson, Francis Crick and Rosalind
Franklin that led to the later deciphering of the genetic code by a series of
exceptional researchers. Without Rosalind Franklin’s X ray crystallography work
on the hydrated form of DNA, Watson and Crick would not have been able to
decipher the double helix. It is this underlying structure that allows DNA to
direct the transcription of RNA and later translation of the genetic code into
proteins. In simple terms without understanding the structure, the geneticfunction of DNA was not evident.
While the genetic code directs all protein
synthesis, it is also true that in many instances understanding what genes are
expressed and translated does not inform the actual final functions, the end
result of protein expression and activity.The
mere presence of a protein or enzyme also does not translate directly into an
outcome in activity. Function is a much more complex process. Thus the genetic
code can direct amino acid sequence and structure, but structure and location
can also modify ultimate function. With this editorial we discuss the effects
of one structural component, the glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), on the functional
activities of other molecules, cells and organs. GAGs represent one of the
silent engineers of cellular and tissue structures. Read more.................
In
contrast to newt and zebrafish, adult mammalian hearts have a very limited
capacity to regenerate. Ischemia in the mammalian heart causes significant
tissue damage with the loss of many cardiac cells through apoptosis and
necrosis, only to be replaced with nonfunctional fibrotic tissue and
hypertrophy but not hyperplasia of the remaining cardiomyocytes. After an
ischemic episode, the heart is permanently scarred and functionally impaired,
leading to lifelong morbidity or ultimately death.
Cardiovascular disease
affects millions of people in the USA and is the leading cause of all mortality.
Determining the precise mechanisms and initiators for regeneration may lead to
possible therapeutic agents for human patients, decreasing mortality and
morbidity from ischemic heart diseases. Recently, neonatal mouse hearts were
shown to regenerate after ventricular resection in a similar fashion to adult
zebrafish. Furthermore, it was demonstrated they can also regenerate after
ischemia created by coronary artery ligation. Read more..............
Ross and Braunwald showed that
the average survival rate after the onset of CHF in patients with severe AS was
1.5 to 2 years. In a prospective study, at 19-month follow-up (range 2 to 36
months), 90% of 30 patients with CHF associated with unoperated severe AS and a
normal left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were dead. At 13-month
follow-up (range 2 to 24 months), 100% of 18 patients with CHF associated with
unoperated severe AS and an abnormal LVEF were dead. Read more..............
