Probing the role of an inflammation resolution sensor in obesity and heart failure

After heart attack injury, several fatty-acid-derived bioactive molecules—including one called resolvin D1—play an essential signaling role to safely clear inflammation and help repair heart muscle. The mechanism of how this resolution occurs is not well-understood. There is a receptor on the surface of many immune cells called ALX/FRP2, and in models of atherosclerosis, ALX/FPR2 is known to act as a […]

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Wearable and implantable devices may transform care for patients with kidney failure

A feature article appearing in an upcoming issue of CJASN highlights the potential of wearable and implantable devices for treating kidney failure. In their feature article, Shuvo Roy, Ph.D. (University of California, San Francisco) and his colleagues note that traditional hemodialysis performed in clinics has a number of shortcomings, with patients reporting burdens related to fatigue, poor sleep, inability to […]

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FDA approves treatments for heart failure caused by rare disease

(HealthDay)—Vyndaqel (tafamidis meglumine) and Vyndamax (tafamidis) capsules have been approved to treat adults with cardiomyopathy caused by transthyretin mediated amyloidosis (ATTR-CM), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today. Recommended dosage is four 20-mg capsules of Vyndaqel once daily or a single 61-mg capsule of Vyndamax once daily, according to the manufacturer. The two drugs, which are the first approved […]

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Is kidney failure a man’s disease?

A new analysis of the ERA-EDTA Registry reveals a striking gender difference in the incidence and prevalence of end-stage renal disease. Two thirds of all dialysis patients in Europe are male. It seems beyond hormonal effects that hypertension, diabetes and glomerulonephritis/sclerosis are the main driver of the gender gap. However, it is possible to prevent and treat hypertension and diabetes […]

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Why does diabetes cause heart failure?

Men with diabetes are 2.4 times more likely than non-diabetics to suffer heart failure and women are five times more likely. A new Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine study reveals how, on a cellular level, diabetes can cause heart failure. The findings could lead to medications to treat and perhaps prevent heart failure in diabetes patients, researchers said. […]

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Oxygen therapy for patients suffering from a heart attack does not prevent heart failure

Oxygen therapy does not prevent the development of heart failure. Neither does it reduce the long-term risk of dying for patients with suspected heart attack. This has been proven for the first time by researchers at Karolinska Institutet as a result of a major Swedish study. The study is to be presented at the European Society of Cardiology’s (ESC) cardiology […]

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Study reveals long-term effectiveness of therapy for common cause of kidney failure

New research provides support for the long-term efficacy of a drug used to treat in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), a common cause of kidney failure. The findings appear in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN). The hormone vasopressin promotes the progression of ADPKD, the fourth leading cause of […]

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High protein diet associated with small increased heart failure risk in middle-aged men

For middle-aged men, eating higher amounts of protein was associated with a slightly elevated risk for heart failure than those who ate less protein, according to new research in Circulation: Heart Failure, an American Heart Association journal. Despite the popularity of high protein diets, there is little research about how diets high in protein might impact men’s heart failure risk. […]

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