Public release date: 24-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Beth Casteel bcasteel@acc.org 240-328-4549 American College of Cardiology CHICAGO -- A new study found that using a patient's own bone marrow cells may help repair damaged areas of the heart caused by heart failure, according to research presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 61st Annual Scientific Session. The Scientific Session, the premier cardiovascular medical meeting, brings cardiovascular professionals together to further advances in the field. Millions of Americans suffer from heart failure, the weakening of the heart muscle and its inability to pump blood effectively throughout the body. If medications, surgery, or stents fail to control the disease, doctors often have few treatment options to offer. This is the largest study to date to look at stem cell therapy, using a patient's own stem cells, to repair damaged areas of the heart in patients with chronic ischemic heart disease and left ventricular dysfunction. Researchers found that left ventricular ejection fraction (the percentage of blood leaving the heart's main pumping chamber) increased by a small but significant amount (2.7 percent) in patients who received stem cell therapy. The study also revealed that the improvement in ejection fraction correlated … Continue reading →

Houston researchers are reporting that adult stem cells have a modest benefit in younger patients with heart failure, the first large-scale evidence that the controversial yet promising new therapy can be developed to help millions of people with the disease. In a study presented at a cardiology conference Saturday, Texas Heart Institute doctors presented results of a clinical trial showing that cells derived from patients' own bone marrow produce a small but significant increase in the heart's ability to pump oxygen-rich blood. "This study moves us one step closer to being able to help patients with severe heart failure who lack other alternatives," said Dr. James Willerson, president of the Texas Heart Institute and the study's principal investigator. "It also points to a future in which stem cells regenerate the heart." The study did not find improvements in a number of heart function measures, but Willerson and other study leaders said it yielded key information about the specific adult stem cells with the greatest therapeutic potential. The trial used a number of stem cell types. Transplants limited About 6 million people in the United States have heart failure, a progressive and eventually fatal disease in which the heart loses the … Continue reading →

New Delhi, Mar 26 : Deep brain stimulation using implanted electrodes have been found to be effective in reduce seizures in epileptic patients, a noted neurologist said today. 'Epilepsy is a treatable disease, if treated properly,' Dr Praveen Gupta, Head of the Department, Neurology, Artemis Health Institute, Gurgaon told UNI on World Epilepsy Day. Once it was referred to as the 'falling disease' with the afflicted falling on the ground and going into spasms. Ancient communities often mistook the symptoms to be possession by a demon or ghost. It also remains a condition often misunderstood like being hereditary, affecting fertility and even as one leading to insanity. Dr Gupta, however, dismissed these claims. 'It is generally not hereditory. It does not affect fertility or intellect. It also does not lead to insanity,' he said. Recently, Artemis Health Institute had treated 33-year-old Shalini Arora's recurring epileptic fits by implanting a pacemaker. Deep brain stimulation using implanted electrodes help reduce seizures in epileptic patients, he added. 'Deep brain stimulation now hold hope for epileptic patients in the country,' Dr Gupta said. 'The results showed that patient whose brain was implanted with devices known as brain pacemakers, which send electrical impulses to specific … Continue reading →

Public release date: 26-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Brian Kilen kilen.brian@mayo.edu 507-266-1161 JAMA and Archives Journals CHICAGO Early-initiated immunotherapy appears to be associated with improved seizure outcomes among patients with autoimmune epilepsy, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are the mainstay of treatment for epilepsy, but seizures continue in one-third of patients despite appropriate AED therapeutic trials," the authors write as background in the study. "Even in the current era, the etiology of epilepsy often remains unclear." Additional background information notes that seizures are a common symptom in autoimmune neurologic disorders, such as limbic encephalitis. To evaluate clinical characteristics and immunotherapy responses in patients with autoimmune epilepsy, Amy M. L. Quek, M.B.B.S., of the Mayo Clinic, College of Medicine, Rochester, Minn., and colleagues, gathered data from the Mayo Clinic computerized diagnostic index from patients who were evaluated in both the Autoimmune Neurology Clinic and Epilepsy Clinic between January 2005 and December 2010, and were diagnosed with autoimmune epilepsy. The authors identified 32 patients for inclusion in the study. All patients had partial seizures, and 81 percent had failed treatment with two or more AEDs … Continue reading →

By Jerry Wolffe Advocates for mandating insurance coverage of treatment for autism pleaded their case in committee Thursday, while advocates for parity of all brain disorders sought inclusion in the bill package. At the House Families, Children and Seniors Committee, members heard four hours of testimony on of three Senate bills SB 414, SB 415 and SB 981. The bills would mandate that insurance companies regulated by the state provide coverage for certain autism treatments recognized as being effective. The state would then reimburse the insurers for any claims through a special fund. One major change from the way the bills came out of the Senate is a three-tiered reimbursement system. The Senate-passed version limited the reimbursements to $50,000 per individual per year up to age 18. But a substitute changed the coverage levels based on age. For children under the age of seven, the annual limit would remain at $50,000. Children between the ages of seven and 13 would be capped at $40,000 per year and for children ages 13 through 18, the maximum annual benefit would be $30,000. The bills also limit any liability to the state to the funds in the Autism Coverage Fund, so claims beyond … Continue reading →

Public release date: 26-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Jane E. Rubinstein jrubinstein@rubenstein.com 212-843-8287 Autism Speaks New York, N.Y. (March 26, 2012) Autism Speaks, the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization, today announced the award of new research grants totaling $1.1 million in funding to support high priority studies. "Suzanne and I are extraordinarily proud of Autism Speaks' continued funding for novel research projects which have tremendous potential to open new avenues to understanding autism," said Autism Speaks Co-founder Bob Wright. A one-year DSM-IV/DSM-5 prevalence study by Yale University researcher Young Shin Kim, M.D., M.S., M.P.H., Ph.D., will assess how proposed changes to the diagnostic criteria of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) will affect prevalence estimates and potential eligibility for autism-related services. This study will use a total population approach to include both clinical and non-clinical ASD populations, and systematic standardized screening and diagnostic assessment. It will utilize the sample from their recently published Korean ASD prevalence study in a cost and time efficient epidemiological approach to compare DSM-IV and DSM-5 diagnoses. A Suzanne and Bob Wright Trailblazer Award was granted to researcher Mark Atherton, Ph.D., at Brunel University (Uxbridge, UK) for a one-year study on how selective … Continue reading →

Public release date: 26-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Tora Vinci vinciv@ccf.org 216-339-4277 JAMA and Archives Journals CHICAGO A review of clinical trials comparing warfarin with other medications for stroke prevention suggests that warfarin was associated with a low risk of stroke or non-central nervous system embolism in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (rapid, irregular heart beat), according to a study published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Novel (new) antithrombotic medications (which interfere with blood clots) have been developed as alternatives to warfarin and clinical trials have suggested that some are superior, easier to administer and lack interaction with other medications and food, the authors write in their study background. However, the use of these new medications may be hampered by cost, so the authors comment that they expect warfarin treatment to continue as the dominant therapy for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) despite some inadequacies and the need for close laboratory supervision. Shikhar Agarwal, M.D., M.P.H., C.P.H., and colleagues with the Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, searched the medical literature and compiled eight randomized controlled trials with 32,053 patients for their meta-analysis comparing warfarin with other medications. The authors report that the … Continue reading →