http://www.health.am/vein/ http://www.health.am/vein/more/stenting-for-stroke-prevention/ http://www.health.am/vein/more/stenting-for-stroke-prevention/ Placing a stent in a key artery in the neck is safer than ever in patients ineligible for the standard surgical treatment of carotid artery disease, according to a new study published online today in the Journal of Vascular Surgery. A team of researchers led by Dr. Jon Matsumura, head of the vascular surgery division at University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, found the clinical trial PROTECT (Carotid Artery Stenting with Distal Embolic Protection with Improved System) had the lowest rate of complications ever in patients considered high risk for carotid endarterectomy (CEA)—the gold standard for opening a blocked carotid artery. Carotid artery stenosis, or the narrowing of blood vessels in the neck, is one of the leading causes of strokes in the United States. “Recent improvements in devices designed specifically for carotid artery stenting have resulted in safer procedures and better clinical outcomes,” says Matsumura. “These technological advances, combined with a stronger understanding of patient risk factors, have also improved our ability to select which patients are best suited for the less invasive procedure.” Blood Vessels & Lymphatic disorders news 2012-01-11T22:22:00-08:00 http://www.health.am/vein/more/risk-factors-for-ccsvi-ms/ http://www.health.am/vein/more/risk-factors-for-ccsvi-ms/ The first study to investigate risk factors for the vascular condition called CCSVI (chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency) in volunteers without neurological disease has identified what the researchers call a remarkable similarity between this condition and possible or confirmed risk factors for multiple sclerosis (MS). The University at Buffalo study investigated associations between CCSVI and demographic, clinical and environmental risk factors in a large control group of volunteers who did not have known central nervous system disease. “Our results suggest that risk factors for CCSVI in this group of volunteers are remarkably similar to those of possible or confirmed importance to MS, but we do not yet understand the whole story,” says Robert Zivadinov, MD, PhD, FAAN, professor of neurology at the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and senior author on the study. Published today (Nov. 30) in PLoS One, the current study of 252 volunteers “was designed to help provide scientists and the MS patient community with new information that, combined with the results of studies that are still ongoing at UB, will ultimately help explain CCSVI and its relationship to MS,” according to Kresimir Dolic, a lead author on the study. Dolic, a radiologist from the Department of Radiology, University Hospital, Split, Croatia, was a visiting fellow at the Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center, part of UB’s Department of Neurology, where the study was conducted.  Blood Vessels & Lymphatic disorders news 2011-12-01T09:38:00-08:00 http://www.health.am/vein/more/exercise-may-be-better-than-stents-for-pad-patients/ http://www.health.am/vein/more/exercise-may-be-better-than-stents-for-pad-patients/ Supervised exercise was shown to be more effective than stenting or medication for improved walking ability in patients with peripheral artery disease. The findings from a national study were reported today at the 2011 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions meeting. Rhode Island Hospital is one of hospitals participating in the national CLEVER study. Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a condition in which plaque builds up in the arteries and impacts blood flow, especially to the legs. It is estimated that between 10 and 12 million people suffer from PAD in the United States. One symptom of PAD is known as claudication, a painful cramping of the leg muscles that limits the patient’s ability to walk. It affects nearly 2 million people who suffer from PAD, and results in a sedentary lifestyle and poor quality of life. Current guidelines for the treatment of claudication include pharmacotherapy, supervised exercise rehabilitation and lower extremity revascularization using stents. Timothy Murphy, M.D., a radiologist who heads the vascular disease research center at Rhode Island Hospital, was the principal investigator for the Rhode Island Hospital arm of the CLEVER (Claudication: Exercise Versus. Endoluminal Revascularizaton) Study, a multi-center study sponsored by grants from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. It is the first multi-center clinical trial to compare the treatment strategies. He is also the lead author of the paper published in the November issue of the journal Circulation.  Blood Vessels & Lymphatic disorders news 2011-11-16T21:04:01-08:00 http://www.health.am/vein/more/protein-causes-varicose-veins/ http://www.health.am/vein/more/protein-causes-varicose-veins/ Varicose veins, sometimes referred to as “varices” in medical jargon, are usually just a cosmetic problem if they occur as spider veins. In their advanced stage, however, they pose a real health threat. In people with this widespread disorder, the blood is no longer transported to the heart unhindered but instead pools in the veins of the leg. This is because the vessel walls or venous valves no longer function adequately. Dr. Thomas Korff and his group at the Division of Cardiovascular Physiology (Director: Prof. Markus Hecker) of Heidelberg University’s Institute of Physiology and Pathophysiology have now shown that the pathological remodeling processes causing varicose veins are mediated by a single protein. As a response to increased stretching of the vessel wall, this protein triggers the production of several molecules promoting changes in wall architecture. The paper published in the current issue of FASEB Journal may offer a possibility for using drugs to decelerate the formation of or even prevent new varicose veins. Previously, no suitable experimental systems existed for studying the way in which these changes in the cells of the blood vessels are controlled. For their studies, Korff and his team took advantage of the fact that blood vessels in the mouse ear are clearly visible and are also easily accessible for minor surgical procedures. In order to artificially set off processes that are similar to the formation of varicose veins, they tied off a vein with a thin thread. The elevated pressure in the vessels caused by the pooled blood led to the recognizable remodeling characteristic of varicose veins. In addition, in the affected veins, the cell proliferation rate and the production of MMP-2 increased. MMP-2 is an enzyme that breaks down the non-cellular components of the connective tissue of the blood vessels. On the other hand, there were no signs of an inflammatory response, which can be observed during other vessel remodeling processes. Blood Vessels & Lymphatic disorders news 2011-11-04T22:14:00-08:00 http://www.health.am/vein/more/patients-with-peripheral-vascular-disease/ http://www.health.am/vein/more/patients-with-peripheral-vascular-disease/ New discoveries about follicular lymphoma, a currently intractable form of cancer, highlight the power of functional genomics in cancer gene discovery. A report in the Oct 28th issue of Cell, a Cell Press publication, demonstrates how genetic insights can be translated directly into therapies. The findings are but one example of what has now become possible given the avalanche of data on cancer genomes. “With access to tumor genomic data, suddenly we can do this; we know what has changed, and the question now is to define which changes are really important,” says Hans-Guido Wendel of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and senior author of this study. “With that information, we can start to develop new therapies.” Wendel’s group has developed a way to target and shrinks tumors when delivered to mice with an incurable form of lymphoma. Loss of the anti-cancer protein known as EPHA7 (ephrin receptor A7) is an important driver of the disease, the new evidence shows.  Blood Vessels & Lymphatic disorders news 2011-10-28T09:40:01-08:00 http://www.health.am/vein/more/proteins-that-control-development-of-varicose-veins/ http://www.health.am/vein/more/proteins-that-control-development-of-varicose-veins/ A new discovery published in the October 2011 print issue of The FASEB Journal explains for the first time what kicks off the process that causes varicose veins. In the article, researchers from Germany describe a single protein that binds to DNA to control gene function (called “transcription factor AP-1") and the subsequent production of a newly discovered set of proteins that significantly affect the development of varicose veins. “We very much hope that our findings spur further studies focusing on the mechanisms underlying this widespread and precarious but still largely neglected venous disease,” said Thomas Korff, Ph.D., study author from the Institute of Physiology and Pathophysiology at the University of Heidelberg in Heidelberg, Germany. “In the long run, such approaches will result in the development of a drug therapy that improves the quality of life for all people suffering from varicose veins.” To make this discovery, Korff and colleagues increased the blood pressure in a single vein of the ears of white mice, and followed the resulting changes in the size and architecture of the adjacent veins for several days. These changes were further analyzed in the abundance and activity of specific proteins in the veins connected to the one with increased blood pressure, and results were compared to those obtained from human varicose veins. By inhibiting the transcription factor AP-1 in the mouse ear model, synthesis of proteins associated with varicose remodeling and the proliferation of blood vessel smooth muscle cells were significantly reduced, and the varicose remodeling process was virtually abolished. AP-1 was inhibited by decoy oligonucleotides (decoy ODN), a well-studied class of nucleic acid-based drugs.  Blood Vessels & Lymphatic disorders news 2011-09-30T18:08:01-08:00 http://www.health.am/vein/more/genes-affecting-the-risk-of-coronary-artery-disease/ http://www.health.am/vein/more/genes-affecting-the-risk-of-coronary-artery-disease/ An international consortium of scientists reports the discovery of five new genes that affect the risk of developing coronary artery disease (CAD) and heart attacks in a study published in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics. Coronary artery disease is the most common cause of premature death and disability in the world and has a strong but incompletely characterised genetic contribution. The identification of the roles of various genes in the onset of heart disease could help in the development of new treatments and improve prediction of CAD. The study also demonstrated that some associations between genes and CAD, suggested by other, smaller studies, are spurious, according to Dr Adam Butterworth, who co-ordinated the analysis. The consortium examined 49,094 genetic variants in ~2,100 genes of cardiovascular relevance in 15,596 CAD cases and 34,992 controls (11,202 cases and 30,733 controls of European descent, and 4,394 cases and 4,259 controls of South Asian origin) and replicated their principal findings in an additional 17,121 CAD cases and 40,473 controls.  Blood Vessels & Lymphatic disorders news 2011-09-25T10:39:00-08:00 http://www.health.am/vein/more/soy-protein-reduced-progression-of-clogged-arteries-in-women/ http://www.health.am/vein/more/soy-protein-reduced-progression-of-clogged-arteries-in-women/ A new study published in the November 2011 issue of Stroke reveals some promising data on the positive effects of soy protein reducing the progression of clogged arteries in women who were within five years of menopause. This study was the largest and longest randomized controlled human study conducted to-date that directly investigated the efficacy of isolated soy protein consumption on the progression of atherosclerosis (lipid deposition in the artery walls). “These results are consistent with what we have learned through research conducted over the past decade,” said Howard N. Hodis, MD, USC Keck School of Medicine and lead author of the study. “The literature demonstrates that there is a ‘window of opportunity’ of a potential beneficial effect on coronary heart disease for products that bind to the estrogen receptor including hormone-replacement therapy, soybean isoflavones or selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) when initiated in women within 5-6 years of menopause.” The progression rate of carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) trended to be 16 percent lower on average in the isoflavone-containing soy protein group compared with the placebo group. However, in women who had experienced menopause within the past five years, isolated soy protein consumption was associated with a significant 68 percent reduction in CIMT progression compared to those consuming the placebo. Blood Vessels & Lymphatic disorders news 2011-09-22T18:59:00-08:00 http://www.health.am/vein/more/abnormal-blood-vessel-growth-in-tumors/ http://www.health.am/vein/more/abnormal-blood-vessel-growth-in-tumors/ A new and better understanding of blood vessel growth and vascular development (angiogenesis) in cancer has been made possible by research carried out by a team of scientists from Moffitt Cancer Center, the University of Florida, Harvard University, Yale University and the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. The research team published the results of their investigation in a recent issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “Vascular development is a fundamental biological process that is tightly controlled by both pro-and anti-angiogenic mechanisms,” said Edward Seto, Ph.D., a co-author of the study and professor and chairman of the Department of Molecular Oncology at Moffitt. “Physiological angiogenesis occurs in adults only under specific settings. Excess angiogenesis contributes to a variety of diseases, including cancer. In cancer, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is commonly overproduced.” Blood Vessels & Lymphatic disorders news 2011-09-21T21:27:01-08:00 http://www.health.am/vein/more/varicose-veins-evlt-and-hls-have-similar-efficacy/ http://www.health.am/vein/more/varicose-veins-evlt-and-hls-have-similar-efficacy/ HLS (High ligation and stripping) and EVLT (endovenous laser treatment) have similar efficacy and safety rates in the treatment of insufficiency of the great saphenous vein (GSV), but there are slightly more cases of recurrences after EVLT than HLS, researchers from Saarland University Hospital, Homburg, Germany, reported in Archive of Dermatology. Between 28% and 35% of adults have chronic venous insufficiency caused by varicose veins, the authors explained. Treatments for chronic venous insufficiency may prevent long-term complications as well as alleviating symptoms, resulting in improved disease related QOL (quality of life). The great saphenous vein, also known as the greater saphenous vein or the large saphenous vein is the larger of the two saphenous veins, the main veins that run up the leg, near the surface. It goes from the foot right up to the saphenous opening in the broad fascia of the thigh. Like other superficial veins (veins near the surface of the skin), the great saphenous vein can develop varices, which are usually considered unsightly. Although varicose veins are not life-threatening, people often seek treatment to have them removed. Blood Vessels & Lymphatic disorders news 2011-09-20T07:16:00-08:00