Visionaries in the field of cardiac therapeutics have long looked to the future when a damaged heart could be rebuilt or repaired by using one’s own heart cells. A study published in the February issue of Circulation, a scientific journal of the Ame…
A gene that can cause congenital heart defects has been identified by a team of scientists, including a group from Princeton University. The discovery could lead to new treatments for those affected by the conditions brought on by the birth defect…
Research from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) shows that children with severe congenital heart defects have twice the risk of anxiety at 18 months of age compared to healthy children. Children with mild and moderate heart defects, on…
Adults with congenital heart disease are more likely to suffer heart-focused anxiety — a fear of heart-related symptoms and sensations — if their parents were overprotective during their childhood and adolescence. Dr. Lephuong Ong from Orion Hea…
Using a multiple-gene analysis technique, German researchers have gained new insights into specific genetic alterations that lead to congenital heart defects, according to a report in today’s rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. The technique, called microarray analysis, allowed investigators to identify specific patterns of gene expression in the entire human genome associated with common types of congenital heart defects. They sought to demonstrate the feasibility of using gene array analysis to study congenital heart defects. But their findings could represent an early step toward developing effective strategies to improve the quality of life in children and adults with heart defects.
Researchers have identified an over-active gene and the molecular events it triggers to cause acquired cases of pulmonary hypertension, a form of high blood pressure in the lungs that kills about one percent of the population each year. The findings, published in the February 6, 2003 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, offer the first specific molecular targets for development of new therapies.