Markus Neurath and fellow researchers at the University of Mainz, Germany, have characterized the interaction between intestinal bacteria and dendritic cells (DCs) that may provide an explanation for the clinical symptoms of Crohn disease that only occur in specific regions of the gut.

The authors used transgenic mice to investigate the expression of the p40 subunit of IL-12 and IL-23. The authors demonstrate that p40 is expressed by a newly identified subset of DCs at greater levels in the

When physicians routinely “thin” the blood of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery in order to place them on the heart-lung machine, they may be causing more damage to the kidneys and other organs than previously appreciated, according to a new study by Duke University Medical Center researchers.

For years moderate dilution of the blood has been thought to protect the kidneys from damage, but the Duke researchers found in their study of more than 1,400 bypass patients that dil

On October 13, 2003 the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) will launch a new bioinformatics support network that is tailor-made for small companies.

It can be a lonely business being a bioinformatician in a small company. It is widely acknowledged that Europe’’s economic development is becoming increasingly dependent on small-to-medium enterprises, or SMEs (enterprises with fewer than 250 employees and an annual turnover not exceeding 50 million Euros or an annual bala

ESC Congress 2003: Picture Perfect – Progress in non-invasive imaging

There has been increasing awareness of the importance of composition of athero-thrombotic plaque as a major risk factor for acute coronary syndromes. Several invasive and noninvasive imaging techniques are available to assess athero-thrombotic vessels.

Most of the standard techniques identify luminal diameter or stenosis, wall thickness, or plaque volume (such as multi-slice CT, angiography, IVUS, etc.); h

ESC Congress 2003: Stem cells – A tool for mending broken hearts?

We have shown that stem cell injections by catheters into diseased hearts are feasible and safe, even for very sick patients. Moreover, the results suggested strongly a potential ability of these cells to regenerate the arteries of the heart (called coronary arteries), and this regeneration improved the mechanical function of the heart, improving the heart failure condition of these patients. Since heart failure is a mo

ESC Congress 2003

Adult heart cells have limited regenerative capacity and therefore any significant cell loss, such as occurs during a heart attack, is mostly irreversible and may lead to the development of progressive heart failure. Congestive heart failure is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the western world, placing a significant economic burden on the health care systems. Despite advances in the medical, interventional, and surgical therapeutic measures, t

ESC Congress 2003

Heart attack and the resulting heart failure is still one of the leading causes of death in the western world. Therefore, new theraepeutical approaches to restore damaged heart tissue are indispensable. Prof. Hescheler’s research group has been working with murine embryonic stem cells for over 14 years now and was the first group worldwide to obviously measure physiological functions on embryonic stem cells.

Recently his group demonstrated that cardiac prec

Recoverying from third and fourth degree burns, the most damaging types, is a slow and painful process that inevitably leaves excessive scar tissue. Russian researchers have developed a pharmacological enzyme preparation to accelerate the debridement process and wound healing, which reduces the preparation time for grafting and diminishes scarring.

Their product, called ENZYCOL, is a mixture of collagenases from the Kamchatka crab that rapidly dissolves the dense collagen matrix of necrot

Probably, animals and human beings possess a biochemical vehicle for measuring life span. The key role in this vehicle is played by a short DNA – chronomere. The chronomeric ageing theory, based on tremendous experimental material, has been developed with support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research.

Early in the 70s of the 20th century, Russian researcher Alexy Olovnikov forecast existence of the chromosomes’’ end sequences – telomer, which shorten after each cell division

Discovery of ‘hot pepper’ receptor in heart may explain chest pain, lead to new treatments

The secret to heart attack chest pain may be on the tip of your tongue.
Although they may seem unlikely bedfellows, Penn State College of Medicine researchers found evidence to suggest that the same type of nerve receptors that register the burning sensation from hot peppers in the mouth may cause the sensation of chest pain from a heart attack.

“Our study is the first to demonstrat

Dendritic cells monitor foreign substances in the body and communicate whether they present a danger to the rest of the immune system. Emory immunologists have developed a sensitive method to detect and follow dendritic cells by marking them with a change in their DNA, and have discovered that they are more numerous and longer lived than other scientists had previously observed. Their research uses a gene gun, which shoots DNA into the skin using microscopic gold pellets, and could lead to a faster a

Ecologists are taking to the trees in a bid to unravel the ecology of shell coiling in snails. Speaking at the British Ecological Society’s Annual Meeting, being held at Manchester Metropolitan University on 9-11 September 2003, Dr Paul Craze of the University of Plymouth will explain how examining the proportion of right- and left-coiling individuals in a species of Bornean tree snail could help ecologists understand how new species arise.

The vast majority of snail species are almost exclu

ESC Congress 2003

Aortic stenosis (AS) is the narrowing or obstruction of the heart´s aortic valve, which prevents it from opening properly and blocks the flow of blood from the left ventricle to the aorta. AS is common in the ageing population and has become the most frequent native valve disease in Europe. AS when severe, may cause left heart failure, fainting or angina, but the natural progression of less severe degrees is highly variable.

The risk factors for the developm

Surgical repair of such aneurysms and interposition of vascular protheses were until recently the only treatment option for complicated cases (diameter „d 5.5 cm; impending rupture; malperfusion syndrome; recurrent pain). Although great strides have been achieved by improving surgical techniques, postoperative complications (such as persistent paralysis of both legs, stroke, acute renal failure or pulmonary dysfunction) and 30-day mortality remain high. Especially elderly patients with accompanying

Are they really capable of replacing injured cells and reducing infarct size?

The new concept of cell transplantation has been addressed by two recent human investigations. Bone marrow cells of the patient are injected into the coronary circulation about one week after myocardial infarct to replace the injured cells and reduce the infarct size. This intervention seemed to be successful to reduce the contractile malefunction after myocardial infarction. The background of this observati

ESC Congress 2003: Hot Line I – Medical Treatment & Heart Failure

We have shown that a simple blood test measuring B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), a marker of heart failure, greatly helps doctors to manage patients presenting with shortness of breath to the emergency department. Used in conjunction with other clinical information, rapid measurement of BNP reduced hospitalisations, reduced need for intensive care, reduced total treatment time and significantly reduced total treatmen