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Harvard Medicine Home

Focus Articles | Back to Heart Disease

2004

Structure Turns Iron Entry Into Cells on Its Head - March 5, 2004.
Findings advance understanding about how the body maintains a healthy balance of iron and what goes wrong in several genetic diseases in which too much iron builds up and damages the liver, pancreas, and heart.

Modified Mice Make Omega-3 Fatty Acids - February 20, 2004.
By adding a worm gene to mice, researchers have created the first mammals that can synthesize heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Their results offer a potential new strategy for producing meat, milk, and eggs that are high in the beneficial fats and establish a model for studying the biological effects of omega-3 fats.

2003

Method Hones Tolerance of Tissue Transplants - November 7, 2003.
Cuts in tissue-injuring T Cells prevent rejection without global immune suppression. Studies of mice heart patients grounded the findings.

Harvard, MIT Announce Institute To Advance Genomic Medicine - July 11, 2003.
Leaders of Harvard and MIT announced on June 19 the establishment of the Broad Institute, to be composed of interdisciplinary researchers dedicated to developing tools for genomic medicine, making them widely available, and applying them to clinical care.Investigations will home in on the molecular basis of cancer; metabolic disorders, including diabetes, obesity, and heart disease; and inflammatory and infectious diseases.

Alcohol Gives Broad Protection Against Heart Attack - July 11, 2003.
Research has demonstrated that moderate alcohol consumption diminishes a man's risk for having a heart attack, but many questions remain. How much is enough or too much? Does the type of alcohol matter?

Confronting the Heart of an Epidemic - March 21, 2003.
Despite public health gains against cardiovascular disease, it remains disproportionately epidemic in some regions of the country and some populations, particularly in African Americans.

Mutation that Disrupts Calcium Signaling May Be One Cause of Heart Failure - March 7, 2003.
A rare case of familial heart failure has shown that a loss of calcium regulation in heart cells may directly cause this hereditary form of the disease.

2002

Protein Predicts Heart Disease Better than Cholesterol - November 22, 2002.
Trial will test whether high level of the protein Is counteracted by statins.

Conference Updates Hormone Replacement Therapy - November 8, 2002.
The Women's Health Initiative trial found that HRT raised the risk of heart disease, stroke, pulmonary embolism, and invasive breast cancer, while lowering the risk of colorectal cancer and hip fractures--overall unfavorable odds.

High-intensity Exercise Reduces Heart Risk - November 8, 2002.
The best way for men to reduce the risk for coronary heart disease is to increase the amount and intensity level of their physical activity as well as incorporate weight training into their exercise program.

The Next Big Thing in Mining the Genome - June 7, 2002.
A simpler tool for finding disease genes and spotting genetic variation has impications for treatment of heart disease and other genetic conditions.

Heart Protection By Corticosteroids Bypasses Gene Regulation - June 7, 2002.
After heart attack, high-dose corticosteroids prevent acute damage to the heart muscle. But a common long-term outcome of this therapy is cardiac rupture so corticosteroids are no longer on the treatment shelf for myocardial ischemia. But, new insights into an enzyme pathway activated by corticosteroids may result in another form of this therapy being devloped.

Fishing for Good Health - April 9, 2002.
Dining often on fish--especially dark, fatty types such as salmon or mackerel--is a habit that can dramatically lower a person's risk of heart disease and heart attack, according to a pair of studies.

Milking the Most From Your Diet - May 3, 2002.
In a study of 3,000 young adults subjects who consumed the highest amounts of dairy had a lower risk of developing insulin-resistance syndrome, a precursor to heart disease and diabetes.

Healthy Heart Keeps Polyrhythmic Beat - March 8, 2002.
Findings could aid diagnosis and treatment of cardiac disease.

Embryonic Stem Cells Aid Failing Heart - January 25, 2002.
A new study by HMS researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center shows that transplanted embryonic stem cells can survive to help repair injured heart muscle in rats following congestive heart failure due to myocardial infarction.

2001

Gene Therapy for the Failing Heart - September 28, 2001.
To keep the heart properly ticking, calcium ion release must be timed against its re-uptake in the sarcoplasmic reticulum. In an original take on the more common approach of gene replacement therapy, researchers have employed gene transfer to beef up expression of the calcium pump in ailing rats.

Macrophage Protein May Block Atherosclerosis - June 8, 2001.
Mouse model links heart disease to insulin resistance and diabetes.

Endothelial Cells Mount Genetic Response To Shifting Currents in the Blood - May 4, 2001.
Findings provide clues to new heart-protecting therapies.

Slow Metabolism of Alcohol Linked to Lower Heart Risk - February 23, 2001.
The finding, first made in the 1980s, that people who drink one or two glasses of wine or beer a day have a lower risk of heart disease has inspired nervous scientific debate.

Valentines from the Bench: Studies Show New Players and Patterns in Vertebrate Heart Development - February 9, 2001.
HMS cell biologists have isolated the first proteins capable of inducing development of a heartóat least in frogs and birds.

Few Links Shown Between Iron Level, Heart Disease Risk - January 12, 2001.
The results of study suggest that body iron stores are not a major coronary risk factor among U.S. men without previous cardiovascular disease or diabetes.

2000

Heartening News About Coronary Heart Disease Prevention - July 14, 2000.
Lifestyle can reduce risk more than expected.

Mice Yield Clue to Heart Valve Development - March 10, 2000.
Model could show how valve defects lead to heart failure.

Air Pollution May Exacerbate Heart Problems - January 28, 2000.
Researchers have found an association between air pollution and potentially life-threatening arrhythmias in people with a history of abnormal heart rhythms.

Meta-Study Shows Alcohol Cuts Heart Disease Risk - January 14, 2001.
After analyzing more than three decades of research, investigators estimate that moderate alcohol intake of two drinks a day in the form of wine, beer, or spirits lowers the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) by 25 percent.

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Last updated April 2006