CVD News Watch October 31

Happy Halloween, everyone. Here is your heart news round up for this week. Plus a couple of reminders: Watch your sweets intake! And for the Americans, don’t forget to vote.

CVD heart treatment watch

Total artificial heart to be ready by 2011: research team

News of hope amidst the financial crisis. Three years from now, a fully implantable artificial heart should be ready, according to French heart transplant specialist Alain Carpentier. The prototype artificial heart has been tested successfully in animals. Although based in France, the project is actually a collaboration between several European scientists, researchers, and funding agencies. However, it’s not only the Europeans, but also Americans, Japanese and Korean scientists who are testing similar prototypes. The European prototype is “made from chemically treated animal tissues, these “biomaterials” are designed to avoid rejection by the patient’s immune system or blood clotting, a recurrent problem with existing artificial hearts.” This is really good news for those who are waiting for a heart donor.

CVD patient watch

Are you phonagnosic?

Phonagnosia is a condition wherein a person does not have the ability to recognize voices. Phonagnosia is very rare and has been reported after suffering a stroke or brain damage. “[It] has only been documented so far in people with brain lesions in the right hemisphere following a stroke or brain damage, and the mechanisms behind it are not well understood. Researchers at the University College London reports a first and only case of somebody born with phonagnosia in the journal Neuropsychologia.

CVD obesity watch

Scripps research scientists develop a new strategy to fight obesity

Is an immunotherapeutic approach the answer to the obesity epidemic? Antibodies to fight obesity? Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute tested an antibody in mice that works against the gastric hormone ghrelin. Ghrelin has been linked to weight gain and fat storage. The antibody catalyst GHR-11E11 increased the metabolic rate and suppressed feeding in treated laboratory mice.

CVD health care watch

Patients’ Perception of Hospital Care in the United States

This study evaluated the perception of Americans regarding healthcare in their country. The results show that most Americans are moderately satisfied with the care they received in clinics and hospitals.  The survey of patient perception is based on the following six components: communication with physicians, communication with nurses, communication about medications, quality of nursing services, adequacy of planning for discharge, and pain management. The best-rated hospital has 67.4% of a hospital’s of its patients declare that they definitely recommend the hospital.