Recent Patents on Cardiovascular Drug Discovery (Discontinued) - Volume 4, Issue 3, 2009

Obesity is a risk factor for complications of atherosclerotic vascular disease such as myocardial infarction. Recent studies and several patents have demonstrated that the cardiovascular risk associated with obesity is correlated particularly with visceral adiposity. Excess visceral adiposity may increase vascular risk due to secretion of cytokines and chemokines by cellular constituents of the adipose tissue. The secretory profile Read More

Despite the progress accomplished in the field of off-pump heart surgery, the vast majority of cardiac operations are still performed with the use of extracorporeal circulation, otherwise known as “heart-lung machine.” This valuable tool, however, is connected with various complications, partly deriving from the application of intravenous heparin, necessary for the extracorporeal circuits to function. In order to deal with these co Read More

Calcineurin (Cn), a serine/threonine phosphatase, plays a crucial role in the development of myocardial hypertrophy. Cn is a cytosolic phosphatase which dephosphorylates various target molecules, e.g. the transcriptional factor nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT), thereby enabling its nuclear translocation. Recently, it was demonstrated that not only NFAT, but also Cn is translocated into the nucleus. The nuclear coexist Read More

Cardiac transplantation is a time-honored therapy for end stage heart disease for a select group of patients. The advances in recent years have increased mean survival to 12 and 13 years. The probability of survival after heart transplantation at one, five and ten years are 80%, 70% and 60% respectively. Calcineurin-inhibitors (CNIs) based regimes have been the corner stone of medical therapy in these patient population Read More

Dual antiplatelet therapy has been the standard therapy in the management of patients with acute coronary syndrome. It involves the use of aspirin along with a thienopyridine, like clopidogrel. However, it has been found that these patients had recurrent ischemic attacks even when on the dual therapy and hence a congener was introduced known as prasugrel which is a third generation thienopyridine. This has recently Read More

Recently, regenerative medicine using the transplantation of embryonic stem cells and bone marrow stem cells has been a great success but still has many unconfirmed problems including its clinical evaluation. The aim of this article is to review current literature and some patents regarding molecular therapeutic agents including using MAP kinase TNNI3K for the treatment and diagnosis of acute myocardial ischemia or infarc Read More

A thoracic aortic aneurysm is a potentially life-threatening condition that involves a structural weakness of the aortic wall, which can lead to aneurysm, rupture, or dissection. Optimal treatment strategies for lesions of the thoracic aorta are still controversial. Open surgery is complex and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Endovascular stenting has emerged as an alternative to open repair in patients req Read More

The field of neurovascular ultrasound is growing rapidly with new applications. While ultrasound contrast agents were initially used to overcome poor transcranial bone windows for identification of cerebral arteries, newgeneration microbubbles in combination with innovative contrast-specific ultrasound techniques now enable potential therapeutic procedures. This article will provide a review of recent and emerging developm Read More

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in most developed countries. Gender-related differences have been found in the presentation, prevalence, and clinical outcomes of CAD in many studies. Compared to women, men present with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction more often and have a higher prevalence of CAD. These findings indicate that gender may have an important influ Read More

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