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Abbott (NYSE: ABT) announced two-year data from 30 patients in its ABSORB clinical trial, demonstrating that its bioabsorbable drug eluting stent successfully treated coronary artery disease and was absorbed into the walls of treated arteries within two years, leaving behind blood vessels that appeared to move and function similar to unstented arteries.

The first ever National Heart Failure Audit today highlights the need for more NHS hospital trusts to submit information about patient care. As of March 2008, 105 of 147 trusts providing services had registered with the audit, which is commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership and run jointly by The NHS Information Centre and the British Society for Heart Failure.

A new study demonstrates that the embryonic mouse heart has an astounding capacity to regenerate, a phenomenon previously observed only in non-mammalian species. The research, published by Cell Press in the October 14th issue of the journal Developmental Cell, describes the previously unrecognized potential of the embryonic heart to replace diseased tissue through compensatory proliferation of healthy cells.

The Healthcare Commission today (Thursday) confirmed that it was working jointly with the National Specialised Commissioning team (NSC) to review heart transplant services at Harefield hospital. The NSC last week notified the Commission of a rise in mortality rates following heart transplants at the hospital. The Commission liaised with the NSC immediately to engage an independent surgeon and cardiologist, both of whom specialise in heart transplants.

Patients have on average a 70 percent lower chance of dying at the nation's top-rated hospitals compared with the lowest-rated hospitals across 17 procedures and conditions analyzed in the eleventh annual HealthGrades hospital Quality in America Study, issued by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization.

A new study (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bihy.2008.04.006) published in Bioscience Hypotheses (http://www.elsevier.

Title: Excess Drinking Shrinks the BrainCategory: health newscreated: 10/14/2008 2:00:00 amlast Editorial review: 10/14/2008

Title: Vioxx's Heart Risk Lingered Long After Use EndedCategory: health newscreated: 10/14/2008 2:00:00 amlast Editorial review: 10/14/2008

The leading cause of infant death in developed countries, sudden infant death syndrome, is still largely a medical mystery. Past studies have revealed that in the brain stems of more than half of infants who die from SIDS, the neurons that produce serotonin--a chemical responsible for regulating heart rate, body temperature and mood--are overly prevalent and abnormally shaped. Until now, no one has known how these problems might cause death, but a July 4 Science study reveals clues about what might be going wrong in SIDS and how doctors might prevent it.Mood researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Monterotondo, Italy, were investigating how serotonin levels affected anxiety-related behavior in mice when they got a surprise. They bred the mice to have too many 5-HT1A receptors, which are known to signal neurons to slow down the release of serotonin when the chemical is abundant in the brain. Having more receptors ultimately lowers serotonin levels and overall seroton