News and views

The UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has granted permission for pre-implantation genetic diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) to be performed for the first time. The licence has been awarded to Dr Paul Serhal (University College London), who will screen embryos for the homozygous form of FH....

Being unfit is an independent predictor of all-cause mortality, even after adjustment for body fat, according to a new study (JAMA 2007; 298:2507–16)....

Genzyme has launched its new non-absorbed cholesterol-lowering agent, colesevelam hydrochloride (CholestagelTM) in Europe for the treatment of adult patients with primary hypercholesterolaemia who cannot meet their target low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels with statin therapies plus diet alone....

A study, published in the European Heart Journal (7th January issue), has shown that people who drink moderate amounts of alcohol and are physically active have a lower risk of death from heart disease and other causes than people who don’t drink at all....

Cardiologists from St Mary’s Hospital, London, have become the first in the world to implant a new generation of pacemaker that could help more people with syncope than current pacemakers....

A new stent which may promote healing of the artery better than currently available drug-eluting stents has shown promising results in initial clinical trials. The Genous Bio-engineered R StentTM, being developed by OrbusNeich, is coated with an antibody to capture a patient’s endothelial progenitor cells, which form a layer over the stent to provide protection against thrombus and minimise restenosis....

The first study to investigate the efficacy of the cholesterol absorption inhibitor, ezetimibe, has shown no benefit of the drug in an imaging study in patients with familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH)....

State-of-the-art virtual simulators (see right) and a virtual in-house catheterisation laboratory to help physicians learn about the latest cardiac and vascular treatment techniques are just some of the educational facilities being offered by The Crossroads Institute for medical education, in Brussels, Belgium....

We continue our series in which Consultant Interventionist Dr Michael Norell takes a sideways look at life in the cath lab…and beyond. In this column, he reveals the true impact of a disease that ravages victims in their millions....

We continue our series in which Consultant Interventionist Dr Michael Norell takes a sideways look at life in the cath lab…and beyond. In this column, he looks at the many roles of the stethoscope in medical practice … past, present and future....