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Using new genetic tools to study statins in human cells and mice, researchers have uncovered how the cholesterol-lowering drugs protect the cells that line blood vessels. The findings provide new insight into statins' curiously wide-ranging benefits, for conditions ranging from arteriosclerosis to diabetes, that have long been observed in the clinic. Liu tested simvastatin on lab-grown human endothelial cells. Endothelial cells make up the lining of blood vessels, but in many diseases they transform into a different cell type, known as mesenchymal cells. "Mesenchymal cells are less functional and make tissues stiffer so they cannot relax or contract correctly," Liu...

Since the emergence of COVID-19, much remains unknown, including the widespread organ damage beyond just the lungs. Increasingly, scientists are learning organ dysfunction results from damage to the blood vessels, but why is unclear. Now a team has discovered what they believe is the key molecular pathway. Results show COVID-19 damages the cells lining the smallest blood vessels, choking off blood flow. "We were surprised by the little overlap between our adult and pediatric patients," says Cheryl Maier, MD, Ph.D. "One pathway that stood out in adults was related to vessel health and blood flow." Maier says this was particularly...

Summary: Dr. Arne Burkhardt is one of eight international pathologists, physicians and scientists who were asked to perform a second autopsy, requested by friends and family of the deceased who were not satisfied with the results of the first autopsy. Thirty autopsies and three biopsies were evaluated; 15 cases with routine histopathology (Step 1), three with advanced methods (Step 2), and some of the remaining 15 are included as illustrative cases. The Step 1 group included eight women and seven men aged 28-95 (average 69). Death occurred seven days to 180 days following the first or the second Spike-Mediated Gene...

In a study published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, researchers from the University of British Columbia detail how they were able to coax stem cells into growing into human blood vessel "organoids," the term used for three-dimensional, lab-grown cellular systems that mimic the characteristics of organs or tissues. They then placed the lab-grown blood vessels in a petri dish designed to mimic a "diabetic environment." They found that the basement membrane thickened in a way that was "strikingly similar" to the thickening seen in patients with diabetes, according to researcher Reiner Wimmer. The researchers then went on the hunt...

The researchers had shown that fragmented sleep - which is sleep interrupted by frequent awakenings or arousals — was linked with an increased risk of dementia and cognitive decline, Lim told Live Science. "However, there were gaps in what we knew about underlying brain changes that may link sleep fragmentation with these neurological outcomes," he said. In the new study, the researchers looked at the brains of 315 people who underwent autopsies after they died. The people were 90 years old, on average, when they died, and 70 percent were women. At some point before they died, the people in...

LONDON - Scientists reported they have grown new blood vessels with cells from sick older people - the type of patients most likely to need such transplants if the technique is perfected. The approach, outlined in The Lancet medical journal this week, could be used for heart or other bypass surgery in the elderly whose own veins may not be suitable. "The ability to grow new vessels from older cells represents a crucial initial step toward growing blood vessels from a patient's owns cells that can be used to treat that patient's vascular disease," said lead researcher Dr. Laura Niklason,...

WASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters) - A daily dose of laughter may be good for the heart because, like exercise, it makes blood vessels work more efficiently, U.S. researchers reported on Monday. Depression, on the other hand, can raise the risk of dying from heart failure, a separate study found. The two studies, presented at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology in Orlando, Florida, show how psychological factors can affect a person's health. "We don't recommend that you laugh and not exercise, but we do recommend that you try to laugh on a regular basis. Thirty minutes of exercise...