Author: GHealth News

GHealth News - A new biodegradable gel has been developed to repair the damage caused by a heart attack. Experts at the University of Manchester, backed by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), created the substance, which can be injected directly into the beating heart. The gel works as a scaffold for injected cells to grow new tissue. In the past, when cells have been injected into the heart to reduce the risk of heart failure, only 1% have stayed in place and survived. The new gel is made of amino acids called peptides which are the building blocks of proteins. It behaves like a liquid when it is under stress as the peptides disassemble - which is an ideal state to inject it - and then the peptides work to reassemble, making it a solid. This holds the cells in place as they...

GHealth News - For the first time ever, WHO Member States have supported the creation of global targets for diabetes, as part of recommendations to strengthen and monitor diabetes responses within national noncommunicable disease (NCD) programmes. The five new targets set the standard that, by 2030:   80% of people living with diabetes are diagnosed80% have good control of glycaemia80% of people with diagnosed diabetes have good control of blood pressure60% of people with diabetes of 40 years or older receive statins100% of people with type 1 diabetes have access to affordable insulin and blood glucose self-monitoring.   The aim is to reduce the risk of diabetes, and move towards a world where all people who are diagnosed with diabetes have access to equitable,...

By: Nicola Davis More than one in 10 cases of coronary heart disease could be prevented if people reduced their TV viewing to less than an hour a day, research suggests. Coronary heart disease occurs when fatty material builds up inside the coronary arteries causing them to narrow, reducing the heart’s blood supply. Researchers say cutting down on time spent in front of the TV could lower the risk of developing the disease. “Reducing time spent watching TV should be recognised as a key behavioural target for prevention of coronary heart disease, irrespective of genetic susceptibility and traditional risk markers,” said Dr Youngwon Kim, an assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong and an author of the research. While the team did not look at what was behind the asso...