A new study from the Cleveland Clinic research group headed by Stanley Hazen offers more evidence in support of the hypothesis that TMAO (trimethylamine-N-oxide) may play a role in the development of heart disease. The new research, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, follows closely on a related study published recently in Nature…

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The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has announced the launch of a large clinical trial testing the inflammation hypothesis. Paul Ridker is the principal investigator of the trial, which will be known as  the Cardiovascular Inflammation Reduction Trial (CIRT). CIRT will enroll 7,000 patients who are stable following a heart attack but are at high risk for…

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Psoriasis patients who take TNF inhibitors have a significant reduction in the risk for myocardial infarction (MI), according to a retrospective cohort study published in Archives of Dermatology. Although previous research suggested that the anti-inflammatory effects of methotrexate, an older therapy, may be beneficial in this population, the cardiovascular effects of TNF inhibitors had not been…

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Two large new meta-analyses published in the Lancet provide the first strong evidence demonstrating a cause-effect relationship between a specific inflammatory protein and the development of coronary heart disease (CHD). Both studies illuminate the role of interleukin-6 receptor (IL6R) by focusing on the common Asp358Ala variant of the IL6R gene. The variant is known to dampen the inflammatory effect…

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A new study adds to the evidence linking periodontal disease to cardiovascular events, suggesting a common basis in acute inflammation. In a report in the Annals of Internal Medicine, Caroline Minassian and colleagues analyzed a Medicaid database of 1175 patients discharged with ischemic stroke or MI who had received invasive dental treatment. They observed a…

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