congestive heart failure Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Johnson & Johnson Pays $1.7b for Innovative Israeli Heart Failure Treatment

The AHA! Team — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 16:53:45 +0000

Zachy Hennessey via Israel21c – Big pharma giant shells out $1.7 billion for Israeli company V-Wave, and expects to earn enough to purchase a gumball — in the short term, at least. Global healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) announced on Tuesday that it will acquire Israeli startup V-Wave for up to $1.7 billion, in a strategic move by J&J to bolster its position in the fast-growing congestive heart failure market, which is projected to reach $30 billion globally by 2030. The $1.7b. deal is the 10th biggest acquisition in Israel’s history. It will see J&J pay $600 million upfront, with an additional $1.1 billion in potential milestone payments tied to regulatory approvals and commercial performance targets. The acquisition is expected to provide a modest boost to J&J’s earnings, contributing an estimated 24 cents per share in 2024 and 6 cents per share in 2025. However, the true value of the deal likely lies in the long-term growth potential of V-Wave’s innovative heart failure treatment technology. V-Wave’s flagship product, the Ventura Interatrial Shunt (IAS), is an implantable device designed to alleviate the elevated left atrial pressure that plagues patients with congestive heart failure. The minimally invasive IAS procedure aims to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events and hospitalizations for those suffering from heart failure with reduced ejection fraction – a condition where the heart muscle is unable to effectively pump blood. By creating a shunt between the left and right atriums, the device helps to relieve pressure buildup in the left atrium, potentially improving patient outcomes and quality of life. The acquisition comes at a critical time for J&J, as the company prepares to face increased competition for its blockbuster psoriasis drug Stelara, which is set to lose patent protection next year. In response, the healthcare giant has been actively pursuing mergers and acquisitions to bolster its pipeline and drive future growth. “We know V-Wave well, with our relationship dating back to our original investment in the company in 2016, and we have a deep understanding of the technology and science, as well as the company’s commitment to patients,” said Tim Schmid, Executive Vice President and Worldwide Chairman of Johnson & Johnson MedTech. Earlier this year, J&J announced the $13.1 billion acquisition of Shockwave Medical Earlier this year, J&J announced the $13.1 billion acquisition of Shockwave Medical, a move aimed at expanding its cardiovascular device portfolio. The company has also recently acquired Numab’s skin disorder drug for $1.25 billion and Proteologix for $850 million. “At V-Wave, we are dedicated to achieving our vision to help patients around the world – and we know Johnson & Johnson MedTech shares this mission,” said Dr. Neal Eigler, CEO of V-Wave. “We look forward to continuing to build a world where cardiovascular disease is prevented, treated and cured.” To read the original article click here.

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Revolutionary Implant Could Ease Congestive Heart Failure

AHA Publisher — Tue, 18 Jan 2022 08:00:44 +0000

Brian Blum via Israel21c – Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a leading cause of mortality – only 30 percent of patients survive 10 years, and less than half get even five years. Israeli startup Restore Medical has developed a new approach to treating CHF using an implantable device. CHF develops when the ventricles of the heart can’t pump enough blood volume. Eventually, blood and other fluids back up inside the lungs, abdomen, liver and lower body. Fluid in the lungs leads to shortness of breath and fatigue. CHF affects 6.2 million people in the United States and more than 64 million people globally. It affects nearly 10 out of every 1,000 people over the age of 65, in whom it is the most common diagnosis for hospitalized patients. Heart failure doesn’t mean the heart has stopped working; rather, because the blood returns to the heart faster than it can be pumped out, the heart becomes congested. The body tries to compensate by signaling the heart to beat faster, to take less time for refilling after it contracts. But over the long run, less blood circulates and the extra effort can cause heart palpitations. CHF most commonly damages the left ventricle – that’s the part of the heart that pumps blood to the body. The right ventricle’s job is to push blood into the lungs. The damaged left ventricle becomes dilated, like a balloon, to make room for the extra blood. The only treatment for CHF is pharmaceuticals such as ACE inhibitors, diuretics and vasodilators. Reducing Hospitalizations Restore Medical developed an implant that is inserted into the pulmonary artery. It changes the pressure on the healthy right ventricle, enabling it to support the failed left ventricle, explains Gilad Marom, Restore Medical’s CEO. The implant is dubbed ContraBand. “Contra,” which means “in opposition to,” refers to this contrarian push of one ventricle onto the other. The ContraBand implant is delivered to the heart via catheter in much the same way that stents are introduced – through the femoral vein in the thigh. “The procedure is relatively simple and takes less than an hour,” Marom tells ISRAEL21c. “Patients can be discharged the next day.” ContraBand is not a cure for CHF. It would be an additional treatment option along with pharmaceuticals. “It won’t make the disease go away,” Marom says. “No one can do that. But it will reduce symptoms and it can reduce hospitalizations or trips to the doctor when fluid gets in the lungs.” That’s significant because CHF is responsible for 4% of all hospitalizations worldwide and is the leading cause of repeat hospitalizations, with 25% of patients returning a month after discharge. Starting Clinical Trials Restore Medical has conducted trials on animals with CHF and has treated three human patients – two in Belgium at ZNA Medical Center in Antwerp, and one in Israel at Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot. The next step is to recruit another 15 patients and follow up for six months, in order to gather data to seek FDA (United States) and CE (European Union) regulatory approval. Marom hopes that a fully commercialized version of ContraBand will be available to help patients by 2026. He expects to start an initial conversation with the FDA this year. He emphasizes that the functionality of the ContraBand device is completely reversible, “which is very rare in the cardio implant world.” If a patient no longer needs an implant or cannot tolerate it, “with any other cardiac device, the only ‘bailout’ is surgery,” Maron says. ContraBand, however, can be “deactivated” rather than removed, he claims. A Blue Ocean Restore Medical was founded by medical director Dr. Elchanan Bruckheimer; VP Clinical Affairs Stephen Bellomo; and Aaron Feldman, today a board member. Marom was recruited in 2019 from Edwards Life Sciences, where he worked for 12 years in Israel and the United States. There, he focused on transcatheter heart valves, taking three cardiovascular implants from inception to clinical success. “When I joined Edwards, the majority of the clinical community said it was impossible to replace the heart value other than by surgery. We proved the opposite,” he tells ISRAEL21c. While heart valves can be “fixed,” CHF had no solution. That’s why he accepted the offer to lead Restore Medical. “I recognized the opportunity to be in a ‘blue ocean’ situation, to prove there is another way to treat patients,” he says. “This was a brand-new approach, so the decision to join was relatively easy.” The company is based in Or Yehuda and employs six people. The Crunchbase website says the company has raised $1 million; Marom hinted that it was substantially more than that. Marom notes that Covid-19 has been tough for CHF patients. “People were afraid to go to the hospital due to Covid. And hospitals might not be as accessible.” That creates an acute need for “a device like ContraBand which helps already sick patients from getting more complications.” For more information on Restore Medical, click here. To read the original article click here.

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Reverse Signs of Aging Naturally, By Adding This Fruit to Your Diet

AHA Publisher — Mon, 01 Feb 2021 08:00:51 +0000

Karen Sanders via NaturalHealth365 – With millions of baby boomers closing in on age 65, the American population is aging at an unprecedented rate. The Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics predicts that by 2030, boomers over age 65 will be 72 million strong. As they enter their “golden years,” they will be accompanied by an increased vulnerability to age-related conditions such as osteoarthritis, dementia, and congestive heart failure. Thankfully, nature offers powerful ways to help improve cognitive function and effectively reverse other signs of aging. Slow Down the Aging Process With This “Superfood” The good news is that a powerful weapon against degenerative diseases is already freely available and sold by the pint. And you don’t even need to visit a pharmacy to obtain it – it can be found in the produce aisle of your local market. Vaccinium myrtillus, otherwise known as blueberry, has potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant capabilities. In fact, it has the highest score for antioxidant capacity per serving of all fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices tested to date – it’s no surprise that the USDA’s Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging has named blueberries one of the healthiest foods on the planet. Blueberries Reduce Inflammation, Fight MULTIPLE Other Diseases By reducing free radical and inflammatory damage in the brain, blueberries help reverse the aging neurons’ degenerative changes. Their ability to neutralize free radical damage in the collagen matrix of tissues helps them ward off degenerative and inflammatory diseases such as arthritis. Their bluish-reddish pigments, or anthocyanins, improve the integrity of support structures in the joints. They can also decrease the “stickiness” of blood platelets, making them important players in the fight against atherosclerosis. Blueberries improve cognitive function in more than one way. Numerous animal, test tube, and human studies have all supported blueberries’ ability to reduce signs of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, alleviate age-related cognitive deficits and improve memory. In a 2006 animal study published in Neurobiology of Aging, researchers found that blueberry extracts helped older rats regain their ability to generate heat shock protein 70 – a substance that protects against stress and inflammation in the brain. While young rats generate this substance in abundance in response to stress, elderly rats typically produce very little. After the elderly rats’ diet was supplemented with blueberry extracts for 10 weeks, their heat shock response was restored to that of youthful, vigorous rats, leading researchers to conclude that the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of blueberries could alleviate age-related cognitive deficits. A year earlier, a study published in Pharmacological Research demonstrated that rats given blueberry extracts for 30 days had significant improvements in cognitive function, causing researchers to conclude that blueberries could be beneficial in preventing age-related memory deficits. Another 2005 study, published in Nutrition and Neuroscience, showed that blueberry extracts could cross the blood-brain barrier and localize in the sections of the brain responsible for memory and learning. Significantly, the more blueberry extracts found in the cortex of the brain, the more pronounced the improvement in cognitive performance. It Gets Even Better! Your Brain Is Not the Only Organ That Benefits from Eating Blueberries Yes! In a small but controlled clinical study published in 2010 in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 12 weeks of daily consumption of wild blueberry juice caused improved recall, learning, and comprehension in elderly volunteers who had been diagnosed with age-related memory changes. Researchers credited anthocyanins in blueberries with increasing neuronal signaling and concluded that blueberries could afford cognitive benefits. And the news keeps getting better… Scientists have found that blueberries protect the endothelium, or inner cell wall of the arteries, thereby cutting atherosclerosis risk and the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Prevention of the oxidation of LDL cholesterol and reducing the aggregation of platelets – two more of blueberries’ gifts – also help delay or avoid the onset of atherosclerosis. In a study published in 2010 in the Journal of Nutrition, blueberry powder given for 20 weeks caused rats to have smaller atherosclerotic lesions than those in the control group. Researchers noted that the blueberry powder boosted levels of antioxidant enzymes and reduced the oxidative stress and inflammation that contributes to atherosclerosis. Combine Blueberries With the Right Foods to Protect Against Digestive Diseases Blueberries protect against inflammatory digestive diseases, such as ulcerative colitis and IBS – especially when eaten with probiotic foods. In a 2010 study conducted at Lund University Faculty of Engineering in Sweden, researchers found that the protective effects of blueberries against ulcerative colitis were even more pronounced when the berries were eaten along with probiotics, such as the lactobacillus found in live yogurt cultures. Combining blueberries and probiotics reduces inflammation-promoting bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract and raises blood levels of immune system-boosting butyric and propionic acids. A Blueberry Is a Blueberry, Right? Not So Fast. Wild blueberries score highest for antioxidants and polyphenols, but farm-grown, cultivated blueberries aren’t too far behind. If you have access to wild blueberry plants, it can be very rewarding to harvest your own. Naturally, take care that the berries have been properly identified and that the area is free of pesticides and animal waste. Many small, local blueberry farms allow you to pick your own berries; if this isn’t feasible, look for fresh, organic blueberries at your local market or produce stand. Select berries with intense, violet-blue coloration and a whitish “bloom” on the surface. Berries should be firm, plump and intact, and should move freely in their container when it’s shaken. Avoid washing blueberries until right before you are ready to eat them, and opt for raw, whole berries rather than those that have been cooked, stewed, or preserved; heating them can lower their anthocyanin levels. However, if you’ve picked or purchased too many berries, don’t hesitate to freeze them. Repeated experiments have shown that frozen blueberries retain virtually all their beneficial phytochemicals. And, finally, fresh, unwashed blueberries may be stored in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container for up to three days. Fresh blueberries, one of the gustatory pleasures of summer, are more than just a sweet, refreshing snack – researchers have shown that this superfood can help protect against chronic and degenerative disease. As an entire generation prepares to transition from “middle-aged” to “elderly,” the timing couldn’t be better. Sources for this article include: NIH.gov Sciencedaily.com Sciencedaily.com NIH.gov To read the original article click here. 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