Boston Scientific Corp. and Abbott Laboratories continue to parry over clinical trials comparing the latter’s Amplatzer Amulet with Boston Scientific’s Watchman in sealing the heart’s left atrial appendage (LAA) to prevent ischemic stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (Afib). In one of five presentations at the 34th Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics annual scientific symposium in Boston in mid-September, Abbott said device-related thrombosis or peri-device leak more frequently preceded strokes in patients with Watchman compared to those with Abbott’s Amplatzer Amulet device.
A new technique may allow reduction of intraocular pressure (IOP) associated with glaucoma without opening the anterior eye chamber, eliminating much of the risk associated with current glaucoma procedures. The cilio-scleral inter-position device (CID) facilitates outflow without creating an artificial egress using a thin one-piece implant.
Impairment in the functionality of the adipose tissue is crucial for obesity-related metabolic comorbidities and may trigger the onset of type 2 diabetes. The adipose tissue has been proposed as a main contributor of circulating miRNAs (miRNAs), but has not yet been characterized for these markers.
Understanding how alternative splicing is regulated and how it contributes to disease pathogenesis might open new therapeutic options for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy (DN). Bcl-2-like protein 1 (BCL2L1), also known as BCLX, for which two alternative splicing forms (Bcl-xL and Bcl-xS) have been seen to have antagonistic effects.
Researchers have designed a 3D model of lung cancer that is composed of bronchial epithelial, fibroblasts, epithelial, lung adenocarcinoma and immune cells grown in different layers in a matrigel.