Tag: vessels

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists have paired 3-D-printed, living human brain vasculature with advanced computational flow simulations to better understand tumor cell attachment to blood vessels, the first step in secondary tumor formation during cancer metastasis. The unique approach, developed with outside collaborators, lays the foundation for developing a predictive capability that can help

When an embryo develops, a wide variety of proteins and enzymes trigger a series of biochemical reactions. The development of the lymphatic vasculature is crucially dependent on one specific protein—the growth factor VEGF-C. In order to become biologically active and to initiate downstream signaling events, the protein must first undergo processing steps. Thus far it

Vascular calcification, in the jargon atherosclerosis can lead to stroke, heart attack and kidney failure. In Germany alone, around four million people suffer from it. An expert explains what vessels keeps elastic. With increasing age, the risk for atherosclerosis rises. Calcium deposits narrow the vessels, the organs are no longer adequately supplied with blood. A

THURSDAY, Dec. 20, 2018 — A miniaturized optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging needle can detect blood vessels intraoperatively in the human brain in vivo, according to a study published online Dec. 19 in Science Advances. Hari Ramakonar, M.B.B.S., from Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Nedlands, Australia, and colleagues developed an imaging needle that is able

More and more people are giving up smoking, and they are sensible to do so. Cigarette smoking is “the leading preventable cause of death in the United States,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with cigarettes causing over 480,000 yearly deaths. However, as the use of regular cigarettes is declining, more

An enzyme activated in diabetics has been found to cause previously aligned cells in a blood vessel to reverse their orientation, creating misalignments that allow veins and arteries to leak three times more blood proteins than normally constructed blood vessels. Controlling the enzyme could ease symptoms of swelling, nerve pain, localized low blood pressure, and

Biomedical engineers have discovered an unlikely potential ally in the global fight against tuberculosis—an FDA-approved drug originally designed to treat cancer. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are naturally produced by animals to break down connective tissue for a wide array of biological processes such as wound repair, growth and tissue development. Many diseases, however, can hijack these