A North American first at the Montreal Heart Institute could help treat thousands of Canadians
Successful initiation of trial for new device designed to treat patients who suffer from refractory angina
2011-02-28
(Press-News.org) Montreal, February 24, 2011 – The interventional cardiology team at the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) recently began patient enrolment for a new device, the Neovasc ReducerTM, designed to treat patients suffering from refractory angina. The treatment method is a first in North America and is being conducted as part of an international study, the COSIRA trial. This innovative treatment is promising for thousands of Canadians disabled by refractory angina and who lack alternatives for relieving their symptoms and improving their quality of life.
Developed in Canada by Neovasc Inc. (TSX Venture: NVC), the Reducer is implanted in the coronary sinus vein using minimally invasive techniques. Placement of the device is performed using a procedure that is similar to implanting a coronary stent and takes approximately 20 minutes. The Reducer is designed to establish a permanent and controlled narrowing of the coronary sinus, which is a new technique to provide relief of refractory angina symptoms by altering blood flow in the coronary sinus and thereby increasing perfusion of oxygenated blood to certain areas of the heart muscle that receive an inadequate supply of oxygen. Patients are discharged within 24 hours after the intervention.
This landmark procedure was carried out by a MHI multidisciplinary team composed of Drs. Marc Jolicoeur, Serge Doucet and Jean-François Tanguay, interventional cardiologists, as well as Dr. Raymond Cartier, heart surgeon. "All the initial cases have gone very well and we are optimistic that the long term results of the procedure will be favourable" says Dr. Marc Jolicoeur who is also assistant professor in the faculty of medicine at the Université de Montréal. "This new method to treat refractory angina safely provides care for patients who cannot be helped with conventional drug, catheter or surgical therapy."
The COSIRA (Coronary Sinus Reducer for Treatment of Refractory Angina) trial is a multicenter, sham-controlled, randomized, double-blinded study of the Reducer that is expected to enroll up to 124 patients. The primary endpoint is efficacy in reducing angina symptoms after six months. In addition to the Montreal Heart Institute, the COSIRA trial is also enrolling patients at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, the Antwerp Cardiovascular Institute and Ziekenhuis Oost-Linburg Hospital in Belgium; and Ultrecht Medical Center in the Netherlands. Additional sites are expected to join the trial in the coming months.
Results from the initial first-in-man clinical trial of the Reducer were presented at the American College of Cardiology 2010 annual meeting. The data showed that three years after implantation of the Reducer, the product remained safe and the majority of the 15 patients treated continued to show measurable improvement in angina symptoms.
About refractory angina
Refractory angina is a painful and debilitating condition that occurs when the coronary arteries deliver an inadequate supply of blood to the heart muscle. It currently affects over two million patients worldwide, who typically lead severely restricted lives and current treatment options are limited. The incidence of refractory angina is currently growing as better treatments for coronary artery disease reduce mortality and increase number of patients with advanced disease.
###
About the Montreal Heart Institute
Founded in 1954 by Dr. Paul David, the Montreal Heart Institute constantly aims for the highest standards of excellence in the cardiovascular field through its leadership in
prevention, ultra-specialized care, training of professionals, clinical and fundamental research, and assessment of new technologies. It is affiliated with the Université de Montréal and its clinical outcomes are among the best in the world.
To learn more about the Institute, please visit our website at www.icm-mhi.org.
About Neovasc Inc.
Neovasc Inc. is a specialty vascular device company that develops, manufactures and markets medical devices for the rapidly growing vascular and surgical marketplace. Current products include the Neovasc Reducer™, a novel product in development to treat refractory angina, and a line of advanced biological tissue technologies that are used to enhance surgical outcomes and as key components in a variety of third-party medical products, including transcatheter heart valves.
For more information, visit: www.neovasc.com
END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2011-02-28
A strong link between victimization experiences and substance abuse has been discovered by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
The correlation is especially prevalent among gays, lesbians and bisexuals -- more so than in heterosexuals, says Tonda Hughes, professor and interim head of health systems science in the UIC College of Nursing. Hughes is lead author of the study, published in the journal Addiction.
Researchers compared victimization experiences of unwanted sexual activity, neglect, physical violence, and assault with a weapon, across four ...
2011-02-28
ARLINGTON, Va. - One Sailor's request to replace humming fluorescent bulbs with a quiet alternative inspired the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to create the Solid State Lighting (SSL) project, currently being evaluated aboard several ships and submarines across the U.S. Navy.
A product of ONR's TechSolutions program, SSL is one of several rapid-response technologies created using recommendations and suggestions from Navy and Marine Corps personnel. (Watch TechSolutions products in action via YouTube.)
The SSL project introduced the energy-saving, nonhazardous LED ...
2011-02-28
Age alters memory. But in what ways, and why? These questions comprise a vast puzzle for neurologists and psychologists. A new study looked at one puzzle piece: how older and younger adults encode and recall distracting, or irrelevant, information. The results, published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association of Psychological Science, can help scientists better understand memory and aging.
"Our world contains so much information; we don't always know which is relevant and which is irrelevant," said Nigel Gopie, who cowrote the study with Fergus I.M. Craik ...
2011-02-28
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego say an evolutionary gene mutation that occurred in humans millions of years ago and our subsequent inability to produce a specific kind of sialic acid molecule appears to make people more vulnerable to developing type 2 diabetes, especially if they’re overweight.
The findings are published in the Feb. 24 online edition of The FASEB Journal, a publication of the Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology.
Corresponding study author, Jane ...
2011-02-28
Wheat growers in the Southwest have a better idea about how to adjust to climate change in the decades ahead, thanks to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists in Arizona.
Researchers with the USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) installed infrared heaters in experimental wheat fields at the agency's Arid-Land Agricultural Research Center in Maricopa, Ariz., to simulate growing conditions expected by 2050. ARS is USDA's principal intramural scientific research agency, and this research supports the USDA priority of responding to climate change.
Wheat ...
2011-02-28
COLUMBUS, Ohio – New research shows that a less-toxic combination of a targeted immune-based drug and a chemotherapy drug can produce long-term remissions in some chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients. And it does so without increasing the risk of later therapy-related myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia, which can often occur with a three-drug combination used to treat these patients.
The multi-institutional study, led by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research ...
2011-02-28
Spraying malaria-transmitting mosquitoes with a genetically modified fungus can kill the malaria parasite without harming the mosquito, potentially reducing malaria transmission to humans, according to a new study published in the journal Science. Funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, the study was led by Raymond J. St. Leger, Ph.D., of the University of Maryland, College Park.
An estimated 225 million malaria cases occur worldwide annually, resulting in about 781,000 deaths each year, ...
2011-02-28
MOAB, Utah — Drier conditions projected to result from climate change in the Southwest will likely reduce perennial vegetation cover and result in increased dust storm activity in the future, according to a new study by scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of California, Los Angeles.
The research team examined climate, vegetation and soil measurements collected over a 20-year period in Arches and Canyonlands National Parks in southeastern Utah. Long-term data indicated that perennial vegetation in grasslands and some shrublands declined with temperature ...
2011-02-28
Boulder, CO, USA - GSA BULLETIN is now posting pre-issue publication content -- finalized papers that are ready to go to press and not under embargo. GSA invites you to sign up for e-alerts and be the first to have access to new journal content as it becomes available. Sign in at http://www.gsapubs.org/cgi/alerts with your e-mail address to manage subscriptions for pre-issue postings, full tables of contents alerts, and more.
Keywords: Silicic calderas, Quaternary, Iberian Peninsula, Tsuboi's technique, Colorado River, Gran Desierto dune field, ASTER. Eel River, LiDAR, ...
2011-02-28
Acute viral infection does not appear to be a primary cause of acute exacerbation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a progressive, deadly disease resulting in thickening and scarring of the lungs, according to a study conducted by researchers from the U.S., Korea and Japan. Previous studies had suggested viral infection might cause exacerbation of IPF in a majority of patients who have the condition, which occurs most often in people between 50 and 70 years of age.
The findings were published online ahead of the print edition of the American Thoracic Society's American ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] A North American first at the Montreal Heart Institute could help treat thousands of Canadians
Successful initiation of trial for new device designed to treat patients who suffer from refractory angina
