China is focusing its knowledge-based economic development efforts in the biomedical area. Chinese universities have long been highly centralized, but the government is attempting to break down bureaucratic barriers and provide greater incentives to support R&D and biotechnology commercialization. China’s National Development and Reform Commission initiated 20 venture capital funds in 2009, involving seven provincial governments. Biomedical innovation is a key target for these funds.

Another Chinese strategy involves encouraging the reverse migration of human capital from the United States. Beginning in the 1970s, thousands of native Chinese sought graduate degrees in the biomedical sciences in the U.S. In 2008, there were approximately 2,500 native Chinese life sciences faculty at U.S. universities, and 10 to 20 percent ofscientists at U.S. drug and biotech companies were native Chinese. China is targeting this diaspora of biomedical talent and providing opportunities that will encourage these workers to bring their skills and training home. Some have dubbed returning Chinese scientists “sea turtles.

FDA released a report containing immediate steps that can betaken to drive biomedical innovation, while improving the health of Americans.The report addresses concerns about the medical product development pipeline, one of the most pressing challenges facing the biomedical industries.

Release of the report, kicks off a new FDA-wide Innovation Initiative, which promises to redouble the agency’s efforts to encourage innovations that will promote public health as well as strengthen the American economy.

We are committed to continuing our dialogue with companies,innovators, patients, and other stakeholders to identify barriers to progress and better define what steps need to be taken to overcome any obstacles to innovation.

From U.S. Food and Drug Administration

While the study population is too small to justify definitive conclusions, the data demonstrates the importance for availability of echocardiography in endemic areas for EMF.

In a prior study, published in 2009 in the journal Circulation (2), some of the authors have described the role of echocardiography in the screening for rheumatic heart disease (RHD). In a large patient population of children from Mozambique, the authors describe that early case detection is vital in RHD in children to minimize the risk of advanced valvular heart disease. The data evaluated the currently utilized World Health Organization (WHO) criteria for echocardiographic diagnosis of subclinical RHD and conclude that adding morphological features to diagnostic criteria might have significant consequences in terms of case detection rates.

1. Mocumbi AO, Carrilho C, Sarathchandra P, Ferreira MB, Yacoub M, Burke M.Echocardiography accurately assesses the pathological abnormalities of chronic endomyocardial fibrosis. Int J Cardiovasc Imaging. 2011;27:955-64.

PMID: 21110101

2. Marijon E, Celermajer DS, Tafflet M, El-Haou S, Jani DN, Ferreira B, Mocumbi AO, Paquet C, Sidi D, Jouven X. Rheumatic heart disease screening by echocardiography: the inadequacy of World Health Organization criteria for optimizing the diagnosis of subclinical disease. Circulation. 2009;120:663-8

The journal Cardiovascular Diagnosis and Therapy (CDT) invites artists to submit artwork to our feature entitled Art and Medicine. We also encourage submission of manuscripts related to the role of art in medicine.

• Submission of artwork should include a high-resolution image of the work and a brief one-page description of the artist and the artwork including a ‘credit line’ (see examples on the website: https://www.amepc.org/index/index )
• Submission of artwork and manuscripts should follow the general guidelines of the journal, available on the website, https://www.amepc.org/cdt (Author Guidelines)

The primary goal of the journal CDT is to promote rapid exchange of scientific information related to cardiovascular care between clinicians and scientists worldwide and to become a globally respected source of up-to-date information about all aspects of Cardiovascular Diagnosis and Therapy. Art and Medicine will be a permanent feature of the journal.

The General Assembly in its resolution A/RES/65/238 decided that the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases shall be held on 19 and 20 September 2011 in New York and that the high-level meeting shall address the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases worldwide, with a particular focus on developmental and other challenges and social and economic impacts, particularly for developing countries.

For more details, please visit https://www.un.org/en/ga/president/65/issues/ncdiseases.shtml

Feature:
- Cardiovascular Disease and Global Climate Change

- Cardiovascular Disease and Lifestyle