The first device of its kind to undergo clinical evaluation in the United States, the Valiant "Mona LSA" branch thoracic stent graft system from Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) has demonstrated proof of concept in a first-in-human study being conducted under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s "Innovation Pathway" early feasibility pilot program, according to data presented today at the 2013 VEITHsymposium(tm).

A new network dedicated to advancing research and therapies for stroke is forming in Chicago thanks to $2 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Chicago Stroke Trials Consortium is a partnership among Northwestern Medicine®, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, Loyola University Medical Center, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Rush University Medical Center, and University of Chicago Medicine that will build an infrastructure to support clinical trials for stroke prevention, treatment and recovery. Northwestern University will be the regional coordinating center for the consortium and administer the project over the next five years.

Edoxaban may be as effective as warfarin in preventing strokes or systemic embolism and may also cause less bleeding and cardiovascular death, according to a study published online Nov. 19 in The New England Journal of Medicine and presented simultaneously at the American Heart Association scientific session in Dallas.

The American Heart Association today awarded its Clinical Research Prize for 2013 to Thomas Brott, M.D., “for his leadership of significant and innovative clinical research validating new procedures that have enhanced care of patients suffering stroke and helped to minimize or overcome its damaging effects.”

Renal artery stenting failed to offer incremental benefit over medical management for patients with renal artery stenosis and hypertension or chronic kidney disease in the CORAL trial. Results were published online Nov. 15 in the New England Journal of Medicine and simultaneously presented at the American Heart Association scientific session in Dallas.

Veniti(TM), Inc. (Veniti), has received approval to CE Mark the Veniti Vici(TM) Venous Stent, specifically designed for the treatment of venous obstruction. In addition, the company received CE Mark approval for their varicose vein ablation product, the Veniti Veni(TM) RF Plus Ablation System. The CE Marks allow Veniti to sell products within the European Union.

Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) allowing the company to initiate SYMPLICITY HTN-4, the first randomized trial to investigate renal denervation for the treatment of moderate uncontrolled hypertension in U.S. patients. 

The use of an ultrasound device along with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is safe, based on the results of a phase II trial published online Oct. 24 in Stroke.