Neurosurgery News and Research

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Tenfold increase in OARnet network bandwidth speeds will boost medical research

Following his State of the State announcement of a tenfold boost to OARnet's statewide network bandwidth, Governor John R. Kasich joined medical researchers from across the state on Feb. 27 in a video teleconference to discuss how the faster network speeds will help enhance innovation.

29 Feb 2012

New approaches may increase effectiveness of SCS for severe back pain

New approaches to electrical stimulation—using an implanted device with three columns of electrodes—may increase the effectiveness of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) for severe back pain, suggests a study in the March issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

28 Feb 2012

Aesculap, Osseon partner to distribute VCF treatment devices

Osseon Therapeutics, Inc. announced today that the company has entered into an International Distribution Agreement with Aesculap AG to distribute its vertebral compression fracture (VCF) treatment devices, including its new CE-Mark approved device – Osseoflex SB (steerable balloon) in select regions of Europe and Asia.

From B. Braun Melsungen AG 27 Feb 2012

Blue Belt's Navio PFS System receives CE Mark approval

Blue Belt Technologies, Inc., a medical device company focused on developing the next generation of "smart" surgical instruments providing precise robotic control for use initially in orthopedic procedures and then for other surgical specialties including neurosurgery, spinal and otolaryngology, announced today that it has received CE Mark for the Navio™ PFS System.

24 Feb 2012

Pediatricians should screen all children for vitamin D deficiency

As study after study shows the fundamental role vitamin D plays in disease and health, vitamin D deficiency — which often develops insidiously in childhood — should be on every parent's and pediatrician's radar, say physicians from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

23 Feb 2012

Fructose may not be to blame for obesity

Is fructose being unfairly blamed for the obesity epidemic? Or do we just eat and drink too many calories? Researchers from St. Michael's Hospital reviewed more than 40 published studies on whether the fructose molecule itself causes weight gain.

22 Feb 2012

DRG cells may hold potential for nerve transplants

The carnage evident in disasters like car wrecks or wartime battles is oftentimes mirrored within the bodies of the people involved. A severe wound can leave blood vessels and nerves severed, bones broken, and cellular wreckage strewn throughout the body - a debris field within the body itself.

22 Feb 2012

Cedars-Sinai scientist to study potential treatments for AD

A Cedars-Sinai research scientist has been awarded two national grants totaling more than $2.5 million, including a prestigious Research Project Grant from the National Institutes of Health to study potential treatments for Alzheimer's disease.

21 Feb 2012

Elekta to highlight Clarity with Autoscan at Radiosurgery Society meeting

Clarity soft tissue visualization system now provides an Autoscan option for automated ultrasound scanning from outside of the treatment room, employing a motorized probe positioned at the patient's perineum.

From Elekta 20 Feb 2012

Remote controlled microchip successfully delivers drug in early clinical trial

Researchers have developed a new microchip implant device that can deliver bone-building drugs to seven osteoporosis patients. The microchips worked inside patients as drug-delivering pacemakers, following a prescription plan sent by radio signal.

18 Feb 2012

Elekta's Fraxion integrates all proven cranial immobilization options in a single solution

The Fraxion head frame helps ensure accuracy and precision in stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT) of cancer targets in the brain and cranium. Elekta's Fraxion is the first to introduce an innovative system that integrates all proven cranial immobilization options in a single solution.

From Elekta 18 Feb 2012

UH's Eye Institute receives $5M Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Foundation gift

The Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Foundation again has demonstrated its commitment to University Hospitals (UH) with a $5 million gift for the Eye Institute. The gift will honor the late Benjamin L. Millikin, MD, husband of Julia Severance and the grandfather of Prentiss Foundation trustee Elisabeth Alexander.

18 Feb 2012

Low choline intake increases risk of liver scarring in menopausal women with NAFLD

Menopausal women with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) who don't consume enough of the essential nutrient choline appear to be at higher risk for liver scarring, according to research led by scientists at Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

17 Feb 2012

Traumatic brain injury linked to PTSD: UCLA study

UCLA life scientists and their colleagues have provided the first evidence of a causal link between traumatic brain injury and an increased susceptibility to post-traumatic stress disorder.

16 Feb 2012

Deep brain stimulation can also affect respiratory function

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has become a common treatment for patients with chronic pain or movement disorders. Now a unique set of experiments shows that electrical stimulation in some of the same brain areas can also affect respiratory function, according to a study in the February issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

16 Feb 2012

Researchers develop first 'newborn weight curves' for specific ethnic groups across Canada

One of the first things people ask new parents is how much does their baby weigh. For some immigrant parents, especially South Asians, the question may be stressful. Many of their newborns are incorrectly diagnosed as being significantly underweight, meaning they could be at higher risk of developmental issues.

15 Feb 2012

Eating fructose does not lead to an increase in blood pressure

Eating fructose over an extended period of time does not lead to an increase in blood pressure, according to researchers at St. Michael's Hospital.

13 Feb 2012

Diffusion opens enrollment for TSC clinical trial for newly diagnosed primary brain cancer

Diffusion Pharmaceuticals LLC announced today that it has opened for enrollment a clinical trial testing the company's lead drug candidate trans sodium crocetinate (TSC) as a first-line treatment for newly diagnosed primary brain cancer, also known as glioblastoma or GBM.

13 Feb 2012

KSU, St. Michael's receive U.S. patent to use BRCA1 gene for cardiovascular disease

St. Michael's Hospital and King Saud University have received their first joint U.S. patent to use the BRCA1 gene as a therapy for cardiovascular disease.

13 Feb 2012

Single fibronectin injection can prevent chronic pain development after SCI

Chronic neuropathic pain following a spinal cord injury is common and very difficult to treat, but a new therapeutic strategy requiring a one-time injection into the spinal column has potential to improve patient outcomes.

9 Feb 2012