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A test to predict breast cancer many years before the disease is diagnosed

Ultimately the findings, in the journal Cancer Research, could lead to a simple blood test to screen women, they say. The test looks for how genes are altered by environmental factors like alcohol and hormones - a process known as epigenetics. One in five women is thought to have such a genetic “switch” that doubles breast cancer risk say researchers.

3 May 2012

Sleep deprivation may affect surgeons' ability to tackle unexpected events

Sleep-deprived surgeons can perform a previously learned task or learn a new task as well as surgeons who are rested, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers. However, in sleep-deprived surgeons, the brain must work harder, which could lead to problems during unexpected events.

3 May 2012

New pressure-technology device effective in reducing incidence of PONV

In a peer-reviewed published study, a new medically engineered pressure-technology disposable adhesive device (Pressure Right-) developed by Pressure Point Inc. has clinically proven to enhance the efficacy of a popular prophylactic antiemetic drug combination in reducing the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) among high-risk patients after major laparoscopic surgery procedures.

3 May 2012

ENABLER-P Balloon Catheter System offers alternative to surgical revascularization

A new balloon catheter system could advance the endovascular approach to treating obstructed arteries in the leg, offering an alternative to surgical revascularization. Peripheral artery disease affects about 12 to 14 percent of the general population, and revascularization can be achieved through bypass surgery or a number of minimally invasive endovascular techniques that seek to reduce or eliminate symptoms of reduced blood flow by improving tissue perfusion.

3 May 2012

Johnson & Johnson announces acquisition of Bioseal

Johnson & Johnson (China) Investment Ltd. today announced it has acquired Guangzhou Bioseal Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (Bioseal) a privately held biopharmaceutical company specializing in the design, development and commercialization of a porcine plasma-derived biologic product for controlling bleeding during surgery.

3 May 2012

HiLo trial sets new gold standard for thyroid cancer treatment

The results of a large Cancer Research UK trial have set a new gold standard for treating thyroid cancer, reducing radiation doses to just one third of the current level, according to research in The New England Journal of Medicine.

3 May 2012

STAAR Surgical first quarter total revenue increases 4% to $15.5M

STAAR Surgical Company, a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of minimally invasive ophthalmic products, today reported that sales of its Visian ICL product in the first quarter ended March 30, 2012 increased 25% to $8.6 million.

3 May 2012

Bladder tests performed on women before SUI surgery may not be necessary

Invasive and costly tests commonly performed on women before surgery for stress urinary incontinence (SUI) may not be necessary, according to researchers at the University of California San Diego, School of Medicine and the Urinary Incontinence Treatment Network. The study, supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will be released online May 2 by the New England Journal of Medicine.

3 May 2012

Study investigates use of stem cells to treat lower-limb peripheral artery disease

Research led by vascular surgeons at Dartmouth-Hitchcock may offer new hope to sufferers of peripheral artery disease, the cause of nearly 60,000 lower-limb amputations annually, through the use of a patient's own stem cells.

3 May 2012

FDA permits Percutaneous Surgical Set for minimally invasive laparoscopic abdominal surgery

On April 30, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration today allowed marketing of the first surgical instrument set that can be assembled and disassembled inside the body during surgery.

2 May 2012

Majority of gene faults not shared across other biopsies from same tumour

Taking a sample from just one part of a tumour may not give a full picture of its 'genetic landscape', according to a landmark study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

2 May 2012

Accelerated partial breast irradiation therapy increases risk for subsequent mastectomy

Accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) brachytherapy, the localized form of radiation therapy growing increasingly popular as a treatment choice for women with early-stage breast cancer, is associated with higher rate of later mastectomy, increased radiation-related toxicities and post-operative complications, compared to traditional whole breast irradiation (WBI), according to researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

2 May 2012

Electrical brain stimulation technology may prevent migraine attacks

Migraine pain sits at the upper end of the typical pain scale - an angry-red section often labeled "severe." At this intensity, pain is debilitating. Yet many sufferers do not get relief from - or cannot tolerate - over-the-counter and commonly prescribed pain medications.

2 May 2012

Teleflex strengthens Anesthesia product portfolio

Teleflex Incorporated, a leading global provider of medical devices for critical care and surgery, announced it has acquired the EZ-BlockerTM disposable catheter product line with a unique bifurcated distal end, a novel and patented bronchial blocker for lung isolation and one-lung ventilation.

2 May 2012

Teleflex to acquire all assets of Axiom Technology Partners

Teleflex Incorporated, a leading global provider of medical devices for critical care and surgery, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of Axiom Technology Partners, LLC, which makes the EFx family of laparoscopic fascial closure system products.

2 May 2012

SCPC accredits Porter Adventist Hospital as Chest Pain Center

The Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC) recently awarded Porter Adventist Hospital full accreditation status as a Chest Pain Center.

2 May 2012

Chemo-radiotherapy combination a viable alternative for frail bladder cancer patients

Bladder cancer patients given low doses of chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy were nearly 50 per cent less likely to relapse with the most lethal form of the disease compared to those given radiotherapy alone, a major trial funded by Cancer Research UK shows.

2 May 2012

Novel technique helps surgeons to remove 'inoperable' abdominal tumors

Abdominal tumors involving both roots of the celiac and superior mesenteric artery (SMA) are deemed unresectable by conventional surgical methods, as removal would cause necrosis of the organs that are supplied by those blood vessels.

2 May 2012

Seed localization improves satisfaction of breast cancer patients

A cutting-edge procedure called seed localization is improving patient satisfaction at The Dubin Breast Center of the Tisch Cancer Institute at The Mount Sinai Medical Center. In patients undergoing lumpectomy for cancers that are small and cannot be felt in the breast, a tiny radioactive seed is guided into the breast and implanted at the site of the tumor.

2 May 2012

Viewpoints: Romney's argument that health law would kill free enterprise; FDA's delay in cutting use of antibiotics in animals

In my column on Sunday, I quoted Mitt Romney's warning last week that President Obama's health reform law could doom the free-enterprise system in the United States. "With Obamacare fully installed," Romney said, "government will come to control half the economy, and we will have effectively ceased to be a free-enterprise society." Could that be true? Would "Obamacare," which relies mostly on free-enterprise health insurance companies, really turn America into a socialist state?

2 May 2012