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Simvastatin may reduce spinal cord damage from ischemia/reperfusion injury

The cholesterol-lowering drug simvastatin appears to reduce spinal cord injury caused by oxygen deprivation in experimental animals, according to a study in the September issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society.

24 Aug 2011

PerOral Endoscopic Myotomy holds promise for patients with esophageal achalasia

Jorge Sobenes is a husband and father who loves to cook for his family. In a nine month period however, he went from enjoying his favorite foods to not being able to eat or drink due to a tightening in his throat and difficulty swallowing. He lost 40 pounds and was desperate for answers. Sobenes was diagnosed with achalasia, a condition where the esophagus is unable to move food into the stomach, and was told he would need surgery. Historically, the procedure requires several incisions in the abdomen in order to access the blocked esophageal pathway.

24 Aug 2011

Craniofacial surgeons employ bipolar electrocautery to temporarily reshape the brain

Plastic surgeons say they have developed a new surgical technique for complex skull reconstruction that could improve functional and aesthetic outcomes in cases that have previously been deemed impossible or unsafe and left patients with unsightly skull deformities requiring them to wear a helmet.

24 Aug 2011

Trauma patients reunite at Loyola's Big Save Barbecue

Alejandro Arroyo, 41, of Cicero, was pushing his stalled truck when he was hit by a car going 45 miles per hour. "I was wedged into the side of my SUV and flattened like a cartoon character," he said. Arroyo was treated at Loyola University Medical Center's Level 1 Trauma Center for a crushed pelvis and multiple injuries in 2009. "I told my wife my life was not over and we needed to celebrate," he said.

24 Aug 2011

Cedars-Sinai named one of 'Hospitals with Great Orthopaedic Programs'

Cedars-Sinai's Orthopaedic Center is one of only 60 hospitals nationwide to be named as one of the "Hospitals with Great Orthopaedic Programs," a distinction awarded by Becker's Hospital Review, a national magazine focused on healthcare services and management.

24 Aug 2011

Bullet proof skin from human cells and spider silk

Dutch artist Jalila Essaidi, along with Utah State researcher Randy Lewis have made a swatch of nearly bulletproof skin made from spider silk and human skin cells. The project called “2.6g 329m/s” takes its name from the maximum weight and velocity a Type 1 bulletproof vest can withstand from a .22 calibre Long Rifle bullet.

23 Aug 2011

itm FlowMedical initiates Rhenium-PTA therapy clinical trial in PAOD

itm FlowMedical GmbH announced the start of OPEN-188 clinical trial. It will compare itm Rhenium-PTA, a therapy for the prevention of restenosis in peripheral vessels, to a regular PTA, the standard therapy for the treatment of PAOD.

23 Aug 2011

Symphogen initiates Sym004 Phase 2 trial in squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck cancer

Symphogen A/S today announced the initiation of a Phase 2 clinical trial to investigate the safety and efficacy of Sym004 in patients who have failed anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody (mAb)-based therapy, with recurrent and/or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

23 Aug 2011

IsoRay Cs-131 mesh brachytherapy with da Vinci Robot for lung cancer treatment gains momentum

IsoRay, Inc. said today that a growing number of hospitals and medical treatment centers are adopting its proprietary mesh Cesium-131 (Cs-131) brachytherapy seeds (internal radiation therapy) for use in conjunction with the da Vinci® Surgical System to treat early stage lung cancer patients. One of the most recent adopters is Georgia's Archbold Memorial Hospital.

23 Aug 2011

Samaritan Medical Center selects ProVation Order Sets electronic solution

Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading global provider of information for healthcare professionals and students, announced today that Samaritan Medical Center has selected ProVation® Order Sets, powered by UpToDate® Decision Support, as the organization's electronic order set solution.

23 Aug 2011

A CRADA for prostate disease research

Genomatix Software, the Uniformed Service University of the Health Sciences (USU), and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc. (HJF) have entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) to extend their collaborative endeavors in prostate disease research.

22 Aug 2011

No effective treatment yet for acute lung injury

Patients can essentially drown in their own fluids when trauma and infection prompt blood vessels to leak, flooding millions of air sacs in their lungs.

22 Aug 2011

Children at risk of injury under overstuffed backpacks

Millions of children returning to school this fall will struggle under the weight of an overstuffed backpack, putting themselves at risk of injury, according to Dr. Joshua Hyman, director of orthopedic surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital.

22 Aug 2011

Johns Hopkins establishes Center for Personalized Cancer Medicine with Commonwealth Foundation gift

A $30 million gift from the Commonwealth Foundation for Cancer Research has enabled the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center to establish a Center for Personalized Cancer Medicine. The gift from the Richmond, VA- based foundation, will be used to support research and the development of new technologies that pinpoint the novel genetic characteristics of each patient's cancer.

22 Aug 2011

Marital bliss triples long-term survival after coronary bypass surgery

Giving your heart to a supportive spouse turns out to be an excellent way to stay alive, according to new research from the University of Rochester. Happily wedded people who undergo coronary bypass surgery are more than three times as likely to be alive 15 years later as their unmarried counterparts, reports a study published online August 22 in Health Psychology, a publication of the American Psychological Association.

22 Aug 2011

Automated navigation support reduces effort and injuries for surgeons

The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society congratulates Dietrich Manzey, Maria Luz, Stefan Mueller, Andreas Dietz, Juergen Meixensberger, and Gero Strauss on receiving the 2011 Human Factors Prize for their article, "Automation in Surgery: The Impact of Navigated-Control Assistance on Performance, Waorkload, Situation Awareness, and Acquisition of Surgical Skills."

20 Aug 2011

NHLBI selects U-M Congenital Heart Center for clinical research

The University of Michigan Congenital Heart Center has been selected as a new Pediatric Heart Network core site for clinical research. Created and funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, the Pediatric Heart Network is a cooperative network of pediatric cardiovascular clinical research centers that conducts studies in children with congenital or acquired heart disease.

20 Aug 2011

NIH-supported project expands genetic research into clinical setting

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine researchers have received a $762,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to tailor drug treatments to patients' genomic information.

20 Aug 2011

Smile Brands announces grand opening of new dental office in El Cajon, CA

Smile Brands Inc., the nation's leading provider of business support services to dental groups in the United States, is announcing today the grand opening of its newest Bright Now! Dental office in El Cajon, CA – the 52nd office in Southern California and the fifth in San Diego County. Bright Now! Dental will continue to expand in Southern California, with offices in Simi Valley, Murrieta, Pico Rivera and Upland slated to open later this year and further growth expected in 2012.

20 Aug 2011

Echocardiogram may not improve patients' survival rates after elective surgery

A new study has found no evidence that patients who had a heart ultrasound known as an echocardiogram before major surgery had improved survival rates one month or one year after their operation.

19 Aug 2011