Musculoskeletal News and Research

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Free health clinic planned for D.C. area; University of Kansas to study Indian health; Ga. weighs health needs of older prisoners

In the run-up to this week's giant free clinic in the District, Nicole Lamoureux, the lead organizer, could tell that hearts were racing, blood pressure was increasing and tension was rising. Calls from patients scheduling appointments were starting to pour into her office, but there weren't enough volunteer medical workers to see them.

3 Aug 2010

Intrinsic brain connectivity in fibromyalgia associated with chronic pain intensity

A recent study from researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and University of Michigan provides the first direct evidence of linkage between elevated intrinsic (resting-state) brain connectivity and spontaneous pain intensity in patients with fibromyalgia (FM). This research shows an interaction of multiple brain networks, offering greater understanding of how pain arises. Details of the study appear online and in the August issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology.

30 Jul 2010

Resting brain activity associated with spontaneous fibromyalgia pain

29 Jul 2010

Rockport adds 25,000 OptumHealth physical medicine specialists to workers' compensation PPO network

Rockport Healthcare Group announced it is adding more than 25,000 OptumHealth physical medicine specialists to its workers' compensation Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) network. The PPO program launched May 1, 2010.

27 Jul 2010

Four research teams to study role of exercise in preventing, treating chronic diseases

Canadians will benefit from new insights into the link between physical activity and health as the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, today announced funding for four research teams through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. These teams will study the effects of exercise on the body and its role in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases including arthritis, breast cancer and heart disease.

27 Jul 2010

Adventist Hinsdale Hospital, Marianjoy announce partnership

Patients with acute physical rehabilitation needs now can undergo inpatient treatment close to home thanks to a new partnership between Adventist Hinsdale Hospital and Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital. Announced today, the cooperative effort unites two organizations with similar holistic approaches to rehabilitative patient care for a variety of conditions in multiple settings.

26 Jul 2010

Insulin action may provide link between bone health, metabolic disease: Study

A new study by Johns Hopkins researchers has found that insulin, the sugar-regulating hormone, is required for normal bone development and that it may provide a link between bone health and metabolic disease, such as diabetes.

23 Jul 2010

New drug to treat chronic pain in SCD patients

A University of Minnesota Medical School research team led by Kalpna Gupta, Ph.D., has discovered that cannibinoids offer a novel approach to ease the chronic and acute pain caused by sickle cell disease.Using a mouse model of SCD, Gupta and University of Minnesota colleagues studied the pain mechanisms by observing animals that exhibited both musculoskeletal pain and temperature sensitivity, symptoms similarly experienced by humans with SCD. The team compared two classifications of drugs in their ability to manage pain sensed by the animals, the traditionally prescribed classification of drugs, opioids, with a new therapeutic approach, cannabinoids, a synthetic compound based on marijuana derivatives. Currently, the only approved treatment for management of severe pain in SCD is opioids.

23 Jul 2010

VA approves $2.8M for Gulf War Veterans' illness research program

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has approved $2.8 million to fund three new research projects that focus on testing or developing new treatments for illnesses affecting Veterans who served in the Gulf War 1990-1991. The research incorporates recommendations of the department's Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses Task Force.

22 Jul 2010

Athletes who undergo tissue transplant surgery for knee damage can return to sports: Study

Athletes with bone and cartilage knee damage who are treated with transplanted tissue can return to sports after surgery, according to a Hospital for Special Surgery study reported at the annual meeting of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, held July 15-18 in Providence, Rhode Island. The study (abstract 8970) overturns the widely held belief that patients who undergo this surgery do not return to athletics.

20 Jul 2010

Biomet acquires all assets of Cytosol Laboratories

Biomet, Inc., a global leader in the manufacture of musculoskeletal medical products, announced today its acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Cytosol Laboratories, Inc., located in Braintree, Massachusetts, a market leader in production of small volume anticoagulants.

17 Jul 2010

ALOKA announces new ProSound F75 high-end color diagnostic ultrasound system

ALOKA CO., LTD., announced on July 16 the ProSound F75, a high-end color diagnostic ultrasound system of the new "F" series at its private exhibition, "Aloka Fair 2010." This new flagship of multi-purpose systems, providing unprecedented performance in a variety of clinical applications, is comfortable and easy to use.

16 Jul 2010

SANUWAVE Health introduces orthoPACE device in Europe

SANUWAVE Health, Inc., an emerging medical technology company focused on the development and commercialization of non-invasive, biological response activating devices in the regenerative medicine area, reports the European launch of the orthoPACE device intended for use in orthopedic, trauma and sports medicine indications following CE mark approval last month.

14 Jul 2010

Susceptibility to Behcet's disease associated with genes involved in body's immune response

Researchers with the National Institutes of Health have found susceptibility to Behcet's disease, a painful, inflammatory condition, to be associated with genes involved in the body's immune response.

14 Jul 2010

Use of NSAIDs do not increase risk of heart attack in elderly patients: Study

Commonly used painkillers like ibuprofen do not increase the risk of heart attack in the elderly population, according to a new study. Researchers found that the use of these drugs - also called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - was also associated with a lower risk of death although they are not sure why.

7 Jul 2010

Nearly 60% of Ontarians with rheumatoid arthritis fail to receive needed care from specialists: Study

Nearly 60 per cent of Ontarians with rheumatoid arthritis - an autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation of the joints - were not seen by a specialist within a one year period to treat the debilitating disease, according to a new study. Even more concerning is that women of child-bearing age are less likely to see a specialist than women 45 or older, say researchers from St. Michael's Hospital, the Institute for Clinical and Evaluative Sciences, and Women's College Hospital

7 Jul 2010

Women have longer life expectancy, but with prevalence of disability in old age

Although women have a longer life expectancy, they experience a much greater prevalence of disability in old age than men do. This is the main conclusion of the study published in the latest issue of the Journal of Women's Health.

3 Jul 2010

PIKAMAB secures exclusive rights to issued U.S. patent from UABRF

PIKAMAB, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in stratified medicine, announced today that it has secured exclusive rights to an issued U.S. patent (US 6,986,987) from the UAB Research Foundation. This patent pertains to the discovery that the functional polymorphism (Ser/Gly248) in the cytoplasmic domain of Fc alpha receptor determines the proinflammatory potential of serum IgA autoantibodies through cell signaling and production of cytokines such as TNF-alpha, IL-6, and IL-1β in an allele-dependent manner.

1 Jul 2010

Image-guided percutaneous biopsies on the rise

Advanced imaging technologies have helped shift biopsy techniques away from more invasive approaches toward imaging-guided percutaneous-or through the skin-techniques, according to a new study appearing online and in the September print edition of the journal Radiology.

29 Jun 2010

Going barefoot in home may contribute to falls among elderly: Study

As summer rolls around, elderly people may want to think twice about taking their shoes off when they get home. Going barefoot in the home, or wearing slippers or socks with no shoes, may contribute to falls among the elderly, according to a new study from the Institute for Aging Research of Hebrew SeniorLife.

23 Jun 2010