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Study suggests a way to eliminate glioblastoma

Scientists have devised a strategy to treat tumors by selectively targeting and killing the malignant cells. A new preclinical study, published in the open access journal PLoS Medicine, has applied the approach to combat glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

7 Dec 2005

High-intensity ultrasound waves heats and destroys uterine fibroids

A totally noninvasive procedure using high-intensity ultrasound waves to heat and destroy uterine fibroid tissue significantly relieves fibroid-related symptoms in women, according to the results of a multicenter clinical trial.

7 Dec 2005

Chemotherapy is a beneficial treatment women and elderly

Although all eligible patients with stage III colon cancer should be offered adjuvant chemotherapy treatment because it improves survival, up to one-third are not, and many of these excluded patients are women and the elderly, say researchers who looked at data from more than 85,000 patients.

7 Dec 2005

Wide variation in the use of laparoscopic surgery for gall bladder removal

There is a wide variation in the use of laparoscopic surgery for gall bladder removal in Hong Kong hospitals, and use of this procedure is more likely at certain hospitals and among younger female patients operated on more recently, according to a study in the Archives of Surgery.

7 Dec 2005

New anti-clotting treatment

Volunteers at the Jack and Linda Gill Heart Institute at the University of Kentucky were the first ever to receive a new anti-clotting therapy.

7 Dec 2005

Stem cells may cause some forms of bone cancer

The researchers are the first to identify a population of cells with characteristics of adult and embryonic stem cells in cultures derived from biopsies of patients' bone tumors. They describe their findings in the medical journal Neoplasia.

7 Dec 2005

Toddlers with sleep apnea experience more respiratory disturbances when they sleep on their backs

Researchers at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston have discovered that toddlers with sleep apnea experience more respiratory disturbances when they sleep on their backs than in other positions.

7 Dec 2005

Contradiction surrounds face transplant patient

Controversy continues to grow around the world's first face transplant in France.

6 Dec 2005

Exercise good for children with heart defects

According to a new U.S. study, children born with heart defects who have traditionally been told not to exercise can improve their heart function through programs that involve exertion.

5 Dec 2005

Face transplant woman doing well

French surgeons say that the 38-year-old recipient of the world's first partial face transplant regained consciousness 24 hours after her operation and is doing well.

5 Dec 2005

Heart pump technology - comparative study

Chicago's first participant in the RELIANT (Randomized Evaluation of the Novacor(r) LVAS In A Non-Transplant Population) research study recently went home from Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

5 Dec 2005

Children with heart defects benefit from exercise

A small but compelling pilot study indicates that many children with serious congenital heart disease, who are typically urged to restrict their activity, can improve their cardiovascular function and exercise capacity through a cardiac rehabilitation program.

5 Dec 2005

Study of 30-day extended wear contact lenses

A team of researchers led by the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute have determined that the corneal infection rate associated with the use of 30-day -extended-wear contact lenses made from silicone hydrogel is comparable to that previously reported for older lens types worn for fewer consecutive 24-hour periods.

5 Dec 2005

The earlier cochlear implants considered, the better

New research at Johns Hopkins has clearly demonstrated the ability of cochlear implants in very young animals to forge normal nerve fibers that transmit sound and to restore hearing by reversing or preventing damage to the brain's auditory system.

5 Dec 2005

Discovery of genetic mechanism that causes new arteries to grow in response to blocked arteries

Researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center have uncovered part of the genetic mechanism that causes new arteries to grow in response to blocked arteries.

2 Dec 2005

Making angioplasty safer

When life-threatening problems occur during angioplasty procedures, doctors may perform emergency coronary artery bypass graft surgery, but data from the Mayo Clinic indicates that need to send patients to emergency surgery has dropped sharply, according to a new study in the Dec. 6, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

2 Dec 2005