Surgery News and Research

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Abuse of prescription drugs

Increasingly, drug abusers are getting their next fix from their medicine cabinets, instead of from drug dealers.

26 Jun 2007

$50 million gift for University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center

On June 11, the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center's new building opened its doors to patients.

26 Jun 2007

Animal studies shouldn't alter anesthesiology practice in newborns

Recent studies showing that commonly used anesthetic agents can cause brain damage in animals don't prove that similar harmful effects occur in human newborns - and shouldn't affect current approaches to anesthesia in preterm and ill infants, according to a leading expert on pain management in newborns.

26 Jun 2007

New treatment slows the growth of colon and liver cancers

Leire Garcia Navarro, a researcher at the School of Pharmacy of the University of Navarra, has developed a new treatment which slows the growth of colon and liver cancers.

23 Jun 2007

Stem cells to repair damaged heart muscle

In the first trial of its kind in the world, 60 patients who have recently suffered a major heart attack will be injected with selected stem cells from their own bone marrow during routine coronary bypass surgery.

23 Jun 2007

Use of blockers and statins to prevent heart complications during surgery questioned

The use of drugs to prevent heart complications during surgery is called into question in this week's BMJ.

23 Jun 2007

Levels of protein CA 19-9 in blood predicts pancreatic cancer outcome after surgery

A team of researchers, led by surgeons at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson in Philadelphia, has found further evidence supporting the ability of a protein to predict how well a patient with advanced pancreatic cancer will do after surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

23 Jun 2007

Gene therapy for Parkinson's disease is safe and some patients benefit

A novel gene therapy technique is safe and may be effective at staving off worsening symptoms of Parkinson's disease, according to the first scientific review of a dozen patients who have received the treatment over the last three years.

23 Jun 2007

New treatment slows the growth of colon and liver cancers

A. Navarro, a researcher at the School of Pharmacy of the University of Navarra, has developed a new treatment which slows the growth of colon and liver cancers.

23 Jun 2007

Smoking affects ligament healing

The list of reasons you shouldn't smoke has gotten longer. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are reporting that smoking interferes with ligament healing.

23 Jun 2007

Stem cells to repair damaged heart muscle

22 Jun 2007

Men bitten more often than women and alcohol is the culprit

A new study by doctors in Ireland has found that men are 12 times more likely than women to be bitten by another person and need surgery.

21 Jun 2007

Men are 12 times more likely than women to sustain severe human bite injuries

The researchers reviewed the 92 patients requiring assessment for human bite wounds by the plastic surgery service at St James Hospital Dublin, Ireland, between January 2003 and December 2005. Eight five of them (92%) were men and the 92 patients had a total of 96 bites.

20 Jun 2007

New molecular mechanism discovered that may 'spontaneously' cause liver cancer

Adding more good news to last week's announcement that Nexavar (sorafenib) may be the first effective treatment for advanced liver cancer, researchers at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University have uncovered a new molecular mechanism that may 'spontaneously' cause liver cancer.

20 Jun 2007

Intraoperative radiation therapy for breast cancer

Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) breast cancer specialists are using a new way to treat patients by delivering a one-time dose of radiation during surgery.

20 Jun 2007

Women can avoid breast reduction surgery by being fitted for their bras

Doctors in Britain are calling for women to be offered free bra-fittings on the National Health Service (NHS) in an effort to reduce unnecessary breast reductions.

20 Jun 2007

Researchers develop artificial blood vessels from muscle-derived stem cells and a biodegradable polymer

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine investigators have engineered artificial blood vessels from muscle-derived stem cells (MDSCs) and a biodegradable polymer that exhibit extensive remodeling and remain free of blockages when grafted into rats.

19 Jun 2007

Otosclerosis gene identified

A gene responsible for the single most common cause of hearing loss among white adults, otosclerosis, has been identified for the first time, a scientist told the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics in Nice, France.

19 Jun 2007

Analysis of steroids as a treatment for sudden hearing loss

Although steroids are the most widely used treatment for sudden hearing loss, little scientific evidence supports their use or that of any other therapies for this condition, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis both published in the June issue of Archives of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery.

19 Jun 2007

Cancer stem cells similar to normal stem cells thwart anti-cancer agents

Current cancer therapies often succeed at initially eliminating the bulk of the disease, including all rapidly proliferating cells, but are eventually thwarted because they cannot eliminate a small reservoir of multiple-drug-resistant tumor cells, called cancer stem cells, which ultimately become the source of disease recurrence and eventual metastasis.

19 Jun 2007