Human Anatomy News and Research

RSS

Speeding up fetal MRIs

A modified technique that uses the eyes as the line of reference means a 50 percent reduction in the time necessary to take MRI images of the fetal brain.

3 Oct 2005

New option for treatment of lower back pain

Abbott today announced that it has started enrolling patients in a new U.S. clinical study to evaluate the potential benefits of its Wallis Mechanical Normalization System, a new spinal implant technology for the treatment of mild to moderate degenerative disc disease designed to stabilize the spine and reduce pain while preserving range of motion.

28 Sep 2005

First-of-its kind atlas of the folds of the cerebral cortex

Neuroscientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have assembled a first-of-its kind atlas of the folds of the cerebral cortex, the wrinkled surface layer of the brain credited with many of the higher cognitive functions that make us human.

26 Sep 2005

Enhanced imaging techniques could improve medical diagnosis

Chris Wyatt is a Virginia Tech electrical engineer who is attempting to provide the medical community with better, quicker, and more relevant images of the human body. The side effects are not bad either - lower medical costs, new treatments, and earlier disease detection.

19 Sep 2005

Mission to teach patients about modern treatments for sinusitis

Coughing, headaches, fatigue, post-nasal drip and intense pressure throughout the face. For millions of Americans, these aren't just the side effects of a short bout with the flu, but what they experience every day living with sinusitis.

16 Aug 2005

DNA chip technology helps with discovery of new type 2 diabetes gene

In a new study appearing in the August 12 issue of the journal Cell, the investigators first identified genes that were altered in their level of expression in islets isolated from people with type 2 diabetes.

13 Aug 2005

Faster and more objective way to examine the surfaces of fossilized teeth

Using a powerful microscope and computer software, a team of scientists from Johns Hopkins, the University of Arkansas, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and elsewhere has developed a faster and more objective way to examine the surfaces of fossilized teeth, a practice used to figure out the diets of our early ancestors.

10 Aug 2005

Combined computed tomography (CT) and positron emission tomography (PET) - may detect the spread of head and neck cancer more accurately

"PET/CT is very helpful in determining where we should pinpoint our biopsies for recurrent disease," said Dr. Carol Shores, assistant professor of otolaryngology/head and neck surgery at UNC and the report's senior author. Shores is a member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

26 Jul 2005

Nerve-insulating substance called myelin can lead to functional improvements in animals with spinal cord injury

Combining partially differentiated stem cells with gene therapy can promote the growth of new "insulation" around nerve fibers in the damaged spinal cords of rats, a new study shows.

26 Jul 2005

Innovative new brachytherapy planning tool

The Vitesse system is being used in more than 25 hospitals worldwide to speed up planning and enable treatments to take place within a day, avoiding the need for patients to stay in a hospital overnight.

19 Jul 2005

Nerve cells can also release neurotransmitters outside of synapses

Every neurobiology textbook invariably states that nerve cells communicate with each other through synapses, the specialized cell-cell contacts found at the end of the cells' threadlike extensions. In the journal Science, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences and the University of California at San Diego report that nerve cells, or neurons, may not have to rely on traditionally defined synapses to "talk" to each other.

18 Jul 2005

X-ray measurements help determine whether chronic problems with the hard-to-reach frontal sinuses can be corrected with surgery

"The frontal sinus is behind the forehead and it has a very tortuous drainage," says Dr. Stil E. Kountakis, vice chair of the Medical College of Georgia Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. "It's the most difficult sinus to work with."

6 Jul 2005

Potential novel treatment targets for the most common form of childhood epilepsy

New research suggests novel treatment targets for the most common form of childhood epilepsy - with the potential to have fewer side effects than traditional therapy. The findings from Wake Forest University School of Medicine are reported in the July issue of the Journal of Neurophysiology.

6 Jul 2005

Researchers discover new molecular mechanism that may allow for stem cell-based therapies to treat eye disorders such as retinal degeneration

The finding also reveals how the retina's own stem cells can be directed to aid the growth of new cells to replace diseased or dying ones in the eye. Study results appear in the June 24 issue of the journal Science.

27 Jun 2005

Australian scientists develop unique animal model for asthma

The State Government of Victoria, Australia has announced that Melbourne veterinary scientists have developed a unique animal model for asthma that may help drug companies fast track the creation of therapies for the disease.

19 Jun 2005

High-tech imaging software locates more accurately the abnormal electrical impulses that produce heart arrhythmias

Loyola University Health System is one of the first hospitals in the United States to employ new high-tech imaging software - in conjunction with a three-dimensional cardiac mapping and navigation system - to locate more accurately the abnormal electrical impulses that produce heart rhythm disturbances (arrhythmias). This technology represents a major breakthrough in treating complex arrhythmias.

3 Jun 2005

Targeted Genetics issued patent related to adeno-associated virus (AAV) technology platform

Targeted Genetics Corporation has announced the issuance of another patent related to the Company's leading adeno-associated virus (AAV) technology platform. U.S. patent #6,897,045, titled "Adeno-Associated Virus Vectors," was issued to the University of Iowa Research Foundation and is exclusively licensed to Targeted Genetics.

30 May 2005

Whole-body positron emission tomography/computed tomography scans may help physicians identify malignant cancerous tumors

A team of researchers at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore, Md., reports that whole-body positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scans may help physicians identify new, unexpected malignant cancerous tumors in patients, according to an article in the May issue of the Society of Nuclear Medicine’s Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

29 May 2005

Israeli psychologists draw conclusions from how brain-damaged people comprehend sarcasm - or not

The ability to comprehend sarcasm depends upon a carefully orchestrated sequence of complex cognitive skills based in specific parts of the brain. Yeah, right, and I’m the Tooth Fairy. But it’s true: New research details an “anatomy of sarcasm” that explains how the mind puts sharp-tongued words into context.

23 May 2005

Russian team tests new polymeric coating for vascular stents

A group of researchers of the Institute of Biophysics (Russian Academy of Sciences), Krasnoyarsk regional clinical hospital and Krasnoyarsk regional department of morbid anatomy under the guidance of .I. Gitelzon, Academician of Russian Academy of Sciences, have tested characteristics of a new polymeric coating for vascular stents.

22 May 2005