Wound News and Research

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Drop-off in procedural experience of UK junior doctors

UK trainee doctors working in emergency care claim they are gaining less experience of common practical procedures, suggests a small study in Emergency Medicine Journal.

22 Aug 2007

New method to detect infection in prosthetic joints

A team of Mayo Clinic researchers has discovered a new, more accurate diagnostic test to detect infection of prosthetic joints, potentially leading to better treatment options and patient outcomes.

17 Aug 2007

American correction used to repair a mitral valve

Dr. Gerald Lawrie, a cardiothoracic surgeon with the Methodist DeBakey Heart Center, is the first to use a surgical robot to successfully repair a mitral valve using an advanced technique of repair called the “American Correction.”

17 Aug 2007

Lower-limb injuries common place in U.S. soldiers in Iraq

A study released in advance of the American Podiatric Medical Association's (APMA) 95th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia reveals nearly 68 percent of all U.S. soldiers wounded in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts are a result of extremity injuries and nearly 22 percent of those injuries involve the foot and/or ankle.

16 Aug 2007

Handheld BrainScope device detects brain damage immediately after concussion

Researchers at NYU School of Medicine have developed a handheld device that can detect subtle brain damage immediately after concussion.

7 Aug 2007

VAC therapy for wound healing questioned

The effectiveness and value of an increasingly popular treatment used in the treatment of long term wounds are questioned in this month's Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB)

1 Aug 2007

Bio-engineered bladders a step closer to reality

Researchers at the University of York are using an understanding of the special cells that line the bladder to develop ways of restoring continence to patients with serious bladder conditions, including cancer.

31 Jul 2007

Hydrogen peroxide damages absorbable sutures

Cleaning absorbable sutures with hydrogen peroxide dramatically decreases their tensile strength, researchers from UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

31 Jul 2007

Radiation therapy combined with microsurgery shows promise for curing injured spinal cord

Research on rats with crushed spinal cords, similar to human injury, reveals that treatment soon after injury combining radiation therapy to destroy harmful cells and microsurgery to drain excess fluids significantly increases the body's ability to repair the injured cord leading to permanent recovery from injury, according to the study published in the July 18 peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE.

25 Jul 2007

Male circumcision reduces HIV risk by as much as 60%

Three clinical trials in Africa found that adult male circumcision reduced the risk of men acquiring HIV infection from heterosexual sex by 51-60%.

24 Jul 2007

Chitosan for space travel injuries

A team of researchers is seeking to determine if an ingredient found in shrimp and lobster shells might make future missions to Mars safer for space crews who could be injured along the way.

24 Jul 2007

Flesh-eating bacteria on Texas beach leaves man fighting for his life

Steve Gilpatrick went swimming while on holiday in early July at Crystal Beach, when the ulcer had apparently almost healed; his leg became infected three days later and he developed a high fever and was taken to hospital.

21 Jul 2007

Scientists invent novel low-viscosity gel for regenerating human tissue

University of Delaware scientists have invented a novel biomaterial with surprising antibacterial properties that can be injected as a low-viscosity gel into a wound where it rigidifies nearly on contact--opening the door to the possibility of delivering a targeted payload of cells and antibiotics to repair the damaged tissue.

19 Jul 2007

Preventive techniques greatly reduce pressure ulcers

Working together to reduce the occurrence of pressure ulcers in patients throughout various care settings, members of the New Jersey Hospital Association's Pressure Ulcer Collaborative have reported a 70 percent reduction in the incidence of new pressure ulcers after nearly two years of applying shared best practices and preventive techniques.

18 Jul 2007

Taste loss after tonsillectomy unusual

In a small study of patients undergoing tonsillectomy, or removal of the tonsils, none reported an ongoing dysfunction in their sense of taste following the procedure, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Otolaryngology?Head & Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

17 Jul 2007

Magnetic nano tweezers show how cancer drug works

The annoying bulges of an over-wound telephone cord that shorten its reach and limit a caller's motion help to explain why drugs called camptothecins are so effective in killing cancer cells, according to investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Delft University of Technology.

10 Jul 2007

EPA warns about fecal coliform in flooded areas of Coffeyville

Two flood water samples taken by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency within the city limits of Coffeyville, Kan., showed numbers of fecal coliform (bacteria) more than 130 times the standard.

9 Jul 2007

RNA molecules can orchestrate gene activity across vast portions of the human genome

Large, seemingly useless pieces of RNA - a molecule originally considered only a lowly messenger for DNA - play an important role in letting cells know where they are in the body and what they are supposed to become, researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered.

29 Jun 2007

Why NSAIDs damage the tissue that lines the gastrointestinal tract

New versions of drugs like buffered aspirin and Vioxx could produce fewer harmful side effects thanks to research being done at Kansas State University's College of Veterinary Medicine.

23 Jun 2007