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Artificial disc offers new option for back pain

Until recently San Diego residents with severe back pain from degenerative disc disease have had few options. But Oceanside resident Joan Steggell decided the traditional treatment, spinal fusion, was not the right choice for her. Instead she opted for an innovative new surgery at UCSD’s Thornton Hospital.

18 May 2005

Don’t skip chest CT in the ER just because X-ray checks out okay, warns study

Chest X-rays may miss 40% of clinically significant thoracic injuries in multiple trauma patients that can be caught by chest CT, say researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

18 May 2005

Zometa reduces bone loss in patients receiving breast cancer treatment

Data presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Orlando, Florida, demonstrate that Zometa (zoledronic acid), an intravenous bisphosphonate, was shown to inhibit bone loss in postmenopausal women treated with Femara (letrozole) in the adjuvant breast cancer setting (directly following surgery to prevent cancer recurrence).

16 May 2005

Brains of one species of mouse actually shrink during the winter

The brains of one species of mouse actually shrink during the winter, causing the mice to have more difficulty with some types of learning, a new study found.

15 May 2005

Researchers insert engineered human stem cells into the spinal cords of ALS-afflicted rats

Unveiling a delivery method that may one day help surgeons treat the deadly neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have inserted engineered human stem cells into the spinal cords of ALS-afflicted rats.

19 Apr 2005

Yoga should heal, not hurt

Yoga should heal, not hurt, according to Roger Cole, Ph.D. In his presentation at the ninth-annual American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Health & Fitness Summit & Exposition, Cole reviewed the injuries most often suffered by yoga practitioners and recommended ways to avoid them.

5 Apr 2005

Kids have upswing in golf-related head injuries

Children’s increasing interest in golf is resulting in an unfortunate upswing in golf-related head injuries, according to a review of sports injuries treated over six years at an academic medical center in Georgia.

5 Apr 2005

$Why do black South Africans have a low hip fracture rate despite low calcium intake?$

Why do black South Africans have a low hip fracture rate despite low calcium intake?

After Nelson Mandela was released from prison February 11, 1990, all children born in the great Johannesburg area were enrolled in a 20-year longitudinal study. Officially known as “Birth to Twenty,” the study and its 3,273 youth, are colloquially referred to as “Mandela’s Children.” It’s the largest and longest running study of child and adolescent health and development in Africa, and one of the few large-scale longitudinal studies in the world.

3 Apr 2005

New drug approved for treating endometriosis

Drug manufacturer Pfizer announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given approval for the release of depo-subQ provera 104 to be prescribed for the management of pain associated with endometriosis, a gynecological condition that affects one in ten women of reproductive age.

30 Mar 2005

Vegetarians who don't cook their food have abnormally low bone mass

Vegetarians who don't cook their food have abnormally low bone mass, usually a sign of osteoporosis and increased fracture risk. But a research team at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis also found that raw food vegetarians have other biological markers indicating their bones, although light in weight, may be healthy.

28 Mar 2005

$Postmenopausal breast cancer survivors may be at increased risk for fractures$

Postmenopausal breast cancer survivors may be at increased risk for fractures

Postmenopausal breast cancer survivors may be at increased risk for fractures (except for the hip) compared with other women in the same age group, according to an article in the March 14 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

14 Mar 2005

Diabetes "cured" by transplant

61-year-old businessman and community activist, Richard Lane, has become Britain's first fully successful islet cell transplant recipient.

9 Mar 2005

Future research should lead to better layout of work and equipment for orthodontists and all other dental workers

Gap-toothed youngsters may not be the only ones who are a little sore when they leave the orthodontist's office. While they sport tight braces on their teeth, their doctors may be nursing tight, aching backs, according to a study from the University of Alberta.

3 Mar 2005

$Primary reason to diagnose and treat osteoporosis is to prevent bone fractures$

Primary reason to diagnose and treat osteoporosis is to prevent bone fractures

In an editorial in the February 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, Alan L. Buchman, M.D., M.P.H., of the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, Chicago, writes that the primary reason to diagnose and treat osteoporosis is to prevent bone fractures.

28 Feb 2005

New technologies may offer new treatment options for some patients with degenerative back problems

New technologies may offer new treatment options for some patients with degenerative back problems, according to research presented at the 72nd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. These latest innovations in spinal surgery could provide promise for hundreds of thousands of U.S. patients who undergo spinal surgery each year.

27 Feb 2005

Potential treatments for neurofibromatosis

Scientists at the Indiana University School of Medicine are closing in on potential treatments for neurofibromatosis, a genetic disease that afflicts 100,000 Americans with nerve tissue tumors, some of which become cancerous.

3 Feb 2005

Physical traits, genetic test help with early diagnosis of aneurysm syndrome

A research team led by Johns Hopkins doctors has defined the physical traits and genetic basis of a new aortic aneurysm syndrome that is extremely aggressive and can cause death in early childhood. Early diagnosis of the syndrome and rapid surgical repair of the swollen aorta can save lives, the researchers report in the Jan. 30 advance online section of Nature Genetics.

30 Jan 2005

Major health problems in babies of diabetic mothers on the rise

During the past decade, babies born to women with type 2 diabetes have shown an increasing number of serious health problems -- including stillbirth and birth defects, such as brain, spine and heart congenital malformations that can lead to infant deaths, according to a study published in the February issue of Diabetes Care.

27 Jan 2005

Calcium boost to youths' bones could reduce osteoporosis risk

New research on calcium and bone development suggests that efforts to prevent osteoporosis, generally considered a geriatric disease among women, could actually start before puberty.

26 Jan 2005

Instant tea may be a source of harmful levels of fluoride

The researchers found that some regular strength preparations contain as much as 6.5 parts per million (ppm) of fluoride, well over the 4 ppm maximum allowed in drinking water by the Environmental Protection Agency and 2.4 ppm permitted in bottled water and beverages by the Food and Drug Administration.

26 Jan 2005