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Spine Care Institute established by Hospital for Special Surgery

Hospital for Special Surgery today announced the establishment of one of the most comprehensive centers of excellence in the country for the treatment of all nonoperative and operative spine disorders.

16 Nov 2009

Cytoskeleton plays a critical role to bring chromosome pairs together: Study

Meiosis - the pairing and recombination of chromosomes, followed by segregation of half to each egg or sperm cell - is a major crossroads in all organisms reproducing sexually. Yet, how the cell precisely choreographs these chromosomal interactions is a long-standing question.

16 Nov 2009

RecordAF presents results of recently diagnosed and treated patients with atrial fibrillation

Results from the RecordAF registry (REgistry on Cardiac rhythm disORDers assessing the control of Atrial Fibrillation), presented today at the Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association, show that in recently diagnosed and actively treated patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), a rhythm-control strategy provides better short term control of the arrhythmia versus a rate-control strategy but does not translate into a reduction in the occurrence of clinical events at 1 year.

16 Nov 2009

Effect of niacin or ezetimibe added to chronic statin therapy on carotid intima media thickness: Study

In combination with statins, adding a medication that raises high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol was more effective in reversing artery wall plaque buildup and in reducing heart disease risk than adding a drug that lowers low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, researchers reported today at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2009.

16 Nov 2009

Cheerleading injuries in the U.S.: 60% occur due to stunts

Whether rallying the crowd at a sporting event or participating in competition, cheerleading can be both fun and physically demanding. Although integral to cheerleading routines, performing stunts can lead to injury. Stunt-related injuries accounted for more than half (60 percent) of U.S. cheerleading injuries from June 2006 through June 2007, according to a new study conducted by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital.

16 Nov 2009

Proteo's Elafin recommended for orphan drug status in Europe

The Committee for Orphan Medical Products (COMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has issued a recommendation granting orphan drug status to Proteo's drug candidate Elafin for the treatment of esophagus carcinoma. The orphan drug status will become effective upon ratification of this recommendation by the European Commission.

16 Nov 2009

UT physicians treat Iraqi girl with myasthenia gravis

Plagued by a growing weakness that left her unable to walk, talk and even take a normal breath, 11-year-old Iraqi Aram Ali was a shell of the bright little girl she used to be.

16 Nov 2009

Normal synaptic activity in nerve cells protects brain from Huntington's disease

Investigators at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham), the University of British Columbia's Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics and the University of California, San Diego have found that normal synaptic activity in nerve cells (the electrical activity in the brain that allows nerve cells to communicate with one another) protects the brain from the misfolded proteins associated with Huntington's disease.

16 Nov 2009

PACE trial results presented at the American Heart Association congress

Pacing the two lower chambers of the heart, or bi-ventricular pacing, prevented cardiac enlargement as compared to only pacing the right ventricle in pacemaker patients with normal pumping hearts, according to results presented today from the Pacing to Avoid Cardiac Enlargement (PACE) trial, a clinical study supported by Medtronic, Inc..

16 Nov 2009

New technique to cool the brains of cardiac arrest patients

The first randomized intra-arrest cooling study performed using a novel intra-nasal cooling method showed much faster and earlier cooling in treated patients and significantly higher neurologically intact survival - to - discharge rate in many patients. The Pre-Resuscitation Intra-Nasal Cooling Effectiveness (PRINCE) study involved 200 patients and was conducted by 15 Emergency Medical Systems (EMS) in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Czech Republic and Sweden.

16 Nov 2009

FDA provides marketing clearance for the Platelet PGD Test System

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today cleared for marketing the Platelet PGD Test System, the first rapid test for the detection of bacterial contamination in pooled platelets derived from whole blood.

16 Nov 2009

Some combination drug therapies are counter-productive

Combination drug therapy has become a staple for treating many infections. For instance, doctors treat extensively drug resistant forms of tuberculosis with one drug that breaks down the pathogen's protective barriers and opens the door for another to deliver the deathblow.

16 Nov 2009

New reversible blood thinner for angioplasty patients not superior over placebo

A new reversible blood thinner for angioplasty patients wasn't superior over placebo for its primary combined endpoint of heart attack, all-cause mortality and need for revascularization, but it reduced mortality and in-stent blood clots, researchers reported in a late-breaking clinical trial presentation at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2009.

16 Nov 2009

Concuity announces the new release of ClearContracts 9.0

Concuity, a healthcare division of Trintech (Nasdaq: TTPA) and a leading provider of Revenue Cycle Management technology and services, announced the new release of ClearContracts(TM) 9.0. Used by the largest and most sophisticated hospital systems in the U.S., ClearContracts(TM) is a web-based suite of software that enables healthcare providers to meet all of their managed care and revenue recovery goals.

16 Nov 2009

Chronic pain patients with depression three times more likely to receive opioid medications

Chronic pain patients with a history of depression are three times more likely to receive long-term prescriptions for opioid medications like Vicodin compared to pain patients who do not suffer from depression, according to new research.

16 Nov 2009

New surgical technique may benefit brain injured athletes

NFL players and other athletes who suffer serious or multiple concussions may benefit from ground-breaking research being conducted by scientists at Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center. The scientists are developing a surgical technique that involves hypothermia in specific regions of the brain.

16 Nov 2009