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Diabetic smokers beware - Nicotine raises blood sugar: Study

U.S. researchers have found that nicotine in cigarettes may be responsible for serious complications in smokers with diabetes. They have shown that nicotine is strongly linked to persistently raised blood sugar levels among diabetics and scientists say they should make every effort to quit. There may also be implications for diabetics attempting to give up the habit who use nicotine-replacement therapy for extended periods.

27 Mar 2011

Mild decompression procedure for lumbar spinal stenosis leads to sustained improvements in pain

Patients treated for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) with the mild decompression procedure (an alternative to open spinal surgery for many patients), reported sustained improvements in pain and mobility at one year and had no serious adverse events occur, according to the first multi-center one-year post-study follow-up of this patient cohort.

25 Mar 2011

Early intervention and close follow-up can help prevent hearing loss in children

Early intervention and close follow-up are key to rehabilitating hearing loss in children, says Paul R. Kileny, Ph.D., director of the University of Michigan's Audiology and Electrophysiology program.

25 Mar 2011

HCG hormone therapy may benefit patients with intractable pain

Results from a small study of intractable pain patients being treated with the human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) hormone reported that they had experienced pain free hours in the past month. These results were presented at a poster session at the American Academy of Pain Medicine's 27th Annual Meeting.

25 Mar 2011

New findings may make morphine a safer, more effective drug for chronic pain control

An orphan drug originally used for HIV treatment has been found to short-circuit the process that results in additional sensitivity and pain from opioid use. The study by researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine is reported in the March 25, 2011 issue of Brain, Behavior and Immunity.

25 Mar 2011

BrainStorm provides review of recent accomplishments for shareholders, investors

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc., a leading developer of adult stem cell technologies and therapeutics, today provided a review of recent accomplishments for shareholders and investors.

25 Mar 2011

FDA approves Medtronic's Consulta and Syncra pacemaker systems

Medtronic, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration has approved its Consulta and Syncra cardiac resynchronization therapy-pacemaker systems.

25 Mar 2011

Merck & Co receives FDA approval for Zostavax vaccine to treat shingles

The Food and Drug Administration today approved the use of Zostavax, a live attenuated virus vaccine, for the prevention of shingles in individuals 50 to 59 years of age. Zostavax is already approved for use in individuals 60 years of age and older.

25 Mar 2011

Robotic surgery for prostate cancer safe over the long term

In the first study of its kind, urologists and biostatisticians at Henry Ford Hospital have found that robot-assisted surgery to remove cancerous prostate glands is safe over the long term, with a major complication rate of less than one percent.

24 Mar 2011

Imaging with voltage-sensitive dye captures real-time brain dynamics

The dye incorporates in the brain cells' membrane and changes fluorescence whenever these receive or send electrical signals. Hence, high resolution camera systems allow to simultaneously capture activities of millions of nerve cells across several square millimeters across the brain.

24 Mar 2011

Artificial disc replacement may provide better long-term results at reduced cost

When physical therapy and drugs fail to relieve back or neck pain, patients often turn to spinal fusion surgery as a last resort, but two new studies show that in certain situations, especially when several discs are involved, artificial disc replacement may give better long-term results at lower cost.

23 Mar 2011

Mayo Clinic receives $1 million gift for Lewy body dementia study

To help continue its internationally recognized work in Lewy body dementia, the Harry T. Mangurian, Jr., Foundation has awarded Mayo Clinic a $1 million gift, pledged over four years. Lewy body dementia, which combines aspects of both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, is the second most common form of dementia in the United States.

23 Mar 2011

High sodium intake may increase risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney problem

Taking in too much sodium may turn out to be quite a salty situation. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2010 high blood pressure cost the United States $76.6 billion in health care services, medications, and missed days of work.

22 Mar 2011

Patients with bone cancer can benefit from radical surgery

During a radical surgery to treat a rare bone cancer, surgeons at UC San Diego Health System and Moores Cancer Center removed 50 percent of a patient's pelvis. Instead of amputating the connected leg, the surgical team, comprised of orthopaedic, vascular and urologic experts, saved the entire limb. The patient was able to walk with assistance five weeks after surgery.

22 Mar 2011

First full face transplant in the U.S. on its way to success

In a first of its kind, Dallas Wiens, a 25 year old construction worker who had suffered severe burns to his head two and a half years ago and lost his face, was given a new face by transplant. Until now he had a face void of features, except for a lipless mouth and a goatee beard. Even his eye sockets were smoothed over with skin taken from other parts of his body. This was after 22 surgical procedures.

21 Mar 2011

Study identifies gene linked to higher risk of multiple sclerosis in children

Canadians have one of the highest rates of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in the world with approximately 1,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Primarily striking in adulthood, physicians and researchers with the Canadian Pediatric Demyelinating Diseases Network (CPDDN), a multi-institutional and multidisciplinary group, have found that MS is being increasingly diagnosed in children.

21 Mar 2011

Biochemical process that lasts a long time causes memory storage

You may remember the color of your loved one's eyes for years. But how?

21 Mar 2011

Insight into hereditary diseases

Hereditary diseases such as epilepsy or various coordination disorders may be caused by changes in nerve cells of the cerebellum, which do not set in until after birth. This is reported by Bochum's neuroscientists in the Journal of Neuroscience.

19 Mar 2011

Study reveals new mechanism underlying reproduction in plants

A team of researchers at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ci-ncia (IGC), Portugal, discovered that pollen, the organ that contains the plant male gametes, communicate with the pistil, their female counterpart, using a mechanism commonly observed in the nervous system of animals.

18 Mar 2011

Researchers develop diagnostic test for motor neurone disease

NeuRA researchers are one step closer to developing a diagnostic test for motor neurone disease. Dr Steve Vucic, from Neuroscience Research Australia, says the test will allow people with motor neurone disease to be diagnosed up to eight months earlier than is currently possible.

17 Mar 2011