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When breast augmentation or reduction cases are medically necessary

Traditionally, breast augmentation and reduction surgeries are defined by health insurers as cosmetic. It's a definition that often puts patients at odds with health insurers. Payers have difficulty deciding if breast augmentation or reduction cases are medically necessary.

22 Feb 2005

Clinical trial of newest technology to treat thoracic aortic aneurysms

A clinical trial is underway at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) to study the safety and effectiveness of an endovascular medical device to treat life-threatening thoracic aortic aneurysms. Ronald Fairman, MD, Chief of Vascular Surgery at HUP, is leading the study at Penn and is one of 35 principal investigators in North America to participate in this landmark trial.

16 Feb 2005

Schizophrenia may arise from a single genetic defect

Researchers have long puzzled over the apparently multiple causes of complex developmental disorders such as schizophrenia. Individuals seem to be predisposed to the disease by a tragic, mysterious combination of genetics, prenatal trauma, viral infection, and early experience.

16 Feb 2005

Angiogenesis inhibitor molecules defend against the development and spread of cancer

Research led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) helps explain how a group of angiogenesis inhibitor molecules serve as an important defense mechanism against the development and spread of cancer, offering key insights into why cancerous tumors grow at different rates among different individuals.

15 Feb 2005

Novel approach to treating hearing loss

GenVec today reported that encouraging preclinical findings on a novel approach to treating hearing loss have been published in the March 2005 issue of Nature Medicine.

14 Feb 2005

FDA approves medical laser for use in liposuction cosmetic surgery

Erchonia Medical has announced that their model Erchonia Neira 4L low-level laser is the first device of its kind to receive approval for use during liposuction by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

14 Feb 2005

Keeping a gun locked and unloaded lowers the risk of unintentional injuries

According to background information in the article, the presence of a household firearm is associated with an increased risk of suicide among adults and adolescents. In a study of suicide attempters and completers, investigators found that 75 percent of the guns were stored in the residence of the victim, friend, or relative.

9 Feb 2005

Parent methamphetamine abuse and child welfare in the rural midwest

In its destructive effect on rural families and their children, methamphetamine may be in a class of its own, based on the first study from an ongoing research project in seven Central Illinois counties, conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

7 Feb 2005

Nasogastric tube after abdominal surgery slows recovery

Routine use of a nasogastric tube after abdominal surgery, once thought to speed the return of normal intestinal functions, actually slows recovery, according to a new review of research.

24 Jan 2005

Use of anti-inflammatory steroids for traumatic head injuries may actually increase the risk of death

The common use of anti-inflammatory steroids for traumatic head injuries like those from car crashes may actually increase the risk of death, according to a new review of studies about the treatment.

24 Jan 2005

Early seizures after surgery for epilepsy predict more seizures

Current understanding of seizures in the weeks just after epilepsy surgery is that they are likely to be temporary, probably due to swelling or minor trauma suffered by the brain during the operation.

24 Jan 2005

Fracture jaw, lose consciousness and suffer less than if you don't black out?

Contrary to what might be expected, people who sustain a jaw fracture and lose consciousness actually tend to have milder bone injuries than those who do not black out from a trauma to the jaw, according to a study published in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

20 Jan 2005

Mobile surgical teams sped treatment of injured U.S. Marines and Iraqi patients

The use of new mobile surgical teams resulted in the faster treatment of injured U.S. Marines and Iraqi patients, according to an article in the January issue of Archives of Surgery.

17 Jan 2005

Smaller lymph nodes seen on abdominal CT scans in "healthy" people are not clinically significant

Smaller lymph nodes commonly seen on abdominal CT scans in "healthy" people are not clinically significant and require no further imaging, a new study confirms. The study was performed because there is no standard as to what should be done about these patients so they often undergo additional testing to rule out inflammation, cancer or other diseases.

9 Jan 2005

New genetic clues provide better understanding of epilepsy

Two specific areas in chromosome 7 and chromosome 16 have been associated with photosensitivity, an epilepsy-related trait, by a team of European scientists in the January issue of Human Molecular Genetics.

5 Jan 2005

Patient safety measures work at children’s hospitals

In recent years, children's hospitals have joined in the national push to improve patient safety and avoid preventable problems. But it has been hard to measure progress, because of uncertainty about whether standard patient safety measurement tools apply to their patients, who are younger, smaller and on average sicker than those at other hospitals.

4 Jan 2005

Minimally invasive surgery to alleviate the pain and pressure of sinusitis is a safe

Minimally invasive surgery to alleviate the pain and pressure of sinusitis is a safe, effective therapy for geriatric patients who can't be helped by medication alone, according to new research.

3 Jan 2005

UN Population Fund warns women, girls especially vulnerable

In the aftermath of devastating tsunamis that struck several South and South-East Asian countries on Sunday, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is calling on governments, sister United Nations agencies and other humanitarian partners to ensure that the special needs of women and girls are factored into all short- and medium-term relief planning.

28 Dec 2004

New gel promotes healing by gluing bone pieces together

A new material that fuses biological and synthetic substances at the molecular level speeds bone and cartilage repair. Its creators at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology say laboratory studies have shown the new gel promotes healing by gluing bone pieces together and stimulating tissue development.

26 Dec 2004

Confusion over Lasik eye surgery terminology

The Eye Surgery Education Council of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery Foundation today issued a clarification on the use of the terms "wavefront-guided," and "wavefront-optimized" in connection with laser-based procedures (LASIK, PRK, etc.) and implantable lenses used for vision correction purposes.

20 Dec 2004