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Amedica receive FDA clearance for multi-level cervical interbody cage indications

Amedica Corporation, a company that develops and commercializes silicon nitride ceramics as a biomaterial platform, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has expanded the indications of Amedica’s silicon nitride interbody fusion products to include multi-level cervical treatment.

4 Feb 2015

International researchers discover gene that causes familial scoliosis

The discovery of the first gene causing familial scoliosis was announced by an international France-Canada research team today. "Mystery surrounds the cause of scoliosis, which is a three dimensional deformation of the vertebral column. Many researchers have been attempting to uncover the origins of this disease, particularly from a genetic point of view," explained leading co-author Dr Florina Moldovan of the University of Montreal and the CHU Sainte Justine research hospital.

3 Feb 2015

Exploring better treatment for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) affects 2-3% of children aged between 10 and 16. It is more common in girls than in boys (with a ratio of 10-1). Besides the obvious physical signs derived from the visible spinal deformity, AIS can cause psychological and emotional problems (low self-esteem, poor self-image body, etc.) that significantly reduces patients' quality of life.

31 Jan 2015

Scientists reveal mechanism underlying cellular degeneration of upper motor neurons

For the first time, scientists have revealed a mechanism underlying the cellular degeneration of upper motor neurons, a small group of neurons in the brain recently shown to play a major role in ALS pathology.

31 Jan 2015

New eye-tracking device measures severity of concussion and brain injury

New research out of NYU Langone Medical Center could move the medical community one step closer toward effectively detecting concussion and quantifying its severity.

29 Jan 2015

DePuy Synthes Spine receives 510(k) clearance to market SYNAPSE OCT System with posterior cervical screws

DePuy Synthes Spine today announced it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its SYNAPSETM Occipital-Cervical-Thoracic (OCT) System with posterior cervical screws, the first time cervical screws have been indicated for use with a screw-rod posterior fixation system.

29 Jan 2015

Childbearing women who take painkillers may face increased risk of birth defects

More than one-fourth of privately-insured and one-third of Medicaid-enrolled women of childbearing age filled prescriptions for opioid-based (narcotic) painkillers between 2008 and 2012, according to a new analysis published today by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

23 Jan 2015

K2M obtains FDA approval to market MESA 2 Deformity Spinal System

K2M Group Holdings, Inc., a global medical device company focused on designing, developing and commercializing innovative and proprietary complex spine technologies, techniques and minimally invasive procedures, today announced it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market the MESA 2 Deformity Spinal System.

22 Jan 2015

St. Mary's wins Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence for second consecutive year

Dignity Health St. Mary's Medical Center has received the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™ from Healthgrades, the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals. This is the second consecutive year St. Mary's has received this award, which recognizes St. Mary's as among the top five percent of more than 4,500 hospitals nationwide for clinical performance.

21 Jan 2015

St. Luke’s offers Frameless Stereotactic Radiosurgery for treatment of brain tumors

Some treatments for brain and spine tumors traditionally have involved restraining a patient with a heavy immobilization device and pins that pierce the skin and embed into the skull to ensure the accuracy and precision of a treatment. Doctors say the pins can add considerable anxiety.

20 Jan 2015

Report: Folic acid saves babies from neural tube defects

Fortifying grain foods with the B vitamin folic acid has saved about 1,300 babies every year from being born with serious birth defects of the brain and spine known as neural tube defects (NTDs), according to new data published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its publication Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

16 Jan 2015

Valorem Surgical reports FDA approval and first utilization of MaxiMIS Spinal Fixation System

Valorem Surgical, an early stage medical device company with a platform on surgically treating spinal pathologies through a minimally invasive (MIS) approach, today announced that the Company has received FDA clearance and its first case utilizing its minimally invasive MaxiMIS Spinal Fixation System, performed by board-certified, neurosurgeon, Dr. Jae Lim in Reston, VA.

13 Jan 2015

MTF Wound Care division inks group purchasing deal with Premier

The Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation Wound Care division announced today that it has signed a group purchasing agreement with Premier, Inc., a leading healthcare improvement company. The agreement offers Premier alliance members access to MTF Wound Care's innovative line of biologic tissue forms.

8 Jan 2015

Amedica's CASCADE data shows silicon nitride spacers are comparable to hollow-body PEEK spacers

Amedica Corporation, a biomaterial company that develops and commercializes silicon nitride ceramics, today released the results of its CASCADE study, a blinded, randomized clinical trial that compared outcomes of spinal fusion surgery between its composite silicon nitride spacers manufactured with a central core of cancellous structured ceramic (CsC), to the gold standard, i.e., PEEK (polyether ether ketone plastic) spacers filled with bone autograft.

6 Jan 2015

New treatment approach may improve survival rates for certain patients with stage 4 lung cancer

A clinical trial that combined stereotactic body radiation therapy with a specific chemotherapy regimen more than doubled survival rates for certain stage 4 lung cancer patients, UT Southwestern Medical Center cancer researchers report.

2 Jan 2015

Comprehensive analysis of the global composites in orthopedic market

Composites in global orthopedic industry are expected to grow at an average rate of 8.1%. The US has highest consumption in terms of value and volume. Hip, knee and spine surgeries are the common orthopedic procedures in the developed world while in emerging economies they have a lower penetration.

24 Dec 2014

Treatment for stroke: Intra-arterial treatment more effective than standard medical care for clot removal

Study results released today in The New England Journal of Medicine gave the world of stroke care more evidence that physicians are winning the battle against this debilitating disease, which affects as many as one in six people.

23 Dec 2014

K2M completes first surgical case using innovative corpectomy cage system

K2M Group Holdings, Inc., a global medical device company focused on designing, developing and commercializing innovative and proprietary complex spine technologies, techniques and minimally invasive procedures, today announced the completion of the first surgical case using the Company's CAPRI™ Corpectomy Cage System, an expandable vertebral body replacement device that provides structural stability following a corpectomy or vertebrectomy.

23 Dec 2014

Bio2 Technologies' CLM Bioactive Scaffold receives FDA clearance

Bio2 Technologies, Inc. (a privately held development stage company) announced today that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its CLM Bioactive Scaffold.

19 Dec 2014

AAN urges for more research on use of medical marijuana for brain, nervous system disorders

The American Academy of Neurology is calling for more research on the use of medical marijuana for brain, spine and nervous system disorders in a new position statement released by the AAN, the world's largest association of neurologists with more than 28,000 members.

18 Dec 2014