Fracture News and Research

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Circular external fixator enables over 90% of Charcot foot patients to walk normally again

The alarming increase of morbidly obese diabetics is causing more new cases of a debilitating foot deformity called Charcot foot.

14 Jul 2010

Hip and knee specialist indicates five primary reasons why knee implant fails

While most knee replacements will function well for years, patients should be aware of the signs of failure—including increased pain or decreased function—that may require a corrective procedure known as revision total knee replacement, if necessary.

12 Jul 2010

Semuloparin reduces incidence of VTE in orthopedic surgery patients, study finds

An ultra-low-molecular-weight heparin called semuloparin has been found to reduce the incidence of venous thromboembolism in orthopedic surgery patients in a large clinical program being lead by a steering committee chaired by McMaster University professor Dr. Alexander Turpie.

9 Jul 2010

Nearly 60% of Ontarians with rheumatoid arthritis fail to receive needed care from specialists: Study

Nearly 60 per cent of Ontarians with rheumatoid arthritis - an autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation of the joints - were not seen by a specialist within a one year period to treat the debilitating disease, according to a new study. Even more concerning is that women of child-bearing age are less likely to see a specialist than women 45 or older, say researchers from St. Michael's Hospital, the Institute for Clinical and Evaluative Sciences, and Women's College Hospital

7 Jul 2010

Crux Biomedical commences enrollment in Retrieve 2 pivotal U.S. IDE trial of new Vena Cava Filter

Crux Biomedical®Inc. announced today that it has successfully enrolled the first patient in its Retrieve 2 pivotal U.S. IDE trial. The trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of Crux's new Vena Cava Filter (VCF). The Crux VCF is a retrievable, implantable filter which is designed to trap blood clots that can lead to a potentially fatal pulmonary embolism (PE). It is the first VCF to be developed that is bidirectional and thus permits insertion or retrieval from either the femoral or jugular veins.

7 Jul 2010

WHO Fracture Risk Assessment Tool version 3.1 launched

The WHO Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX-) has today been launched in version 3.1., featuring eight new country models and accessible in six additional languages.

3 Jul 2010

Researchers report no increased rate of heart attack in patients taking rosiglitazone

The diabetes drug rosiglitazone has been under intense scrutiny since a 2007 study in the New England Journal of Medicine looked at more than 40 clinical trials and linked the drug's use with increased risk of heart attack and death from heart disease.

1 Jul 2010

EVISTA improves bone quality as measured by HRpQCT: IIT

Interim data from a prospective Investigator Initiated Trial presented today at the ECTS, the 37th European Symposium on Calcified Tissues, in Glasgow, demonstrates that EVISTA (raloxifene 60mg; once-daily, distributed in 34 countries by DAIICHI SANKYO), indicated for the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women, improves bone quality as measured by the high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography.

28 Jun 2010

WellPoint research leads to limits on use of Boniva; FDA spars with tobacco company

"WellPoint Inc. (WLP), the largest U.S. managed-care concern by membership, made it harder last year for its members to gain approval for use of the Boniva osteoporosis drug after internal research linked it to higher fracture rates, lower patient compliance and higher total costs of care than two other drugs, a WellPoint executive said Thursday," Dow Jones Newswires/The Wall Street Journal reports.

28 Jun 2010

$Repetitive impact on feet can increase risk of stress fractures$

Repetitive impact on feet can increase risk of stress fractures

Stress fractures of the foot are becoming more common in runners, especially first-time marathoners, according to the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons.

25 Jun 2010

Risk, incidence of VTE differs between races

A new study of 1,960 White-Americans and 368 Black-Americans with objectively diagnosed venous thromboembolism (VTE) showed that, compared to Whites, Blacks had a significantly higher proportion with pulmonary embolism (PE), including idiopathic PE among Black women, and a significantly higher proportion of Blacks with VTE were women (71% vs 61% for Whites) The study is published today in the American Journal of Hematology.

24 Jun 2010

First implantation of PyroTITAN Humeral Resurfacing Arthroplasty performed outside US in Australia

Ascension Orthopedics, Inc., a market leader in PyroCarbon orthopedic implants, announces the first implantation of the PyroTITAN™ Humeral Resurfacing Arthroplasty outside the United States. The PyroTITAN was implanted last month in Brisbane, Australia in a 46-year-old patient who reported "immediate pain relief" within 24 hours of surgery. The PyroTITAN Humeral Resurfacing implant is the first commercially-available shoulder arthroplasty prosthesis made of PyroCarbon in the world.

17 Jun 2010

Patients beginning therapy on popular osteoporosis drugs discontinue treatment within 6 months: Report

According to a recent analysis by SDI, a leading healthcare market insight and analytics firm, about half of patients beginning therapy on popular osteoporosis drugs discontinue their treatment within 6 months. Amgen's Prolia, which was recently approved for postmenopausal women with osteoporosis at high risk of fracture, or patients who could not tolerate other osteoporosis therapies, is the newest product to enter the market. Prolia differs from existing therapies as it is given every 6 months via injection.

14 Jun 2010

Cook Medical files for PMA of Zilver PTX Drug-Eluting Peripheral Stent with FDA

Cook Medical has submitted its Pre-Market Approval (PMA) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the company's unique polymer-free Zilver® PTX® Drug-Eluting Peripheral Stent. Intended for use in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in the superficial femoral artery (SFA), Zilver PTX is a self-expanding, highly durable nitinol stent that uses a proprietary, polymer-free technology to deliver a locally therapeutic dose of paclitaxel, an antiproliferative drug, to the target lesion.

11 Jun 2010

Some commonly used drugs cause bone loss: New research

New research helps to explain why some commonly used drugs come with a serious downside: They up your odds of breaking a bone. The drugs in question, glucocorticoids (e.g. cortisone and prednisone) and the insulin sensitizer rosiglitazone work through entirely different mechanisms as therapies for inflammatory diseases and diabetes respectively, and two studies in the June issue of Cell Metabolism now show that they lead to bone loss in different ways too.

9 Jun 2010

GTx reports positive results from toremifene Phase III clinical trial

GTx, Inc. announced today that in the Phase III clinical trial evaluating toremifene 80 mg for the reduction of fractures and treatment of other estrogen deficiency side effects in men with prostate cancer on androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), toremifene treatment demonstrated an improved benefit/risk ratio in men less than 80 years of age. The data were presented yesterday at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago.

8 Jun 2010

Phase 3 trial demonstrates superiority of Amgen's denosumab over Zometa in preventing SREs

Amgen today announced detailed results from a Phase 3, head-to-head trial which compared the efficacy and safety of denosumab versus Zometa® (zoledronic acid) in 1,901 patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer and bone metastases. The study met its primary and secondary endpoints and demonstrated denosumab's superiority over Zometa in delaying or preventing skeletal related events (SREs).

7 Jun 2010

Amedica secures US patent for novel hip implant

Amedica Corporation, a spinal and orthopaedic implant and instrument manufacturer focused on unique silicon nitride (SiN) ceramic technologies, announced today that it has been granted United States Patent No. 7,695,521 covering its novel hip implant featuring a monoblock ceramic acetabular cup for use in articulating joints for total joint replacement.

3 Jun 2010

$Smoking cessation for first 6-weeks after acute fracture surgery reduces risk of postoperative complications$

Smoking cessation for first 6-weeks after acute fracture surgery reduces risk of postoperative complications

Smokers who refrain from using tobacco during the six-week period following emergency surgery for an acute fracture heal more quickly and experience fewer complications than patients who continue to smoke during the healing process, according to a study published in the June 2010 issue of The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS).

2 Jun 2010

Medicare patients may face accessibility crisis to medical care

According to an article in the June issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS), Medicare patients - many who suffer from disabling arthritis of the hip and knee, among other age-related ailments - may end up facing an accessibility crisis to medical care.