Catheter News and Research

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In medicine, a catheter is a tube that can be inserted into a body cavity, duct, or vessel. Catheters . In most uses, a catheter is a thin, flexible tube ("soft" catheter), though in some uses, it is a larger, solid ("hard") catheter. A catheter left inside the body, either temporarily or permanently, may be referred to as an indwelling catheter. A permanently inserted catheter may be referred to as a permcath.

Sclerosants in microfoam are the treatment of choice for ulcers of varicose origin

The study brings together the results of more than ten years of monitoring 116 patients affected by varicose ulcers being treated in Granada, Pamplona and Madrid. On comparing these with data from other novel therapies

16 Sep 2004

Therapeutic hypothermia improves the chances of recovery among those who suffer from cardiac arrest

Lowering the body’s temperature after a cardiac arrest dramatically increases the chances for surviving and improves the neurological outcome.

10 Sep 2004

Gene therapy holds much promise for treating aggressive human superficial bladder cancer

Gene therapy that causes the bladder to act like a “bioreactor” to produce and secrete the anti-cancer agent interferon-alpha has shown dramatic benefits in preclinical tests, say researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

8 Sep 2004

Parents and siblings of infants born with severe abnormalities of the left side of the heart should also be screened for heart problems

Brothers and sisters as well as parents of infants born with severe, life-threatening abnormalities of the left side of the heart should be screened for less severe, but related, heart problems, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

7 Sep 2004

FDA approves stent that treats blockages in the main blood vessel leading to the brain

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a stent for use in opening blocked arteries in the neck. The new stent is intended to prevent stroke by treating blockages in the carotid artery, the main blood vessel leading to the brain.

1 Sep 2004

Study suggests intramyocardial injection of cells from bone marrow might be an alternative for heart transplantation

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality around the world and patients with end-stage ischemic heart failure carry the highest morbid-mortality rate.

30 Aug 2004

Cinical trial to evaluate breakthrough breast cancer treatment

Virginia Commonwealth University’s Massey Cancer Center will host 20 medical experts from around the United States on Sept. 9 to prepare for a 3,000-patient phase III clinical trial that will evaluate a breakthrough breast cancer treatment.

30 Aug 2004

Clearing toxins in the brains of Alzheimer's patients can stave off future reductions in cognitive abilities

The ever-slowing capacity to clear the build-up of such toxins as isoprostanes and misfolded proteins that accumulate in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients causes the death of cells involved in memory and language.

23 Aug 2004

Corkscrew-like device that removes blood clots from the brains of stroke sufferers

The device "appears fairly safe and has the potential to make dramatic differences in stroke therapy," said Wayne Clark, M.D., professor of neurology and director of the Oregon Stroke Center.

18 Aug 2004

Catheter delivered devices may be just as effective as drug therapy in treating strokes of unidentified origin

A percutaneous catheter procedure to correct a heart abnormality caused by an open patent foramen ovale (PFO), a flap that should be closed in an adult heart, may be just as effective as drug therapy in treating patients who have had strokes of unidentified origin, perhaps caused by this condition.

18 Aug 2004

Blood vessel plug - amplatzer ductal occluder, performs well in trial

In the largest and longest trial yet of a device called the Amplatzer ductal occluder, a duct that shunts blood flow away from the lungs during fetal development but sometimes fails to close after birth, was successfully closed in almost all patients, according to a new study in the Aug. 4, 2004, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

5 Aug 2004

Smart drug that targets cancer cells in the brain following removal of a tumor

The use of a "smart" drug that targets cancer cells in the brain following removal of a tumor may provide treatment that can extend the survival of people with the most common form of primary malignant brain tumor, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

3 Aug 2004

Preliminary tests of the new method, which can detect cancer in a sample with as few as 50 cells

Finding cancer in a tiny drop of body fluid containing relatively few cells now may be possible with a new method of analyzing multiple genes in small samples of DNA, the cellular building blocks of our genetic code.

23 Jul 2004

Radial artery appears to be a safe alternative to femoral artery for catheter procedures

Instead of threading catheters from the femoral artery in the groin, cardiologists can safely use the radial artery in the arm to gain access to coronary arteries for angioplasty, stent placement, and other procedures

22 Jul 2004

Physician task force sets out knowledge criteria for clinicians who want to consider themselves experts in this growing field

New set of competency criteria for physicians who wish to practice vascular medicine and catheter-based peripheral vascular interventions.

17 Jul 2004

New type of cryogenic catheter

A U.S. clinical study is just getting under way that, if successful, could lead to a non-surgical "cure" for the most common type of cardiac arrhythmia. The study is evaluating a new type of cryogenic catheter co-developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

16 Jul 2004

Investigation of glue as an embolic agent

Although embolization has been used for over 20 years to treat trauma victims with massive bleeding and to control hemorrhage after childbirth instead of emergency hysterectomy, the investigation of glue as an embolic agent is new.

13 Jul 2004

Before a woman decides to undergo a hysterectomy she should find out about uterine fibroid embolization

Before a woman decides to undergo a hysterectomy she should carefully explore all of her options. Many of these conditions can be successfully treated with alternative methods and procedures.

1 Jul 2004

Innovative research to apply microwave energy to the treatment of potentially deadly heart rhythm disorders

Innovative research by UTS engineers to apply microwave energy to the treatment of potentially deadly heart rhythm disorders has received an important boost from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

30 Jun 2004

Repeating balloon angioplasty and/or stenting procedures in elderly patients add more than $700 million a year to Medicare expenses

Repeating balloon angioplasty and/or stenting procedures to open narrowed arteries in elderly patients may add more than $700 million a year to Medicare expenses, according to a report in today’s rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

29 Jun 2004