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FDA grants clearance for HPβCD treatment for Niemann Pick Type C disease

Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted clearance of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to introduce Trappsol Cyclo (Hydroxypropyl Beta Cyclodextrin or HPβCD) into the brains of six year old identical twin girls dying of a rare brain-destroying cholesterol disease called Niemann Pick Type C (NPC).

24 Sep 2010

Revolutionary technology 'cooks' brain tumor

University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center is offering new hope for patients with inoperable brain tumors or lesions previously diagnosed as untreatable through a revolutionary technology called AutoLITT which "cooks" brain tumors with an MRI-guided laser. UH becomes one of only three medical centers in the world offering AutoLITT as part of its arsenal in the fight against cancer. It is especially effective in treating glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive and difficult-to-treat brain cancers.

23 Sep 2010

First intestine transplant in Michigan performed on 50-year-old Port Austin patient

The first intestine (bowel) transplant in Michigan was performed on a 50-year-old patient from Port Austin by physicians at Henry Ford Hospital.

23 Sep 2010

Deep brain stimulation improves OCD symptoms, promotes smoking cessation and weight loss

Electrical stimulation of the brain in a patient with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) led to some unanticipated benefits—"effortless" smoking cessation and weight loss, according to a case report in the September issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

22 Sep 2010

Haskell completes St. John Broken Arrow Hospital

The Haskell Company announces it has completed construction on St. John Broken Arrow Hospital and its accompanying medical office building and medical campus in Broken Arrow, Okla., marking the largest design/build health care project in the company’s 45-year history.

21 Sep 2010

Crestor suppressed human cancer cells transplanted to mice

A drug commonly prescribed for people with high cholesterol may also be effective in treating prostate cancer, according to new research by Dr. Xiao-Yan Wen at St. Michael's Hospital.

20 Sep 2010

Environmental factors are cause of subarachnoid haemorrhage in most cases

The Nordic twin study investigating the heritability of subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) suggests that the role of genetic factors underlying the development of SAH is less than previously believed.

20 Sep 2010

Integra LifeSciences launches new line of Ruggles kerrison rongeurs for neuro and spine surgeries

Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation announced the introduction of a new line of extended length and "detachable" Ruggles™kerrison rongeurs, which are key instruments used in a variety of neuro and spine surgeries.

15 Sep 2010

Study on spinal cord stem cells paves way for post stroke symptom treatment

Neuralstem, Inc. announced that its spinal cord stem cells survived in rat brains affected by stroke and differentiated predominantly into neurons. The transplanted animals showed significant improvement in some motor skill and strength measurements. The study entitled, "Intracerebral Implantation of Adherent Human Neural Stem Cells To Reverse Motor Deficits in Chronic Stroke Rats," was presented earlier today by senior study author, Dr. Shinn-Zong Lin, M.D., Ph.D., at the Stem Cells USA & Regenerative Medicine Conference

15 Sep 2010

New 'Therapeutic Hypothermia and Temperature Management' journal

Therapeutic Hypothermia and Temperature Management, a new quarterly peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers, covers all aspects of hypothermia and temperature considerations relevant to this exciting field, including its application in cardiac arrest, spinal cord and traumatic brain injury, stroke, myocardial ischemia, neurogenic fever, emergency medicine, ICU management, anesthesiology, pediatrics, and much more.

14 Sep 2010

TransOral Robotic Surgery removes head and neck cancer tumors, while preserving speech

An incisionless robotic surgical procedure is offering patients a new option to remove certain head and neck cancer tumors without visible scarring, while preserving speech and the ability to eat.

8 Sep 2010

Researchers decode words from brain signals in paralyzed people

In an early step toward letting severely paralyzed people speak with their thoughts, University of Utah researchers translated brain signals into words using two grids of 16 microelectrodes implanted beneath the skull but atop the brain. "We have been able to decode spoken words using only signals from the brain with a device that has promise for long-term use in paralyzed patients who cannot now speak," says Bradley Greger, an assistant professor of bioengineering.

7 Sep 2010

Researchers find link between surgery duration with deep venous thrombosis risk

One of the most severe complications of brain surgery is a life-threatening blood clot in the lungs called a pulmonary embolism.But a Loyola University Health System study published in the Journal of Neurosurgery suggests that screening methods hospitals typically use to access the risk of pulmonary embolisms may fall short.

3 Sep 2010

ISWG researchers establish guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of infantile spasms

Researchers from across the U.S., as part of the Infantile Spasms Working Group (ISWG), established guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of infantile spasms (IS). The goal of the ISWG is to improve patient outcomes by creating protocols that educate pediatricians on early diagnosis and treatment options. Full details of this study appear online in Epilepsia, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the International League Against Epilepsy.

3 Sep 2010

CIHR announces recommendations on multiple sclerosis research priorities

On Thursday, August 26, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), in collaboration with the MS Society of Canada, convened a meeting of leading North American experts in multiple sclerosis (MS) to identify research priorities for Canada in this area.

2 Sep 2010

TBSI Neuroscience Symposium to discuss traumatic brain injury

Brazos Valley residents, neuroscience researchers, and interested clinicians will each have opportunities to hear from nationally recognized clinicians and researchers on the topic of Traumatic Brain Injury during the Texas Brain and Spine Institute's Fourth Annual Neuroscience Symposium on September 10, 2010.

2 Sep 2010

AMS enters 10-year contract to supply radiation therapy services at Hospital Santa Paula, Brazil

AMERICAN SHARED HOSPITAL SERVICES, a leading provider of turnkey technology solutions for advanced radiosurgical and radiation therapy services, announced today that it has entered into a ten-year contract to supply radiation therapy services at Hospital Santa Paula (HSP) in São Paulo, Brazil. AMS will place an advanced technology linear accelerator with IMRT capabilities at HSP, and is expected to begin treating patients in early 2012 in conjunction with the expected completion of a new comprehensive cancer center to be built by the hospital.

30 Aug 2010

Scientists identify genetic basis to determine severity of allergic asthma in experimental models

Scientists have identified a genetic basis for determining the severity of allergic asthma in experimental models of the disease.The study may help in the search for future therapeutic strategies to fight a growing medical problem that currently lacks effective treatments, researchers from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center report in the Aug. 29 Nature Immunology.

30 Aug 2010

Transcatheter heart valve replacement recipient celebrates 102nd birthday

When Doris Snyder celebrated her 102nd birthday on August 10, she was that much closer to the expected birth of her first great-granddaughter who's due to arrive early September. She is very excited about the milestone, which might not have been possible were it not for a cutting-edge, experimental procedure that replaced one of Doris' heart valves weeks earlier when she was 101. The valve had been rendered useless by aortic valve stenosis—hardening from calcium deposits that restrict the flow of blood from the heart.

27 Aug 2010

World's tallest man undergoes Gamma Knife surgery

Much of Sultan Kosen's eight feet, two-inch stature rose up in an 17-year period starting at age 10, when the benign tumor in his brain's pituitary gland highjacked the organ, causing it to secrete massive amounts of growth hormone, making Mr. Kosen's body grow fast and grow without ceasing. He will need to wait several months to find out if his Gamma Knife® surgery last Thursday at the University of Virginia (UVA, Charlottesville, Va.) has inactivated the tumor and he has reached his final height, but his physicians are optimistic.

27 Aug 2010