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Cigarette smokers treated for brain aneurysm with coil embolization at higher risk of recurrence

Cigarette smokers who were treated for cerebral aneurysms with coil embolization (blocking of a blood vessel) are at greater risk of developing another aneurysm, say neurological surgeons at Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience in Philadelphia in the first-known study of its kind.

24 Mar 2008

Youngest patient worldwide to have auditory implant in the brain stem

A team of ear, nose and throat specialists and neurosurgeons at the University Hospital of Navarra, led by doctors Manuel Manrique Rodríguez, specialist in ear, nose and throat surgery and Bartolomé Bejarano Herruzo, specialist in paediatric neurosurgery, have successfully operated on a 13 month-old girl from Murcia, who had been born deaf due to the lack of auditory nerves.

27 Feb 2008

Researchers engineer first system of human nerve-cell tissue

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have demonstrated that living human nerve cells can be engineered into a network that could one day be used for transplants to repair damaged to the nervous system.

27 Feb 2008

New devices less effective in thwarting brain aneurysm recurrence

A retrospective analysis of 100 patients suffering from a ruptured brain aneurysm has found that expensive new coiling devices are no more effective than bare platinum coils at preventing aneurysms from recurring.

22 Feb 2008

Human stem cells aid stroke recovery in rats

Neural cells derived from human embryonic stem cells helped repair stroke-related damage in the brains of rats and led to improvements in their physical abilities, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

20 Feb 2008

Epidemic of pain addressed by leading physicians

The public health problem that needs to be addressed next is the epidemic of pain, according to pain medicine physicians who have come together to discuss the latest in pain research and treatment at the 24th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM), February 12-16 at the Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee (Orlando), Florida.

17 Feb 2008

Gene expression in meningiomas may vary by hormone receptor status

An association between hormones and meningioma has long been postulated, but the specific nature of this relationship has remained unclear.

4 Feb 2008

Deep brain stimulation may improve memory

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery, which is used to treat Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders, is now being studied for its potential to treat a variety of conditions.

4 Feb 2008

New liquid treatment for wide-neck brain aneurysm tested at Jefferson Hospital

Neurological surgeons at Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience are among the first surgeons in the United States using an FDA-approved liquid system for treating wide-necked brain aneurysms, which could eventually replace current treatments.

4 Feb 2008

Auditory neurons in humans far more sensitive to fine sound frequencies than most mammals

The human ear is exquisitely tuned to discern different sound frequencies, whether such tones are high or low, near or far.

11 Jan 2008

FDA approves Hi-Flex mobile bearing knee prostheses

Mitchell Sheinkop, M.D., will be the first in the U.S. to surgically implant the just-approved Nex Gen LPS-Flex mobile bearing knee on February 20, 2008 at the Neurologic and Orthopedic Hospital of Chicago.

3 Jan 2008

Cancer stem cells may be at the root of brain tumors

Stem cells -- popularly known as a source of biological rejuvenation -- may play harmful roles in the body, specifically in the growth and spread of cancer. Amongst the wildly dividing cells of a tumor, scientists have located cancer stem cells.

27 Dec 2007

Researchers initiate gene therapy trial in patients with advanced skin cancer

Researchers at the Ireland Cancer Center of University Hospitals Case Medical Center are the first in the region to have joined a nationwide clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a gene therapy in patients with advanced melanoma which is aimed to help a patient ' s own immune system fight their cancer.

18 Dec 2007

Time to remove the stigma associated with incontinence

An independent panel convened this week by the NIH found that fewer than half of individuals experiencing fecal or urinary incontinence - the inability to control bowel movements or urination, respectively - report their symptoms to healthcare providers without being prompted.

13 Dec 2007

Hundreds of strokes avoidable, says study

Hundreds of strokes could be prevented each year if patients suffering 'mini strokes', known as transient ischaemic attacks or TIAs, were assessed sooner by specialist clinicians.

From The University of Manchester 22 Nov 2007

X-stop procedure helps relieve pain as a result of spinal stenosis

A new minimally invasive procedure is hitting its mark with certain types of low back and leg pain sufferers, significantly reducing their pain and disability.

20 Nov 2007

Use of intraoperative MRI adds time but care-changing information to neurosurgery, study shows

Although the use of intraoperative MRI can add time to surgical procedures, it can help surgeons detect residual disease and, if needed, modify their plan for surgery while the patient is on the operating room table, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University Hospitals of Cleveland/Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD.

20 Nov 2007

Life-threatening gene defect related to thoracic aortic disease discovered

A research team led by scientists at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston has identified a defective gene that affects vascular smooth-muscle cells in people who suffer from hereditary thoracic aortic disease, which can kill victims with little warning in the prime of their lives.

13 Nov 2007

Revolutionary surgical procedure for a type of decapitation

A revolutionary surgical procedure by a professor of neurosurgery at the University of Mississippi Medical Center has helped restore almost complete function to a patient who suffered a virtual decapitation.

6 Nov 2007

New brain cells listen before they talk

Newly created neurons in adults rely on signals from distant brain regions to regulate their maturation and survival before they can communicate with existing neighboring cells - a finding that has important implications for the use of adult neural stem cells to replace brain cells lost by trauma or neurodegeneration, Yale School of Medicine researchers report in The Journal of Neuroscience.

31 Oct 2007