Neurosurgery News and Research

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New device aimed at detecting glaucoma

The physician who revolutionized screening methods for glaucoma nearly 20 years ago has patented a new device aimed at detecting glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness.

10 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

Immunotherapy and chemotherapy combined, slows tumor progression and extends survival of patients with glioblastoma multiforme

Researchers at Cedars-Sinai's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute have found that the combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy significantly slowed tumor progression and extended survival of patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

17 Aug 2004

New treatment strategy for brain cancer

Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center researchers have found that combining ionizing radiation with a secreted protein that selectively inhibits tumor cell growth and survival can target cancer cells and leave healthy cells alone, perhaps presenting a new approach for treating the deadliest type of brain tumor.

9 Aug 2004

Physicians offer several promising and unique approaches to brain tumor treatment

An estimated 41,000 new cases of primary brain tumors are expected to be diagnosed in 2004, according to the American Brain Tumor Association.

5 Aug 2004

$Surgeons implant a new investigational neurostimulator in a patient with medically refractory epilepsy$

Surgeons implant a new investigational neurostimulator in a patient with medically refractory epilepsy

Neurosurgeons at Rush University Medical Center are the first in Chicago to implant a new investigational neurostimulator in a patient with medically refractory epilepsy.

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

Hormone previously identified in the venom of the green mamba snake may play role in stroke research

A Mayo Clinic research team is focusing on a hormone previously identified in the venom of the green mamba snake for the role it may play in a dangerous blood vessel narrowing in stroke patients that can lead to a second stroke, reduced blood flow and brain damage.

2 Aug 2004

Miniature spectroscopic instruments and software to look at changes that occur within the cells and tissue of the brain

When molecules in cells are stimulated by light, they respond by becoming excited and re-emitting light of varying colors (fluorescence) that can be captured and measured by highly sensitive optical equipment.

2 Aug 2004

Adenosine triphosphate is a culprit in causing the devastating damage of spinal cord injury

ATP - adenosine triphosphate, the vital energy source that keeps our body’s cells alive, runs amok at the site of a spinal cord injury, pouring into the area around the wound and killing the cells that normally allow us to move, scientists report in the cover story of the August issue of Nature Medicine.

29 Jul 2004

Transplanted cells are capable of surviving in the brain of immunosuppressed stroked rats

Human neural stem cells proprietary to StemCells, Inc. have been used in a Stanford University study in a preclinical stroke model.

29 Jul 2004

Several key findings from clinical trial of an investigational Alzheimer's disease treatment

Elan Corporation and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals have announced several key findings from their Phase IIa clinical trial of an investigational Alzheimer's disease (AD) treatment, AN-1792, which were presented in Philadelphia at the 9th International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders.

22 Jul 2004

Research that directs cancer-killing immune cells against the deadliest brain tumors shows promise

Researchers seeking to direct cancer-killing immune cells against the deadliest brain tumors have three new targets that show promise in laboratory studies and in a Phase I patient trial, according to two articles in the July 15 issue of the journal Cancer Research.

15 Jul 2004

Dietary niacin may protect against the development of Alzheimer's disease

Dietary niacin (vitamin B3 ) may protect against the development of Alzheimer's disease and the cognitive decline associated with ageing in older people, suggests research in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

15 Jul 2004

Best hospital in America

For the 14th consecutive year, The Johns Hopkins Hospital has topped U.S. News & World Report's rankings of American hospitals.

2 Jul 2004

Cooling method to treat brain aneurysms

Patients who undergo brain surgery to treat aneurysms are at risk for permanent brain damage, but a protective cooling system is now being tested at Rush University Medical Center to reduce or eliminate this risk.

21 Jun 2004

Aggressive treatment of brain blood clots can produce a good outcome for many stroke patients

In the study, published in a recent issue of the journal Neurosurgery, 50 percent of stroke patients had little or no neurological disability one to three months after clot-dissolving medication was delivered directly to the site of the blockages, compared to 39 percent of patients with similarly good outcomes documented in a large national trial of intravenous (IV) drug treatment for stroke.

21 Jun 2004

Soil-borne disease called allergic fungal sinusitis is on the rise

The bad news this summer is that a destructive, soil-borne disease called allergic fungal sinusitis (AFS) is on the rise -- at least according to the up tick in cases referred to specialist Steven Schaefer, MD, chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary.

16 Jun 2004

Assessment of spinal cord stimulator in treatment of chronic pain

A neurosurgeon at the University of Illinois at Chicago is assessing how well an implanted electronic device that stimulates nerve fibers in the spinal cord relieves chronic pain.

7 Jun 2004

Exercise can help brain healing process

Exercise can stimulate injured neurons to regenerate their axons, which are the primary transmission lines of the nervous system, according to a study published June 1 in the print edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and the last week of May in the early online edition.

2 Jun 2004