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Minimally invasive approach to removing diseased thyroids

An incision about half the length used for traditional surgery works just as well in removing diseased thyroids, researchers have found.

27 Jun 2005

Home test kits provide young women with a safe and effective means for protecting their sexual reproductive health

Researchers at Johns Hopkins say they have evidence that more than one-third of young women are willing and able to use a free, easily available home test kit to privately and accurately learn if they are infected with Chlamydia trachomatis, the most common sexually transmitted disease (STD) in this group.

8 Jun 2005

Stimulating innate immunity helps ease Crohn's disease symptoms

Like throwing oil on a fire or prescribing a high cholesterol diet for heart patients, gastroenterologists traditionally have believed that it would not be a good idea to stoke up the body's immune system to treat Crohn's disease.

26 May 2005

Researchers prevent post-traumatic brain damage using experimental drug

In animal studies, researchers from Georgetown University Medical Center have shown how traumatic brain injury leads to loss of brain function - and found that an experimental drug can stop the damage and promote recovery.

18 May 2005

Grapefruit have strong antioxidant properties that can have healing effects on stomach ulcers

Extracts of the popular diet item grapefruit have strong antioxidant properties that can have healing effects on stomach ulcers, according to a new study presented today at Digestive Disease Week 2005 (DDW).

17 May 2005

Stents coated in polytetrafluoroethylene help keep blood vessels open for cirrhosis patients

Stents coated in polytetrafluoroethylene, the same substance used in non-stick cooking utensils, improves their ability to keep blood vessels open in TIPS procedures, decreasing occurrences of relapse and avoiding intervention, say a group of researchers led by Vina C. Williams, MD, from Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands.

17 May 2005

Discovery reveals how stem cells can be used to help repair acute spinal cord damage

A treatment derived from human embryonic stem cells improves mobility in rats with spinal cord injuries, providing the first physical evidence that the therapeutic use of these cells can help restore motor skills lost from acute spinal cord tissue damage.

10 May 2005

Researchers have successfully induced adult heart-muscle cells to divide and multiply

In the best documented effort to date, researchers from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School have successfully induced adult heart-muscle cells to divide and multiply.

3 May 2005

Fickle enzyme helps protect, but also can promote heart failure

Enzymes that make the gas nitric oxide (NO) not only protect the heart from damage due to high blood pressure or a heart attack, but also promote heart failure through overgrowth and enlargement of the muscle tissue, say animal researchers at Johns Hopkins.

26 Apr 2005

More pressure to lift 13 year near-ban on silicone-gel breast implants

Hot on the heels of the FDA's rejection of Inamed's attempt to have its Silicone-gel breast implants re-instated, a second manufacturer Mentor has also tried to convince sceptical federal health advisers to the Food and Drug Administration to lift a 13-year near-ban on silicone-gel breast implants.

13 Apr 2005

Getting coronary bypass patients back on their feet sooner

Often after coronary bypass graft surgery, patients suffer more pain in their leg than any other part of the body. The pain is due to the harvesting of a healthy blood vessel from the leg to construct the bypass graft. Traditionally, the vein was removed with a long incision that may stretch from ankle to groin. Many patients may not be aware there is an alternative.

12 Apr 2005

FDA hearings on silicone breast implants

On April 11-13, the FDA's advisory panel on General and Plastic Surgery Devices will once again meet to review data on the safety of silicone breast implants. The panel will vote Tuesday on Inamed Corporation's application for approval, and on Wednesday on Mentor Corporation's application.

11 Apr 2005

Endovenous laser ablation is a safe and highly effective treatment for a common cause of varicose veins

Endovenous laser ablation is a safe and highly effective treatment for a common but under-recognized cause of varicose veins -- reflux in a variety of veins collectively referred to as non-great saphenous veins -- according to results of a study presented today at the 30th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society of Interventional Radiology.

4 Apr 2005

Stent graft outperforms balloon angioplasty

A large, multi-center trial of 190 patients shows a new nonsurgical interventional radiology technique can benefit the more than 287,000 kidney failure patients undergoing dialysis in the United States each year.

4 Apr 2005

Safe, effective, and reliable procedure for straightening of crooked nose

A surgical technique offers improved outcomes for straightening the middle third of the nose, a difficult to manage deformity, according to an article in the March issue of Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery.

22 Mar 2005

Drug eluting stents as effective as vascular brachytherapy in preventing restenosis

After angioplasty is performed to widen clogged arteries, surgeons frequently use tiny wire-mesh tubes called stents to keep blood vessels open. But despite stenting, scar tissue can form to create new blockages -- a process called in-stent restenosis (ISR).

7 Mar 2005

Live surgical webcast of a minimally invasive mitral valve repair procedure

NYU Medical Center's Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery will conduct a live surgical webcast on March 9th at 3 pm ET of a minimally invasive mitral valve repair procedure.

27 Feb 2005

Scientists have regenerated a damaged optic nerve

This achievement, which occurred in laboratory mice and is described in the March 1, 2005 issue of the Journal of Cell Science, holds great promise for victims of diseases that destroy the optic nerve, and for sufferers of central nervous system injuries.

24 Feb 2005

Painful surgical adhesions may be preventable by taking the COX-2 inhibitor Celebrex

Adhesions – bands of scar tissue that bind together two internal body surfaces – develop in 55 percent to more than 90 percent of patients undergoing surgery, depending on the type of operation. They are part of normal healing, but when surfaces fuse together that shouldn't, serious pain and complications can result.

26 Jan 2005

Distraction osteogenesis procedure may be a feasible and effective method to repair cleft palate in the future

Results from a Mayo Clinic laboratory study in animals suggest that using distraction osteogenesis, a procedure that uses the mechanical force of an appliance to lengthen soft tissue and bone, may be a feasible and effective method to repair cleft palate in the future.

24 Jan 2005