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Researchers receive $14 million grant to study the effectiveness of hydrocephalus treatment

Patients diagnosed with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH), a type of brain swelling most commonly seen in older adults — and for which the underlying cause is unknown — are typically treated by surgically installing a shunt (drain) to remove the excess fluid associated with the condition.

26 Aug 2021

Deletion of an embryonic gene in liver cells completely wipes out bile ducts of newborn mice

Scientists from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine described a new phenomenon in which the deletion of a single gene involved in liver embryogenesis completely wipes out bile ducts of newborn mice.

6 Jul 2021

Atrial fenestration during atrioventricular septal defect repair is linked to higher mortality rate

A new study, presented today at the AATS 101st Annual Meeting, shows an association between decreased survival at five years and leaving an atrial communication at biventricular repair of unbalanced AVSD after adjusting for other known risk factors.

3 May 2021

FDA permits marketing of new device to protect athletes from harmful effects of head impacts

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized marketing of a new device intended to be worn around the neck of athletes aged 13 years and older during sports activities to aid in the protection of the brain from the effects associated with repetitive sub-concussive head impacts.

26 Feb 2021

Researchers elucidate mechanism by which blood and lymph vessels remain separated

Researchers from Kumamoto University (Japan) have clarified the mechanism by which blood and lymph vessels remain segregated from one another after development.

6 Feb 2021

Study pinpoints heating element in vaping devices as cause for lung injuries

Early results of an experimental vaping study have shown significant lung injury from E-cigarette (eC) devices with nickel-chromium alloy heating elements.

28 Sep 2020

Surgical technique for premature babies with brain hemorrhage reduces long-term disability

Premature babies with serious brain hemorrhage treated with a 'brain washing' technique pioneered by Bristol researchers have shown in a 10-year follow-up study, were twice as likely to survive without severe learning disability when compared with infants given standard treatment.

6 Jul 2020

Ghost bill: UVA siphons couple’s tax refund to pay 20-year-old medical debt

The notice from the Virginia tax department puzzled a Charlottesville couple last October. It said their state income tax refund had been reduced because of an outstanding medical debt to the University of Virginia Medical Center. Instead of $220, they got $110.

24 Jun 2020

First independent test of proposed subphenotypes of COVID-19-related ARDS

In a new paper published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society, researchers have been unable to produce two theorized subphenotypes of COVID-19 related acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

27 May 2020

Early surgery improves outcome and survival in patients with hydrocephalus

Early surgery improved both outcome and survival in patients with the neurological condition hydrocephalus, while mortality was higher in those who had to wait, according to a thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

26 May 2020

Spina bifida surgery before birth more effective at healing neurological structure

Surgery performed on a fetus in the womb to repair defects from spina bifida triggers the body's ability to restore normal brain structure, Mayo Clinic research discovered.

1 Apr 2020

Research could provide more effective way to treat brain swelling after stroke

Cases of potentially deadly brain damage as a result of stroke could be reduced after new research identified a pathway in the brain that causes swelling, and which responds to an innovative treatment.

2 Mar 2020

Study: Benefits of fetal surgery to repair spina bifida continue through school age

The benefits of fetal surgery to repair spina bifida, a procedure pioneered at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) in 1997, continue through school age, a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study reports today in the journal Pediatrics.

24 Jan 2020

Fetal surgery for spina bifida makes a huge difference 10 years later

A new study published in the journal Pediatrics shows that children with spina bifida, a congenital spinal disorder, who had corrective surgery in the womb, show significantly more benefit than those whose operations were performed after birth, even a decade later. These children have more of a chance to walk by themselves and a lower risk of needing more surgeries, compared to those whose condition is corrected only after birth.

23 Jan 2020

Hyperfine joins with Penn Medicine to assess new device for imaging hydrocephalus patients

Hyperfine Research Inc. has joined with Penn Medicine in a clinical research study of the world's first portable, low-cost magnetic resonance imaging system. This collaboration will examine the efficacy of the Hyperfine device in the care of patients with hydrocephalus.

2 Dec 2019

Study: Many patients treated for iNPH also develop Alzheimer’s disease

Up to one in five patients treated for idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus, iNPH, also develop Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study from the University of Eastern Finland and Kuopio University Hospital.

15 Nov 2019

Researchers obtain 3D structural snapshots of key regulator of cell biology

Some of the greatest insights into cancer and how to treat it come when basic scientists and cancer biologists and clinicians collaborate.

17 Oct 2019

Prompt treatment can lead to improved outcomes for babies with hydrocephalus caused by toxoplasmosis

Babies born with toxoplasmosis, which is caused by a congenital parasitic infection, can develop hydrocephalus, a condition where excess fluid creates damaging pressure in the brain.

4 Oct 2019

Antibiotic-impregnated shunt could prevent hydrocephalus infections, save millions

A new study reported that using shunt tubing impregnated with two common antibiotics is effective in preventing infection after brain surgery to relieve hydrocephalus. This simple but highly effective practice could save millions of pounds, prevent devastating brain damage, and shorten hospital stay and antibiotic use duration.

13 Sep 2019

Less-invasive options are slowing disease progression in glaucoma patients

Judith Smith, now 71, was at a routine appointment several years ago with her longtime ophthalmologist when the doctor made a comment that her right eye looked a little suspicious for glaucoma, an incurable disease that occurs when the optic nerve is damaged by pressure building inside the eye.

17 Aug 2018