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Potentially dangerous needlestick injuries often go unreported

Medical students are commonly stuck by needles - putting them at risk of contracting potentially dangerous blood-borne diseases - and many of them fail to report the injuries to hospital authorities, according to a Johns Hopkins study published in the December issue of the journal Academic Medicine.

26 Nov 2009

Foot ulcers: One of the many challenges of diabetics

Diabetics face many health challenges, and among them is the risk of developing foot ulcers.

25 Nov 2009

Health reform financing ideas watered down, questions remain on premiums, taxes

The New York Times reports that while the Senate health bill "includes nearly every big idea that health economists and medical researchers have for slowing cost growth — as well as for improving the patchwork quality of American health care, ... many of the ideas, like the rule on Medicare reimbursement, have been at least partly neutered. A provision to punish hospitals for infecting their patients, for example, would cut payments for the related treatments by a mere 1 percent.

25 Nov 2009

UGR researchers provide early diagnosis of ARMD and keratitis

Researchers from the UGR have provided an early diagnosis of certain ocular diseases that are very common today, such as age-related macular degeneration and keratitis, by applying an existing optical technique that, nevertheless, had never before been used for this purpose.

25 Nov 2009

MAQUET Cardiovascular signs a two-year contract with Novation

MAQUET Cardiovascular LLC, a leading provider of cardiovascular technologies, announced today that it has signed a guaranteed two-year contract with Novation, one of the nation's largest group purchasing organizations, to be the sole source provider of surgical devices for beating heart cardiac surgery.

25 Nov 2009

GeckoSystems learns new insights during home care robot trials

GeckoSystems Intl. Corp. (http://www.geckosystems.com/) announced today that during their first week of real world evaluation trials, for their fully autonomous personal companion home care robot, the CareBot™, they have learned some surprising and some, not surprising, insights.

25 Nov 2009

'Suicide gene E' reduces potent drug dosage in cancer patients

Researchers at the University of Granada have found a suicide gene, called 'gene E', which leads to the death of tumour cells derived from breast, lung and colon cancer, and prevents their growth. The importance of this new gene is that its use to fight cancer can reduce the potent drugs that are currently used, so that could mean more effective treatment for cancer.

25 Nov 2009

EGS announces closure of $21.5 million Series E financing

EndoGastric Solutions (EGS) today announced the closing of a $21.5 Million Series E financing. The funding will be used to support an expanding commercial presence for the company’s market-leading Natural Orifice Surgery (NOS) platform, which includes the EsophyX and StomaphyX surgical devices.

25 Nov 2009

Tulane University surgeon performs a new form of endoscopic surgery

Tulane University School of Medicine surgeon Dr. Emad Kandil is one of the first in the country to perform a new form of endoscopic surgery that uses a small incision under the arm to remove all or a portion of the thyroid or parathyroid glands without leaving a scar on the neck.

25 Nov 2009

Exercise and education program reduces disability and improves physical function after back surgery

Patients who have undergone a single-level lumbar microdiskectomy for lumbar disk herniation experienced significant improvement in physical function following an intensive, progressive physical therapist guided exercise and education program, according to a research report published in the November issue of Physical Therapy (PTJ), the scientific journal of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA).

25 Nov 2009

Researchers develop new device to detect skin cancer

Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev are developing a new device that detects cancerous skin tumors, including melanomas that aren't visible to the naked eye.

25 Nov 2009

New biodegradable drug-eluting fibers advance stent technology and brain surgery

Stents that keep weakened and flabby arteries from collapsing have been true life-savers. But after six months, those stents are no longer needed -- once the arteries are strengthened, they become unnecessary. Previously, doctors had no choice but to leave them in place.

25 Nov 2009

Canadians with chronic neck and back pain now have access to top spinal care

Canadians suffering from chronic and severe neck and back pain now have access to the top spinal care available. Spinal heath expert, Dr. Ron Nusbaum, has launched Back Clinics of Canada, a state-of-the-art facility that focuses on educating patients on the importance of spinal health and offering cutting-edge care that can bring an end to back pain.

25 Nov 2009

BK Medical, MedAssets Supply Chain Systems sign new product agreement

BK Medical, an innovative leader in medical ultrasound and a wholly owned subsidiary of Analogic Corporation (NASDAQ:ALOG), has signed a new three-year product-line agreement with MedAssets Supply Chain Systems.

25 Nov 2009

LRI awards $3.6 million grants to drive innovative science in lupus and related diseases

The Lupus Research Institute (LRI) today named 12 new grant recipients for 2009. The awards, totaling $3.6 million, recognize innovative work across a broad spectrum of lupus research. All were selected for their creativity, novelty, and potential to drive scientific discovery to ultimately prevent, treat, and cure the complex disease of systemic lupus.

24 Nov 2009

$Current, older generation is more prone to hip and pelvic fractures$

Current, older generation is more prone to hip and pelvic fractures

Stover and his partner, Dr. Hobie Summers, use leading edge technologies to treat serious and sometimes life-threatening orthopedic conditions such as pelvic fractures, broken legs, foot and ankle injuries and dislocations. They also treat patients who have experienced multiple traumatic injuries.

24 Nov 2009

Medical advances abound while surgeons report concerns about medical errors

The Wall Street Journal reports on "20 health-care advances to give thanks for this Thanksgiving." Among the most key: "Life expectancy in the U.S. reached an all-time high of 77.9 years in 2007, the latest year for which statistics are available, continuing a long upward trend. (That's 75.3 years for men and 80.4 years for women.) ... Death rates dropped significantly for eight of the 15 leading causes of death in the U.S., including cancer, heart disease, stroke, hypertension, accidents, diabetes, homicides and pneumonia, from 2006 to 2007."

24 Nov 2009

CytRx to initiate a multinational Phase 2 clinical trial of its doxorubicin prodrug

CytRx Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, today announced plans to initiate a multinational Phase 2 clinical trial with its doxorubicin prodrug INNO-206 as a treatment for patients with advanced soft tissue sarcomas who have failed surgery and radiation. Soft tissue sarcomas are cancers that are formed in the muscle, fat, fibrous tissue, blood vessels or other supporting tissue of the body.

24 Nov 2009

Studies demonstrate clinical utility of Given Imaging's PillCam SB capsule endoscopy

Given Imaging Ltd., the global leader in patient-friendly GI diagnostic and monitoring solutions, today announced three new studies that demonstrate the clinical utility of PillCam SB capsule endoscopy in providing physicians with critical information on how they manage and/or diagnose intestinal disorders. These novel studies were carried out in pediatric patients with gastrointestinal symptoms, including children with known or suspected Crohn's disease.

24 Nov 2009