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Stem cells from hair follicles may help 'grow' new blood vessels

For a rich source of stem cells to be engineered into new blood vessels or skin tissue, clinicians may one day look no further than the hair on their patients' heads, according to new research published earlier this month by University at Buffalo engineers.

31 Mar 2008

Carpal tunnel syndrome treatment

Do you feel numbness, burning pain or a tingling sensation in your hand or wrist that seems to increase at night; have difficulty holding objects without dropping them; or find it increasingly difficult to perform repetitive movements such as using your computer mouse or keyboard without pain?

31 Mar 2008

Mysterious fevers of unknown origin: Could surgery be a cure?

A child spikes a high fever, sometimes as high as 104 or 105 degrees, and sometimes causing seizures.

31 Mar 2008

Top neurosurgeon warns of brain cancer risk with mobile phones

One of Australia's leading neurosurgeons has warned about the heavy reliance on mobile phones in today's society.

31 Mar 2008

Townsville Hospital left minus a heart surgeon after surgeon quits

In a month that has seen Queensland Health appear to lurch from crisis to crisis a public hospital in north Queensland which services a large area has been left without a working cardiac surgeon.

31 Mar 2008

Study shows lifetime effects of pediatric liver transplants

Parents of pediatric liver transplant recipients report lower health-related quality of life for their children two years after the surgery, compared to reports from the parents of healthy children.

28 Mar 2008

Long-term use of mechanical ventilation contributes to the deterioration of human diaphragm muscle

A new study by University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine shows, for the first time in humans, that ventilators combined with diaphragm disuse contributes to muscle atrophy in the diaphragm in as little as eighteen hours.

28 Mar 2008

Uneven use of less-invasive breast cancer staging test reported

The use of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) during breast cancer surgery increased substantially from 1998 through 2005, according to an article published online March 25 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

26 Mar 2008

Discovery of important links between heart failure and complications during non-cardiac surgery

In the largest study of its kind in the U.S., researchers from Duke University have identified a possible "perfect storm" of factors pushing heart failure to the forefront of risks for complications after surgery in the elderly.

26 Mar 2008

Ankle sprain season - tips for prevention

March Madness awakens many amateur Michael Jordans from their winter hibernation, as milder weather beckons them to dribble down driveways and shoot three-pointers in the park.

26 Mar 2008

MRI's high false positive rate has little impact on women's choice of preventive mastectomy

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) falsely detects breast cancer in five out of every six positive scans according to new research into the use of MRI for women with a high, inherited risk of developing the disease.

26 Mar 2008

Australian blood expert calls for changes in the way blood is stored

A leading Australian haematologist is renewing his call for changes in the way blood is stored and used for transfusions.

25 Mar 2008

Groundbreaking surgery removes all abdominal organs to get at cancer

In groundbreaking surgery a patient has had all of the organs in the abdomen temporarily removed so surgeons could operate on a cancerous tumour.

25 Mar 2008

Australia's seniors to be moved out of hospitals

The Rudd government has promised funding to enable elderly patients to be moved out of high-care hospital wards.

25 Mar 2008

Height of pitcher's mound affects throwing motion, injury risk in baseball

A study involving several Major League Baseball pitchers indicates that the height of the pitcher's mound can affect the athlete's throwing arm motion, which may lead to potential injuries because of stress on the shoulder and elbow.

25 Mar 2008

New hope for children with bilateral Wilms tumors

Physicians at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have demonstrated that children with bilateral Wilms tumor, a cancer of the kidneys, can retain normal function in both kidneys by undergoing a procedure called bilateral nephron-sparing surgery, even when preoperative scans suggest that the tumors are inoperable.

25 Mar 2008

Research to lead to brain tumor therapies

Unique human in vitro model (cell culture) research currently underway at the Peninsula Medical School in the South West of England is set to identify and develop therapies for the treatment of multiple tumours in the brain.

25 Mar 2008

Mutant proteins could lead to new treatment for heart disease

Heart damage due to blocked arteries remains the leading cause of disease and death in the Western world, but a Florida State University College of Medicine researcher is helping to open new pathways toward treating the problem.

25 Mar 2008

MRI opens up promising new avenues for non-invasive diagnoses and classification of cancer

Doctors diagnose and prescribe treatment for brain tumors by studying, under a microscope, tumor tissue and cell samples obtained through invasive biopsy or surgery.

25 Mar 2008

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