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Large scale study shows success of epilepsy surgery

In one of the largest epilepsy surgery studies ever conducted, Mayo Clinic researchers have found that 81 percent of patients with intractable epilepsy become totally or nearly seizure-free six months following epilepsy surgery. Ten years later, 72 percent remained totally or nearly seizure-free.

11 Apr 2006

Risk of invasive breast carcinoma among women diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ and lobular carcinoma in situ

A new study of women with early stage, localized breast cancer identifies new patterns and risk factors for invasive disease that may influence how patients are treated.

10 Apr 2006

Photodynamic therapy may become the first line of treatment for Barrett's esophagus

When you think of heartburn, you probably think of greasy food, not cancer. You may not know that chronic heartburn is linked to esophageal cancer.

7 Apr 2006

Carbon monoxide inhibitor controls traumatic bleeding

A chemical that blocks carbon monoxide (CO) has been used for the first time to arrest traumatic bleeding in rats, according to a Tulane University research team.

6 Apr 2006

Long-term clinical follow up of children with primary vesicoureteric reflux

It is documented that vesicoureteric reflux (VUR) is a predisposing factor for UTI, which in turn may involve the kidney parenchyma and cause permanent renal scarring.

6 Apr 2006

Yoga improves respiratory function

Young and healthy Thais who participated in just 18 short yoga sessions showed significant improvements on six of seven measures of respiratory function, according to research from Khon Kaen University.

6 Apr 2006

First artificial heart implant on the East Coast

A cardiac surgery team at Virginia Commonwealth University's Pauley Heart Center has performed the first artificial heart implant on the East Coast. The CardioWest temporary Total Artificial Heart, or TAH-t, is the only total artificial heart approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

6 Apr 2006

Trends over a decade of pediatric liver transplantation in the U.S.

A new study on children undergoing liver transplants found that although innovative transplant techniques have been developed in recent years, the waitlist times for pediatric transplant candidates have increased compared to the early 1990s.

6 Apr 2006

Division of the penile suspensory ligament often leads to less than satisfactory results in augmentation phalloplasty

Division of the penile suspensory ligament with or without the additional procedures of suprapubic fat pad excision and inverted VY plasty is a simple and commonly used penile lengthening technique. A recent study by C. Y. Li and colleagues from London examined patient satisfaction with penile suspensory ligament division for penile augmentation.

5 Apr 2006

Custom-made bladders produced from patients' own cells

Scientists in the U.S. have produced custom-made bladders grown from patients' own cells which have been have been successfully transplanted and function well.

4 Apr 2006

ICG value accurately predicts outcomes in adult living-donor liver transplantation

A new study on identifying which patients were likely to have poor outcomes following a living-donor liver transplant (LDLT) found that measuring how a certain non-toxic dye was eliminated by the liver shortly after surgery was an accurate indicator of liver function, and therefore a reliable indicator of the outcome of the procedure.

4 Apr 2006

First human recipients of laboratory-grown organs

The first human recipients of laboratory-grown organs were by Anthony Atala, M.D., director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. In The Lancet, Atala describes long-term success in children and teenagers who received bladders grown from their own cells.

4 Apr 2006

Radiofrequency ablation is as effective as surgery for small liver tumors

Three-year data shows that radiofrequency ablation is as effective as surgical resection for overall survival and tumor recurrence, for the treatment of single small hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with liver cirrhosis, according to a study presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 31st Annual Scientific Meeting.

4 Apr 2006

Delaying urgery decreases survival for bladder cancer patients

Bladder cancer patients whose surgery was delayed for more than three months after their diagnosis were more likely to die from their disease than patients whose surgery was performed sooner, according to a study by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

4 Apr 2006

Dysregulation of the Hedgehog pathway in human hepatocarcinogenesis

The unchecked activity of a cell signaling pathway crucial in embryonic development and the liver's response to injury leads to liver cancer, researchers from Duke University Medical Center and John Hopkins University School of Medicine have found.

4 Apr 2006

Shape and function of the heart improves with apnea treatment

Patients with obstructive sleep apnea have enlarged and thickened hearts that pump less effectively, but the heart abnormalities improve with use of a device that helps patients breathe better during sleep, according to a new study in the April 4, 2006, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

4 Apr 2006

Three-dimensional ultrasound probes poised to advance minimally invasive surgery

Three-dimensional ultrasound probes built by researchers at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering have imaged the beating hearts of dogs. The engineers said their demonstration showed that the probes could give surgeons a better view during human endoscopic surgeries in which operations are performed through tiny "keyhole" incisions.

4 Apr 2006