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Construction will enable pSivida to increase BrachySil production

Global nanotechnology company pSivida Limited has announced that it's UK manufacturing partner, Atomising Systems Ltd ("ASL"), has reached a key milestone in the manufacture of BrachySil, its lead product, by completing construction of a state of the art dedicated cleanroom facility to GMP specifications at its Sheffield plant in the United Kingdom. ASL is a world leader in high temperature atomising technology.

30 Mar 2005

Live laparoscopic banding surgery to be broadcast over the World Wide Web

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) will broadcast its first real-time live surgery over the World Wide Web on April 5, 2005 at 12:00pm (CDT) 1:00pm (EDT). The surgery, called laparoscopic banding, is a relatively new treatment for obesity. The Webcast is part of UAB's continuing effort to familiarize doctors with the latest surgical techniques, and allows the public a real-time look at medical advances.

29 Mar 2005

Herceptin - more powerful treatment for patients with HER-2-positive breast cancer

A new use of the drug Herceptin appears to offer a much more powerful treatment advantage than expected for patients with HER-2-positive breast cancer, say researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

29 Mar 2005

Pcsk9 gene - new target for cholesterol-lowering drugs

Mice lacking a key protein involved in cholesterol regulation have low-density lipoprotein, or "bad" cholesterol, levels more than 50 percent lower than normal mice, and researchers suggest that inhibiting the same protein in humans could lead to new cholesterol-lowering drugs.

29 Mar 2005

Massive weight loss conference hits Dallas

While massive weight loss surgery is increasingly becoming the treatment of choice for the morbidly obese, many patients are unaware that additional plastic surgery – body contouring – will likely be necessary to achieve their desired body shape.

29 Mar 2005

Seniors like to "nip and tuck"

Research by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) has found that pensioners now have the money and the motivation to go under the knife in a bid to look a few years younger. Men and women in their seventies and eighties are fuelling the boom in cosmetic surgery

28 Mar 2005

Adult stem cells could be used to treat deaf patients in the future

Researchers at Indiana University School of Medicine are several steps closer to the day when a profoundly deaf patient's own bone marrow cells could be used to let him or her hear the world.

28 Mar 2005

KCP protein protects kidneys from damage caused by chronic renal disease and injury

University of Michigan scientists have identified a new and unusual protein that reduces, in laboratory mice, kidney damage caused by chronic renal disease and acute toxic injuries.

28 Mar 2005

Benefits of lung cancer screening with CT questioned

Annual screening with helical computed tomography (CT) can help radiologists detect lung cancers at their earliest, most curable stage, but has not been shown to reduce mortality from the disease, according to a study published in the April issue of the journal Radiology.

28 Mar 2005

Test that will prevent the needless loss of the thyroid gland in people with the noncancerous condition

New research suggests that physicians can distinguish between a type of thyroid cancer and an identical-looking, non-cancerous thyroid condition by simply determining the activity of three genes.

28 Mar 2005

Risky surgery not always necessary to treat cervical disease

Revolutionary advancements in the treatment options for diseases associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) now include nonsurgical options such as chemoprevention and vaccines. A review of these methods is published in the latest issue of the International Journal of Gynecological Cancer.

28 Mar 2005

Promising results reported for HIV patients suffering from facial wasting

Physicians from leading plastic surgery and dermatology practices report positive results from HIV patients participating in a clinical trial of Radiesse synthetic injectable implant on facial wasting. The trial is intended to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of this widely used tissue augmentation therapy as a treatment for the facial changes that socially stigmatize many HIV-infected patients.

23 Mar 2005

Treatment of cardiac lesions without anaesthesic

Navarre University Hospital has introduced a novel technique for the treatment of congenital heart defects and involving the percutaneous closure of the patent foramen ovale (PFO) with monitoring through intracavernous ecography.

23 Mar 2005

Risky surgery not always necessary to treat cervical disease

23 Mar 2005

Tiny scaffolding allows stem cells to become working fat cells

Researchers here have used a new microscopic, three-dimensional scaffolding to coax mouse stem cells to transform themselves into fat cells, and then to function identical to how fat cells naturally do in the body.

22 Mar 2005

Three risk factors have the greatest impact on patient and graft survival rates for liver transplantation

Three risk factors: donor age; the length of time an organ is cooled between procurement and transplantation; and how urgently the recipient needs the transplant; have the greatest impact on patient and graft survival rates for liver transplantation, according to an article in the March issue of Archives of Surgery.

22 Mar 2005

Federal database used to track trends in cochlear implant complications

Changes in the format of a federal database for mandatory reporting of major and minor complications for medical devices, including cochlear implants, could make it a valuable resource, according to an article in the March issue of Archives of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery.

22 Mar 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

Drinking two to three glasses of red wine daily is good for the heart

A review article of the latest studies looking at red wine and cardiovascular health shows drinking two to three glasses of red wine daily is good for the heart, according to a Yale School of Medicine researcher in the Journal of American College of Surgeons.

21 Mar 2005

Calls to regionalize the care of patients with heart attacks are premature

Calls to regionalize the care of patients with heart attacks are premature, and do not account for potential unintended consequences, according to a commentary by Yale researchers published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

21 Mar 2005