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Fibroid tumors affecting many American women lack a key protein helps hold tissues together

Fibroid tumors — the sometimes painful uterine growths affecting many American women — lack a key protein that plays a role in holding tissues together, according to a study by researchers from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health.

2 Jun 2004

Smoking a lot more harmful than previously thought

The U.S. Surgeon General has released a new comprehensive report on smoking and health, revealing for the first time that smoking causes diseases in nearly every organ of the body. Published 40 years after the surgeon general's first report on smoking -- which concluded that smoking was a definite cause of three serious diseases -- this newest report finds that cigarette smoking is conclusively linked to diseases such as leukemia, cataracts, pneumonia and cancers of the cervix, kidney, pancreas and stomach.

30 May 2004

Cellular garbage plays a key role in the process of cytokinesis, or cell division

A cellular structure discovered 125 years ago and dismissed by many biologists as "cellular garbage" has been found to play a key role in the process of cytokinesis, or cell division, one of the most ancient and important of all biological phenomena.

27 May 2004

Smoking causes diseases in nearly every organ of the body

U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona today released a new comprehensive report on smoking and health, revealing for the first time that smoking causes diseases in nearly every organ of the body.

27 May 2004

Revolutionary self healing bandage that uses the patient's own cells

A revolutionary type of 'self healing' bandage that uses the patient's own cells is being developed. The technique has already been tried successfully on patients with diabetic ulcers and in the long-term could offer a more effective, quicker and cost efficient way of treating many types of slow-healing wounds such as pressure ulcers.

24 May 2004

Bone repair using breakthrough material

A breakthrough in polymer development means that soon there may be a radical new treatment for people with broken bones - a special kind of material that can 'glue' the bone back together and support it while it heals. The polmer material is designed to break down as the bone regrows leaving only natural tissue.

20 May 2004

$1.5 billion annual cost of surgical site infections can be reduced

A research paper published in the American Journal of Infection Control says a systematic approach to preparing patients for surgery can reduce both secondary, hospital-acquired patient infections and related healthcare expenses nationwide.

19 May 2004

Key hole colon surgery effective

When performed by experienced surgeons, minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery is a safe and effective alternative to standard open surgery for most patients with cancer that is confined to the colon.

13 May 2004

Images of violence alter children's attitudes toward aggression

A Johns Hopkins team that included a trauma surgeon renowned for his treatment of gunshot victims has found that exposing at-risk children and teenagers to grizzly videos and photos of these patients' wounds can significantly change the youths' beliefs about the value and consequences of aggression.

12 May 2004

Critical link found between inflammation, heart disease and stroke

Until recently, the story on platelets was pretty simple: tiny blood cells, with limited sophistication because they had no nucleus, and their claim to fame was to be a first-responder to a wound site, to promote healthy clotting and prevent infection.

11 May 2004

Young entrepreneur will import low cost, high quality cosmetic surgical products from China

A young entrepreneur who wants a share of the multi-million pound cosmetic surgical and products market has won the second University of Nottingham Student Business Venture Challenge.

11 May 2004

PPD, Inc. has announced the launch of PPD Medical Device Division

PPD, Inc. has announced the launch of PPD Medical Device, a division of PPD Development, providing services to the medical device industry with experience in developing stents, devices and therapies in the areas of interventional cardiology, endovascular, neurology and orthopedic disorders as well as wound care.

10 May 2004

World's first gene therapy trial aimed at preventing cancer

The concept seems straightforward. If, at its heart, cancer is a disease of genes, then giving patients new genes should disarm cancer. Such treatment would replace missing or faulty genes that keep cell growth in check, or would flush the body with "super genes" that could attack and destroy cancer.

5 May 2004

$FDA approves INFUSE® bone graft which improves fracture healing$

FDA approves INFUSE® bone graft which improves fracture healing

Medtronic, Inc. has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of INFUSE® Bone Graft in the treatment of acute, open fractures of the tibial shaft, a long bone in the lower leg. The approval broadens the indications for INFUSE Bone Graft, a product that has been used since 2002 in spinal surgery with metallic cages to treat tens of thousands of patients.

4 May 2004

Wyeth gets FDA approval for a novel protein device that enhances bone healing

Wyeth have announced that the FDA has approved rhBMP-2/ACS (recombinant human Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2/Absorbable Collagen Sponge), a novel protein device that enhances bone healing, for use in the treatment of acute, open tibia shaft fractures in adults.

3 May 2004

Hand surgeons warn of gardening dangers

The American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) recommends gardeners take the proper precautions to prevent hand-related injuries before digging or planting in the garden this spring. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), emergency rooms treat more than 400,000 outdoor garden-tool-related accidents each year.

27 Apr 2004

Biological bandages are being successfully used to treat patients with severe burns

Doctors have been impressed with the rapid recovery rates instigated by the ‘tailor-made ’ discs, which have been devised by a research team at the Sheffield company, CellTran, with financial support from the Wellcome Trust biomedical research charity and the White Rose Technology Seedcorn Fund. They will be officially launched at the British Burn Association’s annual meeting in Manchester tomorrow (28th).