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Study examines role of race and ethnicity in stem cell donation

New research examining the role of race and ethnicity in an individual's decision to become a donor for hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) identifies several factors associated with varied participation rates in national donor registries across racial/ethnic groups. Results of this first-of-its-kind study are published online today in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH).

21 Dec 2012

Special supplement to Neurosurgery presents updates on emerging technologies for brain surgery

Robotic technologies have the potential to help neurosurgeons perform precise, technically demanding operations, together with virtual reality environments to help them navigate through the brain, according to a special supplement to Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

21 Dec 2012

Melanoma patients may benefit from microRNA-26a replacement therapy

A University of Colorado Cancer Center study in this month's edition of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology describes a new target and potential treatment for melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer. MicroRNA can decide which genes in a cell's DNA are expressed and which stay silent. Melanoma tends to lack microRNA-26a, which makes the gene SODD go silent.

21 Dec 2012

Researchers track adipose tissue-derived stromal cells after transplantation

Using mesenchymal stromal cells derived from adipose (fat) tissues, genetically modified to express a bioluminescent marker, researchers in Italy have tracked cells after transplantation. The cells were followed from their injection into the spleen of mice modeling liver disease, to their characterization as "hepatic precursors," and to their subsequent migration through the spleen before engrafting at regenerating sites in the liver by bioluminescent imaging.

21 Dec 2012

Study examines five varieties of cells after transplantation in the CNS

When different types of cells are transplanted with the intent of having them aid in repairing central nervous system (CNS) trauma, what is the fate and function of those cells? A Belgian research team carried out research aimed at answering this question by determining how five varieties of cells - neural stem cells, mouse embryonic fibroblasts, dendritic cells, bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMNCs) and splenocytes - functioned and survived after transplantation in the CNS.

21 Dec 2012

Study shows dramatic underuse of basic medical therapy

Patients who quit smoking and took an aspirin and statin before undergoing treatment for blocked leg arteries were less likely to suffer a complication six months later, according to new research led by the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center.

21 Dec 2012

Two recent experimental treatments improve visual function in mouse models of retinitis pigmentosa

Two recent experimental treatments - one involving skin-derived induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell grafts, the other gene therapy - have been shown to produce long-term improvement in visual function in mouse models of retinitis pigmentosa (RP), according to the Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) scientists who led the studies. At present, there is no cure for RP, the most common form of inherited blindness.

20 Dec 2012

New therapeutic ultrasound approach could lead to an invisible knife for noninvasive surgery

A carbon-nanotube-coated lens that converts light to sound can focus high-pressure sound waves to finer points than ever before. The University of Michigan engineering researchers who developed the new therapeutic ultrasound approach say it could lead to an invisible knife for noninvasive surgery.

20 Dec 2012

AAV-based gene therapy cocktail may help extend lives of children with Canavan disease

Results of a clinical trial that began in 2001 show that a gene therapy cocktail conveyed into the brain by a molecular special delivery vehicle may help extend the lives of children with Canavan disease, a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disorder.

20 Dec 2012

Lou Gehrig's disease may be treatable using neural stem cells

Promising new research provides evidence that ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, may be treatable using neural stem cells.

20 Dec 2012

Investigators assess efficacy of ORC vs. robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical cystectomy

About 30 percent of the more than 70,000 bladder cancer cases expected in 2012 are muscle invasive. In such cases, radical cystectomy is the preferred treatment. In a pilot trial, a team of investigators assessed the efficacy of open radical cystectomy (ORC) vs. robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical cystectomy (RARC).

20 Dec 2012

FDA allows marketing of Angiotech's Bio-Seal Lung Biopsy Tract Plug System

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today allowed marketing of the Bio-Seal Lung Biopsy Tract Plug System, a device that seals punctures left by biopsies performed to confirm a diagnosis of suspected lung conditions.

20 Dec 2012

No direct link between dental procedures and prosthetic joint infection

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), and the American Dental Association (ADA) found that there is insufficient evidence to recommend the routine use of antibiotics for patients with orthopaedic implants to prevent infections prior to having dental procedures because there is no direct evidence that routine dental procedures cause prosthetic joint infections.

19 Dec 2012

Patients achieve favorable seizure outcomes after resective epilepsy surgery

Brain surgery for certain difficult forms of epilepsy often reduces or eliminates seizures for more than 15 years after the procedure, according to new research by neurologists at Henry Ford Hospital.

19 Dec 2012

More surgeons opting for hospital jobs

General surgeons and surgical subspecialists are opting for hospital employment over private practice, according to a database study published online December 17 in the Archives of Surgery.

19 Dec 2012

Clopidogrel pretreatment for PCI does not reduce risk of overall mortality

Among patients scheduled for a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI; procedures such as balloon angioplasty or stent placement used to open narrowed coronary arteries), pretreatment with the antiplatelet agent clopidogrel was not associated with a lower risk of overall mortality but was associated with a significantly lower risk of major coronary events, according to a review and meta-analysis of previous studies published in the December 19 issue of JAMA.

19 Dec 2012

Study: Purines fend off damage during anesthesia

Anesthesia is quite safe these days. But sometimes putting a patient under to fix one problem, such as heart damage, can harm a different organ, such as a kidney.

19 Dec 2012

Riverside Methodist Hospital treats first PAD patient with Cook Medical's Zilver PTX device

Just weeks after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Cook Medical's Zilver PTX Drug-Eluting Peripheral Stent, Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, has treated the first patient with the device as part of Cook's U.S. commercial launch.

19 Dec 2012

Whiplash recovery no quicker with intensive therapy

More costly, intensive treatment works no better than usual care at speeding up recovery from whiplash injuries, according to new research published Online First in The Lancet.

18 Dec 2012

Tbx18 gene directs conversion of cardiomyocytes to genuine pacemaker cells

Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute researchers have reprogrammed ordinary heart cells to become exact replicas of highly specialized pacemaker cells by injecting a single gene (Tbx18)-a major step forward in the decade-long search for a biological therapy to correct erratic and failing heartbeats.

18 Dec 2012