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UM completes most extensive full vascularized composite allograft to date

The University of Maryland released details today of the most extensive full face transplant completed to date, including both jaws, teeth, and tongue.

28 Mar 2012

Intermittent androgen suppression therapy for prostate cancer

Androgen suppression - the inhibition of testosterone and other male hormones - is a routine therapy for prostate cancer. Unfortunately, it can dramatically reduce the quality of patients' sex lives and, more importantly, lead to cancer recurrence in a more deadly androgen-independent form.

28 Mar 2012

AABB issues new RBC transfusion guidelines

The transfusion of red blood cells is a common treatment in clinical practice. However, the level at which they are transfused varies based not only on a patient's health, but also is determined by what the administering physician deems appropriate. Today, the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) has issued new guidelines, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, recommending that transfusion of red blood cells be considered at a hemoglobin threshold of 7 to 8 g/dL for stable adults and children.

28 Mar 2012

CABG offers higher survival rates for older adults with CHD than PCI

A new comparative effectiveness study found older adults with stable coronary heart disease (CHD) who underwent bypass surgery had better long-term survival rates than those who underwent a non-surgical procedure to improve blood flow to the heart muscle, also called revascularization.

28 Mar 2012

New gene transfer technique can treat beta-thalassemia, sickle cell anemia

A team of researchers led by scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College has designed what appears to be a powerful gene therapy strategy that can treat both beta-thalassemia disease and sickle cell anemia. They have also developed a test to predict patient response before treatment.

28 Mar 2012

Boston Scientific pledges $100,000 to SIR Foundation's Discovery Campaign

The Society of Interventional Radiology Foundation's Discovery Campaign, which seeks to further the growth of minimally invasive medicine into new areas of discovery, announced a major corporate pledge to that initiative. Boston Scientific, a global leader in medical devices for cardiovascular and peripheral interventions, pledged $100,000 and is a "Pioneer" level supporter.

28 Mar 2012

Possible link between sleep apnea and post-surgical delirium

An anecdotal observation of a possible link between sleep apnea and post-surgical delirium has been measured and confirmed by a team of researchers at the Duke University Medical Center.

28 Mar 2012

CRF initiates Harmonizing Outcomes with Revascularization and Stents in AMI II trial

The Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF) today announced the initiation of the HORIZONS-AMI II randomized trial, evaluating Promus Element platinum-chromium everolimus-eluting stents versus Omega bare-metal stents in patients with heart attack undergoing primary angioplasty with bivalirudin anticoagulation.

28 Mar 2012

New CMS requirement increases ICD placement costs

The cost to place an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) increased by $844 per case after a new requirement from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) went into effect in February 2010, according to research presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 61st Annual Scientific Session.

27 Mar 2012

Study reveals clinically relevant differences between on pump and off pump bypass

A large randomized trial comparing bypass surgery done with a heart-lung machine (on pump) and without it (off pump) found no differences in results between techniques overall but some clinically relevant differences, according to research presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 61st Annual Scientific Session.

27 Mar 2012

High-risk, high-cost PCI patients can be identified through pre-procedure bleeding risk score

A pre-procedure bleeding risk score can accurately identify high-risk, high-cost patients and may provide an opportunity to employ bleeding avoidance strategies to improve patient outcomes and reduce total costs related to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures, according to a retrospective study being presented March 26 at the 61st annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) scientific session.

27 Mar 2012

Detailed CT scan can safely and quickly rule out possibility of heart attack

A highly detailed CT scan of the heart can safely and quickly rule out the possibility of a heart attack among many patients who come to hospital emergency rooms with chest pain, according to the results of a study that will be presented by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania today at the American College of Cardiology's 61st Annual Scientific Session and published concurrently in the New England Journal of Medicine.

27 Mar 2012

Sientra receives FDA approval for new silicone gel-filled breast implant

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a silicone gel-filled breast implant manufactured by Sientra Inc. to increase breast size (augmentation) in women at least 22 years old and to rebuild breast tissue (reconstruction) in women of any age.

27 Mar 2012

CRT-D appropriate for patients with left ventricular dysfunction

Cardiac resynchronization therapy with defibrillators (CRT-D) is appropriate for patients who have left ventricular dysfunction and require chronic ventricular pacing, based on the findings of an observational study that being presented March 26 that the 61st annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) scientific session.

27 Mar 2012

Catheter-based heart valve procedures effective for patients with aortic stenosis

Patients diagnosed with aortic stenosis who are too sick for open-heart surgery have better survival rates and an improved quality of life after undergoing catheter-based heart valve replacement than if the patients had been treated with standard medical therapy, according to a study authored by a Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute physician based on results from a multicenter clinical trial.

27 Mar 2012

Minimally invasive treatments re-establish blood flow in people with chronic DVT

Interventional radiology treatments re-establish blood flow in people with chronic deep vein thrombosis (DVT), reducing disabling symptoms and improving the quality of life for those afflicted with post-thrombotic syndrome—an under-recognized but frequent long-term complication of DVT.

27 Mar 2012

Bariatric surgery effectively controls diabetes

Overweight, diabetic patients who underwent bariatric surgery achieved significant improvement or remission of their diabetes, according to new research from Cleveland Clinic.

27 Mar 2012

TJUH's Department of Radiation Oncology unveils new brachytherapy suite

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital's Department of Radiation Oncology has unveiled the region's only image-guided brachytherapy suite, where patients can have radiation imaging, planning and treatment in a single location without being moved.

27 Mar 2012

New technique can detect small secondary brain tumours

Cancer Research UK scientists have developed a technique they believe could be used to detect tiny secondary tumours in the brain, a process that is currently impossible, according to research published in PNAS.

27 Mar 2012

CCTA can safely and rapidly identify candidates for discharge from EDs

Coronary CT angiography (CCTA) -- a non-invasive way to look inside arteries that supply blood to the heart -- can quickly and reliably determine which patients complaining of chest pain at an emergency department can safely be sent home, according to research presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 61st Annual Scientific Session.

27 Mar 2012