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TAU researcher develops capsule endoscope to investigate digestive system

Endoscopes - small cameras or optic fibres that are usually attached to flexible tubing designed to investigate the interior of the body - can be dangerously invasive. Procedures often require sedative medications and some recovery time. Now a researcher at Tel Aviv University is developing a "capsule endoscope" that can move through the digestive tract to detect problems independent of any attachments.

16 Dec 2011

MHI cardiologists perform first clinical procedure in Canada using MitraClip system

The interventional cardiology team at the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) recently conducted the first clinical procedure in Canada using the MitraClip system, which is designed to treat patients suffering from mitral valve failure, a very common heart defect that affects an estimated 1 out 5 people to various extents starting at the age of 55.

16 Dec 2011

Short spiral-shaped proteins can efficiently deliver DNA segments to cells

Clinical gene therapy may be one step closer, thanks to a new twist on an old class of molecules. A group of University of Illinois researchers, led by professors Jianjun Cheng and Fei Wang, have demonstrated that short spiral-shaped proteins can efficiently deliver DNA segments to cells. The team published its work in the journal Angewandte Chemie.

16 Dec 2011

Patients need less blood after surgery than is widely thought

Patients need less blood after surgery than is widely thought. A new study comparing two plans for giving blood transfusions following surgery showed no ill effects from postponing transfusion until patients develop signs of anemia or their hemoglobin concentration falls below 8 g/dL.

16 Dec 2011

TJC approves UCSD's DSC Certification for Ventricular Assist Device

The Joint Commission (TJC) has approved UC San Diego Health System's Disease-Specific Care (DSC) Certification for Ventricular Assist Device.

16 Dec 2011

RaySearch initiates IMRT European trial to treat rectal cancer

RaySearch Laboratories AB announces that the first patient in Europe has been treated with a treatment plan created with RaySearch's treatment planning system RayStation.

From Elekta 15 Dec 2011

Study evaluates use of leukocyte and platelet-rich fibrin biomaterial in heart patients

Cardiac patients that take anticoagulant medications and need a tooth extraction face an increased risk of bleeding that must be addressed by the treating clinician. Therefore, a protocol for heart patients is needed that will avoid significant bleeding after dental extractions without suspending anticoagulant therapy.

15 Dec 2011

More than half of older patients with anemia do not need transfusions after hip surgery

More than half of the older, anemic patients in a New England Journal of Medicine study did not need blood transfusions as they recovered from hip surgery, according to new research co-authored by University of Maryland School of Medicine scientists.

15 Dec 2011

OA patients benefit from walking skills training following total hip arthroplasty

Researchers in Norway report that patients who receive walking skills training following total hip arthroplasty for osteoarthritis show improved physical function. The physical therapy program displayed a positive effect on walking distance and stair climbing which continued 12 months following hip replacement surgery.

15 Dec 2011

Mayo Clinic to build new cancer treatment facility

Mayo Clinic broke ground today for a cutting edge cancer therapy facility at its Phoenix campus. Construction begins this month on a $182 million facility to house Mayo Clinic's Proton Beam Therapy program - marking the beginning of a new era in cancer treatment.

15 Dec 2011

JHN to initiate new Phase I immunotherapy trial in glioblastoma

Physicians at the Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience (JHN), the region's only dedicated hospital for neuroscience, are tackling a particularly aggressive brain cancer that even surgery, chemotherapy and radiation often fail to treat with a promising new immunotherapy to attack a patient's tumor with their own cancer cells.

15 Dec 2011

New knee replacement model increases likelihood of early revision surgery

Orthopaedic surgeons face a steep learning curve to get used to new prostheses, and the instruments and methods that go with them, before new total knee replacement procedures are as safe and effective as conventional methods. Patients who undergo the first 15 operations using a new device in a hospital are 48 percent more likely to need early revision surgery, than patients undergoing an operation to fit a prosthesis previously used in the hospital.

15 Dec 2011

Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy may eradicate cancer

An innovative treatment technology could give cancer patients new hope for survival. In an international study based at Lawson Health Research Institute and London Health Sciences Centre's London Regional Cancer Program (LRCP), scientists are testing a therapy with the potential to eradicate cancers previously thought to be incurable.

15 Dec 2011

First Total Artificial Heart implant performed at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia

Surgeons at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center performed the first Total Artificial Heart implant in the New York City area to replace a patient's dying heart.

15 Dec 2011

Liver transplantations for NASH-Cirrhosis increase dramatically

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) occurs when fat builds up in the liver. This accumulation of fat damages the liver and leads to cirrhosis. NASH is rapidly increasing in the U.S. mainly related to the epidemics of obesity and diabetes.

15 Dec 2011

Olympus introduces EZ Shot 2 single-use aspiration needles for Endoscopic Ultrasound procedures

Olympus America Inc. today expanded its medical portfolio by introducing a collection of EZ Shot 2 single-use aspiration needles for Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS) procedures.The four unique needles offer excellent puncture capability along with an adjustable sheath designed to help physicians more accurately approach the targeted site.

From Evident Corporation - Life Sciences 15 Dec 2011

Magnetic stimulation of brain nerve cells may speed up recovery from hemispatial neglect

Imagine waking up and being unable to see or recognize anything on the left side of your body. This condition, called hemispatial neglect, is common after a stroke that occurs on the right side of the brain. The current treatment of attention and concentration training using computer and pencil-and-paper tasks is inadequate.

15 Dec 2011

Novel prognostic model for patients with treatment-related MDS

A large-scale analysis of patients whose myelodysplastic syndrome is related to earlier cancer treatment overturns the notion that all of them have a poor prognosis, researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

15 Dec 2011

Cancer screening: Is it necessary in the elderly?

There is a long ongoing debate on whether the elderly need to be routinely screened for cancers. A new survey shows that the majority of nearly 19 million Americans over age 75 dutifully get screened for breast, prostate, and colon cancers each year.

14 Dec 2011

FDA warnings to gastric banding centers

The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has come out with warning letters to eight California healthcare organizations and one marketing firm for failing to provide adequate risk information in their advertisements for an implanted gastric band.

14 Dec 2011