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St. Jude Medical commences use of renal denervation catheter and generator system

St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, today announced the first use of the company's renal denervation catheter and generator system, as part of a feasibility study of the new technology. The technology was developed as a treatment for resistant hypertension (high blood pressure that is not well controlled by drug therapy).

18 Oct 2011

Obese asthmatic children more likely to have respiratory complications during or after surgery

A study presented at ANESTHESIOLOGY 2011 found that obese asthmatic children were nearly two times as likely to have at least one respiratory complication during or after surgery compared to their lean peers.

18 Oct 2011

Patients with AB blood type 20% less likely to die after CABG surgery

A new study presented at ANESTHESIOLOGY 2011 focused on whether blood type affects survival after heart surgery. Researchers from Duke University Medical Center studied more than 15,000 patients to determine if a specific blood type puts patients at a higher risk for death or complications after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.

18 Oct 2011

Study evaluates pain associated with surgical incisions/scars before repeat cesarean procedures

A study presented at ANESTHESIOLOGY 2011 in Chicago is perhaps the first to evaluate pain associated with surgical incisions or scars before repeat cesarean (CS) procedures, and the data could lead to improved care for a rapidly growing and unique group of patients.

18 Oct 2011

Tailored postoperative treatment plan for women at high risk for severe pain after cesarean delivery

Nearly one third of children in the U.S. are born by cesarean delivery, a surgery that puts women at risk for persistent pain and postpartum depression. A new study presented at ANESTHESIOLOGY 2011 investigated whether an increase in pain treatment in patients at high risk for severe pain after surgery reduces these complications after a cesarean delivery.

18 Oct 2011

Inhaled anesthetics do not increase incidence of postoperative delirium

A study presented at ANESTHESIOLOGY 2011 in Chicago this week offered firm evidence that commonly used inhaled anesthetics such as isoflurane do not increase the incidence of postoperative delirium, which can affect how well some patients recover after surgery.

18 Oct 2011

Women to use her mother’s womb in Australian medical first transplant

A Victorian woman will be the first Australian to use her own mother’s womb after it has been transplanted into her. Intensive care nurse Melinda Arnold, 34, will undergo a womb transplant after her mother, Denise Allen, agreed to donate the organ to her. Mrs. Arnold, who was born without a womb but with ovaries that produce eggs, twice tried unsuccessfully to use her mother as a surrogate and adoption attempts also failed.

17 Oct 2011

Delayed appendectomies may increase likelihood of complications in children

An in-hospital delay of appendicitis treatment beyond two days was linked to an increased likelihood of complications, including perforation and abscess formation; longer hospitalization; increased costs; and more rarely, death, according an abstract presented Saturday, Oct. 15 at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in Boston.

15 Oct 2011

Brain stem cell treatment for multiple sclerosis

The prospect of doing human clinical trials with stem cells to treat diseases like multiple sclerosis may be growing closer, say scientists at the University at Buffalo and the University at Rochester, who have developed a more precise way to isolate stem cells that will make myelin.

15 Oct 2011

Combination therapy more effective for fecal incontinence

Combination therapy for fecal incontinence is more effective than the current standard treatment. This is the conclusion of a randomized trial comparing the different treatments, described by Thilo Schwandner and colleagues in the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International.

14 Oct 2011

FDA's Circulatory System Devices Panel unanimously recommends Cook Medical's Zilver PTX Drug-Eluting Stent

The Zilver PTX Drug-Eluting Stent, the first device of its kind developed to treat peripheral artery disease (PAD) in the superficial femoral artery (SFA), has received a unanimous recommendation from the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Circulatory System Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee, Cook Medical announced today.

14 Oct 2011

Researchers demonstrate that iPS stem cells may be used for gene therapy

This research, published on Oct. 12 on the Nature review website, provides evidence of a major concept could pave the way for the future use of these stem cells to treat humans, through perspective gene therapies.

14 Oct 2011

Compelling Hope Symposium to explore new approaches for nerve and paralysis injury

Located at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, New Jersey, the Center for Treatment of Paralysis and Reconstructive Nerve Surgery will host the second annual Compelling Hope Symposium on Saturday, November 5th at the Heldrich Hotel in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

14 Oct 2011

Public reports do not improve care for transplant patients

When transplant clinics must publicly report their success rates, this should provide an incentive to improve care for patients. But a recent study appearing in the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN) found that such public reporting has not had any effect on the care that transplant patients receive.

14 Oct 2011

Avita Medical introduces ReCell Spray-On Skin for chronic leg ulcers

Avita Medical Ltd., the regenerative medicine company, announced today that it has launched ReCell Spray-On Skin for the treatment of chronic leg ulcers, a market estimated at over US$1 billion.

14 Oct 2011

Cord blood stem cells can repair cardiac muscle after heart attack

At least 20 million people survive heart attacks and strokes every year, according to World Health Organisation estimates, but many have poor life expectancy and require continual costly clinical care. The use of patient's own stem cells may repair heart attacks, although their benefit may be limited due to scarce availability and ageing. The researchers have found heart muscle-like cells grown using stem cells from human umbilical cord blood could help repair heart muscle cells damaged by a heart attack.

14 Oct 2011

Mathematical optimization models to improve radiation therapy for cancer

Engineering researchers at the University of Arkansas have developed mathematical optimization models that will make radiation treatment plans safer and more efficient than conventional plans.

From Elekta 14 Oct 2011

Patients with episodic gallbladder pain may benefit from cholecystectomy

According to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, better understanding of a patient's abdominal pain could help physicians know which patients will benefit most from surgical removal of the gallbladder.

14 Oct 2011

New technique stimulates stem cells after liver transplant to prevent rejection

Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a way to stimulate a rat's stem cells after a liver transplant as a means of preventing rejection of the new organ without the need for lifelong immunosuppressant drugs.

14 Oct 2011

Researchers use gold nanorods to distinguish brain tumor from healthy tissue

"It's not brain surgery" is a phrase often uttered to dismiss a job's difficulty, but when the task actually is removing a brain tumor, even the slightest mistake could have serious health consequences. To help surgeons in such high-pressure situations, researchers from Prof. Adam Wax's team at Duke University's Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics and Biomedical Engineering Department have proposed a way to harness the unique optical properties of gold nanoparticles to clearly distinguish a brain tumor from the healthy, and vital, tissue that surrounds it.

13 Oct 2011