Health News

Head, neck cancer care being concentrated at teaching hospitals, academic centers

Date: Sep-05-2013
Head and neck cancer care is being concentrated at teaching hospitals and academic medical centers, according to a study by Elliot Abemayor, M.D., Ph.D., of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues.  Researchers analyzed a national health care database in a study that included all inpatient admissions with a primary head and neck cancer diagnosis contained within the Nationwide Inpatient Sample during the calendar years of 2000, 2005 and 2010...

Study examines uveitis in a Hawaiian population

Date: Sep-05-2013
A study by Nisha R. Acharya, M.D., M.S., of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues examined the incidence and prevalence of uveitis (eye inflammation conditions responsible for a significant proportion of legal blindness in the United States) in a Hawaiian population.  The population-based study conducted from January 2006 through December 2007 included all patients (n=217,061) enrolled in the Kaiser Permanente Hawaii health plan.  Of the patients, 224 cases of uveitis were confirmed. The overall uveitis rate was 24...

What is general anesthesia?

Date: Sep-05-2013
General anesthesia is the administration of general anesthetic agents that make a person unconscious and unable to feel pain - often used during operative procedures...

What is local anesthesia?

Date: Sep-05-2013
Local anesthesia involves numbing a specific part of the body to prevent any feeling of pain during surgical procedures. An anesthetic drug - which has numbing effects - is applied to a certain part of the patient's body. It is typically carried out in combination with sedation - which calms the patient and reduces stress levels - so that patients can undergo surgery without experiencing unbearable pain or distress. In many cases local anesthesia is considered to be safer than general anesthesia (such as in a cesarean section)...

Medical Devices Summit, October 9-10, 2013, Minneapolis, MN

Date: Sep-05-2013
In response to an overwhelming amount of feedback from the industry, Opal Events is proud to announce that it will be taking it's Medical Devices Summit to Minnesota! The Midwest is a hotbed for medical device innovation and development, and many companies are moving to the Midwest to be ahead of this curve. With so many new devices coming to market, it's absolutely vital for companies to arm themselves with the latest legal, regulatory and business strategies available...

Brain surgery could improve with laser-guided tool

Date: Sep-05-2013
A new type of laser microscope may dramatically improve the accuracy of brain tumor surgery, according to a study reported this week in Science Translational Medicine. The new tool helps surgeons see clearly, while operating, where tumor tissue ends and healthy tissue begins. Surgeons face many challenges when removing brain tumors, including how to remove all of the tumor without leaving behind any cells that could start a new one, as well as not damaging healthy tissue so as to minimize the risk of causing disability in the patient...

Cigarette pack health warnings 'have little impact on teens'

Date: Sep-05-2013
Health warnings in the form of pictures or text on the back of cigarette packets are common in many countries, serving to deter smokers from the habit. But according to a new study, they have little impact on teen smokers. In the US, cigarette packets carry health warnings in the form of text only. In 2011, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a final rule stating that health warnings in the form of images must be present on all cigarette packets to deter smokers. However, this ruling was challenged in court by tobacco companies, and the rule was dropped...

Yelling at teens: similar effect to physical punishment

Date: Sep-05-2013
Physical discipline has long been considered unacceptable, but many parents today raise their voice when a child is out of line. New research, however, shows that harsh verbal punishment, such as shouting, cursing or using insults, is just as harmful to adolescents as physical discipline. The study, published online in the journal Child Development, comes from researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, who found that adolescents whose parents used harsh verbal punishment suffered from depression and were more likely to engage in vandalism or aggressive behavior...

Cook Medical announces LithAssist to streamline stone management and treatment

Date: Sep-05-2013
Cook Medical has a new device to simplify percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) procedures, during which physicians break up and remove large kidney stones, or can use it in the bladder to break up large bladder stones. LithAssist™ combines suction control and provides access for a laser fiber. It is the first device globally to provide suction control and laser fiber access. Approximately 67,000 PCNL procedures are performed each year in the United States, and 466,000 are performed globally...

New ovarian cancer gene found in mice

Date: Sep-05-2013
Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered a gene that repairs damaged DNA is also linked to ovarian cancer in mice. They say if the gene - known as Helq - is faulty or missing, DNA errors accumulate as cells multiply, and this raises the chance of developing the cancer. They write about their findings in the September 4th online issue of Nature. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), ovarian cancer accounts for about 3% of cancers among women, but it is responsible for more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system...