Health News

Expedium® And Viper® Spine Systems For Use On Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Receives 510(K) Clearance

Date: Aug-10-2012
DePuy Synthes Spine announced it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use of its EXPEDIUM®, VIPER®, and VIPER®2 Spine Systems on patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), an abnormal curvature of the spine that typically affects children between the ages of 10 and 18.(1) This expands the scoliosis indication for the pedicle screw systems, which now are indicated for both adolescents and adults...

Cancer Study Reveals Advantages Of IV Intraluminal Protection Device

Date: Aug-10-2012
Lower Occlusion Rates and Large Cost Savings Reported in Presentation at European Oncology Nursing Society An IV connector known as an intraluminal protection device (IPD) outperformed a negative-pressure split septum IV connector, in a prospective clinical study that compared the occlusion rates of two IV connectors.  The purpose of the study was to compare the two connector types in both inpatient and outpatient, cancer-related settings. The study was undertaken to determine if connector design would affect occlusion rates...

Does A Statin A Day Keep The Doctor Away?

Date: Aug-10-2012
More people could benefit from taking cholesterol-lowering statins - even those considered to be at low risk of cardiovascular disease - according to an editorial published in the August 6 issue of the Medical Journal of Australia. Professor Anthony Keech, Deputy Director, NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre at the University of Sydney, and coauthors have questioned whether more people should be eligible for lipid-lowering therapy based on the latest evidence...

Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring Still A Crucial Tool

Date: Aug-10-2012
Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) remains a critical tool in managing hypertension, according to an article published in the 6 August issue of the Medical Journal of Australia. The article was in response to an article by Professors Bruce Neal and Les Irwig (Medical Journal of Australia, 5/19 December 2011), who argued that risk-based assessment was superior to ABPM, which measures blood pressure at regular intervals using a portable device worn on the body...

Increased Risk Of Lupus Possible Following Chronic Exposure To Staph Bacteria

Date: Aug-10-2012
Chronic exposure to even small amounts of staph bacteria could be a risk factor for the chronic inflammatory disease lupus, Mayo Clinic research shows. Staph, short for Staphylococcus aureus, is a germ commonly found on the skin or in the nose, sometimes causing infections. In the Mayo study, mice were exposed to low doses of a protein found in staph and developed a lupus-like disease, with kidney disease and autoantibodies like those found in the blood of lupus patients. The findings are published online this month in The Journal of Immunology...

Cost-Effectiveness Should Be A Key Factor In Funding New Cardiac Technologies

Date: Aug-10-2012
Cost-effectiveness should be a critical determinant in whether to fund new cardiovascular devices, according to an article published in the August 6 issue of the Medical Journal of Australia. "Interventions that do not have a demonstrable incremental clinical benefit should not be funded simply because they are new", wrote Dr David Muller, Director of the Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratories at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney...

COPD Exercise Capacity Improved By Tai Chi

Date: Aug-10-2012
Tai Chi can be used as an effective form of exercise therapy for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to new findings. The research, which was published online (XX August 2012) ahead of print in the European Respiratory Journal, suggests that this form of exercise can improve exercise capacity and quality of life in people with COPD and may be as beneficial as pulmonary rehabilitation. It is well known that moderate forms of exercise can help COPD patients to improve their exercise tolerance, symptoms of breathlessness and their overall quality of life...

Potential Protection Against Diabetes From Protein That Boosts Longevity

Date: Aug-10-2012
A protein that slows aging in mice and other animals also protects against the ravages of a high-fat diet, including diabetes, according to a new MIT study. MIT biology professor Leonard Guarente '74 discovered SIRT1's longevity-boosting properties more than a decade ago and has since explored its role in many different body tissues. In his latest study, appearing in the print edition of the journal Cell Metabolism, he looked at what happens when the SIRT1 protein is missing from adipose cells, which make up body fat...

Smart Surgical Gloves Offer The Power To Heal At The Tips Of Your Fingers

Date: Aug-10-2012
The intricate properties of the fingertips have been mimicked and recreated using semiconductor devices in what researchers hope will lead to the development of advanced surgical gloves. The devices, shown to be capable of responding with high precision to the stresses and strains associated with touch and finger movement, are a step towards the creation of surgical gloves for use in medical procedures such as local ablations and ultrasound scans...

New Hope For Parkinsons-Damaged Eyes

Date: Aug-10-2012
Vision scientists have discovered a new avenue for the treatment of vision loss, one of complications of Parkinson's disease. Gentle, non-invasive treatment with a soft infra-red light can potentially protect and heal the damage that occurs to the human retina in in Parkinson's disease, says Professor Jonathan Stone from The Vision Centre and The University of Sydney. "Near infra-red light (NIR) treatment has long been known to promote the healing of wounds in soft tissues such as skin...