Researchers at Rigshospitalet find markers for testicular cancer
A team of researchers at Rigshospitalet has found a new and simple way of detecting testicular cancer before it starts. This discovery will benefit patients in both Denmark and abroad.
Diabetes and CAD
Anja Behringer reports on a neglected risk factor. With an aging population multimorbidity is increasingly a major challenge for hospital care. Diabetes is one of the medical conditions frequently encountered in multimorbid patients since cardiac and vascular diseases are often accompanied by dysfunctions of the blood sugar metabolism.
The 129th Congress of the German Society of Surgery
Meeting with EH editor Brigitte Dinkloh, Congress Secretary Professor Alexis Ulrich MD (left), Assistant Medical Director at the Clinic for General, Visceral and Transplant Surgery at the University of Heidelberg, outlined the scientific programme, discussed some impressive advances in surgical procedures, and explained why the gathering bears the slogan Surgery in Partnership.
Oral vaccination against pancreatic tumours
The world’s first gene cancer therapy study of an innovative oral vaccine is underway at the Surgical Clinic of Heidelberg University Hospital.
Imaging pregnant women
Figures suggest that imaging of pregnant women increased by 121% between 1997 and 2008, even though radiologists face several critical challenges when imaging these patients.
Breathing space
If the hopes of inventors are to be believed, in around 20 years’ time there will be ‘real artificial lungs -- for now the endpoint of a history that began 84 years ago with the invention of the iron lung. Until then, non-invasive and invasive mechanical respiration will continue to dominate the hospital, complemented by extracorporeal procedures for blood oxygenation and decarbonisation,…
The 27th Annual EAU Congress
Around for almost 20 years, minimally invasive technologies such as laparoscopy and robot-assisted surgery are popular subjects – and aired again during the 27th EAU Congress held in February at the Palais des Congrès, Paris.
Surgery proves successful for Type 2 diabetes remission
Obesity is physically debilitating – and costly for healthcare. Losing excess weight has positive effects on the entire metabolism and improves life expectancy. However, for patients who cannot lose their morbid, excess weight through diet, today’s surgical interventions can help towards permanent weight loss – and reduction in insulin dependency for diabetics.
Success in preserving organs for transplant
A Birmingham hospital is pioneering a new procedure which aims to maintain and improve the quality of organs for transplantation in recipients on the waiting list.
Transport of trauma patients by helicopter costly but effective
Seriously injured trauma patients transported to hospitals by helicopter are 16 percent more likely to survive than similarly injured patients brought in by ground ambulance, new Johns Hopkins research shows.
Reducing breath size and pressure from ICU ventilator increases long-term survival in people with acute lung injury
Carefully adjusting mechanical ventilator settings in the intensive care unit to pump smaller breaths into very sick lungs can reduce the chances of dying by as much as 8 percent, according to a study by critical care experts at Johns Hopkins. Study participants were evaluated for two years after their acute lung injury.
Risks and benefits of first line diabetes treatment
Although the drug metformin is considered the gold standard in the management of type 2 diabetes, a study by a group of French researchers published in this week's PLoS Medicine suggests that the long-term benefits of this drug compared with the risks are not clearly established - an important finding given that currently, thousands of people around the world are regularly taking metformin to…
Navigating the Evolving Regulation and Commercialization of Stem Cell Research
Interested parties that can successfully navigate the evolving regulation of stem cell research stand to gain significant scientific and commercial advantage.
John Hopkins established protocol to perform facial transplantation
Johns Hopkins surgeons have established a facial transplantation team and are in the process of obtaining approval from the University’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) of their protocol to perform the complicated procedure.
Art improves stroke survivors' quality of life
Stroke survivors who like art have a significantly higher quality of life than those who do not, according to new research. Patients who appreciated music, painting and theatre recovered better from their stroke than patients who did not.
Brain Cancer Blood Vessels Not Substantially Tumor-Derived
Johns Hopkins scientists have published laboratory data refuting studies that suggest blood vessels that form within brain cancers are largely made up of cancer cells. The theory of cancer-based blood vessels calls into question the use and value of anticancer drugs that target these blood vessels, including bevacizumab (Avastin).
Post-operative care
The list of post-operative complications is long. Most common are fever, chest infection, pneumonia, wound infection, bleeding or deep vein thrombosis. As these post-surgical complications can range from minor, self-limiting problems to major life-threatening events, their definition and severity staging can be challenging.
Traumatic brain injury: The silent epidemic
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the world’s biggest public health problems. In the USA, for example, about 1.7 million people sustain TBI every year, costing healthcare $76.5 billion. Yet, the public knows little of the significance of TBI and also it once received the nickname ‘silent epidemic’ by the American Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
MedAustron is becoming a reality in Wiener Neustadt
Currently there is a truly enormous hole in the ground in the city of Wiener Neustadt, Austria, but by summer 2012 MedAustron, one of the most modern centres for ion therapy and research in Europe, is to be built here.
What´s new in personalised molecular medicine and biomarkers?
In breast imaging, advances are constant. Dr Peter Brader, at the Department of Radiology, Division for Molecular and Gender Imaging, Medical University Vienna, believes a paradigm shift will take place in this and by 2025.
New studies show which anti-HIV drug combinations work better than others
Using a mathematical formula that carefully measures the degree to which HIV infection of immune system cells is stalled by antiretroviral therapy, AIDS experts at Johns Hopkins have calculated precisely how well dozens of such anti-HIV drugs work, alone or in any of 857 likely combinations, in suppressing the virus.
Protecting the future of incidental discoveries in imaging
Radiologists in the United Kingdom have taken steps to help ensure unexpected findings iscovered during the course of imaging research are being recorded and effectively disseminated, Mark Nicholls reports.
Sequencing cancer mutations: There´s an app for that
Using precise information about an individual’s genetic makeup is becoming increasingly routine for developing tailored treatments for breast, lung, colon and other cancers. But techniques used to identify meaningful gene mutations depend on analyzing sequences of both normal and mutant DNA in tumor samples, a process that can yield ambiguous results.
Finding early stage cancers that could have been missed
In Europe, 350,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer annually. About 90% of them can be cured if the cancer is detected at a very early stage. To improve early detection almost all European countries have gradually initiated regional screening programmes, even though the benefits are discussed controversially from time to time.
Development of Digital Programs as a Mental Health Treatment
Millions of people suffer from mental health problems. Yet very few people can afford treatment. The cost of mental health care is prohibitive to men and women in today's economy, so while many people acknowledge that they can use mental health care treatments, few actually take advantage of it and even fewer have the means to do so.
