Therapy

Stem Cells

By Professor Gustav Steinhoff MD, director of the Department for Cardiac Surgery, and Christof Stamm MD, co-ordinator of clinical studies, at Rostock University, Germany

Appendicitis complicated by chickenpox

Surgeons Sergey V Stonogin, specialist in infectious cases, Eugeny V Dvorovenko, Head of Emergency Surgery, and Vladimir A Chaplin, endoscopy specialist - report on results from their study to assess the most effective, safe combination of antibiotics to treat patients with acute appendicitis complicated by chickenpox

Todays treatments

Dr Christiane Eickelberg, of the University of Giessen Lung Centre (UGLC), outlines the centre's research projects, aims and academic offerings

Respiratory diseases

From burden to therapy. By Andrea Rossi MD, Director of the Respiratory Division at Bergamo General Hospital Bergamo, Italy, and Chair of the Scientific Committee of the European Respiratory Society

Smell

Liberal drugs policy works

Switzerland - Providing heroin addicts methadone or buprenorphine as a treatment for their addiction has led to a decline in the number of new heroin users in Zurich, according to a paper by Carlos Nordt and Rudolf Stohler from the Psychiatric University Hospital, Zurich, published in The Lancet.

Teamwork and the future of intensive care medicine

The recent 26th International Symposium of Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine - the largest annual meeting of its kind - attracted around 5,000 participants, who travelled to Brussels from over 80 countries.

EU regulation aims to improve research on medicines for children

The use of unlicensed and off-label medicines for children is widespread, yet over 50% of all pharmaceutical products have no scientific data for young people. With its Regulation on Medicinal Products for Paediatric Use the EU aims to promote the development of more medicines specifically for children.

The 1st International High Tech in Medicine congress

Prevention is better than cure - use the technology! A report from the 1st International High Tech in Medicine congress.

Text messaging beats missed appointments

UK - Patients who miss medical appointments cost the country's National Health Service (NHS) around £575 million annually.

Small wireless device to improve cancer treatment

USA - Engineers are developing a tiny wireless device - the size of a rice grain - to be implanted in tumours to indicate the precise radiation dose received and to locate the exact position of tumours during treatment.

The transcatheter paediatric heart valve

Many companies are competing to develop the ideal transcatheter heart valve and catheter-based valve replacement procedures, which are revolutionizing valve replacement for larger patients.

MDS assures greater care

Germany - PG 11 - a new product group added to the medical technical aids register* relates to decubitus aids.

Your invitation to Neuro-week

The Working Party for Clinical Neuroscience, set up two years ago, ...

Funds for adults with hospitalised children

Germany - The Federal Associations of Health Insurance Funds and the German Hospitals Association are now following Germany's Regulation 1 on the co-admission of child/adolescent patients and accompanying adults.

The silver anniversary of the ISICEM

The 25th International Symposium of Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, to be held at the Congress Centre in Brussels, will see us celebrate our Silver Anniversary, when we will reflect on 25 years of meetings that have encouraged the presentation, discussion, and debate of intensive care medicine, and when we also look forward to what the next 25 years may bring.

Asylum seekers and healthcare

UK - Over 100,000 asylum seekers have been relocated throughout London and England's southeast, to spread the cost of their medical care.

CHF: A major healthcare burden

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a major healthcare problem with 1-2% of the population affected in Western countries. Because it increases with age, the prevalence of CHF is escalating with our aged populations.

Quality assurance first

Germany's Federal Committee of Physicians and Statutory Health Insurance Funds set up three model projects, based in Bremen, Wiesbaden and Weser-Ems, to trial the third edition of the European guidelines on healthcare within the German system and to develop the necessary organisational structures to make these work.

Tuberculosis blood test gains EU approval

TB causes three million deaths annually, ranking it higher than any other infectious disease. And TB has resurged in Europe. In August, the British Thoracic Society, British Lung Foundation and TB Alert highlighted its increase in over the last 15 years in the UK alone.