Chordomas are rare bone tumors for which only few options of treatment exist. Scientists and doctors from the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), and Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) have discovered a particular genetic trait of chordomas in advanced stages after conducting gene analysis. Their findings, published in the journal Nature…
Specialists are seeing more and more repetitive stress injuries (RSI) from overuse of smartphones and tablets – the main instigators of emerging conditions like texting thumb and selfie elbow, notes UT Southwestern rehabilitation specialist Dr. Renee Enriquez. “With all overuse injuries, rest is the most important part of recovery. Complete rest is best, but since technology is a required…
Small spots on CT scans of the lungs of children with muscle cancer do not have an adverse effect on survival. This conclusion has direct consequences for the treatment of the disease.
Smart knee implants may soon be a reality thanks to research conducted by a team including faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York. Knee replacement surgery is the most common joint replacement procedure, with the number of surgeries increasing every year. Many of those surgeries are done to replace an older implant or one that has worn out. Increasingly, this surgery is…
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exams of the knee are essential to orthopedic surgeons for diagnosing the cause of symptoms in patients with knee pain and planning arthroscopic treatment. Yet the surgeons who treat patients based on knee MRIs and the radiologists who interpret those knee MRIs often work in their own silos of specialization, rarely communicating and sharing information, according…
People with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) can develop an otherwise-rare muscle cancer, called rhabdomyosarcoma, due to the muscle cells’ continuous work to rebuild the damaged tissue. However, little is known about how the cancer arises, hindering development of a treatment or test that could predict cancer risk. Now, scientists from Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP)…
Hip and knee joint surgeries are among the most common procedures in orthopaedics and trauma surgery and complications can occur. Rare, but serious, among these is periprosthetic joint infection (PJI), which causes high costs in healthcare and stress for patients. PJI is caused by microorganisms that form a biofilm on the surface of the implant and, in this sessile state, they are difficult to…
One of the downsides to getting older is that skeletal muscle loses its ability to heal after injury. New research from the University of Pittsburgh implicates the so-called “longevity protein” Klotho, both as culprit and therapeutic target. The paper, published this week in Nature Communications, showed that, in young animals, Klotho expression soars after a muscle injury, whereas in old…
On April 29th 2011, a car accident injured Tian-Zong’s spine and since then he has not been able to feel his legs and couldn’t to stand or walk again. His visual field has shrunk from 180 cm standing height to 110 cm when sitting on his wheelchair. At the time when the accident happened, he was only 36 years old and the scheduled wedding was forced to be cancelled. Sitting on a wheelchair,…
Manchester United Football Club has announced a renewed multi-year agreement with Canon Medical Systems Europe as its official medical systems partner. The unique partnership will ensure that world-class players continue to gain instant access to advanced imaging equipment to examine injuries and undertake pre-emptive screening for preventable injuries, improving player welfare and maintaining…
Autoimmune diseases like Bechterew’s disease direct our immune systems agains our own bodies. Now, researchers at Jacobs University Bremen have come one step closer to understanding the molecular mechanisms of the disease also known as ankylosing spondylitis. It is characterized by long-term painful inflammation of the joints and deformation of the spine. One suspected cause is a particular…
Anyone with arthritis can appreciate how useful it would be if scientists could grow cartilage in the lab. To this end, Keck School of Medicine of USC scientists in the USC Stem Cell laboratory of Denis Evseenko, MD, PhD, collaborated with colleagues at several institutions to provide new insights into how gene activity drives the development of cartilage. Their findings appear in Nature…
When was the last time you watched a Michael Jackson music video? If your answer is “never” or “not for quite a while,” you are really missing a treat. According to Rolling Stone, “No single artist … shaped, innovated or defined the medium of ‘music video’ more than Michael Jackson.” Back in the 1980s and early 1990s, MTV had only one format—music videos—and that genre…
Could weight loss surgery before knee replacement improve outcomes or even eliminate the need for joint replacement in severely overweight patients? A study by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) aims to answer that question. Orthopedic surgeons often encourage obese patients considering knee replacement to try to lose weight before the procedure. The study, known as SWIFT (Surgical…
Tracy Accardi, Hologic’s Vice President (Global R&D), spoke of the importance of innovation, tomosynthesis, artificial intelligence/deep learning and open dialogue with the radiology community. Hologic addresses a broad spectrum of gynaecological, perinatal, aesthetic, skeletal and breast women’s health issues. To enhance this approach, Accardi, explained the importance of working closely…
Weak, easily broken bones are an epidemic in the United States. They’re often tied to osteoporosis, a disease that causes bones to degenerate over time. This makes them less flexible, more brittle, and easier to break. According to the International Osteoporosis Foundation, more than 44 million Americans aged 50 and older either have or face the threat of developing osteoporosis due to low bone…
Spine deformities, such as idiopathic scoliosis and kyphosis (also known as “hunchback”), are characterized by an abnormal curvature in the spine. The children with these spinal deformities are typically advised to wear a brace that fits around the torso and hips to correct the abnormal curve. Bracing has been shown to prevent progression of the abnormal curve and avoid surgery. The…
Most of us don’t think about our teeth and bones until one aches or breaks. A team of engineers at Washington University in St. Louis looked deep within collagen fibers to see how the body forms new bone and teeth, seeking insights into faster bone healing and new biomaterials. Young-Shin Jun, professor of energy, environmental & chemical engineering in the School of Engineering &…
It’s not unusual for your body to make “popping” or “cracking” sounds as you lean over, twist or reach for something. Fortunately, it’s also typically not a cause for worry. Dr. Aman Dhawan, an orthopedic sports medicine specialist at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, said complaints about such joint sounds are common, but are usually nothing to be concerned about.…
For the first time, scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have been able to measure a specific molecule indicative of osteoarthritis and a number of other inflammatory diseases using a newly developed technology. This preclinical study used a solid-state nanopore sensor as a tool for the analysis of hyaluronic acid (HA). HA is a naturally occurring molecule that is involved in tissue…
Hologic, Inc. announced the launch of the next generation in mini C-arm imaging, the Fluoroscan InSight FD Mini C-Arm, the latest product illustrating the Company’s commitment to addressing the continuum of skeletal health care. The enhanced system adds to Hologic’s portfolio of market-leading skeletal imaging solutions. It offers a variety of improved features designed to arm orthopedists,…
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital oncologists have discovered the cell type that gives rise to rhabdomyosarcoma, the most prevalent soft tissue cancer in children. Previously, scientists thought the cancer arose from immature muscle cells, because the tumor resembled muscle under the microscope. However, the St. Jude researchers discovered the cancer arises from immature progenitors that…
Scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have developed a new strategy to efficiently isolate, mature and transplant skeletal muscle cells created from human pluripotent stem cells, which can produce all cell types of the body. The findings are a major step towards developing a stem cell replacement therapy for muscle diseases including Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, which…
Infections associated with osteosynthesis and prostheses are not to be underestimated: the infection rate is reported to be one to three percent after joint prosthetic surgery and five to 10 percent after osteosyntheses. ‘When you include later infections, the rate is twice as high,’ says Professor Andrej Trampuz, infectologist and Head of the Centre for Septic Surgery at the Centre of…
During the Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), held in Chicago, USA, Siemens Healthineers presents an innovative MRI application that helps to shorten the time it takes to perform comprehensive diagnostic exams of the knee. At the moment, a standard knee examination could take around 20 minutes. With GOKnee3D, a high-resolution diagnostic 3D knee exam can be…