Here’s a roundup of recent clinical trial and scientific study news:
- Medtronic "internal cast" effective on cancer patients’ spinal fractures
Medtronic Inc. (NYSE:MDT) announced the results of the first randomized, controlled trial comparing Kyphon balloon kyphoplasty with non-surgical care in treating spinal fractures in cancer patients. The study found that the kyphoplasty treatment provided cancer patients better back-specific function, more rapid back pain relief and improved quality of life compared with non-surgical care one month after treatment. The study was published in the online edition of The Lancet Oncology. During the minimally invasive kyphoplasty procedure, working tubes are used to create small pathways into the fractured bone, generally on both sides of the vertebral body. Orthopedic balloons are inserted and then inflated inside the fractured bone in an attempt to return it to its correct position. Inflation and removal of the balloons create cavities in the vertebral body that are filled with bone cement, forming an "internal cast."
Read more - Cappella Medical announces new Sideguard data on bifurcation plaque redistribution
Cappella Medical Devices Ltd. presented new clinical data on its unique Sideguard coronary sidebranch system at the JIM 2011 (Joint Interventional Meeting) in Rome. The new study titled Bifurcation Plaque Redistribution: An Intravascular Ultrasound Comparison of the Self-expanding Sideguard Stent in the Sidebranch Versus a Balloon-Expandable Stent in the Main Vessel was presented by a group of investigators led by Dr. Gary Mintz of the Colombia University Medical Center/Cardiology Research Foundation. The study measured the effects of balloon expandable and self-expanding Sideguard nitinol stents on the vessel wall. The IVUS data showed that the trumpet-shaped self-expanding Sideguard stent contributed to vessel remodeling and also reduced plaque redistribution and carina shift when the Sideguard was placed in the coronary sidebranch vessel as a first line treatment.
Read more - Researchers attempt to make stem cell transplants using umbilical cord blood more successful
Top Institute Pharma launched a new research project that should make stem cell transplants more successful. A stem cell transplant is usually performed on adults with acute leukemia. "Umbilical cord blood is being used more frequently as a source, but this cord blood contains very few blood-forming stem cells," according to lead researcher Jan Cornelissen of the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam. As a result, a relatively large number of patients will experience complications after the transplant, which can even be associated with unnecessary deaths. The researchers are going to develop a new culture method, to increase the number of stem cells in the laboratory.
Read more - Study shows RyMed InVision-Plus IV connector reduced catheter-related blood infections
Georgia Health Sciences University, Augusta, Ga. exhibited a poster at the recent 11th National Conference on Cancer Nursing Research in Los Angeles, in which their clinical study showed RyMed Technologies’ zero displacement InVision-Plus IV Connector significantly decreased the incidence of catheter-related bloodstream infections (CR-BSIs) by 93 percent on average when compared to a simple split septum with negative displacement IV connector (Becton-Dickinson Q-Syte) and a reversed split-septum device with negative displacement IV connector. No clinical studies have been published comparing different types of connectors in oncology patients on CR-BSIs. CR-BSIs can cause treatment delays, add time to nursing care, increase costs, increase mortality and decrease quality of life for the patient and family. The purpose of the study was to determine infection rates for a split septum valve, a negative reversed split-septum valve and an intraluminal protection device with zero displacement in both critical care and medical in-patient oncology patients.
Read more - Study finds temporal artery and rectal thermometry equivalent
Measuring the body temperatures of newborns with temporal artery thermometry is as accurate as using rectal thermometers, according to a cross-sectional study recently published in Paediatrica Indonesiana. Quick, safe and accurate thermometry methods are necessary when measuring neonate temperatures.
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