VAPE Medical LLC

The Time has come and VAPE Medical LLC is starting to form. The most important thing is I get to use this Blog again...for a great cause.

VAPE Medical LLC is a Tobacco Cessation program tailored to the individual.

Becoming a non-smoker doesn't happen overnight. We have strategies, support, and a personalized plan to help you along the way. Your life as a non-smoker starts soon. Remember why you're quitting: not only for your health, but also to feel like you've accomplished something huge. Let’s talk about where you are, and where you want to be. You will know the steps you need to take to get support and how to work around obstacles to quitting and sticking with it. The only thing left to do is quit — for good! Call today to get started on your free plan.

Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in the U.S. and is a major contributor to the nation’s increasing medical costs. Despite the growing list of adverse health effects associated with smoking, more than 45 million U.S. adults continue to smoke and approximately 1200 die prematurely each day from tobacco-related diseases. Annual smoking-attributable expenditures can be measured both in direct medical costs ($96 billion) and in lost productivity ($97 billion), but the results of national surveys have raised concerns that recent declines in smoking prevalence among U.S. adults may have come to an end. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Public Health Service (PHS) Clinical Practice Guideline on Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence (2008), 4.5 million adults over 65 years of age smoke cigarettes. Even smokers over age 65, however, can benefit greatly from abstinence, and older smokers who quit can reduce their risk of death from coronary heart disease, chronic obstructive lung disease and lung cancer, as well as decrease their risk of osteoporosis.

Back To the Blog

I apologise for being away for a month. I've been changing Jobs. I miss this blog the most. I will be back.

New technique gets around open-heart surgery

When a faulty heart valve started slowing down Lena Downey last year, she didn’t have many options.

Health problems made it risky for the 87-year-old Hale, Mo., woman to have the open-heart surgery that is usually done to install a new artificial valve. And no medication could improve her condition.

So when St. Luke’s Hospital offered her a new investigational procedure to replace her heart valve without cutting open her chest, she was eager to try it.

“I told them they could do whatever they wanted as long as they put me to sleep,” Downey said. “I think it’s wonderful if it helps me get well. That’s all I ask.”

On Wednesday morning, Downey became the first person to undergo the procedure in Kansas City. Later that evening, she was in stable condition at St. Luke’s.

Read More!

Even with BMPs, osteoinductive matrices still play a role in spine restoration cases

September 2008

While osteoinductive factors and matrices may be advantageous for spinal fusion, a leading spine surgeon warns about the consequences of using bone morphogenetic proteins in large doses and calls for a re-examination of iliac crest bone grafting.

“Lumbar spine fusion, especially posterior lumbar spine [fusion], continues to present a difficult clinical problem,” Harvinder S. Sandhu, MD, said. “Although BMPs are powerful and useful biologic tools, do not underestimate the risks when using supraphysiologic doses. There is an inflammatory and osteolytic host response in some cases and, in the spine, chronic radiculitis. Well-designed osteoconductive matrices and local bone graft and bone marrow still have an important role.

“I think that we have to revisit the whole issue of iliac crest bone grafting, particularly in light of the newer, less invasive bone harvesting methods that are now available. It ultimately may be a safer and more cost effective method, even when combined with osteoconductive matrices,” he said.

Read More!

Human exoskeleton suit helps paralyzed people walk

HAIFA, Israel (Reuters) - paralyzed for the past 20 years, former Israeli paratrooper Radi Kaiof now walks down the street with a dim mechanical hum.

That is the sound of an electronic exoskeleton moving the 41-year-old's legs and propelling him forward -- with a proud expression on his face -- as passersby stare in surprise.

"I never dreamed I would walk again. After I was wounded, I forgot what it's like," said Kaiof, who was injured while serving in the Israeli military in 1988.

"Only when standing up can I feel how tall I really am and speak to people eye to eye, not from below."

The device, called ReWalk, is the brainchild of engineer Amit Goffer, founder of Argo Medical Technologies, a small Israeli high-tech company.

Something of a mix between the exoskeleton of a crustacean and the suit worn by comic hero Iron Man, ReWalk helps paraplegics -- people paralyzed below the waist -- to stand, walk and climb stairs.

Read More!

Japanese create stem cells from wisdom teeth

Japanese scientists said Friday they had derived stem cells from wisdom teeth, opening another way to study deadly diseases without the ethical controversy of using embryos.

Researchers at the government-backed National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology said they created stem cells of the type found in human embryos using the removed wisdom teeth of a 10-year-old girl.

"This is significant in two ways," team leader Hajime Ogushi told AFP. "One is that we can avoid the ethical issues of stem cells because wisdom teeth are destined to be thrown away anyway.
"Also, we used teeth that had been extracted three years ago and had been preserved in a freezer. That means that it's easy for us to stock this source of stem cells.

The announcement follows the groundbreaking discovery by US and Japanese scientists last year that they could produce stem cells from skin, a finding that was hailed by the Vatican and US President George W. Bush.

Read More! http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080822090616.cje0kojr&show_article=1

NuVasive to fight patent lawsuit

NuVasive, a San Diego-based company that makes products for minimally invasive spine surgery, said it plans to defend itself against a patent infringement lawsuit filed against it by competitor Medtronic Sofamor Danek.

Court filings contend that several NuVasive products infringe older patents held by Minneapolis-based Medtronic, the world's largest medical device firm.
The lawsuit should not disrupt NuVasive operations, said Alex Lukianov, chief executive officer.
“It is not surprising that Medtronic would attempt to intimidate NuVasive with this suit, since NuVasive represents a growing threat to Medtronic's spine business,” he said.
Medtronic spokeswoman Mary-Beth Thorsgaard said the suit involves 12 patents. “Medtronic respects the patents of others and we expect others to respect our patents,” she said.

Read More!

With companies such as OsteoGeneX, KC aims to be a backbone for biotech

By JASON GERTZEN
The Kansas City Star

This is a story of a scientist and a spine surgeon who teamed up to pursue a big idea.
Debra Ellies, the scientist, and Bill Rosenberg, the surgeon, now run OsteoGeneX Inc., a small Kansas City area biotechnology company.
It still is very much a startup venture, so success cannot be presumed a sure bet.
The young business is buffeted nearly every day by the need to refine or prove its science, raise money to keep going and tackle one more item on the seemingly endless to-do list of an entrepreneur.
Yet OsteoGeneX is gaining momentum.
Its eventual success could be a big deal.
A big deal for millions of women and others afflicted by the bone-weakening condition of osteoporosis.
A big deal for millions of baby boomers with worn-out joints and other patients who rely on surgeons to fuse their ailing spines or otherwise repair their injured bones.
And even a big deal to the Kansas City region, which is counting on small technology companies such as OsteoGeneX to make it big. These firms increasingly are sprouting in the area, and many offer the promise of rapid growth and good jobs that would bring a much-needed boost to the local economy.
OsteoGeneX joins a swelling roster that includes TVAX Biomedical, LLC, ImmunoGenetix Therapeutics Inc. and VasoGenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. Each is a company with good management, promising technology to solve serious health problems and initial investment-raising success, said Tom Thornton, the chief executive officer of the Kansas Bioscience Authority.
“We have a decent pipeline of companies,” Thornton said. “This is our grow-your-own strategy. Each is an example that shows we can do it in Kansas.”
Maybe one of these companies will become the next Cerner Corp., the Kansas City, North-based medical software business that has thousands of employees and more than $1 billion in annual sales. Or maybe the next Enturia Inc., a Leawood medical technology company that spun out of Marion Laboratories Inc. It eventually employed hundreds and recently was sold to Cardinal Health Inc. for nearly $500 million.
Known technology hubs such as California’s Silicon Valley or the Boston area have strong advantages in these pursuits. They are chockablock with entrepreneurs who learn from the successes, avoid the mistakes or just bounce ideas off their readily available peers.
This is not quite as easy in the Kansas City area, though the situation is improving.
OsteoGeneX shows how local biotech entrepreneurs manage in a place that the East Coast and West Coast deride as flyover country. The company’s experiences show how the region is shepherding these businesses in pursuit of building a biotech hub on this edge of Midwestern prairie

READ MORE CLICK HERE!

Half of all Americans have poor eyesight: study

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Half of all Americans have some sort of vision problem, most of them myopia or astigmatism, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.
This is far higher than previous estimates, the team at the National Eye Institute reported in the Archives of Ophthalmology.
"Clinically important refractive error affects half of the U.S. population 20 years or older," wrote Susan Vitale and colleagues at the institute, one of the U.S. government's National Institutes of Health.
They analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey on 12,000 people aged 20 and older between 1999 and 2004.
More than 33 percent were nearsighted and 36 percent had astigmatism, which causes fuzzy vision, the team reported. Another 3.6 percent were farsighted, meaning they can see at a distance but not up close.
"Our estimated prevalence of myopia was higher than the 25 percent reported in previous U.S. studies and similar (in persons under 40 years) to that of ethnic Chinese persons in Singapore," they wrote.
"The direct annual cost of refractive correction for distance visual impairment is estimated to be between $3.8 and $7.2 billion for persons 12 years and older."
The study matches findings in other countries that have shown about half the population has a so-called refractive vision problem, usually requiring the use of glasses, contact lenses or corrective surgery.
The causes of these three eye conditions is unclear but there is a genetic component. Most studies discount the widely held belief that myopia is caused by too much reading or close work as a child.

Mechanical Agitation and Serial Dilution: An Option for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Graft Sterilization

By Richard D. Parker, MD; Steven D. Maschke, MDJ Knee Surg. 2008; 21:186
July 2008

ABSTRACT
Contamination of tissue grafts can occur during anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, necessitating decontamination. This study examined whether mechanical agitation and serial dilution provides greater bacterial eradication of experimentally contaminated bone-patellar tendon-bone grafts compared with antibiotic soak or pulsatile lavage. Forty bone-patellar tendon-bone grafts were contaminated with a bacterial suspension derived from operating room floor cultures. Four groups of specimens underwent immediate culture (control), antibiotic soak, pulsatile lavage, or mechanical agitation and serial dilution. The number of colony-forming units (CFU) for each group was statistically compared using t and chi-square tests. Each method of decontamination yielded a statistically significant reduction in CFU compared with the control. Analysis of positive versus negative cultures demonstrated a statistically significant difference between mechanical agitation and serial dilution compared with the other 2 methods. Mechanical agitation and serial dilution was the only method with 0 CFU and provided superior and consistent sterilization of experimentally contaminated grafts compared with antibiotic soak and pulsatile lavage.

Read More!

$15 Million Paid to Kyphon Whistleblower

Call it the new lottery. Craig Patrick dropped a dime on his employer, Kyphon Inc., and today is splitting $15 million with Chuck Bates, another former Kyphon exec.
In his call to the authorities, Mr. Patrick questioned some of Kyphon’s sales practices. A “whistleblower” lawsuit ensued in federal court and Kyphon was accused of inflating the cost of spinal procedures in Buffalo, New York, and throughout the nation. Kyphon’s new owner, Medtronic, settled the case for $75 million.

A different whistleblower in a case against National Air Cargo received $3.3 million. Approximately 25% of all whistleblower cases result in payouts to the whistleblower.
This is a relatively new phenomenon, but it is increasingly causing more and more examples of employees “dropping the dime” on their employer. For all concerned—the company, the whistleblower, and the reimbursing agencies—these are highly expensive and potentially career ending activities.

These cases take three to four uncomfortable years. As Patrick related to a reporter in Buffalo earlier this year; “It’s a very stressful process, from beginning to end. While the lawsuit is pending, you’re not supposed to tell anyone about it. You’re wondering if your work friends will ever speak to you again, and some won’t.” Patrick now lives in Hudson, Wisconsin.
The case that resulted in the Kyphon whistleblower suit came from cases where Kyphon sales people persuaded doctors and hospitals to keep patients overnight in order to receive an additional $10,000 in Medicare payments—despite the fact that the procedure can be performed on an outpatient basis.

Kyphon and, subsequently, Medtronic officials did not admit to defrauding the government.
One in four. Those are the odds currently of winning the whistleblower lottery. More than 130 surgeons are being sued in a recently unsealed whistleblower lawsuit. The Department of Justice has announced that it is targeting surgeons who request payment for services that are suspiciously tied to purchases of products.

If any surgeon or company thinks these aren’t serious times, they are whistling past the graveyard.

Can 97,142 VCF Patients Be Wrong?

Talk about a kick-ass ‘n’. n= 97,142. If you can’t learn something from 97,142 VCF patients, then all is lost. Thanks to Edmund Lau, M.S., Kevin Ong, Ph.D., Steven Kurtz, Ph.D., Jordana Schmier, M.A., and Av Edidin, Ph.D.—all from Exponent, Inc., we have solid information about the continuum of care for elderly patients with vertebral compression fractures (VCF).

Incidentally and not surprisingly, Kyphon contributed a bit more than $10,000 to sponsor the research. The researchers from Exponent conducted a retrospective data analysis of 97,142 Medicare patients with vertebral compression fractures from 1997 through 2004. Controls were matched for age, sex, race, and Medicare buy-in status, with a five-to-one control-case ratio.

The survival of a patient was measured from the earliest date of a new fracture until death or until the end of the study. The patients with a fracture were compared with the controls by calculation of the mortality rates, with use of Kaplan-Meier analysis and the Cox regression method. Demographic subpopulation analysis and analysis by comorbidity levels were performed as well.

What did the researchers find? They learned that Medicare patients with a vertebral fracture had twice the mortality rate of the matched controls. Only 10.5% of the VCF patients survived seven years after fracture. Furthermore, the mortality risk following a fracture was greater for men than for women.
The study was published in JBJS and is available in CD form and, I’m sure, can be obtained from Kyphon (Medtronic) or from Exponent, Inc.

2nd Annual Contemporary Issues in Partial Knee Arthroplasty (CIPKA)

September 5-6, 2008
Mount Carmel New Albany Surgical Hospital
New Albany, Ohio




Partial knee arthroplasty (PKA) has enjoyed a renewed interest in the last decade. Isolated medial, lateral, and patellofemoral arthroplasty are all becoming the norm for the treatment of compartmental disease. Additionally, bicompartmental arthroplasty has been introduced in an effort to preserve the normal ligamentous structures in appropriate knees. A combination of improved results over previous experiences, newer devices such as mobile bearing PKA and newer patellofemoral replacement designs, and improved implantation techniques including minimally invasive alternatives have driven this excitement. Debate continues to surround, however, the appropriate indications for PKA, particularly involving the patellofemoral joint.

This continuing medical education event will focus on the contemporary issues in PKA, featuring not only traditional didactic lectures but also live surgical demonstrations, and an opportunity for participants to perform these procedures in a human fresh-tissue cadaver laboratory. The indications, contraindications, and outcomes of medial, lateral, patellofemoral, and bicompartmental replacements will be reviewed by a faculty of worldwide experts.

Read More! MORE ON MY EPIC UNI KNEE!

K-State receives grant to pioneer stem-cell 'smart bombs'

By Holly Smith
for KansasLiberty.com
Kansas State University has announced it has received a $380,000 grant to help further a form of stem-cell research that could revolutionize how cancer is treated.
The grant, which was awarded by the National Institutes of Health, will assist three K-State affiliated researchers, Deryl Troyer, professor of anatomy and physiology at K-State’s College of Veterinary Medicine; Duy Hua, distinguished professor of chemistry; and Masaaki Tamura, associate professor of anatomy and physiology.
The scientists have been using adult stem cells, harvested from an umbilical cord, to administer cancer-fighting drugs directly to cancer tissue.
“These are basically smart bombs at the cellular level,” said Dr. David Prentice, senior fellow for life sciences at the Family Research Council. “This allows you to target the tumor, release the drug and deliver a high concentration of the drug directly to the tumor.” Read more...

Complaints Undermine (the competitions) Hip Device

July 24, 2008

By BARRY MEIER

Zimmer Holdings, the nation’s biggest producer of orthopedic devices,
says it will suspend sales of an artificial hip component that some
doctors have complained was failing at a high rate.

The company also lowered its earnings outlook as a result of the
suspension, and its shares fell sharply Wednesday.
In recent months, some doctors have complained that the device, a hip
socket known as the Durom cup, was failing in their patients, who then
had to undergo replacement surgery.

Zimmer said its investigation had determined that the product was not
defective. But it stated that even some experienced surgeons had found
it difficult to implant. The company said it expected to resume sales
once specialized training for doctors had begun.

Since it was first sold in the United States in 2006, the Durom cup has
been implanted in more than 12,000 patients. Zimmer said it expected
the overall need for early replacement in patients would be low. But
Zimmer data and interviews with doctors suggest that hundreds of
patients might need such procedures in coming years.

Some doctors said their patients had not had problems with the cup.
The company also said the sales halt would cut $20 million to $30
million from its sales estimates. Zimmer said it expected that earnings
for the year would be $4.05 to $4.10 a share, down from its earlier
forecast of $4.20 to $4.25 a share.

In composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange, shares of
Zimmer, which is based in Warsaw, Ind., fell $4.87 a share to close at
$66.01 a share. Bruce Nudell, an analyst at UBS who covers medical
devices, said that the company had not issued any warnings that sales
would be halted.

Complaints Undermine Hip Device - NYTimes.com Page 1 of 2
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/24/business/24hip.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted... 7/24/2008

“They had given hints that there would not be a recall but this came as
a surprise,” Mr. Nudell said.

Read More! To find out more about my safe hip click HERE!

Reverse Shoulder Arthroplasty for the Treatment of Rotator Cuff Deficiency

Reprint from JBJS





Derek Cuff, MD1, Derek Pupello, MBA1, Nazeem Virani, MD2, Jonathan Levy, MD3 and Mark Frankle, MD1

1 Florida Orthopaedic Institute, 13020 North Telecom Parkway, Tampa, FL 33637. E-mail address for M. Frankle: frankle@pol.net

2 Department of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, University of South Florida, 3500 East Fletcher Avenue, Suite 511, MDC106, Tampa, FL 336133

3 Orthopaedic Institute at Holy Cross Hospital, 4725 North Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308

Investigation performed at the Florida Orthopaedic Institute, Tampa, Florida

Background: Early designs of reverse shoulder arthroplasty components for the treatment of glenohumeral arthritis associated with severe rotator cuff deficiency in some cases have been associated with mechanical failure. The purpose of this study was to perform a prospective outcomes study of reverse shoulder arthroplasty performed with use of 5.0-mm peripheral locking screws for baseplate fixation and a lateralized center of rotation for the treatment of a rotator cuff deficiency.

Methods: From February 2004 to March 2005, 112 patients (114 shoulders) were treated with a reverse shoulder arthroplasty as part of a United States Food and Drug Administration Investigational Device Exemption study. Ninety-four patients (ninety-six shoulders) were available for a minimum follow-up of two years. Of the ninety-six shoulders, thirty-seven had a primary rotator cuff deficiency, thirty-three had a previous rotator cuff operation, twenty-three had a previous arthroplasty, and three had a proximal humeral nonunion. The patients were prospectively followed clinically (the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons [ASES] score, the Simple Shoulder Test [SST], and self-reported satisfaction) and radiographically (mechanical failure, loosening, and notching). Patients were videotaped while performing a standard active range-of-motion protocol before and after treatment. These videos were then analyzed in a blinded fashion by three independent observers using a digital goniometer.

Results: Results: At two years, the average total ASES scores had improved from 30 preoperatively to 77.6; the average ASES pain scores, from 15 to 41.6; and the average SST scores, from 1.8 to 6.8 (p < 0.0001 for all). Blinded analysis of range of motion showed that average abduction improved from 61° preoperatively to 109.5° (p < 0.0001); average flexion, from 63.5° to 118° (p < 0.0001); and average external rotation, from 13.4° to 28.2° (p < 0.0001). The patients rated the outcome as excellent in fifty-three shoulders (55%), good in twenty-six (27%), satisfactory in eleven (12%), and unsatisfactory in six (6%). There was no evidence of mechanical failure of the baseplate or scapular notching in any of the patients. Six of the ninety-four patients in this study had a complication.

Conclusions: Recent advances in reverse shoulder arthroplasty have allowed for improvement in patient outcomes while minimizing early mechanical failure and scapular notching and decreasing the overall complication rate at short-term follow-up.
Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions to Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Full article click here! MORE ABOUT THIS PRODUCT!

Outcomes of Single-Bundle Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

by John-Paul H. Rue, MD; Jerome J. DaSilva, MD; Dana P. Piasecki, MD; Bernard R. Bach, MD

Arthroscopically assisted single-bundle reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a reproducible surgical procedure with a high success rate and greater than 90% patient satisfaction. Data on arthroscopically assisted single-bundle ACL reconstruction using the classic bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft, hamstring autograft, as well as allograft tissues indicate that the procedure reliably improves knee stability and patient function. Complications following ACL reconstruction using modern endoscopic techniques are generally mild and uncommon. Graft failure, when noted, occurs in 0% to 6% of patients; 15% to 25% of patients report mild patellofemoral discomfort and/or crepitus. Significant postoperative stiffness is rare, with absolute postoperative range-of-motion measurements averaging 0° to roughly 140° in more than 90% of patients.

The prostate cancer 'wonder pill' set to save thousands every year

British researchers have made a dramatic breakthrough against a lethal form of prostate cancer.

Trials of a new pill have shown that it can shrink tumours in up to 80 per cent of cases, and end the need for damaging chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Experts hailed the advance as potentially the biggest in the field of prostate cancer for decades, capable of saving many thousands of lives.

Scientists believe the technique could also be effective on other tumours, such as breast and bowel cancers.

The drug, abiraterone, was discovered by researchers at the Royal Marsden Hospital in South-West London.

Their leader, Dr Johann de Bono, said patients there had been able to control the disease with just four pills a day and very few side-effects.

Prostate cancer is Britain's most common cancer among men and the second highest killer, after lung cancer. Some 35,000 people a year are diagnosed with it - and 12,000 die.

There are two types, aggressive and non-aggressive, which are often called 'tiger' and 'pussycat'. Men with pussycat cancer can often lead a healthy life, but the tiger variety - a third of cases - is usually fatal within 18 months.

APPLE-A-DAY TALK

Industry concerns about Steve Jobs' health have not gone away more than a month after the Apple CEO appeared dramatically thinner at the firm's annual developers' conference, fighting what insiders at the time were calling a "bug."
Apple is due to report earnings today, but many investors and analysts remain as interested in news of the condition of the tech titan - who is a survivor of pancreatic cancer - as they are in the numbers themselves.
"Apple's hedge fund investors are very worried," said a Wall Street source who has spoken with some of the company's stakeholders.

Read More!

World warned over killer flu pandemic

The world is failing to guard against the inevitable spread of a devastating flu pandemic which could kill 50 million people and wreak massive disruption around the globe, the Government has warned.In evidence to a House of Lords committee, ministers said that early warning systems for spotting emerging diseases were "poorly co-ordinated" and lacked "vision" and "clarity". They said that more needed to be done to improve detection and surveillance for potential pandemics and called for urgent improvement in rapid-response strategies.The Government's evidence appeared in a highly critical report from the Lords Intergovernmental Organisations Committee, which attacked the World Health Organisation (WHO) as "dysfunctional" and criticised the international response to the threat of an outbreak of disease which could sweep across the globe.

Read More!

A lesson for golfers

Anyone who watched the 2008 U.S. Open knew that Tiger Woods was playing in pain. Two days after winning his 14th major championship, he announced that he would miss the rest of the PGA Tour season and have reconstructive surgery for a damaged anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee. The surgery was performed on Tuesday, June 24, as this issue of AAOS Now went to press.
Woods has a distinctive, powerful swing that puts unusual stress on his left knee. He elected to undergo arthroscopic surgery in April to clean out debris and cartilage damage following the ACL rupture last year. He also hoped to delay reconstructive surgery until after the 2008 season. But while recovering from the arthroscopic procedure, Woods experienced a double stress fracture of the left tibia—just 2 weeks before the U.S. Open.
Rather than heed physicians’ advice to rest for 6 weeks to allow the stress fractures to heal, Woods endured increasing pain through the sudden-death playoff. Then came the announcement: “It is clear that the right thing to do is to listen to my doctors, follow through with this surgery, and focus my attention on rehabilitating my knee.”

Read More! And Check out My Covidien / scandius medical link for more info on ACL repairs!

Pfizer Eyes New Use For Stem Cells

Big drug companies have largely stayed away from testing exotic stem-cell treatments. But now Pfizer is betting that a radical new adult stem-cell treatment may be able to stave off diabetes-induced retina damage, a leading cause of blindness.In an unusual deal, the big drug maker is funding the creation of a biotech company in San Diego called EyeCyte, which will develop stem-cell treatments for eye diseases. The company is based on work by Scripps Research Institute ophthalmologist Martin Friedlander, who has pinpointed bone- and blood-marrow stems cells that, in animal experiments, have a remarkable ability to target and repair damaged blood vessels in the eye. Abnormal blood vessels are a key problem in both diabetic eye disease and macular degeneration.In the future, patients with early signs of blood-vessel damage in the eye might go to the doctor in the morning and leave a blood sample. Adult stem cells would be isolated in the lab over the next few hours, and then the patient would come back in the afternoon and get an injection of his own purified stem cells into the eye. That single injection could stave off further blood-vessel damage for years, preserving eyesight that would otherwise be lost."It is unbelievable. These cells know where to go and they target the site of injury," said Friedlander. In his lab, he has cured mice "10 times over" in work funded by the National Eye Institute. The big question, he said, is whether the treatment will help people.

Read More!

Adult stem cell findings offer new hope for Parkinson's cure

Published: 10:53 EST, June 06, 2008

Research released today provides evidence that a cure for Parkinson'sdisease could lie just inside the nose of patients themselves.The Griffith University study published today in the journal Stem Cellsfound that adult stem cells harvested from the noses of Parkinson'spatients gave rise to dopamine-producing brain cells when transplantedinto the brain of a rat.The debilitating symptoms of Parkinson's such as loss of muscle controlare caused by degeneration of cells that produce the essential chemicaldopamine in the brain.Current drug therapies replace dopamine in the brain, but these oftenbecome less effective after prolonged use.The discovery is the work of the National Centre for Adult Stem CellResearch, part of Griffith's Eskitis Institute for Cell and MolecularTherapies.Project leader Professor Alan Mackay-Sim said researchers simulatedParkinson's symptoms in rats by creating lesions on one side of thebrain similar to the damage Parkinson's causes in the human brain."The lesions to one side of the brain made the rats run in circles," hesaid."When stem cells from the nose of Parkinson's patients were culturedand injected into the damaged area the rats re-aquired the ability torun in a straight line."All animals transplanted with the human cells had a dramatic reductionin the rate of rotation within just 3 weeks," he said."This provided evidence the cells had differentiated to give rise todopamine-producing neurons influenced by being in the environment of thebrain. In-vitro tests also revealed the presence of dopamine.""Significantly, none of the transplants led to formation of tumours orteratomas in the host rats as has occurred after embryonic stem celltransplantation in a similar model.He said like all stem cells, stem cells from the olfactory nerve in thenose are 'naïve' having not yet differentiated into which sort of cellsthey will give rise to."They can still be influenced by the environment they are put into. Inthis case we transplanted them into the brain, where they were directedto give rise to dopamine producing brain cells."The advantage of using a patient's own cells is that, unlike stem cellsfrom a foreign embryo, they are not rejected by the patient's immunesystem, so patients are free from a lifetime of potentially dangerousimmuno-suppressant drug therapy.This development follows Professor Mackay-Sim's 2006 development of aworld-first technique that demonstrated that olfactory adult stem cellscan give rise to heart, nerve, liver and brain cells.
.AOLWebSuite .AOLPicturesFullSizeLink { height: 1px; width: 1px; overflow: hidden; } .AOLWebSuite a {color:blue; text-decoration: underline; cursor: pointer}

Learn more here:
http://physorg.com/news131968438.html

Knee arthritis in boomers: A growing problem

Symposium explores trends and treatment options

Knee arthritis is catching up to the youngest baby boomers—those in their 40s and 50s, said John J. Callaghan, MD, moderator of the 2008 AAOS Annual Meeting symposium Choices and Compromises for the Treatment of Knee Arthritis in the Baby Boomer. Aging boomers and an escalating obesity rate mean that orthopaedists should expect to treat record numbers of patients for this debilitating condition.

“Data suggest that the prevalence of arthritis increases with age and that people with higher body mass indexes (BMIs) have a greater chance of developing arthritis in the knee,” he explained. “A significant portion of people in the 50- to 70-year-old baby boomer range have BMIs that are greater than 30, which is outside the healthy range. Evidence shows that around 20 percent of those people will develop knee arthritis.”

Read more! Do You have Knee Pain? - An OA knee brace could help keep surgery at bay!

Check mine OA knee brace I sell out here!

Adult Stem Cell Success

The good news just keeps coming about successful human treatments with adult stem cells. If you want to read about those from the last six months, David Prentice and I have a new paper recounting their stories. Click here to read it.

Posted by Bill Saunders on July 15, 2008 4:15 PM

Medical insurers focus on ‘never events’

By ALAN BAVLEY
The Kansas City Star

That sponge left inside you after surgery. That urinary tract infection from a catheter. Those bedsores during a long hospital stay.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City has been paying hospitals to treat serious and often avoidable complications like these.
Come Oct. 1, that is going to stop.
The halt in payments is designed as an incentive to hospitals to be meticulous about following safety guidelines — from frequent hand-washing to taking careful inventory of surgical objects.
“It’s all about patient safety,” said Blue Cross spokeswoman Susan Johnson. “We’re not putting this in play because we’re seeing large numbers of complications. But obviously, we are human and (adverse) medical events can happen.”
Blue Cross is following the lead of Medicare, which announced last summer that on Oct. 1 it would stop paying hospitals for treating complications caused by the same list of avoidable conditions. The list includes:

Read More!

Targeting Tumors with Umbilical Cord Stem Cells

Kansas State University researchers are developing a method to use umbilical cord cells to deliver cancer-fighting drugs directly to tumors. Dr. Deryl Troyer and colleagues note that these umbilical cord stem cells have a natural homing ability to areas of tissue damage, including tumors. "We are using the cells as stealth vehicles," Troyer said. Their project involves loading the stem cells with nanoparticles containing the anti-cancer drugs, and letting the cells home in on tumors, where they would release their cargo.

The project, a part of Kansas State's Midwest Institute for Comparative Stem Cell Biology, uses a type of adult stem cell that is not from cord blood, but is instead from the solid part of the umbilical cord, known as Wharton's jelly. These adult stem cells have the ability to form various cell types of the body, including neuronal cells, and have already shown the ability in animal models to ameliorate symptoms of Parkinson's diease.
There's more than wheat and wind on the plains of Kansas.

Recombinant Human Bone Morphogenetic Protein in Cervical Spine Fusion

[Posted 07/02/2008]

FDA informed healthcare professionals of reports of life-threatening complications associated with recombinant human Bone Morphogenetic Protein (rhBMP) when used in the cervical spine. The safety and effectiveness of rhBMP in the cervical spine have not been demonstrated and these products are not approved by FDA for this use. There have been at least 38 reports of complications during the last 4 years with the use of rhBMP in cervical spine fusion. These complications were associated with swelling of neck and throat tissue, which resulted in compression of the airway and/or neurological structures in the neck. Some reports describe difficulty swallowing, breathing or speaking. FDA recommends that practitioners either use approved alternative treatments or consider enrolling as investigators in approved clinical studies.FDA requires hospitals and other user facilities to report deaths and serious injuries associated with the use of medical devices. If you suspect that a reportable adverse event was related to the use of rhBMP, you should follow the reporting procedure established by your facility. Reporting adverse events is everyone’s responsibility, even if the event involves off-label use of medical devices.

The 3DKnee Difference - Stability. Range of Motion. Longevity.

The result of more than a decade of in-vivo research, the 3DKnee™ design is based on a comprehensive study of knee kinematics through fluoroscopic review, tibial plateau resection, and tibial insert retrieval analysis.
As a result of this analysis of pathological axial rotation and motion patterns in total knees, the implant provides an articulate surface with the optimal balance between conformity and constraint while remaining complementary to the existing mechanics. The result intension is greater strength, patient stability, range of motion, and performance that lasts years longer than traditional implants – a feature that makes it a truly viable prosthesis option for younger patient populations.

Click here for more info

Herculon™ Suture Anchor will officially launch on Monday, 7/21.

The Driver is supplied in two versions, one for use arthroscopically with the ArthroSew™ device, and one for open procedures. The anchor is implanted into a prepared hole in the bone and the suture is used to attach soft tissue. The anchors are manufactured from Titanium (6AL4V ELI) alloy which conforms to ASTM (F136-92), and are anodized as per AMS 2488. The Suture Loading Units included with the HERCULON™ Soft Tissue Instrument are loaded with TI•CRON™ polyester sutures, which are indicated for general soft tissue approximation. TI•CRON™ polyester sutures are non-absorbable, sterile, surgical sutures composed of Polyethylene Terephthalate. The braided sutures are coated uniformly with silicone to increase surface lubricity, thereby enhancing handling characteristics, ease of passage through tissue and knot run-down properties. TI•CRON™ polyester sutures are inert and elicit only minimal local tissue reaction. The size 2 (5 Metric) sutures included with the HERCULON™ Soft Tissue Reattachment System are supplied dyed with D&C (blue) No. 6 colorant and undyed (white). Size 2 (5 Metric) TI•CRON™ sutures meet all requirements established by the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) and the European Pharmacopoeia (EP) for non-absorbable surgical sutures

New technology aids babies with feeding problems

When babies struggle to eat, Steve Barlow wants to do more than tickle their lips and cheeks while waiting for their jaw muscles to start working.
Up to one-third of the more than 600,000 premature infants born in the United States each year have feeding problems when their brains struggle to coordinate sucking, swallowing and breathing.
Barlow, a scientist at the University of Kansas, believed he could find a high-tech way to improve the lives of these vulnerable children.
A Lenexa company called KC BioMediX soon will begin selling sophisticated medical devices based on Barlow’s research. The target market could be worth more than $1 billion.

Read More!

Doctors’ antitrust case going to arbitration

By DAN MARGOLIES
The Kansas City Star

A state appeals court has ordered a long-running antitrust case by 3,000 area doctors against some of the area’s biggest health insurers to be submitted to arbitration.
The Missouri Court of Appeals on Monday reversed a lower court ruling, agreeing with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City and United Healthcare Services that the antitrust claims were covered by arbitration agreements.
The court, in a unanimous decision by all 11 judges, ruled that Jackson County Circuit Judge Charles Atwell had erred when he denied the insurers’ motion to compel arbitration.
Atwell had determined that, because the antitrust claims could be brought without reference to the underlying contracts between the physicians and the insurers, they were not subject to arbitration.
He also ruled that, even if the claims were subject to arbitration, the arbitration agreements were “unconscionable.”
But the appeals court concluded that the physicians’ antitrust allegations pertained to matters covered by their contracts with the insurers and therefore were covered by the arbitration agreements.
It also held that because Atwell had failed to find that the agreements were “procedurally unconscionable,” he wrongly overruled Blue Cross’ and United Healthcare’s motion to compel arbitration.
Lynn McCreary, an attorney for Blue Cross, expressed satisfaction with the decision, saying the case should have been sent to arbitration in the first place.
“Blue Cross truly does value its contractual relationships with its physicians, and we think the right result was to uphold that kind of relationship,” she said.
Robert Horn, an attorney for the physicians, said his clients were content to pursue their claims in arbitration and were “ready to proceed.”
The case, which was filed in 2005, alleges that Blue Cross, United Healthcare and Coventry Health Care of Kansas violated antitrust laws by fixing prices and engaging in other monopolistic behavior.
Although Coventry, like Blue Cross and United Healthcare, had arbitration clauses in its physician contracts, it chose not to enforce them.
The defendants have denied that they conspired to suppress physician reimbursements and maintain that the lawsuit is without merit.
In March, Humana Inc., one of the original defendants, agreed to pay $2.8 million to settle the allegations against it. More than 2,200 doctors are eligible to participate in that settlement.
The case before Atwell is one of several lawsuits arising from the same underlying facts.
In a companion antitrust action in Wyandotte County, Judge Ernest Johnson, in contrast to Atwell, sent the case to arbitration.
Two other cases were originally filed in Jackson and Wyandotte counties and have since been consolidated in federal court in Miami.

J&J results bode well for medical device sector

17.15.08 CHICAGO (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson's solid second-quarter results reported Tuesday suggested the weak economy hasn't slowed demand for procedures such as knee and hip replacements -- a good sign for the medical device industry.
Investors who were braced for confirmation that weak economic conditions were prompting consumers to postpone the elective surgeries breathed a sigh of relief at the J&J numbers.
Shares of Zimmer Holdings Inc (nyse: ZMH - news - people ), the largest maker of orthopedic devices, and Stryker Corp (nyse: SYK - news - people ) each climbed about 2 percent Tuesday following the J&J results.
"The big worry on the ortho side has been industry volume growth rates; and when you get the No. 2 player reporting good volume growth, it really helps. That is why all the stocks are up today in the ortho space," said Tim Nelson, analyst with FAF Advisors, investment adviser to First American (nyse: FAF - news - people ) Funds, which owns J&J shares.
The medical device sector has traditionally served as a safe haven for investors in tough economic times, and the current economic downturn has proved no exception.
The Standard & Poor's Health Care Equipment Index which includes 11 health care companies, is up about 2.3 percent for the year to date, while the broad Standard & Poor's 500 Index has fallen about 21 percent.
However, some have worried that parts of the industry may be more vulnerable to an economic slowdown this time around as more Americans go without medical insurance, and as those who have it are forced to shell out larger co-payments for procedures.
In the first quarter, sales of hip and knee replacements slowed across the industry, including for J&J.
Rising raw materials costs have also fanned concerns about the sector's resiliency.
But on Tuesday, J&J's DePuy orthopedic unit posted worldwide quarterly sales growth of 13.6 percent, or 8.5 percent excluding the impact of the weak dollar, which boosts the value of overseas sales when converted back into U.S. currency.
Sales of surgical products in the company's Ethicon and Ethicon Endo-Surgery divisions were also strong. Strength in the medical businesses helped offset soft growth in pharmaceutical sales.
J&J Chief Financial Officer Dominic Caruso said the company saw no slowdown in orthopedic procedures in the latest period, and the first quarter's weakness was not the start of a trend. J&J also said higher materials prices so far were not having an impact on its businesses.
J&J's total U.S. medical device and diagnostics sales rose 4 percent from a year earlier, tempered by declining sales of J&J's Cypher drug-eluting stent to treat clogged heart arteries, which is under pressure from new competition from Medtronic Inc (nyse: MDT - news - people ) and Abbott Laboratories (nyse: ABT - news - people ) Inc.
Still, the growth in overall U.S. device sales represents a rebound from flat first-quarter levels and should allay fears about slowing U.S. surgical procedure volumes, particularly for Zimmer and Stryker, said JP Morgan analyst Michael Weinstein.
"What's clear is that J&J's results bode well for the device group, in our view," Weinstein said in a note to clients.
J&J's medical devices as well as its consumer brands should continue to fare well in a slowing economy, said Morningstar analyst Damien Conover, who expects sales growth in the high single digits for the DePuy orthopedic business going forward, excluding any currency benefit.
"The resilience of these more staple-like products is really showing up in this quarter," Conover said. (Reporting by Susan Kelly, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)Copyright 2008 Reuters