Surgical Vs. Nonsurgical Treatment For Cervical Spine Fracture
For older adults with "C2" fractures of the upper (cervical) spine, surgery and nonsurgical treatment provide similar short- and long-term outcomes, reports a study in the May issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health...

The Risks Of Running Marathons
Even though hundreds of thousands more people finished grueling 26.2 mile marathons in the United States in 2009 compared to a decade earlier, a runner's risk of dying during or soon after the race has remained very low - about .75 per 100,000, new Johns Hopkins research suggests. Men, however, were twice as likely to die as women...

Specific Clinical Guidance Urgently Needed On Bone Cancer Drugs
Although bisphosphonate drugs can reduce pain and bone fractures in individuals with multiple myeloma, no one drug is superior, according to a systematic review of the current evidence of these drugs. The review is published in The Cochrane Library. Multiple myeloma is a type of cancer that grows in and on bones. The disease can cause fractures in the spine and long bones...

Clinical Guidance Remains Non-Specific For Drugs To Reduce Bone Cancer Damage
Bone cancer-related fractures and pain can be reduced by drug treatment, but no one drug is superior, according to a review published in The Cochrane Library. Researchers undertook a systematic review of the current evidence on bisphosphonate drugs, which are used to prevent bone damage in multiple myeloma...

Scientist Grows Bone From Human Embryonic Stem Cells
Dr. Darja Marolt, an Investigator at The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Laboratory, is lead author on a study showing that human embryonic stem cells can be used to grow bone tissue grafts for use in research and potential therapeutic application. Dr. Marolt conducted this research as a post-doctoral NYSCF - Druckenmiller Fellow at Columbia University in the laboratory of Dr...

NEJM's Study On Biphosphonates For Osteoporosis - A Response From ASBMR
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that physicians should reassess patients with osteoporosis who are being treated with a class of drugs called bisphosphonates after three to five years of therapy to determine whether they should continue treatment...

Scientists Measure Communication Between Stem Cell-Derived Motor Neurons And Muscle Cells
In an effort to identify the underlying causes of neurological disorders that impair motor functions such as walking and breathing, UCLA researchers have developed a novel system to measure the communication between stem cell-derived motor neurons and muscle cells in a Petri dish...

Longer Lasting Hip Implants
Hip replacement is one of the most frequent operations carried out in Germany. Each year, doctors implant some 200,000 artificial hip joints. Often the artificial hips need to be replaced just ten years later. In the future, a new implant currently being developed using high technology materials could help prevent premature revision surgeries...

Load-Bearing Exercise By Males In Their Early 20s May Shield Them From Osteoporosis In Old Age
Young men who play volleyball, basketball or other load-bearing sports for four hours a week or more increase bone mass and might gain protection from developing osteoporosis later in life, according to a new study in the May issue of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research...

Cervical Spine CT Not Necessary In Cases Of Simple Assault And Ground Level Falls
Cervical spine CT examinations are unnecessary for emergency department (ED) patients who are a victim of "simple assault" or who have a "ground-level fall", unless the patient has a condition that predisposes the patient to spine fracture, a new study finds...

Weekend Home Repair Warriors And Construction Workers Travel Long Distances For Common Surgeries And Follow-Up Care
Wrist, hand and finger trauma are the most common injuries presenting to emergency departments nationwide, yet only 7 percent of Tennessee hospitals have a hand specialist on call 24/7 to treat these patients, according to a Vanderbilt study published online today in the Annals of Plastic Surgery...

Improved Bone Repair With High-Strength Silk Scaffolds
Biomedical engineers at Tufts University's School of Engineering have demonstrated the first all-polymeric bone scaffold material that is fully biodegradable and capable of providing significant mechanical support during repair. The new technology uses micron-sized silk fibers to reinforce a silk matrix, much as steel rebar reinforces concrete...

Genes For Fracture Susceptibility And Osteoporosis Risk Discovered
Osteoporosis is a common, silent and devastating age-related disease. 25% of Australian women with osteoporosis who sustain a hip fracture die within 12 months, with a greater mortality risk of women older than 65 than from breast cancer. In comparison to women, the mortality rate amongst men with hip fractures is even higher...

Treating Traumatic Shoulder Injuries: New Standards To Improve Patient Care
Traumatic shoulder injuries that result in a patient visit to the ER often contain a secondary injury that can cause pain and discomfort in that part of the body after the primary injury has healed. By focusing on the primary injury, radiologists sometimes miss the secondary injury, which can compromise treatment effectiveness...

BioPoly Partial Knee Resurfacing Shows Promise
London Clinic consultant Mr. Dinesh Nathwani successfully performed the world's first BioPoly partial knee resurfacing procedure on the 9th January at The Advanced Therapies Centre, a newly launched clinical trials facility at The London Clinic, which aims to offer patients a range of innovative therapy choices by accessing trials and novel therapies...