NIH REPORT ON INTRACRANIAL STENT POINTS OUT NEED FOR UPCOMING LARGE-SCALE CLINICAL TRIALNewswise — A preliminary study funded by the National Institutes of Health found that a stent designed to open clogged arteries in the brain was successfully deployed in nearly all cases and significantly reduced arterial blockage in the short term. But data on the long-term benefit of the stent, compared to medical treatment alone, were inconclusive, prompting the upcoming launch of a large-scale randomized trial that is expected to provide definitive results.The NIH Wingspan Registry collected statistics on 129 patients who had an intracranial artery narrowed by at least 70 percent and were experiencing recurrent strokes or transient ischemic attacks (TIAs or "mini-strokes" ) despite being on anti-clotting medication. Treatment included use of the Wingspan intracranial stent developed by Boston Scientific. Seven centers in the United States participated in the trial, and results are published online in the journal Neurology.
NEW STRATEGY CRACKS STAPH BACTERIUM'S "GOLDEN ARMOR," MAKING IT VULNERABLE TO TREATMENTResearchers have exploited a structural vulnerability in the "superbug" Staphylococcus aureus that in laboratory experiments and a mouse study opened the bacterium to treatment with an anti-cholesterol medication. This follows the 2005 discovery that a pigment provides a "golden armor" that enables staph to evade the immune system. An article published Feb.14 in the online version of Science (Science Express) describes the study, which was conducted by researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the National Taiwan University in Taipei, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the University of California, San Diego.
RESEARCHERS AT CEDARS-SINAI STUDYING AIRWAY BYPASS TREATMENT FOR EMPHYSEMAResearchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center are participating in the EASE (Exhale Airway Stents for Emphysema) Trial, an international, multi-center clinical trial to explore an investigational treatment that may offer a new, minimally-invasive option for those suffering with advanced widespread emphysema. The study focuses on an experimental procedure called airway bypass designed to create pathways in the lung for trapped air to escape with the goal of relieving shortness of breath and other emphysema symptoms.
ORGANIZATION OF PROMINENT BLACK WOMEN SUPPORTS MEDICAL HISTORY IN THE MAKINGWhen a research scientist in the Department of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center discovers a molecular target that makes brain tumor cells more susceptible to treatment, Pauletta Washington, Keisha Whitaker and Dale Cochran are standing by. When the life of a patient is extended by months or years because an experimental vaccine fights malignant brain tumor cells, Gloria Mitchell, Yolanda "Cookie" Parker, Carol Bennett, M.D., and Angelia Sanders cannot be far away " at least in spirit and support. All are members of a rare if not unique organization of African-American women raising funds for medicine and research.
PATIENT PLANS "PINOT FOR PREVENTION" PARTIES TO RAISE AWARENESS OF WOMEN'S HEART DISEASEEvan McCabe wants every woman to know that heart disease " not cancer " is the number one killer of women. And she's counting on a glass of wine " pinot noir, to be exact " to help her get the point across. McCabe, a registered nurse with a master's degree in nursing, is an associate professor of nursing at Santa Barbara City College. She also has heart disease, is a patient of cardiologist C. Noel Bairey Merz, M.D., at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and recently became an advocate for other women through WomenHeart, the National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease. That's where her idea of Pinot for Prevention Parties was born.
GENE THERAPY "TRAINS" IMMUNE SYSTEM TO DESTROY BRAIN CANCER CELLS AND REVERSES BEHAVIORAL DEFICITSA new gene therapy approach that attracts and "trains" immune system cells to destroy deadly brain cancer cells also provides long-term immunity, produces no significant adverse effects and -- in the process of destroying the tumor -- promotes the return of normal brain function and behavioral skills, according to a study conducted by researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Board of Governors Gene Therapeutics Research Institute.The study was conducted in a recently developed laboratory rat model of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) that closely simulates outcomes in humans and supports the translation of this procedure to human clinical trials later this year. Results of the study are described in the Feb. 19 issue of Molecular Therapy, the journal of the American Society for Gene Therapy.
MINIMALLY INVASIVE RADIOFREQUENCY ABLATION SUCCESSFULLY REMOVES TEEN DRUMMER'S PAINFUL, BENIGN BONE TUMORAvery Burton of Los Angeles was a typical busy teenager who taught karate, was a talented drummer for his high school marching band, and in his spare time, was a drummer for the rock band, "The Blame." When he started to experience hip and knee pain at night, he at first thought it was the price he was forced to pay for having such an active lifestyle. What he didn't know was that after living with the worsening pain for six months, he would become the first patient to undergo a new non-surgical technique at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to treat a certain type of tumor called osteoid osteoma.
ACTIVE LIFE BEGINS (AGAIN) AT 40 AFTER MINIMALLY INVASIVE SPINE SURGERY Kelly Weber's tennis racket hasn't been retired, after all. A car accident five years ago destroyed two disks between three bones in Weber's spine, bringing her active lifestyle to a sudden stop. But minimally invasive spine surgery performed at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is giving the Greeley, Colo., resident a chance to return to the tennis court and ski slopes without the pain that made even sitting in a car a difficult task. According to Weber, who used to play on a United States Tennis Association (USTA) league and is a water aerobics and water therapy instructor, after the accident, she was unable to even hug her then 3- and 5-year-old daughters in a normal way. After the crash, Weber underwent a surgical procedure called lumbar laminectomy in which pieces of damaged disk material were removed to take pressure off a pinched nerve root exiting the spinal column.
RSS