http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest news from Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Leukemia patients receive a bone marrow transplant, which allows them to build a "new" immune system. However, this immune system not only attacks cancer cells but healthy tissue too. Special antibodies will be used to protect healthy tissue in future. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-stem-cell-therapy-leukemia-patients.html Cancer Tue, 02 Apr 2013 07:54:27 EST news284108056 Around 17 million people in Germany suffer from impaired hearing. For many of them, their hearing is so damaged that a standard hearing aid is no longer enough. A new device will improve patients' hearing and can be implanted during outpatient surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-regaining-proper.html Medical research Tue, 02 Apr 2013 07:53:50 EST news284108021 Accidents or operations are often followed by long periods of rehabilitation treatment. In future, a new technology will allow patients to do physiotherapy exercises at home, while still making sure that they are performing movements correctly. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-physio-home.html Health Mon, 14 Jan 2013 12:47:26 EST news277390035 Bleeding gums during tooth brushing or when biting into an apple could be an indication of periodontitis, an inflammatory disease of the tissues that surround and support the teeth. Bacterial plaque attacks the bone, meaning teeth can loosen over time and in the worst case even fall out, as they are left without a solid foundation to hold them in place. Furthermore, periodontitis also acts as a focal point from which disease can spread throughout the entire body: If the bacteria, which can be very aggressive, enter the bloodstream, they can cause further damage elsewhere. Physicians suspect there is a connection between periodontitis pathogens and the sort of cardiovascular damage that can cause heart attacks or strokes. In order to stop the source of inflammation, dentists remove dental calculus and deposits from the surface of teeth, but this is often not enough; particularly aggressive bacteria can only be eliminated with antibiotics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-quick-periodontitis-pathogens.html Dentistry Thu, 03 Jan 2013 12:54:29 EST news276440018 Electronic cigarettes are experiencing somewhat of a boom at the moment. An estimated two million people in Germany have already turned to the vapor cigarette, which many view as a healthy alternative to conventional smoking. However, a number of voices, primarily from the political sphere, are warning of possible health risks, claiming that the long-term consequences cannot yet be foreseen. Studies to date have come to mixed conclusions. There is a general lack of substantiated facts, fuelling an ongoing battle between supporters and opponents. By carrying out a new, independent study, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research WKI in Braunschweig hope to introduce a degree of objectivity into this emotional topic of debate. The scientists' goal was to find out whether e-cigarettes pollute the surrounding air, thus affecting bystanders of an e-cigarette user. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-electronic-cigarettes.html Addiction Fri, 07 Dec 2012 11:00:02 EST news274098753 Breakthrough in heart research: The research team from Professor Katja Schenke-Layland of the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart has discovered cell surface markers that enable the identification and isolation of living functional cardiovascular progenitor cells (CPCs). For the first time, therapeutically relevant CPCs can be derived from induced-pluripotent stem cells (iPS) cells. CPCs, which are typically only found in fetal development, can become all of the different cell types of the heart and can integrate into heart muscle tissue after injection. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-therapeutic-advancement-heart-muscle-progenitor.html Cardiology Fri, 23 Nov 2012 12:58:29 EST news272897871 Blindness is often caused by corneal diseases. The established treatment is a corneal transplant, but in many cases this is not possible and donor corneas are often hard to come by. In the future, an artificial cornea could make up for this deficiency and save the vision of those affected. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-artificial-cornea-transplants-wont.html Medical research Mon, 01 Oct 2012 09:00:26 EST news268300816 Pricking a finger everyday is just part of everyday life for many diabetes patients. A non-invasive measurement approach could release them from the constant pain of pin pricks. The linchpin is a biosensor engineered by Fraunhofer researchers: A tiny chip combines measurement and digital analysis – and can be radioed to a mobile device. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-glucose-needle.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 04 Sep 2012 17:30:22 EST news265998600 If a person‘s windpipe is constricted, an operation in which the surgeon inserts a stent to enlarge the trachea is often the only way to relieve their respiratory distress. But this grid-like implant can slip out of position, closing off the windpipe altogether. Researchers are working on a special surface coating for the stents to keep them in place. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-non-slip-tracheal-implants.html Medical research Tue, 03 Jul 2012 11:40:02 EST news260533775 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. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-hip-implant-long-term.html Other Fri, 04 May 2012 14:00:01 EST news255356920 If heart valves don't close properly, they are replaced. Conventional treatment of venous valve failure, however, has up to now always and exclusively been via medication. In future, an implant will assume the function of damaged valves -- and a new dispensing tool means these prostheses can be made using an automated process. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-implant-defective-venous-valve.html Other Thu, 08 Mar 2012 10:44:07 EST news250425840 (Medical Xpress) -- They come out in the spring, and each year they spread further – the ticks. Thirty percent of them transmit borrelia pathogens, the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis that can damage joints and organs. The disease often goes undetected. In the future, a new type of gel is intended to prevent an infection – if applied after a tick bite. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-aid.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 02 Dec 2011 09:10:06 EST news242036715 (Medical Xpress) -- Is the patient suffering from blood poisoning? To answer this question, the doctor draws a blood sample and sends it to a central laboratory for testing. This takes up valuable time, which could cost the patient his life. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-blood-poisoning-quickly.html Medical research Fri, 02 Dec 2011 09:00:01 EST news242036661 Researchers have been working at growing tissue and organs in the laboratory for a long time. These days, tissue engineering enables us to build up artificial tissue, although science still hasn't been successful with larger organs. Now, researchers at Fraunhofer are applying new techniques and materials to come up with artificial blood vessels in their BioRap project that will be able to supply artificial tissue and maybe even complex organs in future. They are exhibiting their findings at the Biotechnica Fair that will be taking place in Hannover, Germany on October 11-13. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-blood-vessels-printer.html Medical research Tue, 13 Sep 2011 13:19:02 EST news235138723 UK regulators have approved Europe's first clinical trial of a monoclonal antibody produced from genetically modified plants. This landmark decision sets the stage for the testing, in humans, of an anti-HIV product made from genetically modified tobacco plants. It will open the door for trials of additional plant-derived medicines treating a range of diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-clinical-medicines-genetically.html Other Thu, 21 Jul 2011 10:29:35 EST news230462955