http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Using a tiny ball of ice, a minimally invasive interventional radiology treatment called cryoneurolysis safely short circuits chronic pain caused by nerve damage, according to data being presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 38th Annual Scientific Meeting in New Orleans. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-nerves-pain-cold.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Sun, 14 Apr 2013 10:00:04 EST news285143481 (Medical Xpress)—A research team including members of the Department of Bioengineering in the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science has discovered that drug intervention to reduce intercellular signaling between astrocytes following traumatic brain injury reduces cognitive deficits and damage. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-therapeutic-traumatic-brain-injury.html Neuroscience Tue, 09 Apr 2013 07:30:01 EST news284710693 In the body, bones are padded with a smooth cartilage layer at the ends, allowing smooth motion where two bones meet and form a joint. When cartilage around the bone becomes degenerated or lost due to osteoarthritis or traumatic injury, however, joint mobility decreases and can become painful.   http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-cartilage-effects-weight-microfracture-surgery.html Surgery Tue, 26 Feb 2013 07:55:48 EST news281087741 The first study to examine in detail the experience of patients in Victoria's trauma system has found that post-discharge care and poor communication were low points in an otherwise high-quality experience. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-post-hospital-weak-link-trauma.html Other Mon, 18 Feb 2013 08:01:58 EST news280396894 When it comes to healing the terrible wounds of war, success may hinge on the first blood clot – the one that begins forming on the battlefield right after an injury. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-artificial-platelets-soldiers-battlefield.html Medical research Fri, 15 Feb 2013 11:30:01 EST news280149428 Existing mouse models do not appear to accurately reproduce the human genomic response to serious traumatic injury, including major burns, according to an article appearing in PNAS Early Edition. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-mouse-inflammatory-genomic-response-injuries.html Inflammatory disorders Mon, 11 Feb 2013 15:00:01 EST news279804831 Traumatic injury – including car accidents, gunshot wounds, and stabbings – is the leading cause of death for people younger than 40 years old in the United States, but despite the toll of these injuries, few emergency medical interventions considered to be the standard of care for these injuries have been rigorously studied in clinical trials, because patients and their families are typically unable to consent to participate in research. A new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania sought to examine peoples' willingness to be enrolled in these types of studies under the federal provisions that allow patients with time-sensitive illnesses and injuries to be part of clinical trials without their express consent. The study revealed that those surveyed expressed high levels of approval and willingness to be part of these types of trials, both for themselves and their family members and friends. The findings provide important clues for increasing the number of studies aimed at improving care for this patient population. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-trauma-patients-exception-consent.html Surgery Fri, 01 Feb 2013 16:42:23 EST news278959334 A study of more than 12,000 children from emergency departments throughout the country in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) has identified seven factors that can help physicians determine the need for a computed tomography (CT) scan following blunt trauma to the abdomen. Because CT scans pose radiation hazards for youngsters, the findings may enable doctors to determine which children do not need to be exposed to such tests after a traumatic injury. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-needless-abdominal-ct-scans-children.html Cancer Fri, 01 Feb 2013 12:00:01 EST news278938493 A simple, inexpensive blood test performed on trauma patients upon admission can help doctors easily identify patients at greatest risk of death, according to a new study by researchers at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-simple-blood-trauma-patients-greatest.html Health Fri, 18 Jan 2013 00:20:01 EST news277661804 Bones are resilient and heal well after most fractures. But in cases of traumatic injury, in which big pieces of bone are missing, healing is much more difficult, if not impossible. These so-called "large segmental defects" are a major clinical problem, and orthopaedic surgeons struggle to treat them, especially among the military in places like Afghanistan. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-simple-inexpensive-massive-bone-loss.html Surgery Wed, 21 Nov 2012 13:30:04 EST news272725277 (Medical Xpress)—An international team of scientists has discovered the mechanism by which zebrafish can re-grow brain neurons after they have suffered traumatic brain injury, and that this mechanism is associated with inflammation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-zebrafish-regrow-brains.html Medical research Fri, 09 Nov 2012 05:40:01 EST news271655654 In 2010 breast reconstruction entered the Top Five list of reconstructive procedures in the US, with 93,000 procedures performed, up 8% from 2009, and 18% from 2000. This is among the most common skin flap procedure performed. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-images-reveal-potential-nir-imaging.html Cancer Tue, 25 Sep 2012 13:33:46 EST news267798818 A common, painful hip condition in elite athletes may be able to be repaired with an improved surgical technique, according to researchers presenting their work at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland today. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-hip-reconstruction-technique-good-outcomes.html Other Sat, 14 Jul 2012 05:42:42 EST news261463354 A new study has demonstrated that a procedure wherein healthy cartilage is transplanted to fix an area of damaged cartilage (osteoarticular cartilage transplantation or OATS procedure) is superior to the standard of care for repairing cartilage defects. It is thought that fixing such lesions may ultimately help to prevent the onset of osteoarthritis, and get athletic individuals back to sporting activities reliably. The study by Hospital for Special Surgery researchers was reported at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Feb. 7-11. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-procedure-bests-standard-cartilage.html Arthritis & Rheumatism Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:00:01 EST news247895057 Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC, have successfully created and implemented an emergency general surgery registry (EGSR) that will advance the science of acute surgical care by allowing surgeons to track and improve surgical patient outcomes, create performance metrics, conduct valid research and ensure quality care for all emergency general surgery (EGS) patients. The registry, featured in a study published in the February 2012 issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, was modeled after the American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB) and components of the ACS National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP). It is the first registry of its kind to establish ICD-9 codes (International Classification of Diseases) that help to define and evaluate EGS patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-database-aims-emergency-surgery-outcomes.html Other Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:40:01 EST news247749992 Acute kidney injury (AKI), an abrupt or rapid decline in kidney function, is a serious and increasingly prevalent condition. Little information has been available about how common or how severe AKI is in military personnel who are injured during combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. A new study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN) investigates this question in those burned during combat. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-kidney-injury-health-survival-today.html Health Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:00:05 EST news242575610 Queensland University of Technology (QUT) researchers have developed a promising new treatment for spinal cord injury in animals, which could eventually prevent paralysis in thousands of people worldwide every year. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-spinal-cord-treatment.html Neuroscience Fri, 18 Nov 2011 11:39:10 EST news240838742