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Intracranial stents: More strokes than with drug treatment alone

Posted: Published on October 10th, 2014

The risk of having another stroke is higher if patients, after dilation of their blood vessels in the brain, not only receive clot-inhibiting drugs, but also have small tubes called stents inserted. However, studies have provided no hint of a benefit from stenting, which is also referred to with the abbreviation "PTAS." This is the conclusion reached in the rapid report of the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG), as published on 9 October 2014. Stents are supposed to prevent restenosis Blood vessels in the brain that are narrowed or blocked can cause stroke. If patients have already had a stroke or temporary ischaemia (transient ischaemic attack, TIA), there is a high risk that this occurs again. These patients therefore receive drugs that prevent blood clotting. Another option is to additionally widen the narrowed vessels. Nowadays this is often done using a small balloon in a procedure known as percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA). But even after PTA and simultaneous blood-thinning medication, vessels often remain narrow (stenosis) or new narrowing occurs (restenosis). The treatment has therefore been expanded to include stenting (percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting, PTAS): Small wire mesh tubes are inserted to support the widened … Continue reading →

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Local stroke care "the best in the UK".

Posted: Published on October 10th, 2014

TREATMENT for stroke patients in Herefordshire and the local area could be "revolutionised", because of a 1.1m investment in services. The money will come from the Herefordshire Clinical Commissioning Group, which has been working closely with Wye Valley NHS Trust. Dr Andy Watts, CCG Chairman, said: Were committed to delivering a complete stroke pathway and have been working closely with Wye Valley NHS Trust to ensure local people who have a stroke have quick and easy access to a high quality service tailored to their individual needs. At the same time weve been working with patients and the general public to raise awareness of the causes of stroke in order to directly engage people in reducing their own risk factors as well as helping to teach them to recognise the signs of stroke and take rapid action when they do occur. Richard Beeken, Chief Executive at Wye Valley NHS Trust, said: This is great news for the county and those communities who live just across our borders. It means we can bolster our current stroke service to provide stroke care on par with the best available in the UK. We are hugely indebted to the CCG for its financial contribution … Continue reading →

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Christopher Reeve's son announces 'game changer' in spinal cord injury treatment

Posted: Published on October 10th, 2014

paralysis A. Pawlowski TODAY contributor Oct. 9, 2014 at 10:49 AM ET The family of Christopher Reeve is announcing what it calls a "game changer in the treatment of spinal cord injuries. "It's hard not to think, 'What if he was here and what if he was present for this breakthrough?' Matthew Reeve, the late actors son, told People magazine on the eve of the 10th anniversary of Reeves death. My father dreamed of a world with empty wheelchairs and gave hope to a whole community this is a key new step in that hope becoming realized." AFP-Getty Images Christopher Reeve poses with his wife, Dana, and their son, Will in Los Angeles in 1997. Four paralyzed men who were not able to move any muscles below their neck or chest can now move their toes, feet and legs, and are even able to stand with the help of epidural stimulation, the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation announced Thursday. The therapy involves implanting a device thats wired to the paralyzed patients spinal cord and applies an electrical current, which helps provide signals that would normally come from the brain, according to the foundations The Big Idea website. Continued here: Christopher … Continue reading →

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Christopher Reeve's Son Gives First Look at Amazing Progress in Spinal Cord Injury Research

Posted: Published on October 10th, 2014

Ten years after the death of actor and activist Christopher Reeve, his eldest son, Matthew, is revealing a "huge breakthrough" in the treatment of spinal cord injuries and wishes his dad were here to see it. "It's hard not to think, 'What if he was here and what if he was present for this breakthrough?' " says Reeve, who offers PEOPLE an exclusive first look at a video showing the amazing progress made by four young men paralyzed by spinal cord injuries. The men were told they would never be able to move again below their neck or chest but are now able to stand and move their hips, legs and toes with the help of a new therapy called epidural stimulation. "As much as we miss him," the 34-year-old writer and director says of his famous dad, "there's a comfort in the fact that we wouldn't be where we are had it not been for his tireless advocacy." Indeed, after the Superman actor was paralyzed in a 1995 horseback riding accident, he spent the last years of his life lobbying for cutting-edge research that might offer a cure. He and wife Dana Reeve, who died of lung cancer in … Continue reading →

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Pharmac deal offers salvation for 300,000 sick Kiwis

Posted: Published on October 10th, 2014

One in 14 New Zealanders will benefit from better access to treatments after a ground-breaking deal between Pharmac and pharmaceutical company Novartis. People with multiple sclerosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic myeloid leukaemia, asthma, cystic fibrosis, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's will be the big winners with new public funding for nine new treatment options and six new medications which is expected to help 300,000 people. It represented the greatest number of new medicines and widening of targeted treatment areas for a single agreement since Pharmac was created to manage public spending on medicines 21 years ago. The deal included funding Gilenya, a medication for patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis, and Tasigna, a drug that transformed treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia. The move was applauded by those suffering the debilitating conditions. Auckland woman Mellanie Ullrich, 40, is New Zealand's only person self-funding Gilenya, which costs her nearly $60,000 a year. She broke down in tears at the news of Pharmac's decision. "I hope my personal and extremely positive experience on Gilenya helps Pharmac confirm that the decision to fund the drug for patients in New Zealand is the right one," she said yesterday. Within weeks of starting the drug, her fatigue … Continue reading →

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Contact sports boost spread of 'superbug' germs

Posted: Published on October 10th, 2014

THURSDAY, Oct. 9, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- College athletes in contact sports such as football and soccer are more than twice as likely as other college athletes to carry a superbug known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), new research finds. "This study shows that even outside of a full-scale outbreak, when athletes are healthy and there are no infections, there are still a substantial number of them who are colonized with these potentially harmful bacteria," said study co-author Natalia Jimenez-Truque, a research instructor with Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. MRSA causes skin and soft tissue infections, which often heal on their own or are easily treated. But invasive MRSA can cause hard-to-treat infections that can be fatal. Officials estimate that MRSA kills 18,000 people in the United States each year. In the past, MRSA was most known for causing infections in hospitals, where the patients' immune systems may be weakened. But in recent years, it has spread into the greater community, sometimes affecting athletes who come in contact with the germs on one another's skin on the field or in the locker room when they share towels. MRSA then "colonizes" their bodies and can develop into a serious infection … Continue reading →

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Bianchi critical with brain injury

Posted: Published on October 10th, 2014

Formula One driver Jules Bianchi remains in a "critical but stable" condition after suffering a traumatic and devastating brain injury in a crash during Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix. It is still too early to say if, and to what extent, Bianchi will recover from the "diffuse axonal injury", where a shearing force has torn tissue throughout the brain and the brain swells. A statement was released on Tuesday afternoon by Bianchi's team Marussia F1, on behalf of his family and the Mie General Medical Center in Japan where he is being treated, to provide an update on the Frenchman's condition. "Jules remains in the Intensive Care Unit of the Mie General Medical Center in Yokkaichi," the family statement read. "He has suffered a diffuse axonal injury and is in a critical but stable condition. "The medical professionals at the hospital are providing the very best treatment and care and we are grateful for everything they have done for Jules since his accident." It is not dissimilar to the injury sustained by seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher in a skiing accident last December. Schumacher is now recovering at home after coming out of a coma. There is a highly variable outlook … Continue reading →

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More MS drug funding from PHARMAC

Posted: Published on October 10th, 2014

New Zealanders who have multiple sclerosis (MS) have been offered hope with a decision announced today by drug-funding agency PHARMAC. It has decided to pay for two expensive drugs known to prevent the disease's debilitating symptoms. Mellanie Ullrich was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2006. She battled fatigue, numbness and tingling before funding her own treatment at a cost of $5000 a month. "It's massive in the fact that I am well, I am healthy. I haven't had any relapses since I've been on the medication," says Ms Ullrich. Now she and MS New Zealand have won the fight for PHARMAC to fund the drug so others can have the same benefits without the price tag. "It's a relief in the fact that it will be able to help so many people," says Ms Ullrich. "So many young women who were in my position who had small children and MS has the reputation of being a horrendous disease where you'll end up in a wheel chair." And until now PHARMAC would wait until those symptoms existed before funding treatment. MS New Zealand vice president Neil Woodham says if treatment is successful, sufferers will never become disabled or it will be … Continue reading →

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New treatment options for thousands of Kiwis

Posted: Published on October 10th, 2014

Published: 2:42PM Friday October 10, 2014 Source: ONE News Source: ONE News An estimated 300,000 New Zealanders stand to benefit from new access to treatments or expanded treatment options as a result of a deal between a pharmaceutical company and Pharmac. The deal jointly announced by Pharmac and Novartis Pharmaceuticals this afternoon means New Zealanders will gain new access to the highest number of medicines and targeted treatment areas ever agreed in a single arrangement. The deal covers new access to nine treatments for diseases including multiple sclerosis (MS), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, cystic fibrosis, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. A further six products provide an expanded range of treatment options. Novartis' Country Group Manager, New Zealand, Tim Jones, says the treatments will give patients more options and in some cases make a vital difference to managing very serious conditions. Access to Gilenya for patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis will provide an oral treatment for the first time. It is an alternative treatment option for those who currently have injections to manage or prevent potentially crippling attacks that can leave them hospitalised or incapacitated for several days. Patients with COPD, now affecting 200,000 New Zealanders, will gain extra treatment … Continue reading →

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Hormone loss could be involved in colon cancer

Posted: Published on October 10th, 2014

Some cancers, like breast and prostate cancer, are driven by hormones such as estrogen and testosterone, but to date, there are none that are driven by the lack of a hormone. New evidence suggests that human colon cells may become cancerous when they lose the ability to produce a hormone that helps the cells maintain normal biology. If verified by further studies, it suggests that treating patients at high risk for colon cancer by replacing the hormone guanylin could prevent the development of cancer. The researchers at Thomas Jefferson University examined colon cancer samples from 281 patients and compared those tissues to nearby colon tissue that wasn't cancerous. They found that guanylin production -- measured by number of messenger RNAs for guanylin contained in each cell -- decreased 100 to 1,000 times in more than 85 percent of colon cancers tested. They verified their results by also staining for the guanylin hormone production in slices of the tissue samples. They could detect no guanylin hormone in the cancer samples. In addition, the researchers found that people over 50 years old produced much less of the hormone in their normal colon cells, which could help explain the increase in colon cancer … Continue reading →

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