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3D-printed fetus models allow surgeons to identify potential obstacles, reduce risks of surgery

A state-of-the-art in-utero procedure allows surgeons to correct a birth defect on developing babies inside the womb. But operating on a mother and her unborn child at the same time can be challenging and unpredictable.

7 May 2021

Thin, weakened bones associated with heightened risk of heart attack or stroke in women

Thin and brittle bones are strongly linked to women’s heart disease risk, with thinning of the lower (lumbar) spine, top of the thigh bone (femoral neck), and hip especially predictive of a heightened heart attack and stroke risk, suggests research in the journal Heart.

6 May 2021

Regular exercise improves vascular function in patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases

The risk of developing atherosclerosis - a narrowing of the arteries as cholesterol plaque builds up, leading to obstruction of blood flow - is higher for people with autoimmune rheumatic diseases than for the general population.

27 Apr 2021

Football Fitness improves balance, muscle strength and bone density in women treated for breast cancer

The University of Southern Denmark, Rigshospitalet and the University of Copenhagen have come together to study the effects of Football Fitness on various health parameters and self-rated health following treatment for breast cancer.

26 Apr 2021

Research could inform therapeutic approaches to ameliorate the effects of fetal immobility

Researchers from Trinity College Dublin have discovered that some skeletal defects associated with a lack of movement in the womb during early development may still be ameliorated after such periods of immobility if movement resumes.

23 Apr 2021

Despite advances, childbirth is not likely to become easier for women from a biological perspective

Despite advances in medicine and technology, childbirth isn't likely to get much easier on women from a biological perspective.

23 Apr 2021

After accident, patient crashes into $700,000 bill for spine surgery

Mark Gottlieb's life changed in an instant when another driver crashed into his car, damaging four vertebrae in his upper spine and smashing six teeth.

22 Apr 2021

Spinal fusion procedures have unacceptably low hospital “rankability"

Routinely collected data on patients undergoing spinal fusion surgery do not provide a valid basis for assessing and comparing hospital performance on patient safety outcomes, reports a study in Spine. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

9 Apr 2021

Memory and executive function symptoms are valuable for predicting CTE pathology, suggests study

Diagnosing Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) during life is crucial for developing therapies and for determining how common the disease is among individuals exposed to repetitive head impacts from contact sports, military service and physical violence.

7 Apr 2021

Late-week surgery, discharge to specialty care related to higher costs and longer hospital stay after elective spine surgery

New research by a team from the Cleveland Clinic and the London School of Economics and Political Science has determined that surgeries performed late in the workweek, and those culminating in discharge to a specialty care facility, are associated with higher costs and unnecessarily longer stays in the hospital following a common elective spine surgery.

7 Apr 2021

Devastating liver disease itching turns out to have a surprising cause

A devastating itching of the skin driven by severe liver disease turns out to have a surprising cause. Its discovery points toward possible new therapies for itching, and shows that the outer layer of the skin is so much more than insulation.

5 Apr 2021

Chronic cannabis use associated with higher complication rates after spine surgery

For patients undergoing spinal surgery, the diagnosis of cannabis use disorder is associated with higher complication rates, including substantially increased risks of stroke and respiratory complications, reports a study in Spine.

3 Apr 2021

Researchers provide experimental evidence for synaptic plasticity in the human brain

Neuroscientists agree that a person's brain is constantly changing, rewiring itself and adapting to environmental stimuli.

31 Mar 2021

Under new cost-cutting Medicare rule, same surgery, same place, different bill

A cost-saving change in Medicare launched in the final days of the Trump administration will cut payments to hospitals for some surgical procedures while potentially raising costs and confusion for patients.

23 Mar 2021

Researchers use layered double hydroxide to increase neuronal growth in mice with spinal cord injuries

Researchers from the Department of Orthopedics of Tongji Hospital at Tongji University in Shanghai have successfully used a nanobiomaterial called layered double hydroxide (LDH) to inhibit the inflammatory environment surrounding spinal cord injuries in mice, accelerating regeneration of neurons and reconstruction of the neural circuit in the spine.

23 Mar 2021

$New approach predicts risk of bone fractures in elderly men$

New approach predicts risk of bone fractures in elderly men

Fractures in the vertebrae of the spine and calcification in a blood vessel called the abdominal aorta can both be visualized through the same spinal imaging test.

17 Mar 2021

Study identifies how environmental information is transmitted by non-DNA molecules in the sperm

It has long been understood that a parent's DNA is the principal determinant of health and disease in offspring.

16 Mar 2021

UofL and Medtronic collaborate to develop epidural stimulation software for spinal cord injury

Researchers at the University of Louisville made news worldwide in 2018 when two people diagnosed with complete spinal cord injuries recovered the ability to walk thanks to experimental use of a therapy known as epidural stimulation.

15 Mar 2021

Study examines central nervous system imaging manifestations of COVID-19 in children

While neurological complications of COVID-19 in children are rare, in contrast to adults, an international expert review of positive neuroimaging findings in children with acute and post-infectious COVID-19 found that the most common abnormalities resembled immune-mediated patterns of disease involving the brain, spine, and nerves.

10 Mar 2021

Both ventral and dorsal surgeries improve outcomes in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy

Affecting the vast majority of people older than 65, cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is the leading cause of spinal cord dysfunction in the United States and across the world.