FDA makes recommendations on medical devices that treat blocked heart arteries

U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Andrew C. von Eschenbach announced that the agency has issued draft guidelines to aid the development, testing and manufacture of coronary drug-eluting stents, devices used to treat blocked heart arteries. more  

Epilepsy advocates propose strategies to heighten treatment expectations

On the heels of the nation’s largest event dedicated to the epilepsy community, the National Walk for Epilepsy, advocates today announced their recommendations in response to a new national survey uncovering key challenges facing the epilepsy community. Challenges include gaps in patient-physician communication around medication-related side effects and low public awareness of epilepsy. more

iPods and similar devices found not to affect pacemaker function

Last May, a widely reported study concluded that errant electronic noise from iPods can cause implantable cardiac pacemakers to malfunction. This just didn't sound right to the cardiac electrophysiologists at Children's Hospital Boston, who've seen hundreds of children, teens and young adults with heart conditions requiring pacemakers. "Many of our pacemaker patients have iPods and other digital music players, and we've never seen any problem," says Charles Berul, MD, director of the Pacemaker Service at Children's. "But kids and parents bring up this concern all the time, prompting us to do our own study." more  

Whole body MDCT just as 'good' as neck MDCT angiography in diagnosing head and neck injuries

Blunt cerebrovascular injuries can be diagnosed using whole body 16 multi-detector CT (MDCT); there’s no need for an additional neck MDCT angiography examination according to a recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Maryland Medical Center and R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, both in Baltimore, MD. The study showed that whole body MDCT is just as accurate as neck MDCTA. more

Preschool kids do better on tasks when they talk to themselves, research shows  

Parents should not worry when their pre-schoolers talk to themselves; in fact, they should encourage it, says Adam Winsler, an associate professor of psychology at George Mason University. His recent study published in Early Childhood Research Quarterly showed that 5-year-olds do better on motor tasks when they talk to themselves out loud (either spontaneously or when told to do so by an adult) than when they are silent. more

MRI studies show brain changes in the adolescent brain impact cognition, emotion and behavior  

Many parents are convinced that the brains of their teenage offspring are different than those of children and adults. New data confirms that this is the case. An article by Jay N. Giedd, MD, of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), published in the April 2008 issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health describes how brain changes in the adolescent brain impact cognition, emotion and behavior. more

Potential new target for multiple sclerosis therapy

Researchers demonstrate both genetic and pharmaceutical evidence for the role of a protein called collagenase-2 in the development of multiple sclerosis (MS), providing a potential new way to combat this debilitating disease. more

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