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Popular Articles

Mathematics Taking Guesswork Out Of Plastic Surgery Tissue Transfer
Plastic surgeons are turning to mathematics to take the guesswork out of efforts to ensure that live tissue segments that are selected to restore damaged body parts will have enough blood and oxygen to survive the surgical transfer.

Franken To Be Seated As Minn. Senator, Will Serve On HELP, Judiciary Committees
The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously voted to uphold Al Franken"s (D) win in the 2008 U.S. Senate election in Minnesota, effectively clearing the way for Franken to become the state"s newest senator, the Wall Street Journal reports. His election gives Democrats in the Senate a 60-vote supermajority, which could help the party pass health care reform legislation, according to the Journal. Following the ruling, opponent Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) conceded the election, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) said that he would certify the result Tuesday.Franken is expected to be seated next week. He will join the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he will vote on the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which is completing its draft of health care reform legislation (Bendavid/Hitt, Wall Street Journal, 7/1).
News of the day
AARP Endorses Bill To Help Americans Get Care In Their Own Homes
More than one million Americans are living in nursing homes, but many would prefer to receive the services they need in their own homes, where they would be more comfortable and potentially save the health care system money in the long run. Unfortunately, many Americans who want to be cared for at home can"t because of a costly institutional bias in Medicaid, which pays for nearly two-thirds of the country"s nursing home residents. While state Medicaid programs are required to provide nursing home care, home and community-based services that are often less expensive are optional, leaving them first in line to be cut in a poor economy.
Diagnostics

Using Ultrasound To Detect Early Signs Of Osteoarthritis

Researchers at The University of Nottingham are hoping to find out if inflammation of the knee could be an early sign of osteoarthritis - a condition which leads to pain, stiffness, swelling and disability. Up to six million people in the UK suffer from osteoarthritis in the knee. Now 200 patients, over the age of 55, from GP practices across Nottingham are to take part in a study led by research physiotherapist Michelle Hall in the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Physiotherapy. Mrs Hall, who is a lecturer in the Division of Physiotherapy Education, said: "It has been shown that people who have inflammation may develop more severe and progressive osteoarthritis and experience greater pain and disability. The ability to detect the presence of inflammation using Ultrasound could therefore be important in terms of prognosis and selection of certain treatments." With a three-year training fellowship from the Arthritis Research Campaign of ÷£192,000 Mrs Hall will use new ultrasound techniques to identify if this common condition, in people over 55, can be linked to osteoarthritis. At the moment osteoarthritis can only be identified by x-ray, which is limited to revealing changes to bones and degeneration of cartilage. It does not show up any changes or inflammation to the surrounding soft tissue or joint lining. This inflammation may also contribute to pain and stiffness and could, in fact, be a precursor to osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is known as a "wear and tear" condition in which cartilage wears away, leaving bones rubbing together. Recently scientists have shown that inflammation in the joint lining may also play a role in its development. The team from The University of Nottingham"s physiotherapy education and academic rheumatology departments aim to find out if people with knee pain and/or knee osteoarthritis also have inflammation in their knees. Patients will attend the Clinical Sciences Building at the University for the ultrasound scans which will repeated three months later or if participants report a change in their knee pain, to chart the progress of the inflammation to see whether this correlates with x-ray changes or with increases in pain. A control group of healthy volunteers will also undergo ultrasound on their knees as a comparison group. Michelle Hall University of Nottingham


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