RECENT NEWS

Scientists at the Erasmus MC-University Medical Center in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, and Applied Biosystems, have made significant advances in testicular cancer research by identifying and analysing a set of specific microRNA molecular markers that are involved in the development of testicular tumours. The research findings could potentially lead to earlier identification of the disease and new approaches for treating the cancer.

The University of Edinburgh has agreed a contract to market a technology which can clean surgical instruments contaminated by CJD, and save the health industry thousands of pounds. Plasma, a high-energy ionised form of gas, cleans the surface of the instruments, breaking down infectious biological tissue into harmless gases. The technique is claimed to be at least 1000 times more effective than traditional methods of cleaning.

Following a detailed and comprehensive local procurement process under the National Decontamination Program, Vernon-Carus has been made the provisional preferred bidder for the Mersey joint venture decontamination project.

Health Secretary Alan Johnson has announced the introduction of a human papilloma virus (HPV) immunisation programme to routinely vaccinate girls aged 12 - 13 years of age against cervical cancer, starting from September 2008.

A UK-coordinated clinical trial involving up to 20,000 patients across the globe is testing a new way of stopping blood loss in patients who have suffered a major injury (trauma).

The British Society of Endovascular Therapy (BSET) has announced the society's first Endovascular fellowships for vascular surgeons and radiologists.

The Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust has purchased the C-cam (Cardiac Gamma Camera) for its eight different sites across north London and Hertfordshire to help reduce waiting lists by doubling the number of patients studied in a single day.

A “National Technology Adoption Hub” for healthcare has been unveiled in Manchester. The hub is aimed at helping the NHS better implement new cost-effective, life-saving technologies.

The Midlands-based manufacturing arm of Kimal has secured an exclusive three-year deal to produce bespoke cardiology procedure packs for the Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The vascular department at Birmingham's Heart of England NHS Trust, led by Professor Andrew Bradbury, is using two SonoSite MicroMaxx hand-carried ultrasound systems to cut waiting times for outpatient diagnosis and the treatment of varicose veins with endovenous chemical ablation, as well as general vascular surgery.

Previous research showing the impact dementia will have on care costs in England have been dramatically underestimated, according to new figures published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

New research shows that a caesarean section increases the risk by fifty fold that a woman’s uterus will rupture during subsequent vaginal delivery. The findings are based on a study of more than 300,000 Swedish women by Emory University, Atlanta, and the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

B Braun Avitum, part of the B Braun group in the UK, has launched a major expansion programme in the field of kidney dialysis.

Most British women are unaware that breast cancer risk increases with age despite it being one of the strongest risk factors for the disease, according to startling new research. A study commissioned by the charity Breast Cancer Care found that despite the high profile of the disease nearly six out of ten women (58%), regardless of background, did not know that the older they get, the higher their risk.

Britain's youngest female brain surgeon, Dr Gelareh Zadeh, has performed the UK’s first operation to remove a brain tumour as a day case, under local anaesthetic.

A study from the University of Southern Denmark has concluded that women who exercise intensively during the first phase of pregnancy are 3.7 times more likely to miscarry. The risk dropped almost completely after the 18th week of pregnancy. Women who swam during any phase of pregnancy showed no increased danger of miscarriage, however.

Britain’s youngest female brain surgeon, Dr Gelareh Zadeh, has performed the UK’s first operation to remove a brain tumour as a day case, under local anaesthetic.

Atwo-year professional training programme in integrated medicine for medical doctors and nurse practitioners has been launched.

Astudy from the University of Southern Denmark has concluded that women who exercise intensively during the first phase of pregnancy are 3.7 times more likely to miscarry.

Obesity could be as big a crisis as climate change unless Britons start to lose weight soon, Health Secretary Alan Johnson recently warned.