Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery Blogs This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

Fight Aging! Newsletter, March 9th 2020
In this study, we intravenously administrated the young mitochondria into aged mice to evaluate whether energy production increase in aged tissues or age-related behaviors improved after the mitochondrial transplantation. The results showed that heterozygous mitochondrial DNA of both aged and young mouse coexisted in tissues of aged mice after mitochondrial administration, and meanwhile, ATP content in tissues increased while reactive oxygen species (ROS) level reduced. Besides, the mitotherapy significantly improved cognitive and motor performance of aged mice. Our study, at the first report in aged animals, not only prov...
Source: Fight Aging! - March 8, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs

CryoLife Wins EU CE Mark for E-vita Open NEO Hybrid Stent Graft
CryoLife, Inc., a company based outside of Atlanta, Georgia, announced this week that it has received the European CE Mark for the E-vita Open NEO, a hybrid stent graft system for the treatment of aortic arch disease. Aortic arch disease encompasses both aortic aneurysms and aortic dissections, which occur suddenly and could be fatal. According to the release, about 7,000 patients are treated surgically for aortic arch disease annually in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Many patients with either an aneurysm or dissection in the aortic arch also present with a dissected or aneurysmal descending thoracic aorta.�...
Source: Medgadget - March 6, 2020 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Cici Zhou Tags: Cardiac Surgery Source Type: blogs

nView Medical ’s Fast 3D Intraoperative Imaging with Less Radiation: Interview with CEO Cristian Atria
Fluoroscopy is used in surgical procedures to visualize structures and tools in real-time, allowing surgeons to monitor the movement of a device, instrument, or body part. However, fluoroscopy is a 2D technology that can lead to surgical inaccuracies. Alternative 3D imaging systems provide higher accuracy, but they sometimes require pausing the surgery and exposing patients to significant radiation. nView medical Inc. is developing an intraoperative imaging system that is better than traditional fluoroscopy. The company’s flagship product, the nView s1, utilizes AI to accurately and quickly construct images with less ...
Source: Medgadget - March 4, 2020 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Cici Zhou Tags: Cardiac Surgery Exclusive Neurosurgery Orthopedic Surgery Radiology Vascular Surgery Source Type: blogs

Textiles from Human Cells for Replacement Vessels, Tissues, Organs
Scientists at University of Bordeaux/French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) have developed a completely new biological material, made using human fibroblast cells, that can be turned into sutures, vascular grafts, and many other medical devices and tissue replacements. They showed that their Cell-Assembled extracellular Matrix (CAM) can be turned into yarns of different strength, flexibility, and to have various other characteristics. These yarns can be used as sutures, but also to create artificial vessels and other devices for implantation. Because these yarns are similar to those used in cl...
Source: Medgadget - February 11, 2020 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Medgadget Editors Tags: Cardiac Surgery Materials Plastic Surgery Thoracic Surgery Vascular Surgery Source Type: blogs

Do statins reduce heart scan scores?
If you have a CT heart scan score (also called coronary calcium score), what effect do statin cholesterol drugs have on stopping or slowing the increase in score? (Increasing scores pose increasing risk for heart attack and other cardiac events.) NONE. If you do nothing at all, the score increases by 25% per year, on average. If you take a statin drug, aspirin, and follow a low-fat diet, what my colleagues call “optimal medical therapy,” the score increases . . . 25% per year—no difference. Yet this is the “solution” that conventional doctors push on their patients, a “treatment” t...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - February 7, 2020 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr. Davis Tags: Open cholesterol coronary calcium ct scan do statin drugs reduce heart scan scores reduce coronary calcium reverse coronary calcium reverse heart disease undoctored wheat belly Source Type: blogs

New Membranes to Make Extracorporeal Oxygenation More Effective
When lungs fail because of acute respiratory distress and cannot be used to deliver oxygen to patients via conventional ventilation, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has to be employed. ECMOs remove carbon dioxide from whole blood and replace it with oxygen thanks to a membrane oxygenator. While such artificial lungs are effective for short periods of time for many patients, for others this procedure is just too difficult. The gas exchange process performed by ECMOs is just too slow compared with what healthy lungs can achieve. Now, researchers at Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research (IAP) in Germ...
Source: Medgadget - February 3, 2020 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Medgadget Editors Tags: Anesthesiology Critical Care Emergency Medicine Materials Thoracic Surgery Source Type: blogs

LapTrainer Mixed Reality Simulator for Laparoscopy Training Unveiled
KARL STORZ, a German maker of surgical tools and endoscopy products, has partnered with VirtaMed, a Swiss maker of medical simulators, to release a simulator for laparoscopic training. The LapTrainer device is a mixed reality simulator combining real laparoscopic tools with a computer generated representation of what is going on inside the model patient. Students can use the device to do repeat practice sets of common techniques and procedures, improving their skills and gaining experience that would otherwise have to be acquired on real patients. Patient positioning, how to place trocars, and even how to prep...
Source: Medgadget - February 3, 2020 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Medgadget Editors Tags: Ob/Gyn Surgery Thoracic Surgery Urology Source Type: blogs

Fight Aging! Newsletter, February 3rd 2020
In conclusion, this study suggests that epigenetic age acceleration is significantly associated with lung function in women older than 50 years. We hypothesised that this could be due to menopause. However, we have observed that menopause has minimal effect and therefore there is possibility of other unknown physiological factors at older age in females mediating the epigenetic age acceleration effect on lung function. While, it is still unknown what exactly epigenetic aging from DNA methylation measures, this study suggests it can be utilised as one of the important factors to assess women's lung health in old age. DNA me...
Source: Fight Aging! - February 2, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs

Fight Aging! Newsletter, January 20th 2020
This study provides strong evidence that following a healthy lifestyle can substantially extend the years a person lives disease-free." Commentary on Recent Evidence for Cognitive Decline to Precede Amyloid Aggregation in Alzheimer's Disease https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2020/01/commentary-on-recent-evidence-for-cognitive-decline-to-precede-amyloid-aggregation-in-alzheimers-disease/ I can't say that I think the data presented in the research noted here merits quite the degree of the attention that it has been given in the popular science press. It is interesting, but not compelling if its role is ...
Source: Fight Aging! - January 19, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs

Diabetic retinopathy: Understanding diabetes-related eye disease and vision loss
Over 30 million people in the United States live with diabetes, and approximately 7.7 million people have diabetic retinopathy, making it the most common cause of vision loss in working-aged adults. The prevalence of diabetic retinopathy has increased significantly over the past 20 years, due to the rise in the number of people diagnosed with diabetes. How does diabetes affect the retina? The retina is the light-sensing component located in the back of the eye. It is composed of blood vessels, nerve cells (neurons), and specialized cells called photoreceptors that are involved in directly sensing light. The ability of the ...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - January 16, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Leo Kim, MD, PhD Tags: Diabetes Eye Health Source Type: blogs

Fight Aging! Newsletter, January 13th 2020
In this study, we investigated the link between AF and senescence markers through the assessment of protein expression in the tissue lysates of human appendages from patients in AF, including paroxysmal (PAF) or permanent AF (PmAF), and in sinus rhythm (SR). The major findings of the study indicated that the progression of AF is strongly related to the human atrial senescence burden as determined by p53 and p16 expression. The stepwise increase of senescence (p53, p16), prothrombotic (TF), and proremodeling (MMP-9) markers observed in the right atrial appendages of patients in SR, PAF, and PmAF points toward multiple inter...
Source: Fight Aging! - January 12, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs

Perimyocarditis vs Myopericarditis
Hearing the terms one may be tempted to think both are the same. But it is not so according to the 2015 ESC (European Society of Cardiology) Guidelines [1]. Myopericarditis: Pericarditis with known or clinically suspected concomitant myocardial involvement. Perimyocarditis: Predominant myocarditis with pericardial involvement. So the stress is on the second part of the name. Reference Adler Y, Charron P, Imazio M, Badano L, Barón-Esquivias G, Bogaert J, Brucato A, Gueret P, Klingel K, Lionis C, Maisch B, Mayosi B, Pavie A, Ristic AD, Sabaté Tenas M, Seferovic P, Swedberg K, Tomkowski W; ESC Scientific Document Group. 2...
Source: Cardiophile MD - January 7, 2020 Category: Cardiology Authors: Prof. Dr. Johnson Francis Tags: Cardiology Source Type: blogs

Augmedics Secures FDA Clearance for xvision, an AR Surgical Guidance System
This study will again evaluate screw placement, via independent radiologist review, as well as user experience, via questionnaire. According to Dr. Frank Philips, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Rush, “The efficiency and accuracy this augmented reality technology enables in placing spinal implants without looking away from the surgical field – as well as the ability to ‘see the spine’ through the skin in minimally invasive procedures – differentiates the xvision from conventional spinal navigation platforms.” In terms of business model viability, Dr. Philips adds “The econom...
Source: Medgadget - January 3, 2020 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Medgadget Editors Tags: Orthopedic Surgery Radiology Source Type: blogs

Fully Disposable Endovascular Robot Unveiled
Microbot Medical, a company with offices in Massachusetts and Israel, is about to release the world’s first fully disposable endovascular surgical robot. The LIBERTY device is intended for use in a variety of cardiovascular, neurovascular, and peripheral vascular procedures, manipulating catheters in a fly-by-wire way. Since it can be operated remotely, clinicians can be kept at a safe distance from radiation emitted by fluoroscopes, and at the same time the system makes endovascular procedures less straining to perform for physicians who would otherwise have to stand over the surgical table and manually steer the cat...
Source: Medgadget - January 3, 2020 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Medgadget Editors Tags: Cardiac Surgery Neurosurgery Telemedicine Vascular Surgery Source Type: blogs

Why medical research keeps changing its mind
Did you ever wonder why medical research seems to flip-flop so often? Eggs used to be terrible for your health; now they’re not so bad. Stomach ulcers were thought to be due to stress and a “type A personality” but that’s been disproven. I was taught that every postmenopausal woman should take hormone replacement therapy to prevent heart disease and bone loss; now it’s considered way too risky. It can make you question every bit of medical news you hear. But maybe that’s not such a bad thing. Questioning what you read or hear is reasonable. And maybe medical reversals — when new research leads to a complete t...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - January 3, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Health Medical Research Prevention Tests and procedures Source Type: blogs