September 15, 2010 — The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted 510(k) clearance for a next-generation laparoscopic visualization system (Next Generation 3DHD; Viking Systems, Inc) that uses a Sony 3-dimensional high-definition (3DHD) flat-panel display with lightweight glasses.

“Viking’s Next Generation 3DHD system represents a huge improvement over 2D HD visualization in laparoscopic surgery,” Gerald Andriole, MD, chief of urological surgery at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri and newly appointed Medical Advisor for Viking Systems, Inc, was quoted as saying in a company presentation. “Having a 3D image gives the surgeon superb control while manipulating needles for intracorporal sewing, making knot tying simple.”

LONDON (Reuters) – A new molecular test for tuberculosis made by Cepheid can diagnose TB and detect a drug-resistant form of it far more easily and rapidly than other tests currently available, scientists said on Wednesday.

In a study in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), researchers said that when used on 1,730 patients with suspected TB and suspected drug-resistant TB, the Xpert MTB/RIF test successfully identified 98 percent of all cases.

The machine and computer to analyze the tests cost around $17,500, and the negotiated price of the test kits for poorer countries will be based on the cost of manufacture plus a small margin, he said. He was not able to give a precise figure.

Increases in body mass index may be to blame for earlier maturation, Biro told MedPage Today.

Another possibility is exposure to endocrine disruptors from household and personal care products, Biro said, although future studies will try to definitively identify reasons for a declining age at the initiation of puberty.

Early puberty (specifically early age at menarche) is considered a risk factor for breast cancer. This is thought to be partly due to greater lifelong exposure to female hormones (estrogen and progesterone) and to susceptibility of

rapidly developing breast tissue to environmental exposures

And at least one actually causes increases in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) by decreasing the expression in the liver of a gene called Sort1. The gene lies in a region previously linked to about a 40% increase in the risk of heart attack, but the mechanism has not been understood.

That target may not be the gene product of Sort1 — a protein dubbed sortilin — according to Kathiresan. But the study “exposes basically a new pathway, a new way of regulating lipids, LDL cholesterol, that’s actually independent of or different than previous approaches,” he said.

Insulin Signaling in Osteoblasts Integrates Bone Remodeling and Energy Metabolism

July 22, 2010 — A diagnostic rule involving 7 clinical variables is useful in helping to determine which patients are at high risk for gout and should undergo further testing with joint fluid aspiration to test for the presence of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals.

The 7 variables, which the researchers describe as “easily ascertainable in primary care,” include male sex, previous patient-reported arthritis attack, onset within 1 day, joint redness, involvement of the first metatarsophalangeal joint (MTP1), hypertension or 1 or more cardiovascular diseases, and serum uric acid level of more than 5.88 mg/dL.

When the diagnostic rule was used (score ranging from 0 – 13), a score of 4 or less ruled out gout in almost 100% of patients. According to the researchers, in these patients, a differential diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, pseudogout, psoriatic arthritis, and reactive arthritis vs gout should be considered.

Sepsis is the most common cause of death in the newborn and is a particular problem for premature and very low birth weight infants. Necrotizing enterocolitis is an inflammatory condition predominantly affecting premature infants, and infection may be a contributory factor. Antibiotics used to treat sepsis and necrotizing enterocolitis are not always effective, and their widespread use can lead to antibiotic resistance. Lactoferrin, which occurs naturally in human colostrum, milk, tears and saliva, has been shown to have antimicrobial activity and is a constituent of natural immunity. This Cochrane review investigates whether lactoferrin might prevent sepsis and necrotizing enterocolitis in premature infants.