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Scoliosis Treatment Might Reduce Need for Surgeries
Posted 19 Apr 2012 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, April 19 – Magnetically controlled growing rods can treat the spinal disorder scoliosis in children without the need for repeat invasive surgeries, a small new study suggests. Scoliosis is an abnormal curving of the spine that occurs mainly in young children and adolescents. Traditional treatment for children who are still growing is surgical insertion of growing rods. Every six months, however, a new surgery is required to lengthen the rods. These repeated surgeries are costly and force children to miss school and parents to miss work. In the study, researchers assessed the use of magnetically controlled growing rods that were implanted in two patients. The key advantage: Surgery is not required to lengthen these rods. After 24 months of follow up, the rods were effective and there were no complications, the researchers reported online April 17 in The Lancet. Furthermore, ... Read more
Related support groups: Scoliosis
Spinal Fusion for Scoliosis Seems Effective Years Later: Study
Posted 11 Apr 2011 by Drugs.com
SATURDAY, April 9 – Newer spinal fusion surgical techniques provide good long-term outcomes for young people with scoliosis, a small study contends. People with scoliosis have a sideways curve in their spines. From the early 1960s to the late 1990s, the condition was treated surgically by implanting special contoured metal rods known as "Harrington rods" along the spine. The rods became obsolete in the 1990s when surgeons adopted new methods to fuse the spinal column. While the modern surgery is superior to the rods because it corrects the spine in a much more natural way, few studies have looked at long-term outcomes among patients, according to the authors of the new study. There were concerns that the modern surgery would seriously damage the spine just below the fused discs, but this new study says that's not the case. The study included 20 patients, 21 years old and younger, who ... Read more
Related support groups: Scoliosis
Scientists Discover Substance That Causes Pain
Posted 28 Apr 2010 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, April 28 – The human body produces a substance similar to capsaicin – which makes chili peppers hot – at sites of pain, and blocking production of this substance can ease pain, a new study shows. The findings may lead to the development of non-addictive painkillers, according to the researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. In work with mice, the scientists found that a family of fatty acids called oxidized linoleic acid metabolites (OLAMs) play an important role in the biology of pain. "This is a major breakthrough in understanding the mechanisms of pain and how to more effectively treat it," senior investigator Kenneth Hargreaves, chair of the Department of Endodontics in the Dental School at the UT Health Sciences Center, said in an UT news release. "These data demonstrate, for the first time, that OLAMs constitute a new family of ... Read more
Related support groups: Pain, Back Pain, Headache, Fibromyalgia, Migraine, Muscle Pain, Neuralgia, Breakthrough Pain, Migraine Prevention, Sciatica, Neck Pain, Herniated disc, Scoliosis, Migraine Prophylaxis, Cluster Headaches