The Surgeon

The middle school years can be tough. It’s a time of change and sometimes a little awkwardness. So imagine going through those years with a condition that causes your hands or arm pits to sweat so badly that you avoid social situations. It’s called hyperhidrosis, and doctors at Mayo Clinic say a minimally invasive outpatient surgery can stop the sweating.

Every year, thousands of babies are born with spina bifida. It’s a birth defect where the spinal column does not close properly, exposing nerves to the environment. Most babies born with spina bifida in the United States have surgery soon after birth. But some children in other countries aren’t so lucky. A little boy from Algeria suffered terribly for more than two years until his community helped raise money to send him to Mayo Clinic.

A new study shows that an imaging technology developed by Mayo Clinic researchers can identify liver fibrosis with high accuracy and help eliminate the need for liver biopsies. Liver fibrosis is a common condition that can lead to incurable cirrhosis if not treated in time.

The technology, called magnetic resonance elastography (MRE), produces color-coded images known as elastograms that indicate how internal organs, muscles and tissues would feel to the touch. Red is the stiffest; purple, the softest. Other imaging techniques do not provide this information.
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The sequencing of the human genome has opened the door for proteomics by providing a sequence-based framework for mining proteomes. As a result, there is intense interest in applying proteomics to foster a better understanding of cancer processes, develop new biomarkers for diagnosis and early detection of cancer. Gastric carcinoma is one of the most common malignancies worldwide and is the most common cause of cancer-related death in China. The main barrier for improving survival rate is short of useful marker for early diagnosis.
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The determination of the precise anatomical location of a tumor is the prerequisite for setting optimal parameters for radiation treatment of prostate cancer. This approach guarantees that the ionizing radiation only destroys tumorous cells and does not affect other organs in the vicinity of the prostate.

In a cooperative study with Innsbruck Medical University and the East-Vienna Center of Social Medicine, two physicists of Vienna University of Technology (TU), evaluated the mean deviation of radiation parameters for prostate cancers and compared various sources of radiation.
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Scientists at Sunnybrook Research Institute (SRI) are developing and commercializing a promising novel therapy for the treatment of prostate cancer that may offer patients a faster and more precise treatment than existing clinical alternatives, with fewer side effects.
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Scientists from the University of Alcalá (UAH) have designed a prosthesis made of silicon and polypropylene shaped like an “upside down T” that substantially reduces cases of incisional hernias.

A hernia is produced when the content of the abdominal cavity protrudes through a weakened natural orifice of the abdominal wall such as the inguinal canal, the umbilical area, the epigastrium or a previous incision in the abdomen such as from a surgical operation. The hernia manifests itself as a bulging lump since the internal lining of the abdomen protrudes in what is called a hernial sac that shrinks or grows depending on the effort exerted by the affected individual.
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Tumors have a unique vulnerability that can be exploited to make them more sensitive to heat and radiation, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report.

The Washington University radiation oncology researchers found that tumors have a built-in mechanism that protects them from heat (hyperthermia) damage and most likely decreases the benefit of hyperthermia and radiation as a combined therapy.
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