New research raises the possibility that long-term treatment with rosiglitazone, as Avandia is also called, could lead to osteoporosis. The diabetes drug is used to improved response to insulin.

Researchers found that in mice, the drug increased the activity of the cells that degrade bones, according to a report in this week’s online issue of Nature Medicine.

The finding “has led to a better understanding of the challenges associated with long-term treatment of patients with Type II diabetes,” said Ronald M. Evans of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, Calif., lead author of the report.

“The long-term use of rosiglitazone should be cautious in patients with higher risk of fractures such as older women,” he added. Using it in combination with anti-osteoporosis drugs could be beneficial, he said.

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Researchers at the University of Kentucky has created a cancer-resistant mouse. They have found in the prostate a tumor-suppressor gene called Par-4. It kills only cancer cells, and spares normal cells from damage. They have discovered that mice with this gene do not develop tumors. There is a great potential in developing treatment for cancer that do not have the side-effects experienced by patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

The mice under study have been bred and observed, and so far, the results showed that the gene did not harm the next generations of mice. It will still be a long way before this is developed and tested on humans, but it is the way forward.

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Results of a 5,000-patient study showed Crestor was no better than a placebo, although it did cut levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol and C-reactive protein and reduced hospitalizations for cardiovascular causes. AstraZeneca said that the study had been “novel and challenging” and, though unsuccessful, had established Crestor’s safety in heart-failure patients.

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Stereoscopic digital mammography consists of two digital x-ray images of the breast acquired from two different points of view separated by about eight degrees. When the images are viewed on a stereo display workstation, the radiologist is able to see the internal structure of the breast in three dimensions. In the ongoing clinical trial, researchers use a full-field digital mammography unit modified to take stereo pairs of images. The workstation enables the mammographer to fuse the stereo image pair and to view the breast in depth.

In the study, stereo mammography reduced false positives by 49%. This huge drop in percentage has strong implications with regard to needless cost in time and money. BBN Technologies and Planar Systems developed the stereo display workstation used in the trial.

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The levels of endoglin in the blood were associated with increased risk of cancer cells spreading to the lymph nodes. Each 1ng/mL increase of plasma endoglin increases the risk of cancer spread by 17 percent.

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Siemens, one of the leaders in hearing technology, introduced one of their most advanced hearing devices.

Meet Artis 2 “helping people with hearing loss fully appreciate all that life has to offer”. Artis 2 is a smart little device that learns the wearer’s volume preference, so that it adjusts automatically while it is being worn. Artis 2 actually records and stores hearing aid use data so your hearing health professional can access the data for quick adjustments as needed. This tiny little device is so smart, it utilizes wireless technology. Yes, both ear pieces can communicate with each other wirelessly.

The Artis 2 can also differentiate between sound and just plain noise by upping the volume on speech while reducing background din. The screeching feedback problems have also been reduced digitally with feedback cancellation.

Whew. All this high technology packed in one tiny device!

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This technology has shown positive results with mice experiments. A mice that has spinal cord injury was able to use their hind legs in walking six weeks after being injected with the gel. Although not all treatments in mice works in humans, there is still a possibility that it could work.

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Patients with congenital heart disease will have a chance at a treatment without a major open heart surgery. Cardiologists at the Rush University Medical Center has developed a minimally-invasive trans-catheter valve replacement. Patients involved in a clinical trial had this implant, and are presently recovering. This gives hope to patients that would otherwise undergo multiple open heart surgeries. The valve replacement procedure uses a bovine peri-cardial heart valve that is compressed into a balloon as small as a pencil, threaded from a major vein in the leg into the circulatory system, and is deployed across the pulmonary valve.

The US Food and Drug Administration conditionally approved the trial in 2007.

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Prosthetic legs have evolved to lightweight and more “user friendly”. The old prosthetics were designed just to allow patients to stand with “both legs”, but walking and climbing the stairs were difficult, and running was impossible. Then “bendable” prosthetics were developed. Now a prosthetic that looks like the real thing gives people who lost their legs a better chance to live normal lives, and wear clothes that they otherwise would not wear with the old cyborg-like prosthetic.

One particular design was called LISA, which stood for lightweight, inconspicuous, shapely and active. Running is now possible, and women can even wear shoes with heels, as the ankles can be adjusted with a button.

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