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Study Suggests ACL Reconstruction Doesn't Harm NFL Career Length
Knee injuries are a common problem in collegiate and professional football, often hindering an individual"s career length and future. A study presented at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine"s Annual Meeting in Keystone, Colorado suggests that anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction versus a simple meniscus repair may predict a longer professional career in those that have suffered knee injuries.
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Blogs Comment On Planned Parenthood Ad Campaign, Sex-Selective Abortion, Other Topics
The following summarizes selected women"s health-related blog entries.~ "A Radical Notion: Women"s Health Care as Mainstream," Cecile Richards, Huffington Post blogs: "To hammer ... home" the message that "Planned Parenthood and other essential community providers are the affordable, local access to basic preventive care that saves lives," the Planned Parenthood Action Center has introduced advertisements "educating the policy folks involved in fixing our health care system" about "why women"s health care needs to be taken care of in this mega-reform effort," Richards writes. She writes, "From cancer screenings to contraception to immunizations, the majority of women who go to women"s health care centers consider them their primary health care provider," adding, "In fact, more than 90% of what Planned Parenthood health centers do is preventive and primary care." According to Richards, "Essential community providers, including those who provide women"s health care, need to be part of any newly established health care system." She adds that "the three million patients who came to Planned Parenthood health centers last year can testify to it." Richards writes that "[f]amily planning and reproductive health care are unfortunately still not fully part of mainstream health care, even though 98% of women use contraception at some point in their lives -- there"s nothing more universal!" The "fact that women reproduce and, therefore, have different types of health care needs makes some folks on Capitol Hill go pale and start to sweat," Richards writes. She concludes, "Maybe one day we won"t need a special campaign to support women"s health," but "until then, Planned Parenthood is here to make sure women aren"t worse off after health care reform than before" (Richards, Huffington Post blogs, 6/18).~ "The Role of Medical Education in Preserving Abortion Access," Our Bodies, Our Blog: In response to a recent Salon opinion piece that examined whether there will be a next generation of abortion providers, the blog post discusses a few organizations that are "working to increase access to (accurate) abortion-related training." The blog includes links to Medical Students for Choice -- a group that "does student organizing and advocacy to influence medical school curricula, workshops ... and lectures on abortion techniques" -- and The Ryan Program -- which offers "funding, technical expertise, curriculum, workshops and other res to support training opportunities in abortion and contraception for ob-gyn residents." The blog entry also highlights the work of Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health, which partners with members of the American Medical Student Association "to provide "project in a box" materials for medical students wanting to access and influence their schools" curricula on sexual and reproductive health" (Our Bodies, Our Blog, 6/18). ~ "Regulating Abortion May Be OK But Not To Avoid Sex-Selection," Marianne Mollmann, Huffington Post blogs: "Sex-selective abortion raises a multitude of overlapping ethical concerns regarding eugenics, population control and provider privilege or knowledge," according to Mollmann, advocacy director for the Human Rights Watch"s Women"s Rights Division. Mollmann writes that recent media reports indicating that sex-selective abortion occurs among some ethnic communities in the U.S. "has generated new discussion about what to do -- indeed what to think -- about the practice here." She continues that the "effect of abortion regulations depends on the context and motivation," adding that "[f]rom a human rights perspective, the regulation of medical procedures and interventions is legitimate and indeed often necessary so long as they are based on full respect for the full range of human rights." It is "perhaps tempting to hope that banning sex-selective abortions would safeguard the gender balance of future generations," but the "criminalization of abortion for whatever reason has in the past led only to underground and unsafe prac
News of the day
World Medical Association Urges Sri Lankan President To Intervene On Behalf Of Government Doctors
The World Medical Association has urged the President of Sri Lanka to intervene on behalf of three government employed doctors, two of whom have been detained and the third taken to an unknown destination, after working in the conflict zone in Sri Lanka.
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New Study Demonstrates NanoScan's Novel Contrast Agent May Identify Heart Attack In Waiting

NanoScan Imaging, LLC announced the publication of new data demonstrating the use of its investigational, radio-opaque contrast agent (N1177) to visualize vulnerable plaques that can cause heart attack or stroke using advanced, non-invasive and high-resolution computed tomography (CT) techniques. Results of the study were published in the current issue of the peer-reviewed Journal of Nuclear Medicine (J Nucl Med. 2009 Jun;50(6):959-965). N1177, an emulsified suspension that is composed of crystalline iodinated particles dispersed with surfactant, is being developed to visualize blood vessels and organs of the body, with particular interest in the arteries, veins and the heart chambers using a technique known as CT angiography (CTA). N1177 also accumulates in macrophage cells allowing for their detection with CT. Macrophages are the predominant cells involved in creating the progressive plaque lesions of atherosclerosis, a progressive disease and the main cause of cardiovascular disease - the number one killer worldwide. Atherosclerosis is caused by the build-up of plaques (fatty or fibrous deposits) in the artery walls. This can result in the narrowing of the arteries, which can reduce the supply of blood to vital organs such as the heart and brain. Plaques can also rupture, leading to a sudden, complete blockage of blood flow. Plaques that are at high-risk or "vulnerable" to rupture are characterized by strong macrophage infiltration, which result in acute plaque destabilization and thrombus formation. "Plaques with strong macrophage infiltration are believed by medical experts to be at higher risk of rupture, which can lead to sudden cardiovascular events, such as heart attack or stroke, often without any prior symptoms," said Don Skerrett, Chief Executive Officer of NanoScan Imaging. "The ability to examine and visualize vulnerable plaques in the arteries by obtaining detailed pictures using CT imaging may be of value to drug developers seeking to examine changes in the size of plaque in response to therapeutic intervention, such as the use of cholesterol lowering statins. Ultimately, we believe that N1177 may help physicians identify high-risk but asymptomatic patients in new ways to treat a heart attack before it occurs." In the study, researchers from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine investigated whether or not N1177 correlated with macrophage activity evaluated with 18Fluorine-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) on Positron Emission Tomography (PET)/CT and also macrophage density on histology. After only two hours, the enhancement of the macrophage rich plaque after the injection of N1177 was significantly higher and specific inside of the vessel wall in rabbits fed a high cholesterol diet compared to control rabbits fed a normal chow diet (p About N1177 Several noninvasive imaging techniques have been investigated for macrophage detection in atherosclerotic plaques. For example, ultrasmall superparamagnetic particles of iron oxide (USPIO) are taken up by macrophages that can be detected as signal voids using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or combined with a radiotracer to quantify the accumulation of these particles using PET. However, high spatial and temporal imaging resolutions required for imaging the arterial wall of coronary arteries are currently achievable neither with PET nor with MRI. In addition, the optimal imaging time after the injection of iron oxide nanoparticles may be up to 72 hours, limiting the practical use of this technique as a screening tool. By comparison, CT offers to detect macrophage-rich lesions as early as two hours after the intravenous injection of N1177 with a spatial resolution allowing for the evaluation of coronary atherosclerotic plaques. Quantification of N1177 accumulation in atherosclerotic plaques is facilitated by the linear relationship existing between iodine concentration in tissue and signal increase measured with CT. In addition, detection of macrophages with N1177 could be used in connection with other CT markers identified in ruptured plaques such as areas of low densities, positive remodeling and absence of calcifications to enhance the potential of CT to identify high-risk plaques. N1177 is cleared through the liver unlike traditional contrast agents that are cleared through the kidneys, which can result in renal toxicity. NanoScan Imaging


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