Manufacturers of dynamic spine stabilization systems may be sent back to the proverbial drawing board to improve their devices after a recent Food and Drug Administration (FDA) injunction ordered them to conduct new studies to insure the safety of their products. The FDA ordered the manufacturers to conduct post-market surveillance studies to monitor fusion rates… Read More
Exploration Continues on Military-Related Traumatic Brain Injuries
In early September of 2009, The Department of Defense (DOD) Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) hosted the Military Health Research Forum (MHRF) in Kansas City, MO. The forum was dedicated to exploring new research on traumatic brain injury (TBI). Military interest in brain injury research has increased dramatically over the past few years due… Read More
How Effective is Vertebroplasty for Spinal Cord Fractures?
A double-blind study release on August 5, 2009 in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that vertebroplasty a procedure that involves the injection of medical cement into the spines of patients who have spinal fractures proved only equally effective as simulated vertebroplasty with no spinal cement injection. One group of patients received the actual… Read More
How Great are the Risks from Lumbar Spinal Fusion Surgery?
Janneke J. P. Schimmel, MSc, a scientist at Sint Maartenskliniek in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, recently spoke about the findings of a study on the occurrence of infections in lumbar fusion surgery sites. The study performed by Schimmel and a team of Dutch researchers showed that there is a link between lumbar spinal fusion surgery and… Read More
The Army’s New Policy on Traumatic Brain Injuries
Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is promoting a new Army policy that would limit the number of mild traumatic brain injuries an Army combat soldier can suffer before being relieved of combat duty. The new policy would limit soldiers’ exposure to three mild brain injuries, after which they would… Read More
The Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals Advance SCI Care
Spinal Cord injury and spinal cord dysfunction patients have new cause to celebrate. Last week marked the official launch of the Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals. With support form the Paralyzed Veterans of America, the new interdisciplinary academy aims at improving the quality of care and quality of life for spinal cord injury patients…. Read More