Spotlight beams on umbilical cord blood banking services.
The recent case of a baby specifically conceived to provide transplant material for his sick sister has prompted much publicity, encouraging existing umbilical cord blood banking services to take advantage of it. Such services are provided, for example, by Viacord. This Boston, USA-based private company offers expectant...

TEI Biosciences moves one step closer to clinical trials.
US biomedical company TEI Biosciences Inc (TEI) has taken a further step towards clinical trials for the small diameter vascular graft made by Medtronic Inc, TEI's corporate partner. The Boston-based TEI said it has received an additional US$2.8 million investment in the form of a convertible promissory note from...

TEI Biosciences wins approval for biomembrane.
A biomembrane for the reinforcement or repair of soft tissues, developed by TEI Biosciences Inc (TEI) has gained approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The biomembrane TissueMend is a strong collagen membrane that can be remodelled. It is intended for use as a patch...

Bone cement combined with antibiotic wins US clearance. (Products).
A pre-blended antibiotic bone cement has won marketing clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Manufacturer, Stryker Howmedica Osteonics, the orthopaedic implant division of Stryker Corp, said the introduction of the trademarked Simplex P with tobramycin bone cement is the first time the company has offered a...

Casey. (Reunions).
Thomas Casey (1637-1711), of Ireland, settled in Rhode Island, and the year 2002 marks the 300th anniversary of the property as a working farm. The house dates to 1750, and a cemetery on the property contains six generations of Caseys. Later, Willet and William Casey end up as Loyalists...

Heart closure device: heart defect closure may be an effective way to treat certain types of migraine.
Results from a UK clinical trial indicate that closure of a common heart defect, the patent foramen ovale (PFO), may have a significant effect on migraine headaches. (See also, Cardiac defect repair may help in treatment/prevention of migraines, Biomedical Materials, January 2005, page 10.) While the study...

Current treatment approaches in the nonoperative and operative management of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.
MC Cassella, BS, PT, is Associate Director, Department of Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Services, Children's Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston MA 2115 (USA), Physical Therapy Consultant to the Spinal Program, Children's Hospital, and Lecturer on Orthopaedic Surgery, Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck St, Boston, MA 02115. Address correspondence...

PRODUCTS: US FDA clears clinical trial of implant to close holes in heart
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given conditional approval for an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) for a multi-centre clinical trial at up to fifteen US clinical centres of Nitinol Medical Technologies Inc's cardiac implant designed to close "holes in the heart" using a minimally invasive catheter- based delivery...

WOUND DRESSINGS.
Study reviews wound healing advances The available range of therapies to treat acute and chronic wounds continues to grow, says a recent report in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The beneficial effect of a physiologically moist environment has been well established for acute...

Prospect of xenotransplantation moves closer with birth of pig clones.
Many believe that the solution to the shortage of organs for transplantation lies in breeding animals that are specifically modified to provide safe organs for humans. The recent cloning of five piglets from an adult female by PPL Therapeutics is one step in this direction. The company...