Tag Archives: traditionally

New therapy improves life span in melanoma patients with brain metastases

The study that was recently published in Chemotherapy Research and Practice, reviews cases of eight patients who underwent this therapy at Saint Louis University. John Richart, M.D., associate professor of internal medicine at SLU and principal investigator of the study, first treated a patient with the disease using the HD IL-2 treatment in 1999. "Traditionally, melanoma patients with brain metastases have not been considered for HD IL-2 because treatment was thought to be futile," Richart said. "Our study shows that having this condition does not exclude a patient from getting this treatment and can in fact improve the length of their life." Melanoma is the most dangerous form of skin cancer that begins in the melanin-producing cells called melanocytes…

More doctors unclogging heart arteries through wrist

During artery unclogging procedures, doctors are increasingly accessing the heart through a vein in the wrist, rather than in the groin, Medical News Today reported. Artery unblocking surgeries, known as percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary angioplasty, involve widening narrow areas of the artery by angioplasty or another similar method. Traditionally, doctors in the United States have accessed the heart through the femoral artery in the groin. However, a new study in the journal Circulation reveals that the number of wrist-entry operations, or radial PCIs, in the United States increased 13-fold between 2004 and 2007, Medical News Today reported. Based on data gathered from nearly 3 million procedures, researchers found that patients had a lower risk for bleeding complications during wrist-entry surgeries, compared to groin-entry surgeries. This is relevant because many patients undergoing artery unclogging surgeries are also on blood thinners, increasing their risk for bleeding complications post-surgery. As radial PCIs increase in popularity, researchers note that they are most effective for high-risk patients, including people 75 or older, women and patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACE), Medical News Today reported. Click for more from Medical News Today.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/11/more-doctors-unclogging-heart-arteries-through-wrist/