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New Ovarian Transplant Technique Could Expand Use Of Procedure To Preserve Fertility
Two recent advancements in ovarian transplant techniques could potentially expand the availability of the procedure for women seeking to avoid fertility problems as they age, researchers reported Monday at a meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, the AP/Yahoo! News reports. According to the AP/Yahoo! News, ovary transplants traditionally have been performed on women with cancer as a method of preserving fertility after chemotherapy or other treatments that can affect the reproductive system. The procedure involves removing the ovaries before treatment and re-implanting them after treatment is complete. Because only a handful of these procedures have been successful, ovarian transplants have been an option only for women with serious diseases. However, as more women delay having children until their 30s or 40s, researchers say the new techniques, in theory, could make it simpler for healthy younger women to have an ovary removed, frozen and then re-implanted later in life when they are ready to have children.The first study examined how many eggs were lost or preserved in fresh and frozen ovarian tissue of 15 young women prior to the start of cancer treatment. According to the study, there was no difference in the quantity of eggs in the fresh tissue and in the ovaries frozen using a new ultra-fast technique. The study found that about 50% of a woman"s eggs were lost using the traditional, slow-freezing methods of preserving the ovaries.The second study reported on a new surgical technique to restore an ovary"s function after transplantation. For the study, Pascal Piver of Limoges University Hospital and colleagues divided the transplant process into two separate procedures in an attempt to more quickly re-establish blood and hormone supplies to the ovary. In the first procedure, the researchers performed a graft of small pieces of ovarian tissue to prompt blood vessels to grow. They performed the ovary transplant three days later. The technique was successful in a woman who lost fertility because of treatment for sickle cell anemia.Sherman Silber, director of the St. Louis Infertility Center in Missouri and a researcher for the first study, said the new techniques "could dramatically expand our reproductive life span." He added, "This is not an experimental procedure for cancer patients anymore. The question is whether more women should be able to have this option" (Cheng, AP/Yahoo! News, 6/29).
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Drinking Milk In The Morning May Help Stave Off Lunchtime Hunger
Now there"s a new reason for the weight-conscious to drink fat free milk at breakfast time, suggests a new study published in the July issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Researchers in Australia found that drinking fat free milk in the morning helped increase satiety, or a feeling of fullness, and led to decreased calorie intake at the next meal, as compared with a fruit drink. The milk drinkers ate about 50 fewer calories (or nearly 9% less food) at lunch.
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MP Speaks Out Over Libel Threat To Scientific Debate
The MP Evan Harris is among a group of leading academics, publishers, journalists, performers, clinicians, and scientists backing science writer Simon Singh in his application to appeal against a libel judgment in the High Court today.
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Prostate Cancer Patient Receives First RapidArc Radiotherapy Treatment At Major Danish Hospital

A leading Danish cancer hospital has treated its first patient using RapidArc(R) radiotherapy after installing eight advanced radiotherapy treatment machines from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) of Palo Alto, California. Herlev Hospital, to the north-west of Copenhagen, delivered the fast and efficient RapidArc treatment to a prostate cancer patient using a Clinac(R) iX linear accelerator. The treatment comes just two years after the hospital selected Varian to replace its entire treatment machine and software infrastructure because the equipment was unable to carry out advanced image-guided treatments. "We are delighted with the rapidity of implementation," says Poul Geertsen, head of radiotherapy at Herlev Hospital. "The transition from our previous equipment to an overall Varian solution has been smooth and has enabled us to be among the first hospitals in Europe to offer RapidArc treatments." "All our treatment personnel were pleased with the speed and ease of the first treatment and the patient responded well," adds Brian Holch Kristensen, chief physicist. "We now have RapidArc capability on six of our eight linear accelerators and we hope to soon routinely carry out more prostate treatments before expanding our RapidArc program to include other pelvic and head & neck treatments." RapidArc delivers a precise and efficient treatment in single or multiple arcs of the treatment machine around the patient and makes it possible to deliver image-guided IMRT times two to eight times faster than is possible with conventional IMRT. Faster treatments allow for greater precision, since there is less chance of patient or tumor movement during treatment delivery and, with less time on the treatment couch, also allow for greater patient comfort. "Without any previous experience with RapidArc we successfully treated the first patient within two weeks of the RapidArc installation," adds David Sjostrom, deputy chief physicist. "In order to routinely replace today"s standard IMRT treatments with RapidArc for all treatment sites, we now need to strengthen our collaboration with Varian and other RapidArc users. In the future, we are hoping RapidArc will prove to be the best choice of treatment both in terms of delivery time and quality." Herlev Hospital carries out 48,000 radiation treatments per annum, treating 3,000 new patients each year. All eight Varian accelerators at Herlev, ordered in May 2007, are equipped with the On-Board Imager(R) device for modern, real-time image guidance, which is integral to RapidArc treatments. IGRT enables clinicians to pinpoint the position of the tumor at the time of treatment, allowing more precise treatments and potentially fewer side effects. "Clinicians at Herlev wanted us to enable them to offer patients advanced image-guided treatments when Varian machines and software were selected to replace their previous equipment two years ago and I am very pleased that we have been able to meet their expectations of us," adds Sten Hornsleth, Varian"s Scandinavian country manager. "Herlev Hospital is now offering radiotherapy treatments that are among the most advanced in the world, which is good news for cancer patients in Denmark." About Varian Medical Systems Varian Medical Systems, Inc., of Palo Alto, California, is the world"s leading manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating cancer and other medical conditions with radiotherapy, radiosurgery, proton therapy, and brachytherapy. The company supplies informatics software for managing comprehensive cancer clinics, radiotherapy centers and medical oncology practices. Varian is a premier supplier of tubes and digital detectors for X-ray imaging in medical, scientific, and industrial applications and also supplies X-ray imaging products for cargo screening and industrial inspection. Varian Medical Systems employs approximately 5,100 people who are located at manufacturing sites in North America, China, and Europe and in its 79 sales and support offices around the world. Varian Medical Systems, Inc


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