Spine Surgery Through a Straw
Better Recovery Following Minimally Invasive Spinal Surgery
Performing minimally invasive surgery through narrow tubes has provided great benefit for patients suffering with worn and painful spinal disc degeneration. Additional findings also show that — following a learning curve — minimally invasive techniques take the same amount of time for surgeons to perform as more invasive "standard" procedures.
The researchers studied 230 patients and found that the minimally invasive option helped to shorten a patient's length of stay, and reduced blood loss, operative times and surgical complications. The researchers also noted that time in the OR dropped significantly during the five-year study period, demonstrating a positive learning curve. The study, published in a recent issue of the peer-reviewed journal Neurosurgery Focus, was led by Dr. Roger Härtl, the Leonard and Fleur Harlan Clinical Scholar at Weill Cornell Medical College, and chief of spinal surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.
Prior to the minimally invasive options, surgical removal and repair of worn spinal discs meant long and painful rehabilitation. The invasive surgical option involves large incisions in the abdomen and/or back, including cutting away muscles to reach the area of pain. Now, minimally invasive techniques, which employ small cuts and fine instruments, allow surgeons to spare muscle tissue, speeding patients back to their normal lifestyle.
Still Deadly After All These Years
Drug-Resistant Plague — A Bioterrorism Concern?
The bacterium responsible for the "Black Plague," which led to the deaths of over 75 million people worldwide in the 14th century, may have other nasty tricks. Yersinia pestis can normally be treated and cured with a course of antibiotics, if caught within a few days of the symptoms. But researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have located a gene that could mutate to make Y. pestis resistant to many common drugs. Scientists believe that antibiotic-resistant Y. pestis should potentially concern the public and scientific community, because the bacteria might be used as a potential bioterrorism agent.
Dr. Luis Quadri, associate professor of microbiology and immunology at Weill Cornell Medical College, and his research team located the gene that, when overexpressed or in high numbers in the body, allows the bacterium to be almost bulletproof. The researchers scanned colonies of the bacterium E. coli, which had Y. pestis genome fragments implanted within, and found that some of the bacteria were able to resist the effects of multiple antibiotic drugs. Upon further inspection, the researchers found that these rare microbes contained high numbers of a Y. pestis gene called robA — a gene that activates production of microscopic pumps that flush toxins and antibiotics from the cell. The greater the number of robA in Y. pestis, the more cellular pumps, and the easier it is for the bacterium to eliminate the antibiotics.
Because the findings' importance has generated above-average readership, the study has earned the permanent "Highly Accessed" distinction by the BioMed Central Microbiology site. To read a full-text copy of the study published in a recent issue of the journal BioMed Central Microbiology, please visit: www.biomedcentral.com.
Signs of Heart Disease — Not as Simple as "Stop and Go"
Is One Protein a Sign of Health or Harm?
A protein once thought to be a marker of heart-health may actually denote increased risk of heart disease when present in high levels in the elderly, according to a team led by a physician-scientist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. Tests for this protein, adiponectin, might tell doctors if older patients are at risk for a heart attack. The findings seem unusual because lower levels of adiponectin are typically associated with obesity and diabetes, which are risk factors linked to heart disease.
The study examined 1,386 older adults, aged 65 to 100. Of these, 604 had heart disease, and those with the highest adiponectin levels were most likely to suffer a heart attack. These findings are featured in a recent issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Dr. Jorge Kizer, an associate professor of medicine and public health at Weill Cornell Medical College and cardiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell, is the lead author of the study.
Weill Cornell Science Briefs
Weill Cornell Science Briefs is an electronic newsletter published by the Office of Public Affairs that focuses on innovative medical research and patient care at Weill Cornell Medical College and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The newsletter is sent electronically to journalists and available to all on this Web site.NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, located in New York City, is one of the leading academic medical centers in the world, comprising the teaching hospital NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medical College, the medical school of Cornell University. NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell provides state-of-the-art inpatient, ambulatory and preventive care in all areas of medicine, and is committed to excellence in patient care, education, research and community service. Weill Cornell physician-scientists have been responsible for many medical advances — from the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer to the synthesis of penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S., the first clinical trial for gene therapy for Parkinson's disease, the first indication of bone marrow's critical role in tumor growth, and, most recently, the world's first successful use of deep brain stimulation to treat a minimally-conscious brain-injured patient. NewYork-Presbyterian, which is ranked sixth on the U.S.News & World Report list of top hospitals, also comprises NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/The Allen Pavilion. Weill Cornell Medical College is the first U.S. medical college to offer a medical degree oversees and maintains a strong global presence in Austria, Brazil, Haiti, Tanzania, Turkey and Qatar. For more information, visit www.nyp.org and Weill Cornell Medical College.
Contact:
Andrew Klein
(212) 821-0560
ank2017@med.cornell.edu
