(Press-News.org) Philadelphia, Pa. (June 19, 2013) – The results of three important studies have been published in the June issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.
One study indicates that continuous "machine learning" using artificial neural networks (ANNs) may improve the ability to predict survival in patients with advanced brain cancers. Another study in the June Neurosurgery supports increased use of stereotactic biopsy for obtaining samples of brainstem tumors; while another calls for medical professionals and specialty societies to play an increased role in evaluating "off label" uses of medications.
Artificial Neural Networks Predict Brain Cancer Prognosis
Dr. Matthew Ewend of University of North Carolina and colleagues evaluated the use of ANNs to predict the chances of survival for patients with brain cancer. Based on the biological functioning of brain cells, ANNs are computer programs designed "to learn patterns within a data set and then apply that learning for recognition and prediction."
The researchers performed a pilot study of ANNs using data on patients treated for advanced brain cancer at several hospitals. The results showed that ANNs beat standard prediction models for predicting patient survival. "Pooled voting" of five ANNs correctly predicted the risk of death within one year in 84 percent of patients, compared to 78 percent with a single ANN and 74 percent using standard statistical techniques.
The predictive power of ANNs would likely increase over time, providing a "facile and powerful means or predicting survival" in patients with brain cancers or other conditions. The researchers conclude, "With the explosion in clinical data over the past few years….we anticipate a growing need for modern machine learning techniques such as ANNs to properly make use of the information at our disposal and realize its full benefit for clinical care."
New Proposal for Evaluating 'Off Label' Uses of Medications
An improved process for evaluating "off label" use of drugs—using medications for purposes other than those for which they were approved—is described by Donlin Long, MD, PhD, of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Clark Watts, MD, JD, of University of Texas School of Law. They cite the example of bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2), a product approved to promote bone growth in one specific type of spinal fusion surgery.
After approval, surgeons started using BMP-2 for various other types of spinal surgery—leading to complications in some cases. The authors believe that problems resulting from "uncontrolled" off-label use have had a chilling effect, leading to missed opportunities to develop effective uses of BMP-2.
In the proposed approach, medical specialty societies such as the Congress of Neurological Surgeons would play a leading role in setting parameters for off-label use of new products, and in systematically gathering evidence of effectiveness. Drs. Long and Watts write, "Our goal is to challenge our professional societies to take a leadership role in the study of valid uses of new drugs and devices in a cooperative, constructive relationship with government regulators and industry."
Stereotactic Biopsy for Brainstem Tumors
Dr. Philipp Kickingereder of University Hospital of Cologne and colleagues present a review of research evidence on stereotactic biopsy—using triangulation techniques to precisely localize tumors—to obtain samples of uncommon brainstem cancers. While stereotactic biopsy is not a new technique, surgeons may hesitate to use it for brainstem tumors because of the perceived risks of the procedure.
But the available data show a diagnostic success rate of 96 percent, with a relatively low complication rates. Dr. Kickingereder and coauthors conclude that stereotactic biopsy is a safe and valuable procedure that provides samples for simultaneous tissue and genetic analysis—which may allow more individualized treatment. They recommend its use in all adult patients with brainstem cancers, as well as in certain groups of children.
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About Neurosurgery
Neurosurgery, the Official Journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, is your most complete window to the contemporary field of neurosurgery. Members of the Congress and non-member subscribers receive 3,000 pages per year packed with the very latest science, technology, and medicine, not to mention full-text online access to the world's most complete, up-to-the-minute neurosurgery resource. For professionals aware of the rapid pace of developments in the field, Neurosurgery is nothing short of indispensable.
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(MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL) June 19, 2013 – New research out of the University of Minnesota identifies significant risk factors for suicidal behavior in youth being bullied, but also identifies protective factors for the same group of children.
The article, "Suicidal Thinking and Behavior Among Youth Involved in Verbal and Social Bullying: Risk and Protective Factors" is being published in a special supplemental issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health. The supplement identifies bullying as a clear public health issue, calling for more preventative research and action.
Authors ...
Osteomyelitis – a debilitating bone infection most frequently caused by Staphylococcus aureus ("staph") bacteria – is particularly challenging to treat.
Now, Vanderbilt microbiologist Eric Skaar, Ph.D., MPH, and colleagues have identified a staph-killing compound that may be an effective treatment for osteomyelitis, and they have developed a new mouse model that will be useful for testing this compound and for generating additional therapeutic strategies.
James Cassat, M.D., Ph.D., a fellow in Pediatric Infectious Diseases who is interested in improving treatments for ...
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – June 19, 2013 – The role of dietary fructose in the development of obesity and fatty liver diseases remains controversial, with previous studies indicating that the problems resulted from fructose and a diet too high in calories.
However, a new study conducted in an animal model at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center showed that fructose rapidly caused liver damage even without weight gain. The researchers found that over the six-week study period liver damage more than doubled in the animals fed a high-fructose diet as compared to those in the control ...
SYRACUSE, N.Y., June 19, 2013 –In the first effort to estimate the overall impact of a city's urban forest on concentrations of fine particulate pollution (particulate matter less than 2.5 microns, or PM2.5), a U.S. Forest Service and Davey Institute study found that urban trees and forests are saving an average of one life every year per city. In New York City, trees save an average of eight lives every year.
Fine particulate air pollution has serious health effects, including premature mortality, pulmonary inflammation, accelerated atherosclerosis, and altered cardiac ...
Advances in emergency medicine and trauma surgery have had a significant impact on survival of patients in the days immediately after major injuries, including burns. Patients who survive the immediate aftermath of their injuries now are at greatest risk from infections – particularly the overwhelming, life-threatening immune reaction known as sepsis – or from inflammation-induced multiorgan failure. Now, a device developed by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators that measures the movement of key immune cells may help determine which patients are at greatest ...
People can plan strategic movements to several different targets at the same time, even when they see far fewer targets than are actually present, according to a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
A team of researchers at the Brain and Mind Institute at the University of Western Ontario took advantage of a pictorial illusion — known as the "connectedness illusion" — that causes people to underestimate the number of targets they see.
When people act on these targets, however, they can rapidly plan accurate ...
A new process for making a three-dimensional microstructure that can be used in the analysis of cells could prove useful in counterterrorism measures and in water and food safety concerns.
The research, conducted by members of Virginia Tech's Microelectromechanical Systems Laboratory (MEMS) Laboratory in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is the focus of a recent article in the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers' Journal of Microelectomechanical Systems.
In their engineering laboratory, the researchers developed a new microfabrication ...
When a new species emerges following adaptive changes to its local environment, the process of choosing a mate can help protect the new species' genetic identity and increase the likelihood of its survival. But of the many observable traits in a potential mate, which particular traits does a female tend to prefer?
A new study from the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis finds that a female's mating decisions are largely based on traits that reflect fitness or those that help males perform well under the local ecological conditions.
Males' bright ...
EUGENE, Ore. -- (June 19, 2013) – A new study examining the brains of fruit flies reveals a novel stem cell mechanism that may help explain how neurons form in humans. A paper on the study by researchers at the University of Oregon appeared in the online version of the journal Nature in advance of the June 27 publication date.
"The question we confronted was 'How does a single kind of stem cell, like a neural stem cell, make all different kinds of neurons?'" said Chris Doe, a biology professor and co-author on the paper "Combinatorial temporal patterning in progenitors ...
LOS ALAMOS, N.M., June 19, 2013—Improved methods for breaking down cellulose nanofibers are central to cost-effective biofuel production and the subject of new research from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC). Scientists are investigating the unique properties of crystalline cellulose nanofibers to develop novel chemical pretreatments and designer enzymes for biofuel production from cellulosic—or non-food—plant derived biomass.
"Cellulose is laid out in plant cell walls as crystalline nanofibers, like steel reinforcements ...
