Researchers at the University of Alberta have discovered sleep patterns in a type of anesthesia that are the closest ever to a natural, non-groggy snooze.

Why do black patients with advanced kidney disease have higher levels of creatinine, a standard indicator of kidney function, than whites? Contrary to what doctors have thought, the difference may not necessarily reflect differences in muscle mass related to younger age or differences in body composition, reports a study in the July 2008 issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN).

Childhood obesity is a growing concern for pediatricians and caregivers. In response to this problem, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) created guidelines for children regarding physical activity and screen time, which includes both watching television and playing video games.

Doctors were amazed when Alex Lenkei, a professional hypnotist, underwent a thumb operation which required sawing and chiseling of a bone without any aesthetic - and he said he did not feel a thing during the 80-minute operation at Worthing and Southlands Hospital, West Sussex, England. Lenkei needed a bone removed from the base of his thumb. The surgeon then had to fuse some joints together. The successful operation should improve Lenkei’s arthritis and give him more mobility.

Tony Clement, Health Minister, and John Baird, Environment Minister, have announced that the government of Canada is considering banning polycarbonate baby bottles which contain bisphenol A. After completing a risk assessment of bisphenol A together with industry and other stakeholders, the Canadian government has initiated a 60-day public comment period on whether to prohibit the importation, sale and advertising on polycarbonate baby bottles containing bisphenol A.

A novel biweekly dosing schedule of Xeloda(R) (capecitabine) enabled safe delivery of higher daily doses in the treatment of advanced breast cancer, according to an investigational study published in the April 10, 2008 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

UroToday.com - This article details the effectiveness of a vascular stapling device in performing a radical cystectomy. The authors determined the blood loss and operative time among high and low-volume surgeons using a multifire autosuture articulated vascular Endo-GIA stapler or standard suturing technique. Twenty-nine male patients with invasive bladder cancer underwent radical cystectomy by two groups of surgeons.

UroToday.com - The incidence of isolated renal fossa metastasis after radical nephrectomy is very low (1-2%). Patients who undergo surgical excision of these isolated renal fossa metastasis with or without adjuvant therapy have been shown to have better 5-year disease specific survival than medical therapy (radiation, chemotherapy, or immunotherapy) or observation alone.

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ISIS) presented the results of two studies designed to assess the impact of lowering apoB-100 on atherosclerosis at the 2008 Annual Atherosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology (ATVB) Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The data were presented in a poster entitled “Antisense Inhibition of Apolipoprotein B Ameliorated Diet-Induced Hypercholesterolemia and Reduced Atherosclerosis in LDL Receptor-Deficient Mice” by Adam E. Mullick, Ph.D.

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE: EW), the world leader in the science of heart valves, announced that yesterday the first patients were treated in a United States feasibility study using the Edwards SAPIEN transcatheter heart valve in addressing a congenital condition in which the valve between the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery is nonfunctional.