Here are eight things for spinal surgeons to know for Nov. 23, 2016.
Mount Sinai receives $2.3M SCI Model System grant
The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City received a Spinal Cord Injury Model System grant from the National Institute of Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research. The five-year grant totals $2.28 million. Mount Sinai will use the grant to conduct independent and collaborative research, offering information to individuals with SCI as well as their family members, healthcare professional and the public.
Dr. Tom Price rumored to be Trump's pick to lead HHS
After reports surfaced on Nov. 15, 2016, that Rep. Tom Price, MD, (R-Ga.), was being considered for the top spot at HHS, the congressman was seen visiting Trump Tower in Manhattan the next afternoon. Republican sources close to the Trump campaign revealed this information to Politico. Rep. Price is a logical choice for the position — he has been an official supporter of President-elect Donald Trump since his endorsement in May and campaigned with the candidate ahead of the election.
Medtronic reports Q2 2017 worldwide revenue of $7.3B
Dublin, Ireland-based Medtronic reported its financial results for the second quarter of 2017, ended Oct. 28, 2016. The company's Q2 worldwide revenue was $7.3 billion, with U.S. revenue reaching $4.15 billion in the Q2, accounting for 57 percent of company revenue. Non-U.S. market revenue accounted for 30 percent of company revenue, and rose to $2.2 billion. Medtronic's spine group Q2 revenue totaled $663 million.
The FDA cleared these spine & orthopedic devices in October 2016
The FDA granted 33 orthopedic- and spine-related clearances in October. Some devices cleared include: Rampart D. Lumbar Interbody Fusion Device from Spineology; MAGEC Spinal Bracing and Distraction System from NuVasive; PLEX Elite 9000 SS-OCT from Carl Zeiss Meditec and HammerTech Fixation System from Fusion Orthopedics.
InVivo enrolls 9th patient in INSPIRE Study
Cambridge, Mass.-based InVivo Therapeutics enrolled the ninth patient in its INSPIRE Study, testing the Neuro-Spinal Scaffold's efficacy and safety for complete thoracic AIS A spinal cord injury. Oregon Health & Science University in Portland enrolled the patient. Ahmed M. Raslan, MD, and Jason J Chang, MD, both assistant professors of neurological surgery and study investigators, implanted the Neuro-Spinal Scaffold in the patient about 36 hours post-injury.
Wall Street analysts attempt to make certainty out of healthcare's uncertain future
Come January, a new Republican administration will enter the White House and with this new administration comes a wave of uncertainty as to whether they will repeal the ACA, and when. President-elect Donald Trump recently said he supports the ACA mandate that requires payers to cover pre-existing conditions. However, without another plan that maintains American coverage, the fallout could be tremendous with millions of Americans losing coverage.
OLIF: Does it solve traditional spinal fusion's challenges?
A new study published in The Spine Journal examined the oblique lateral interbody fusion, analyzing whether the technique can overcome challenges with traditional fusion approaches. Overall complication rate was 11.7 percent, with aubsidence, postoperative ileus and vascular injury representing the most common compilations. Fusion was successful at 97.9 percent of the surgical levels.
No. of adults with hypertension surged to 1.1B in 2015, up from 594M in 1975 worldwide
Researchers conducted a pooled analysis of 1,479 population-based measurement studies with 19.1 million people to reveal hypertension trends between 1975 and 2015. In 1975, 594 million adults had raised blood pressure, compared to 1.13 billion in 2015. Most of this increase occurred in low-income and middle-income countries. The researchers noted the global surge in the number of adults with raised blood pressure, "is a net effect of increase due to population growth and ageing, and decrease due to declining age-specific prevalence."