| Potential To Restore Range Of Motion, Accelerate Healing Using Freeze ...
Donated, freeze-dried tendon grafts loaded with gene therapy may soon offer effective repair of injured tendons, a goal that has eluded surgeons to date. According to study data published in the journal Molecular Therapy, a new graft technique may provide the first effective framework around which flexor tendon tissue can reorganize as it heals. Such tissue-engineering approaches could significantly improve repair of anterior cruciate ligaments and rotator cuffs as well, researchers said. The study was in a mouse model designed to resemble hard-to-repair flexor tendons in human hands, and the results should provide an impetus for future clinical trials.
Tendons are elastic cords that anchor muscle to bone and enable flexing muscle to move limbs. Related injuries represent nearly half of 33 million U.S.
Holiday stress can lead to depression
While most people are singing carols and wrapping gifts during the holidays, those who struggle with mental illness often feel increased pain and isolation. Terese Gessler knows, because she's been there. "The bigness of it, how it comes across as being a very extreme holiday," said Gessler, 38, who was diagnosed with major depression and anxiety at age 14. "The stresses that go with it shopping, parties, family gatherings." Although statistics show that suicides in Sheboygan County aren't higher than at other times of the year, mental health professionals and law enforcement officers in Sheboygan see the result of the increased stress and pressure Christmas can bring. "This can be a very lonely, depressing time for people," said Beverly Randall of Mental Health America in Sheboygan County.
Parents can get help with teens at coalition forum
From drugs and alcohol to sex and family trouble, teens face all kinds of stress these days. And the Greater West Bloomfield Community Coalition for Youth and the West Bloomfield Public Library want to make it easier for parents and teens to cope. The coalition organized several parent education forums for 2008. The first - "How do Adolescents Cope?" - is set for 7-9 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 17, at the library. .
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