Health Line
Laser to reduce dental pain
MedX Health, an Ontario-based company, announced that its OraLase Portable Laser has received 510(k) clearance from the Food and Drug Administration.
The hand-held device is intended for use by dental staff and acts on the principles of low-level laser therapy (LLLT). LLLT reportedly minimizes bleeding, swelling, and pain by exposing tissue to a specific laser wavelength.
The device can be used for more comfortable deep scaling procedures and also speeds up the healing process after any dental surgery or operative procedure.
The creators of OraLase hope that the device will be used to reduce the number of anesthetic injections given to patients.
MedX Health is partnering with Technology4Medicine of California to distribute the product throughout the United States.
Source: www.medgadget.com
Some medicines no longer for children
Last week, an FDA hearing recommended more stringent requirements on nonprescription cough and cold medications for children.
The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) has quickly followed suit, establishing warnings against treating children under 4 years of age with these products.
The new warnings are intended to prevent unnecessary side effects of drugs that might have limited efficacy in children. Further actions will be taken by the FDA and CHPA in the coming months.
Source: The New York Times
Postal workers to carry anthrax drug
Health officials have started taking precautions in case of another anthrax attack. A project with this aim is to be launched in Minneapolis. Postal workers in Minneapolis will soon begin carrying antibiotics. By carrying these antibiotics, they aim to treat their own exposure to anthrax and deliver drugs to local residents. The goal of this plan is to ensure that the public can quickly receive treatment for anthrax attacks.
Local health officials decided to implement the plan in Minneapolis after two years of successful tests were run in other large cities. These tests have shown that postal workers could be very effective at delivering much-needed antibiotics to anthrax victims, who survive best if they receive treatment within 48 hours of exposure.
Source: www.livescience.com
Economics used for brain research
Neuroscientists from Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine have applied a theory of economics to the human brain to trace information flow.
In the Journal of Neuroscience, the researchers reported that they were able to successfully predict behavior in the brain using a technique that is called Granger causality. The technique compares data flow indicators known as time series in order to identify links between areas in the brain.
The researchers successfully showed that the frontoparietal cortex actuated the visual cortex, a behavior which occurs so quickly that current imaging techniques cannot monitor it.
Source: ScienceDaily