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13^th February 2012

Cyberknife (Accuray Inc) relieves pain of Trigeminal Neuralgia facial nerve condition Page

Cyberknife, the Intensity Modulated RadioTherapy system from Accuray Inc, can relieve the stabbing pain of the facial nerve condition Trigeminal Neuralgia. Researchers treated 17 patients with Trigeminal Neuralgia with Cyberknife radiosurgery between 2007 and 2009. The patients, who were aged between 36 and 90, had had their symptoms for between one and 11 years and had not responded to the available treatment options. The researchers zapped a 6mm length of trigeminal nerve, just 2 to 3mm from the root, using a maximum radiation dose of 73.06 Gy. The patients were then monitored regularly after the procedure, for an average of just under 12 months. Complete data were available for 16 patients, 14 of whom obtained either partial or complete relief from their symptoms. The average time before symptom relief occurred was just under two months, but varied from three weeks to six months. Four patients relapsed after the procedure, between three and 18 months later. No patient experienced major complications as a result of the procedure, and only two patients reported any sensory side effects. See: >"Cyberknife radiosurgery in treating trigeminal neuralgia" by Bryan M Lazzara et al. Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery (2012). doi:10.1136/neurintsurg-2011-010125

FDA approves trial of Celution System (Cytori Therapeutics) for CMI Cardiology Page

Cytori Therapeutics has received an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) approval from the FDA to begin the ATHENA trial using its Celution System. ATHENA will investigate the use of the Celution System to treat a form of Coronary Heart Disease, Chronic Myocardial Ischemia (CMI). The IDE application was originally submitted to the FDA in December 2011. The trial will enroll up to 45 patients with no-option CMI who have limited therapeutic options. It will evaluate a variety of clinical and functional outcomes, including safety, peak oxygen consumption (mVO2), and clinical outcomes at 12-months.

Phase III Trial of MDV 3100 (Medivation/Astellas) in Prostate Cancer patients shows positive results Oncology Page

Researchers have presented positive results on all efficacy endpoints from the Phase III AFFIRM trial of the investigational drug MDV 3100, from Medivation and Astellas, in men with Prostate Cancer previously treated with chemotherapy. The results, presented at the 2012 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, show that men taking MDV 3100 lived for a median of 18.4 months, compared with 13.6 months for men taking placebo. MDV 3100 also met all secondary endpoints, including radiographic progression-free survival (8.3 versus 2.9 months; PSA declines of 50% or greater were more common in the MDV 3100 group than in the placebo group (54.0% versus 1.5%; and MDV 3100 was found to be well tolerated. The data was presented by Howard I. Scher, chief, Genitourinary Oncology Service at Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

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