UF scientists discover evolutionary origin of fins, limbs
Performance on the dance floor may not always show it, but people are rarely born with two left feet. We have genes that instruct our arms and legs to grow in the right places and point in the right directions. They also provide for the spaces between our fingers and toes and every other formative detail of our limbs. Evolutionarily speaking, the genetic instructions used to construct and...Bone marrow transplants for limbs
Scientists have observed that bone marrow cells can make new blood vessels, when transplanted into limbs with poor circulation. In peripheral arterial disease, circulation in the legs is severely restricted because the arteries are narrowed. //The result is pain and disability. In severe cases, the limb may even need amputation to avoid gangrene and death. Researchers in Osaka, Japan,...Treating Blocked Arteries In The Lower Limbs
Lower extremity ischemia, or abnormal circulation, occurs when arteries in the abdomen or pelvis narrow or become completely blocked // by the build-up of plaque deposits. As a result, not enough oxygen-rich blood gets to the legs, causing cramps and pain, and making it difficult to walk or exercise. The iliac arteries are large arteries in the pelvis that supply blood to the legs. Rese...US life expectancy climbs to a new high
Deaths from heart disease, cancer, and stroke, three leading killers in the U.S., all dropped in 2003. They were down 2 percent to 5 percent.// Also, Americans' life expectancy increased again in 2003, up from 77.3 the year before. By comparison, it was 75.4 in 1990. Life expectancy in the U.S. has increased almost without interruption since 1900, because of several factors,...Adequate Foot Care, the Only Way to Prevent Amputation of Lower Limbs in Diabetics
Diabetics need to be cautious about monitoring blood sugar levels, which is also known to cause damage to the blood vessels that course through the lower limbs, giving rise to amputations, according to a recent study. // The risk for diabetics to suffer lower limb amputations is pronounced, 15 times more than non diabetics, the study has reported. Wolverhampton-based researchers have...New Ideas on Developing Thought-Controlled Artificial Limbs
Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have described a new type of nervous system// interface that could be "linked to the patient's thoughts, providing two-way signaling for motor control and feedback from multiple external stimuli." "We're at a junction now of developing a new approach for a brain-machine interface," says senior author Douglas H. Smith, MD,...