It is a health concern that tens of thousands of Kentuckians battle every day-- the struggle to keep their blood pressure in check. Oftentimes, it involves numerous medications and lifestyle changes. In some cases even that combination is not enough, and patients are faced with potentially life-ending consequences. The struggles are real for many people across the Commonwealth. That is why a FDA-approved clinical trial at the UK College of Medicine is so important.

Surgeons recently implanted the RheosR System into the first clinical trial patient. When the device was turned on, the patient's blood pressure measurements significantly decreased. The patient reported no discomfort.

The device is designed to reduce blood pressure by using small electrical signals to influence the body's blood pressure regulation system, called the baroreflex. The Rheos System is a pacemaker-like device that is implanted under the skin in the upper chest cavity and connected to two leads that are placed on the carotid arteries.

UK cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Sibu Saha is one of the trial's primary investigators. "Hypertension is a silent killer and a major risk factor for stroke. I see its effects on patients every day. The Rheos device has shown promise in managing what was previously uncontrolled hypertension. I am pleased to be a part of this landmark trial," said Saha.

UK is one of only 24 medical centers participating in the trial and the only one in Kentucky. Patients will be monitored during a 5-year time period. The purpose of the UK trial is to assess safety, efficacy, and device performance.

High blood pressure affects about 72 million people in the United States.

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A Rutgers University team led by neuroscientist Robin Davis is opening new doors to improved hearing for the congenitally or profoundly deaf. Their findings could lead to a new generation of cochlear implants.

Cochlear implants today operate with varying degrees of success in different patients. Some may be able to hear sounds like the rush of traffic or the crash of thunder. Others can do even better, detecting voice and understanding speech while still being unable to appreciate music. With the latest research, across-the-board improvement may be within reach.

Davis' work is important for engineers and surgeons in designing new cochlear implants. "The significance of our work lies in the fact that we can change an element in a very peripheral part of the sensory system that can have an impact all the way into the brain," Davis said.

Cochlear implants, also known as "bionic ears," are surgically inserted into the snail-shell shaped structure - the cochlea - within the inner ear. Ordinarily, hair cells line the cochlea and convert acoustic signals into electrical signals that nerves then carry to the brain. Where some hair cells exist, sounds can be amplified with a hearing aid. Where the hair cells are missing or damaged - a condition generally associated with severe hearing impairment - an implant may be used to replace their function.

Davis, a professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience of Rutgers' School of Arts and Sciences, works with mouse cochlear tissue cultured in the laboratory. The spiraled cochlea is unwound and laid out in a line. Davis described the hair cells as being analogous to the keys of a piano and the nerves to which they attach - the spiral ganglion neurons that connect to the brain - are the piano's strings.

"Our studies have revealed that spiral ganglion auditory neurons possess a rich complexity that is only now beginning to be understood," said Davis.

The researchers found that two neurotrophin proteins in the cochlea - brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) - figure prominently in the relay of sound messages to the brain. Research by Davis and her team, begun more than six years ago, is now producing insights into precisely how these multidimensional proteins operate in the cochlea. These most recent findings appear in the Dec. 19 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.

While neurotrophins have historically been prized for the survival value they impart to nerve cells, the researchers found that in the cochlea they do a great deal more. Their presence in relative proportions transforms the spiral ganglion neurons into either fast-firing transmitters to carry high pitched sound messages to the brain, or slow-firing carriers for the transmission of lower pitched signals. The neurotrophins accomplish this at the molecular level by tightly regulating a newly-defined and complex series of signaling proteins.

Davis explained that one end of the cochlea is home to the slower-firing neurons characterized by a preponderance of NT-3, while the other cochlear end is rich in BDNF, making those neurons faster-firing. Both neurotrophins are present in gradients throughout the range, but at any specific locale their amounts vary relative to each other - lots of BDNF and a little NT-3 in the high frequency transmitters, for example, and the reverse as you move toward the other end.

In one possible remedial approach, Davis described how the neurotrophins could potentially be pumped into a newly-designed cochlear implant and released through graduated ports along its length.

Systems that directly connect silicon circuits with brains are under intensive development all over the world, and are nearing commercial application in many areas, according to a study just placed online.

Neurobiologist Theodore W. Berger of the University of Southern California chaired the eight-member committee which compiled the "International Assessment of Research and Development in Brain-Computer Interfaces," published in October by the World Technology Evaluation Center, Inc., of Baltimore MD

The report is now downloadable online at the WTEC website.

Berger, who holds the David Packard Chair at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and is Director of the USC Center for Neural Engineering contributed the introduction and two chapters of the report, which encompassed dozens of research institutes in Europe and Asia.

The other committee members (and chapter authors) included John K. Chapin (SUNY Downstate Medical Center); Greg A. Gerhardt (University of Kentucky); Dennis J. McFarland (Wadsworth Center); José C. Principe (University of Florida); Dawn M. Taylor (Case Western Reserve); and Patrick A. Tresco (University of Utah).

The report contains three overall findings on Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) work worldwide:

* BCI research is extensive and rapidly growing, as is growth in the interfaces between multiple key scientific areas, including biomedical engineering, neuroscience, computer science, electrical and computer engineering, materials science and nanotechnology, and neurology and neurosurgery.

* BCI research is rapidly approaching first-generation medical practice - clinical trials of invasive BCI technologies and significant home use of noninvasive, electroencephalography (EEG-based) BCIs. The panel predicts that BCIs soon will markedly influence the medical device industry, and additionally BCI research will rapidly accelerate in non-medical arenas of commerce as well, particularly in the gaming, automotive, and robotics industries.

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Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems, Inc. (OTCBB: CYKN; "Company;" "Cyberkinetics"), announced that it has received a letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting additional analyses and data regarding its Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE) marketing application for the Andara™ OFS™ (Oscillating Field Stimulator) System, a nerve growth stimulator designed as a treatment for acute spinal cord injuries. Based on the FDA's request for additional data and analyses, the Company now expects that approval of its Andara™ OFS™ System for the treatment of acute spinal cord injury may be delayed until at least the first half of 2008.

The Andara™ OFS™ System is intended as a treatment option for people with acute spinal cord injuries. The device is designed to be implanted in patients within 18 days following a spinal cord injury to stimulate nerves to grow across the area of injury. Though the device is removed after 15 weeks of treatment, improvement in both sensory and motor function may continue for months, even years, as nerves form new connections to transmit information to and from the brain.

"The FDA has identified additional information related to our clinical and engineering data that we must provide prior to completion of their review of the Andara™ OFS™ HDE," stated Timothy R. Surgenor, Cyberkinetics' President and Chief Executive Officer. "We look forward to working with the FDA over the coming weeks to fully understand their requirements. We believe that we can provide the information that the FDA has requested in an additional amendment to our HDE application in early 2008.

"We are reminded daily by surgeons at leading treatment centers of the catastrophic physical, emotional and financial consequences of spinal cord injury - underscored by the lack of effective treatment alternatives. Cyberkinetics is committed to moving as quickly as possible to bring the Andara™ OFS™ device to the market," Surgenor added.

About Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems, Inc.

Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems, Inc., a leader in the neurotechnology industry, is developing neural stimulation, sensing and processing technology to improve the lives of those with severe paralysis resulting from spinal cord injuries, neurological disorders and other conditions of the nervous system. Cyberkinetics' product development pipeline includes: Andara™ OFS™ Therapy for acute spinal cord injury, an investigative device designed to stimulate nerve repair and restore sensation and motor function; the BrainGate System, an investigative device designed to provide communication and control of a computer, assistive devices, and, ultimately, limb movement; and a pilot program in the detection and prediction of seizures due to epilepsy. Additional information is available at Cyberkinetics' website at http://www.cyberkinetics.com.

During this holiday season with its tempting bounty of edible delights, new research calls attention to the role of the expanding American waistline in health and medicine.

Today, researchers at the American Association for Cancer Research's Sixth Annual International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, being held from December 5 to 8 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, present some of the latest research linking obesity, diabetes and metabolism to cancer risk. Their findings link weight gain and diabetes to a variety of cancers affecting both men and women, including breast, prostate and colorectal cancer

Diabetes and hyper-insulinemia as predictors of colorectal cancer risk in a prospective cohort of women. Abstract no. B93:

Women with diabetes are 1.5 times more likely to develop colorectal cancer than those who do not have the metabolic disorder, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota. The findings, they say, add to the complex body of evidence linking diet and colorectal cancer and also provide new evidence that furthers our understanding of the role of insulin in cancer promotion.

"Colorectal cancer and type II diabetes share a number of common factors, including obesity, so it is interesting to see the direct line between these two conditions," said Andrew Flood, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and the University of Minnesota Cancer Center "In general, the idea is that if elevated insulin levels create a biochemical environment conducive to cancer growth, it provides one mechanism by which diet and lifestyle can really influence cancer risk."

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