Friday, January 10, 2014

1/10/14 Health News: Reducing Gestation Crates for Pigs, First NanoKnife Surgery, Performed, Physician in U.S.Hard to Find

SMITHFIELD, TYSON ENCOURAGING TRANSITION AWAY FROM GESTATION CRATES
Major pork producers Smithfield Foods and Tyson Foods have both announced plans this week to develop animal welfare improvements within their facilities, including moving away fromh the practice of using sow gestation crates, small metal enclosures that hold pregnant female pigs for most of their adult lives. Gestation crates have come under heavy criticism as... Continue Reading

First 'NanoKnife' Surgery for Hong Kong Cancer Patient
Chinese University doctors have carried out one of the first cancer treatments in Asia to use a cutting-edge technology that employs electricity to kill cancerous cells. The percutaneous NanoKnife technology was used for the first time in Hong Kong last month on a 67-year-old with liver cancer. Three electrode needles, each 1 mm in diameter, were inserted into the man’s tumour, which was then zapped with 3,000-volt electric pulses for between 20 and 100 microseconds. The treatment works for solid tumours smaller than 5cm, and the needles are guided by ultrasound and X-ray imaging so that no operation is needed. Scans showed no lesions after the treatment.Continue Reading

Report Quantifies Difficulty of Finding Physician in U.S.
In the 12 preceding months, 2.4% of people in the U.S. reported having problems finding a general physician, according to a report. In addition, 2.1% of those interviewed had been told that a physician would not accept them as new patients, and 2.9% were told a physician did not accept their healthcare coverage. The findings appear in the December data brief of the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. Data came from the National Health Interview Survey, which included responses from 34,525 adults Continue Reading.

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