A trial that uses stem cell injections to treat osteogenesis imperfecta, more commonly known as brittle bone disease, prior to and just after birth has been launched by teams at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) and the UCL Institute of Child Health (ICH) in collaboration with colleagues across Europe.

By carrying out genetic screening in pregnant women whose baby is suspected of having severe osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), babies identified with the condition may be treated with a stem cell that increases the production of collagen in the body. This then reduces the number of painful bone fractures a child experiences once born.

OI affects around one in 15

In this single centre study, the authors assess the accuracy of surgeons and anesthetists in predicting the time it will take them to complete an operation or procedure and therefore explain some of the difficulties encountered in operating theatre scheduling. The study was set in operating theatres at a level 1 trauma centre serving a population of about 370 000. Participants were 92 operating theatre staff including surgical consultants, surgical registrars, anesthetic consultants, and anesthetic registrars. Participants were asked how long they thought their procedure would take, and this was compared with actual time data recorded at the end of the case. General surgeons underestimated the time required for the procedure by 31 minutes, meaning that procedures took, on average, 28.7% longer than predicted. Plastic surgeons underestimated by 5 minutes, with procedures taking an average of 4.5% longer than predicted. Orthopedic surgeons overestimated by 1 minute, with procedures taking an average of 1.1% less time than predicted. Anesthetists underestimated by 35 minutes, meaning that, on average, procedures took 167.5% longer than they predicted. The authors conclude that the inability of clinicians to predict the necessary time for a procedure is a significant cause of delay in the operating theatre. This study suggests that anesthetists are the most inaccurate and highlights the potential differences between specialties in what is considered part of the

Scientists from the University of Sheffield have discovered MRI scanners, normally used to produce images, can steer cell-based, tumour busting therapies to specific target sites in the body.

MRI-scannerMagnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners have been used since the 1980s to take detailed images inside the body

Skillful surgeons can do amazing things in extremely small places, but finding better ways to suture tiny blood vessels has been an ongoing challenge for even the best.

University of Delaware researchers show how a new peptidebased hydrogel could one day make that reconnection process easier to perform and less likely to fail.

The new process uses a hydrogel developed by Daniel J. Smith. Other collaborators include Katelyn NagySmith, who has recently completed all requirements for her doctorate at UD, and Joel Schneider, who was a professor at UD and now is in the Chemical Biology Laboratory at the National Cancer Institute.

Also part of the study were researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Johns Hopkins.

Smith designed the peptide, building on a selfassembling process developed more than a decade ago by Schneider while he was a professor in UD’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Darrin Pochan, professor and chair of UD’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

NagySmith did the microscopy, using a transmission electron microscope at the National Cancer Institute to show how the fibres change when exposed to ultraviolet light.

The way tiny vessels are reconnected now includes stitches applied in microsurgery. But the tiny, thinwalled vessels are fragile and prone to damage in handling.

The peptidebased hydrogel can be tuned in precise ways with a specific amino acid, allowing the material to change form several times during a procedure

Boston Children