Interesting - and I'm sure some people will claim that this proves we hard-wired for God.

Brain changes linked to spirituality

Thursday, February 11, 2010 18:24

WASHINGTON: By studying patients before and after surgery to remove a brain tumour, a team of Italian researchers has identified anatomical changes in the brain that may be linked to shifts in spiritual and religious attitudes.

A novel surgery using transplanted bone and cartilage may help young patients avoid a hip replacement after a specific traumatic injury to the hip joint, according to a case study by orthopedic trauma specialists at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. The study appears in the February issue of the Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma.

A study by researchers with UCLA's Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery Program has found that an alternative, non-invasive approach to pre-surgical testing, along with earlier consideration for surgery, is associated with the best seizure-free surgical outcome in patients with tuberous sclerosis complex.

A new study led by Oregon Health & Science University shows up to 76 percent of patients with chronic rhionsinusitis reported improved quality of life following endoscopic surgery. Prior to surgery, adults with chronic rhinosinusitis typically have lower quality of life scores than patients with congestive heart failure, angina, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or back pain.

A common complication following surgery in elderly patients is postoperative delirium, a state of confusion that can lead to long-term health problems and cause some elderly patients to complain that they "never felt the same" again after an operation. But a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests that simply limiting the depth of sedation during procedures could safely cut the risk of postoperative delirium by 50 percent.

A curious case of a woman who believed she was receiving email directly into her body near to where a diamond teddy bear was residing, published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry:

We report the case of an elderly lady with no experience of using a personal computer or internet technology, whose delusional experiences included the direct personal receipt of email. Ms T, an 84-year old female with a 40-year history of schizoaffective disorder, presented with a delusional belief that something precious and of value ‘for all people’ had been inserted into her body by a doctor in Germany in the 1950s.

She had sought medical help because she believed that an abdominal operative procedure would be necessary to remove a ‘‘rat and a teddy bear made of diamonds’’ that she believed had grown within her. Following admission, she remained highly guarded, distressed and preoccupied with the need of urgent surgery, which she demanded every time she met her medical team.

Attaching cartilage to plates made of the resorbable material polydioxanone appears to facilitate corrective surgery on the nasal septum, the thin cartilage separating the two airways, according to a report in the January/February issue of Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

A computerized model suggests that most morbidly obese individuals would likely live longer if they had gastric bypass surgery, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. However, the best decision for individual patients varies based on factors such as age, increasing body mass index and the effectiveness of surgery.