Treatment

When a limb is rendered immobile for long periods of time, its muscles will inevitably begin to atrophy. A new implant could help keep that from happening, however, by mechanically stretching and compressing those muscles.

While bone injuries such as fractures typically heal on their own, large sections of missing bone often never grow back, requiring bone transplants from other parts of the body. A new hydrogel, however, could help change that.

Scientists have recently had success in curing mice of a serious type of pneumonia, using what are described as "microrobots." The bots were actually live algae cells, which carried life-saving medication throughout the rodents' lungs.

People with cystic fibrosis are vulnerable to potentially fatal Mycobacterium abscessus lung infections, which are notoriously difficult to treat. A new treatment may succeed where others have failed, however – and it utilizes antibacterial honey.

A torn rotator cuff can be debilitating enough on its own, but unfortunately once such an injury has occurred, it's more likely to happen again. An experimental new mesh could help keep that from happening, thanks to tiny pieces of graphene.

Scientists have developed a new light-activated “photoimmunotherapy” that could help treat brain cancer. The key is a compound that glows under light to guide surgeons to the tumor, while near-infrared light activates a cancer-killing mechanism.

Nerve damage can result in pain that lasts for years, or even a lifetime. There may be new hope, however, as scientists now report that exposing damaged nerves to a cold needle can cause them to regenerate, drastically reducing pain.

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine have identified two new subtypes of prostate cancer. These new forms of the disease are resistant to usual treatments, but categorizing and studying them could lead to new therapies.

Osteoporosis is characterized by the deterioration of bone tissue, resulting in weak bones that are easily broken. There may be new hope for treating the disease, however, utilizing a naturally occurring hormone.

It's a sad fact that many sea turtles now suffer from fibropapillomatosis, a disease in which tumors grow on various parts of the body. There may be new hope, however, as a study suggests that sunlight exposure could help afflicted turtles recover.

Although kidney stones can be treated with medication, larger ones are often broken up with an endoscopic laser. A new hydrogel is now claimed to be capable of removing even the smallest of the resulting fragments, instead of just leaving them.

If diabetes progresses too far, it can result in a potentially blinding condition known as retinopathy. And while existing treatments are invasive and often painful, there may be new hope in the form of an LED-equipped contact lens.