On Aug. 20, the FDA approved a laser treatment for stable angina, a debilitating chest pain that has not responded to conventional forms of therapy. The controversial treatment, transmyocardial revascularization, uses lazers to bore up to 40 tiny homes in the heart. The outer layers heal, buy heartbeats force the interior holes closed as well, leading researchers to ask whether pain relief was actually caused by a placebo effect. The FDA asked PLC Systems of Franklin, Mass, manufacturer of the laser system, to do a year-long study on effects of the treatment; the results of this small study showed continued pain relief in 72 percent of the patients who received the treatment, compared with 13 percent pain relief in patients who were treated with conventional methods.
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Hookman, M.D., P.A. Home Page