Treating Type-2 Diabetes with Tea

Researchers in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry have found an alternative method to treating Type-2 Diabetes using tea extract from Nigeria.

In a six week study, genetically diabetic mice were treated with Africa tea on a daily basis. The combination of the tea treatment and a low-lipid diet siginificantly changed the structure of the fat in the mice eyes and reduced the amount of fat, as well as protected the pancreas.

With human patients, the 23 cases treated showed promising results after four months of being administered 750 mL of tea per day.

After treatment, noted side effects were an increased glucose tolerance and an increase in the amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids. The elevated amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids is advantageous to Type-2 diabetes patients because it promotes glucose absorption from the blood into the cells by causing the cell membranes to be more permeable.

Further research is being performed to weigh the effectiveness of tea treatment for diabetic patients.



url: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090505132224.htm



Acacia Ho
vtpp 435, section 502

Artificial Heart

Researchers have been trying for years to create a totally implantable artificial heart to completely replace the existing human heart. Well, they have. Dr. Alain Carpentier led his team in creating an artificial heart to completely replace an existing one. This is not a bridge-to-transplant or a temporary heart, but a heart that will be able to serve the same job as a human heart, with a few minor differences.

They engineered a device that uses two pumps to more accurately mimic the function of a real heart's two ventricles. There will also be a series of monitors to change the heart rate based on environmental or physiological changes.The materials will be animal tissue and are chemically treated to decrease blood clotting.

Because this device should be able to completely replace a damaged heart, it will make an amazing difference in the world of medicine. For the almost 17 million people dying from cardiac disease every year, many of these lives will be saved. Currently, only about one-fourth of patients on the heart transplant list are receiving donor hearts. With the implementation of this heart, people will not need to wait for someone else to die.

The team has been working on this project for 15 years and are very hopeful about the success of their project. there still need to be tests done on the heart, but for the most part it looks like something that will cause a significant change in the medical field.

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1857216,00.html

Nicole Maxey

Section 502

Common chemical may be connected to OCD

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder may not seem to be a very problematic disease, but to many it can even be debilitating. You can think of Mr. Monk from TV, though only fictional, there are people with similar levels of OCD that seriously impede on their daily lives.
Relief for these unfortunate people may be in sight with a recently discovered connection between the common biological chemical, glutamate, and OCD. Researchers at the School of Medicine at Wayne State studied a number of children with the disease because of the 1 to 3 percent of the population with the condition, about 80 percent developed symptoms early in childhood. The researchers found that in the children, certain areas of the brain, including the thalamus and the orbital prefrontal cortex, had abnormally high levels of glutamate. These areas that are most likely key in the symptoms of OCD are being deprived of serotonin and other important chemicals that glutamate effectively “shut off.”
So this means that drugs that reduce the glutamate levels in the brain may be a wonder cure for those who have serious forms of this disease. In fact, recent studies of a drug called riluzole, a drug commonly used in treating Lou Gehring’s disease, applied to OCD patients have shown great promise in reducing symptoms, but the trials are ongoing.
Admittedly, this research may be of little consequence to those who may experience a little OCD moment every once in awhile. Personally, I know I fall in that category and I’m sure nearly everyone can be a little OCD sometime, but OCD can be serious and I think it is awesome that there might relief on the horizon for those seriously affected, like the fictional Mr. Monk who may be able to be a police officer again if he can shake his OCD. All the real people that have lives similar to Monk will get relief too.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/148418.php

-John Horn

Autophagy of Fats

New evidence suggests that in periods of starvation or fasting the body may undergo autophagic breakdown of lipids. As most of us understand autophagy is the process where cells self-degrade unused components using lysosomal machinery. To do this cellular components are trapped in double-membrane bound vesicles called autophagosomes that fuse with and are broken down by lysosomes. What the new research posits is that in a similar way, under fasting conditions, cytoplasmic proteins are recruited to lipids to form similar double membrane enclosures. These enclosures, dubbed "autolipophagosomes," can then fuse with the lysosomes for degradation.

For years its been thought that catabolizing lipids has been the task of regulatory proteins and lipases--most notably hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) and adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL). But this understanding left a number of aspects unexplained. For example, why the hepatocytes of liver cells could turnover triglycerides and cholesteryl esters so quickly, despite having low concentrations of HSL and ATGL. The new model suggests and shows that an autophagic mechanism may be at work.

One further poitn of interest: the study also showed that the efficiency of this process varied with nutritional status. Mice fed a high-fat diet for an extended period of 16 weeks showed an impaired autophagy-mediated breakdown in the liver. This would force the conclusion that increased fat ingestion might actually decrease fat removal.

Sources:
"Cell Biology Another Way to get rid of fat"
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v458/n7242/full/4581118a.html

"Autophagy regulates lipid metabolism" (Original Research Article)
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v458/n7242/full/nature07976.html

Genes 'have key role in autism'

According to researchers, genetics plays an important role in the development of autism and related conditions. The small changes occur in the genes that form and keep the connections between the brain cells. Dr Raynard Kington, of the US National Institutes of Health, said: "Detailed analysis of the genes and how they affect brain development is likely to yield better strategies for diagnosing and treating children with autism." In the largest study led by the University of Pennsylvania, researchers scanned the human genome of more than 10,000 people to look for differences in the genes of people who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and those who do not. The study found genetic variants in two genes found in chromosome 5 which control the production of proteins that help cells stick together and form nervous connections. Researchers calculate that if they fix one variant linked to a gene present in over 65% of the cases, the number of autism cases will decrease by 15%. Lead researcher Dr Hakon Hakonarson believes that the genetics of ASD is likely to be complex: "Because other autism researchers have made intriguing suggestions that autism arises from abnormal connections among brain cells during early development, it is very compelling to find evidence that mutations in genes involved in brain interconnections increase a child's risk of autism. There are going to be many genes involved in causing autism.” Professor Simon Baron-Cohenn, an autism expert at the University of Cambridge, said that 133 genes have been linked to autism, but that work is still needed to study how the genes interact with each other and the environment.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8020837.stm

Decoded Structure Of Secretion System, Essential For Infection, Could Lead To New Drugs

This article talks about the physiology of dysentery. There are “sharp” proteins on the surface of the bacterial cell that penetrate the endothelial cells and the secretions cause them to break down.

“The secretion system is a complex protein structure that traverses the bacterial cell membrane and acts as a biological syringe to inject deadly proteins into intestinal cells. These proteins rupture the cell's innards, leading to bloody diarrhea and sometimes death. Similar secretion systems exist in a range of other infectious bacteria, including those that cause typhoid fever, some types of food poisoning, and plague.”

Scientists are trying to determine the exact protein structure of the cell surface in order to design drugs that will destroy thus and render the bacteria harmless to the gut.

“The more accurate model therefore shows how the different parts of the injection machine fit together and may fit with other bacterial components that provide the engine to drive injection. These are important steps toward developing a detailed understanding of how the injection machine works, and to developing inhibitors that can prevent bacterial infections.”

This model is important in discovering the overall mechanism of infection that is carried out by the bacteria and could help find a way to disrupt it and effectively cure the disease.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/147880.php

British Scientists Create First Artificial Stomach!

In order to further our understandings as to what happens inside the gut, British scientists have created the world's first artificial stomach. The device was created at the Norwich's Institute of Food Research by Martin Wickham and colleagues. Designed using very sophisticated plastics and metals, the artificial stomach can ingest real food while it imitates the chemical and physical reactions that occur during digestion...even vomit when neccessary!

The top half of the artificial stomach is made up of a vessel where food, stomach acids, and digestive enzymes are mixed. Once the "hydration process" is complete, the food gets broken down into smaller fragments that will eventually be absorbed by the human body.

Although the design holds only half the capacity of a natural human stomach, it plays a major role in helping scientists understand how food gets processed and which nutrients get absorbed. This knowledge could prove very beneficiary for medications down the road. For example, knowing how quickly glucose gets absorbed into the bloodstream may potentially help treat patients with diabetes.

The artificial stomach has already attracted enormous attention from many major companies. Certain food companies want to use the artificial stomach to tests new products and see which nutrients get absorbed. Also, one wishes to test soil contaminants inside the artificial stomach in order to see if accidental ingestion of the soil may lead to serious potential problems.

http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news/British-scientists-create-artificial-stomach-15754-1/

Human Stem Cell Research Allowed in South Korea

Following a scandal involving a fake cloning of human embryos in South Korea by disgraced cloning expert Hwang Woo-suk (stripped of his research license after the debacle) in 2006, South Korean government officials placed a ban on research dealing with uman stem cell research. However, as of Wednesday, April 29th, That ban is lifted, and stem cell research my resume.
Stem cells, as all of us know, are master cells that can be induced to develop into any type of bodily tissue; progress in this area of research could lead to cures for currently incurabl diseases, such as diabetes and Parksinson's. The committee that made the decision to lift the ban did place several conditions Cha Medical Center (the location for research), including "hiring more bioethics experts, minimizing the use of human eggs, and no citing specific diseases to prevent patients from harboring excessive hops or cures". These are enforced to avoid possible recurrences like Hwang's embarrassing incident 3 years prior.
In response to the decision made by the committee, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea expressed their opposition to the research, stating that human stem cell research is an "act debasing human dignity".
In comparison with this development in South Korea, scientists and patient advocates alike have recently been disappointed by the new human stem cell research guidelines drafted by the NIH. These guidelines limit funding to embryos that were left over from in vitro fertilization clinics and were already earmarked for destruction. With much debate on whether this decision was a made on a more scientific or political basis, conservative groups are not completely satisfied with the rules. Some groups are alleging that President Obama, when signing this stem cell order executive, "left the door open to human cloning", which is an extremely controversial issue all everywhere.
When comparing the two countries, one can see the obvious differences in intentions of their respective rule-making committees. It will be exciting to see what direction each takes in stem cell research in the future.

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/god-and-country/2009/4/20/new-stem-cell-guidelines-disappoint-both-scientists-and-religious-conservatives.html?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a41:g26:r1:c0.055020:b24195870&s_cid=loomia:south-korea-to-lift-ban-on-human-stem-cell-research
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/god-and-country/2009/4/20/new-stem-cell-guidelines-disappoint-both-scientists-and-religious-conservatives.html?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a41:g26:r1:c0.055020:b24195870&s_cid=loomia:south-korea-to-lift-ban-on-human-stem-cell-research

Artificial pancreatic beta cell

Type I diabetes is an autoimmune disease which destroys the beta cells within the pancreas, preventing the organ from producing and excreting insulin. Without insulin, cells within the body cannot absorb sugar and if left untreated, Type I diabetes is fatal.

The researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, have developed a device that has a potential to revolutionize the treatment for Type I diabetes. While the device does not cure diabetes, it will make treatment simpler, Dassau said.

The Doyle Group at the UCSB Chemical Engineering Dept.’s system could eventually act as an artificial pancreas, regulating the blood glucose and drastically helping to prevent the disease’s long-term complications. The device contains insulin pumps and blood glucose sensors, which are linked together by a software control mechanism. The sensors feed blood glucose data to the control mechanism every five minutes, providing the software with an accurate blood sugar reading.
The senior investigator behind the treatment said the mechanism will soon be presented to the Food and Drug Administration for clinical trials. According to him, the software can detect unplanned meals and if it decides that insulin is needed, the pumps release a calculated dose from an internal reservoir.



“The control mechanism predicts ahead the insulin within the system and gives the optimal infusion rate,” Dassau said. “This infusion rate is fully automated… no human interaction is required.”

The device, also referred to as an ‘artificial pancreatic beta cell,’ has already been subjected to clinical trials overseas (France particularly). According to Dassau, the previous clinical trials should help the artificial pancreas gain FDA approval.

In France, a human clinical trial of an artificial pancreas is underway. The system is fully automated by combining Medtronic MiniMed's long-term glucose sensor and its implantable insulin pump. A summary of the project shows promise as well as some present limitations:

• The implantable sensor is inserted into a neck vein leading to the heart.
• The sensor is connected, via an electrical-type wire under the skin, to the implantable insulin pump: as blood sugar levels fluctuate, a signal tells the pump how much insulin to deliver.
• The sensor accurately measured glucose in 95% of cases when compared with values obtained by fingersticks.
• The blood glucose levels were maintained in the normal range more than 50% of the time in the patients using the pump connected to the sensor.
• Events of hypoglycemia dropped to less than 5%.
• While implantable insulin pumps work for an average of eight years before they have to be changed, the sensors stop working after an average of nine months,
• The mathematical programs that calculate just how much insulin should be delivered at different parts of the day also need to be refined.

According to Frank Doyle, although the research team studied treatments for both Type I and Type II diabetes the artificial pancreatic device will be exclusively tested on patients suffering from type I diabetes.
Although the artificial pancreas is still in the development stages, the pumps and sensors of the device are currently controlled via laptop, which allows the engineers to easily develop and improve the control software. However, the laptop is currently too large to allow patients to move about efficiently.

“When [the artificial pancreas] becomes a developed product, the control mechanism can be stored inside the pump,” Dassau said. “These are part of the product development stages.”Doyle said that the laptop should be phased out as the development process progresses and will most likely be replaced with a PDA or a phone.

MITHIL CHOKSHI
VTPP 435 – 501
http://www.dailynexus.com/article.php?a=18670

"Swine Flu"

The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged that the current, on-hand pandemic stop being called "swine flu" since danger is not posed by pigs. The swine flu virus, although having originated in pigs, has genes from human, bird, and pig viruses, and is being spread from human to human, not from contact with pigs.

This shift in policy came after the Egyptian government ordered the slaughter of its 300,000 pigs nationwide in an effort to prevent the spread of the "swine flu" virus. Agricultural industries and the U.N. food agency expressed concerns that dubbing the pandemic "swine flu" was misleading and caused unnecessary actions. Various countries have baned pork products, ordered the slaughter of pigs, and China, Russia, Ukraine, and others have banned pork exports from Mexico and parts of the U.S., all of which have been blamed on swine flu fears.

The flu is now being referred to as its technical scientific name, H1N1 influenza A. WHO has confirmed 257 worldwide cases of the virus, with cases in Mexico rising from 26 to 97 & resulting in 7 deaths & 109 cases and 1 death in the United States. Other confirmed cases include 34 in Canada, 13 in Spain, eight in Britain, three each in Germany and New Zealand, two in Israel and one each in Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

WHO has raised the pandemic flu alert to phase 5, only one step away from the highest level indicating a global outbreak, with no indications to raise it further. WHO feels that the jump in confirmed cases from Mexico was probably the result of scientists working their way through a backlog of untested samples from suspected cases. Most cases within the United States have been mild and patients have recovered quickly.

WHO has started distributing its stockpile of 2 million treatments of the antiviral drug Tamiflu to regional offices. Many of those drugs will go to developing countries that don't have stockpiles of their own and others sent to Mexico. As far as other preventative and precautionary measures, one should avoid unnecessary and non-essential travel, employ additional custodial procedures in high-traffic areas, wash hands or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, cover mouth when sneezing or coughing, keep hands away from mouth, nose, eyes, avoid contact with sick people, follow public health advice regarding crowds and other social happenings, and if experiencing any flu-like symptoms, avoid personal contact and consult a physician.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/un_who_swine_flu



Matthew Heintschel
VTPP 435-501

Safer Ventilator Prevents Contamination from Water Condensation

Obviously, there are many instances when people need to be put on ventilators, including cardiovascular disease, pulmonary edema, emphysema, or COPD. Ventilators are without a doubt already a great invention; however, one problem with them is that they have been humidifying the air too early the tubes, and as the air travels through the lengthy tubes, the humidified air tends to condensate. This condensation can often lead to microbes forming, and breathing in contaminated air. Also, because the humidity in the air is completely lost throughout the tubes, the air inhaled is completely dry, which is very uncomfortable for the patient.
There is a new technology that is concentrating on humidifying the air later in the tubes, right before it enters the mouth, so that there is no water sitting around in the tubes, and so that the inhaled air is more comfortable for the patient. It is made from something called capillary force vaporizing technology, is about the size of a watch battery, and has no moving parts. What is so incredible about this device is that it creates a pressurized vapor from an unpressurized liquid. The way that the machine is able to do this is by taking advantage of the phase change that happens when water goes from its liquid phase to its gas phase. Naturally, when a liquid is changed into a gas, the gas will want to fill up its container, and creates a pressure higher than it had as a liquid. This increased pressure forces the gas out of the device. The device is basically made of three disks: the bottom disk is in contact with the water and has lots of tiny holes in it, and is responsible for heating the water to its critical point, where it will undergo a phase change and become vapor (100 C). When the water reaches the phase change temperature, it expands and is forced into the second disk where there is only one tiny hole. The vapor is ejected from this tiny hole as a steady jet into the tube, right before it goes into the mouth. Because of this, the humidified air has no time to condensate and form microbes, and the inhaled air is more comfortable for the patient.
I found this article interesting because of the fact that in our design project we were interested in looking at a device that was able to heat and humidify air before it went into the lungs. This device would be perfect in that regard. I also just thought that this technology was very impressive. To be able to create something that small and that simple with no moving parts, and just based on some basic chemistry was astounding. I was also interested in why the technology was called capillary force vaporizing technology. My only guess was because the force is similar to the hydrostatic force that is seen in capillaries that forces the blood out of the fenestrated epithelium.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2006/0906-breakthrough_for_breathing.htm

Government injecting veterans with cocaine for drug addiction research

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs are currently using tax dollars to inject cocaine into drug-addicted veterans. The subjects are being given injections as part of a study in which researchers hope to discover a medicine that will block cocaine absorption in the body. All the volunteers were recruited because they were already addicted to cocaine.
The VA handed over several similar abstract studies showing that veterans have been used as subjects over the past decade. Timothy O’Leary, the VA’s acting director of research and development, says his agency has been conducting abstract research over the past 25 years. Although he claims the veteran’s safety is most important, documents of a decade old study of morphine showed nearly 800 adverse affects ranging from anorexia to heart tremors.
According to the DEA, more than 6,000 licenses have been issued to scientists to use otherwise illegal drugs in experiments. O’Leary defended the study citing the need to help the estimated 140,000 vets suffering from drug addiction.
Critics say that experimenting on addicts conflicts with ethical guidelines concerning “informed consent”. This is because laboratory subjects must understand the risks of an experiment and say have the chance to say no, but since scientists recognize that addiction is a disease, addicted veterans can’t just say no.
Many people have begun to question the government about its drug experiments comparing this to the CIA’s former habit of testing drugs on unwilling volunteers. Cato Institute scholar Tim Lynch says “it is not clear to me why the government has to subsidize such research”. U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen said through a spokesman that he would be “closely reviewing the matter”. O’Leary was cited saying that the injections were given in “extremely controlled conditions” but when asked what he meant he responded by saying he wasn’t familiar with the labs.
Although our society suffers greatly from drug addiction and could use some sort of magic medicine that prevents drug effects it seems very unethical to subject people to this type of testing. It is hypocritical to take advantage of addicted veterans in an attempt to find a cure for them.

SURGERY; CorMatrix Cardiovascular Announces First European Implants of CorMatrix(R) ECM Technology(TM)

CorMatrix Cardiovascular, Inc., an Atlanta-based company that primarily focuses on developing and delivering unique extracellular matrix (ECM Technology) biomaterial devices that harness the body's uncanny ability to repair damaged cardiovascular tissue, announced that it has begun its expansion in Europe following the first use of the CorMatrix(R) ECM Technology(TM) in a patient undergoing cardiac surgery. The technology from CorMatrix has been used to "close the pericardium of a 70-year-old patient following triple coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery." Doctors that have used CorMatrix technology have held it in high esteem and are willing to use it in their surgical process because ultimately it " [restores] the patient's normal anatomical structures" which the doctors believe to be in the patients best interest. As far as physiology is concerned, the benefits from utilizing the technology is obvious; "Closure of the pericardium is beneficial as it restores the natural barrier between the heart and the chest wall; it protects the heart, underlying grafts that were applied to the heart, and makes it easier and safer to re-access the heart if a subsequent procedure is required," says Dr. Robert G. Matheny.

Here's how it works, " following implantation by a surgeon, the CorMatrix ECM Technology acts as a scaffold into which the patient's own cells migrate and integrate, stimulating the body's innate wound-healing mechanisms to repair tissue at the site of implantation. As the patient's cells populate the matrix, they lay down their own collagen, which matures over time to form a functional tissue repair. The implanted ECM(TM) material is gradually replaced and reabsorbed by the body as the patient's tissue is remodeled." This new and innovative technology can also be used, and has been used on over 500,000 non-cardiovascular procedures to date!


LINK:http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T6457135132&format=GNBFI&sort=RELEVANCE&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T6457135135&cisb=22_T6457135134&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=246798&docNo=3

Bleach Baths Lead to Relief for Eczema Patients

Children with eczema suffer from chronic skin infections that include red, itchy and inflamed patches of skin. Most of the time this is caused by Staphylococcus aureus which some of you may recognize as the leading cause of most Staph infections. It is a spherical bacterium found commonly in the nose and on the skin of a person.

A recent article published in the BBC news followed a study of 31 children who suffered from eczema and found a simple technique to provide some relief.

Children who were given diluted bleach baths, as opposed to normal baths, saw significant improvement in eczema on the parts of their bodies that were submerged in the bath. Though potentially extremely dangerous, this simple treatment could make a huge difference in these children’s lives.

Studies before have proven a direct correlation between the severity of eczema and the number of bacteria on the skin. The bacteria cause inflammation and weaken the skin barrier between the environment and the tissues of the body.

For this particular study, the researchers assigned half the patients with Staphylococcus aureaus to take baths with ½ cup of sodium hypochlorite per tub for 5-10 minutes twice a week for 3 months. The other half took 5-10 minute baths twice a week for 3 months without the added bleach. In addition to the baths, the doctors prescribed a topical antibiotic ointment or a dummy ointment for them to place on their nose (which is one of the top sites for growth of bacteria).

The severity of eczema in the patients who took the bath and got the real ointment reduced 5 times more than those who were on the placebo. However, no signs of improvement existed on the areas of the body that were not submerged during the bath (head and neck).

Dr Amy Paller from Northwestern University was the leader of the study and described the bleach as having antibacterial properties that decreased the number of bacteria on the skin. The best thing about the baths is that they prevented the eczema from flaring up again.

The downside to this treatment is that bleach is dangerous and could cause enormous health risks to the children. With careful observation and in the hands of an expert, however, this treatment could change many lives.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8015995.stm

New Anti-Addiction Drug

The development of anti-addition drugs may have the potential to revolutionize the world of rehab. Dr. Mark Willenbring, who oversees scientific research at the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, says alcoholism has reached a point similar to one depression reached 30 years ago -- when the development of Prozac and other antidepressants took mental health care out of the asylum and put it in homes and doctors' offices. Now a pill called naltrexone may hold the key to curing alcoholics.

Among the findings that are both exciting and promising:
• A study led by Dr. Bankole Johnson of the University of Virginia found that topiramate (Topamax) -- already used to treat epilepsy and migraines -- reduced the number of days on which alcoholics drank heavily, by 25 percent more than among alcoholics who got just therapy.
• A federally funded study known as COMBINE compared cognitive-behavioral therapy alone with therapy along with naltrexone. Patients receiving both were more likely to stay abstinent and drank less if they did relapse.

These findings highlight what's become increasingly clear: Addiction is a brain disease, not just a failure of willpower. Naltrexone and topiramate have slightly different mechanisms, but both seem to block the release of brain chemicals that are linked to pleasure and excitement. Unlike earlier drugs used to treat alcoholics, neither is addictive or carries significant side effects. It does appear that each might work better in certain subgroups -- topiramate for repeat relapsers, and naltrexone in people with a strong family history of alcoholism.

Despite studies showing effectiveness, established rehab programs have been slow to adopt the use of this medication. One rehab clinic argues that alcoholism is a multifaceted disease, that in addition to being a disease of the brain, there is also a spiritual and behavioral component to it. Many rehab clinics are hesitant of the anti-addiction drug because they believe that having a network of support and recovery is what really makes the difference. Researchers at the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse are frustrated that only one addict in 10 has even heard about medication options. But as the medication slowly creeps into mainstream therapy, it may be the answer from many struggling alcoholics.

I found this article on CNN health, published on April 15, 2009
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/15/addiction.cold.turkey.pill/index.html

Items used in laundry might be used for yourself

Studies indicate that one item your fully aware of in not mixing with your color clothing might be used in beneficiary on your skin. Researchers say that the usage of Bleach reduces the amount of bacteria on patients with eczema. They had assigned patients with the bacteria complications to bathe 5 to 10 minutes twice a week for 3 months on parts of the affected side of the body. The results were good, Eczema severity had reduced up to 5 times and the parts of the body that were not used with bleach showed no significant change at all. It showed rapid improvements with patients diagnosed with Eczema but doctors say that improper use of bleach baths could damage the skin of a patient, so in a proper care of an expert can lead to a reduction of Eczema.

This has been used for a long time for bleach has a strong antiseptic properties that kill bacterias but can also damage the skin of a person due to its high alkalinity. Therefore, researchers say that using this type of bathing procedure must be used in maximal care and guidance. I might have to start bathing in bleach then!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8015995.stm

-Perryl Libardo
VTTP 435-501

Fatty Foods Offer "Memory Boost"

As we all know, there are very few health benefits associated with diets high in fat. On the bright side, recent findings indicate that burgers and fries may have at least ONE positive thing going for then. A research team at the University of California has discovered that through the stomach's process of breaking down fats there may be added benefits to your brain.

In the gut, oleic acid from fats may be converted to oleoylethanolamide (OEA). High levels of OEA have been shown to "reduce appetite, promote weight loss, and lower blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels." In addition, OEA research has shown it to be a "memory-enhancing agent." OEA causes memories to be created by increasing the activity of signals and pathways in the amygdala.

In the lab, giving OEA to rats improved their memory retention and allowed them to perform specific tasks, such as running through a maze and avoiding unpleasant experiences, with more proficiency than rats that were deprived of the OEA drug. While the effects have not been tested in humans, these findings open the doors to potential treatment research for diseases such as Alzheimer's. Despite these findings, the researchers argue that a balanced, healthy diet is still the best solution to maintain a healthy mind and body.

I found this article interesting because it touches on the functions of the GI, as well as the neural pathways and interactions that occur between the GI tract and the brain. In this sense, it pertains to some of the materials that has been discussed in class. I also personally found the idea of fatty foods boosting the memory making capabilities of individuals oddly intriguing.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8020218.stm

-Shawn Schepel
VTPP 435-501

Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICDs)

ICDs are used to prevent sudden death in patients with known, sustained ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation. The device is implanted under the skin of the chest and is powered by a battery-powered pulse generator. Wires run from the pulse generator to the surface of the heart. This allows the device to shock the heart back into normal rhythm when it detects a fibrillation of tachycardia. The device also has the capacity to store detected arythmatic events and perform electrophysiological testing and analysis. The ICD improves the living conditions of patients significantly and they can live long and happy lives. Almost all forms of physical activities can be performed by patients with an ICD. All forms of sports that do not pose a risk of damaging the ICD can be enjoyed by the patient. Special care should be placed not to put excessive strain on the shoulder, arm and torso area where the ICD is implanted. Doing so may damage the ICD or the leads going from the unit to the patient's heart.



http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=558

Anterograde Amnesia

This article is actually a few years old and presents the case of a patient Henry M, his real name is kept private. Henry lived for 50 years with Anterograde Amnesia, a type of amnesia that essentially prevents one from forming any new memories. He was still able to remember his past his skill and who he was. Henry got this condition after the result of a brain surgery in 1953. During the operation to end the constant seizures that Henry was experiencing the surgeon removed his Hippocampi. Doing this ended the siezures but at the same time prevented Henry from forming and new memories.

Unfortunately for Henry this condition left him unable to continue a normal life. Though in the years after his surgery he became a very famous subject of the human brain. Through Henry neurologists have been able to learn a great deal about the way the brain works. However, even after 50 years of study little is still known about the way memory works. Sadly Henry has since passed, but he and his family agreed to donate his brain to science in order for further research.

This article was interesting cause it made me wonder what it would be like to have no memory of things seconds after I do them. It also showed how complex the brain is and even after 50 years of research many questions are still unanswered. It really begs the question that even with all the technological advances yet to be made will really ever really know the full capacity of the human brain.

http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=861#more-861

Bionic Eye

Biomedical engineering is the fastest growing area of scientific research by making new devices. After the discovery of artificial heart, bionic arm, now the engineers has created bionic eye, an optical prosthetic that can restore sight by delivering images to the brain.

The Argus II Retinal Prosthetic System can provide sight to the people who are blind by the disease like macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. Both diseases damaged the photoreceptors of the eyes whose main function is to perceive light patterns and pass them to the brain in the form of nerve impulses, where the impulse patterns are interpreted as images.

The system works by the help of eyeglasses, which hold a camera fixed on one of the lenses that capture images and sends the information to a video processor , also located on the glasses. After the video processor converts the images to an electronic signal, a transmitter on the glasses helps to send the information to the surface of the eye. After that, information is sent in the form of electrical pulse by a tiny cable to an electrode array implanted in the retina. These pulses trigger signals in the retina that travel through the optic nerve to the brain, which perceives patterns of light and dark spots that corresponds to the electrodes stimulated.

Source:

http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=bionic-eye-restores-vision-after-th-2009-03-04

Sundeep Sharma

VTPP 435

Advances Expand Kidney Transplants

Approximately 3 out of every 10 kidney transplant candidates test positive for P.R.A, a blood test that looks for panel-reactive antibody - proteins ready to attack foreign material. Patients with P.R.A present in their blood could not receive a transplant because of the high risk of their body simply rejecting the new kidney.

This happened to Soraya Kohanzadeh who suffered from kidney failure after a congenital heart defect was corrected during surgery. Kohanzadeh was told that she was not a suitable candidate for a kidney transplant because of her high antibody levels but she did not take no for an answer. After researching and discovering transplant specialists in Los Angeles, Kohanzadeh found that studies were taking place exploring ways to lower levels of antibodies in patients in need of a transplant. The strategy included giving patients high levels of IVIG, intravenous immunoglobulin, before surgery to desensitize the body. Kohanzadeh was able to get a kidney transplant along with 200 other patients that have been treated by the same Medical Center after desensitization with IVIG.

There was always little hope for patients on long term dialysis to come off anytime soon, but with IVIG, patients can receive the necessary kidney transplant and quit such an obnoxious and time-consuming procedure. Known causes of high P.R.A blood levels include blood transfusions, pregnancy, and previous transplants.

Because doctors are particular about which patients can and cannot receive transplants, increasing the patients' success rate will provide the doctors with the incentive to do surgery on more people. It will prevent them from performing a series of failed surgeries while providing more patients with the opportunity to get a transplant when they would not have had that opportunity previously.

The next step in research includes attempting to increase success rates even more by preventing the antibodies from returning also preventing future rejection.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/health/28kidn.html?_r=1&ref=health

VTPP 435-502

Brittany Sanchez

"Autoantibodies" May Be Created In Response To Bacterial DNA

This article discusses the fact that autoimmune diseases in some cases have been caused by bacteria. We originally thought that the diseases were caused by antibodies created by the immune system that actually attack the body, but instead we now know that is not always the case. It can also be caused by bacteria that lead to genetic mutations. While it was believed that we know every bacteria capable of causing these types of diseases, we have come to find that around 90% of the cells in the body are of bacterial origin. Many of these have been known to cause autoimmune deficiencies. We do not know the names of many of these bacteria. This was according to a study done by California non-profit Autoimmunity Research Foundation (ARF). In order to validate the studies they are conducting another experiment of more than 500 autoimmune patients and have reported at the 6th International Congress on Autoimmunity that antibacterial therapies targeted at these hidden microbes are capable of reversing autoimmune disease processes. This article caught my attention because there is still a lot we don’t know and not all of what we know will hold true. We saw that as not every autoimmune disease is caused by the immune systems antibodies and that maybe the antibodies aren’t generated against the body but against the bacteria that are found in a lot of our cells.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/147806.php

A Runny Nose and Cardiac Arrest

In 1985, Seldane (generic name: terfenadine) emerged on the market as the first non-drowsy antihistamine. It was used for minor colds and allergies. It became apparent that it had some severe interactions with certain medications, such as anti-fungal medicines, antibiotics, and ulcer medicines. Some patients experienced allergic reactions, seizures, arrhthmias, and syncope. In rare cases severe cardiovascular issues occured, including ventricular arrhthmias, cardiac arrest, electrocardiographic QT prolongation, and death. Due to these serious complications, Seldane was taken off the market in 1998.

This is of interest to me because in 1990, my dad was taking Seldane for a minor hayfever reaction (rhinitis). One night, he went into cardiac arrest and was rushed to the hospital. His heart was not beating for 32 minutes while the doctors tried to revive him. They were finally able to start his heart beating again and implanted a defibrillator to handle further complications. He had no brain damage or lasting effects (besides the device)! This is one of the main reasons I want to become a biomedical engineer (hopefully in the cardiac device area).

http://www.rxlist.com/seldane-drug.htm

Amy Oliver

Bier mir!

Eat your vegetables, wash your hands, get your rest, and...have a beer? That’s right, next time you sit down to chomp on a juicy char grilled hamburger or flame kissed fillet, don’t hesitate to top it off with an ice cold beer, it might just do your body good. A recent study conducted in mice reveals that beer reduces the damage to DNA prompted by carcinogens found in overcooked meats.

Now before you go on a drinking binge, remember two important things. First, moderation is key. Second, this study conducted at Okayama University left out a certain component of the beer—its alcohol. Alcohol can be carcinogenic in its own right, so the researches only administered nonalcoholic beer to the mice.

Some mice were given the beer in place of water while others were administered the beer in solid form. A few days into their new diets, the mice were given two heterocylic amines (MeIQx and Trp-P-2), otherwise known as HCA’s, which are carcinogens found in cooked meat. Less than a week later, Dr Sakae Arimoto-Kobayashi analyzed specific cells in key organs for their adducts, or “HCA-induced DNA changes.” These adducts are thought to be the beginnings of cancer. Depending on the HCA administered, the kidneys, lungs, and/or liver were indeed affected. Amazingly, however, the mice that ingested the beer in one form or another had 40-75% fewer adducts than those who had no beer. While this relationship has not been confirmed for human subjects, I still find this cancer preventive connection quite interesting in that beer (again, in moderation) may not be all that bad. Though I am not a huge fan of O’Doul’s, after reading this article I now find some justification in having a beer or two in hopes that the good may in fact help balance the bad and the ugly.

Blake Cannon
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/5937/title/Food_for_Thought__Beers_Well_Done_Benefit

'Silent' heart attack prevalence revealed with new imaging technology

'Silent' heart attack prevalence revealed with new imaging technology

Published: Wednesday, 22-Apr-2009

So-called "silent" heart attacks may be much more common than previously believed, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center.

Studies show that each year, nearly 200,000 people in the U.S suffer a heart attack but may not realize it. These "silent" heart attacks aren't noted because they don't cause any pain - or at least any pain that patients believe is related to their heart - and they don't leave behind any telltale irregularities on electrocardiograms (ECGs).

New imaging research from Duke University Medical Center appearing in PLoS Medicine suggests that these heart attacks (now called unrecognized myocardial infarctions, or UMIs) may be happening much more frequently than physicians had suspected. Duke investigators also found that these attacks were associated with a surprisingly high risk of untimely death.

"No one has fully understood how often these heart attacks occur and what they mean, in terms of prognosis," says Han Kim, M.D., a cardiologist at Duke and the lead author of the study. "With this study, we can now say that this subset of heart attacks, known as non-Q wave UMIs, is fairly common, at least among people with suspected coronary artery disease."

Physicians can usually tell when a heart attack has recently occurred by signature changes on ECGs and in certain blood enzyme levels. But if a heart attack happened in the distant past, physicians rely on the appearance of a specific alteration on an ECG called a Q-wave, which signals the presence of damaged tissue.

"The problem is, not all UMIs result in Q-waves on the electrocardiogram. Those that don't are called non-Q-wave myocardial infarctions. Those are the ones we haven't been able to count because we've never had a good way to document them," says Kim.

Kim believed that using delayed enhancement cardiovascular magnetic resonance, or DE-CMR, might be good way to get an idea about how frequently non-Q-wave myocardial infarctions occur. Previous studies had shown that DE-CMR was particularly adept in discerning damaged tissue from healthy tissue.

Researchers used DE-CMR to examine185 patients suspected of having coronary artery disease but who had no record of any heart attacks. All of them were scheduled to undergo angiography to find out if excess plaque had narrowed or blocked any of their arteries. Investigators followed the patients for two years to see if the presence of any unrecognized non-Q-wave heart attacks were associated with a higher risk of death.

They found that 35 percent of the patients had evidence of a heart attack and that non-Q-wave attacks were three times more common than Q-wave UMIs. Non-Q-wave attacks were also more common among those with more severe coronary artery disease. In addition, researchers discovered that those who suffered non-Q-wave UMIs had an 11-fold higher risk of death from any cause and a 17-fold higher risk of death due to heart problems, when compared to patients who did not have any heart damage.

"Right now, there are no specific guidelines about how patients with UMIs should be treated," says Kim. "If patients with UMIs happen to be identified, they are usually treated similarly to those patients where heart disease has already been documented. Future studies will likely examine how common unrecognized non-Q-wave heart attacks are in other patient groups and how these UMIs should be treated."

Margaret Shaughnessy

http://www.news-medical.net/?id=48661

The Ex Vivo Lung

As if finding a lung to put into late stage respitory disease patients wasn't hard enough, about four out of every five lungs donated have to be rejected from use because they don't fit the criteria for a safe transplant. But, if they were allowed to heal themselves they may be able to be more transplantable. The only problem is how do you keep a lung alive when the host has already passed?

Doctors at Toronto General Hospital have solved this problem with the invention of the XVIVO lung perfusion system. This system allows doctors to keep the lung alive for up to 12 hours, and during that time repair the lung or allow it to repair itself. They accomplish this by using a ventilator, filter, and glass dome to protect the lungs. By keeping the lungs at 37 degrees celcius and perfusing it with a bloodless solution carrying nutrients, the function of the lung can be examined to better determine whether it can be transplanted or not.

Four patients have already had successful lung transplants from the XVIVO system, with one previously being declared as unfit for transplant. The recipient was out of the hospital within 12 days.

The XVIVO system brings up a host of new techniques that could be used to prep the lung for transplant, such as immunologically preparing the organ, or modifying it via complex molecular and cellular repair techniques. Normally the lungs are cooled before transplantation to better preserve them. This unfortunately slows down metabolism possibly injuring the lung further. With the XVIVO system they are kept at a constant 37 degrees celcius allowing them to be kept prime and ready for trasplant. This possiblities for this system are endless, and maybe someday we will be able to completely modify the lung immunologically so that the recipient's immune system thinks the new lungs are still the person's own lungs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXqMsraSb84
http://singularityhub.com/2009/04/23/donated-lungs-breathing-outside-the-body-video/

Cody Sanderson