Little children in College Station, TX are worried about bird flu reaching their home town. Juan Laredo, 11, a student in Oakwood Intermediate School (where I work) recently wrote a research report about the topic. He found an article which stated that five children died from contracting bird flu by only collecting swan feathers. Here is an excerpt of his report.

“Five young people died from bird flu. They were trying to get the feathers from the birds to sell them. It happened in Azerbaijan on March 22, 2006. The flu has already killed 103 people.
I think in the future that the scientists are going to stop the flu before it gets to the United States.
I think that this is scary because it kills to many people, and they are just playing with birds.”
-Juan Laredo

Source:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=204&ObjectID=10373895

Something near and dear to my heart (and neck)

This is an article with case studies focusing on the anatomy of a choke. In judo we learn when we want to subdue an opponent by a choke, we must cut off circulation to the brain by constricting the carotid arteries. After a short period of time the blood becomes low in oxygen and the victim passes out. The article shows what the other physical effects of a choke are.

http://bjj.org/articles/971006-choke/

Something near and dear to my heart (and neck)

This is an article with case studies focusing on the anatomy of a choke. In judo we learn when we want to subdue an opponent by a choke, we must cut off circulation to the brain by constricting the carotid arteries. After a short period of time the blood becomes low in oxygen and the victim passes out. The article shows what the other physical effects of a choke are.

http://bjj.org/articles/971006-choke/

Bioengineers at Work

Dr. Friedrich Bischinger, a lung specialist in Austria, believes that "people who pick their noses with their fingers are healthy, happier and probably better in tune with their bodies". This is because the nose is a filter where a lot of bacteria is collected, and he believes that if the dry remains are ingested, they work just like a medicine when it arrives at the intestine and helps strengthen the body's immune system. He also points out that children pick their noses instinctively, not imitating adults, but stop as adults because it is considered disgusting and anti-social. There are some possible negative effects, such as breaking the skin inside the nose, and most doctors recommending avoiding germs all together. This may not be factual, because no formal study as been done, but I thought it was an interesting theory.

Source Articles:
http://in.news.yahoo.com/040411/139/2ci0w.html
http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=271
http://www.kidzworld.com/site/p4361.htm

Treating Kidney Stones: Calcium Restriction not Warranted

I was recently assigned to give a group-presentation on kidney stones in my physiology class. In that presentation, we mentioned the statistic that the vast majority of kidney stones are calcium-based stones; indeed, statistics show that anywhere from 75% to 80% of all kidney stones are either calcium phosphate or calcium oxalate stones. Later in that same presentation, we also stated that one of the best ways to prevent kidney stones is to eat foods high in calcium. This apparent disconnect in logic was not an oversight, but rather evidence of a new trend in renal stone treatment which challenges the conventional (and obvious) notion that calcium stone formation is directly related to calcium intake.

While general chemistry tells us that a solution (urine) which is supersaturated with a solute (calcium) will ultimately precipitate that solute, clinical experience shows that not everybody with high urine calcium concentration will form a stone. The reasons for this are unclear, but the November 2002 edition of the Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine states:

“People with hypercalcuria seem to have a regulatory problem with calcium absorption rather than excess calcium intake: at any level of dietary calcium intake they have a higher-than-expected calcium output. When placed on a low-calcium diet, they go into negative calcium balance and mobilize bone calcium. [...] Large prospective studies have clearly shown that dietary calcium intake is actually inversely related to the risk of developing kidney stones [...].”

Thus, the latest treatment for kidney stones no longer advocate decreased calcium consumption but instead suggest an increase of fluid intake, reduce intake of salty foods, and to eat a normal diet with calcium-rich foods.

The referenced article can be found here.

Alcohol Effects

Here is an article about the real effects alcohol has on the brain. The researchers are learning how people process visual information in concert with motor performance while under the influence of alcohol. Researchers took 8 people of college age and gave them alcohol till they had a blood alcohol level of .07, right below the legal limit. They then used functional magnetic resonance imaging to isolate the specific pathways and networks of the brain that control motor function. It was found that alcohol selectively suppresses the frontal and posterior parietal regions which are mostly closely associated with motor feedback. What this study tells us is that although the brain is able to compensate, once past the legal limit it no longer does so effectively.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=42259

Camp for All

This past weekend I went to Camp for All. It is a camp for disabled children. The disabilities ranged from Down syndrome to autism. I had never really worked with children like this before, so I did a little research before I went to camp. Down syndrome is a disorder that includes a combination of birth defects such as: mental retardation, characteristic facial features, often heart defects, etc. Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder which means that it affects how the child functions in several areas such as: speech, social skills, and behavior. There are different types of autism. The causes of Down syndrome and Autism are both caused by genetic disorders. I also would like to just say something about my experience at camp. I learned that children with autism and Down syndrome, even though they are mentally retarded, are actually very similar to normal people. They have all the same basic feelings, emotions, and needs as everybody else. These children are very special to me, and I am glad that I volunteered to be at camp.

Marburg Defeated

Thomas Geisbert of the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases has reported the success of his proven vaccine for Marburg Disease for post-infection testing. His team infected several macaques with a potent dose of Marburg, and then vaccinated them one half hour later. The treated macaques survived for 80 days, while the untreated ones survived for merely 12. While the vaccine has been dubbed a success, human testing will be (thankfully) difficult, as the lethal disease is rare.

You can find the article here.

Brainwave Music

This article is pretty neat. Researchers are taking peoples brainwaves and making music to them. They say that when the brain hears "its own music" it is soothing and relaxing. It is a new type of therepy used for people suffering from depression and anxiety. They say that listening to just 12 minutes a day will help relieve the depression. If interested patients can go to a doctor in New Jersey and he will make the CD for $550. Here is the article.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,193085,00.html

Gut Relief Caused by Stress

I found this article on how probiotics (dietary supplements containing potentially beneficial bacteria) can relieve potential gut problems caused by long-term stress. A study was done on rats, in which the rats were put under water avoidance stress (the rats were placed on a small platform surrounded by water) or sham stress for one hour a day for 10 consecutive days. One group of rats was fed drinking water containing probiotics before and during the stress sessions. The other group of rats was exposed to brief but repeated water deprivation. This made the gut "leaky" and attracted the presence of harmful bacteria to the cells lining the gut wall. In this set of rats, bacteria were also detected in the lymph nodes that drain fluid coming from the intestine. Conversely, probiotic treatment minimized the changes in chemical signaling and prevented bacterial "stickiness" and movement to the lymph nodes. The authors say that probiotics literally compete for space with harmful bacteria and lessen inflammatory responses, and as such, offer a promising approach to the management of intestinal problems caused by stress.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=42175

Liposuction risks

The websites that promote liposuction usually do not list the risk factors involved for the procedure. The websites that do list the risks are the consumer guides that inform the public of these risks:

• Infections- which may be a risk after any surgery, but may be prevented.
• Embolism- loose fat entering the blood stream, which could be fatal.
• Visceral Perforations- which is damage to organs during procedure
• Seroma-pooling of serum from your blood in the areas treated
• Nerve damage- “paresthesias” or loss of sensation in the area treated
• Edema - swelling caused by large amount of fluid in cells or tissues
• Skin Necrosis- the treated area could become necrotic and promote discoloration
• Fluid Imbalance- which could cause heart, kidney, lung problems
• Toxicity from Anesthesia
• deaths related to the liposuction procedure


http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/liposuction/risks.html
http://dpsmedical.ebigchina.com/sdp/170667/4/cp-1009240.html

I want one!

Just in time for when we were going to do endocrine stuff, I have a diabetes post.

On April 15th the FDA approved the first insulin pump that takes readings of glucose automatically, then sends them wirelessly to the pump. This would take 100x more readings than what doctors recommend as a minimum (3 finger pricks).
The news article can be found here: http://www.rxpgnews.com/research/endocrinology/diabetes/article_4053.shtml

Part of why this system had not been approved for so long was that it was necessary to prove that accurate/reliable glucose readings could be taken in interstitial fluids. Taking a reading from the blood, as diabetics do now, gets the blood sugars as they happen. It was questioned for a long while that the interstitial fluids changed with the blood glucose.

Dr. Cote' is doing research on detecting interstitial glucose levels without even pentrating the skin using light. This device, being developed by Minimed (http://www.minimed.com/products/insulinpumps/realtime/index.html), requires a cannula (plastic needly-thing), much like the tube that delivers the insulin itself.

The real significance of this is that it's a huge step toward a pump that takes insulin measurements and deliveries insulin accordingly, taking into account the specifics of the patient. To be short, this is a step toward a completely artificial pancreas and better treatment for diabetes.

Coffee - good or bad?

We all have our own answers to that question. Some answers are based on personal taste, while other people like or dislike coffee based on its physical/medical influence. (I personally do not like the taste and will drink a soda if I need caffeine.) As finals draw nearer, many students are getting more and more tired, and often rely on extensive amounts of coffee to help them stay awake, either in class or at night in order to study. In the past, tests have been inconclusive as to whether extensive coffee use is harmful to your health. A recent study says that multiple cups of coffee are not as harmful with respect to causing heart disease.

From http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12477926/wid/11915773:
"Go ahead and have that second cup of coffee — or third, or fourth. A study published Monday shows heavy, long-term coffee drinking does not raise the risk of heart disease for most people.

The study, which followed 128,000 men and women for as long as 20 years, showed that drinking filtered coffee — not espresso or French-style brews — did not raise the risk of heart disease.

...The researchers found more than half the women and 30 percent of men who drank six or more cups of coffee a day were also more likely to smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol and use aspirin, and were less likely to drink tea, exercise or take vitamin supplements.

But once these factors were accounted for, there was no difference in heart attack risks between the very light and heavy coffee drinkers...."

Check this article out for yourself-I found it quite interesting.

A Television Related Blog

My family and I always watched Survivor together when I lived at home, and I've been carrying on the habit up here as well. Well besides the horrific thunderstorm which interrupted the show twice - and not during commercial breaks! - this episode was quite interesting. One of the contestants was removed from the island because of a medical issue. Since we are learning about digestive problems right now and class, I thought I'd enlighten you as to what happened.

"At camp, Bruce's pain is at an all-time high. Unable to stand, he writhes on the ground as Courtney tries to comfort him. But there is no comforting Bruce, and the Survivor Medical Team must be called in to assess him. When the doctor arrives on the scene his diagnosis is dire. He can't rule out appendicitis, so Bruce must be taken to the hospital. As the boat pulls away, the mood on the island is somber.
...After the tribe takes a seat around the fire, Jeff (the host) explains that Bruce's condition is dire and that he was evacuated in the nick of time. Being treated for a severe blockage, Bruce is recovering in a Panama City hospital, and he will not return to the game." = Taken from CBS.com

That has got to suck - the man had not gone to the bathroom in more than a week, after a tribal village dinner reward.

I found it interesting that this episode was aired at the specific time that we are studying gastrointestinal physiology. In case you hadn't figured it out, blocking your gastrointestinal tract so that it cannot function is NOT GOOD, as Bruce figured out (albeit not intentionally.)

Liver Regeneration

It is a common belief that if a certain percentage of the liver is surgically removed, the person will die or will have difficulties digesting food. According to an article in the Science magazine, the liver has the potential to regenerate itself even if two-thirds is removed.
Bile acid and serotonin are two factors that are related to helping reproduce liver cells. There are receptors on the liver that keep up with the levels of bile acid, and if they exceed what the “small liver” can handle, it initiates regeneration in order to maintain homeostasis in the digestive and circulatory system. Serotonin, even though it is an antidepressant, stimulates cell divisions.
Why can other organs not have this ability to regenerate themselves?

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/312/5771/178a

Gene Discorery for Rare Bone Disorder

An article in the Los Angeles times, which stated that a gene that codes for FOP was recently discored and reported sunday in the Nature Genetics Journal. FOP is a severe bone disorder that strikes only about 1 in 2 million people that slowly converts muslces and tendons into hard bones. This usually leads patients to be bed ridden by mid 30's. This diseases, since it is so rare, is often always misdiagnosed and usually the treatments prescribed cause more harm than good. Therefore, this new discovery of the gene that codes for FOP could be a major break through in treating these rare patients. Dr. Frederick Kaplan has been researching this disease for approximetely 15 years and has found evidence that there could be a problem associated with a protein called bone morphogenetic protein, which is linked to bone growth. However, even though Kaplan has found a possibly problem, there still will be time maybe decades before an actual treatment results. His findings have just allowed strategies for many possible treatments to research.

Here is the Link:
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/medicine/la-sci-fibro24apr24,1,241718.story?coll=la-health-medicine

ReNu contact solution causing blindness

Attached is a link for an article from the FDA website that discusses recent findings that some Bausch& Lomb contact solutions are having an increase in the reported cases of associated development of fungal kerititis. Fungal kerititis is, in these cases, caused by the Fasarium fungus and can lead to blindness in those effected. Many of those infected require corneal transplants. Bausch & Lomb has stopped shipping its ReNu MoistureLoc brand of contrcat solution already as the FDA investigates the 109 reported cases of associated fungal kerititis.

http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/safety/041006-keratitis.pdf

Bioengineers at Work

Rat Cell Communicates with Computer Chip

I just read an article on the discovery channel website claiming that researchers at the Institute for Biochemistry in Germany have developed a computer chip that can communicate with a rat nerve cell. The "NaChip" is 1 mm but has over 16,000 transistors to match the ion channels of the cell. This developement can lead to huge advances in the world of prostetics or even organic computers. The researchers on this project are planning on from moving from the rat cell to the rat brain in the future.

Here is the address:
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20060417/nervechip_tec.html?source=rss

Barbeque meats may cause prostate cancer

Some guys may want to think twice about firing up the grill: The American Association for Cancer Research just published a new study that found meat charred at high temperatures produces PhIP, which is an HA (heterocyclic amine) - a carcinogen identified in the 1970's. PhIP was found to both initiate and aid in the growth of prostate cancer in rats. However, recent research also indicates that eating cruciferous vegetables with your steak may actually increase the amount of PhIP excreted from the body, which means the vegetables aid in clearing your system before it can cause long-term harm.

Here is the article:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12133894/

Here is another helpful one:
Prostate Cancer Foundation

MDR-TB

I was watching TV last weekend and saw this episode called "Rx for Survival" on PBS. It was about people in areas around Lima, Peru where patients were suffering from multi-drug resistant or MDR tuberculosis. This form of TB is very severe and very difficult and also very costly to treat. There were two doctors working through Partner in Health that tried to help patients with this disease but the Peruvian government just deemed the patients "too expensive to treat" and just hoped their death would help end the epidemic. These two doctors acted on robin hood type methods to try and treat these patients. They would borrow drugs from several colleages and it even showed on the TV show how they would smuggle them into the country in their suitcases. They would teach the local nurses, or anyone that was willing to help, how to treat and take care of these highly-contagious people. Their entire works on this were documented on this show as it followed a few people with this disease and how complex it was to treat.

Here is the link to the summary of the TV show:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/rxforsurvival/series/dispatches/something-truly-ambitous.html

Piggy Back Heart

I heard this on the radio and then asked Dr. Wasser and he was able to refer me to the following website.
Ten years ago, before the breakthrough in RVADs and LVADs a two year old girl received a second heart. It essentially acted as an LVAD. The second heart was attached to her original heart and allowed the original heart to rest. Recently, the 12 year old girl's body began to reject the donor heart. The surgeons opted to remove the donor heart. Her original heart is now functioning as any normal heart.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/health/4904914.stm

Print human heart and arteries

A new technology developed by Dr. Gabor Forgacs, University of Missouri, now allows us to create human organs by printing layers of cells on a biopaper. Other tissue engineers tried to print 3D organs with a modify ink-jet printer, but now Dr. Forgacs has developed a device with printing heads that extrude clumps of cells mechanically so that they emerge one by one from a micropipette. This will increase the survival opportunity of the cells. The initial tries of chicken heart cells seems to be successful.

Here is the article: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19025474.300.html

Tam Nguyen

China Performs Second Face Transplant

A man in China received the world’s second face transplant after he was brutally attacked by a black bear two years prior. A single donor provided this man with a new cheek, upper lip, nose, and eyebrow. The surgery began on Thursday and wasn’t completed until Friday morning, but the operation was successful. The patient is doing well so far, and the surgical wounds should heal within a week. He will, however, be left with some surgical scars running from his lower left ear above his nose to his right ear and around his chin. This partial face transplant happened only a few months after the first face transplant was performed in Amiens, France where a woman who had been attacked by a dog received new lips, chin and nose.

source~The San Antonio Express-News, “China hospital says it’s given victim of wild bruin attack a face transplant,” April 15, 2006, page 18A.
Here is another link to the same article from ABC news if you wish to read more about it:
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1842553&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312
Also here is a link to an article about the first face transplant:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4484728.stm

Why Few Humans Catch the H5N1 Virus

Since we have discussed about the H5N1 virus, I thought I would update on other research being done. In this article, it explains that the virus is not eaisly spread in humans because it is deep in the airways. Therefore coughing and sneezing, which is the usual route, will not spread the virus. People have been killed from this, 98 out of 177 infected, and flu experts have begun to search of possible ways the virus will have to mutate in order to cause a pandemic. Two teams have been doing research on this subject and both have come to the same conclusion. The virus would have to bind to the 2,3 galactose receptors, which are common in birds and were thought to be absent in humans, but they are not. They are found in and around the alveoli. I hope the teams will be able to find a cure for the virus if it does come to mutate.

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/311/5768/1692b

Cerebral Cortex development affects IQ results

I came across a very interesting article in the Science Magazine. It discussed how the development of the cerebral cortex in young children has a correlation with their IQ (intelligence quotient). The cerebral cortex begins to thicken during childhood, reaches a peak, and later thins out a bit. A study was made where 300 kids’ brains were consistently scanned and were given IQ tests. The results of the IQ tests were categorized into three categories: superior, high, and average. A relation was found between the groups relating to the initial thinness of the cortex and the timing of the peak. Average children reached their peak between the ages of 7 and 8, while superior children reached their peak at the age of 11 with a thinner cortex before their growth. The study also discovered that superior kids had a prolonged and distinct growth in the prefrontal cortex, where the most complex thinking occurs. This article is interesting because it relates brain development to the intelligence of a human.

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/311/5769/1851

Translocation of Indigenous Bacteria

I found an interesting article about the bacteria in the GI. According to the article, an experiment done on mice was to inject indigenous bacteria E. coli and L. acidophilus. After a couple of days the bacteria was translocated to different parts of the subjects body, perhaps where it was of a low concentration. This was shown by the translocation of the E. coli to the lymph nodes, spleen, and liver. Therefore this article introduced a ways to improve the protection of the body against bad bacteria by placing the extra indigenous bacteria where it was low in amounts.

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/picrender.fcgi?artid=414179&blobtype=pdf

Ethics of Organ Donation From Condemned Prisoners

In class while discussing organ transplants the issue of whether or not people on death row were able to donate their organs arouse. The linked article is a proposal that would allow condemned prisoners to donate their organs. The proposal is for the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), which is responsible for all of the transplants and logistics in the United States. With this proposal the prisoners would be allowed to donate vital organs for a reduced sentence. This brings many ethical issues to the table. The article discusses the pros and cons for allowing prisoners to donate the organs and the concerns regarding ethics. The article concludes that the proposal can not be adopted until all ethical issues are resolved.

After view many different links while searching Google, the issue of whether or not prisoners can donate is apparently a growing concern especially with such a shortage or organs.

http://www.unos.org/resources/bioethics.asp?index=6

Shoulder pain after laparoscopic surgery

After having my gallbladder removed I experienced a great deal of shoulder pain. My doctor told me it was due to the gas (CO2) the surgeon used to inflate my abdomen. Curiosity prompted me to further investigate this issue. I found the following article that explains exactly how this effects the shoulders.
http://www.infertilitytutorials.com/procedures_members/case_surgery_complications.cfm
(by the way, it's the second question)

Wrong Website

Sorry, this is the website for the post below. -Margaret
http://www.makershealth.com/jordanrubinstory.html

Crohn's Disease

As we are learning in the Student Lecture Presentations this week, Crohn's Disease is a devastating condition characterized by severe abdominal pain, bloody bowel movements, and ulcers of the GI tract. Jordan Rubin is afflicted with this disease and as seen on his website, html&h=363&w=200&sz=8&tbnid=bwVQtmSkg1zbSM:&tbnh=117&tbnw=64&hl=en&start=298&prev=/images%3Fq%3DCrohn%2527s%2BDisease%26start%3D280%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN, he has suffered all of the usual complications. At the age of 19 he stood 6'1" but weighed 104lbs as a result of Crohn's. Jordan's success with the disease came by supplementing the small amount of food he was able to eat with homeostatic soil organisms (HSOs). This has reversed some of the effects of the disease, and as you can see based on the picture from the website, has greatly improved his physical appearance.
-Margaret Flaugher

Eating Greens is a Special Treat.

Howdy,

Since I was about 12 my mother has been on a health food kick, she's brought home books, made internet searches, and the people at the health food store know her name. She's just really into it. Well I got curious, and read one of her books. It went on and on about blue green algae, and it listed a variety of ailments that this "super food" would help with. It said it was an immune system booster, it'd give you energy, and it'd help with your digestive system. I decided they might know what they were saying so I bought some, AND I got curious about it. I wanted to see if there were any claims in the scientific world about blue green algae, particularly an algae named Spirulina, so I googled it. I was VERY surprised at what I found. People all over the world are into Spirulina, have been for generations.
The most scientific findings were about HIV and cancer. They said that spirulina has a very important function in aiding the immune system. Apparently cancer cells are already in our body (I didn't know that), and it's our immune system that makes sure they're removed before they take over and wreak havoc. What spirulina does is make the immunity of cells stronger, and that helps sweep away the cancer cells.
With a viral infection, a virus doesn't replicate by itself, it takes a healthy cell and uses it's replication system, what spirulina does is attach itself to the cell membrane, stopping the virus from penetrating the membrane to infect the cell. SO the virus is stuck, can't replicate, and is eventually eliminated from the body. Cool huh.
Russia already approved it as a "medicine food" for treating radiation sickness. Children suffering from radiation poisoning were given 5 grams of spirulina a day and within 6 weeks had made dramatic recoveries, were as children not give spirulina remained ill.
It also contains a polypeptide called Phycocyanin, which is shown to stimulate stem cells found in bone marrow. That same polypeptide is said to emulate a hormone produced by the kidneys that regulates the production of red blood cells, and sometimes white blood cells.
It's also the only green food with GLA essential fatty acid, which stimulates growth in some animals, makes skin and hair shiny, soft and more durable, and is an anti-inflammatory.
There are ongoing studies world wide trying to unlock spirulina's full potential with AIDS and other nasty viruses. But still, this stuff is exceedingly, incredibly good for you.
Thanks Mom.

http://www.lightparty.com/Health/Spirulina.html
http://www.spirulina.com/SPLNews96.html

New Bladders

In the April 4th edition of the Houston Chronicle there was an article about a medical breakthrough where doctors took cells from a patient's bladder and grew him another bladder. It cites an article released in the British journal the Lancet. These bladders have already been implanted in patients and have been working for an average of four years. This is a huge successs and ties in well since we just finished learning about excretion.

Giardiasis Attacks Intestine

During the summer every sip of water that I drink is from a stream. I am too much of a pansy to drink it without any type of purification (filter, chlorine, iodine, etc.). Several of my colleagues, however, are braver than me... or more idiotic... depending on your perspective.

They have experienced Giardiasis. Commonly known as the infection where "the bottom falls out of your world, and the world falls out of your bottom."

Giardiasis is a waterborne illness contracted by ingesting a microscopic parasite. It passes from the the feces of infected animals into the water, and because of its outer shell, remains intact until ingested by another animal.

Once infected, the parasite resides in the intestine. Giardia are flagellated protozoans that parasitize in the small intestine. In the stomach's acidic environment they begin excysting and become trophozoites. These attach to the intestinal mucosa by suction created from a ventral disk. This causes diarrhea and malabsorption by mechanisms that are not understood. The infection keeps you nautious and with diarrhea from 2 to 6 weeks, however you do not show symptoms of it for the first 14 days that it is incubating in your body.

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=372844&tools=bot
http://www.dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx/HTML/Giardiasis.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/giardiasis/factsht_giardia.htm#what

New Vaccine for Avian Influenza

The following link is an article on the recent development of a vaccine for Avian Influenza. It was developed in the US, but France is requesting several million to vaccinate their ducks.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=41287

ULTRASOUNDS COULD STOP INTERNAL BLEEDING

I came across an article from 2001 about using ultrasounds to stop internal bleeding. The passage discusses how doctors have known that hot irons or intense electric current (electrocautery) can stop massive bleeding by causing the vessels to shrink, then clot, and finally shutoff to stop outflow from a damaged blood vessel. A group at the University of Washington at Seattle is interested in making a device that detects and acts on blood vessels with the help of ultrasound waves. This would be superior because most methods can’t penetrate tissue by more than a few millimeters. Ultrasound waves travel through tissue quite easily and can focus with remarkable accuracy. There is more information on the site:

http://physicsweb.org/articles/world/14/8/10

Estrogen and Gallstones

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases published this article on gallstones. In it they talk about some of the risk factors for gallstones. "Scientists believe cholesterol stones form when bile contains too much cholesterol, too much bilirubin, or not enough bile salts, or when the gallbladder does not empty as it should for some other reason."
Women are more at risk of gall bladder problems because Estrogen causes an increase in the cholesterol levels in the bile. Increased cholesterol levels in the bile leads to gallstone formationin addition to other problems such as gall bladder cancer.

http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/gallstones/

The Artificial Kidney

While dialysis has proven to be very successful in prolonging the lives of those with kidney failure, it has its shortcomings with regard to providing regulation of glucose and water concentration in the blood. Also, the hormonal responses of the kidney are not present in dialysis. The University of Michigan is developing a device called a Renal Tubule Assist Device that would be added to dialysis. While this device is still used outside the body, researchers feel that with advancements in tissue engineering it will soon be possible to fully implant an artificial kidney. The RTAD functions with the help of active kidney cells lining hollow fibers within the device. This live cellular presence assists in more efficiently reabsorbing vital substances such as glucose and water, as well as producing other important molecules. The patient is thus able to properly maintain fluid balance and fight infections. They are hopeful that one day they will combine this research with others to create an artificial ‘universal donor’ kidney.

http://www.medicineatmichigan.org/magazine/2000/summer/huron/10huron.asp

Artificial Sphincters

I know it's a little late in the design process, but I found the concept of artificial sphincters interesting enough to share with the class. The actual sphincter itself is just an inflatable balloon, much like a sphygmomanometer, used to measure blood pressure. The artificial sphincter is used mainly to replace sphincters that are not behaving normally in the body. For our device design, we are going to use very small sphincters to control flow of blood into our RVAD, in hopes that this gives us a way to slowly return a load to the heart, but is also reversible.

Informative Website

Chris Klein

loop of henle

i doubt this deserves credit, but it's fun anyway. this morning i passed the loop of henle.

VesCell

I know it's been a little while since we talked about the heart, but I found this and thought it was revolutionary. Singer Don Ho, just had this procedure done in Thiland and is appariently doing well. This new "technology" called VesCell uses adult stem cells harvested from your blood and then injects them into your heart to "regrow" parts of your heart that are bad. This technology is of course not available in the US since we cannot do any stem cell research, but is progressing over seas. This could obviously be very useful in the future instead of transplants. Check it out:
http://www.vescell.com/

Puffy Eyes

The cause of puffy could be a number of factors including fluid retention and lymph build up, poor diet, too many carbonated sodas, not drinking enough water, drinking alcohol, poor circulation in general, improper diet, and genetics. The skin under your eyes is very thin and contains many blood vessels. Consequently, dark circles under your eyes are possibly due to slow blood flow and lymph build up. To prevent puffy eyes you can reduce sodium intake or sleep with your head on an elevated pillow. In the morning you can wash your face with cold water to constrict the blood vessels and reduce swelling or put cold cucumbers on your eyes to restrict blood flow due to astringent properties. You can also use moistened caffeinated teas bags because the caffeine constricts blood flow and reduces swelling.
http://www.pg.com/science/skincare/Skin_tws_11.htm
http://www.lauralewis.com/asklaura_0400a.htm
http://www.skin-care.us/body_care-t-548.html

Could MSG be harmful?

Upon paying at the counter of a Chinese restaurant in California, I wondered why the restaurant states “NO MSG, used in dishes.” So far this is what I know about Monosodium glutamate (MSG), it looks like clear crystals similar to salt and sugar, it is a sodium salt of the amino acid glutamic acid and a form of glutamate. MSG is used in most Asian dishes to enhance the flavors of foods and is usually under brand names such as Accent. Could it possibly be hazardous if consumed in large amounts? According to one study- “It has been demonstrated that high concentrations of monosodium glutamate in the central nervous system induce neuronal necrosis and damage in retina and circumventricular organs.” So limit your intake of foods that contain MSG.

http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/msg.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=16488110&dopt=Abstract

Fungus drug could save kidney patients

There was a question about this during the presentations today: " Patients who are given a new kidney have to take drugs for the rest of their lives to stop the body's immune system from rejecting the donor organ." This treatment, however, damages the kidney which can lead to ultimate failure of the organ. The article is about a new drug, Rapumune, that could reduce rejection of kidney transplants by as much as two-thirds and also has fewer side effects. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1294346.stm

Sleep and school performance

Earlier in lab today, a few of us discussed with Dr. Wasser the consequences of sleep deprivation, whether it be total sleep deprivation or deprivation of continuous sleep. I realize this isn't much related to anything we're doing. But it interested me so I thought I'd do some research and share the interesting things that I found.

Most of us know that without sleep, we tend to be irritable and less efficient. The University of California - San Diego did a study that reveals that brain activity is actually altered during sleep deprivation. Interestingly, the frontal lobe showed a decrease in activity when the subject was sleep deprived. A professor at Trent University in Canada did a study on college students that suggests some adverse results of sleep deprivation.

"Students who studied hard all week and then stayed up all night partying on the weekend lost as much as 30% of what they had learned during the week." (Source).
In March 1998 students at Colchester Sixth Form College in Britain subjected themselves to sleep deprivation and tested the results. They noticed a decrease in typing speed and reaction skills. Surprisingly they saw an improvement in math skills, short term memory, and paper sorting ability.

Sean Dupont

World Record...

Some of us are less fortunate than others.

As of April 16, 2003, Dan Winfield of Ontario had produced and passed over 4,504 kidney stones! Some were as small as grains of sand, others were as large as green peas.
Within a 24 hour period, Mr. Winfield made 22 stones. This apparently was when the problem was at its worst. Similarly, in 5 days he produced 35 kidney stones. The former social worker started producing stones in February of 1986, and his condition is well documented with the Mayo Health Clinic in Minnesota. His neighborhood friends in Canada ran a fundraising campaign in October of 1990 so he could get the best medical care.
He had to be placed on a portable morphine pump to reduce the pain. To further reduce the pain, surgeons moved Winfield's kidney down the abdomen, shortening the ureter's length. Unfortunately, that kidney failed and had to be removed. All the while, the right kidney had begun to produce stones.

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/content_pages/record.asp?recordid=55268
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/05/health_guinness_medical_record_breakers/html/6.stm

-Sean Dupont

Bioengineered Bladders

A team of researchers at Wake Forest University Medical School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina has recently reported success in the growth, implantation, and function of engineered bladders in patients with severe bladder disease. Biopsies from the patients served as the genentic seed, while a scaffold of collagen served to mold the growth of the organ. Tissue from the bladder and the pertinent muscles were used. What distinguishes the results from others is that this is the first organ to be grown (other than portions of skin) and also that the new bladder will not face any immune rejection from the body, as it is that of the body already, having been grown from portions of the same parent tissue. While current results are positive, long term results have yet to be concluded. The team next plans to tackle the heart and the pancreas.


You can find the stub here.

meditation - how it brings down heart rate and stress

Blood Pressure and Pulse rate of people who meditate significantly dropped in the test subjects. This article also gives us a numeric comparative analysis of the situation. According to the author the reason the subject’s blood pressure drops is because meditation gave the test subjects a sense of tranquility and decreased their autonomous function. Although, the author proved his theory that meditation helped people with hypertension and other problems- he does not provide an analytical solution to the question as to why numbers in question (blood pressure & pulse rate) significantly drop.

The author also gives various insights on other mechanisms such as metabolism, reaction time and total amount of proteins.This article also provides insight on the different kinds of meditation and their usefulness.(eg) Dhammakaya meditation, Samadhi Meditation, Zen Meditation etc.

http://home.uchicago.edu/~wliles/articles/sudsuang.pdf

Injected stress hormone may cut fear of spiders

The answer to a ARACHNOPHOBE's darkest fears could be a simple injection away after scientists found that a dose of the body's natural stress hormone, cortisol, can help phobics deal better with fear of spiders.

Adding cortisol into an already stressful situation for those with phobias may sound paradoxical, but Dominique de Quervain at the University of Zurich in Switzerland wanted to exploit the stress hormone's ability to block fearful memories from being formed in his experiment.

Typical treatment

For arachnophobes, seeing a spider "leads to the reactivation of a fear memory that is stored in the brain," said Prof De Quervain.

A cortisol injection seemed to lower patients' fear levels compared with other patients receiving a placebo, according to results published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Treating a phobia typically involves a psychotherapist talking over the fear with a patient and forcing him or her to confront it. Arachnophobe Richard Bayliss had psychotherapy sessions that involved confronting a tiny dead spider.

Success rate

"Eventually we went into the garden and found a reasonable-sized one. He put it on my back, which was very unpleasant." Mr Bayliss also tried London Zoo's programme, which culminates in participants holding a tarantula and claims an 80 per cent success rate.

Forcing phobics to confront their fear works for most people, but not always permanently.

"It's actually a very good therapy, but in many patients the fear comes back in one or two months," said Prof De Quervain.

Kidney Makeup May Set Hypetension Risk

This article basically says that people without a full complement of nephrons are at a higher risk of developing high blood pressure. There is evidence for the set number of nephrons at birth. Keeping in mind a set number of nephrons, as well as blood pressure, theories rise as to the correlation with hypertension. When nephrons are in short supply and overworked, there's a release of hormones and retention of sodium by the kidneys. Both contribute to hypertension. They tried to see if they could disprove this theory, but were astonished with negative results. They did tests on rats to prove a correlation. Low birth weight was found in low nephron rats, and there's indirect evidence of the link in people. Scientists have also shown that restricting protein intake by pregnant rats yields offspring with fewer nephrons in their kidneys and more subsequent hypertension. Other findings also indicate that some cases of high blood pressure can be prevented by good prenatal nutrition that boosts a newborn's nephron supply. Scientists will also use this information to screen kidney transplantations. For a recipient that may need a nephron-rich kidney, this study will prove to be helpful.