Breast Cancer Screening ... at the Dentist?

Possiblility of screening for cancer when you're at the dentist: All that saliva they vacuum out of your mouth when they clean your teeth may be able to test for cancer markers.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,260241,00.html?sPage=fnc.health/cancer

Vitamins During Pregnancy Equals Healthier Babies

http://content.nejm.org.ezproxy.tamu.edu:2048/cgi/content/full/356/14/1423

In this study, HIV negative women in Tanzania were invited to participate in a study in which half were given a multivitamin and the rest were given a placebo. All were given iron and folic acid and receive the standard prenatal care. A total of 8428 women were studied (8468 enrolled, but 40 were not eligible for some reason or another). The vitamin had 20 mg of vitamin B1, 20 mg of vitamin B2, 25 mg of vitamin B6, 100 mg of niacin, 50 µg of vitamin B12, 500 mg of vitamin C, 30 mg of vitamin E, and 0.8 mg of folic acid. Most of these values were well over two times the usual dietary allowance. The results showed improvement in area of the health of the baby at delivery, especially in birthweight, but not in the fetal outcome overall; meaning that the rate of preterm birth and fetal death remained the same in both groups. The study was then compared to another one that occurred also in Tanzania, but on HIV positive women that showed the same results, but the magnitude of the benefit was larger. It went on the discuss reasons that multivitamins help birth outcomes including making the mother less prone to intrauterine infections and keeping the mother's hemoglobin levels high. Vitamin C also helps in the absorption of iron which is beneficial in pregnancy. As of now, UNICEF provides folic acid and iron supplements to developing countries at a cost of $1 per woman for the whole pregnancy. This cost would increase 20% with addition of a full multivitamin, making it a cost effective approach to improving the health of babies born in the developing world.

Revolutionary Natural Opening Surgical Approach

Surgeons are now opting to use the natural openings of the body for previously invasive surgeries. Surgeons are removing tumors, organs, and repairing damaged organs through openings such as the nose, mouth, vagina, or rectum. The use of natural openings for surgeries reduces scarring and decreases recovery time significantly. The newfound interest in natural opening surgeries has required the development of medical technologies that are similar to those used in laparoscopic surgery. Specialized slender instruments are used in addition to small, non-invasive lighting and video camera devices. Long incisions have been reduced to 3 or 4 holes in many cases throuh the use of laprascopic surgery. The natural opening approach to surgery would eleminate the need for any holes at all. For instance, French doctors have removed a gall bladder through a woman's vagina without any incisions in the abdomen. The team of doctors used a needle a tenth of an inch wide that was equipped with a video camera. The needle also had the capability of inflating a region of the abdomen in order to create room for the doctors to work. Natural opening surgeries such as this are reducing incisions and overall trauma of the surgery procedure.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/04/29/scarless.surgery.ap/index.html

Electrically Conductive Tissue Used to Treat Heart Failure

A lethal side effect of a myocardial infarction is damage caused to the myocardium that compromises the conducting pathway’s efficiency to spread the wave of depolarization. Damage to the Perkinje fibers is commonly known as heart failure, and is associated with devastating arrhythmias. Heart failure is commonly treated with a pacemaker to innervate the SA node with electrical signals

In a normal connection, the heart pace signal is created in the SA node, and delayed in the AV node so that the atria can provide the ventricles with maximal volumes of blood. Researchers at Children’s Hospital in Boston are the first to create electrically conductive tissue from a human’s non-myocardial tissue. The engineered electrically conductive tissue can potentially replace damaged heart tissue, and reconstruct the conductive pathways.

"The idea was that rather than using a pacemaker, we could create an electrical conduit to connect the atria and ventricles," says Douglas Cowan, PhD.

Upon implementation into rats, the electrically conductive tissue integrated itself with the surrounding tissue effectively. Scientists are hoping to integrate the conductive tissue engineering with pacemaker technology, so that patients can rely solely on biological tissue.

Click the link below to view the entire article:

http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel223.html

Genomics: Global views of leukaemia

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v446/n7137/full/446739a.html

Genomic characterization of a type of leukaemia has resulted in the identification of common genetic abnormalities that underlie the disease. The results constitute an advance on several fronts.

Cancer is a genetic disease, caused largely by the acquisition of mutations in somatic cells after birth, or in some cases during developement. A search for these mutations was previously impossible, but progress in genomics technology holds the promise of making the complete characterization of the 'cancer genome' feasible. An important advance has been the development of high-density DNA microarrays for detecting regions of genomic amplification or deletion. The application of these arrays might allow for both a global view of recurring abnormalities in genomic copy number, and a sufficiently precise mapping of those abnormalities to allow the gene(s) affected to be identified. Recently, frequent deletions and loss-of-function mutations in the PAX5 gene in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia were discovered. This disease results from a defect in the differentiation of blood cells: an overproduction of immature B lymphocytes that overtakes the normal development of blood cells in the bone marrow.

Most cases with a PAX5 deletion lacked mutations in the remaining copy (allele) of the PAX5 gene. This is strong evidence for 'haploinsufficiency', the situation in which the single functional allele cannot produce enough of the protein product. PAX5 point mutations were also discovered, with all but one of the mutations occurred in only one of the two alleles, which also supports the idea of haploinsufficiency.

Another interesting finding was the frequent co-occurrence of PAX5 loss of function with particular molecular abnormalities, such as a chromosomal translocation resulting in the fusion of two genes. This is detectable at the time of birth in blood taken from the umbilical cord of infants who go on to develop this disease later, suggesting that additional genetic hits are required to produce the consequences of ETV6/RUNX1 fusion. So it seems that PAX5 haploinsufficiency may represent a collaborating event in the development of ETV6/RUNX1 leukaemias.

By discoverying these underlying genetic causes, better treatment therapies can be developed.

Pancreatic Cancer Deterrent

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?alias=flavonols-may-help-ward-o&chanID=sa022&modsrc=reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A look at the eating patterns of 183,518 California and Hawaii residents has found evidence that a diet high in flavonols might help ward off pancreatic cancer.

Flavonols are found in plant-based foods with onions, apples, berries, kale, and broccoli having the highest concentrations.

During an average of 8 years, 529 subjects developed pancreatic cancer. People who had the largest amount of flavonols in their diet -- measured with a "food frequency" questionnaire -- had a 23-percent lower risk of developing pancreatic cancer compared with people with the lowest levels, Dr. Ute Nthlings from the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke reported at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Los Angeles.

Smokers benefited most, presumably because they are at high risk for pancreatic cancer already. Smokers who ate the most flavonols reduced their risk of developing pancreatic cancer by 59 percent, compared with smokers who at the least flavonols.

More at link

Interesting to see the importance of plant based diets and nature's medicines for our worst diseases.

The Rise of Bionic Eyes

A new look at trying to restore vision in people blinded by injury or disease may be to bypass the eyes entirely. A team from the Harvard Medical School has been researching and trying a new approach to restoring vision. They have done this by establishing a connection between a video device and the part of the brain that receives visual stimuli. Research shows that the brain can interpret electronic signals the same way it interprets light waves. They have done experiments that used monkeys and put 2 small electrodes in the thalamus. They used the electrodes to make artificial signals seen by only the monkeys. In the experiment the monkeys responded to the real and artificial visual signals in exactly the same way. Eventually, the procedure could lead to a full-fledged artificial vision system comprising twin digital video cameras worn as a pair of glasses that transmits signals wirelessly to an implanted neural stimulator, which in turn connects to micro-electrodes planted in the brain.

http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2007/424/2

Linear Accelerator Radiosurgery Offers An Effective, Noninvasive Treatment Option For Trigeminal Neuralgia-Related Pain

Trigeminal neuralgia is a condition that presents the most excruciating pain known to humans. It is most often described as an intense stabbing, electric shock-like pain that is caused by irritation of the trigeminal nerve in the face. In this condition the nerve becomes damaged at the point where it leaves the brainstem, which causes a misfiring of the nerve. Researchers at UCLA have been experimenting on the effects of linear accelerator radiosurgery to treat trigeminal neuralgia for the last 10 years. The radiosurgery delivers a single, highly concentrated pulse of ionizing radiation to the damaged region near the brainstem. This promotes the growth of a legion in the nerve, thus interrupting the pain signals. With this procedure, about 69% of the patients experienced an excellent pain relief for 19 months of follow up. About 90% of the total patients experienced a significant relief as well as the pain 19 months was less intense. Overall the usefulness of the treatment is evident. Besides a prolonged pain relief, the non invasiveness and the minimal risk involved make this one of the better, more reliable, treatment options.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=69291


I thought this article was great. It showed how there can be a simple solution to such big problem. Even if the pain is relieved for about 19 months, the effectiveness of this method has shown that there will be yet more research to improve the techniques and help patients suffering from trigeminal neuralgia.

Migraines Linked to Long Term Neurological Problems

This article caught my eye today because I have a lot of friends and family who suffer from migraines. Apparently, some researchers studied cortical spreading depression (CSD) in mice with a two-photon microscopic and some oxygen sensor microelectrodes, Their findings indicate that a migraine causes brain damage similar to a stroke or a concussion as the brain cells swell and are deprived of oxygen. I always assumed that migraines were simply severe headaches and never considered that they could be linked with stroke, neural damage, and possibly long term problems. The article goes on to say that some studies show that the damage caused is permanent while other studies indicate otherwise. The research was published in the journal, Nature Neuroscience, this week.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/WireStory?id=3097936&page=1

This article is about a Virginia state delegate who is trying to pass a bill that would require insurance companies to cover gastric bypass surgery. I found this interesting after the discussion we had in class about the ethical issues at hand. John O'Bannon, a republican from Richmond Virginia, wants require all insurance companies to cover gastric bypass if the customer is truly in need of the surgery. The bill was shot down in a 14-7 vote by House of Commerce and Labor Committee. O'Bannon argues that it would save insurance companies money in the long run. He quoted a study from October 2004 where the surgery “led to improvement or complete resolution of conditions such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and obstructive sleep apnea in a substantial majority of morbidly obese patients." One insurance company said that it would cost each insured person 6 more dollars a month to cover the cost. They fear that these higher premiums. O'Bannon made it clear that he plans to bring the bill back next year and hopes to convince the insurance companies that it really is in their best interest.

Chemotherapy Fog Is No Longer Ignored As Illusion

The life saving treatment of chemotherapy is causing major after-effects. Patients have a sense of fog in memory while doing things. At first thought to be just in the head of the patients it is now getting more attention from oncologists. Research is stilll in developement and it appears to be different effects for different cancers. Much needs to be done in order to understand what's going on but it is now getting the attention that is deserved.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/29/health/29chemo.html?_r=1&ref=health&oref=slogin

New Type II Diabetes Genetic Risk Factors

Several Research Institutions teamed together in order to investigate new risk factors for type II diabetes. The research turned up 10 new genetic factors linked to an increased incidence in type II diabetes.

The research was performed using a technique called genome-wide association. A large group of people with type II diabetes were compared to an identical set of people only without the disease. A full DNA study was done and the differences were observed in the genome. Four new variations were found near the following:

GF2BP2. This gene codes for a protein called insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA binding protein 2. This protein is thought to regulate insulin.

-- CDKAL1. This gene codes for a protein called CDK5 regulatory subunit associated protein1-like1. Cyclin dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) protein, which stimulates insulin production and may influence other processes in the pancreas's insulin-producing cells, could also be affected. In addition, excessive activity of CDK5 in the pancreas may lead to the degeneration of cells.

-- CDKN2A and CDKN2B. The proteins produced by these two genes inhibit the activity of cyclin-dependent protein kinases, including one that has been shown to influence the growth of beta cells.

-- Chromosome 11. More work is needed to determine the exact relationships to pathways involved in type 2 diabetes.

These new genetic factors are a step in the right direction for finding a more permanent cure or prevention for diabetes. The full article can be found here.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=69271

Key to Integrating Transplanted Nerve Cells into Injured Tissue

Researchers at Harvard Medical School claim to have found a molecule (MMP-2) which is included in stem cells, that will ultimately make retinal transplantation and restoration of vision a possibile. This molecule can break down barriers known as glial scars that develope after the retina has been injured. In previous studies they demonstrated in mice the ability of these special cells to get past these barriers and with the the molecules seperated it would be possible to gain access to the injured retina without the entire stem cell. The team successfully transplanted stem cells between the degenerating mice retinas and healthy donor tissue. They found that MMP-2 removed the scar tissue and allowed the donar whole retina to make new connections with damaged retina in the mice. This lead them to the conclusion that the increase of the MMP-2 molecule is a major key to creating a permissive environment for central nervous system regeneration.

Alzheimer's Memory Loss May One Day Be Reversible

A new study from scientists at MIT suggests that it may be possible to reverse memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s and other degenerative brain diseases. The group used mice with induced brain atrophy to show that histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors induced some memory recovery. The mice were all trained to solve a maze before they were atrophied. The mice receiving the drug remembered how to do the maze significantly better, while the others failed. The mice’s brain cells had new dendrites and synapses. This is only a small step in the right direction, but it yields hope that there may be a way to recover from these awful diseases. With 5 million American living with the disease, and the number expected to more than double by 2050, this is good news.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/healthnews.php?newsid=69341

John Michael

4000 Processor Supercomputer used to simulate half a mouse brain

Three researchers at IBM's Almaden Research lab and the University of Nevada simulated half of a mouse brain on an IBM BlueGene L supercomputer with 4,096 processors. The simulation consisted of about eight million neurons with up to 8,000 synapses each. They were able to simulate the 'half-brain' for ten seconds at a tenth normal speed, for a complete second of simulated brain activity.

The researchers claim that they were able to see the 'neurons' firing in ways similar to that seen in nature and that the neurons also grouped in biologically plausible ways.

For future tests, the team aims to speed up the simulation, make it more biologically faithful, and perform more detailed analysis. This is very interesting research, because anyone can see that with enough computing power, it will one day be possible to model the human brain, and what kind of results will we see then?

New Study on Teen Weight-loss Surgery

I thought this article was a good tie-in with our SNBAL article on bariatric surgery. Researchers are now conducting a study on adolescents that undergo weight loss surgery to better understand the risks and benefits of this surgery. I was amazed to see that one girl in the article lost 40 pounds in 30 days, and that her diabetes went into remission during that time. While I think surgery is great because it is a fast fix for a lot of serious health issues, maybe researchers should also begin to look at long term effects of the surgery.

You can read the artile at:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/diet.fitness/04/30/diet.teensurgery.ap/index.html

The future of bionic eyes

Researchers are working towards making vision a reality for blind people. The goal of the new bionic eye technique is to use twin video cameres worn as a pair of glasses to transmit wirelessly to an implant in the breain. Currently reasearch is being done with two approaches. One involves creating images by stimulating the healthy neurons in the retina, and the other approach involves stimulating cells in the cerebral cortex. However, both approaches face challenges. The retina is a fragile membrane and damaging it is a possibility. Likewise, the images provided by the cortex method are not always clear. As nueroscientists at Harvard Medical School looked deeper, they turned their attention to the thalamus. By stimulating regions of a monkeys thalamus, the monkey was able to recognize visual spots on a screen. These findings suggest the thalamus could be the answer, as this approach provides the benefits of the other two methods without the drawbacks.


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,269010,00.html

Reversing Alzheimer's memory loss may be possible

This article speaks about a test done with mice given an alzheimer's-like disease. The mice were then trained and were able to learn new things and even remember things that they had forgotten. Through learning new things, the mice were able to access memories that they could not before. The article points out an important point: that if the mice were able to recall memories from before they had the disease, it proved that the memories were not destroyed, but somehow inhibited from being accessed. The authors suggest a relationship to the adult form of the disease, which could potentially help to fight the disease, but certainly also help to improve the quality of life for the patients. The mice were also given a drug that stimulates the growth of nerves, which probably played just as important of a role as the the other stimuli to the brain.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/conditions/04/30/alzheimers.memory.reut/index.html

Getting drunk isn't ALL bad!!!

“New research from the American Heart Association (AHA) reveals that college students who drink excessively can double their levels of something known as C-reactive protein (CRP), a biological marker for inflammation that has been associated with a higher chance of cardiovascular problems.”

Even though this seems really harsh, it truly isn’t such a bad case since the study also found that moderate drinkers had a lower chance of cardiovascular diseases than complete non drinkers since alcohol in moderation protects against inflammation and reduces blood clots while the advantages of red wine have already been extolled.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1615182,00.html?cnn=yes

Tanisha Sharma

MRI resolution reaches 90 nm

Researchers in the US have used an alternative form of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to visualize objects with a resolution of just 90 nm. The best conventional MRI microscopes, in contrast, typically have a resolution of about 3 microns. The researchers claim that the technique, known as magnetic resonance force microscopy, could be used to map out the structure of nanometre-scale structures such as proteins and pharmaceutical drugs.

Although the new microscope represents a major improvement in MRI microscopy, the measurements had to be done in a vacuum chamber at temperatures as low as 600 mK in order to minimize noise in the cantilever. As a result, measurements cannot be made under ambient conditions, which precludes its use in the study of many of materials – particularly some biological samples.

http://nanotechweb.org/articles/news/6/4/22/1

Junk' DNA now looks like powerful regulator

Swaths of garbled human DNA once dismissed as junk appear to contain some valuable sections, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the University of California-Santa Cruz. The scientists propose that this redeemed DNA plays a role in controlling when genes turn on and off.Gill Bejerano, PhD, assistant professor of developmental biology and of computer science at Stanford, found more than 10,000 nearly identical genetic snippets dotting the human chromosomes, these sequences help in the intricate choreography of when and where those genes flip on as the animal lays out its body plan. In particular, the group found the sequences to be especially abundant near genes that help cells stick together. These genes play a crucial role early in an animal’s life, helping cells migrate to the correct location or form into organs and tissues of the correct shape. The 10,402 sequences are remnants of unusual DNA pieces called transposons that duplicate themselves and hop around the genome. Bejerano suspects that when a transposon is plopped down in a region where it wasn’t needed, it slowly accumulated mutations until it no longer resembled its original sequence. The genome is littered with these decaying transposons. When a transposon dropped into a location where it was useful, however, it held on to much of the original sequence, making it possible for Bejerano to pick out.

http://med.stanford.edu/news_releases/2007/april/junk-dna.html

drugs modify brain structure

A recent study has shown that illegal drug addiction may be more than a mental issue. It is proven through research that these drugs actually changes the basic structure of one's brain. This change explains why it's so hard to quite. I believe the research is significant because it is one step closer to giving definitive answers to the so call "mental illness" characterized by quasi sciences such as Psychology. This research also indirectly explains smoker's dependency on cigeratte. In fact this research can be interpretted as a warning to taking any drugs, pharmasudical or illegal, as both of these substances can damage the brain.

Obesity Surgery Risks Studied for Teens

A new federally funded five year study has begun that will follow the health risks of 200 teenagers that have are severly obese. The teens will undergo bariatric surgery and researchers will monitor health factors that include cholesterol levels, liver function, cardiosvascular risk and markers for diabetes. Also, psychological problems like depression, low self-esteem and social interaction can be monitored. Some believe that the teens do not understand the complications of bariatric surgery and only "see surgery as a quick fix that will make up for poor eating habits and a lack of exercise." This is not saying that the 200 kids selected for the study were not medically in need of it, with one girl that was interviewed in the article was 17 years old, 5 foot 5 and wieghed 296 pounds.
This study will be beneficial to many people because if these teens are able to lose a signigifcant amount of weight, lose most of their medical issues like high blood pressure,Type 2 diabetes, and sleep apnea, then perhaps as these teens become adults they will be able to live healthier lives and avoid the psychological problems that come with severe obesity.
http://health.aol.com/news/story/_a/obesity-surgery-risks-studied-for-teens/n20070426152209990033?cid=474

New Blood Test for Prostate Cancer

This article talks about an experimental blood test for prostate cancer that seems to work better than the current PSA test. The test is being developed by Dr. Getzenberg in which it looks for a protein called EPCA-2 (an early prostate cancer antigen 2). It has been found that EPCA-2 occurs in large amounts only in prostate cancer cells. According to Dr. Getzenberg, this test is 97% specific in detecting prostate cancer and not people with enlarged or infected prostates. In addition to his studies, his team tried out the EPCA-2 test on blood samples from different groups of people including those with early and late prostate cancer, women who do not have prostate gland, and healthy men with normal PSA levels. As a result, the EPCA-2 test was a lot better than the PSA test in terms of sensitivity and specificity.

For more informations about this article, please visit:

http://www.webmd.com/prostate-cancer/news/20070426/new-blood-test-for-prostate-cancer?page=1

Finals and Caffeine

Everyone knows the effects of caffeine on the body, especially students staying up all night studying for finals. Drink some coffee and feel the newfound energy pouring out. This is due to the fact that the caffeine in coffee, along with sodas, energy drinks, and chocolate, is a central nervous system stimulant. The caffeine increases your basic metabolic rate and temporarily increases your mental clarity as well as your muscular coordination for activities like typing. However, it is true that you can become addicted to caffeine. A tolerance can be built up with more and more caffeine needed to get the same job done.

With prolonged excess caffeine levels, hormones go out of whack, leading to such symptoms as excess nervousness, irritability, insomnia, dizziness, extreme fatigue, headaches, heartburn, anxiety, hypertension, and palpitations. Many caffeinated beverages also come with tannic acid, a mild gastrointestinal irritant, that affects nutrient absorption. Sugar is also another common tag-a-long, and long exposure to it can weaken the adrenal glands. Withdrawals from caffeine are also possible. When studying for finals, remember that one grande coffee from Starbucks is already enough to reach the maximum daily intake of caffeine.


http://health.aol.com/news/story/_a/caffeine-exposed/20070411170009990001

Fat-fighting baby milk

Studies have shown that compared to breast-fed babies, those that are formula fed are at an increased risk for obesity later in life. One cause for this may be that formula lacks the hormon leptin, which is present in breast milk. Circulating leptin gives the brain a reading of glycogen levels, and regulates appetite and metabolism. Even though leptin is produced all throughout life, a study conducted in rats showded that the offspring of those given extra amount of this hormone while pregnant, were much less likely to be obese. Even when fed high fat diets, the rats given leptin stayed slim, while those not given leptin became obese and developed diabetes. Some researchers are hopeful that after more tests, this hormone can be added to formula and reduce the risk of obesity. However, others are doubtful, pointing out that most people have plenty of leptin and are still over weight, and obese people actually tend to have higher levels of leptin.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6575767.stm

Bacterial Resistance Could be a thing of the Past

To best defeat an enemy it is quite wise to know everything about them. One should know their strengths, weaknesses and goals. These are just a few. As everyone knows a bacterial infection is not a good thing and a resistant infections is very dangerous. But why is some bacteria resistant? According to Dr. Bayles, the bacteria undergo programmed cell death which expel their DNA in the microfilm of other bacterium. This strengthens all the rest of them aiding in their resistivity to antibiotics. This however is a theory but if true they will now be able to attack the bacteria in a different way because of a new understanding of the bacteria. It is crucial to know your enemy.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=68866

Stretching DNA to the Limit

http://www.bionity.com/news/e/63986/?ps=&pw=a&t=&defop=and&wild=yes&sdate=01/01/1995&edate=04/26/2007&sort=1

Researchers at Duke University have used single-molecule force spectroscopy to measure the forces generated by the unraveling of DNA strands exposed to UV light. Although we already knew that UV light can damage DNA molecules, this technique is allowing the team of researchers to analyze the changing mechanical properties as the damage occurs.

The change in structure is due largely to the encouraging of crosslinkingof bases within the polynucleotide chains. This has been shown to cause unwinding of the double helix in certain regions where the amount of crosslinking is considerable. Small changes such as this affect the DNA's capability of working properly during transcription. This leads to the inability to produce the correct proteins.

As discussed in our biomechanics class, biology and mechanical changes at a molecular level affect each other in profound ways. The body responds to a stimulus like UV light at the DNA level and these changes are apparent at the gross level with things like skin cancer,which is a result of prolonged UV exposure.

Vaccinators in Iraq are Battling Measles

The fight for human life is being waged in Iraq against an unseen killer. A team of 7 vaccinators has taken their fight to a very difficult area of the world. They must be very alert and cautious due to the nature of the area that they are in. Many of the workers feel that children that could have been vaccinated are unable to recieve care due to the war-like conditions of Iraq. The operation is very much door-to-door. Each location that has been covered must be marked in order to keep an accurate record of who has received care. Some of the Iraqi mothers must be convinced to allow their child to be vaccinated due to a lack of complete understanding about its benefits. These vaccinators are changing the lives of women and childern that would otherwise be left uncared for.

Spinal Disc Transplant Shows Promise Against Back Pain

Here is the link that goes with the post below;

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=80017

Sorry for any inconvenience

Spinal Disc Transplant Shows Promise Against Back Pain

Discs serve as pads, or shock absorbers, between the spine's bony vertebrae. Discs have a tough outer membrane and an elastic core. A distorted, or herniated, disc can injure the spinal cord or the nerves connected to the spinal cord. Degenerative disc disease is the leading cause of herniated discs.

Spinal discs from human donors were transplanted five years ago into five patients with chronic back pain caused by disc degeneration, physicians at the University of Hong Kong and the Naval General Hospital in Bejing said. As reported in the March 24 issue of The Lancet, the five-year follow-up found an improvement in symptoms, no signs of immune rejection and only mild degeneration of the transplanted discs.Overall, the discs kept the patients' necks supple and stable, though the doctors report "mild" signs of degeneration in the transplanted discs five years or more after the operation.

Spinal disc transplants could have a real future, however, because surgeons are not always happy with the results of current operations. When back pain cannot be treated with medications, a surgical procedure called fusion is done, uniting the bones to relieve the pain. Recently, surgeons have started to implant artificial discs in some cases.

Young Adults May Reduce Their Risk of Developing Hypertension by Increasing Physical Activity

A 15 year study conducted at the University of Minnesota has found a link to physical activity and the risk for hypertension. It was found that young adults who excercised at least 5 time a week and burned about 300 calories per exercise session, had a 17 percent decrease in risk of developing high blood pressure over the next 15 years. It was also found that participants in the study who increased or maintained their total time of physical activity, from the beginning of the study to the time when the study was concluded, saw an 11 percent decrease in risk of hypertension for every 1,500 calories they burned weekly.

This study was a first when it comes to examining the connection between hypertension and physical activity in young adults. In addition to the already multiple benefits of physical activity, this study adds another. As a way to stay healthy, as well as decrease your risk for hypertension as a result, increased and maintained physical activity is critical. This adds another preventative measure to combat "the silent killer", or hypertenion.


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070412102426.htm

Reduced Asthma a Result of Sunlight Exposure

A group of researchers at Perth's Telethon Institure for Child Health Research conducted a study using mice which concluded that exposure to ultraviolet light for 15 to 30 minutes before onset of allergen exposure significantly reduces asthmatic symptoms in the mice as well as finding that the ultraviolet light exposure caused a production of a certain cell type that, when transferred to the mice before allergen exposure, can prevent some symptoms relating to asthma.

While knowing that too much UV light exposure is dangerous, with increasing risk for skin cancer, the researchers are looking to discover exactly what elements of the UV light are beneficial. If they are able to find these certain elements and separate them from the more harmful elements of the UV light, an important new prevention and treatment for asthma and asthma-like symptoms may be present. Although much more research must be conducted in order to get closer to a treatment, this is a very exciting discovery for asthma-sufferers.


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061025184934.htm

Diabetes, Not Obesity, Increases Risk Of Developing Critical Illness and Early Death

A study by the University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital and Emory University School of Medicine has concluded that obese individuals, who do not have the disease diabetes, are equally as likely to die or develop a critical illness as those people who are not obese. It has always been thought that because there is such a link between obesity and diabetes that this would not be the case. However, it was found that diabetes is the ultimate factor in the death or critical illness of a patient not his or her body mass index. The study was conducted over a period of three years and included the analysis of 15,408 subjects from ages 44 to 66. The analysis was of the subject's body mass index, presence of either type 1 or type 2 diabetes, and the hisoty of acute organ failure. After the analysis was complete, the researcher's found that the obese subjects who did not have diabetes had similar results to those who were not obese and also did not have diabetes. Subjects who did have diabetes were found to be 3 times as likely to suffer from acute organ failure.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060925054536.htm

Reduced Risk of Breast Cancer in Women with Elevated Risk Through Removal of Both Breasts

A study done at Harvard University has concluded that prophylactic mastectomy, or removal of both breasts, reduced the risk of breast cancer by 95 percent in women with elevated risk. The 19 year study, tested women from ages 18-80 with at least one factor that increased their risk for getting breast cancer. These factors included one of more benign breast biopsies, a personal history of atypical hyperplasia, and a family history of breast cancer. While the procedure does provide a good preventative measure, it can cause other complications as well as effect the psychosocial health of the patient. Women are encouraged to talk to doctors, friends and family, and a genetic counselor in order to discuss her risk for the cancer and to discuss all of her options.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/03/050323134132.htm

Newer Form of Heparin Better at Preventing Clots After Stroke

In this article, two different forms of anticoagulant went head-to-head in a test to see which one proved to be better for patients after a stroke. The patients that took heparin received twice a day dosages where as the other patients received once a day dosages of enoxaparin (a new form of heparin). The interesting thing is that the new drug appeared to work better. I am personally skeptical about this particular test because it was sponsored by the makers of enoxaparin.

The true test though will not be in the performance of this new data, but how the writers of the guidelines to stroke management do with this particular data. Will they accept it and bring it in, or ignore it in general? I personally think that if these data results are indeed correct and true that the writers should include this data in their writings.

http://health.msn.com/centers/highbloodpressure/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100161211

Cancer Treatment Can Actually Cause More Cancer

Studies have discovered a special compound in the body that appear after certain types of cancer treatments such as chemotheraphy (doxorubicin). These compounds have the potential to further expand the disease making the treatment in vain. Also, researchers tried to block the compound using antibodies and found out that there was an improvement in treating the disease. Further details can be found here.
http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=17535

MS Imaging

By combining three types of microscopic imaging techniques that are ordinarily used individually, a way has been developed to analyze living tissue and learn more about the molecular mechanisms of multiple sclerosis, information that could help lead to earlier detection and new treatments.

The combined imaging method is enabling the researchers to study how multiple sclerosis causes an overproduction of "astroglial filaments," which form bundles between critical nerve fibers and interfere with proper spinal cord functioning.

The imaging shows these astroglial filaments in contrast with the nerve fibers, pointing them out very easily. This allows doctors to see exactly where the source of the problem is coming from, and could give them information on how to prevent this disease.

I think this is interesting because more than 350,000 people in the US and 2 million worldwide have this disease. There's no real cure, and the disease is so crippling, it's exciting that there's something now that can help detect it earlier and may give the individuals a better shot at fighting it.

http://www.photonics.com/content/news/2007/April/18/87361.aspx

Smart Pills

According to a report by the BBC, some medications commonly used to treat neurological disorders may increase brain function in healthy individuals. The article focused on Modafinil, a narcolepsy drug commonly prescribed in the United States. Researchers at Cambridge University gave Modafinil to healthy volunteers and then tested their cognitive abilities. Interestingly, as the problems became more complex and difficult the volunteers did progressively better.

The possibility of using pharmaceuticals to enhance brain function is certainly an exciting concept. However, the societal impact and ethical issues associated with "smart pills" are cause for concern. The British government is currently requesting an analysis of the medicinal and societal impact of these medications by experts at the Academy of Medical Sciences.

Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6558871.stm

Engineers Announce Plastic, Air- And Light-driven Device More Precise Than Human Hand

At Johns Hopkins Urology Robotics Lab, engineers have invented a motor without metal or electricity that can safely power remote-controlled robotic medical devices used for cancer biopsies and therapies. It is guided by magnetic resonance imaging allowing increased accuracy in locating and collecting tissue samples, reduce diagnostic errors and also improve therapy. It is the start of an age of robotic image-guided surgeries to better target, diagnose and treat cancers with minimally invasive techniques.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070406145338.htm

Women do as well as men with heart treatment

Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic found that women do as well as men from treatments used to avert coronary artery disease, even though more woman have high cholesterol. Dr. Stephen J. Nicholls wrote in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology that not much is know about how coronary disease forms in women. Nicholls and his associates took data from ultrasound images of the interior of the coronary arteries to see the amount of plaque deposited there. The study had 727 male subjects and 251 female subjects from 30 to 70 years old who had a clogged coronary artery. The women had less plaque in their arteries than the men, even though the women had higher blood pressure, weighed more for their height, and had higher levels of cholesterol and triglycerides. Both the men and women had comparable advances in plaque burden when they were given medicine for the heart like aspirin, ACE inhibitors, and beta-blockers. The researchers said that their findings "add further support for the promotion of aggressive preventive measures" to prevent women from cardiovascular disease. I found this article interesting because cardiovascular disease was recently discussed in class and as biomedical engineers, we will be working to ways to prevent this disease.

Diabetes 'Blocked by Stem Cells'

Researchers in the United States and Brazil have recently begun using stem cells to treat and even cure type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes. Patients were given immunosuppressants to keep their body from destroying any more pancreatic cells. They were then given transfusions of stem cells to "restart the immune system." Following this treatment many patients were able to go over a year without an insulin injection.

Researchers are unclear as to how this treatment works but have proposed several possible mechanisms in the article, including the generation of new immune cells that don't destroy pancreatic cells or the growth of new pancreatic cells.

With the recent controversy in the Senate over stem cell research, this article has significant importance since it provides support for widespread application of stem cells in medical treatments and therapies.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6541887.stm

Portable Brain Scanner Detects Clots

The device is called the Infrascanner, and it is about the size of a tin can. It is currently being developed and tested in India, but the US Navy has invested one million dollars in the device. The Infrascanner uses "near infra-red" light, just like would be found in a TV remote control. The infra-red beam is able to penetrate the skull and brain tissue up to three centimetres. A haematoma, or blood clot, absorbs the light beam differently than normal brain tissue. These differences in absorbance are detected by the scanner. A red oval is displayed on the readout, locating possible haematomas. The device is not intended to replace a CT scan, but it is much more affordable and portable than a CT scanning machine. Thus, smaller hospitals and possibly paramedics could use the device to identify patients that need to be sent to a specialist. The Navy would like to use the device to help decide if an injured member of the crew needs to be evacuated.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6541279.stm

Sperm Made from Human Bone Marrow

Scientists from the Universities of Göttingen and Münster and the Medical School of Hannover claim to have successfully made spermatogonia from adult stem cells. The stem cells, which were isolated from the bone marrow, would have normally differentiated into one of the three types of muscle cells. Instead, the scientists induced transdifferentiation into immature sperm cells. These spermatogonia were then implanted in mice testes.
The next step for the scientists is to get the spermatogonia to progress to mature sperm cells, a process which could take three to five years of experiments. The researchers hope to one day be able to treat male infertility, especially that caused by chemotherapy.
Other scientists warn not to over-interpret this data; transdifferentiation achieved with other types of cells has been difficult to reproduce once subjected to rigorous testing. The discovery, however, is still a step in the right direction.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6547675.stm

Make-A-Baby Kit

The FDA has approved the first home conception kit. The kit is currently available for $300 with a doctor's prescription. It includes eight ovulation predictors, a conception cap - a flexible cup-like receptacle that is placed over the cervix, a non-latex "semen collector" (actually a condom), a pregnancy test kit, a conception wheel to help plan when the baby will be born, a journal, and an instruction manual.

The main aspect of the kit is the conception cap, which helps bring the sperm in contact with the cervix, thus much likelier to conceive. The one problem though, is that placing this cap can be difficult as each woman's cervix is angled differently from the diagram.

The kit will be most helpfulwho need lessons in predicting ovulation, or in an instance where the man isn't fertile and they choose to find their own donor rather than use expensive fertility procedures, or perhaps in the case of a lesbian couple who have a donor in mind. This obviously can become quite controversial.

Source:
http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/blogs/paging.dr.gupta/

Bone Regrowth

Two students at Queensland University of Technology have developed ways to help repair bones in the body that may be damaged by fractures, or the damage caused by osteoporosis.

One student at Queensland University of Technology has developed biodegradable spheres that can be filled with calcium phosphate compounds and then can be placed onto the bone. The compounds will encourage bone growth and help bone defects.

The other student has developed a ceramic material that can be used in place of metal implants in certain times that is able to bear the load of the body and will combine with the bone and eventually degrade away.

These have helped in the search of finding simple, cost effective ways of helping heal bones.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061031185333.htm

Celebrex, Among Other Things

Scientists have found four genes that seem to affect breast cancer's ability to metastasize in the lungs. The four genes are COX-2, EREG, MMP-1, and MMP-2. While blocking these genes individually has a small effect on the cancer's ability to metastasize, blocking all four simultaneously gives dramatic results -- even going so far as to nearly entirely eliminate metastasis. Of course, the ability to block these four genes would be incredibly beneficial, since when cancer metastasizes it becomes especially dangerous and truly difficult to treat.

There are a couple of drugs currently on the market that have already been noticed to promote resistance to cancer metastasis, Celebrex being the most well-known. It has been found that these drugs promote this resistance by inhibiting one of the above genes. Therefore, a drug combination that individually inhibits each one of above genes could prove to be a powerful tool in cancer treatment.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070411/sc_nm/
cancer_genes_dc;_ylt=AqH3ks4x0__XB1768.s_ru0PLBIF

Innovative Heart Pump Design

Researchers at the Queensland University of Technology have come up with a heart pump design that allows blood to flow in the opposite direction, allowing adequate flow to both sides of the heart. More specifically, the design uses independent impellers which enables blood to flow at a higher pressure to the left chamber and a lower pressure to the left chamber, as required by the heart. The device is the first to integrate the functions of two pumps into one unit. Currently, double pump technology requires the two pumps to work independent of each other. The design is expected to be patented.

Article Link (Published 2007-04-10)

Off-Label Use: Pain Medication and Antipsychotics May Stop Brain Tumor Growth

After screening nearly 1,300 chemical compounds, scientists have identified a number of drugs in use today that may in stop the growth of neural stem cells, including cancerous populations. This opens up the possibility of using drugs already available to battle brain tumors, which kill an estimated 13,000 people in the U.S. yearly. Researchers say that a lot of the receptors for those drugs were thought to be exclusively expressed in mature cells in the central nervous system and they may have the same function on stem cells as they do on the mature cells, which makes them candidates for treating brain cancer.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=D71C6367-E7F2-99DF-3ECA22DA44F9FE82&chanID=sa025

Bioengineer wins $500,000 engineering prize

The National Academy of Engineering has announced that Yuan-Cheng "Bert" Fung will receive the 2007 Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ Prize, a $500,000 award recognizing engineering achievement that significantly improves the human condition. Fung, a professor emeritus of bioengineering at UC San Diego's Jacobs School of Engineering, was acknowledged "for the characterization and modeling of human tissue mechanics and function leading to prevention and mitigation of trauma."
Previous recipients include inventors of the first human heart pacemakers, kidney dialysis, and biosensors that enable open heart surgery and diabetes patients to self-monitor glucose levels.

Y.C. Fung's research is the basis for automotive safety design. He very well deserves this award and I wouldn't be surprised if he received a Nobel Prize in the future.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-01/uoc--bw010507.php

Heart valve grown from stem cells

British scientists have grown part of a human heart from stem cells for the first time.

The BBC News reported that part of a heart valve was grown from stem cells. The feat was achieved with adult stem cells, not embryonic stem cells. Many scientists believe it should be possible to harness the cells' ability to grow into different tissues to repair damage and treat disease. Stem cells have the potential to turn into many different types of cell. Sir Magdi and his team extracted stem cells from bone marrow and cultivated them into heart valve cells. After they were placed in scaffolds formed from collagen, 3cm-wide discs of heart valve tissue were formed.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6517645.stm

A Light Switch for the Brain

This article gave us a new hope of treating epilepsy, Parkinson's and other disease. Scientists can turn on and off specific parts of the brain with a simple flash of light. That is the new molecular tool, developed by scientists at MIT and Stanford, allows unprecedented control over the brain. It could also help neuroscientists crack the language of the brain: the information encoded in the electrical activity of neurons, which forms our memories and directs our every move.
This newfound ability to precisely control neurons could finally bring answers to major questions about the brain. We hope it might help scientists find the specific cells or neural activity patterns that are involved in cognitive processes, such as attention, or in particular diseases, such as epilepsy.

http://www.technologyreview.com/Biotech/18488/

Added Pounds with Asthma

New research suggests that overweight and obese individuals are fifty percent more likely to develop asthma than normal-weight men and women. “According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, asthma is an incurable but usually controllable chronic disease involving inflammation and narrowing of the airways that carry oxygen into and out of the lungs.” From a recent national survey it was found that sixty-five percent of Americans are either obese or overweight. Research has for awhile suggested connections between asthma and obesity. “In this study, Sutherland and NJMRC colleague Dr. David A. Beuther pored over prior data on the body mass indices -- measurements of body fat based on the height and lightheartedness -- of adult asthma patients.” Sutherland and Beuther adopted standard BMI yardsticks, that defined normal weight, overweight and obese. With a BMI of 25 and up, the risk of developing asthma grew by fifty percent, and from the study it was found that the risk of developing asthma increased as the weight increased. Based on the results of the study, the researchers believe asthma should be included in the long list of diseases, such as diabetes and sleep apnea, for which excess weight is a risk factor. I found this article interesting because it shows how health problems can sometimes lead to other health problems.
Source: http://health.msn.com/centers/asthma/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100160020

Womb transplant pregnancy success

The new reports that the Swedish scientists have successfully transplanted womb to four sheeps that they pregnanted after the womb transplant. This is an exciting improvement in implanting technology, but it still lacks in many parts to be used currently. Firstly, it was autologous transplant - from one to oneself, that is not from the others. This will be hardly required. The transplanted womb can be rejected after few months, and it may also occur during the pregnency, which is really dangerous. It is still required a longer time for the further side effects observance.
(However, I still find it amazing, that they could actually reconnect all those blood vessels!!)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6523109.stm

Considering America's Infant Mortality Rate

http://politics.slate.msn.com/id/2161899/

Given the nature of our device design project this semester, I feel it's important to look at some of the societal and political issues associated with infant mortality and premature births. Last year, a group funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation released a report that stated that the United States tied with Malta and Slovakia for the second worst infant mortality rate among developed nations. While poorer nations struggle with infection-related deaths, complications associated with prematurity account for at least a third of infant mortality in the United States. Despite much financial investment and research into preventing and aiding premature babies, the statistics remain obstinately high.

In a recent Slate article, Darshak Sanghavi presents a counterintuituive explanation for our infant mortality probem: we may be spending too much on healthcare. Not only have the increasing use of in vitro fertilization and other assisted reproductive technologies increased the number of women undergoing high risk pregnancies, the increasing availability of neonatal intensive care units may actually be detrimental to premature infants. He points out a 2002 New England Journal of Medicine study where the authors found that high regional NICU availability did not correlate with need or improved infant mortality rates. Summarizing the conclusions from the 2002 study, Sanghavi points out that NICUs have a high profit potential and may be created for primarily that purpose. Furthermore, NICU availability may cause some patients to undergo high risk diagnostic and therapeutic procedures that may not be necessary. Fewer NICUs also concentrate experience and expertise, providing better outcomes for patients.

Ultimately, Sanghavi suggests that diverting patients to a smaller number of hospitals would be a sensible plan for reducing infant mortality.

Scientists use pig bladders, salamanders to regrow fingers

It is being sugessted that an ectract powder from pigs bladders can be used to regrow finger tips. There is some speculation and no one is expecting to be able to grow entire fingers. The merely are hoping to be able to grow hust a little bit in order to give people that extra inch which could make life much easier. There is on claim of a man who lost the tip of his finger to a propeller of a model plane. The surgeons suggested a skin graph, but he decided to try the powder. He claims that the tip of his finger has grown back and is almost exactly how it was before. Because of these sucess stories, the army is going to try using this powder on burn victims at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. There is now currently undergoing research into the pig bladders as well as salamanders who have the ability to regrow their fingers if the are cut off.

7 genetic risk factors found for prostate cancer

This article caught my attention because I just studied about health disparities among different races in my health diversity class. This article says that researchers have just "described seven genetic risk factors (DNA sequences present in some people but not others — bunched in a relatively small region of one of the human chromosomes, chromosome 8) that reliably predict one’s probability of developing prostate cancer". The research was propelled by the fact that the disease's greater prevalence among African American men hinted at a genetic basis. This is important for the obvious reason of earlier diagnosis and prevention, but also for research being done on why African American men are more likely to develop prostate cancer. Research found that African American men are twice as likely to die from prostate cancer, and nearly all of the risk factors were seen most frequently in blacks involved in the study. They go on to say that the cancer is not all genetic, there are also lifestyle and enviromental factors.

Blood Type Conversion

An international research team has determined a way to end blood shortages. Their research, which is being led by Danish scientist Henrik Clausen, has focused on converting A, B, and AB blood types into type O blood. Type O blood is universal because it does not contain certain antigens which trigger fatal immune responses. The researchers are using a bacterial enzyme found in fungi to act as "biological scissors" in order to remove the fatal antigens in A, B, and AB blood types.

The results of this research are tremendous. With this blood conversion technology doctors, nurses, and emergency response teams would no longer be concerned with matching blood type. If all of the blood from donors was converted, patients with serious trauma could be treated right away rather than waiting to match blood type. This would have an amazing impact on saving people's lives.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science&article=UPI-1-20070402-11554100-bc-denmark-blood.xml

Supercomputers are Being Used in Research on Parkinson's and Alzheimer's Diseases

Supercomputers are being used in an attempt to trace and better understand the causes of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's neural degenerative diseases. The research is currently indicating that the cause of these diseases may be the long-term accumulation of alpha-synucleins in the neural membranes. Over time, the alpha-synucleins damage or eventually kill the neural cells they accumulate in. Calculations suggest that beta-synucleins block the accumulation of alpha-synucleins without damaging neural tissue. Scientists are hoping that the administration of beta-synucleins may stall or even reverse the progression of these debilitating diseases.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=65941