Feeling Down? Eat some salt…

Research has shown that salt may be a natural antidepressant. A group of rats were deprived of sodium for a period of time. These rats showed a seemingly depressed mood. They were sluggish and wouldn’t move across their cage to reach sugar water. Once the salt was added back to the rats’ diets, they seemed to be much happier again. It is believed that this correlation may exist in humans and all land animals. In humans, it is seen that people that must cut salt from their diets are generally more depressed. One thought on the subject is that the link comes from our ancient origins in the sodium rich sea. Simply, the body wishes to be sodium rich as before. Physiologically, the levels of sodium in the blood and in the fluids surrounding the cells are closely regulated and the kidneys are designed especially for this purpose.
However, it is possible that the brain always reacts positively to sodium intake regardless of sodium levels present in the body as with other drugs. So it is important to note that even if the excess sodium intake is making the brain happen, there may actually be negative effects elsewhere in the body.
Overall, more research is needed concerning the connection to sodium intake and depression, but it is clear that for most of the developed world, sodium intake is much higher than needed by the body. So as there may be benefits in mood, it is not a good idea to eat a bunch of salt to be happier.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/03/090317-salt-antidepressant.html?source=rss

Electromedicine for Parkinson's disease: Deep brain stimulation works better than drugs

This article discuses the approach that was taken in Europe of a new surgery and that could possibly lead to many new and great things when it comes to Parkinson’s Disease, a disease that we do not have much of a way to treat. The surgical procedure is meant to cause deep brain stimulation which in turn will improve the over all quality of life according to Dr. Guenther Deuschl the Chairman of the department of neurology at Christian-Albrechts University in Kiel, Germany. They ran tests on 156 patients, all under the age of 25 who were all suffering from advanced Parkinsons disease. They chose at random which patients to treat with the surgery and which to treat with medication. The surgery is performed by placing a thin electrically conductive wire deep into the brain. This then helps temporarily block the abnormal brain signals that are sent and that cause some of the symptoms. The surgery is usually reserved for those who are very very sick. But the article is debating whether it should be considered in earlier stages in order to have a more positive effect on the patients that suffer. The study showed that the patients that underwent surgery had a few more adverse affects like severe brain damage, the overall outcome was better for these patients than those that just took straight medication. This could help us lead to a new discovery of something great to help us cure Parkinson’s Disease.

http://www.naturalnews.com/020271.html

RE ENGINEERED PROTEINS SUPRESS KIDNEY CANCER

In a study published in the first issue of EMBO Molecular Medicine, Canadian researchers modified the tumor inhibiting protein, von Hippel-Lindau (VHL), and demonstrated that it could suppress tumor growth in mice.

When solid tumors grow, they often have relatively poor and disorganized blood supplies. As a result, various regions including the centre of the tumor have low levels of oxygen. Cells in these hypoxic areas produce hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) that helps them carry on growing. Consequently, HIF is also associated with aggressiveness in some of the most common types of cancer, including prostate, breast, colon and lung cancer. Under normal conditions, VHL degrades HIF, but VHL is deactivated when oxygen levels are low. So, in hypoxic regions of a tumor, just where VHL is needed to inhibit cancer, it is ineffective.

The researchers, therefore, engineered a new version of VHL that does not stop working when oxygen is scarce. Introducing this newly engineered version of VHL into mice that had kidney tumors dramatically reduced levels of HIF, caused tumors to regress and limited the formation of new blood vessels within the tumors.

"The level of HIF is usually very high under conditions of low oxygen, but when we put in our bioengineered VHL its levels go right down to a level that would be comparable to that in normal oxygen levels" says lead researcher Professor Michael Ohh, who works in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.

Their findings could have implications for any type of cancer in which HIF plays a role. They used kidney cancer as a model because it is one of the most resistant tumors to the conventional radiation and chemotherapy, but their findings provide a novel concept that could potentially serve as a foundation for smarter anti-cancer strategy for a wide variety of cancers.

http://www.ecancermedicalscience.com/news-insider-news.asp?itemId=475

MITHIL CHOKSHI
SECTION # 501

Lower the Risk of Esophageal Cancer

This article discussed the correlation between esophageal cancer and the temperature of a beverage. It was talking about tea, but it said that it was not specific to the drink, but the temperature of the drink. According to the study published in the British Medical Journal; they found that people who drank their beverage with in two minutes of pouring increase their chances greatly of getting esophageal cancer. The drink was more than 158 degrees Fahrenheit. Parts of China, Japan and Iran have a higher rate of esophageal cancer; this is because in theses area tea consumption is a regular daily routine.

Drinking Very Hot Tea Could Lead to Esophageal Cancer

This article discussed the correlation between esophageal cancer and the temperature of a beverage. It said hot tea could be connected with cancer, but it was not specific to the beverage, but the temperature of the drink. According to the study published in the British Medical Journal; they found that people who drank their beverage with in two minutes of pouring increase their chances greatly of getting esophageal cancer. The drink was more than 158 degrees Fahrenheit. Parts of China, Japan and Iran have a higher rate of esophageal cancer; this is because in theses area tea consumption is a regular daily routine. It recomended waiting at least four minutes before drinking your beverage.

http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/health/2009/march/Drinking-Very-Hot-Tea-Could-Lead-to-Esophageal-Cancer.html

The most critical part of the Kidney transplant

At the end stage of chronic renal failure, the last option may be kidney transplant which is the replacement of working kidney in the place of failed kidney. A donor related by birth is the best donor or can receive a kidney from the compatible adult.

The most critical part of the kidney transplant is preventing rejection of the kidney graft. Different transplant center uses different drugs whose main function is to suppress the immune system. Like other medication, these drugs also have some side effects. Some of the most common immune-suppressing drugs used in transplantation are :
Cyclosporine:This drug interferes with communication between the T cells of the immune system. Common
Side effect include tremor, high blood pressure and kidney damage.
Corticosteroids: These drugs block T-cell communication as we. Side effects include osteoporosis, avascular necrosis, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, stomach ulcers, weight gain.
Azathioprine: This drug slows the production of T cells in the immune system. Common side effects include suppression of the bone marrow, which produces blood cells, and liver damage.

The period following transplant can be very stressful. The outcome for kidney transplant continues to improve with immune suppressing medication.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/kidney-transplant/DA00094

Sundeep

VTPP 435

Kidney Stones on the Rise in Adolescents

Doctors across the country have reported a dramatic increase in the number of cases of kidney stones in young patients. Reported cases have increased more than fivefold over the past two decades. One hospital in Philadelphia that saw a mere ten cases annually as recently as 2005 now treats five patients a week. Kidney stones, which have long been associated with older patients, have been reported in children as young as 8 months. Repeat occurrences are also increasing. An 8 year old from Pennsylvania has suffered through 4 bouts with the painful condition. As a result, he has given up some of his favorite foods that are high in salt and takes diuretic pills with lots of water daily. Nutrition is thought to play a major role in the production of kidney stones because excess salt in the diet correlates with high calcium levels in the urine. Drinking more water also helps dilute solutes in the urine. Doctors are unsure if the recent increase in reported cases is independent of advances in awareness and detection methods. They warn, however, that the presence of kidney stones can be a sign of underlying metabolic disorders that lead to growth problems and repeated occurrences. Therefore, it's important to take the condition seriously. The public should know that kidney stones are not limited to adults and are often a secondary result of a more serious health issue. Health professionals may not be able to do more than observe or help alleviate the condition itself, but following their advice to monitor salt and water intake can prevent the pain associated with kidney stones, often said to be worse than childbirth.

~Angie Burrer
Section 504
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jkTS8XTj2T8UowJf9nzjE_g2YAFQD975SLGO2

Beta-Blocking Bad Memories

Beta-blockers are currently used in medicine for management of cardiac arrhythmias, hypertension, and even heart attacks. According to a recent study, these little drugs could possibly add another application to that list—treatment of anxiety disorders. Clinical psychologist Merel Kindt from the University of Amsterdam suggests that beta-blockers have the ability to erase emotion of fearful memories. It is important to note that the actually memory has shown to linger, but the associated fear from that memory seems to be reduced if not wholly forgotten after taking the drugs. This outlandish claim seems to work by altering the way by which upsetting memories are stored in the brain. Experiments supporting this theory use pictures of spiders attended by an electric shock, supposedly eliciting a fearful memory of the image with that associated shock. A fraction of these patients were then given beta-blockers (in this specific experiment propranolol was used) while the other subjects were given a placebo. The next day, all patients were once again shown the picture of the spider. Amazingly, the patients that had been administered the beta-blocker had a “fear response” that was nearly eliminated in contrast to those who were given the placebo.

The promise of these results could lie in the treatment of anxiety disorders. I find this concept extremely interesting as this treatment could make peoples traumatic experiences more manageable, such as loss of a loved one, without completely erasing the memories associated with that pain. As with any new finding, more tests on how this drugs influences memory should first be conducted before it hits the streets as a way to alleviate anxiety disorders, but as beta-blockers are already used for other treatments, their impact on this field may not be far off.

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/40928/title/Beta-blockers_erase_emotion_of_fearful_memories

By Blake Cannon

Biological Brain

Kevin Warwick has invented a robot that does not perform very well, and can't execute a million calculations per second. What he has invented is a machine controlled by biological neurons. This extraordinary robot is completely controlled by rat neurons spread onto an array of electrodes that are attached to different outputs and inputs. It seems there is an innate response of neurons to link up and start communicating with each other.

The team at the University of Reading spread the rat neurons onto an array of electrodes and bathed them in a liquid containing essential nutrients and minerals. After about 20 minutes, the neurons had sufficiently connected with one and another and were ready to be placed in the robot. They then connected the electrodes to a set of two wheels and a sonar sensor.

Just like our eyes and ears, when the sonar sensor detects a wall approaching the electrode increases the number of electrical pulses per second to the "brain." These pulses then cause the neurons to depolarize and cause a response in the "brain." Once the robot gets the hang of the inputs and outputs (after about 3 weeks) it can successfully navigate around a closed box without bumping into walls. Pretty impressive for only a bunch of neurons. The more that the robot practices, the more that it learns how to use its inputs and outputs. The robot does not need to be limited to just one input. The sky is the limit, with possibilities such as X-ray detectors, geiger counter, even infrared.

Even though a fun toy, Warwick hopes that by understanding how the brain makes connections and handles input output and memory, he can get better insight into how our brains work and also how our brains work with certain neurological disorders.

Unfortunately, the robot's brain is alive, and after a couple of months the robot begins to act sluggish and unresponsive as it starts to end its mortal life. A sad end but amazing invention.


Cody Sanderson

http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/the_living_robot/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-0eZytv6Qk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wACltn9QpCc

Heart Failure Mortality Reduced with Relaxin

A recent study with heart failure patients with above normal blood pressure showed that introducing the naturally-occurring hormone Relaxin reduced mortality and shortness of breath.  Relaxin is naturally produced by pregnant women as a response to the increased stress brought on by pregnancy.  The study showed that shortness of breath as a result of heart failure could be reduced by 17% and cardiovascular-related death was reduced form 17% to 3%.  Furthermore the study showed that Relaxin was not related to any safety concerns and resulted in only positive results; this provides future studies with the ability to implement Relaxin in multiple ways to determine the best possible method.  In line with the results of the study, it was concluded that Relaxin could potentially be an important treatment agent for acute heart failure.

As cardiovascular related problems become more prevalent and common, the need to find efficient, effective, and safe treatments grows.  Relaxin is a great option; though it may be difficult to collect large amounts for use since it is naturally produced, the fact that it is natural provides ease of use and relative freedom of methodology.

Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/144252.php

Tony Boyle

Sect. 502

Male circumcision fends off the most common STDs

Scientists and researchers have found through study groups, male circumcision offers a slight protection against human papillomavirus infections, genital herpes and HIV. From a study of adult males and adolescent boys in Uganda, researchers have discovered that even though circumcision provides some protection, it does not protect fully, and they can still contract the disease. Scientists have related the HIV prevention to the prevention of genital herpes. A patient with ulcers in their genital area is more at a risk of contracting HIV than those with out. Researchers have also found that circumcision of males can also help females in protection against HPV. Results show that circumcised males are 60% less likely to contract HIV. Circumcision can lead to a surgical infection; however the positive odds largely out weigh the possible negative side effects.

Other benefits of circumcision are a reduction of urinary tract infections in men, and women whose partners are circumcised are less likely to have vaginal infections.

I found this article interesting and important because circumcision is so common in our western and European society that you do not think about the positive effects that it has caused. This also shows that there needs to be more educating information provided to the people of third world countries.

http://sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/42142/title/Male__circumcision_fends_off_the_most_common_STDs

Prion Protein and Alzheimers

New research suggests that the prion protein, normally responsible for diseases such as Mad Cow and Cruetzfeldt-Jakob disease, may be linked to the beta-amyloid protein, which is responsible for the dangerous plaque buildup seen in Alzheimers. Small clumps of beta-amyloid protein called oligomers are most likely the cause of the cell death affecting memory in the brain. The pressing question has been whether A-beta acts on the cell directly or acts on receptors in order to cause damage.

Scientists tested 225,000 proteins in mice for their ability to sense oligomers. Only one protein, the prion protein, bound to the dangerous oligomers while leaving the normal beta-amyloid plaques alone. Then the scientists proceeded to block the amino acids responsible for the binding of the prion protein to A-beta plaques, and the oligomers no longer had a negative effect on cell activity. This suggests that the prion is involved in the cell damage caused by oligomers in Alzheimers, which would lead to a new therapy of prion protein blocking in order to reduce the brain damage typically seen. Even though there are still endless questions associated with this discovery, like whether or not the prion protein works the same way in humans as it does mice, it is still one step towards the hope for a cure for Alzheimers.

Source:http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/41188/title/Prions_complicit_in_Alzheimer%E2%80%99s_disease

Alicia Raftery
VTPP 435-502

New Findings in Brain New Findings in Brain Development

Sculpting the Brain

An article in scientific America unveiled some startling research being done on how the convolutions in the brain take shape. These findings could assist in diagnosing and treatment of mental disorders ranging from autism to schizophrenia.

The cerebral cortex is elatively large in terms of surface area. This region is typically associated with higher order thinking involving, “perception, thought, emotion and action.” Because of its size, the only way it fits in the skull is the intricate folding and convolutions. This is the classic way of the body manipulating volume to get the most area in the smallest amount of space. Similar things occur through invaginations and numerous folds in certain organelle, i.e. mitochondria.

The article talks about discoveries that have been made throughout history as to the nature of these convolutions. Some early scientists believed in phrenology, studying the brain/skulls size and shape determines intelligence, a thought not really proven but still interesting. While others believed that the folds and convolutions came about by forces through out development.
One such scientist, Willhelm His, postulated that the “brain develops as a sequence of events guided by physical forces” (Hillgetag 66). Willhelm His was on the right track. Recently a neurobiologist named David Van Essen or Washington University in St. Louis came up with the hypothesis that nerve fibers connect many different regions of the cortex (allowing transregional communication), and produce forces that pull at the tissue. In a developing fetus, the brain grows and the fibers tether to the dendrites becoming “taught,” or stretched like a rubber band. As the brain grows the folds continue to take shape. By the time the baby is delivered the brain has gone from a smooth gelatinous mass to a convoluted folder lump of brain.

So what does all this mean? Well it gives scientists more insight into the development of one of the least understood enigmas of the body. It also gives direction to diagnostic and treatment of mental disorders. Another section of the article discussed how patients with autism and other mental disorders had varying folds in their brains. By understanding the brain, both in its workings and development, treatment of these diseases have the potential to be influenced for the better.

--andy

Yogurt!

Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium that lives in the stomach and the duodenum in humans and causes stomach ulcers, stomach cancer, gastritis and other digestive tract problems. Ulcers that come from this bacterium can easily be treated by antibiotics and acid suppressants. This treatment is easily accessible in the United States, but not so in poverty stricken countries, where millions are infected with H. pylori. Because of this fact, scientists have been actively pursuing a convenient, cost-effective solution that would be available to a vast majority of the population.

Hajime Hatta, Ph.D., a chemist at Kyoto Women's University in Kyoto, Japan has come up with a possible solution to this problem. H. pylori depends on a protein called urease to attach and infect the lining of the stomach. Hatta and colleagues decided to use this fact in an effort to solve the problem. They made a “vaccine” to the urease protein by injecting the protein into some chickens, whose immune systems then made antibodies, called IgY-urease. The researchers were able to take this antibody from the chicken eggs and put it into a delicious yogurt, theorizing that eating this simple yogurt would have the same effects as the more expensive treatment of antibiotics and acid suppressants.

Testing their theory, the scientists gathered 42 people that tested positive for H. pylori and divided them into a control group and a test group. The control group was given 2 cups of regular yogurt daily for four weeks, while the test group was given yogurt containing the antibody just as often. The scientists qualified the success of their experiment based on the levels of urea in the test subjects. They looked at levels of urea because it is a by-product of urease. Lower levels of urease would indicate decreased activity of bacteria. As they had hoped, the control group had higher levels of urea than the test group, indicating that the yogurt with the antibody was successful in inhibiting the bacterium from working with the urease protein to damage the stomach wall. The acidic environment of the stomach eventually killed the antibody, but not before it effected the protein-bacterium interaction.

If integrated into regular dietary routine, this yogurt could effectively lower the presence of H. pylori, thus reducing the prevalence of stomach ulcers in an economical way.
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47131
Staci Jessen 502

The Magic Touch

A team of European scientists at the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa, Italy has unveiled the first brain-controlled prosthetic hand.  The Cyberhand, as it is called, combines unprecedented mechanical dexterity with a advanced computer system developed to harness brain signals from the wearer, allowing him to move his hand and feel the hand as if it were his own.

The prosthetic is implemented in the wearer's lower arm and will act as an interpreter between man and machine, translating and moving electrical signals back and forth between the hand and the central nervous system.  This setup provides the wearer with sensory feedback from the Cyberhand.  The prosthetic has five independently moving fingers with a DC motor in each digit. 

I found this article very interesting because this is what I've wanted to do ever since I heard about biomedical engineering years ago.  This field of work is what made me want to be in biomedical engineering.

http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2006-03/magic-touch

Roadkill Study Could Speed Detection Of Kidney Cancer

Investigation of the genome of fruit flies has lead to an interesting discovery that could potential aid in the diagnosis and treatment of renal cell carcinoma. A team at the University of Chicago, led by Kevin White, has made a breakthrough involving the use of SPOP to confirm or rule out a diagnosis of renal cell carcinoma. In addition, it could potentially help determine the original source of cancers that have spread to other organs.

The study started by focusing on the “downstream effects” of two fruit fly genes known as Eve and Ftz. These genes control the early processes in the flies’ development. After looking through the network of genes directly affected by the the Eve and Ftz, which was 1074 and 1310 respectively, the study was able to narrow the total pool or directly affected genes down to 235. Ranking theses resulting genes with regards to their impact in fruit fly development, they found the CG9924 gene, also known as Roadkill, as the most important. The human equivalent of this gene, with about 80% similarity, is the SPOP gene.

As they looked into this gene, they found it not only had an effect on system development but played a role in human cancers as well. The study underwent a shift, focusing on genetics of human cancers. After screening tissue samples from 18 different tumor types, they found that renal cell carcinomas produced SPOP in higher amounts than normal kidney cells. During their investigation of renal cell cancer samples, they found that over 77% of the tissue samples were positive for high SPOP counts. In addition, all normal kidney samples were negative for SPOP. The most important finding was that 99 percent of clear cell renal cell carcinoma, a specific type of renal carcinoma, was positive for elevated levels of SPOP.

As noted, this finding plays an important role in diagnosis and treatment of renal cell carcinoma, as well as in identifying the primary tumor of metastatic cancers. I found this article interesting because it involved the renal system, a subject we’ve been discussing recently in class

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090127090725.htm

Shawn Schepel
VTPP 435 - 501

Nanotechnology Moves One Step Closer to Artificial Kidney

(Sorry about the previous post... here's the actual story)

Recently researchers have developed what they call a Human Nephron Filter (HNF). The HNF is a new technology that puts researchers one step closer to producing an artificial kidney, completely eliminating the need for dialysis or kidney transplantation Using this type of renal replacement therapy, the device would be used to mimic the functions of the kidneys, constanly in operation for the patient's needs.

The HNF operates 12 hours a day, seven days a week. It has a glomerular filtration rate of 30 ml/min, double that of hemodialysis which is administered three times a week. The device consists of two membranes operating in series within one device cartridge, while running on a simple 9-volt battery. The first membrane mimics the glomerulus, while the second mimics the function of the renal tubules. the membranes have 3 dimensional, flexible pores that relectively reabsorb eseential solutes such as sodium, calcium, and bicarbonate as well as water.

The initial prototype (Version 1.1) produced promising results as it was worn by uremic pigs. The urea clearence was 40 ml/min, and within 8 hours 15 g of urean and 1.83g of phosphate were removed form the system. Since the average human needs to remove 16 to 17 grams of urea every 24 hours, these results were "pretty good" according to the doctors.

Overall if in vitro and in vivo confirm that the HNF can completely mimic the role of kidney filtration function, it will hopefully one day improve patients' quality of life and outcomes.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/552804
http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?doi=10.1159/000085882
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/30109.php

Nanotechnology Moves One Step Closer to Artificial Kidney

Synthesized Blood

In three years, patients will be able to receive synthetic blood made from the stem cells of spare IVF embryos. The NHS Blood and Transplant, the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service and the Welcome Trust, are the organizations spearheading this effort. The main goal of this project is to be able to synthesize the o negative blood, the universal donor. Naturally this blood type is very rare so synthesizing it would be a major step forward in relieving blood banks. The benefit of this blood other than its supply is that it would disease free. It would have the chance of being contaminated with HIV, hepatitis, or other diseases transferred by transfusion.
However, with stem cell research comes controversy. Many ethical issues would be raised by this synthesized blood. First off many people do not believe in stem cell research as it is, so that poses one issue. Another issue would be that we would be using blood from someone that never existed. In theory though, this process would allow one embryo would be able to provide blood for an entire nation.

The project is being led by Marc Turner of Edinburgh Univerisity, and British are leading the wasy in this research. Other countries have also been doing research into this such as, Sweden, France, and Austrailia. Recently the United States has removed their ban on stem cell research expect them to catch up as well.

This project is interesting because it would solve a major problem in medicine. If their attempts to synthesize blood are successful, we no longer would have to rely on donors, and there would always be blood availble for transfusion. It would also eliminate the concern of contaminated blood during transfusion.


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/british-scientists-to-create-synthetic-blood-1651715.html

Safer Nanoparticles Spotlight Tumors and Deliver Drugs

Last semester we spent a lab day discussing quantum dots, their promise for the future as well as the negative aspects currently associated with them such as leaving potentially harmful heavy metals in the body. Recently a research team led by Dr. Michael Sailor at the University of California, San Diego has developed miniscule flakes of silicon that glow brightly, last long enough to slowly release cancer drugs, then break down into harmless by-products. Like the quantum dots these silicon flakes can illuminate tiny tumors or precisely delivering drugs, but are unique in the fact that they are the first luminescent nanoparticles purposely designed to minimize toxic side effects, meeting the growing need for non-toxic alternatives that have a chance to make it into clinical treatment for human patients.
Like the quantum dots that we studied, the newly designed, safer luminescent particles can reveal tumors too tiny to detect by other means or allow a surgeon to be sure all of a cancerous growth has been removed. These nanoparticles could also help deliver drugs safely, by delivering the drug directly to the tumor, and releasing them into the tumor rather than other parts of the body. Targeted delivery would also allow doctors to use smaller doses of the drug, thus minimizing toxicity effects.
The ability for these safer nanoparticles to glow is a very useful property, but is also most commonly achieved by including toxic organic chemicals or quantum dots. When the researchers tested their safer nanoparticles in mice, (the first study to image tumors and organs using biodegradable silicon nanoparticles in live animals!) they saw tumors glow for several hours, then dim as the particles broke down. The levels dropped noticeably in a week and were undetectable after four weeks.This article was published in Feb 2009 on the Biomedical Engineering website EurekAlert, and can be found at http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-02/uoc--sns021809.php

Smell of Fear

Recent studies done at Rice University may have found that the "smell of fear" may be more than just an old saying. Denise Chen of Rice's psychology department has recently published work showing that humans may in fact react to the smells emitted by frightened humans in their surrounding.

One of the many ways in which organisms communicate with one another is through the use of
"pheromones". Hormonal chemicals emitted outside the body to relay messages to other members of the same species. Biologist E.O. Wilson discovered in the 1960s that ants taste and smell substances that evaporate from the chemicals laid down by other ants. When threatened ants will release alarm pheromones into the air that expand in a circle of smell. Ants can then determine the concentration of the pheromone to determine the proximity of the source of danger.

Dr. Chen, speculated that humans may have a similar mechanism in sweat, and so to test this hypothesis researchers collected sweat samples from male subjects watching a series of horror films. These samples were then slipped under the nostrils of female volunteers as they viewed a series of faces with happy to ambiguous to fearful facial expressions. The women were then tasked to indicate whether the face was happy or fearful on a computer.

Researchers found that the women subjects exposed to the smell of fear were unaffected in their interpretations of discernible facial expressions, but showed a bias towards "fearful" when it came to the ambiguous. As Dr. Chen explains of the findings, “Our findings provide direct behavioral evidence that human sweat contains emotional meanings and that social smells modulate vision in an emotion-specific way."

While further research is needed into the impacts of smell on emotional processing, it does provide added evidence of the prevalence of the sense of smell in human function; especially when the more dominant senses are weak.

Sources:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090306142536.htm

Statin Reduces Risk of Blood Clots

During the circulatory physiology part of the class we discussed embolisms and the ways in which they are treated. Many of the drugs taken to reduce the occurrence of embolisms are anti-coagulants. While these work well they inherently carry the risk of causing the body to be unable to stop internal and external hemorrhages effectively. These statin drugs (such as Crestor), previously designed for regulation of cholesterol, have been shown to reduce the risk of of heart attack and hemorrhagic stroke. This is nothing ground-breaking in and of itself, but these drugs also eliminate the serious side effect of the other clot-preventing drugs on the market in that they do not inhibit the body's clotting ability. This could eliminate the need for powerful anti-coagulant drugs such as warfarin which carry serious risk of internal bleeding.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7971414.stm

Variations in blood circulation immediately visible with fast camera

The ability to detect, diagnosis, and quantify minuscule to severe variations in blood circulation in real time has been impossible in previous imaging devices. Researchers in the Netherlands have overcome this lack in efficiency. TOPCam is a new optical perfusion camera that prides itself with the speed at which it displays its image. The device gives an immediate impression of the condition of the vascular bed to which it is focused. This is very beneficial when assessing tissues that have been burned, subject to occlusion after a transplant, or belong to diabetics. A broad laser beam is used to simultaneously illuminate the entire skin area under investigation. The laser is synced with a high speed camera which collects the laser light scattered by moving red blood cells. This allows for variation in resolution of the pixels as a result of the Doppler Effect. The scientists have figured out how to make more efficient use of CPU memory which has allowed them to transfer all of the gathered data to the computer in real time. The device can also continuously record blood circulation in any part of the body, show average blood circulation at any point, and give precise measurements of blood circulation in the various parts of the heart.

http://www.utwente.nl/nieuws/pers/en/cont_09-027_en.doc/

Tinnitus cure a step closer

Tinnitus is the perception of sound within the human ear in the absence of corresponding external sound. Tinnitus is not itself a disease but a symptom resulting from a range of underlying causes. Causes include ear infections, foreign objects or wax in the ear, nose allergies that prevent (or induce) fluid drain and cause wax build-up, and injury from loud noises. Tinnitus is also a side-effect of some oral medications, such as aspirin and may also result from an abnormally low level of serotonin activity. Recent studies have shown that hearing loss can go hand-in-hand with over-excitable nerves within brain areas that process sound.This raises the hope of treatment by silencing nerve activity. In the latest study, researchers at the University of Western Australia studied what was happening inside the brain and found increased activity in nerves in the auditory brainstem where sounds are processed. This was linked to changes in the genes involved in regulating the activity of the nerve cells. For treatment to occur, it is necessary and crucial to identify the genes associated with the spontaneous nerve activity. It will then be possible to synthesize drugs to treat the condition. This is one mroe example of the importance of understanding the genome and utilizing gene therapy to alleviate otherwise incurable diseases.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7959785.stm

Video Games May Actually Be Good For the Eyes

A new study from the University of Rochester has found that contrary to conventional wisdom, playing video games may actually be good for one's eyes. Specifically, researchers showed that contrast sensitivity was improved. Contrast sensitivity is a very useful in activities where one must be aware of quick changes small changes in the shades of grey. The most obvious example of this is night driving. Old age as well as amblyopia (lazy eye) are two cases in which the contrast sensitivity is detriment. It was believed that neither could be corrected once adulthood was reached without some form of surgery.

But now, there appears to be hope for a therapy. The study used several types of video games, but in the end found that fast intense action ones as opposed to non-action were the most beneficial to contrast sensitivity tests. Daily treatments to play action video games were given over a long period of times. The study showed a definite trend of improvement to contrast sensitivity. It is believed that the fast action and need to noticed and react to small changes on the screen are the culprits for the improvement. The need to focus with using both eyes together train the whole system to work more effectively, reversing the damage previously done. The study shocked the researchers around the world, and should lead to future studies. Researchers are hoping to implement a therapy quickly that calls for the daily use of action video games. The study, though taking only a small sample group, was apparently very well done, and is thus gaining interest in the scientific community.

BBC

Urine Protein Analysis Can Detect Kidney Rejection in Transplant Patients

More than 50% of kidney transplants fail over time. This is obviously a very high number, and kidney failure can be life threatening. Currently, the only method that is available to predict whether the transplanted kidney is being rejected or not is to get a very invasive kidney biopsy. There are generally two ways of kidney rejection: interstitial fibrosis/tubular atrophy & chronic antibody-mediated rejection. While both of these conditions will lead to kidney dysfunction, they have very different outcomes. It is important to identify which type of rejection it is, so that doctors can accurately treat the patient with the correct immunosuppressive therapy.

A new study indicates that the analysis of the urine can be critical to understanding which type of failure is occurring. In this study, the researchers were able to correctly predict which type of rejection was occurring 100% of the time. While this study only included fifty people, the results are very impressive. The researchers would analyze the protein in the urine and were able to determine which rejection it was based on the type of protein that they found in that urine. There should be no protein in the urine in a healthy individual, so that is the first clue that there is kidney rejection. However, without knowing which type of rejection it is, it is very difficult to treat the patient appropriately.

I found this article interesting because it made a lot of sense to me. When the blood gets filtered at the glomerulus, it has three barriers that it needs to cross: the capillary endothelium, a basal lamina, and the epithelium of Bowman’s capsule. Under normal circumstances, proteins will not even be able to penetrate the first barrier, the capillary endothelium. While this endothelium is fenestrated, it is not large enough to let proteins through. The next two barriers are even smaller. Perhaps the difference in the proteins that the researchers are finding in the urine is their size. The different types of rejections will destroy these three barriers to a different degree, allowing different sizes of proteins to pass through. The researchers can identify these proteins and noninvasively diagnose the mode of rejection. While this study is very promising, a more wide scaled study needs to be performed to confirm these results.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081126215256.htm

Protein in Everyday Peas Help Fight High Blood Pressure and Chronic Kidney Disease

Research out of Canada has found that proteins found in everyday garden peas are surprisingly providing a natural remedy to fight high blood pressure and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Dr Rotimi Aluko, a food chemist at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada is the leader behind this research. CKD is a disease that affects 26 million people in the US. It is a tough disease to treat and usually leads to end stage kidney disease, forcing patients to be on dialysis or get a transplant. Peas, for a long time, have been known to be very healthy foods, high in protein, fiber, and vitamins. They are also low-fat. Researchers believe that peas can prevent or delay the onset of kidney disease. Tests were done on rats and after eight weeks the diseased rat being fed proteins from the peas had a 20% lower BP compared to the diseased rat on a normal diet. Luckily the rats showed no side-effects from the extra pea proteins in their diet. Many are speculating how the proteins help CKD but some believe it increases your production of cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1). COX-1 helps improve kidney function. Although this theory is speculated, it has yet to be proven. Future plans could be a pill form of the protein extract or a powder to put in food and drinks.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/143262.php

Lance Wyatt - 501

The Avery Breathing Pacemaker

The breathing pacemaker is a device that consists of surgically implanted receivers, electrodes, and an external transmitter with antennas worn directly over the receivers. The transmitter and antennas send radio waves to the implanted receivers, which then convert the radio waves into simulating pulses. The pulses then are relayed down the electrodes to the phrenic nerves, causing the diaphragm to contract. The contraction of the diaphragm causes inhalation of air. When the pulses cease, the diaphragm relaxes and exhalation occurs. Repetition of this produces a normal breathing pattern. A breathing pacemaker is capable of providing ventilatory support for patients with chronic respiratory insuffiency whose major breathing mechanisms have residual function. Generally, these are patients with high spinal cord injuries, central sleep apnea, central neurological disorders, or a paralyzed diaphragm. I found this device intriguing, because it offers hope of a more normal life to individuals who once relied solely on a mechanical ventilator. Also, the design of this pacemaker allows for superior respiratory function over mechanical ventilators, because it draws air into the lungs under negative pressure(the normal method), rather than having air forced into the chest under positive pressure. The breathing pace maker is a relatively simple approach to a serious problem, and is capable of drastically improving the life of those who need it.
http://www.averylabs.com/breathing-pacemakers/introduction.html

Medical Scan Sensitivity Boosted

A new technique that uses the fuel which powers the space shuttle could improve medical scans by making them much more sensitive. The technique developed by researchers of the University of York increased the sensitivity of the scans by 1000 times and speeded up the process. It would take the standard method 100 hours to obtain the same amount of information the new technique generates in one second. This new technique may also increase the range of conditions that can be studied using an MRI. This means that it has the potential to help doctors make faster and more accurate diagnosis for many different medical conditions. The development of this technique can also make possible for an MRI to be used in the detection of a larger range of molecules in the body and in much smaller concentrations than previously possible. The technique works by interacting parahydrogen with a specially designed molecular field to create molecules that can be detected easily by MRI scans. Usually, MRI scanners work by measuring information from hydrogen atoms found in the water and fat contained in the body's tissues. However, the new technique can also measure data from the carbon-based molecules, which are the building blocks of the tissues. Lead researcher Professor Gary Green said: "Our method has the potential to help doctors make faster and more accurate diagnoses in a wide range of medical conditions. The technique could ultimately replace current clinical imaging technologies that depend on the use of radioactive substances or heavy metals, which themselves create health concerns."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7965364.stm

Autism Study Finds Significant Benefit With Hyperbaric Treatment

A new autism study gives help to autistic children. Physician Daniel Rossignol, M.D., treats children with autism. He has treated his patients with hyperbaric oxygen treatment with good results. With this background, he conducted the first large scale, double-blind, controlled study to examine its effectiveness.
Hyperbaric therapy traditionally involves inhaling up to 100% oxygen at a pressure greater than 1 atmosphere (atm) in a pressurized chamber. Dr. Rossignol and colleagues studied 62 children, aged 2-7 years, to assess the efficacy of hyperbaric treatment in children with autism.Their results show that children with autism who received hyperbaric treatment at 1.3 atmospheres and 24% oxygen for 40 hourly sessions had significant improvements in overall functioning, receptive language, social interaction, eye contact, and sensory/cognitive awareness compared to children who received slightly pressurized room air.
The children were randomly assigned to either 40 hours of hyperbaric treatment at 1.3 atm and 24% oxygen (treatment group) or slightly pressurized room air at 1.03 atm and 21% oxygen (non-treatment group). Dr. Rossignol said, "In our study, we observed significant improvements in several core autistic behaviors with the use of hyperbaric therapy at 1.3 atm compared to children receiving near-placebo treatment.
These findings confirm what we are seeing in clinical practice--that many children with autism may benefit with the use of this treatment."Director of the International Hyperbarics Association, Shannon Kenitz, said, "With autism on the rise, it is promising to see a study that has been conducted with the high standards endorsed by the medical community.
Having this scientifically controlled and analyzed study that shows the positive effects of hyperbarics is truly what this community has needed. The study not only presents the benefit of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for children with autism, but also gives families the hope that so many other therapies have failed to do."Autism specialist Kyle Van Dyke commemted, "The impact of this study on the autism community is significant. It brings validity to a successful intervention that needs to become part of mainstream medicine.”
This article is very good news for those with autism. This is one of the most promising studies in the recent development of treatment.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/143740.php

Closed Heart Surgery

The major drawbacks of open heart surgery result from the surgery being "open" and Dr. Sudhir P. Srivastava from Saint Joseph's Hospital in Atlanta has reduced these drawbacks by keeping the procedure closed. Dr. Srivastava is a world leading cardiothoracic surgeon and performed the first-in-Georgia beating heart, completely endoscopic coronary artery bypass surgery on March 20. Because of how well the procedure went, the patient was released two days later versus the traditional five to seven day hospital stay. The surgery is done through four or five dime-sized incisions instead of opening the entire chest and results in less trauma to the body, a decrease in the risk of infection and a reduction in the time it takes the patient to recover. This procedure was done with robotic assistance as Dr. Srivastava is an experienced cardiac robotic surgeon and has done many of the world's robotic firsts. This approach to heart surgery provides the patient with the choice of closing his or her surgery in hopes of making the entire process quicker and safer.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/143887.php

Brittany Sanchez

VTPP 435-502

Beta-Blockers Erase Emotion of Fearful Memories

Beta-blockers are already taken by patients with heart conditions, however new research shows that beta-blockers can help in a totally different way. These drugs can wipe away emotions a person has with a frightful memory. The hope is that these drugs can be used on patients with Post-Traumatic Stress Dissorder, or PTSD, not by wiping out the patients fearful memory but by dulling their response to the memory when they recall it.
The study that scientist chose to do was show subjects who are scared of spiders a photograph of a spider. These patients displayed anxiety by recalling a fearful memory associated with the image. Later these subjects were given a beta-blocker , propranolol, while others were given a placebo pill. 24 hours later the subjects were once again showed the image of the spider and the group that had taken the beta-blockers fear response had been greatly reduced. The hypothosis was that the fear associated with the spider had been erased because of the beta-blockers.
Scientist believe that the beta-blockers work by altering the way the frightful memory is stored in the brain. Every time a memory is recalled it changes a little and the new version is placed in the long term memory part of the brain by a process called reconsolidation. It is thought that the beta-blockers block the reconsolidation of the emotional part of the memory, while leaving the memory itself present.
The downfall of this is that not only would the frightful memories of patients with anxiety disorders be dulled but so would the happy and sad ones. This is not thought to be a huge deal researchers say because people with anxiety disorders are not thinking about happy memories, but rather they are obsessed with the frightful ones.

http://sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/40928/title/Beta-blockers_erase_emotion_of_fearful_memories

Vitamin E Shields Lungs from Smog Effects

Smog consists of a high concentration of ozone, O3, which causes many people to have shortness of breath or wheezing. Chronic exposure to ozone raises a person’s risk to develop fatal lung disease according to a recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine. There is hope, however, as this week researchers reported that diet can affect how lungs respond to specific air pollutions such as ozone.

Specifically, gamma-tocopherol, or the other vitamin E, can help guard lungs from the affects of smog. This is part of a family of tocopherols, organic compounds that contain methylated phenols and are lipid-soluble antioxidants. Vegetable oil, fish, and whole grains are some sources of vitamin E. Vitamin E itself actually contains a mix of tocopherols and tocotrienols with gamma-tocopherol as the top compound that fights inflammation. Since the ozone in smog triggers inflammation that damages lung tissue, this is key.

In a study conducted by James Wagner of Michigan State University, rats were given a large dose of gamma-tocopherol which prevented aggravation caused by ozone of the following: allergic airway disease, mucus production, nasal allergy symptoms, and asthma. In the rats that had allergic airway disease, the large amount of gamma-tocopherol prevented almost all of the respiratory symptoms that ozone typically worsens.

The danger of allergic airway disease is inflammation. When inflammatory eosinophils, a specific type of white blood cell, enter the tissue just beneath the surface of airways the tissue gets extremely inflamed.

Another study conducted by Wagner consisted of one group of animals exposed only to ozone and one group exposed to high amounts of endotoxin, a toxin released by bacteria when it lysed, then exposed to ozone. In these animals lungs’, neutrophils, another type of white blood cell, infiltrated the tissue of the airways instead of the eosinophils. When those animals were treated with 30 mg each day of gamma-tocopherol in the four days before the ozone but after the endotoxin exposure, the neutrophil infiltration seen was almost equivalent to the inflammation seen in the animals that were exposed to the ozone alone.

Qing Jiang of Purdue University and Bruce Ames of Children’s Hospital of Oakland Research Institute have found that gamma-tocopherol inhibits key enzymes that start a cascade to allow inflammation. These enzymes are cyclooxygenases 1 and 2, called COX-1 and COX-2. As some may know, inhibition of these enzymes is how ibuprofen stops inflammation.

However, Wagner’s research found that diet alone could not provide the 0.7 to 2 grams of gamma-tocopherol per day needed to produce the same results. Soybean oil, a rich source of gamma-tocopherol, provides only 80 mg of the compound per 100 g of oil. Thus, if lung protection is to be achieved, it must be through dietary supplements.

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/41877/title/Science_%2B_the_Public__Vitamin_E_shields_lungs_from_smog_effects

Hepatitis-C Virus met Hemopurifier

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/143735.php

In Fortis Hospital in Delhi, India, studies confirm that a medical device made by Aethlon proved by clinical studies that Aethlon Hemopurifier is capable of curing HCV(Hepatitis-C Virus) because of it's capabilities in assisting the immune response in combating infectious disease through therapeutic filtration of viruses. The device stops viral replication and removing toxic proteins from the Hepatitis-C virus, that then kills it and preserves immune cells.

Most of the studies were conducted in highly health compromised HCV infected patients who suffer from end-stage renal disease (ESRD) requiring regular kidney dialysis treatment. A data indicates that an average of viral reduction is 41% during a four-hour use of Hemopurifier. Because HCV is one of the leading cause of chronic liver disease and liver transplants to about 180 million people in the world of approximately 3% of the world's population. This way, the studies evaluate that Aethlon Hemopurifier is quite effective because other treatments created side effects to people such as fatigue, bone marrow suppression, anemia, and neuropsychiatric effects. As a result, Hemopurifier is positioned to benefit from the current intefron-riboflavin therapies. Therefore, it's a good product if further improved that indicated a good outcome that for patients that are HCV infected.

-Perryl Libardo
504

Freezing Kidney Cancer: Hot Treatment Should Be New Gold Standard For Destroying Small Tumors

This article is about a cancer treatment therapy for kidney tumors that are at most 4 centimeters in size. The reason this article was worth mentioning is because it has been 100% effective in removing the tumor. The treatment is called interventional cryoablation. Also, eliminating cancer at such an early stage is truly significant news for kidney cancer patients. The appealing aspect about interventional cryoablation is that it is minimally invasive, and is a viable option for patients that want to avoid surgery. Interventional cryoablation, which uses imaging to pinpoint tumors and probes to penetrate the skin to deliver freezing cold directly to a diseased tumor. The procedure is also very apealing because there are many patients out there that cannot undergo anesthesia, have borderline kidney function, may only have one kidney or multiple recurring tumors. The minimally invasive nature of interventional cryoablation means that it can be performed with minimal blood loss and without an incision, just a tiny hole in the skin. The interventional radiology treatment translates into significantly less pain, a shorter hospital stay and more rapid recovery.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090309092830.htm

Cancer Breakthrough in Canines May Lead to a Cure for Their Best Friend

At the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society it was announced that a promising drug had been tested in four dogs successfully for various types of cancers. This new drug called nitrosylcobalamin (NO-Cbl) effectively reduced the tumor size of aggressive cancers including anal xac adenocarcinoma, spinal tumors, and inoperable thyroid carcinoma as well as giving the animal additional time to live a better life with no negative side effects. This not only gives hope to dog owners, but also cancer patients for a new cancer treatment.

Since six million dogs are diagnosed with cancer every year, they provide researchers an excellent opportunity to experiment with the most recent cancer treatment drugs when all other treatments fail and the last option is euthanasia. The National Cancer Society receives the data from the trails with canines since they are exposed to the same environment as humans and thus have similar responses to drugs. Further reason for using dogs is that they share genetic similarities with humans.

Nitrosylcobalamin enters cancer cells like a "Trojan horse." It targets the cancer cells because cancer cells have more B12 receptors than normal cells to allow them to grow at a rapid rate. Nitric oxide molecules are attached to vitamin B12. The B12 acts as the Trojan horse, allowing nitric oxide to enter the cancer cell at high toxic levels, thus killing the cell from within.

Bauer plans to have a success rate of ten dogs and work on getting NO-Cbl approved for human use by the FDA. He also wants to have the drug approved for canine treatment as well.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090323143856.htm

Heart Bypass Surgery Better Than Angioplasty For Certain Patients

Undergoing an operation is no trivial task, and it’s one that most of us would like to avoid unless absolutely necessary. It is unpleasant, and also brings with it inherent risks. This has especially been the case with cases such as open heart bypass surgery, which will require a stay in ICU and a long, arduous recovery time. Unfortunately, it now seems that one procedure, coronary artery bypass, might be more essential for patients with coronary artery disease who have diabetes or are over 65 years old, according to a Stanford study.

For the average person with multiple vessel coronary artery disease, the long term survival rates are very similar for patients who undergo bypass surgery vs. those who undergo coronary angioplasty, a much easier and less invasive operation. Naturally then, most would rather have a stent put in than have bypass surgery if given the choice. However, a recent study from Stanford University Medical Center shows that this is not the case for older patients or those with diabetes. For patients with diabetes, the five year mortality rate for those with a bypass graft is 12%, but jumps to 20% for the patients who only received a stent. These results could greatly influence decision making of doctors and possibly prompt them to suggest a bypass when before they would have suggested a stent. The incidence of coronary artery disease is rising, and already requires over 100 billion in medical costs a year.

With so many cases a year, decisions made on the best course of treatment can have a significant economic impact on the medical industry, but more importantly they can have a huge impact on the quality of human life. Almost a million operations are done a year on patients with coronary artery disease, so an eight percent increase in survival after five years would mean the world to so many family members and loved ones. It is important that the possible outcomes are well known to everyone so that doctors can make the most informed decisions on which course of treatment is best, and survey results can be important in the process.


Author/Source: Stanford University Medical Center

Posted By Brian Bass
VTPP 435-502

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/143127.php

Sad News for Lazy People

In LiveScience’s “Robot Madness”, Jeremy Hsu points out the differences in true artificial intelligence and robotic AI (ie, formal logic). For many people, this particular issue may crush their hopes of having robot butlers that do everything for them. Currently, there are robots that do pretty cool things, like sort through thousands of pages of information quickly or play chess, but trying to program and teach one to fetch you something from the refrigerator is a completely different story. Hsu states that the fundamental problem in creating a “robot Jeeves” is connecting abstract logic with real-world meanings like “beer” and “fridge handle”. Some of the things that robots need to be able to learn to complete these types of tasks (don’t crush the can, differentiate between cans in the fridge, don’t drop the drink into someone’s lap, etc) can only be done by replicating the human perception that we use to learn. Obviously, that would take painfully complicated logic, and even then would not be as useful as having an actual person complete the task. Another problem that scientists have encountered with robots is their inability to see the world as well as humans (colors, shadows, objects): another hindrance that prevents the creation of a completely independent robot. Robotics expert Chad Jenkins from Brown University has excelled in this field with his robots that read and obey non-verbal commands. Using hand gestures, Jenkins’ team coded a bomb-disposal PackBot (normally controlled by a human soldier)to obey gesture commands to halt, wait, follow, and door breach. In the future, Jenkins hopes to create a PackBot that could be “trained” by a soldier to follow gestures and remember them. Although this sort of research can easily lead to one person being able to control a team of robots to perform specific tasks, researchers still have quite a way to go before robots can do very human tasks without any human supervision or guidance.

http://www.usnews.com/articles/science/technology/2009/03/18/robot-madness-creating-true-artificial-intelligence.html

Obesity danger 'rivals smoking'

Keeping pounds off may be easier
than losing weight once it is gained

Oxford experts are warning that being obese can shorten your life span by a decade and could be as dangerous as smoking for your lifetime. The researchers took data from a million people around the world based on their BMI (Body Mass Index). BMI is calculated by taking a person's mass in kilograms and diving by the square of their height in meters. A BMI of 30 or above is considered to be obese. This is useful in determining the level at which an excess of body fat becomes a health risk. The researchers discovered that about 1 in 4 citizens of the UK are moderately obese (BMI above 30). Being overweight is a problem since it increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. This could become a rival of smoking since people may start dying of obesity-related deaths before smoking-related diseases, like cancer, can perpetrate. They argue that smoking has a 100 percent health risk associated with it, and is 100 percent preventable. The increasing number of overweight people in world is starting to cause more deaths than those related to smoking, like cancer. To prevent this, the researchers believe that it is easier to keep the weight off while in the middle ages than try to lose the weight once it has been put on, especially later in life. It has been discovered that carrying only about 10-15 pounds of extra weight can shorten a life span by 3 years. Overall, the researchers suggest that people around the world attempt to eat better and exercise more, as well as not smoke, in order to prevent a shortened life.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7946290.stm

Nicotine in Brain and Muscle Receptors

The nicotine receptors in the brain and muscles are almost exactly identical, so why does nicotine show a much higher affinity for the receptors in the brain than the ones in muscle cells? As it turns out, a single amino acid makes all the difference.

The brain receptor has a lysine molecule near the “box” region of the receptor (the part that actually grabs the incoming molecule), while a muscle receptor sports a glycine molecule. When CalTech scientists removed the muscle receptor’s glycine and replaced it with the lysine molecule, the muscle receptor’s conformation was altered just enough to accept the nicotine molecule.

It is actually a very good thing that nicotine has a low affinity for muscle cells: the body’s response to receiving nicotine in the nicotinic receptors of the neuromuscular junction is to open ion channels and depolarize the muscle cells, causing them to contract. The continued presence of nicotine keeps the ion channels open, preventing the muscle cell from relaxing, effectively paralyzing it. This could cause respiratory paralysis, as has been seen in cases of excessive nicotine levels, beyond that of what one would normally ingest through normal smoking.

This research is interesting because it has implications not just in medical ways to help smokers quit, but in other diseases where receptor problems are suspected or known, such as Alzheimer’s, autism, Parkinson’s and schizophrenia.

http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2009/302/2

Dee Silverthorn, Human Physiology, An Integrated Approach (4th Ed).

New Therapy may Improve Autistic Behaviors in Children

A new therapy is being tested as a treatment for autism in children. The use of a decompression chamber with elevated levels of oxygen has shown marked improvements in many subjects.

The most recent study was held in six centers in the United States and treated 62 children all between the ages of two and seven, and all with autism. These children, chosen randomly, were assigned to either a hyperbaric treatment of 24% oxygen and increased atmospheric pressure of 1.3 atm or to a treatment of slightly pressurized room air (1.03 atm), the latter being the control group. Over the span of one month the children were treated in 40 one-hour sessions.

At the end of the study it was conclusive that the children treated with higher oxygen and pressure, showed significant improvements in social interaction, receptive language, eye contact, cognitive awareness and overall function when compared with the children in the control group. The theory behind the study involves the reduction of inflammation and increase in oxygen flow to the brain when under higher pressure. The study did not however, show whether the effects would be long-lasting.

Unfortunately, some see the study as inconclusive because oxygen has been used to treat other neurological conditions and symptoms, so the improved response could be a side effect of something else being treated not necessarily autism. Although not a cure, this $14-17,000 treatment could significantly improved the behaviors and quality of life of thousands of children with autism once it is determined which children respond the most to this new technique.


http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2431/9/21/abstract

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7940149.stm