British Scientists Create First Artificial Stomach!

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

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

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

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

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

Human Stem Cell Research Allowed in South Korea

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

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

Artificial pancreatic beta cell

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Swine Flu"

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

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

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

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

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


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



Matthew Heintschel
VTPP 435-501

Safer Ventilator Prevents Contamination from Water Condensation

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

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

Government injecting veterans with cocaine for drug addiction research

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

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

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

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


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

Bleach Baths Lead to Relief for Eczema Patients

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

New Anti-Addiction Drug

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

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

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

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

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

Items used in laundry might be used for yourself

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

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

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

-Perryl Libardo
VTTP 435-501

Fatty Foods Offer "Memory Boost"

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

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

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

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

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

-Shawn Schepel
VTPP 435-501

Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICDs)

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



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

Anterograde Amnesia

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

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

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

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

Bionic Eye

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

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

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

Source:

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

Sundeep Sharma

VTPP 435

Advances Expand Kidney Transplants

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

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

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

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

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

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

VTPP 435-502

Brittany Sanchez

"Autoantibodies" May Be Created In Response To Bacterial DNA

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

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

A Runny Nose and Cardiac Arrest

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

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

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

Amy Oliver

Bier mir!

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

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

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

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

'Silent' heart attack prevalence revealed with new imaging technology

'Silent' heart attack prevalence revealed with new imaging technology

Published: Wednesday, 22-Apr-2009

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Margaret Shaughnessy

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

The Ex Vivo Lung

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

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

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

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

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

Cody Sanderson

How scratching can stop an itch

Scientist believe that the know why scratching an itch may cause relief. It appears to them as though when you feel an itch, and scratch it, you are blocking activity in some spinal cord nerve cells. The interesting thing with this theory and their research is that they've found it to only be true when there was an itch to itch.

Based off previous research the scientist were able to focus in on the spinothalamic tract, which is a specific part of the spinal cord that they believe plays a key role on itchiness, and relief of it.

Professor Gil Yosipovitch, an expert on itching, said that the findings could be very significant, as it can help people that suffer from chronic itch.

What's interesting to me is that something that most of us think of as rather simple, like scratching an itch, turns out to be a very complicated physiological process. What I find funny is that there is a professor that claims to be an expert on itching. But what is especially interesting, is that scratching an irriation, like an itch, results in relief. But scratching a painful thing, does not result in relief, even though both sensations travel through the same pathway.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7976606.stm

New Malaria Detection Method

In Scotland, at the University of Glasgow, researchers have developed a device that can actually detect the presence of the malaria in a blood sample. The device, which is being called a microchip, detects the disease within a matter of minutes. Malaria, which is believed to kill between 1 to 3 million people each year, is a dangerous disease which is caused by 4 different types of malaria parasites. The disease is often transmitted through mosquitos, and causes flu like symptoms with high fevers and shaking chills. In non-third world countries, malaria is often not considered in the differential and the ailment is left undiagnosed. With the increase of international travel however, cases of the most deadly strain of malaria have gone up, leaving many to die due to the wrong diagnosis. This is were the new device comes in. By quickly and conveniently checking for malaria, the hope is to accurately diagnose the patients and get them on the correct treatment as soon as possible. The old method required taking a blood sample and examining it under a microscope. Not only did this increase the possibility for misdiagnosis due to human error, but it also took a long time to examine each sample. The microchip on the other hand is all automatic, requiring only a small blood sample and then quickly returning a result without the chance of human error. When a patient is given the correct anti-malarial drugs, a full recovery can be expected. By decreasing the cost and time for diagnoses, fewer patients will be given the wrong treatment, and death rates will decrease.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8015241.stm

Blood Testing, Mosquito Style

Electrical engineers from the Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary have patented a skin patch that is a less invasive way for diabetics to monitor their glucose levels. The device is called the Electronic Mosquito and is a patch the size of a deck of cards. Currently, the device contains four micro-needles that draw blood at different times from nearby capillaries without hitting nerves that normally cause the pain response in current methods. This patch can be worn anywhere on the body, as long as it can gain accurate readings from the capillaries. Sensors within the device measure sugar levels and send the information via wireless transmission to a remote device and can warm the patient or doctor when levels become dangerous.

The engineers still want to make improvements to the device. In its current design of four micro-needles, the patch must be changed at least once daily. They want to make the components of the device smaller to be able to add more needles to the patch, allowing the the patient to wear the patch longer and/or test their glucose levels more frequently. Eventually the engineers would like to integrate an insulin pump system so that the device can act as an artificial pancreas based on the Electronic Mosquito's data.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090424114218.htm

Young boy runs with help from prosthetics

Cameron Lutges is a seven-year-old boy who had his legs amputated above the knee when he was only 10 months old.  At the age of 1 he was given his first pair of prosthetics, and ever since then he has been fitted with various legs every year to support his balance.  These prosthetics worked well in the aspect of balance and walking but they didn’t provide the amount of mobility he desired for his running adventures.  But on Monday, he received prosthetics which changed all of that.  Prosthetist Michael Davidson and his team at the Loma Linda University Medical Center Orthotics and Prosthetics Department designed and built the running legs, which gives Cameron more flexibility and spring than ever before. The cost of the limbs was underwritten by the Challenged Athletes’ Foundation, a San Diego-based non-profit based company which helps people with physical disabilities pursue active lifestyles.

I would love to do this kind of work. I would love to help people resume (or start like in the case of Cameron) their active lifestyles and design prosthetics for them which feel and act like the real thing or act even better than their old limbs.  

http://www.the-signal.com/news/article/12335/

Genetic source of rare childhood cancer found; gene is implicated in other cancers

The search for the cause of an inherited form of a rare, aggressive childhood lung cancer has uncovered important information about how the cancer develops and potentially sheds light on the development of other cancers.
The finding by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., the International Pleuropulmonary Blastoma Registry at Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, and other collaborating institutions adds the final link to the chain connecting the gene DICER1 to cancer development — something that had been suspected but until now not definitively demonstrated.
The study shows that some children with the rare cancer pleuropulmonary blastoma (PPB) are born with a deleterious mutation in DICER1.
"PPB is the first malignancy found to be directly associated with inherited DICER1 mutations, making the cancer an important model for understanding how mutations and loss of DICER1 function lead to cancer," says lead author D. Ashley Hill, M.D., chief of pathology at Children's National Medical Center. "Additionally, we now believe that PPB tumors arise from an unusual mechanism in which cells carrying mutations induce nearby cells to become cancerous without becoming cancerous themselves."
The researchers found that all the children studied with PPB carried damaging mutations in one of their DICER1 genes, giving them one functional and one nonfunctional DICER1 gene in all their body's cells. The researchers indicate that PPB lung tumors probably originate when one or more cells in the lung
They discovered that loss of DICER1 protein specifically in lung airway cells appears to deregulate signals to nearby cells and somehow causes those cells to transform into malignant cells. However, the cells with the loss of DICER1 do not progress to malignancy.
This is important because finding out how this gene is altered in cancer could possibly explain other types of cancer.

http://mednews.wustl.edu/news/page/normal/14011.html

Mind-reading headsets to change lives

Researchers have developed a headset that reads brain waves and subsequently commands software to intiate the user's bidding, whether that be roll forward in the wheelchair, type on the keyboard, or play a video game. The technology of reading brainwaves has been around for quite some time. However, cheap headsets and adapted software are becoming available in the next few months. Our relationship between the mind and technology will never be the same again.

The headset is in the form of an electroencephalogram, reading EEG signals. An Australian company has already developed and is preparing to release a system called Emotiv. Equipped with 16 sensors, the device can detect 12 different types of motion as well as several emotions. The company has developed a small video game in which the player uses only mind control to move and rebuild Stonehenge stones. This game is compatible with any Windows PC and will be on sale for around $299 later this year. Another company called Neurosky has developed a system that detects a variety of emotions such as whether or not the user is relaxed, afraid, anxious, or focused.

More interestingly, however, this techology has the possiblity of being adapted for use in schools, helping students remain focused, or at least attentive during lectures. Also, memory retension may play a large part in the future of education.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17009-innovation-mindreading-headsets-will-change-your-brain.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIrLYdQu7tM

Bladder Control Implant

Biomedical engineers at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering have demonstrated for the first time that stimulating a specific nerve in the pelvis triggers the process that causes urine to begin flowing out from the bladder, refuting conventional thinking that "bladder emptying" requires signals from the brain.

Their research, carried out with animals, could lead to a "bladder pacemaker" to restore bladder control for the more than 200,000 Americans living with spinal cord injury (SCI) or disease-related spinal cord problems.

Neural engineer Warren Grill and biomedical engineering doctoral candidate Joseph Boggs found that applying small electrical currents to the pudendal nerve triggered coordinated contraction of the bladder and relaxation of the urethral sphincter, which controls the bladder's outlet. The electrical stimulation emptied 65 percent of the bladder's volume.

Until now, most bladder control research has focused on treating incontinence, a major cause of health problems such as urinary tract and kidney infections, and of skin degradation. Other research teams have reported that electrical pulses with low frequencies, about 2 to 20 cycles per second, help control incontinence by calming involuntary bladder contractions, while higher-frequency pulses do not help.

Grill hopes to complete clinical testing and be able to put bladder control implants in humans by the year 2010.

http://www.bme.duke.edu/news/?id=586

Patrick Long
VTPP 435

Cardiac Rehab: Gym Memberships for Cardiac Patients

Lifestyle changes have been proven to increase the long-term survival rate for cardiac patients that undergo surguries such as coronary bypass, angioplasty, and valve replacement. Cardiac rehabilitation aims to develop healthy habits in patients as part of their treatment. Recruiting patients to participate in rehabilitation programs poses the biggest challenge. Cardiologists often fail to prescribe rehab; many patients that are referred to a program fail to participate; and insurance companies limit coverage of such programs. It's been reported that only half of the heart pateints that are referred actually participate and only about 20 percent of them continue after three months. Cardiac rehabilitation aims to develop healthy habits, not turn them into endurance athletes, as one doctor put it. Moderate intensity workouts and healthy eating habits lower blood pressure and cholesterol. Participation has also shown to reduce deaths from heart disease by about 30 percent. At around $50 a month, cardiac rehabilitation is comparable to a gym membership, but participants have the added bonus of peace of mind. Patients receive individual attention by caregivers that closely monitor their hearts during aerobic exercise. If they notice anything abnormal or threatening, medical assistance is on hand. In addition to the assurance of emergency care, participants are also surrounded by their peers. Fellow cardiac pateints motivate each other and share healthy living tips.
Heart surgery is only the first step toward recovery. Healthy lifestyle changes that are reinforced through participation in cardiac rehabilitation programs can dramatically improve the length and quality of life after the visit to the hospital. Cardiologists should recognize the benefits and refer all their patients to similar rehab programs, even as a preventative measure. Insurance companies could also benefit by funding participation and potentially avoiding expensive medical procedures. Such lifestyle changes aren't easy, but the benefits are well woth the time and money.

InteliHealth Article:
http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/341/1329844.html

Angie Burrer
~Section 501

Nearly 10 Percent of Young American Video Gamers are Addicted

A new study has now confirmed that video games can in fact be dangerous to a child’s upbringing. The old worry of many a mother that a television or computer will ruin her child’s social development does have some credibility after all. Dr. Douglas Gentile of Iowa State recently conducted the survey in which he found that nearly ten percent of American youth are actually addicted to video games, much like some adults suffer from addiction to gambling. This is a problem because addiction in this sense does not just mean a kid plays video games a lot. Under Dr. Gentile’s criteria, the habit must actually be an impediment to normal function, and family, social, school, or psychological damage is actually visible, which is why Gentile believes pathological use is just as good of term as addiction.

These pathological video gamers have also been shown to develop a number of other negative symptoms. Besides sitting on their can for an average of over three hours a day, pathological video gamers are more likely to have problems paying attention at school, develop ADD, receive poorer grades, have worse physical health, and even steal to support their addiction.

More research is being done now into causes of pathological video gaming, as is an attempt to find out if certain types of individuals are more at risk. There is still a lot to be found out of addiction in general but it can be seen from this study that the delicate and intricate pathways in our brain are fully capable of being manipulated and afflicted even at young ages. At any rate this seems like one addiction that can be controlled easily by a parent, and should be watched closely, for addiction to anything, including video gaming, can possibly lead to withdrawals and depression later down the road, something no parent wants any part of for their child.

Written By: Catharine Paddock, PhD
Medical News Today

Study by Dr. Douglas Gentile

Posted By Brian Bass
VTPP 435-502

Nine New X Chromosome Genes Linked to Learning Disability

A team of more than 70 researchers across the globe studied 720 of the 800 known X chromosome genes of 208 families with learning disabilities; the largest screen of this type ever reported. What they found was interesting; that nine genes coded on the X chromosome, when knocked out, lead to learning disabilities. Also, the researchers found that 1 to 2 percent of X chromosome genes, when knocked out, have apparently zero effect on the individual’s ability to learn and function in the ordinary world. This demonstrates the challenges that researchers face with carrying out this type of study; researchers must be cautious about assuming that the presence of a knocked out gene in an individual with a particular disease means that the knocked out gene is causing the disease. The nine genes on the X chromosome linked to learning disability also play roles in a wide range of biological processes, suggesting that disruption to many cellular machines can damage the nervous system; yet another challenge that scientists face. Scientists admit that there may be more genes on the X chromosome that result in learning disabilities, but the these new findings offer great potential for identifying possible learning disabilities in children, and educating parents on whether or not they want to conceive.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090419133841.htm

German Scientists believe to have found new childhood cancer therapy

Neuroblastoma is a cancer of specialized neural crest cells active during the development of the nervous system; hence most cases occur in patients under the age of five. About seven percent of all childhood cancers and around one in six deaths in children due to cancer are caused by Neuroblastoma. The most aggressive cases involve exhibit the build-up of Myc proteins in the cells. A recent study done by German researchers and published in the Cancer Cell journal considers the role of the Aurora protein in development. They found that the Aurora protein prevents cells from breaking down Myc. They suggest that blocking this protein may return cancerous cells to a non-malignant state. In theory this treatment would restore the cells’ health and they would go back to breaking down the Myc protein normally, but that has yet to be proven. Breaking ground for new drug research, this observation brings hope for new medicines that will treat the condition without requiring surgery.

Lead researcher Professor Martin Eilers said: "We are very excited by our findings which may pave the way for the development of drugs to fight this rare but deadly cancer." The research, although at an early stage will be vital because neuroblastoma is one of the most difficult childhood cancers to treat according to Mark Matfield from the Association for International Cancer Research. Dr Penelope Brook, a child cancer specialist at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital, said the research was a "potentially very exciting" development in the treatment of what could be a "very worrying" disease. "There are a number of new potential treatments coming through for neuroblastoma, but it will not be until clinical trials have been carried out that we will know which one will be of most use. Sometimes treatments appear very active in cell cultures, or even animal models, but sadly they do not translate into improvements in clinical outcomes."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7811161.stm

Pancreatic cancer therapy 'hope'

Researchers in the UK at Cancer Research Technology Ltd and in the US at MD Anderson Cancer Center have been doing studies concerning pancreatic and lung tumors formed by these respective cancers. They are interested in these types of cancers because they are relatively common among the various cancers, but have a sufficient lack in medical treatment. What they discovered and have been working on is a drug that targets PKD, which is a kinase involved in signals travelling across cell membranes. PKD is also involved with the formation of new blood vessels and cell survival. The hopeful drug targets and inhibits PKD. This is a hopeful treatment of the tumors since it can inhibit the growth of cells and consequently the growth of the tumors, and it could halt the growth of new blood vessels which would also inhibit teh growth of teh tumors. Scientists are very hopeful about the development of this drug and its possibilities it shows. The drug CRT0066101, has been tested in mice and stopped the growth of tumors in the pancreas and lungs. Human trials are set to begin soon. The researchers are hopeful that this drug could become a treatment for many different tumor-based cancers.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8004980.stm

NEW TECHNIQUE REVEALS FAR MORE SILENT HEART ATTACKS

Scientists had found a new way to detect if silent heart attacks have occurred. This new discovery is great news for the heart attack victims. It is reported that every year about 1,460,000 Americans suffer from heart attacks, and it is believed that more than 195,000 of those attacks go unnoticed. Silent heart attacks often go unnoticed due to their subtle symptoms. Even though the effects of the silent heart attack may not cause death at that specific time, they can lead to heart attacks several years later. Scientists at Duke and Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago have discovered that by using a delayed enhancement cardiovascular resonance, or DE-CMR, which is often used to evaluate the damage after a known heart attack, can assess the damage that other generally used medical devices cannot.

http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=new-technique-reveals-far-more-sile-2009-04-17

DaVinci's Touch: Is there a relation between sight and sensation?

It’s common knowledge that the senses of taste and smell are interrelated, that both affect one another. Anyone who’s had a bad cold can attest to this. But what about connections between the other senses? Surely, touch and hearing aren’t related? Touch and sight?

Actually, there may be a link between the senses of touch and sight, according to researchers at MIT. The optical illusion of motion aftereffect, the phenomenon of nearby stationary objects appearing to be moving after watching a continuously flowing object like a waterfall or the note interface of Guitar Hero, could be more than just a trick of the eyes. Experiments elsewhere have shown that blind subjects reading Braille triggered activity in the visual cortex of the brain. This was long held to be the brain’s compensation mechanism, but the MIT experiments may prove otherwise.



True to form at MIT, the researchers turned to a device known as DaVinci, an apple-sized tactile simulator with 64 different pins that can be controlled separately or in conjunction. As subjects watched dark stripes rise and fall on a white screen, DaVinci tapped out a stationary stripe along the subjects’ fingertips. Another test featured the opposite stimuli; DaVinci swept up and down the subject’s fingertips, while the stripes on the screen stayed stationary.

The surprising result was that the motion aftereffect was transferred between the senses. Subjects reported that they felt DaVinci moving when in fact it was tapping out a stationary stripe while watching moving stripes, and that it was moving in the opposite direction as the stripes. They also perceived that the onscreen stripe was moving in the opposite direction as DaVinci’s sweep.

This shows that the senses and the brain’s mechanisms for interpreting them are even more complex than we realize. This discovery could lead to new treatment regimens for stroke victims or other brain injuries that impair vision or touch.

Article: http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2009/409/1

Pictures and videos of DaVinci: http://www.cim.mcgill.ca/~haptic/laterotactile/dev/stress/

Moving stripe example: http://web.mit.edu/~tkonkle/www/CrossmodalMAE.html

Experts identify compound that may fight bird flu

Scientists in Hong Kong and the United States have identified a synthetic compound which appears to be able to stop the replication of influenza viruses, including the H5N1 bird flu virus. The search for such new "inhibitors" has grown more urgent in recent years as drugs have become largely ineffective against certain flu strains, like the H1N1 seasonal flu virus.  Researchers in Hong Kong and the Unites States screened some 230,000 compounds that were catalogued with the U.S. National Cancer Institute, and found 20 that could potentially restrict the proliferation of the H5N1.  In their experiment, the researchers infected separate batches of cultured human cells with seasonal flu virus and H5N1 and found that compound 1 prevented the replication of both types of viruses effectively.  But it would take as much as eight years for such a drug to be available on the market.  Viruses and bacteria are sturdy organisms that fight hard to survive and adapt swiftly to drugs that are used to kill them, quickly becoming resistant to them.

http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE53E25820090415

Susan Vanderzyl

Iron Man: Here to save the day

If Tony Stark were a real scientist, he would work for CYBERDYNE Systems of Japan, a company who has developed a rudimentary model of the Iron Man suit. They have created a powered exoskeleton suit capable of increasing the strength of it's wearer tenfold: the Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) is currently undergoing field tests for a slated full production in the near future. Currently, versions of HAL are available for rent for $1300 per month. 

HAL strikes a super hero pose. 

HAL uses electrodes on the operator's skin to sense electrical impulses from muscles, and sends them to the onboard computer of the suit. This activates the servos (error-sensing feedback loops that correct the performance of a mechanism) to mimic the wearer's actions. A 100-volt battery powers the arms, legs, and torso of the entire suit.  Another version of the skeleton includes only leg attachments, making it far lighter and easier to power. On it's website, the company also claims that the device can operate autonomously- a very important factor for patients suffering from spinal injuries or other physical disabilities. 

Other companies and universities are also hard at work trying to achieve the "Iron Man Ideal" with their suits. M.I.T.'s Biomechatronics Groups has developed another lower-body exoskeleton that functions similarly to HAL. Hugh Herr, the principal investigator for the group, related the difficulties of developing mechanisms that could cover the large diversity in medical needs. "One might have knee and ankle problems, others might have elbow problems," Herr says. "How in the world do you build a wearable robot that accommodates a lot of people?" 

Consequently, the exoskeletons under development also require gratuitous amounts of energy. Recharging the suits could prove to be too cost inefficient or untimely in the long run for many patients. Herr also warns of another problem, the degradation of muscles when they are not properly rehabilitated by the suits. "If the othotic does everything," he says, "the muscle degrades, so you want the orthotic to do just the right amount of work." In the end, only new scientific advances can help create the ideal exoskeletons. Tony Stark would approve. 

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=real-life-iron-man-exoskeleton

Study Finds That Depression Raises Risk of Heart Failure

A recent study done at the Intermountain Medical Center in Utah has found that depression elevates the risk of heart failure regardless of what antidepressants are taken. This is the first time a study has been done to highlight this risk. Prior studies done on this topic show that depression is three time more likely after a heart attack and depressed patients are at a higher risk of a second heart attack. Heart disease occurs in 550,000 people each year with costs totaling $35 billion annually. The study followed 14,000 people with previous heart conditions. Among the 1,377 people who became depressed the rate of heart failure was much higher than those who were not. The rate was 3.6% among those who were not depressed compared to 16.4% who were. Many of the patients took antidepressants but this showed no signs of lowering the risk. One of the researchers, Heidi May said, "This finding may indicate that antidepressants may not be able to alter the physical or behavioral risks associated with depression and heart failure, despite a potential improvement in depressive symptoms." Studies show that these depressed patients become apathetic about their heart problems and don't take precautionary action such as medicine intake and exercise as the non-depressed patients did. Another factor could be that depression alters the physical condition of the body.

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53C5NL20090413

Lance Wyatt 501

Dietary Supplement Could Safely Lower Triglyceride Levels

The blood plasma of obese rats fed a normal diet is murky with higher levels of fat in the vial at left, and much clearer with lower levels of triglycerides in the vial on the right, which is plasma from rats supplemented with lipoic acid.

A study published in the Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics found that rats whose diets were supplemented with ipoic acid experienced a decrease in triglercerides, which is one of the key risk factors in cardiovascular disease along with cholesterol levels and blood pressure. The lab rats’ triglyceride levels were lowered up to 60%. If these results could be reproduced in humans, the risks of developing atherosclerosis could be greatly reduced.

Lipoic acid is a natural compound and can be found in foods such as red meat and green leafy vegetables. Because it is a powerful antioxidant, considerable research has been done in recent years on its ability to reduce mitochondrial decay in cells and possibly slow the process of aging. In Europe, it has been used as a treatment for neuropathic complications of diabetes for years.

Until a decade ago, high levels of triglycerides in the blood were not considered as a significant sign of atherosclerosis and heart disease, but most experts now see it as an important risk factor. Medicine is often prescribed to battle the causes of heart disease but many have unwanted side effects. The study found that supplements of lipoic acid appeared to affect trigleride levels by increasing the rate of their disappearance in the bloodstream after eating and by also reducing the genetic expression of enzymes in the liver that synthesize triglycerides.

Lipoic acid supplements were shown to be an appetite suppressant in other studies so control groups of laboratory rats were used to ensure that lowered triglyceride levels did not simply result from less food intake. All of the rats were obese to begin with and developed higher triglyceride levels as the experiment went on. The blood triglyceride levels in the rats given the supplement doubled but the group without the supplement experienced an increase of more than 400%.

Since lipoic acid has been used as a dietary supplement for years and has found to be safe, it has strong potential to be used as therapeutic treatments or in the prevention of hypertriglyceridemia and diabetic dyslipidemia in humans.

http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/03/090330200825.htm

Brown Fat Burns Calories

Brown adipose tissue or brown fat helps small mammals stay warm by burning calories when activated by low temperatures. In contrast, white fat is used to store energy and shows little metabolic activity. These tissues were believed to be found primarily in babies and young children. However, scientists have found recently that adults retain significant amounts of brown fat on their bodies. Until recently, it has been nearly impossible to study brown fat in live humans because finding it in people's bodies meant taking tissue samples. Therefore, scientists mostly stuck to studying it in lab animals. Recently, it was observed that some people had deposits of tissue that looked like fat but didn't act like it; this fat-like tissue was located above the collarbones and in the upper chest and consumed lots of energy. Integrated positron-emission tomography and computed tomography (PET-CT) scans identified it to be brown fat. The same techniques can also be used to measure its metabolic activity. Among women, 7.5 percent had patches of brown fat that were more than 4 millimeters in diameter, while 3.1 percent of men had similar patches. These number varies with age and body mass index as well as whether the tests were performed during warm or cold season. Brown fats were found to be more active in leaner and younger people and when test subjects were exposed to the cold. In one test, subjects spent two hours in a room kept at 63° F to 66° F. During PET scan, they submerged one foot in ice water, alternating five minutes in the water and five minutes out. The cold conditions boosted the amount of glucose the study participants' brown fat consumed by a factor of 15. These new findings are important because drugs could be developed to “activate” brown adipose tissues and help people with obesity burn calories faster.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/10/brown.fat.obesity/index.html

Heart Valves: The beginning

The first heart valve successfully implanted into a human heart was the Starr-Edwards Valve. It was based on a design that did not look smooth or particularly pleasant, but due to its simplistic nature, it performed successfully while all others failed miserably. The following is a picture of the original Starr-Edwards valve.



As you can see, it is not a device of extreme sophistication or complex design, but it still got the job done. In the case of the first successful trial, in 1960, of this valve, the patient died fifteen years later, not from heart related issues, but from falling from a ladder while painting his house. The article goes on to talk about the two men who almost single handedly created the field of biomedical engineering and biomedical implements. It goes into depth about the inventor, Lowell Edwards, who was in his 60s, and had already retired from a successful career as an engineer. The surgeon who played a key role in this process was Albert Starr who was an instructor in his field. The article also talks in depth about the selection process that was used for trial patients, only those who were on the verge of death due to Tuberculosis or related heart diseases were considered. Fortunately thanks to the foresight of the brilliant engineer and the steady hands of the surgeon, these individuals were granted a reprieve on death, and were given the chance to continue their life. More importantly, their continued life was of a high quality as well. This article stands out to me for so many reasons, it shows that for every problem the solution does not always need to be some multimillion dollar fancy tool, but just something that will get the job done. Also, the devices that we make do not need to be sleek looking fancy gadgets, they simply need to get the job done, and improve the life of those who receive them. Finally, I did not discuss it in the summary above, but Lowell had a perseverance about his inventions that we as engineers following in his footsteps would do well to imitate. That even in the face of overwhelming odds and many setbacks, that we should never give up, and that perseverance will be rewarded.

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/picrender.fcgi?artid=325574&blobtype=pdf

TB or not TB…that is the question

Tuberculosis is an often deadly infectious disease usually attacking the lungs. However, it can also affect the central nervous system, the lymphatic system, the circulatory system, bones, joints, and even the skin. TB is the second most lethal infection in the world, killing two million people a year and it is rivaled only by HIV. TB prevention and control takes two similar approaches. The first approach entails identifying people with TB and treating them. In the second approach, children are vaccinated to protect them from TB. Unfortunately, no vaccine is available that provides reliable protection for adults, until now. The first adult TB vaccine clinical trials on humans are set to start in Canada this April. Canadian researchers plan to recruit nearly fifty healthy volunteers between 18 and 55 years old to take part in the first trials to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a vaccine against TB in adult humans. The vaccine was designed at McMaster University in Canada, which is where the trials will also take place. Research and design efforts were led by Zhou Xing, a professor in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine at the University. Fiona Smaill, a chair of the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine says, "The exciting thing for McMaster is that this is translational research that has gone from the basic science where the vector has been designed here at McMaster, then manufactured here, with all the pre-clinical studies done at McMaster." World TB day is on March 24, which was also the day they announced the TB vaccine trials. World TB Day was a day that researchers raised awareness of tuberculosis. Genetically modified adenovirus was used to develop the TB vaccine. The TB vaccine is known as AdAg85A. Animal studies have already been conducted by the researchers, and very promising results were found. By removing a portion of the adenovirus gene, and inserting the TB gene that boosts immunity, the researchers found that the body could manufacture a “natural immunity” to tuberculosis. The adenovirus is used like a carrier to introduce the vaccine into the body. Once the cold virus is introduced, the TB gene remains to produce immunity. Hopefully the promising results will continue in the human trials, after twenty years of groundwork against tuberculosis.

http://www.emaxhealth.com/1020/95/30028/first-human-tb-vaccine-trials-launch-canada.html

Stem Cell Breakthrough: 'Switch' Created That Turns Stem Cells Into Muscle

Studies in the field of stem cell research have led to the development of 'switch' which can convert stem cells into muscle cells for muscle regeneration.

In research, the scientists used lab mice for experimentation and bred them with the gene called "Cre". Upon stimulation, the Cre gene activates mutation in the stem cells, converting them from stem cells to muscle tissue. During the study, they were also able to induce formation of tumors during regeneration which provided a chance to observe the process of how tumors originate.

The data and information gathered from the genetically-altered mouse models provides a possibility for repairing and replacing damaged muscle cells by stimulating stem cell mutation in humans.



url: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090330154806.htm

Acacia Ho
VTPP 435 - 502