Discerning Pancreatitis from Pancreatic Cancer

Doctors have had trouble misdiagnosing pancreatic cancer in the past. Autoimmune pancreatitis is a “troublesome inflammation of the organ” where a lump of hardened tissue can sometimes form and is often diagnosed as a tumor. Ten percent of surgeries begun to remove a pancreatic tumor find a mass from pancreatitis instead.

New research has shown that in cases of autoimmune pancreatitis the body creates antibodies that “attack a harmless enzyme found in the pancreas,” which can cause significant damage. Currently, the only test to distinguish the two is a biopsy, which can be invasive and expensive. However, these antibodies can be considered as a possible determining factor in diagnostics of the pancreas because there are not present at all in healthy patients and only seldom in cancer patients.

The researchers further analyzed the blood of a pancreatitis patient and found the antibodies targeting plasminogen binding protein (PBP), which they found to have a matching enzyme in the human pancreas, UBR2. This has led the team to hypothesize that autoimmune pancreatitis may be caused by a “coincidence in nature.” Because of the similarity of UBR2 to the PBP, many UBR2 get attacked by the immune system as well, damaging the tissue.

Study Finds that Polyphenols and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Boost the Birth of New Neurons

Mercedes Unzeta, a professor of UAB Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, led a study that found that certain diet-related acids help boost neurogenesis, or the birth of new neurons. Neurons affected are found mostly in the olfactory bulb and hippocampus, and are heavily related to Alzheimer's Disease.

The aforementioned study was performed on mice (of course) and involved feeding them what the team has patented as the LMN diet. The diet was rich in polyphenols and polyunsaturated fats - antioxidant substances that help boost production of the brain's stem cells and fortify their differentiation into different types of neural cells (neurons, oligodendrocytes, and astrocytes). The diet-induced excitation of neurogenesis helps delay the onset of Alzheimer's as well as slow down its progression.

Polyphenols are found naturally in a plethora of food and drink, a few of which are beer, olive oil, and nuts. Polyunsaturated fats are found in certain types of fish and vegetables. A cream made from these substances was applied to the rats in this study, so it is unclear whether oral ingestion of these antioxidants is very effective.

In conclusion, the study found that an LMN diet is capable of inducing generation of new neuronal cells in the brain that can help postpone and slow the beginning and progression of Alzheimer's disease.

Predicting Heart Disease Risk

Researchers and Doctors studying at the Emory University School of Medicine have found a new method in measuring oxidative stress within the blood. There is a substance in the blood, cystine (the oxidized form of the amino acid cysteine), which may be helpful when predicting a patients risk for heart disease.

They studied more than 1,200 people through cardiac imaging that were suspected for heart disease, and determined that the patients with a high level of cystine in their blood were twice as likely to have a heart attack or die over the next few years. Cystine is a valuable marker for cardiovascular risk, and also has a harmful effect on cells. Therefore, finding a way to reduce the levels of cystine would be beneficial regardless of the success regarding the cardiovascular risk.

The connection of cystine and risk for heart attack or disease, was an exciting find because there are already methods known to reduce cystine levels in a patient. Simple methods include supplementing the patient’s diet with zinc.

I found this article to be interesting because it may affect my life personally later on. My dad has a heart disease, and there is a good chance that I will inherit it and develop the disease as I grow older. This newfound technology may be helpful in determining risks as well as treatment.

Erica Williams
VTPP 434-502

Source: http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=22959

New Stem Cell Technology Provides Rapid Healing From Complicated Bone Fractures

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stem cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types. Recently, the use of MSCs, has shown success in biological therapy. This would open up a large number of possibilities including treatment of complicated fractures and well as other skeletal disorders. Usually isolation of MSCs requires long periods of time in order to grow within designated incubators. This method is not only costly, but also has a high possibility of damaging the quality of the cells.

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers have developed a new technology, immune-isolation, which is an alternative method that allows immediate use of stem cells. The MSCs are sorted from other cells within a bone marrow sample using a specific antibody. Now these stem cells are available for immediate use in order to form new bone tissue saving both time and money.

This new technology has been proven successful in treated complicated fractures is seven patients at the Hadassah Universiy Hospital in Ein Kerem, Jerusalem.

I found this article interesting because the field of stem cell research is rapidly growing, and it is as if each new step forward opens up enormous possibilities. This new-found technology is a small example of the medical technologies researchers are making possible through stem cell research.

Erica Williams
VTPP 434-502

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123193111.htm

Hunting the Elusive Fat Pill

This article addressed solving the complex problem of obesity, which is increasingly becoming a major factor in American society, with a simple pill. 2/3 of Americans of are overweight, and half of those are considered obese. This health issue is considered complex because it is both biological and psychological. The body is programmed to hoard calories in the form of fat because, until recently, dying of starvation was one of the major concerns for human existence. Overcoming the body's inherent need to store energy can be problematic for certain people. Additionally, the body's of obese people don't register that they have enough stored energy. When they diet, their bodies undergo the same withdrawal mechanisms of a person who is starving. One failed attempt to overcome these mechanisms was a drug produced in Europe under the name rimonabant. Interestingly enough, this product was created by reverse engineering endocannabinoids. These compounds, found in marijuana (cannabis) are responsible for the stereotypical side affects associated with the drug. For example, the munchies. By reversing the effects of these compounds, people have "reverse munchies," or the loss of a desire to eat. Unfortunately, since these compounds affect a wide range of receptors throughout the body, changing it's mechanism has a wide variety of side effects. Reversing the "high" of marijuana results in a "low," which caused several people to commit suicide after the drug was released. This low was exacerbated by the fact suicide and depression rates are typically higher among the obese. Despite this set back, there are still a few new approaches to the next greatest "fat burning pill". The primary approaches involve using hormonal mechanisms, but they are still in their infant stages of development.

I found this article particularly interesting because I am an employee at GNC. I deal with "thermogenics," which is a fancy name for diet pills, on a daily basis. In truth, I have little faith in most of them, and I feel they are much more detrimental to your health than helpful. Most of the weight you lose on these products is gained by putting strain on your body, and you gain it right back when you stop taking the product. Plus, they slow your metabolism. This article did give me a little more sympathy for people who struggle with losing weight. There are legitimate biological hurdles to overcome, and I agree some people do need assistance with their goals. However, I do see a significant amount of people totally unwilling to change their habits (start exercising/ eat healthy). They just want a miracle pill that will make them skinny without doing any work. That laziness is irritating to me, and is probably why they are overweight to begin with. Overall, this article did change my mindset though. If science could produce a legitimate healthy weight loss pill, I would be all for it. It could help alot of people, particularly Americans.

http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2009-02/hunting-elusive-fat-pill?page=1

Synthetic Molecules Trick Body Into Improved Immune Response to HIV, Cancer

Oftentimes the fatalities caused by diseases like cancer and HIV come not from the disease itself but from the treatments and their side effects. Pneumonia is one of the top causes of death among those with cancer because the chemotherapy causes such a decreased immune system. However, we tend to overlook one of the most important defenses we have: our bodies. Researchers at Yale have created a synthetic molecule that they hope with help give our bodies a fighting chance. These synthetic molecules, such as "antibody-recruiting molecule targeting HIV (or ARM-H) and "antibody-recruiting molecule targeting prostate cancer" (or ARM-P) work by essentially grabbing the diseased cell in one hand and the antibody in the other and bringing them together. But allowing antibodies to bind to these cells like they haven't before, these molecules give our immune system a chance to help in fending off these diseases and decreasing the amount of harmful therapy that we have to undergo.

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2009-11/synthetic-molecules-trick-body-immune-response-hiv-prostate-cancer

Heart and Bone Damage from Low Vitamin D Tied to Declines in Sex Hormones

Vitamin D is a known essential to keeping our bodies healthy. Sources of vitamin D can come from fortified foods and sunlight. Vitamin D is prescribed to treat osteoporosis; however, recent studies suggest it could also be useful in preventing heart disease. Such studies at Johns Hopkins found that low levels of vitamin D (considered 20 nanograms per milliliter or lower) and estrogen are independent risk factors for hardened and narrowed arteries as well as weakened bones. The relationship between vitamin D, estrogen, and testosterone have been known to influence arterial and bone health, however exactly HOW they work to do this is a mystery to many scientists.


An example of this phenomenon is long term effects of estrogen therapy in women failed to show fewer heart disease deaths, but less bone fractures. The Johns Hopkins study data was provided when they analyzed blood samples from a group of men participating in a study on cancer. This was part of an ongoing national health survey involving both men and women and was created to compare the risk of diseases between those with the lowest blood levels of vitamin D to those with higher amounts. Hormone levels in men were measured when the sex hormones were either circulating freely or when they were attached to SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin). No correlation has been made between low levels of vitamin D and low levels of hormones, however when ratios of estrogen to SHGB were compared, rates of osteoporosis were higher when the two we depressed.

This shows how important vitamin D is to good bone health, and that osteoporosis and heart disease (for men) relies heavily on vitamin D and sex hormones (estrogen particularly). Surveys showed that 41 percent of men and 53 percent of women are nutrient deficient with vitamin D. Current clinical trials are ongoing for this information in women.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091115123715.htm

Genetically Modified Skin Cells May Help Artificial Skin Fight Infection

Severe skin damage, such as in the case of burn victims, generally means a skin graft will be used during the treatment process of the affected areas. These grafts are either a surgically removed portion of the individuals own skin or artificial skin substitutes. Unfortunately, these bioengineered skin substitutes have a notable limitation: “an increased susceptibility to infection”. However, Researchers may have discovered a means to overcome this limitation.

A study conducted by a team lead by Dorothy Supp, PhD, observed that genetically modifying skin cells to produce an increased amount of the protein HBD4 allows the cell to kill more bacteria than normal. HBD4, or Human Beta Defensin 4, is part of class of proteins called defensins that naturally exist in the body to defend against infection. After isolating the HBD4 gene from tissue samples, Supp transferred the gene into keratinocytes (surface skin cells), giving these modified cells an enhanced immune response.

The reason why cultured skin substitutes are so susceptible to infection is that they are isolated from the body’s circulatory system during the actual grafting period. Therefore, they aren’t exposed to the circulated antibiotic drugs given to the patient or the antibodies of the immune system.

Supp postulates that the use of cultured skin substitutes enhanced with genetically modified skin cells is an effective means of reducing the risk of infection. The use of defensins may provide an alternative to the current method of continually applying antibiotic ointments or wraps to the affected areas of a recovering burn victim and would also aid in skin graft survival.

Though the use of cultured skin substitutes has assisted in the recovery of many burn victims, the compromising variable of infection has been an inhibiting factor of the healing process. The research done by Supp provides an efficient means of not only reducing that problem, but it also reduces the dependence on topical antibiotics and the potential for drug-resistant bacteria.


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070108093837.htm

Joshua Mott
VTPP 434-501

New Findings May improve treatment of inherted breast cancer

The most common reason for inherited breast cancer is caused by a mutation in suppressor genes, the most common being a mutation in BRCA1. If a patient has inherited a mutation in breast cancer associated gene-1 (BRCA1), there is a fifty to eighty percent risk of the patient developing breast cancer by the age of 70.

Survivin is a inhibitor that prevents apoptosis (cell suicide), and therefore prevents cancel cells from dying and allows the tumor to continue rapid growth. Genetics of Development and Diseases Branch at the National Institutes of Health has held studies led by Dr. Deng to try to find the relation between having a mutation BRCA1 gene and obtaining high levels of survivin.

They have found that the BRCA1 gene is used by our bodies as a tumor suppressor by maintaining high levels of SIRT1 which inhibit Survivin expression, and therefore prevent rapid growth of tumors. Consequently, when BRCA1 is not functioning properly in a patient, Survivin levels increase allowing cells to go through a malignant transformation by overcoming apoptosis.
Reveratrol is the new treatment that combines traditional Japanese and Chinese medecine. In recent studies, it has shown to induce apoptosis while causing very little toxicity. By inducing apoptosis, reveratrol is able to inhibit some types of cancer. It has been shown to increase SIRT1 activity causing levels of Survivin to reduce.

I found this article to be interesting because breast cancer affects a very large number of women every year, 8% of them being inherited. This is a huge step forward in peventing one of the many types of breast cancer, and will hopefully be able to save many lives.

Erica Williams
VTPP 434-502

Source:http://www.physorg.com/news142773860.html

Men And Women Respond Differently to Given Stimuli

It's been evident throughout human history that men and women are different; each having thought processes that are completely bewildering to the opposite sex. New research have shown that these observations can be traced to a physologically distinctive reaction based on gender to positive and negative stimuli. Men evaluate stimuli with a focus on what potential action might be required, whereas women emphasize the emotional resonse generated by such stimuli.

The study was conducted on 40 right handed subjects; 21 men and 19 women. While under a functional MRI machine , the subjects were exposed to hundreds of pictures from a standarized testing database. On the first run through, the volunteers were shown only negative images. The second run exposed the subjects to only positive pictures.

When the women were exposed to the negative images, the left thalmus showed extensive activity. The left thalmus is a major conduit of sensory information to and from the cerebral cortex, which in turn affects many centers, including the pain and pleasure centers of the brain. The positive images invoked a response from the right superior temporal gyrus, which is involved in the auditory process as well as memory formation. Dr. Urbanik, the leas researcher, thinks that women may analyze the stimuli in a social context and relate the stimuli with their own memories. An example used in the article was a women might see a baby and remember her own child at that age.

The male response to the negative images corresponded to an increased activity of the left insula, which takes part in determining the physiological state of the body and sending signals to prepare it for action. It is thought that the insular cortex may correspond to the autonomic responses such as increased heart rate and sweating. This affect might cause men to react with action to a dangerous situation. The positive images solicit an increase in the bilateral occipital lobes, which correlates to the visual and auditory senses. This means that men most likely observe positive stimuli on a more individual perceptive level, and not on a social level like women.

For years "women are from mars, women are from venus" has been the proverb to throw around when the opposite sex responded with something seemingly ridiculous and contorted. Men and women have forever been unable to explain the actions and thoughts of the other sex. Research now seems to be able to say why that is; men and women are different on a fundamental physiological level. The possible scientific verification of something that has been intuitively suspected for is absolutely fascinating. We have already seen some physiologival differences with the sexual organs: their formation and function. The concept and seeming support that these differences run deeper, while not wholly unexpected, provides an exciting oppurtunity for future revelations on the physiological function of th human species.


Colton McElheny

Source: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091129125131.htm

Birth Control Pill for Men?

The spermatogenesis process has not been studied in depth until recently. Little progress has been made in understanding how the androgens responsible for sperm production actually work. However, a recent study done at the Centre for Reproductive Biology at The Queen's Medical Research Institute in the UK has enabled researchers to identify the specific androgen receptors that control testis function, spermatogenesis, and fertility. This discovery can lead to the development of a birth control pill for men, as well as a treatment for infertility.

The study was conducted using mice, and scientists assume that the procedure will have the same effect on other mammals as well as humans. The mice used were missing a specific gene that coded for androgen hormone receptors. These mice were infertile. Though it is known that stromal-epithelial interactions play an important role in controlling androgen action throughout the male reproductive tract, there is little in vivo evidence for this role in the testis. This mouse model provides a unique tool to identify the underlying molecular mechanisms of androgen action, which could provide insight for the development of new male contraceptives and treatments for male infertility.

I found this article interesting because it could lead to the development of birth control for men. This puts less responsibility on the woman and if they are both taking birth control, the odds of unwanted pregnancy are almost zero. On the opposite end of the spectrum, it may lead to the development of treatment for male infertility, and couples unable to have children naturally would have another option as well as in-vitro fertilization. Treating male infertility by targeting the specific androgen receptors seems like it would be a less expensive approach for those unable to have children and can't afford IVF.

Eloura Durkee

VTPP 434-502

Sources:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091130112419.htm

http://www.fasebj.org/cgi/content/full/23/12/4218?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=birth+control+men&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&volume=23&issue=12&resourcetype=HWCIT

Autism Treatment Works in Kids as Young as 18 Months

Children with autism are often not diagnosed until they get into school and have trouble with social interactions. Because children with autism aren't usually diagnosed until they are about 5 years old, the treatment they receive is often not very effective. New research at the University of Washington, however, reveals that if children can be diagnosed when they are younger, as early as eighteen months, then early treatment options can vastly improve their quality of life.

The children in the University of Washington study were all diagnosed with autism at around two years old. Half of the group was given a new treatment called the Early Start Denver model, and half of the group were given traditional therapeutic treatments. The children continued with their treatments for two years and then the results were evaluated. Children who were on the Early Start Denver model had an average IQ increase of approximately 18 points. Children who were on the traditional therapeutic treatment plan had an average increase of only 7 points. This large difference in IQ difference, plus observed social interaction results by physicians and parents shows that the children on the Early Start Denver model improved much more than the other children. It is also important to note that all of these kids improved much more than a child diagnosed later with autism would have.

Early diagnosis of autism and early, effective treatment are important to giving children with autism a chance for a normal life. The Early Start Denver model, when combined with early diagnosis, gives kids the best chance at normal social interaction and regular development. I found this article interesting because it shows a remarkable difference in how the kids did based on only a few years difference in diagnosis. I think it's amazing that being diagnosed at 2 rather than 5 years old can mean the difference between an almost normal life and problems with development and school.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,577808,00.html

David Szafron

Jurassic Park (non-fiction)

“Creativity is more important than knowledge”- Albert Einstein

The process of transcending traditional patterns with newer, more useful interpretations, or creativity, is exactly what the late Michael Crichton used when concocting Jurassic park. Although it was just fantasy at the time, its reality is now in scope. With a few adjustments to the original novel, scientists will likely be able to eliminate the extinction of dinosaurs.

Initially, DNA was extracted from fossilized insects dwelling in amber, but it could not be produced, as it was contaminated. A recent well-preserved fossil find in Montana however, demonstrates that a once pregnant bird bestowed its bones with cell samples for us to cultivate. We cannot currently recover enough DNA from these cells to produce a dinosaur but we may be able to later.

What we can do now is utilize recombinant DNA technology to couple what DNA we can extract from these tissue samples and couple it with that from dinosaurs’ modern day ancestor: the bird. By genetically engineering the genes that have adapted to a bird-like structure, we can alter them into sort of a devolution into one that produce the characteristic long tail and long searing teeth.

By tracing the Genes in the progression of dinosaur into bird, we can fill in the gaps of the genome with Aves DNA that Crichton filled in with frog DNA. Also we could use the fact that many accessible, modern-day, “vestigial” bird DNA contains ancestral genes that the birds themselves don’t use, as it lies dormant in their genome. This would clue us in on some gaps to fill. Next we would have to assemble the DNA into chromosomes, which we should be able to do in the next couple of decades.

How does this relate to biomedical engineering? The field of recombinant DNA technology and genetic engineering is spearheading biological phenomena by the day. By experimenting with birds and prehistoric creatures we avoid ethical dilemmas that can arise from experimenting with our own race. The project will gain considerable insight on our potential that will later be able to be applied to us, when we are sure of success. I opt to share it because this is my number two anticipation for the future, as eliminating cancer is my third, and discovering interstellar or intergalactic neighbors (aliens) is my first. The latter couldn’t really be linked to biomedicine and the former is already being taken care of with the exhaustion of hundreds of billions of dollars devoted to it each year.

Kevin Wood

http://www.progressiveu.org/220346-jurassic-park-made-reality

Use Of Cannabinoids (Marijuana) Could Help Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Patients

Use of cannabinoids (marijuana) could assist in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder patients. This is exposed in a recent study carried out at the Learning and Memory Lab in the University of Haifa's Department of Psychology. The study, carried out by research student Eti Ganon-Elazar under the supervision of Dr. Irit Akirav, was published in the prestigious Journal of Neuroscience.

In most cases, the result of experiencing a traumatic event - a car accident or terror attack - is the appearance of medical and psychological symptoms that affect various functions, but which pass. However, some 10%-30% of people who experience a traumatic event develop post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition in which the patient continues to suffer stress symptoms for months and even years after the traumatic event. Symptoms include reawakened trauma, avoidance of anything that could recall the trauma, and psychological and physiological disturbances. One of the problems in the course of treating trauma patients is that a person is frequently exposed to additional stress, which hinders the patient's overcoming the trauma.

The present study, carried out by Dr. Akirav and research student Eti Ganon-Elazar, aimed to examine the efficiency of cannabinoids as a medical treatment for coping with post-traumatic stress. The researchers used a synthetic form of marijuana, which has similar properties to the natural plant, and they chose to use a rat model, which presents similar physiological responses to stress to that of humans.

The first stage of the research examined how long it took for the rats to overcome a traumatic experience, without any intervention. A cell colored white on one side and black on the other was prepared. The rats were placed in the white area, and as soon as they moved over to the black area, which they prefer, they received a light electric shock. Each day they were brought to the cell and placed back in the white area. Immediately following exposure to the traumatic experience, the rats would not move to the black area voluntarily, but a few days later after not receiving further electric shocks in the black area, they learned that it is safe again and moved there without hesitation.

Next, the researchers introduced an element of stress. A second group of rats were placed on a small, elevated platform after receiving the electric shock, which added stress to the traumatic experience. These rats abstained from returning to the black area in the cell for much longer, which shows that the exposure to additional stress does indeed hinder the process of overcoming trauma.

The third stage of the research examined yet another group of rats. These were exposed to the traumatic and additional stress events, but just before being elevated on the platform received an injection of synthetic marijuana in the amygdala area of the brain - a specific area known to be connected to emotive memory. These rats agreed to enter the black area after the same amount of time as the first group - showing that the synthetic marijuana cancelled out the symptoms of stress. Refining the results of this study, the researchers then administered marijuana injections at different points in time on additional groups of rats, and found that regardless of when exactly the injection was administered, it prevented the surfacing of stress symptoms.

Dr. Akirav and Ganon-Elazar also examined hormonal changes in the course of the experiment and found that synthetic marijuana prevents increased release of the stress hormone that the body produces in response to stress.

According to Dr. Akirav, the results of this study show that cannabinoids can play an important role in stress-related disorders. "The results of our research should encourage psychiatric investigation into the use of cannabinoids in post-traumatic stress patients," she concludes.

Source
University of Haifa

This article is interesting because it try's to show that Marijuana can help in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder a medical condition that is very detrimental to one's life. Marijuana has a bad connotation among society but here Dr. Akirav tries to show the medical goodness it can have to patients with his rat experiment. Studies like this have brought up the issue of legalizing Marijuana in all states. With more research there maybe more reason to legalize the drug in the future.

Shan Rizvi

VTPP 434 - 501

Stomach hormone can boost resistance to Parkinson's disease

Ghrelin, a hormone produced in the stomach has been linked to a resistance to Parkinson’s disease. The research for this theory was brought about by Dr. Tamas Horvath at the Yale University School of Medicine. Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder where the dopamine neurons in the substansia nigra begin to die off. As this continues, symptoms increase to where the patients can no longer walk, move, eat, and have other body functions that altered. Ghrelin targets the hypothalamus and affects the appetite, food intake, and how the body deposits fat. Other studies have shown that body mass index, stored fat, and diabetes are linked to Parkinson’s disease.

Ghrelin is shown to protect the neurons that make the dopamine. Because the hormone is made in the stomach circulates normally in the bloodstream, so it could easily be used to boost resistance. This research, sponsored by the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, was engineered by giving mice extra ghrelin, while another group of mice lacked the hormone. When compared, the group of mice with the lack had a significant decrease in dopamine. This meant that the idea that ghrelin could be a new therapeutic strategy to fight neurodegeneration, loss of appetite, and body weight changes associated with Parkinson’s disease. This research situation is believed to be applicable also in humans because of the ghrelin system is preserved in various species. The research has now moved toward human testing in the areas of ghrelin levels in humans related to those with Parkinson’s disease.

www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/172430.php

Jurassic Park (non-fiction)

“Creativity is more important than knowledge”- Albert Einstein

The process of transcending traditional patterns with newer, more useful interpretations, or creativity, is exactly what the late Michael Crichton used when concocting Jurassic park. Although it was just fantasy at the time, its reality is now in scope. With a few adjustments to the original novel, scientists will likely be able to eliminate the extinction of dinosaurs.

Initially, DNA was extracted from fossilized insects dwelling in amber, but it could not be produced, as it was contaminated. A recent well-preserved fossil find in Montana however, demonstrates that a once pregnant bird bestowed its bones with cell samples for us to cultivate. We cannot currently recover enough DNA from these cells to produce a dinosaur but we may be able to later.

What we can do now is utilize recombinant DNA technology to couple what DNA we can extract from these tissue samples and couple it with that from dinosaurs’ modern day ancestor: the bird. By genetically engineering the genes that have adapted to a bird-like structure, we can alter them into sort of a devolution into one that produce the characteristic long tail and long searing teeth.

By tracing the Genes in the progression of dinosaur into bird, we can fill in the gaps of the genome with Aves DNA that Crichton filled in with frog DNA. Also we could use the fact that many accessible, modern-day, “vestigial” bird DNA contains ancestral genes that the birds themselves don’t use, as it lies dormant in their genome. This would clue us in on some gaps to fill. Next we would have to assemble the DNA into chromosomes, which we should be able to do in the next couple of decades.

How does this relate to biomedical engineering? The field of recombinant DNA technology and genetic engineering is spearheading biological phenomena by the day. By experimenting with birds and prehistoric creatures we avoid ethical dilemmas that can arise from experimenting with our own race. The project will gain considerable insight on our potential that will later be able to be applied to us, when we are sure of success. I opt to share it because this is my number two anticipation for the future, as eliminating cancer is my third, and discovering interstellar or intergalactic neighbors (aliens) is my first. The latter couldn’t really be linked to biomedicine and the former is already being taken care of with the exhaustion of hundreds of billions of dollars devoted to it each year.

Kevin Wood

http://www.progressiveu.org/220346-jurassic-park-made-reality

'Slimming Gene' Discovered That Regulates Body Fat

ScienceDaily (Nov. 22, 2009) — Scientists at the University of Bonn have discovered a previously unknown fruit fly gene that controls the metabolism of fat. Larvae in which this gene is defective lose their entire fat reserves. Therefore the researchers called the gene 'schlank' (German for 'slim'). Mammals carry a group of genes that are structurally very similar to 'schlank'. They possibly take on a similar function in the energy metabolism. The scientists therefore have hopes in new medicines with which obesity could be fought.
If scientists decipher the function of a gene, they are allowed to name it. With the fruit fly Drosophila there is a rather paradox convention. The names always indicate what the fly looks like if the respective gene is defective. That is also the case with the schlank gene. If it is unimpaired the fly larva can build up fat reserves. It becomes fat. 'Larvae with a mutation of schlank, however, remain slim,' Professor Michael Hoch from the University of Bonn explains. 'In extreme cases the defect can even lead to death.'
Together with Dr. Reinhard Bauer and other employees the development biologist has explored what exactly 'schlank' does. According to their research the gene contains the instructions of what is known as ceramide synthase. Ceramides serve as raw materials for the gauzy membranes that enclose all of the cells in the body. Moreover, schlank also has a regulatory function. It promotes lipid synthesis and at the same time inhibits the mobilisation of fat from the fat reserves.
Mouse gene saves fly larvae
There is a chance that this is not only the case in fruit flies. Humans also produce ceramide synthases however not just one as Drosophila does but rather as many as six different ones. For this purpose humans rely on a group of genes so-called Lass genes. Ceramide synthases are extremely important for animals. Mutations in the corresponding genes lead to severe metabolic disorders and to malfunctions of organ systems. That is why our Lass genes look surprisingly similar to the schlank gene of fruit flies.
This resemblance is so striking that Lass genes from mice can partially compensate for the defect schlank gene in mutant flies. 'We introduced a mouse Lass gene in mutant Drosophila larvae,' Michael Hoch says. 'Normally the larvae died immediately after hatching. Thanks to the Lass gene they resumed building up body fat and survived until the next development stage.'
Up to now, the Lass genes of mammals have not been connected with the regulation of the lipid metabolism. 'But due to the strong parallels with schlank we think such a function is very probable,' Professor Hoch presumes. 'If this is the case they would be a promising approach for new medications for obesity.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102111843.htm

I found this article quite interesting because it attempts to provide a direct link between body fat and genetics. There has been a common stigma that there is no "fat gene," but in fact, this article may refute that statement. If scientists can fully understand what the 'schlank' gene does with fruit flies, it may be beneficial to our overall understanding to how fat correlates with genetics.

New possible cause of Alzheimer's disease

Scientists have discovered a new possible cause for Alzheimer's disease. Kichev et al. from the University of Lleida-Irblleida in Spain investigated the fact that pro-nerve growth factor (pro-NGF) is expressed at higher levels in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. They found that in the disease state, the glycation and oxidation of pro-NGF to form NGF is blocked, and excessive levels of pro-NGF trigger nerve cell apoptosis. The team injected pro-NGF into rat brains and found that their learning capability and plasticitywere diminished. Both these symptoms are hallmarks of AD.

Alzheimer's is typically attributed to the accumulation of amyloid fibrils of mutant tau proteins. The exact method by which these fibrils cause pathology, or whether they are a cause at all, is unknown. Alternative explanations of the pathophysiology of AD and other neurological diseases will spur discussion within the scientific community and hold the possibility of furthering our understanding of the underlying causes of these diseases.

Kichev et al. Cell Death and Learning Impairment in Mice Caused by in Vitro Modified Pro-NGF Can Be Related to Its Increased Oxidative Modifications in Alzheimer Disease. American Journal Of Pathology, 2009; DOI: 10.2353/ajpath.2009.090018

Inspirational Athlete Overcomes Odds

"re-post of September blog entry"
Sports associations are for the first time in history having to make decisions if athletes with technological devices can compete. With a huge improvement in technology, now the technological devices are more efficient than what they are replacing. Oscar Pistorius is a double leg amputee. He was born without a fibula in both of his legs. Both of his legs are replaced with carbon fiber cheetah blades.

Many people believed that Oscar had an unfair advantage with the cheetah blades in track and field events. His sprinting mechanics are not similar to the other runners. The cheetah blades cover more ground and the legs are not subject to fatigue. This is because the athlete uses less energy. In human legs, the runner loses energy in each stride. The cheetah blades also act like a spring with the rate of deflection and release. They are very light which exerts less force on the ground. The cheetah blades spend 34% less time in the air in between strides. It also takes 21% less time to change the position of his legs in between strides. All of these aspects make cheetah blades more efficient than human legs. So people with cheetah blades have to exert less effort than other runners.

Oscar is the current world record holder for a double amputee. It is astonishing to note that his records are only a second away from the last Olympic gold medalist. This topic interested me because I find it amazing that our biomechanical technology has advanced so much that it enables people like Oscar opportunities to live their dreams even though they are disabled. It also inspires me to learn how Oscar is still rigorously pursuing his dreams and not allowing barriers to discourage him. Hopefully we will see Oscar at the 2012 Olympics.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090629132200.htm

New 3-D Cell Culture Technique

Cell cultures have been grown in 2-D for some time. There are many differences in the behavior of cells that are cultured in 2-D and 3-D. The problem with 2-D cultures is that cells stick to the bottom of the petri dish and spread out as they multiply. In the body cells are suspended in fluids and the cells navigate through the fluid. So growing cells in a 3-D culture allows the cells to grow and behave more like cells in the body. Another difference is that cells cultured in 3-D grow faster. This will enable scientists to better understand how the body behaves and how drugs will help fight against diseases.



Researchers from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and Rice University have found a way to grow 3-D cell cultures that imitate the natural environment that they grow in, the human body. First the cells are mixed with a gel that has magnetic nanoparticles. The magnetic nanoparticles then attach to the cells. The magnets help the cells grow because the cells stay in contact, like they are in the human body. Then the excess gel that is not attached to the cells is removed. A magnet is then put above the cells which cause the cells to levitate. This allows for a 3-D cell growth environment. After twelve hours, the cells start growing.

Cells cultured in 3-D with the Bio-Assembler.

There are many advantages to using this Bio-Assembler. The set up times are faster, the cell growth is faster, less likelihood of sample contamination, and no use of animal components. Also, when cells are gown in a 3-D environment they more precisely react to drugs and tests. They used the Bio-Assembler to study the rate that cancer cells invade healthy cells. This will allow scientists to invent treatments that destroy the cancer cells quicker. Scientists can also use the Bio-Assembler for stem cell research. This topic interested me because I find tissue engineering very interesting.



http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/tech/news/6714450.html

Trapped in his own body for 23 years - the coma victim who screamed unheard

In 1983, Rom Houben was in a car crashed that lead doctors to diagnose him as being in a vegetative state. It was presumed for 23 years that he was in this state, leading everyone to believe he had no cognitive thought or emotion. Houben, however, had retained the ability to think and understand everything told to him, but was unable to communicate or even move his body. At the time, Belgian doctors had used the Glascow Coma Scale to evaluate the extent of Houben’s coma, but incorrectly assessed him and missed clues that his brain activity was still normal. Stuck like this for over two decades, it was finally discovered by Steven Laurey, a neurologist at the University of Liege in Belgium, that Houben’s neurological activity was functioning almost normally. Using advanced scanning systems, Laurey was evaluating Houben was he stumbled upon this discovery, which Houben described as “[his] second birth.” Three years later, Houben is now able to communicate via a finger and a touchscreen pad and has also achieved some movement as a result of physical therapy. Now, he is hoping to write a book detailing his experience and of course, focusing on the day it was discovered he was not in a vegetative state.

I came across this article when doing some research for the last SNBAL, and I think it is not only remarkable, but also vital in evaluating coma patients these days. It proves that not all patients who are diagnosed as being vegetative lack complete cognitive ability. In this case, Houben was misdiagnosed and lived through hell for 23 years. This story exemplifies the need for stricter testing to be conducted when diagnosing coma patients because as Laurey put it, “Once someone is labelled as being without consciousness, it is very hard to get rid of that.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/23/man-trapped-coma-23-years

Nathan Poon
VTPP 434 - 502

Tough Yet Stiff Deer Antler is Materials Scientist's Dream

Material Scientists have been searching for something that can be tough, but also stiff. The answer may be in the antlers of Red Deer.

Curious to find out whether red deer are wet or dry when duelling, and how this affects the antler's mechanical properties, John Currey from the University of York, UK, headed south to La Mancha to meet with a colleague of his named Tomas Landete-Castillejos at the Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. They gathered samples of Red Deer antlers and tested how wet the antlers were and found that the antlers lost 8% of their weight during the time stags began to duel. During other times of the year, the antlers lost 1% of their weight. This discovery meant that antlers were dry when stags began to duel.

Even when most bones are inflexible and brittle when dry, Curry and Landete-Castillejos found that dry antlers were almost as stiff as wet bone. Curry discovered that the tissue of the antler was tough and was 2.4 times tougher than normal wet bone. He also found that the dry antler could survive impacts 6 times greater than the impacts that shattered wet femur. It was concluded that dry antler was tougher than wet bone.

This is important because this concept of Red Deer antlers being both tough and stiff could be used in the future to develop a material that exhibits both tough and stiff properties for application in biomaterials. This could lead to medical devices that can last longer in the human body and undergo more stress from forces within the body.

The article can be accessed at
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091127101036.htm

Visual Illusion Stumps Adults But Not Kids

Psychologist Martin Doherty of the University of Stirling in Scotland discovered that the context an image is seen in affects how accurately the viewer’s brain interprets the image, and a child’s ability to view the image accurately is not as affected as an adult’s. The test he conducted consisted of three pairs of orange circles, one of which was slightly larger than the other. As a control, he had the subjects identify which one was larger when the two circles were compared on a white background. Then he asked the subjects to identify which one was larger when the smaller circle was surrounded by large circles and the larger circle was surrounded by small circles. This made the small one look smaller and the large one look larger. He calls this “helpful context”. He also asked the subjects to identify which was larger when the small circle was surrounded by even smaller circles and the large one was surrounded by even larger circles. He calls that “misleading context”. In adults, the percentage of people that correctly identified the larger circle in the helpful context increased over the control, and the percentage that correctly identified the larger circle in the misleading context decreased over the control. In children, the percentage that correctly identified the larger circle stayed approximately equal in all three settings. This study suggests that the ability for the brain to view a scene as a whole, and not just focus in on its pieces, develops slowly.

I find this article interesting because it provides insight into how the brain develops. We are so far from understanding how our own brain works that every piece of new information we can get is a step in the right direction even if we do not yet know how all of the pieces fit together. Knowing how the brain works will allow us to be able to treat many diseases and conditions that go untreated today.

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/49882/title/Visual_illusion_stumps_adults_but_not_kids

Students at Stanford may have devised a way to activate neurons not with drugs or electricity but with light. In an experiment they placed a small lab rat into a plastic basin. It acted like a normal rat except for the wire strapped to his brain. A switch was flipped and a blue light glowed and the mouse ran in a counter clock wise circle. This showed that the light had some effect on the brain.

Light does not affect the brain naturally. Using algae genes the brain can create proteins that do respond to light. This makes for treatments with pinpoint accuracy compared to drugs and electricity which can affect more parts of the brain than needed.It was discovered by Peter Hegemann that algae proteins move under the effects of light.

Roger Tsien read Hegemann's work and decided to use this for neural cells. He had figured out which genes responeded to light. He did figure it out but never realised it. Then came inserting the gene into neurons. The process in inserting the algae genes into the brain follows:"Insert the gene (plus promoter) into a group of viral particles and inject them into the brain. The viruses infect a cubic millimeter or two of tissue. That is to say, they insert the new gene into every neuron in that area, indiscriminately. But because of the promoter, the gene will only turn on in one type of neuron. All the other neurons will ignore it. Imagine you wanted only the lefty in an outfield to catch. How would you do that? Distribute left-handed gloves to all the players. The righties would just stand there, fidgeting and calling their agents. The lefty would spring into action. Just as the lefty is “tagged” by his ability to use the glove, a neuron is “tagged” by its ability to use the gene. Bye-bye side effects: Researchers would be able to stimulate one kind of neuron at a time." The project was put off. Hegemann found Tsien's work and used the correct gene to prove that light can affect a neuron.

Karl Deisseroth, is a psychiatrist at Stanford who is working on this idea currently along with his grad students,Feng Zhang and Ed Boyden. They had managed to make the neurons fire using blue light but it appeared that the algea genes could only fire and not inhibit the neuron. It was until later that a gene found in bacteria could do the opposite of the algea gene with yellow light.

Though the project is currently still in the works there is a great deal of promise for traements for certain mental conditions. Parkinson's disease is one of the bigger ideas for treating. Not only can the algae genes help manipulate neurons but also help monitor them. By mixing the genes with a florescent that glows when exposed to light doctors can track brain development. This would allow doctors to see and change whatever is needed to make sure the brain stays healthy. This two way treatment would be a great leap in neural medicine. Currently there is only one way treatment. You send the drug out and hope for the best or monitor it and do nothing.

It also has potential in prosthetics. Imagine being able to control a prosthetic arm in the same manner as a normal arm. The brain would be able to send information to the arm to move and be able to recieve feedback from the arm. Currently most prosthetics can only really recieve commands from the brain but usually send nothing back. With the help of light. Certain LEDs could shine in the brain that would give the sensations that go with using a natural limb such a weight, temperature, and texture.

This was a real interesting article. It seems strange to use something such as light to alter the brain but after reading this article it does seem like a good idea. Only time will tell how far this project goes. There a good amount of technological leaps that have to be made to perfect this technology but we can get there one day.
http://www.wired.com/magazine/2009/10/mf_optigenetics/3/

A new study shows that prostheses hinder running performance

A new study shows that prostheses hinder running performance

A huge controversy erupted in 2008 when double- amputee Oscar Pistorius tried out to compete in the Olympics, because he ran on “Cheetah Flex-Foot” prosthetic devices. It was assumed that because Pistorius did not have leg muscles, he had an advantage over the other runners because his cardiovascular system would have less muscle to supply oxygen to. Consequently, the IAAF, which governs track and field competitions, banned “ ‘any technical device that incorporates springs, wheels or any other element that provides a user with an advantage over another athlete not using such a device’ ”. Pistorius was outraged, saying that since sprinting is an anaerobic event, a person’s aerobic capacity should not be an issue. The IAAF argument would hold up better in the case of a marathon, where aerobic metabolism is more of an issue. Because of this, the Court of Arbitration of Sport overturned the IAAF’s previous ruling four months later, and Pistorius was allowed to enter in the Olympic trials. Later, biomechanical experts studied the “stride timing and forces exerted on the ground with both a biological leg and prosthesis at speeds from jogging to sprinting.” They found that, rather than giving an advantage, prosthetics actually hinder a runner, by providing less “ground reaction forces,” which is what provides more speed. Contrary to original opinion, sprinters that rely on prosthetic legs are at a disadvantage to people on their biological legs because they cannot hit the ground as hard and fast, so cannot achieve the highest sprinting speeds. Although this is still true, researchers are still working hard to develop prosthetics that some will find to be truly better than the God-given originals.

http://www.examiner.com/x-19794-Boston-Triathlon-Examiner~y2009m11d6-A-new-study-shows-that-prostheses-hinder-running-performence

-Amanda Rose

Born with half a brain, woman living full life

For the past 18 years of her life, Michelle Mack lived pretty much as any normal girl would. She grew up, went to high school, and graduated right on schedule; however, much to the surprise of Michelle and her parents, doctors recently discovered that she had been missing half of her brain since birth. Michelle’s teenage years were often filled with frustration for her and her parents because even the simplest of tasks didn’t come as easy to her as other, but doctors had not yet discovered why. Then at the age of 27, an MRI revealed the secret that the right side of Mack’s brain had basically rewired itself to compensate for the function lost on the left side of the brain during a pre-birth stroke.

Many of the structures in the left side of the brain generally control movement, behavior, and cognition. While Michelle has some deep structures remaining on this side, 95% of the cortex is completely gone. Somehow, the right side of Michelle’s brain knew to take over the essential functions usually performed by the left side, such as speaking and reading. The only issue for Mack is that this rewiring did not necessarily work perfectly. For example, Michelle has fairly normal language abilities, but in order for the right brain to compensate for this left-brain activity, her visual-spatial processing is lacking. Visual-spatial processing should be done by the right brain so clearly she was cost some right-brain activities. This diagnosis also perfectly explains why Mack suffered from uncontrollable emotions for many years. Michelle Mack may always live with a few difficulties and special needs, but the fact that she is living a productive life with only half a brain is something to be admired.

I was drawn to this article after one of our SNBAL’s on neurophysiology. After seeing the MRI of the man who was impaled through the eye socket and suffered brain damage but still lived, I wondered if there were any others with the same story. Then I stumbled upon Michelle Mack. The fact that she has been able to live fairly normally for so many years with only half a brain is absolutely miraculous. It is so amazing how the human body is able to keep itself alive even with the most insurmountable odds.

Article : http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/10/12/woman.brain/index.html

Brittany Guth
VTPP 434-501

A new weapon in the war against bad cholesterol

Dr. C Shad Thaxton and Chad A. Mirkin at the Chicago campus of Northwestern University have designed artificial high density lipoprotiens (HPL) nanoparticles that mimic the role of cholesterol. They uptake the bad cholesterol in the body before it can develop into plague which prevents rupture which, in turn, prevents stroke and heart attacks. These artificial nanoparticles are coated in with fats and proteins which allows them to uptake this bad cholesterol and transport it to the liver to be excreted.

It is believed that these nanoparticles can also be used in diagnostics. All they do is implant gold or other metals into the the center of the particles, which allow those particles to show up in medical imaging. This could be used to monitor plague build up in the future.

The researchers at Northwestern have replaced the core in the natural HPL particles with a gold nanoparticle, this allows the particle to bind to cholesterol very tightly. These engineered particles have gone through a first round of testing in a small group of animals and the researchers are ready to move the testing to a larger group of animals.

Willem J. M. Mulder at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in Manhattan has developed his own version of these nanoparticles that are primarily used for imaging. His main focus is the imaging of artherosclerosis. The gold nanoparticles show up extremely well in computed tomagraphy, a type of imaging.

I chose this article because my family has a history of high cholesterol. I know I'm not for sure going to have it as well but this article gives me hope that there will be a way of tracking or treating of high cholesterol when I get older.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/business/22novel.html?_r=1&ref=research
-Charles Brown

Trapped in His Own Body

This article is about a man, Rom Houben, who went into what was thought to be a coma after a car accident in his early twenties. After over twenty-three years in a vegetative state, however, a huge discovery was made concerning his awareness. The doctors found out that the entire time the man was trapped in his own body. A neurologist had decided to take a different look at the patient, finding that his neural activity was different from that of a coma patient. The reason that the patient can’t communicate with the rest of the world is that his body went into complete paralysis, yet his mind remained as it was. The patient could hear everything around him and the only way he could keep moving on was by living in his own reality. Now using a state-of-the-art scanning system, the patient can now communicate with the rest of the world.

Ryan Rihani

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/23/man-trapped-coma-23-years

Human Skin is our "Third Ear"

I found an interesting article that refutes the idea that our sense of hearing works alone. When we perceive the audible acoustics around us, air puffs against the skin can alter sounds slightly. The idea is similar to how we can use our eyes to interpret facial expressions and other cues to form conclusions about the emotions or subject of our verbal conversations.

The people who made this observation, professor Bryan Gick from the Department of Linguistics, University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, Canada and PhD student Donald Derrick, affirm that tactile information plays an ever increasing role in our senses. A little knowledge of the English language became the basis of their study. Small and subtle differences in the way air bursts through our lips makes a difference in word meanings. Because our language relies so heavily on certain syllables being aspirated, 66 men and women recruited for the study reported differences in perception of words from what was actually spoken when air puffs were applied to the skin. As puffs touched the neck or right hand of the subject, eight repetitions of an assortment of syllables were heard. The subjects were then more likely to perceive them as aspirated syllables, for instance they heard "ba" as "pa" and "da" as "ta". A difference in their study versus other studies of tactile input is that these patients are integrating “naturalistic tactile information during auditory speech perception without previous training".

The two men hope that their findings will pave the way for new hearing aids, speech science research, telecommunications, and new approaches to multi-sensory speech perception.

I’m not quite sure what it is about the skin or the air puffs that influence our hearing so intricately. The article was not clear on the exact physiological mechanism that captures these air puffs and translates them into signals that change auditory perception. I’m also skeptical as to the validity of the test. The article did not give much in terms of details. We do not know the role that language plays in the sensitivity of our hearing to these air puffs or the effect of environmental controls. We do not have the statistics of the experiment, so the experiment is hard to evaluate. However, I thought the article was interesting because it makes us seem more interesting. The fact is that the clearly defined territories of our 5 main senses that we all know are not so distinct and final as we once thought. It is a marvel that our bodies have the ability to perceive small details such as air puffs to sense our environment.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/172341.php

Jason Dwight
Section 502

Crustacean Shell with Polyester Creates Mixed-Fiber Material for Nerve Repair

Researchers have created a promising new material that could support nerve repair by mixing chitosan (found in shellfish) with polycaprolactone, a commercial biodegradable polyester used in sutures. They have captured biologically desirable qualities from both by melding them together. Polycaprolactone is strong, flexible, and biodegradable. Chitosan is cheap, readily available, biodegradable, and biocompatible. The combination produces a material that is biocompatible, stable in solution, resistant to collapse and pliable.

After a peripheral nerve-severing injury, the nerve endings will continue to grow. Surgeons must join these two pieces together for the patient to regain control. This becomes quite difficult in large gaps, and surgeons currently use nerve guides which direct the two fragments back together. Nerve guides are made of collagen, which has several disadvantages. Collagen is expensive, weak in wet environments, and tends to elicit an immune response when implemented.

Tests show significant improvements with prototype hybrid nerve guides created from this new material. The chitosan-polyester blend required two times as much force to push the tube halfway shut as polylacticcoglycolic acid (another biomaterial under study), and eight times as much as the collagen tube. The new material has highly outperformed collagen mechanically, in addition to being more biocompatible and cheaper to manufacture. While this new material improves upon current nerve guides, it would also work well for wound dressing, ligaments, cartilage, muscle repair, and heart grafts.

Human beings are highly specialized. As a result, the solutions we engineer for tissue repair must accomplish a very specific function as well as coexist with the machinery already in place. In many cases, a synthetic solution may have several positive aspects along with other negative ones. As our treatments become more sophisticated, we can create material with specific properties required for any given job by improving and combining preexisting substances. These results are significant because they show us that even more specialized material can be created in order to better address the problem at hand.

http://insciences.org/article.php?article_id=5700

New Study Zeros In on ADHD Cause

By Madeline Ellis

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It was in 1902 that physician George F. Still first documented what is now known as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) , and despite more than a century of research, its exactcause is still not fully understood. Evidence to date indicates that there are many underlying factors that lead to the inattention, impulsiveness and hyperactivity seen in ADHD, among them genetic and neurobiological vulnerabilities, but the basic problem is thought to be in the disruption of certain neurotransmitters in the brain. Studies have shown that transmission of dopamine, a chemical needed for normal functioning of the central nervous system, is disrupted in some of the pathways of the brain in people with ADHD, and now researchers at the National Institute on Drug Abuse say they have pinpointed the areas in the brain where this seems to occur.

Using images taken at Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, Dr. Nora Volkow and colleagues compared the brains of 53 adults with ADHD to 44 adults without the disorder. The researchers found that the brains of those with ADHD had a reduced concentration of dopamine receptors and transporters, specifically in the areas involved with reward and motivation, and this disruption “was directly related to the severity of inattention.”

This finding may explain why children and adults with ADHD have difficulty completing tasks when there is no immediate reward on the horizon, yet are able to concentrate when the activities are ones they enjoy or that come easy to them. The researchers say it may also explain why ADHD patients are prone to complications such as drug abuse and obesity. “This pathway plays a key role in reinforcement, motivation, and in learning how to associate various stimuli with rewards,” says Volkow.

Dr. Andrew Adesman, chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Schneider Children’s Hospital in New York, agrees the study provides further support for the association between ADHD and dopamine deficits in specific areas of the mid-brain, but notes that “patients and professionals must recognize that, despite research advances identifying differences in the brains of patients with ADHD, the diagnosis of ADHD remains a clinical one,” Adesman said. “ADHD cannot be diagnosed by neuroimaging.”

Volkow says their results also lend credence to the continued use of stimulant medications in the treatment of ADHD, as they have been shown to target the dopamine pathway—enhancing motivation and increasing attention to cognitive tasks. But the findings should also serve as a “wake-up call for teachers,” she says. Knowing that the problem is one of motivation, teachers could devise ways of enhancing “the appeal and relevance of school” for these children. “It’s a great opportunity to develop curriculum that is much more exciting and engaging for kids suffering from ADHD.”

ADHD is the most commonly diagnosed childhood psychiatric disorder, estimated to affect three to seven percent of America’s children. On average, at least one child in every classroom in the United States needs help for the disorder.
However, more than half of ADHD children will continue to display characteristics of the disorder throughout adolescence and adulthood.

The study findings are reported in the September 9th issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

I thought this article was very interesting because it talks about in which areas of the brain ADHD has an effect on and how it affects them. By comparing ADHD patients with "normal" functioning adult brains they were able to distinguish the areas which are affected by ADHD. Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder has been an important topic of discussion in the last several years because it has not been fully understood even though there are many who are affected by it. I also found really interesting that ADHD cannot be diagnosed by neuroimaging and as the article further explains; ADHD remains a clinical diagnosis and will stay that way.

David Figueroa

VTTP 434