The worst Series of Radiation Accidents in the History of Medical Accelerators

Article here:
http://courses.cs.vt.edu/cs3604/lib/Therac_25/Therac_5.html

This article investigates the six known radiation overexposure accidents by the Therac-25, a medical linear accelerator that used an electron beam or x-ray photons to treat patients with tumors. The Therac-25 was  created by Atomic Energy Commission Limited (AECL)and there were 11 of them in the US and Canada. Compared to its predecessor, the Therac-20, the Therac-25 was more compact and versatile.

Between 1985 and 1987, six known occurrences of radiation overexposure occurred with the Therac-25. The radiation overdoses were caused by programming bugs. The Therac-20, which had no cases of accidental radiation over exposure, had many of the same computer bugs responsible for the Therac-25 accidents. One of the design changes in developing the Therac-25 was to remove the hardware safety locks and have the safety controlled by the software to save money instead of having it secured with both hardware and software like the Therac-20. It was assumed that the Therac-20's safety software worked fine, but it was discovered that unknown numbers of lives were saved from its hardware safety locks. Extensive investigation of the Therac-25 didn't occur until after the fifth incident; the company wasn't able to reproduce the results of the previous 4 accidents at the time, so the company didn't inform the doctors operating the machines that there were reported incidents of radiation exposure.

When I originally read about the Therac-25 accidents (a few years ago and from a different article), I had to google the incident halfway through the article because I couldn't tell whether the story was fictional or not. As bioengineers, its a well known fact that people's lives could depend on products we make, and bugs and flaws in our products can compromise the health of the people who use our products. This story doesn't explicitly have 'good guys' and 'bad guys', but it does provide insight about how to (or how not to) handle situations where you might be the only person that has a reasonable doubt whether some device has a critical flaw in it or not. I think this story is powerful because the lessons learned apply to patients, doctors, lawyers, programmers, engineers, and so on. As the devices we design become more complex, it becomes more likely that there's going to be things screwing up for seemingly impossible reasons.

Surgical Treatments of Patellar Luxation in Dogs

Medial patellar luxation is a condition in which the patella, or kneecap, tends to move towards the inner side of the knee joint. In relatively mild cases, it happens only occasionally and is barely noticeable, but if untreated, it can result in more frequent occurrences, reduced range of motion in the joint, and arthritic changes. The additional stresses placed on the knee often results in either a single or bilateral ligament rupture, as well. However, it has been proven that the end result can be drastically improved with the use of one of two surgical interventions. The two most commonly used procedures are the trochlear wedge recession and the trochlear block recession.

This photo shows the subchondral bone (with cartilage still attached on top) being lifted free of the joint in a trochlear block recession. (Photo credit: Brian S. Beale)

This article was taken from a study comparing the two procedures in an attempt to determine if the more complex of the two, the trochlear block recession, yielded better outcomes. The older method, the trochlear wedge recession, involved using either a bone saw or an osteotome to deepen the "v" that runs down the middle of the joint surface, the trochlear groove. In this procedure, the cartilage covering the joint surface is lost when the underlying subchondral bone is removed. In the block procedure, though, a rectangular section of the subchondral bone is resected in this region, and then the top layer of cartilage is salvaged and replaced in the joint, pinning the sides to hold it in place if necessary. The study found this newer process to be much more effective in terms of measurable mechanical outcomes.

However, because of the additional investment of time and the higher level of surgical expertise required for this procedure, it is probably not a very feasible or cost-effective option for most general practitioners. Because of this, I was wondering if perhaps a combination of the older approach, the trochlear wedge recession, and the bone scaffold covered in our first SNBAL assignment would be a viable option.

Comparison of trochlear block recession and trochlear wedge recession for canine patellar luxation using a cadaver model.

Behavior Therapy Normalizes Brain in Children with Autism

You can find this article here!

This article was about how a child with Autism (a genetic disorder), could have their brain "normalized" through a behavioral intervention program. This article sparked my interest for two reasons. One, after listening to many of the student lectures that were done on genetic disorders, I understand how difficult it can be to have a cure, or even lessen the symptoms. And two, because after studying much of the neurophysiology of the brain, any article involving the brain fascinated me!

This article explains the research being done for children with autism, starting from the ages of 18 months to 2 years old. The research study took these young children and had "intervention therapy" with them, and results showed an average improvement of 17.6 IQ points, (which we know from class are relative to the type of IQ test taken, and not much detail was given on this point). These improvements that were shown were dramatic increases in developmental behaviors. This article does specify it is not a cure for autism, but an improvement in decreasing the symptoms of autism in these children. In order to measure the brain activity of these toddlers (aged 18 months to 3 years), they took EEGs (electroencephalograms). The findings showed that the toddlers with the treatment had reversed the amount of brain activity, which was more like a "normal" child. What they found was the earlier they started with these treatments, the more successful they were with the outcome. Once the child aged 6 years, they were less likely to have optimal results. Altogether this article was very enlightening, and I look forward to see where future research in this field of study goes!

Gene Therapy Repairs Ravaged Immune System

Article here

Researches from the University of California in Los Angeles, and the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) of the National Institute of Health, found the correlations of Gene therapy and immune system dysfunction. According to Dr. Donald and Dr. Fabio, Gene therapy can safely restore immune function in children with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID).  Children with SCID are not able to produce healthy and adequate lymphocytes compared to normal kids, thus they are more susceptible to infections. Researchers found that one type of SCID arise from a faulty gene that translates into enzyme adenosine deaminase (ADA). Without this enzyme, toxic compounds build up in the body and in response lymphocyte’s production is inhibited.

There were researches about treating this condition with gene therapy by replacing damaged ADA gene in the blood-forming stem cells found in bone marrow. However, they have had trouble developing methods that effectively raises ADA level and leads to lasting improvements in immune function.

In this case, Dr. Donald and Dr. Fabio treated ten SCID patients with ADA deficiency by isolating blood-forming stem cells from their bone marrow, manipulated the cells ’genes correctly and treated with retroviral vectors, which delivered healthy ADA genes. Later on, the corrected cells were infused back into the patient’s blood stream. Four patients were remained with the same therapy mentioned before. The other 6 additional patients, the doctors modified the treatment. They stopped the enzyme-therapy before the procedure and patients received low-dose of chemotherapy. Doctors state that this step proved to be important because it allows them to find the optimal level for enhancing the efficacy of the corrected stem cells by adjusting the chemotherapy dosage. Out of the 6 patients mentioned before, 3 of them received the refined procedure and have had improved health for up to 5 years and have not needed enzyme replacement injections. The other 3 patients did not have lasting improvements from the procedure. This suggests the scientists to improve the therapy.  

I found this article interesting because based on what I read about this disease, children with this condition have to take several painful weekly injections. This research enables the possibility to find a less painful treatment with better results. 

High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound: Current Potential and Oncologic Applications

Article Here:

In the above article, the power of the emerging technology of High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) is studied in its new applications. Based on research, the technology appears to be a viable treatment option when a growth of some sort is present in the body, with highly promising results appearing for the treatment of tumors simply by focusing the right frequency of sound waves at a target location using the ultrasound technique. Cancers in a large variety of situations are currently being tested including liver tumors, renal tumors, pancreatic cancer, and prostrate carcinoma. The sound waves can cause the nuclei of desired cells to undergo apoptosis, which would allow for targeted removal of specific tissues in these affected regions. Additional potential applications include the use of the ultrasound to remove blockages in the vascular system such blood clots and plaque build-ups. However there are some major obstacles to overcome, such as the potential for collateral tissue damage and the difficulties in treating specific areas of the body, such as those in the gastrointestinal tract with gas bubbles near them and tissue in a region near solid bone. Each of these areas is difficult to actually image with current ultrasound to to the incongruity in bone density that these regions cause.

This is important in the field of biomedical engineering due to the potential medical applications of such a non-invasive surgery method. By using this technique over traditional methods, doctors basically eliminate the need for surgery prep and the rehabilitation necessary to recover from traumatic procedures. Patients would be able to undergo brain surgery in minutes and emerge with no debilitating effects or necessary physical recovery time. A breakthrough in this field would allow for a great many more treatments for patients potentially to feeble to survive the rigors of other surgeries. The possibilities for patient benefits are substantial.

Molecules That Drive The Development Of 3 Forms Of Leukemia Point To New Potential Therapeutic Targets

 A team of researchers, lead by Dr. Ari Melnick of Weill Cornell Medical College, have linked epigenetic regulation disruption, or chemical modification of DNA, with the actions of oncogenic proteins involved in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

They examined three forms of adult B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL).  All types feature master regulatory gene mutations, which cause cells in the bone marrow to produce cancer-promoting proteins.  The researchers performed DNA methylation and gene expression profiling on 215 patients. 
Among patients with BCR-ABL1-positive B-ALL, they found that the most epigenetically deregulated gene, a CD25 protein-coding gene identified as interleukin-2 receptor alpha, was associated with significantly worse patient outcomes. With this information, CD25 could be used to biomarker to test patients who are at risk for poorer outcomes.  The team also demonstrated, using CD25 antibodies, that leukemic cells expressing the gene could be destroyed.

In patients with E2A-PBX1-positive B-ALL, the researchers found data that suggested the E2A-PBX1 fusion protein directly remodeled the epigenome, or chemical compounds that modify, or control the genome, and caused aggressive symptoms of B-ALL.

The team also found that the epigenetic programming effects of the cancer protein MLLr, in patients with MLLr-B-ALL, caused the activation of a cancer protein called BCL6.  With this information, the researches developed a BCL6 inhibitor, which effectively destroyed the ALL cells in patients involved in the clinical trial.

I found this article interesting because I want to become an oncologist after I graduate.  Many important people in my life have developed cancer, and I personally want to help in some way.  Articles like this that offer both significant insights into a disease and possible treatments, make me feel like I can do the same for people.

Abstract: Integrative Epigenomic Analysis Identifies Biomarkers and Therapeutic Targets in Adult B-Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Article:  Molecules That Drive The Development of 3 Forms of Leukemia Point to New Potential Therapeutic Targets

Superhydrophobic surface and knife to cut water droplets

The article: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0045893

Antonio Garcia from Arizona State University is researching how to separate a droplet of water without the use of satellite droplets. Using a superhydrophobic surface and knife, the drop of water can be physically cut into two separate smaller drops. This development could help make separation of components (such as proteins) in a small sample (such as a drop of water) easier and faster, without the use of specific labels or arrays of instruments with accompanying preparation steps.

Polyethylene was used to make the knife superhydrophobic. The Teflon slides that the water droplet were placed on were also superhydrophobic, and had contact angles about 135 degrees.

Previous publications have described how isoelectric focusing can be conducted on an aqueous drop resting on a superhydrophobic surface. Isoelectric focusing utilizes the isoelectric point of proteins placed in a liquid with an induced pH gradient and an electric field to separate the proteins within the solution. With this possible in droplets of water, proteins and other components with isoelectric points could be separated from each other within the drop. If they are separated within the droplet, and the droplet can be cut by this superhydrophobic knife, proteins can be extracted easily from small samples. This could make biomedical research more efficient, and the separation of proteins for clinical testing quicker.

Tissue Engineering Regeneration of Cancerous Trachea

Article Here

Doctors in Iceland discover a very large tumor growing into a man's trachea which failed to be stopped by conventional radiation and surgical therapy. A Swedish doctor proposes and executes a radically different treatment - replacing the man's affected trachea with a new one grown from his cells. - which succeeded thus far to save the man's life. To accomplish this, a porous trachea-shaped polymer scaffold was manufactured to fit, then seeded within a bioreactor with stem cells from the man's bone marrow. After several days, the man's cancerous trachea was removed and the artificial one was implanted. In later follow-up examinations, the new trachea was found not only to have grown in fully with a network of blood vessels, but specialized ciliated cells had begun to form the lining necessary to remove mucus from the lungs by coughing.

This procedure is not yet perfect (scar tissue had to be removed from the developing trachea after some time), but it raises lots of possibility for the future advancement of tissue engineering. The same doctor had made artificial tracheas before in a similar process, but this is his first time to use a manufactured polymer scaffold rather than donor-harvested extracellular matrix. Making an artificial scaffold allows doctors to create an organ that will properly fit the patient and account for other unique circumstances.

When I did the SNBAL assignment about regrowing the bone of a rabbit's joint, I became intrigued with the possibilities and potential medical breakthroughs that tissue engineering could bring about. The ability to regrow tissue and organs comes straight out of science fiction, yet here we are using procedures like the one outlined in the article to save a man's life. There's still a lot of work to be done, but I can definitely see the medical regeneration of more complex organs and structures becoming not only possible but commonplace in my lifetime. The possibilities become even more mind-blowing when you consider what could happen when you apply this technology to healthy people - that's really when reality starts to look a lot like a scifi novel.

Scientists Use Neuroimaging Techniques

to Study the Effects of Cocaine on the Brain

Article available here.

Researchers from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Stony Brook University have developed an imaging tomography technique that illustrates the effect of cocaine abuse on the blood flow in the brain, particularly at the microvascular level. Tomography uses 2-dimensional imaging on varying planes in a 3-dimensional space to render incredible high-resolution models in virtual 3-dimensional space. This technique showed significantly decreased blood flow at all vascular thicknesses in the brain, which implies that this research could go far in helping understand and treat stroke related to and unrelated to cocaine abuse.

The researchers saw up to 30% reduction in cerebral blood flow (CBR) for rats who were administered proportional doses of cocaine. Though recovery and restoration of blood flow to the brain was present, it decreased with continued drug "abuse." The so-called microischemia is a significant threat to the delivery of oxygen to the cerebral tissue, and can lead to full-scale ischemia and neuronal death.

I think the most interesting thing about this article is its implication that there are those in the scientific community who aspire to help those who actively put themselves in life-threatening health conditions, albeit probable that the scientific community as a whole may just embrace the unique challenges on the microvascular level associated with the cocaine-related brain damage.

New Technology in Prosthetics

On November 4^th, 2012, Zac Vawter, who had his leg amputated in 2009 in a motorcycle accident, will walk up 103 flights of stairs using a bionic limb created by Centre for Bionic Medicine. This will be the first public appearance of this state of the art technology. This bionic limb uses a technique known as targeted re-innervation  Basically when a limb is normally amputated, it is fitted by a myolectric prosthetic, meaning it can only move in one direction. This device however, grows into the muscle and targets the nerves providing extra signals that can then be used to move not only the leg, but the ankle too. Even more surprisingly, the patient can feel touch and contact. It can sense how much pressure is being applied and how fast the leg is moving. This is all done through an inbuilt microcomputer.

The specifics for how this leg works are as follows, the muscle responds to nervous signals and the nervous signals respond to how the patient thinks. Electrodes act as antennae, allowing the computer to know what the person is thinking to within a thousandth of a second. Then an algorithm tells the prosthetic what the patient wants to do. Since each patient is different, the algorithm is also different. The prosthesis actually learns the patients muscle signals and react accordingly.

This article caught my eye after last weeks snbal about prosthetic limbs. I was interested in seeing how far they have actually come. I am also a huge Star Wars fan and was wondering if there is anything close to the robotic limbs they have in the movies. Needless to say, even though the limbs still cannot feel pain, I am honestly surprised at how advanced the technology is in them. The team behind this particular prosthetic leg believes it will be on the market within the next ten years. If this is on the market, I wonder what will be in the making…

  http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/31/thought-controlled-bionic-leg-chicago-tower

Possible link between Type 1 Diabetes and Alzheimer's

Article found here
A new study done by the Salk Institute for Biological Studies is the first to show a possible link between Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus. The team found two increases in amyloid beta (Abeta) and tau protein in the brains of diabetic mice. Increases in Abeta and tau protein is hallmark in Alzheimer's patients.
Abeta is a misfolded peptide that is suspect to be a cause of Alzheimer's disease. It is thought that that when Abeta's interact with astrocytes, the astrocytes release inflammatory molecules that can destroy neurons.
The senior author Pamela Maher states that the study shows an increase in vascular associated amyloid beta buildup in the brain, which causes expedited brain aging. Their data also suggests that changes in astrocytes and other pro-inflammatory processes along with the bonding of proteins with sugar molecules (non-enzymatic glycation), can also contribute. Chronic peripheral inflammation and increased sugar molecules are associated with diabetes and the alterations may cause the brain to change the astrocyte function, leading to Alzheimer's-like symptoms/changes.
In the study they introduced type 1 diabetes to two sets of mice. They studied the changes that occurred in both sets of mice. The difference in this study than in others like it is that the mice were not genetically engineered to produce high levels of human Abeta or tau proteins to allow for changes to occur more naturally to better model the effects of type 1 diabetes on the acceleration of Alzheimer's.

On a more personal note, I am extremely interested in developments Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus treatments and concerns. My mother has had Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus since she was 11 years old. From a young age I tried to learn as much as possible to understand what was going on inside my mother's body. Finding an article like this is kind of daunting for me. If there are follow up studies that show similar results as this one, this could add another complication to having diabetes to the already extensive list of possible complications.

New Imaging Technology Promising for Diagnosing Cardiovascular Disease

Researchers at Purdue University were the first to display the release of photoacoustic signals when chemical bonds in molecules absorb light.  A new technique to create 3-D images of arteries and veins using nanosecond laser pulses in the near infrared spectra has been created.  The pulsed laser causes tissue to heat and expand locally, generating pressure waves at the ultrasound frequency that can be picked up with a device called a transducer.   The imaging reveals the presence of carbon-hydrogen bonds making up lipid molecules in arterial plaques that cause heart disease, so this technique can be used to identify and diagnose cardiovascular artery disease.

I found this article intriguing, because it provides a method which could be used to quantitatively measure the effects of CAD treatments such as the effects of the nanobots from our semester project.  Also, there are pictures of images taken of pig tissues on the website which are pretty neat as well.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110609173720.htm

New Nano Drug Delivery System Developed for Bladder Cancer

Using experimental mice models, scientists from UC Davis have shown that nano-particles can be used to administer three times the maximum tolerated dose of a standard bladder cancer drug, paclitaxel, to cancer cells without increasing the toxicity.  The nano-particles created are nano-sized micelles, which are specially designed to home in on and connect to tumorous bladder cancer cells, via the incorporation of specially designed ligands on the micelle body.  These ligands are proven to preferentially bind to bladder cancer cells in dogs and humans.  The team showed that these micelles could be filled with paclitaxel, which could then be delivered directly to the tumor cells.  Since paclitaxel can be toxic to bone marrow cells and is insoluble in blood, the ability of the nano-particles to deliver three times the dose straight to the cancer cells is a giant break through and is big step in the direction of more effective treatment of bladder cancer without the high risk of side effects.  The team from UC Davis also showed that the micelles of the nano-particles could be filled with a fluorescent dye instead of paclitaxel and could then be used as a diagnostic tool for bladder cancer.  Overall, the nano-particles appear to be a great breakthrough in the diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancer, and shows the possible applications of micelle nano-particle use in the area of diagnosis and monitoring therapy.

I found this article interesting because it shows the employment of nano technology to fight disease.   The use of nano-particles (although not mechanical) to fight bladder cancer, a devastating disease, shows a step forward into the future of medicine.  I did not realize we were already at the stage of being able to incorporate controls like the specific ligand that they used.  It leads me to wonder what other diseases could be fought with these specifying nano micelles. The scientists at UC Davis have shown that it is possible to fight disease at the nano level.

            Article Here

Reprogrammed Amniotic Fluid Cells Could Treat Vascular Diseases

Researchers at Weil Cornell Medical College discovered a new effective approach for converting amniotic fluid derived cells into endothelial cells to repair damaged blood vessels in heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and trauma. The team has discovered a way to utilize diagnostic prenatal amniocentesis cells, which reprograms those stable endothelial cells capable of regenerating damaged blood vessels and repairing injured organs. This amniotic fluid containing non embryonic cells would be treated with a trio of genes that reprograms them quickly into billions of endothelial cells-the cells that line the entire circulatory system. These new endothelial cells can be frozen and banked, similar to blood, and patients in need of blood vessel repair would be able to receive the cells through a simple injection. This therapy could I prove treatment for disorders linked to a damaged vascular system, including heart disease, stroke, and lung diseases. In damaged vessels, these cells provide the plumbing to move new blood, produce growth factors that actively participate in organ maintenance, repair and regeneration.

To date, there have been many failed attempts to clinically produce endothelial cells that can be used to treat patients. Isolation of endothelial cells from adult organs so they can be grown in the laboratory is not efficient.  Using pluripotent stem cells to produce endothelial cells grow poorly, and if not fully differentiated could potentially cause cancer. Therefore researchers at Weil Cornell searched for a new source of cells that they could turn into a vast supply of stable endothelial cells; they probed human amniotic fluid-derived cells. Amniotic cells are not as plastic and unstable as endothelial cells derived from embryonic cells or as stubborn as those produced from reprogramming differentiated adult cells, which can produce endothelial cells.

I found this particular article interesting because I have always been interested in the advances of bioengineered therapy methods. Converting amniotic fluid derived cell into endothelial cells can have countless positive effects on numerous diseases including heart disease, stroke, and lung diseases such as emphysema, diabetes, and trauma. Therapeutic research is a continuous process that has endless possibilities and has so much potential to affect many lives in the future.

Article: Here 

Back From The Dead

The article discusses the concept of apoptosis, which is induced cell death. Apoptosis is a necessary part of human growth but apoptosis can sometimes kill too many cells after conditions such as heart attacks or stroke. The scientist in this study wanted to understand this process to help resolve the issue of the wrong cells being killed. The scientist exposed mice liver cells to ethanol which can cause apoptosis. The cells began the process of apoptosis and soon showed signs of dying but when the ethanol was washed away, the cells went back to their normal conformation and regained their organelles. The scientist also observed this in the heart cells of rats and the brain cells of mice. They named this process, of a cell coming back to normal function after the initiation of an apoptotic trigger, anastatis. The scientist observed that it was not only the physical appearance that went back to normal conformation but also the organelles and gene activity patters went back to normal. The scientist observed that DNA that had been sliced had reformed when the trigger was removed. There were come occurrences though when the cells grew back abnormally when the apoptotic trigger was removed.

I found this article interesting because apoptosis was a process we had discussed in class. Not only that, but the idea that we can prevent cell death seems useful in the medical field. Through apoptosis, certain cells can be targeted for cell death and if we discover that the wrong cells are dying, we could potentially recover those cells. It could be used to kill infected cells and revive the healthy ones when viruses infect the body. It could also be useful in cancer research. Apoptosis and anastatis can be used to kill cancer cells and prevent good cells from dying. From the looks of the article though, more research would need to be done. If we used this in medicine there would always be the risk of creating abnormal cells that could lead to cancer.  It will be interesting to see what more they discover and if they can use this process to kill off infected cells and viruses in the body and keep healthy cells from dying.

Article Here

Neuroscience: Converting thoughts into action

http://www.nature.com.lib-ezproxy.tamu.edu:2048/nature/journal/v442/n7099/full/442141a.html

This article is about research in implantable neuromotor prosthetics. Scientists are trying to develop electrode arrays that can be implanted into the brain of a paralysed man, allowing him to use his thoughts to directly control devices. Other researchers have experimented with monkeys by extracting intended actions from the neural activity in their brains that improves the performance of implantable neuromotor prothetics. This area of research in neuroprothetics will allow signals from the brain to control physical devices such as artificial limbs, or it could even lead to use of paralysed muscles through electrical stimulation.

Research on these implantable neuroprosthetics starts with observing the planning and control of movement in the brain of monkeys. The major region of interest in the motor cortex which controls movement. Studies have been conducted on monkeys, but now these studies must move to humans. One scientist successfully implanted tiny electrodes into a paralyzed man's primary motor cortex and tested to see if the activity of neurons could control a computer cursor. This article provides a link to videos, if you are interested.

One significant result from the study is that even though the patient was paralysed, the neural activity in his primary motor cortex was normal, so the activity in that region can still be modulated by the subject's motor intentions.

The benefits of using an implantable neuromotor prosthetic over non-invasive electrodes is that these implantable devices have a higher potential speed to translate neural activity into a movement of the body, or some device.

These devices have not, however, been tested for long term use so there are still more tests that need to be done before they are ready for regular clinical use.

This area of research is very intriguing, and makes me wonder what technological advances in neuromotor prosthetics will be made in the near future. These scientific breakthroughs will benefit so many people who have lost motor ability by connecting signals in the brain to devices and leading to more efficient devices. What is even more exciting is the fact that people who are paralyzed could potentially use their legs or arms again if more research is conducted on repairing damaged nerves. This is an area of research that I am very interested in, and I hope to be a key player in making these new discoveries.

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Used to Regenerate Skin

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090114160548.htm

The study that was established in order to discover whether skin could be regenerated by bone marrow stem cells was done with a burn wound model with pig skin. They attached the artificial skin to the patient and dermal layer and started the process, and they found that stem cells would differentiate into skin cells which are self renewing and raise quality of healing.  The stem celled skin showed better healing, less contraction, and better blood vessels through out the skin. In the future, they are looking to use these skin grafts that are able to heal burn wounds to replace plastic and metal prostheses that are used now.

I think this article is interesting because it gives another alternative to healing rather than just plastic and metal. Even though it always brings in the ethical issue that is stem cells, I believe that we have reached a point in medical technology where it is time to use all the materials that we are given. I think stem cells are much better than using plastic or metal because since the stem cells are the person's own, there is no way the body can reject it where it might with plastic and metal. Along with the non-rejection, in the study they did find that using the stem cells showed better healing and better blood vessels than in other methods. I think these reasons alone are enough to continue with this study of stem cells as I can see it in the future being able to change how medical technology is handled. It could potentially be cheaper because one is using their own cells instead of having other materials being brought in.

Using Autoinjectors to Treat Seizures

 http://www.nih.gov/researchmatters/february2012/02272012seizure.htm

The article describes the results of a study exploring the use of autoinjectors to give anticonvulsants to people with epilepsy. Autoinjectors are useful for situations when putting an IV in a patient isn’t practical, as with a seizure. Two different drugs were compared using this method: lorazepam and midazolam. Lorazepam is the standard for IV treatment, but it was not as suitable for injection into muscle instead of directly into blood (although it was able to stop seizures in 63% of patients before they reached the hospital). This is crucial for autoinjector use because they inject into muscle. Midazolam, however, proved very effective in this scenario despite its lack of use in IV situations. 73% of patients who received midazolam via autoinjector stopped seizing before they reached the hospital and were less likely to need hospitalization.

The study covered a wide variety of ages and 400 patients over several hospitals.

I found this article particularly interesting because my mother has epilepsy. She is able to tell when she is about to have a seizure, but all we could do was prepare pillows so she could lie down and get ready to call the hospital. If an anticonvulsant version of an EpiPen were created, this would allow us to actually act in a meaningful way while we waited for the ambulance to arrive, stopping the seizure before it could cause much damage.