|  Author | Topic: MedTech IV: R & D (Read 7,603 times) |
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|  | Re: MedTech IV: R & D
« Reply #30 on Jan 25, 2010, 9:51am » | |
New 'Nanoburrs' Could Help Fight Heart Disease
![[image]](http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/1808/1001181532480913463.jpg "[image]")
Researchers have built targeted nanoparticles that can cling to artery walls and slowly release medicine, an advance that potentially provides an alternative to drug-releasing stents in some patients with cardiovascular disease. (Credit: Image courtesy of Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
ScienceDaily (Jan. 22, 2010) — Building on their previous work delivering cancer drugs with nanoparticles, MIT and Harvard researchers have turned their attention to cardiovascular disease, designing new particles that can cling to damaged artery walls and slowly release medicine.
The particles, dubbed "nanoburrs," are coated with tiny protein fragments that allow them to stick to damaged arterial walls. Once stuck, they can release drugs such paclitaxel, which inhibits cell division and helps prevent growth of scar tissue that can clog arteries.
"This is a very exciting example of nanotechnology and cell targeting in action that I hope will have broad ramifications," says MIT Institute Professor Langer, senior author of a paper describing the nanoparticles in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Langer and Omid Farokhzad, associate professor at Harvard Medical School and another senior author of the paper, have previously developed nanoparticles that seek out and destroy tumors. Their nanoburrs, however, are among the first particles that can zero in on damaged vascular tissue.
Mark Davis, professor of chemical engineering at Caltech, says the work is a promising step towards new treatments for cardiovascular and other diseases. "If they could do this in patients -- target particles to injured areas -- that could open up all kinds of new opportunities," says Davis, who was not involved in this research.
On target
Currently, one of the standard ways to treat clogged and damaged arteries is by implanting a vascular stent, which holds the artery open and releases drugs such as paclitaxel. The researchers hope that their new nanoburrs could be used alongside such stents -- or in lieu of them -- to treat damage located in areas not well suited to stents, such as near a fork in the artery.
The nanoburrs are targeted to a structure known as the basement membrane, which lines the arterial walls but is only exposed when those walls are damaged. To build their nanoparticles, the team screened a library of short peptide sequences to find one that binds most effectively to molecules on the surface of the basement membrane. They used the most successful, a seven-amino-acid sequence called C11, to coat the outer layer of their nanoparticles.
The inner core of the 60-nanometer-diameter particles carries the drug, which is bound to a polymer chain called PLA. A middle layer of soybean lecithin, a fatty material, lies between the core and the outer shell, which consists of a polymer called PEG that protects the particles as they travel through the bloodstream.
The drug can only be released when it detaches from the PLA polymer chain, which occurs gradually by a reaction called ester hydrolysis. The longer the polymer chain, the longer this process takes, so the researchers can control the timing of the drug's release by altering the chain length. So far, they have achieved drug release over 12 days, in tests in cultured cells.
Uday Kompella, professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Colorado, says the nanoburr's structure could make it easier to manufacture, because the targeted peptides are attached to an outer shell and not directly to the drug-carrying core, which would require a more complicated chemical reaction. The design also reduces the risk of the nanoparticles bursting and releasing drugs prematurely, says Kompella, who was not involved in this research.
Another advantage of the nanoburrs is that they can be injected intravenously at a site distant from the damaged tissue. In tests in rats, the researchers showed that nanoburrs injected near the tail are able to reach their intended target -- walls of the injured carotid artery but not normal carotid artery. The burrs bound to the damaged walls at twice the rate of nontargeted nanoparticles.
Because the particles can deliver drugs over a longer period of time, and can be injected intravenously, patients would not have to endure repeated and surgically invasive injections directly into the area that requires treatment, says Juliana Chan, a graduate student in Langer's lab and lead author of the paper.
The team is now testing the nanoburrs in rats over a two-week period to determine the most effective dose for treating damaged vascular tissue. The particles may also prove useful in delivering drugs to tumors. "This technology could have broad applications across other important diseases, including cancer and inflammatory diseases where vascular permeability or vascular damage is commonly observed," says Farokhzad.
Journal Reference:
1. Juliana Chan, Liangfang Zhang, Rong Tong, Debuyati Ghosh, Weiwei Gao, Grace Liao, Kai Yuet, David Gray, June-Wha Rhee, Jianjun Cheng, Gershon Golomb, Peter Libby, Robert Langer, Omid Farokhzad. Spatiotemporal controlled delivery of nanoparticles to injured vasculature. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2010; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0914585107
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100118153248.htm
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
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"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
John F. Kennedy |
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Big Bunny
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| | Re: MedTech IV: R & D
« Reply #31 on Jan 25, 2010, 9:54am » | |
Neuron Connections Seen in 3-D
![[image]](http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/4748/100122102427large112925.jpg "[image]")
This three-dimensional visualization of synapses shows the tomography mail synaptic vesicles (yellow), cell membrane (purple), connectors between vesicles (red), filaments that anchor the vesicles to the cell membrane (blue), microtubule (dark green), material synaptic space (light green) and postsynaptic density (orange). (Credit: Fernández-Busnadiego et al.)
ScienceDaily (Jan. 23, 2010) — A team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, in Germany, led by the Spanish physicist Rubén Fernández-Busnadiego, has managed to obtain 3D images of the vesicles and filaments involved in communication between neurons. The method is based on a novel technique in electron microscopy, which cools cells so quickly that their biological structures can be frozen while fully active.
"We used electron cryotomography, a new technique in microscopy based on ultra-fast freezing of cells, in order to study and obtain three-dimensional images of synapsis, the cellular structure in which the communication between neurons takes place in the brains of mammals" Rubén Fernández-Busnadiego, lead author of the study which features on the front cover of this month's Journal of Cell Biology and a physicist at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, in Germany, said.
During synapsis, a presynaptic cell (emitter) releases neurotransmitters to another post-synaptic one (recipient), generating an electric impulse in it, thereby allowing nervous information to be transmitted. During this study, the researchers focused on the tiny vesicles (measuring around 40 nanometres in diameter), which transport and release the neurotransmitters from the presynaptic terminals.
"Thanks to the use of certain pharmacological treatments and the advanced 3D imaging analysis method we have developed, it is possible to observe the huge range of filamentous structures that are within the presynaptic terminal and interact directly with the synaptic vesicles, as well as to learn about their crucial role in responding to the electrical activity of the brain," explains Fernández-Busnadiego.
The filaments connect the vesicles and also connect them with the active area, the part of the cellular membrane from which the neurotransmitters are released. According to the Spanish physicist, these filamentous structures act as barriers that block the free movement of the vesicles, keeping them in their place until the electric impulse arrives, as well as determining the ease with which they will fuse with the membrane.
Sub-zero images
The technique upon which these discoveries are based, electron cryotomography, makes it possible to obtain three-dimensional images of the inside of cells and to minimise any changes to their structure. This is possible because the cells are not fixed with chemical reagents, but are vitrified -- in other words they are frozen so fast that the water inside them does not have time to crystallise, and remains in solid state.
These samples, which are always maintained at liquid nitrogen temperatures (below -140 şC), can be viewed using specially-equipped microscopes. In addition, this method does not require any kind of additional staining, meaning the density of the biological structures can be observed directly.
Journal Reference:
1. Fernandez-Busnadiego et al. Quantitative analysis of the native presynaptic cytomatrix by cryoelectron tomography. The Journal of Cell Biology, 2010; 188 (1): 145 DOI: 10.1083/jcb.200908082
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100122102427.htm
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860
"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
John F. Kennedy |
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Big Bunny
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| | Re: MedTech IV: R & D
« Reply #32 on Jan 25, 2010, 9:57am » | |
Neurons Developed from Stem Cells Successfully Wired With Other Brain Regions in Animals
![[image]](http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/6182/1001191727511305877.jpg "[image]")
This is a single stem cell-derived neuron that has migrated away from the transplantation site in the cortex and grown into a mature neuron. The blue stain shows the nuclei of the endogenous neural cells in this part of the brain. (Credit: Courtesy, with permission: Weimann et al. The Journal of Neuroscience 2010.)
ScienceDaily (Jan. 24, 2010) — Transplanted neurons grown from embryonic stem cells can fully integrate into the brains of young animals, according to new research in the Jan. 20 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.
Healthy brains have stable and precise connections between cells that are necessary for normal behavior. This new finding is the first to show that stem cells can be directed not only to become specific brain cells, but to link correctly.
In this study, a team of neuroscientists led by James Weimann, PhD, of Stanford Medical School focused on cells that transmit information from the brain's cortex, some of which are responsible for muscle control. It is these neurons that are lost or damaged in spinal cord injuries and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). "These stem cell-derived neurons can grow nerve fibers between the brain's cerebral cortex and the spinal cord, so this study confirms the use of stem cells for therapeutic goals," Weimann said.
To integrate new cells into a brain successfully, the researchers first had to condition unspecialized cells to become specific cells in the brain's cortex. Cells that were precursors to cortical neurons were grown in a Petri dish until they displayed many of the same characteristics as mature neurons. The young neurons were then transplanted into the brains of newborn mice -- specifically, into regions of the cortex responsible for vision, touch, and movement.
Until now, making these proper cellular connections has been a fundamental problem in nervous system transplant therapy. In this case, the maturing neurons extended to the appropriate brain structures, and, just as importantly, avoided inappropriate areas. For example, cells transplanted into the visual cortex reached two deep brain structures called the superior colliculus and the pons, but not to the spinal cord; cells placed into the motor area of the cortex stretched into the spinal cord but avoided the colliculus.
"The authors show that appropriate connectivity for one important class of projection neurons can be obtained in newborn animals," said Mahendra Rao, MD, PhD, an expert in stem cell biology at Life Technology, who was unaffiliated with the study.
The researchers also compared two methods used to grow transplantable cells, only one of which produced the desired results. "The authors provide a protocol for how to get the right kind of neurons to show appropriate connectivity," Rao said. "It's a huge advance in the practical use of these cells."
Researchers will now explore whether the same results can be achieved in adult animals and, ultimately, humans. Weimann and his colleagues also hope to understand how the transplanted cells "knew" to connect in precisely the right way, and whether they can generate the right behaviors, such as vision and movement.
The research was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Fund, and The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100119172751.htm
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860
"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
John F. Kennedy |
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Big Bunny
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| | Re: MedTech IV: R & D
« Reply #33 on Jan 25, 2010, 10:47am » | |
Estrogen in the Fight Against Schizophrenia
ScienceDaily (Jan. 25, 2010) — Many American women are prescribed estrogen to combat the negative effects of menopause, such as bone loss and mood swings. Now, new evidence from a Tel Aviv University study suggests that hormone replacement therapy might also protect them -- and younger women -- from schizophrenia as well.
Prof. Ina Weiner of Tel Aviv University's Department of Psychology and her doctoral student Michal Arad have reported findings suggesting that restoring normal levels of estrogen may work as a protective agent in menopausal women vulnerable to schizophrenia. Their work, based on an animal model of menopausal psychosis, was recently reported in the journal Psychopharmacology.
"We've known for some time that when the level of estrogen is low, vulnerability to psychotic symptoms increases and anti-psychotic drugs are less likely to work. Now, our pre-clinical findings show why this might be happening," says Prof. Weiner.
A hormonal treatment to address a behavioral condition
In their study, Weiner and Arad removed the ovaries of female rats to induce menopause-like low levels of estrogen and showed that this led to schizophrenia-like behavior. The researchers then tried to eliminate this abnormal behavior with an estrogen replacement treatment or with the antipsychotic drug haloperidol. Estrogen replacement therapy effectively alleviated schizophrenia-like behavior but haloperidol had no effect on its own. Haloperidol regained its effect in these rats when supplemented by estrogen.
"When the level of estrogen was low, we could see psychotic-like behavior in the animals. Moreover, the sensitivity to psychosis-inducing drugs went up, while the sensitivity to anti-psychotic drugs went down," Prof. Weiner says. This is exactly what we observe in women with low estrogen levels," she says. "But we also found that estrogen, all by itself, combats psychosis in both male and female rats." Furthermore, in low amounts estrogen increases the effectiveness of anti-psychotic drugs.
Prof. Weiner points out that the medical community is hotly debating the pros and cons of estrogen replacement as an add-on to conventional treatment in schizophrenia. Detractors point to higher chances of cervical cancer and heart attacks in those who receive estrogen supplements. But according to her study, which looked at very specific factors possibly related to schizophrenia, estrogen replacement therapy could have positive behavioral effects, she concludes.
Assessing the possibility for prevention
During the course of a woman's lifetime, estrogen levels do not remain constant. During her reproductive years, these levels are affected by the menstrual cycle. There are also dramatic changes in the levels of estrogen just after a woman gives birth -- a change, which can trigger "post-partum blues," and in extreme cases lead to clinical depression and psychosis.
As a preventative therapy, estrogen could be given to women at certain points in time when they are most at risk for schizophrenia, Prof. Weiner suggests: in their mid-twenties and later during the menopausal years.
"Antipsychotic drugs are less effective during low periods of estrogen in the body, after birth and in menopause," says Prof. Weiner. "Our research links schizophrenia and its treatment to estrogen levels. Men seem less likely to begin schizophrenia after their 40s, which also suggests that estrogen is the culprit."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100120112212.htm
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860
"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
John F. Kennedy |
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Big Bunny
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| | Re: MedTech IV: R & D
« Reply #34 on Jan 25, 2010, 10:52am » | |
PrEP Treatment Prevented HIV Transmission in Humanized Mice
ScienceDaily (Jan. 25, 2010) — Systemic pre-exposure administration of antiretroviral drugs provides protection against intravenous and rectal transmission of HIV in mice with human immune systems, according to a new study published January 21, 2010 in the online journal PLoS ONE.
"These results provide evidence that a universal approach to prevent all forms of HIV transmission in all settings might be possible," said J. Victor Garcia-Martinez, Ph.D., professor in the department of medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and senior author of the study. "This could greatly facilitate the implementation of a single program capable of targeting virtually all groups of people at high risk of HIV infection."
According to data from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HIV diagnoses increased by a staggering 15 percent between 2004 and 2007. Rectal exposure is the leading cause of HIV transmission among men who have sex with men, and since the beginning of the epidemic, more than 500,000 have been diagnosed with HIV in the United States alone and more than 300,000 have died.
These latest findings are welcome news after the recent announcements that an AIDS vaccine trial in Thailand showed only marginal success and a large international trial of a vaginal microbicide found no evidence that it reduces the risk of HIV infection.
The research, using pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with antiretrovirals, was conducted using a humanized mouse model developed by Garcia-Martinez and colleagues at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. The animals are known as "BLT" mice, because they are transplanted with human bone marrow, liver and thymus cells, which results in a fully functioning human immune system.
"Although results from humanized mice cannot be extrapolated directly to humans, our data indicate that one intervention approach could potentially block multiple routes of HIV transmission in people," said the paper's lead author, Paul Denton, Ph.D., who is a research instructor in the department of medicine at the UNC School of Medicine.
The humanized mice were either control mice and received no drugs or were administered the commonly prescribed antiretroviral drug therapy Truvada and then exposed to HIV -- either rectally or intravenously -- at a level much higher than would occur in typical human exposure. None of the nine treated BLT mice that were exposed rectally showed any sign of the virus after exposure; they were completely protected. However, 12 of the 19 control BLT mice became HIV positive following rectal exposure.
Among humanized mice exposed intravenously, a transmission route which is more difficult to block, all six of the control BLT mice became infected, but seven of the eight treated BLT mice -- 90 percent -- were protected against the virus.
Garcia-Martinez's team previously demonstrated that PrEP is also highly effective against vaginal HIV transmission and with this study their research shows that PrEP can prevent HIV spread by the three modes that account for over 90 percent of all HIV infections worldwide.
Results of this study not only have important human clinical implications, but also could significantly improve drug studies. There are already PrEP trials in humans, but their continuation is threatened due in part to ethical concerns over administering drugs to healthy people with no hard evidence that they will work.
"Now the head of a clinical trial can take this research to a ministry of health or review board and say, 'Look, we have positive experimental evidence that if we do this right it has a chance to work,'" Denton said.
Mark Wainberg, Ph.D., who is professor of microbiology and virology at McGill University in Montréal and director of the McGill AIDS Centre, said, "This is outstanding work that helps to advance the field of HIV prevention science. This research provides excellent rationale for the continuation of PrEP clinical trials."
"It is painfully clear that treatment alone will not put a dent in the progression of the AIDS epidemic," said Garcia-Martinez, also an investigator in the UNC Center for AIDS Research. "There is a strong need for interventions like PrEP that could prevent new infections and slow the epidemic."
The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR). Study co-authors from UNC include John F. Krisko, Francisco Martinez-Torres and Wei Zou.
Journal Reference:
1. Denton et al. Systemic Administration of Antiretrovirals Prior to Exposure Prevents Rectal and Intravenous HIV-1 Transmission in Humanized BLT Mice. PLoS ONE, 2010; 5 (1): e8829 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0008829
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100120211006.htm
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860
"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
John F. Kennedy |
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Big Bunny
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| | Re: MedTech IV: R & D
« Reply #35 on Feb 23, 2010, 9:49pm » | |
Material Tested Could Guarantee Body Protheses for More Than 150 Years
ScienceDaily (Feb. 23, 2010) — Current body prostheses do not last more than 10-15 years. After this time, the operation has to be repeated in order to change prosthesis. It is usually problematic as, in general, it is elderly people that use the procedure.
Researcher Nere Garmendia, based in the Basque city of Donostia-San Sebastián, has just published her PhD, a thesis which may well mean the first step to solving this problem. According to Garmendia, using a ceramic material called zirconia (ZrO2), carbon nanotubes and nanoparticles of zirconia, a prosthesis that will last more than 150 years can be produced.
The PhD thesis is titled "Development of a new nanocompound material made of zirconia with coated carbon nanotubes, for orthopaedic applications." Garmendia wished to show that the aging and cracking of prostheses could be avoided. To begin with, carbon nanotubes were added to the zirconia matrix -- a technique that greatly strengthens its resistance. With this composite material as a base research was initiated.
The researcher reinforced the connection between the zirconia matrix and the nanotubes, with the intention of improving the transfer/distribution of loads. The nanotubes were coated with nanoparticles of zirconia and, in order for this to be effected, the nanoparticles were heated beyond their boiling point (hydrothermal synthesis). This coating functioned as a bridge between the zirconia matrix and the nanotubes.
Garmendia explained in her thesis that working at a nanometric scale is precisely the key to achieving long-lasting prostheses. In a prior experiment with micrometric zirconia it was concluded that this material would end up considerably aged after 12 years. Nevertheless, as has been pointed out, apart from the zirconia matrix, adding carbon nanotubes and the nanoparticles of zirconia coating them, the material will not age -- even after 150 years.
The maximum possible density
With the nanotubes coated, Garmendia investigated the capacity for the displacement and dispersion of the composite obtained from the previous process, and also looked for its suitable point of density. Based on this and aided by plaster, she achieved the first compact pieces.
Subsequently, Garmendia specified the number of coated nanotubes each piece had to have in order to achieve the optimum density at the end of the process. According to the researcher, adding zirconia nanoparticles to the nanotubes facilitates the dispersion of the material and reduces its viscosity, apart from helping to increase its density for the next and last stage: the synterization stage. Synterization is a process, used particularly in ceramics, in order to transform the material from powder to a compact solid. Not just any quantity is useful to achieve this maximum possible density and, thus, before synterization, it has to be decided how many nanotubes are to be introduced and, of course, synterization has to be subsequently carried out correctly.
As Garmendia calculated, if the intention is to obtain the maximum possible density (98%), in order to start the composition, 1% of its volume must be of coated nanotubes. Finally, the material has to be synterized in argon for one hour at 1,300 degrees; not more nor less.
http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2010/02/100223101430.htm
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860
"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
John F. Kennedy |
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Big Bunny
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| | Re: MedTech IV: R & D
« Reply #36 on Feb 23, 2010, 9:52pm » | |
Dermatology: Watching Immune Cell Movement to and from the Skin
ScienceDaily (Feb. 23, 2010) — Immune cells known as Tregs have an important role in preventing other immune cells from attacking the cells of our body and causing autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.
A team of researchers, at Kyoto University Japan, and the Research Center for Allergy and Immunology, RIKEN, Japan, has now used mice engineered to express the photoconvertible fluorescence protein Kaede, which changes from green to red when exposed to violet light, to track Treg movement under physiologic conditions and during immune responses in the skin.
In the study, Tregs were found to move from the skin to designated regions for immune cell clustering known as draining lymph nodes. The extent of this trafficking was enhanced by skin inflammation but balanced under these conditions by movement of Tregs from the draining lymph nodes to the skin.
As discussed by Hironori Matsushima and Akira Takashima, at the University of Toledo College of Medicine, in an accompanying commentary, these data provide new insight into the regulation of immune responses in the skin.
The research appears in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Journal References:
1. Michio Tomura, Tetsuya Honda, Hideaki Tanizaki, Atsushi Otsuka, Gyohei Egawa, Yoshiki Tokura, Herman Waldmann, Shohei Hori, Jason G. Cyster, Takeshi Watanabe, Yoshiki Miyachi, Osami Kanagawa and Kenji Kabashima. Activated regulatory T cells are the major T cell type emigrating from the skin during a cutaneous immune response in mice. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2010; DOI: 10.1172/JCI40926
2. Hironori Matsushima and Akira Takashima. Bidirectional homing of Tregs between the skin and lymph nodes. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2010; DOI: 10.1172/JCI42280
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100222213330.htm
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860
"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
John F. Kennedy |
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Big Bunny
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| | Re: MedTech IV: R & D
« Reply #37 on Feb 23, 2010, 9:58pm » | |
Flightless Mosquitoes Developed to Help Control Dengue Fever
![[image]](http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/8791/100222161958large033419.jpg "[image]")
Infected female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes transmit the virus causing dengue fever, but they are rendered flightless in a new strain genetically engineered by UCI and British scientists. (Credit: James Gathany / Centers for Disease Control & Prevention)
ScienceDaily (Feb. 23, 2010) — A new strain of mosquitoes in which females cannot fly may help curb the transmission of dengue fever, according to UC Irvine and British scientists.
Dengue fever causes severe flulike symptoms and is among the world's most pressing public health issues. There are 50 million to 100 million cases per year, and nearly 40 percent of the global population is at risk. The dengue virus is spread through the bite of infected female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, and there is no vaccine or treatment.
UCI researchers and colleagues from Oxitec Ltd. and the University of Oxford created the new breed. Flightless females are expected to die quickly in the wild, curtailing the number of mosquitoes and reducing -- or even eliminating -- dengue transmission. Males of the strain can fly but do not bite or convey disease.
When genetically altered male mosquitoes mate with wild females and pass on their genes, females of the next generation are unable to fly. Scientists estimate that if released, the new breed could sustainably suppress the native mosquito population in six to nine months. The approach offers a safe, efficient alternative to harmful insecticides.
Study results appear in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences for the week of Feb. 22. The research is receiving funding support from the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health through the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative, which was launched to support breakthrough advances for health challenges in the developing world.
"Current dengue control methods are not sufficiently effective, and new ones are urgently needed," said Anthony James, Distinguished Professor of microbiology & molecular genetics and molecular biology & biochemistry at UCI and an internationally recognized vector biologist. "Controlling the mosquito that transmits this virus could significantly reduce human morbidity and mortality."
Using concepts developed by Oxitec's Luke Alphey, the study's senior author, researchers made a genetic alteration in the mosquitoes that disrupts wing muscle development in female offspring, rendering them incapable of flight. Males' ability to fly is unaffected, and they show no ill effects from carrying the gene.
"The technology is completely species-specific, as the released males will mate only with females of the same species," Alphey said. "It's far more targeted and environmentally friendly than approaches dependent upon the use of chemical spray insecticides, which leave toxic residue."
"Another attractive feature of this method is that it's egalitarian: All people in the treated areas are equally protected, regardless of their wealth, power or education," he added.
James and Alphey have pioneered the creation of genetically altered mosquitoes to limit transmission of vector-borne illnesses. While their current work is focused on the dengue fever vector, they noted that this approach could be adapted to other mosquito species that spread such diseases as malaria and West Nile fever.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100222161958.htm
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860
"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
John F. Kennedy |
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Big Bunny
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| | Re: MedTech IV: R & D
« Reply #38 on Feb 23, 2010, 10:01pm » | |
Mouse With Human Liver: New Model for Treatment of Liver Disease
![[image]](http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/8076/100222182144large058858.jpg "[image]")
Mice whose own liver cells have been replaced with human hepatocytes (shown in green) can be successfully infected with hepatitis B virus (shown in red) providing a new way to test novel therapies for debilitating human liver diseases. (Credit: Courtesy of Dr. Karl-Dimiter Bissig, Salk Institute for Biological Studies)
ScienceDaily (Feb. 23, 2010) — How do you study-and try to cure in the laboratory-an infection that only humans can get? A team led by Salk Institute researchers does it by generating a mouse with an almost completely human liver. This "humanized" mouse is susceptible to human liver infections and responds to human drug treatments, providing a new way to test novel therapies for debilitating human liver diseases and other diseases with liver involvement such as malaria.
"We found that, not only can we infect our humanized mouse with Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C, but we can then successfully treat this infection using typical drugs," explains first author Karl-Dimiter Bissig, M.D. Ph.D, an internist and post-doctoral researcher in the Laboratory of Genetics. "As a physician, I understand the importance of this type of bench-to-bedside research. This study shows a real application for our mouse model, making it relevant from both an academic and a clinical perspective."
The Salk researchers' findings will be published in the Feb. 22, 2010 online edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Host-pathogen specificity is both a blessing and a curse-preventing widespread infection but making successful treatments harder to find. For example, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C can only infect humans and chimpanzees, and although this species barrier prevents us from being susceptible to every infection out there, the flipside is that finding treatments for human infections can be extremely difficult.
This is particularly true when it comes to liver infections. The usual approach is to grow human cells in a dish, to infect and try to treat them there, but this is not possible with liver cells or hepatocytes. "Human hepatocytes are almost impossible to work with as they don't grow and are hard to maintain in culture," explains senior author Inder Verma, Ph.D., a professor in the Laboratory of Genetics and holder of the Irwin and Joan Jacobs Chair in Exemplary Life Science.
And since small animals cannot be infected with Hepatitis C, they cannot be used to test drugs that may cure this disease. What's more, species differences mean that drugs that appear to be effective and non-toxic in animal models sometimes prove to be toxic to humans, and vice versa. Mice whose own hepatocytes have been replaced with human liver cells provide a solution to all these hurdles.
Explains Verma, "This robust model system opens the door to utilize human hepatocytes for purposes that were previously impossible. This chimeric mouse can be used for drug testing and gene therapy purposes, and in the future, may also be used to study liver cancers."
The Salk team had previously generated a mouse with a partially "humanized" liver, but wanted to improve their method to achieve almost complete transformation. They use a special mouse that has liver problems of its own, but whose problems can be kept in check with a drug called NBTC. Taking away NBTC allows human hepatocytes to take hold and populate the mouse liver with human cells.
The team perfected this system so that nearly 95% of the liver cells are of human origin, but the important question was whether they would behave like a human livers. To test this, the researchers exposed the mice to Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C and found that, unlike normal mice, which are resistant to these viruses, the chimeric animals developed the disease.
More importantly, using pegylated interferon alpha 2a-the standard treatment for Hepatitis C-the researchers showed that the "humanized" liver inside the mouse responds just like a normal human liver. The team also tested additional experimental drugs and found that they too behaved as they did in humans.
"This shows that our chimeric mouse model is medically relevant and can be used to validate novel drugs in a pre-clinical setting," says Bissig. "This is great news as it provides us with a tool with which we can examine many human hepatotropic pathogens, including malaria. In the future, it also has potential applications for regenerative medicine; allowing confirmation of the true hepatocyte nature of cells prior to human transplantation."
The methodology of generating these mice is freely available to the research community.
The work was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society, the Leducq Foundation, the Ellison Medical Foundation, the Frances C Berger Foundation, Ipsen Biomeasure and Sanofi-Aventis.
Other than Bissig and Verma, contributors to this work were Phu Tran and Tam T. Le from the Laboratory of Genetics at the Salk Institute, and Stefan F. Wieland, Masanori Isogawa, and Francis V. Chisari from The Scripps Research Institute, San Diego.
Journal Reference:
1. Karl-Dimiter Bissig, Stefan F. Wieland, Phu Tran, Masanori Isogawa, Tam T. Le, Francis V. Chisari and Inder M. Verma. Human liver chimeric mice provide a model for hepatitis B and C virus infection and treatment. Journal of Clinical Investigation, Published February 22, 2010 DOI: 10.1172/JCI40094
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100222182144.htm
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
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"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
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Big Bunny
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« Reply #39 on Feb 25, 2010, 7:27am » | |
Singing 'rewires' damaged brain
By Victoria Gill
Science reporter, BBC News, San Diego
Teaching stroke patients to sing "rewires" their brains, helping them recover their speech, say scientists.
By singing, patients use a different area of the brain from the area involved in speech.
If a person's "speech centre" is damaged by a stroke, they can learn to use their "singing centre" instead.
Researchers presented these findings at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in San Diego.
An ongoing clinical trial, they said, has shown how the brain responds to this "melodic intonation therapy".
Gottfried Schlaug, a neurology professor at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School in Boston, US, led the trial.
The therapy is already established as a medical technique. Researchers first used it when it was discovered that stroke patients with brain damage that left them unable to speak were still able to sing.
Professor Schlaug explained that his was the first study to combine this therapy with brain imaging - "to show what is actually going on in the brain" as patients learn to sing their words.
Making connections
Most of the connections between brain areas that control movement and those that control hearing are on the left side of the brain.
"But there's a sort of corresponding hole on the right side," said Professor Schlaug.
"For some reason, it's not as endowed with these connections, so the left side is used much more in speech.
"If you damage the left side, the right side has trouble [fulfilling that role]."
But as patients learn to put their words to melodies, the crucial connections form on the right side of their brains.
Previous brain imaging studies have shown that this "singing centre" is overdeveloped in the brains of professional singers.
During the therapy sessions, patients are taught to put their words to simple melodies.
Professor Schlaug said that after a single session, a stroke patients who was are not able to form any intelligible words learned to say the phrase "I am thirsty" by combining each syllable with the note of a melody.
The patients are also encouraged to tap out each syllable with their hands. Professor Schlaug said that this seemed to act as an "internal pace-maker" which made the therapy even more effective.
"Music might be an alternative medium to engage parts of the brain that are otherwise not engaged," he said.
Brain sounds
Dr Aniruddh Patel from the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego, said the study was an example of the "explosion in research into music and the brain" over the last decade.
"People sometimes ask where in the brain music is processed and the answer is everywhere above the neck," said Dr Patel.
"Music engages huge swathes of the brain - it's not just lighting up a spot in the auditory cortex."
Dr Nina Kraus, a neuroscientist from Northwestern University in Chicago, also studies the effects of music on the brain.
In her research, she records the brain's response to music using electrodes on the scalp.
This work has enabled her to "play back" electrical activity from brain cells as they pick up sounds.
"Neurons work with electricity - so if you record the electricity from the brain you can play that back through speakers and hear how the brain deals with sounds," she explained.
Dr Kraus has also discovered that musical training seems to enhance the ability to perform other tasks, such as reading.
She said that the insights into how the brain responds to music provided evidence that musical training was an important part of children's education.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/8526699.stm
Published: 2010/02/21 05:24:44 GMT
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860
"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
John F. Kennedy |
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Big Bunny
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| | Re: MedTech IV: R & D
« Reply #40 on Feb 26, 2010, 5:49am » | |
Treadmill Training Could Help Tots Walk
ScienceDaily (Feb. 26, 2010) — Using a treadmill could help infants with prenatal complications or who were injured at birth walk earlier and better, according to a University of Michigan researcher.
Prenatal injuries can often result in self-correcting or fixable neuromotor delays, but sometimes toddlers get a more serious diagnosis, such as cerebral palsy, says Rosa Angulo-Barroso, associate professor of movement science at the U-M School of Kinesiology. Some of those diagnoses may come much later, or in mild cases, never, she says.
Angulo-Barroso and colleagues followed 15 infants at risk for neuromotor delays for two years and tested their changes in physical activity and treadmill-stepping in their homes. The infants were assisted using the treadmill by their parents.
The researchers looked at the frequency of steps and also the decrease in toe-walking over the two-year period. For those infants who were still not walking, they followed up by calling families to see if infants were walking by age 3.
They found that kids with neuromotor delays using the treadmill were on the same improving trajectory as normal kids. Of the 15 children, six were diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
"We found that in those with neuromotor delays, the pattern of development through time was parallel (but less) than normal kids." said Angulo-Barroso, who is also a research associate professor at the U-M Center for Human Growth and Development. "We also found less toe-walking, so foot placement improved."
The study also suggests a critical intervention window. Both children without a diagnosis and kids with cerebral palsy improved the most between 10 months and 18 months.
So what does this means for parents of children at risk for neuromotor delays?
"We are putting words of caution here," Angulo-Barroso said. "This is a feasibility study only and the results show it seems viable to do treadmill intervention."
A feasibility study merely shows that it warrants more work to see how much treadmill intervention helps. However, Angulo-Barroso stresses that in the meantime, parents should take other interventions seriously.
"Early interventions are really, really critical, so at this point I wouldn't tell them to go find a treadmill, but I would say make sure you get a good physical therapist and work with the physical therapist to see if your kids would be a good candidate for that kind of (treadmill) intervention," said Angulo-Barroso, who noted that the next study is a randomized sample of children to see how they respond to a formal treadmill intervention.
The current study, "Treadmill Responses and Physical Activity Levels of Infants at Risk for Neuromotor Delay" appears in the journal Pediatric Physical Therapy.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100222182155.htm
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860
"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
John F. Kennedy |
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Big Bunny
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| | Re: MedTech IV: R & D
« Reply #41 on Feb 26, 2010, 5:52am » | |
Nanotechnology Tackles the Two Biggest Problems Associated With Chemotherapy
ScienceDaily (Feb. 26, 2010) — Huixin He, associate professor of nanoscale chemistry at Rutgers University, Newark, and Tamara Minko, professor at the Rutgers Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, have developed a nanotechnology approach that potentially could eliminate the problems of side effects and drug resistance in the treatment of cancer. Under traditional chemotherapy, cancer cells, like bacteria, can develop resistance to drug therapy, leading to a relapse of the disease.
As reported in the December 21, 2009, issue of the journal Small, He, Minko and their co-researchers, including investigators from Merck & Co. and Carl Zeiss SMT, a global nanotechnology firm, have designed nanomaterials that allow for the delivery of both a chemical (doxorubicin) to destroy cancer cells and a genetic drug to prevent drug resistance.
When administered to drug-resistant ovarian cancer cells, the treatment was more than 130 times lethal than when doxorubicin was administrated alone. "The drug can only be released when it is inside the cancer cells," He said. "This controlled internal release mechanism can dramatically eliminate side effects associated with anticancer drugs to normal tissues."
Battling Aggressive Breast Cancer with Nanotubes
In related research, Professor He and another team of co-researchers have developed single-walled carbon nanotubes that hold the potential of providing a more effective means for detecting and selectively destroying aggressive breast cancer cells.
In a paper published in BMC Cancer late last year, the researchers showed that by chemically bonding a special antibody onto the nanotubes and taking advantage of two unique properties of carbon nanotubes, single cancer cells can be detected and selectively eradicated while leaving the nearby normal cells unharmed. The uniqueness of this approach is that it is more easily extended to other types of cancer cells. He's research in the areas of cancer detection and treatment is funded in part with grants from the National Science Foundation and National Cancer Institute.
Research Focuses on Practical Applications Across a Wide Range of Fields
The application of He's research is far and wide. He and members of her lab at Rutgers are working on the practical application of nanomaterials as a diagnostic tool for Parkinson's disease. Other research is focused on the development of a platform to detect the presence of chemical warfare agents for homeland defense. He and her lab members are also working on nanotechnology to measure iron ions in ocean atmosphere dust and sea water, which is critical for the study of greenhouse gases and climate change.
At Rutgers, He teaches undergraduate courses in analytical chemistry and graduate courses in electrochemical analytical chemistry. She is the recipient of the 2009 Rutgers Presidential Fellowship for Teaching Excellence.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100225151924.htm
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860
"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
John F. Kennedy |
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Big Bunny
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| | Re: MedTech IV: R & D
« Reply #42 on Mar 6, 2010, 2:41am » | |
DNA test 'may predict best diet'
A simple DNA test may predict whether someone is more likely to lose weight on a low fat or a low carbohydrate diet, say US researchers.
The results from the small preliminary study of 101 women showed those on the best diet for their genes lost two to three times more weight than the rest.
The results are being presented at an American Heart Association conference.
Experts said the findings tied in with previous studies, but further work should be carried out.
Cheek swab
The emerging field of "nutrigenomics" looks at how food interacts with genes.
It has long been known that people react to certain nutrients differently according to their genetic makeup.
Lactose intolerance, for example, is more common among Asians and Africans than of people of North European descent.
This study looked at how well people with different genes fared on different weight-loss diets.
The researchers, from Stanford University, analysed data from 101 white Caucasian women who provided DNA from a swab of their cheek cells.
The women had different diets for a year. The diets were very low carbohydrate, low carbohydrate/high protein, and low or very low fat.
The researchers divided the group into three genotypes which they described as low carbohydrate diet responsive, low fat diet responsive and a balanced diet responsive genotype.
They found that those on a diet which matched their genotype lost 2-3 times more weight over 12 months compared with those on the "wrong" diet.
The researchers said their findings were preliminary, and need much more confirmation before they could be used commercially.
'Intriguing'
British experts pointed out that the study had looked at a very small number of people and did not make clear what genes were involved.
Prof Christine Williams, from the University of Reading, said: "This is a very intriguing study - though very small."
She said it would be useful to get a better understanding of what genes were involved.
"It fits pretty well with some of our own studies which show that certain genotypes are more responsive than others to certain types of fats, eg diets high in omega-3 fatty acids," she added.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/8550091.stm
Published: 2010/03/05 00:59:10 GMT
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860
"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
John F. Kennedy |
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Big Bunny
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| | Re: MedTech IV: R & D
« Reply #43 on Mar 11, 2010, 11:53am » | |
Vitiligo skin graft 'effective'
Skin transplant surgery could be an effective way of treating the skin disease vitiligo, say US researchers.
![[image]](http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/5880/47441476skinvitiligo628.jpg "[image]")
An area of vitiligo before skin transplant treatment...
![[image]](http://img53.imageshack.us/img53/3865/47441647skinvitiligo262.jpg "[image]")
The same area of skin after transplant treatment...
A team in Detroit transferred healthy skin cells to 32 patients who had areas of the body that had lost colour due to the condition.
They found the treated area regained on average 52% of its natural skin colour.
In some patients with a specific type of vitiligo, the treated area regained on average 74% of its natural skin colour, the researchers said.
The surgery was carried out under local anaesthetic at Henry Ford Hospital.
"The results achieved in our study were of obvious significance to our patients," said Dr Iltefat Hamzavi, the study's senior author.
Although these are just initial results, Dr Hamzavi said for some patients the surgery was more effective than standard treatments like light therapy or medication.
"Patients of colour and those with vitiligo on one side of the body and in one area of the body may benefit most from this procedure," he said.
The surgery is known as melanocyte-keratinocyte transplantation or MKTP.
Melanocyte cells, which produce pigment in the skin, hair and eyes, are taken from an area of healthy skin and separated to make a skin cell mixture.
This mixture is then applied to the treatment area and covered with a specially developed dressing.
In the study, 32 patients (18 male, 14 female) ranging in age from 18 to 60 underwent surgery.
Treated areas included hands, arms, legs, feet, face and stomach.
Maxine Whitton, patron of the Vitiligo Society, a UK charity, said the technique was unsuitable for large areas, or for actively spreading vitiligo.
"We need more studies using this technique including well-designed randomised controlled trials comparing this technique with other surgical interventions such as grafting," she said.
"The results of this study could lead to further investigation of the technique in randomised controlled trials and be useful for some people with vitiligo."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/8557433.stm
Published: 2010/03/11 01:13:40 GMT
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860
"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
John F. Kennedy |
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Big Bunny
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| | Re: MedTech IV: R & D
« Reply #44 on Mar 18, 2010, 10:26am » | |
Brain probe hope for epileptics
Deep brain stimulation is a promising therapy for epilepsy, US researchers from Stanford University have said.
![[image]](http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/5961/47491700epilepsy5417145.jpg "[image]")
In a clinical trial, 110 people had electrodes implanted in their brains and their seizures were monitored.
Forty-one per cent of patients showed a reduction in seizures after 13 months while 56% experienced a reduction after two years.
The patients all suffered from regular epileptic seizures and had failed to respond to drug treatment.
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a surgical treatment involving the implantation of a medical device called a brain pacemaker, which sends electrical impulses to specific parts of the brain.
In the group of patients who received brain stimulation, researchers noted a 41% reduction in seizures compared to a 14.5% decline in seizures in a control group. This group did not receive stimulation.
Invasive therapy
Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder which is characterised by recurrent seizures. These seizures can cause temporary loss of consciousness, convulsions, confusion or disturbances in sensations.
According to the World Health Organization, epilepsy affects 50 million people worldwide.
Previous studies indicate that one third of those with epilepsy do not respond to anti-epileptic drugs.
Dr Robert Fisher, director of the Epilepsy Centre at Stanford University and lead author of the study, said electrical deep brain stimulation does reduce seizure frequency in patients.
But he cautioned: "DBS therapy is invasive and serious complications can occur. Additional clinical knowledge would help to determine the best candidates for DBS therapy."
Simon Wigglesworth, deputy chief executive at UK charity Epilepsy Action, said: "We have been hopeful for some time that deep brain stimulation may be a treatment option for some people with epilepsy.
"This study is exciting news and could be an important development in the treatment of epilepsy in the 30% of people whose seizures don't respond to traditional drug therapies."
The research is published online in the journal Epilepsia.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/8573127.stm
Published: 2010/03/18 05:00:06 GMT
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860
"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
John F. Kennedy |
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