Saturday, June 02, 2007
'Virtual Patient' to simulate real-time organ motions for radiation therapy
Rensselaer researchers awarded major NIH grant to develop 4-D virtual patient model With a $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are developing a physics-based virtual model that can simulate a patient's breathing in real time. When used in conjunction with existing 3-D models, adding the fourth dimension of time could significantly improve the accuracy and effectiveness of radiation treatment for lung and liver cancers.The key challenge in this project is to develop the algorithms that will make the virtual lungs and adjacent tissues move in real time according to realistic tissue biomechanical properties, De said.
Xu expects that the physics-based 4-D VIP-Man will eventually be used as an even more general anatomical modeling tool for the biomedical community to help patients with respiratory and cardiac diseases. At the same time, Xu will continue to work on the 3-D VIP-Man to create a "family" of virtual patients, ranging in ages and sizes, in collaboration with researchers worldwide through the Consortium of Computational Human Phantoms (http://www.virtualphantoms.org), co-founded by Xu.
The collaboration with the group in Texas came about when Xu's former student, Chengyu Shi, a clinical medical physicist, and Martin Fuss, a radiation oncologist, expressed their interests to develop better radiation treatment by accounting for lung movement. Xu contacted De, who had been using the 3-D VIP-Man to simulate tissue deformation for surgical procedures, and the idea to take 3-D VIP-Man into the fourth dimension was born.
Xu has been working on the 3-D VIP-Man since 1997 using the original Visible Human Project dataset provided by the National Library of Medicine, also funded by several grants from NIH as well as a National Science Foundation CAREER grant. The new four-year, $2 million grant is funded by the National Library of Medicine, which is part of NIH.
Cellular message movement captured on video
These time-lapse images of a bovine aortic endothelial cell reveal the motion toward the cell's nucleus of a message-carrying protein called paxillin (orange) in tandem with actin filaments (green). Credit: UC San Diego
Proper signaling step required for controlled cell growth -
- otherwise, cancer and other diseases can result
Scientists have captured on video the intracellular version of a postal delivery service. Reporting in the journal Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications (BBRC), bioengineering researchers at UC San Diego published videos of a key message-carrying protein called paxillin moving abruptly from hubs of communication and transportation activity on the cell surface toward the nucleus. Paxillin was labeled with a red fluorescence marker to make it stand out in live cells.
“It’s amazing to us. We thought the cell was so simple,” said Shu Chien, the senior author of the BBRC paper and a professor of bioengineering at UCSD’s Jacobs School of Engineering. “But it’s really very complex and I’m not sure we’re covering much as yet. We certainly don’t know all the interactions among these molecules that bring the cell into action.”
Cancer researchers are eager to understand paxillin’s many interactions because their malfunctions have been linked to a variety of cancers, tumor metastasis, and other disease processes. Tumor-causing versions of signaling molecules may attach to paxillin and disturb the normal adhesion and growth factor signaling steps required for controlled proliferation and cell growth. For example, human papilloma virus, which can cause cervical cancer, makes a protein that binds to paxillin and that interaction may contribute to the carcinogenic potential of the sexually transmitted virus.
Chien and Hu obtained cells for their most recent study from the inner membranous lining of a cow aorta. They added genetically engineered proteins tagged with red and green fluorescence markers to the bovine aortic endothelial cells, grew them in tissue culture, and filmed them while they passed fluid across the cells’ surface in a simulation of flowing blood. With that physical stimulus, paxillin consistently moved in the same direction as the fluid flow.
Paxillin is found primarily at focal adhesions, busy intersections of activity scattered around the cell’s cytoplasmic membrane. Focal adhesions are regions rich with receptors for growth factors and they are also structural attachment points that link the extracellular world to the protein filaments and tubes that comprise a cell’s internal cytoskeleton.
While researchers showed that paxillin serves as a docking station for a variety of signaling and structural proteins, they have been limited to visualizing paxillin with dyes that stain cells rigidly attached to microscope slides. Those snapshots of fixed cells can’t reveal paxillin movement.
“We can now see the dynamics of how paxillin and other proteins move inside the cell with new fluorescent labels and live-cell video microscopy,” said Chien, director of the Whitaker Institute of Biomedical Engineering at the Jacobs School.
The two-color labeling technique of Chien and Hu revealed that red-labeled paxillin is linked to green-labeled actin filaments, the thinnest of three types of protein filaments that make up the cytoskeleton of cells of higher organisms. Paxillin either slides along the actin filaments or is pulled by them. In a surprise, Chien and Hu also showed that paxillin itself forms long, fibrous structures in the cell cytoplasm.When actin is chemically removed, paxillin no longer moves and its fibrous structures disappear.
“As least by showing that paxillin and actin filaments move together we have some insight into the possibility of how paxillin can transmit information from one region of the cell, such as the periphery, to another region of the cell, such as the nucleus,” said Chien. “The whole situation is much more complex than we have been able to show.”
Chien, Hu, and their colleagues at UCSD had previously reported that paxillin can be rapidly assembled and disassembled, and they hypothesize that this process enables cell migration by assembling new focal adhesion sites in the direction of cell movement and disassembling them on the trailing side of the cell. Researchers are applying the fluorescence-labeling technique to the many other signaling and structural proteins found predominantly at focal adhesions.
“When we piece all of these things together we can get a more complete understanding of how the cell functions, both in migration and signal transduction,” said Chien. “If we can understand the details of these processes, we can not only understand how normal cells function, but we can also look at diseased cells to see why they sometimes don’t move properly or why they don’t transmit information properly.”
Proper signaling step required for controlled cell growth -
- otherwise, cancer and other diseases can resultScientists have captured on video the intracellular version of a postal delivery service. Reporting in the journal Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications (BBRC), bioengineering researchers at UC San Diego published videos of a key message-carrying protein called paxillin moving abruptly from hubs of communication and transportation activity on the cell surface toward the nucleus. Paxillin was labeled with a red fluorescence marker to make it stand out in live cells.
“It’s amazing to us. We thought the cell was so simple,” said Shu Chien, the senior author of the BBRC paper and a professor of bioengineering at UCSD’s Jacobs School of Engineering. “But it’s really very complex and I’m not sure we’re covering much as yet. We certainly don’t know all the interactions among these molecules that bring the cell into action.”
Cancer researchers are eager to understand paxillin’s many interactions because their malfunctions have been linked to a variety of cancers, tumor metastasis, and other disease processes. Tumor-causing versions of signaling molecules may attach to paxillin and disturb the normal adhesion and growth factor signaling steps required for controlled proliferation and cell growth. For example, human papilloma virus, which can cause cervical cancer, makes a protein that binds to paxillin and that interaction may contribute to the carcinogenic potential of the sexually transmitted virus.
Chien and Hu obtained cells for their most recent study from the inner membranous lining of a cow aorta. They added genetically engineered proteins tagged with red and green fluorescence markers to the bovine aortic endothelial cells, grew them in tissue culture, and filmed them while they passed fluid across the cells’ surface in a simulation of flowing blood. With that physical stimulus, paxillin consistently moved in the same direction as the fluid flow.
Paxillin is found primarily at focal adhesions, busy intersections of activity scattered around the cell’s cytoplasmic membrane. Focal adhesions are regions rich with receptors for growth factors and they are also structural attachment points that link the extracellular world to the protein filaments and tubes that comprise a cell’s internal cytoskeleton.
While researchers showed that paxillin serves as a docking station for a variety of signaling and structural proteins, they have been limited to visualizing paxillin with dyes that stain cells rigidly attached to microscope slides. Those snapshots of fixed cells can’t reveal paxillin movement.
“We can now see the dynamics of how paxillin and other proteins move inside the cell with new fluorescent labels and live-cell video microscopy,” said Chien, director of the Whitaker Institute of Biomedical Engineering at the Jacobs School.
The two-color labeling technique of Chien and Hu revealed that red-labeled paxillin is linked to green-labeled actin filaments, the thinnest of three types of protein filaments that make up the cytoskeleton of cells of higher organisms. Paxillin either slides along the actin filaments or is pulled by them. In a surprise, Chien and Hu also showed that paxillin itself forms long, fibrous structures in the cell cytoplasm.When actin is chemically removed, paxillin no longer moves and its fibrous structures disappear.
“As least by showing that paxillin and actin filaments move together we have some insight into the possibility of how paxillin can transmit information from one region of the cell, such as the periphery, to another region of the cell, such as the nucleus,” said Chien. “The whole situation is much more complex than we have been able to show.”
Chien, Hu, and their colleagues at UCSD had previously reported that paxillin can be rapidly assembled and disassembled, and they hypothesize that this process enables cell migration by assembling new focal adhesion sites in the direction of cell movement and disassembling them on the trailing side of the cell. Researchers are applying the fluorescence-labeling technique to the many other signaling and structural proteins found predominantly at focal adhesions.
“When we piece all of these things together we can get a more complete understanding of how the cell functions, both in migration and signal transduction,” said Chien. “If we can understand the details of these processes, we can not only understand how normal cells function, but we can also look at diseased cells to see why they sometimes don’t move properly or why they don’t transmit information properly.”
Thursday, May 24, 2007
.gif)
.gif)
.gif)
Friday, May 18, 2007
Birth danger risk could be cut by taking aspirin
TAKING aspirin during pregnancy could help to reduce the risk of pre-eclampsia, scientists said yesterday.
Researchers in the UK and Australia looked at studies involving more than 30,000 women to see if the common drug significantly cuts the danger of the potentially fatal condition, which kills about 1,000 babies a year in the UK.
They found that a daily low dose of aspirin or similar drugs cut the risk of developing pre-eclampsia, which is associated with high blood pressure, by 10 per cent.
The likelihood of giving birth before 34 weeks and of having other serious complications also fell by 10 per cent.
Doctors and campaigners welcomed the findings, but there were warnings about other side-effects from aspirin.
Pre-eclampsia is caused by a defect in the placenta, which joins mother and child and supplies the baby with nutrients and oxygen from the parent's blood.
The condition occurs in about one in ten pregnancies - and in one in 50 in its most severe form.
It is thought to be responsible for the deaths of 600 to 1,000 babies a year in the UK and up to five mothers.
The condition is curable only by delivering the baby, which puts some infants at risk of death caused by prematurity.
The research, published in the medical journal Lancet, examined the use of aspirin in pregnant women combining data from 31 clinical trials.
In these trials, involving 32,000 women, 8 per cent of expectant mothers developed pre-eclampsia.
But the researchers found that those taking aspirin had a 10 per cent lower chance of developing the condition, as well as lower risks of pre-term births and other serious complications.
As pre-eclampsia is thought to be linked to irregular blood flow, aspirin's anti-clotting effect could be leading to the benefits, the study said.
The researchers, including teams from Oxford University and York University, did not find any particular group of women who were more likely to benefit from taking aspirin during pregnancy.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said the latest study findings were "very valuable". Patrick O'Brien, a spokesman for the college, said: "It is a moderate reduction of around 10 per cent, but given that pre-eclampsia is potentially serious for some women and their babies, this is an important finding.
"No single sub-group of women seems to benefit particularly from low-dose aspirin.
"The decision on whether to take it in pregnancy should be made following discussion between the woman and her obstetrician, taking into account her individual risk of developing the condition," he said.
Despite the findings, the baby charity Tommy's said it believed that not all pregnant women should routinely be prescribed aspirin. Professor Andrew Shennan said: "It's important to bear in mind that if this were the case, for every 50 women prescribed aspirin, it would only have an impact on one.
"Only pregnant women at increased risk of developing pre-eclampsia should be given aspirin during pregnancy. Risk factors range from women who've had pre-eclampsia before, those women carrying multiple pregnancies and women over 35 years of age."
In another article also published online in the Lancet, doctors from the United States said that the potential risks of aspirin use must be considered.
Long-term use has been linked to an increased risk of stomach ulcers.
They said in lower-risk cases, it was more difficult to judge whether benefits outweighed long-term risks.
A CURE FOR EVERY ILL?
ASPIRIN has been used to help prevent heart attacks and stroke among those with cardiovascular disease for some time.
Various studies have found the drug can significantly reduce the risk of heart problems, although concerns about side-effects such as stomach ulcers remain.
This is a particular concern for healthy people taking a daily dose of aspirin believing it is good for their health.
This belief has been boosted by repeated reports of the drug's benefits.
Since it was first distributed to doctors in 1899, numerous studies have suggested the drug is effective against a whole host of illnesses. These include:
• ASTHMA: Earlier this year research published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine suggested aspirin might reduce the chance of adults developing of asthma.
The study found that among a large group of healthy men, those taking a single aspirin every other day were 22 per cent less likely to develop asthma than those who did not.
• PROSTATE: Last year researchers from the Mayo Clinic in the United States said that the use of certain drugs, including aspirin, could help reduce or delay the risk of an enlarged prostate. Another study found that men who regularly took aspirin might increase their chance of surviving prostate cancer.
• SKIN: Australian researchers have suggested that the regular use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, including aspirin, could offer protection against skin cancer and the growth of certain types of malignant cells.
• BREAST: Research conducted at Columbia University in 2004 found that the regular use of aspirin might reduce the risk of breast cancer, particularly among women with hormone-sensitive tumours. Daily use seemed to have the biggest benefits.
• HODGKIN'S DISEASE: Research from the Harvard School of Public Health found that low-dose aspirin use might lower the risk of Hodgkin's disease.
• BOWEL: In 2004, research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that aspirin in higher doses might protect against bowel cancer. The study, involving 27,000 women, discovered that, as use of aspirin increased, the risk of developing cancer fell.
• PANCREAS: A study by the University of Minnesota in 2002 found that women who regularly took aspirin might be less likely to get pancreatic cancer.
• VIRUSES: In 2002 a study found that aspirin might block the replication of a common virus linked to birth defects and immune system disorders
Researchers in the UK and Australia looked at studies involving more than 30,000 women to see if the common drug significantly cuts the danger of the potentially fatal condition, which kills about 1,000 babies a year in the UK.They found that a daily low dose of aspirin or similar drugs cut the risk of developing pre-eclampsia, which is associated with high blood pressure, by 10 per cent.
The likelihood of giving birth before 34 weeks and of having other serious complications also fell by 10 per cent.
Doctors and campaigners welcomed the findings, but there were warnings about other side-effects from aspirin.
Pre-eclampsia is caused by a defect in the placenta, which joins mother and child and supplies the baby with nutrients and oxygen from the parent's blood.
The condition occurs in about one in ten pregnancies - and in one in 50 in its most severe form.
It is thought to be responsible for the deaths of 600 to 1,000 babies a year in the UK and up to five mothers.
The condition is curable only by delivering the baby, which puts some infants at risk of death caused by prematurity.
The research, published in the medical journal Lancet, examined the use of aspirin in pregnant women combining data from 31 clinical trials.
In these trials, involving 32,000 women, 8 per cent of expectant mothers developed pre-eclampsia.
But the researchers found that those taking aspirin had a 10 per cent lower chance of developing the condition, as well as lower risks of pre-term births and other serious complications.
As pre-eclampsia is thought to be linked to irregular blood flow, aspirin's anti-clotting effect could be leading to the benefits, the study said.
The researchers, including teams from Oxford University and York University, did not find any particular group of women who were more likely to benefit from taking aspirin during pregnancy.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said the latest study findings were "very valuable". Patrick O'Brien, a spokesman for the college, said: "It is a moderate reduction of around 10 per cent, but given that pre-eclampsia is potentially serious for some women and their babies, this is an important finding.
"No single sub-group of women seems to benefit particularly from low-dose aspirin.
"The decision on whether to take it in pregnancy should be made following discussion between the woman and her obstetrician, taking into account her individual risk of developing the condition," he said.
Despite the findings, the baby charity Tommy's said it believed that not all pregnant women should routinely be prescribed aspirin. Professor Andrew Shennan said: "It's important to bear in mind that if this were the case, for every 50 women prescribed aspirin, it would only have an impact on one.
"Only pregnant women at increased risk of developing pre-eclampsia should be given aspirin during pregnancy. Risk factors range from women who've had pre-eclampsia before, those women carrying multiple pregnancies and women over 35 years of age."
In another article also published online in the Lancet, doctors from the United States said that the potential risks of aspirin use must be considered.
Long-term use has been linked to an increased risk of stomach ulcers.
They said in lower-risk cases, it was more difficult to judge whether benefits outweighed long-term risks.
A CURE FOR EVERY ILL?
ASPIRIN has been used to help prevent heart attacks and stroke among those with cardiovascular disease for some time.
Various studies have found the drug can significantly reduce the risk of heart problems, although concerns about side-effects such as stomach ulcers remain.
This is a particular concern for healthy people taking a daily dose of aspirin believing it is good for their health.
This belief has been boosted by repeated reports of the drug's benefits.
Since it was first distributed to doctors in 1899, numerous studies have suggested the drug is effective against a whole host of illnesses. These include:
• ASTHMA: Earlier this year research published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine suggested aspirin might reduce the chance of adults developing of asthma.
The study found that among a large group of healthy men, those taking a single aspirin every other day were 22 per cent less likely to develop asthma than those who did not.
• PROSTATE: Last year researchers from the Mayo Clinic in the United States said that the use of certain drugs, including aspirin, could help reduce or delay the risk of an enlarged prostate. Another study found that men who regularly took aspirin might increase their chance of surviving prostate cancer.
• SKIN: Australian researchers have suggested that the regular use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, including aspirin, could offer protection against skin cancer and the growth of certain types of malignant cells.
• BREAST: Research conducted at Columbia University in 2004 found that the regular use of aspirin might reduce the risk of breast cancer, particularly among women with hormone-sensitive tumours. Daily use seemed to have the biggest benefits.
• HODGKIN'S DISEASE: Research from the Harvard School of Public Health found that low-dose aspirin use might lower the risk of Hodgkin's disease.
• BOWEL: In 2004, research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that aspirin in higher doses might protect against bowel cancer. The study, involving 27,000 women, discovered that, as use of aspirin increased, the risk of developing cancer fell.
• PANCREAS: A study by the University of Minnesota in 2002 found that women who regularly took aspirin might be less likely to get pancreatic cancer.
• VIRUSES: In 2002 a study found that aspirin might block the replication of a common virus linked to birth defects and immune system disorders
Study: Adult mice can regenerate hair
U.S. scientists have discovered adult mice can 
regenerate hair follicles and hair in a study that might help in developing treatments for skin disorders.
The research by George Cotsarelis and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has also helped resolve a 50-year-long controversy and might aid in the design of treatments for both hair loss and degenerative skin problems.
For half a century, most people believed mammalian hair follicles form only during development and that loss of adult follicles is permanent. But the new study shows that is not the case, at least for adult mice with skin wounds.
Wounding, said the researchers, triggers new hair-producing follicles to form. Exposure to Wnt signaling -- a genetic pathway involved in normal hair follicle development and cycling -- following wounding increases the number of regenerated hair follicles. And Wnt signaling inhibition after regrowth of the epithelium prevents new follicles from forming.
The study, said the scientists, suggests mammalian skin can respond to wounding with plasticity and a much greater regenerative capacity than was previously believed.
The research is detailed in the journal Nature.
regenerate hair follicles and hair in a study that might help in developing treatments for skin disorders.The research by George Cotsarelis and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has also helped resolve a 50-year-long controversy and might aid in the design of treatments for both hair loss and degenerative skin problems.
For half a century, most people believed mammalian hair follicles form only during development and that loss of adult follicles is permanent. But the new study shows that is not the case, at least for adult mice with skin wounds.
Wounding, said the researchers, triggers new hair-producing follicles to form. Exposure to Wnt signaling -- a genetic pathway involved in normal hair follicle development and cycling -- following wounding increases the number of regenerated hair follicles. And Wnt signaling inhibition after regrowth of the epithelium prevents new follicles from forming.
The study, said the scientists, suggests mammalian skin can respond to wounding with plasticity and a much greater regenerative capacity than was previously believed.
The research is detailed in the journal Nature.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Risk of Cancer
Doctors: Swedish Snus Cut Risk of Cancer
People who use Swedish moist snuff (snus) run twice
the risk of developing cancer of the pancreas. This is the main result of a follow-up study conducted by Karolinska Institutet researchers amongst almost 300,000 male construction workers. The study is published today online in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet.Tobacco smoking is a known risk factor for pancreatic cancer, which is an unusually malignant form of the disease. Since it is common for people who take snus – a tobacco product designed for insertion between the gum and upper lip – to also smoke cigarettes, the challenge facing epidemiological research into snus and cancer has been to isolate the effects of the different kinds of tobacco. What makes this new study unique is that it has been possible to study the correlation between snus and cancer risk in a large enough group of men who have never smoked. The subjects attended health check ups between 1978 and 1992, during which they were asked to report on their smoking and ’snusing’ habits. The researchers have also studied rates of oral and lung cancer amongst the men, but found no correlation to snus. "We’re actually not that surprised," says project leader Professor Olof Nyrén of the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics. "Pancreatic cancer has been under discussion in several earlier epidemiological studies on humans, both regarding Scandinavian snus and American smoke-free tobacco. On the other hand, previous studies of oral and lung cancer in relation to Scandinavian snus have been negative." The main contribution of the new study is its conclusion that Swedish moist snus can be carcinogenic. However, the study also shows that the risks for users are small, and, as far as can be judged, much smaller than the risks associated with smoking.
"If 10,000 non-smoking snus users are monitored for ten years, according to our data, eight or nine of them will develop pancreatic cancer, as opposed to four amongst those who use neither product. But 9,991 won’t, so the odds aren’t that bad," he says. The debate on whether the net effect of snus is positive or negative has been raging for many years. Some scientists and health carers have advocated the use of snus, as it is likely to lead to that people will smoke less. However, Professor Nyrén argues that it is important to have all the facts on the table before any advice can be given about snus as a way to cut down on smoking. "We don’t only need reliable and accurate measures of the risks of both smoking and taking snus, we also need know the effects of other, alternative methods to cut smoking. We also have to be certain that an increase in snus marketing will not cause addictions in young people who otherwise wouldn’t have started to smoke," he says.
Friday, May 04, 2007
Pistachios lower cholesterol
Pistachios lower cholesterol, provide antioxidants
A handful of pistachios may lower cholesterol and provide the antioxidants usually found in leafy green vegetables and brightly colored fruit, according to a team of researchers.
"Pistachio amounts of 1.5 ounces and 3 ounces – one to two handfuls – reduced risk for cardiovascular disease by significantly reducing LDL cholesterol levels and the higher dose significantly reduced lipoprotein ratios," says Sarah K. Gebauer, graduate student in integrative biosciences, Penn State, to attendees at the Experimental Biology meeting today (April 30) in Washington, D.C.
The researchers conducted a randomized, crossover design, controlled feeding experiment to test the effects of pistachios added to a heart healthy moderate-fat diet on cardiovascular disease risk factors. Controlled feeding experiments provide all the food eaten by study subjects for the duration of the study segment. Participants began the study by eating an Average American Diet consisting of 35 percent total fat and 11 percent saturated fat for two weeks. They then tested three diets for four weeks each with a two-week break between each diet. All three diets were variations on the Step I Diet, a cholesterol-lowering diet in general use. The diets included a Step I Diet without pistachios which had 25 percent total fat and 8 percent saturated fat; a Step I Diet including 1.5 ounces of pistachios per day which had 30 percent total fat and 8 percent saturated fat, and a Step I Diet including three ounces of pistachios per day which had 34 percent total fat and 8 percent saturated fat. The researchers added pistachios into the diets by including about half the amount of pistachios as a snack and by incorporating the rest into such foods as pistachio muffins, granola and pistachio pesto. "We had really good compliance and participants were generally pleased with the diets," says Gebauer. Standard blood tests determined the various cholesterol levels in the participant’s blood after each diet. Researchers found that 3 ounces of pistachios reduced the amounts of total cholesterol in the blood by 8.4 percent and low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the so-called bad cholesterol, by 11.6 percent. The study also found that non-high density lipoproteins (non-HDL) decreased by 11.2 percent. Non-HDL levels are considered reliable predictors of cardiovascular disease risk.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Not so contoversial anymore
Not so contoversial anymore -- panel says moderate coffee drinking reduces many risks
Although the American Society for Nutrition’s popular “controversy session” at Experimental Biology 2007 focuses on the health effects of coffee drinking, panel chair Dr. James Coughlin, a toxicology/safety consultant at Coughlin & Associates, says that recent advances in epidemiologic and experimental knowledge have transformed many of the negative health myths about coffee drinking into validated health benefits
Indeed, panel co-chair Dan Steffen, who follows coffee and health issues in the Scientific and Regulatory Affairs group of Kraft Foods, note that the “controversy” is often to educate a wider audience about this transformation in understanding.
Coffee is among the most widely consumed beverages in the world, and Dr. Coughlin says that the preponderance of scientific evidence - some by the panelists - suggests that moderate coffee consumption (3-5 cups per day) may be associated with reduced risk of certain disease conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease. Some research in neuropharamacology suggests that one cup of coffee can halve the risk of Parkinson’s disease. Other studies have found it reduces the risk of Alzheimer's disease, kidney stones, gallstones, depression and even suicide. Dr. Coughlin and two distinguished researchers discussed some of the benefits - and a couple of the remaining increased risk factors (possible increase in blood pressure and plasma homocysteine) - on April 30 at the Experimental Biology meeting in Washington, DC. Dr. Rob van Dam, an epidemiologist at the Harvard School of Public Health and the Harvard Medical School, studies the link between diet and the development of type 2 diabetes. Worldwide, an estimated 171 million persons have diabetes, mostly type 2 diabetes, and an alarming increase to 366 million persons is expected for the year 2030. While increased physical activity and restriction of energy intake can substantially reduce risk of type 2 diabetes, he believes insight into the role of other lifestyle factors may contribute to additional prevention strategies for type 2 diabetes. In recent epidemiological studies in the U.S., Europe and Japan, persons who were heavy coffee consumers had a lower risk of type 2 diabetes than persons who consumed little coffee. Interestingly, he says, associations were similar for caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, suggesting that coffee components other than caffeine may be beneficial for glucose metabolism. Coffee contains hundreds of components including substantial amounts of chlorogenic acid, caffeine, magnesium, potassium, vitamin B3, trigonelline, and lignans. Limited evidence suggests that coffee may improve glucose metabolism by reducing the rate of intestinal glucose absorption and by stimulating the secretion of the gut hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) that is beneficial for the secretion of insulin. However, most mechanistic research on coffee and glucose metabolism has been done in animals and in lab tubes and therefore metabolic studies in humans are currently being conducted. Further research may lead to the development or selection of coffee types with improved health effects. Dr. Lenore Arab, a nutritional epidemiologist in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, notes that the first coffee controversy dates back 430 years when in 1570 some monks petitioned the pope to condemn this drink, so popular among Muslims. Pope Clement VIII, liking how it kept the monks from falling sleep during mass, purportedly blessed it instead. The rest, including the United States’ wholesale conversion to coffee following the Boston Tea Party, is history. In reviewing the latest epidemiologic literature on cancers and coffee, Dr. Arab has found there to be close to 400 studies of the associations between coffee consumption and cancers various at various sites.
The earlier controversy with regard to colon cancer was based on flawed analyses, she says. More thorough analyses and the accumulation of evidence suggest no negative effect on the incidence of colon cancer, and possible protective effects for adenomas of the colon as well as for rectal cancer and liver cancer.
Mechanisms which might contribute to a possible anticarcinogenic effect include reduction in cholesterol, bile acid and neutral sterol secretion in the colon, increased colonic motility and reduced exposure of epithelium to carcinogens, the ability of diterpenes to reduce genotoxicity of carcinogens, and lower DNA adduct formation, and the ability of caffeic acid and chlorogenic acid to decreased DNA methylation. In other cancers - breast, ovarian, and prostate - the evidence is not suggestive of either risk or protection.
There are two areas, says Dr. Arab, in which there is some evidence of increased risk: leukemia and stomach cancer. The evidence for the former is intriguing, for the latter insubstantial. She concludes that a systematic review of the newer data for liver, rectal, stomach cancer and for childhood leukemia is due.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Break your kid's whining habit
When it comes to torture, we could all learn a thing or two from 
kids. Who knows better than they how to extract most anything they want within minutes of applying the technique? I'm talking about whining, of course -- that grating mewling that causes us to do anything (anything!) just to make it go away. But you can break the habit. And the rewards of victory can be rich for both of you.
Toddlers
Why they do it: Early talkers whine like babies cry. Some experts say that whining tends to peak in a child's development when she's feeling out of control and overwhelmed -- emotions that pretty much sum up toddlerhood. She lacks the vocabulary to articulate her frustrations, and that whimpering is the natural default noise. Certain triggers, such as hunger and fatigue, can also cause breakdowns (true for kids of all ages), so keep that in mind the next time you take your toddler grocery shopping close to naptime.
How to stop it: Patience becomes the first rule when confronted with these early bouts of whining. When her son, Matthew, who's almost 3, melts down because he can't wait 10 more minutes for dinner, Rae Sullivan of Durham, North Carolina, gives him a little extra attention, like five minutes of lap or snuggle time. Those five minutes are well spent if it means she can finish cooking without another whinefest. Tossing him a few crackers to eat in the meantime doesn't hurt, either. (Parenting.com: When good kids mouth off )
"A lot of toddlers don't even know they're whining," says Sheila Oliveri, a mom of three and a nursery school teacher in St. Louis, Missouri. So give your little complainer an exaggerated demonstration: "Whyyyyyy are you taaaalkingg like thaaaaaat?" The result will be twofold: "You'll show her exactly how irritating whining is," says Oliveri, "and you may make her laugh, which will make her forget why she was complaining in the first place." Or try recording your child. Play it back to her so she knows what she sounds like, and work with her on better ways to ask for the things she wants or needs.
Preschoolers
Why they do it: Like toddlers, the 3-to-5 set has a low threshold for frustration. Plus, they're going through a lot of changes -- such as starting school, facing a new baby sib, or graduating to a big-kid bed -- that make them extra hungry for your attention, even if it's the negative kind. ( Parenting.com: Moving to a big-kid bed)
How to stop it: The great thing about preschoolers is that they can still be distracted by a clever trick. For instance, Debbie Granick of St. Louis uses a "whine" cup, or bowl or bucket or whatever's at hand. "Whenever one of them starts, I say, 'Here, go pour out your whine and bring me your regular voice.' It gets a smile, or at least that 'Oh, Mom' look, and then they'll usually change their tone." She then thanks her child for using a "pleasant" voice. Or whisper your answer back. "You may have to whisper it several times, but your child will have to be quiet to hear you, and a lot of times he'll mimic your tone of voice," says Karen Shaffer, a mom of three in Highland, California.
By the time they're 4, most kids are able to understand that their behavior has consequences. So you can start using the "I can't understand you when you whine" technique. "When my children complain, I say, 'I'm sorry, but when you talk in that voice, I can't understand anything you're saying. Use your normal voice and I'll try to listen to you.' Then I ignore them until they start to comply," says Audrey Smith, a mom of two in Long Beach, California. It works, she says, but you have to be as consistent as possible. And that's not easy, as we all know. Who among us hasn't caved in? Trouble is, if your child sees you can be broken, he'll simply up the ante, and your whining problem will be worse.
Besides being consistent, look for ways to reinforce the behavior you do want, like thanking him when he repeats his request in a polite tone.
Grade-schoolers
Why they do it: Besides whining when they're tired or hungry, kids grumble when they're asked to do things they don't want to do (insert your chore of choice) or when they're bored. Whining is learned behavior, and by the time a kid is in elementary school, she's a pro. (Parenting.com: Little kid, big temper?)
How to stop it: Some moms swear by sending their child to the "whine" room as soon as she starts. Sending her away -- to the corner of the living room, say, and letting her vent aloud to herself -- spares you from having to listen to it and may help the offender understand what she sounds like.
Shaffer has another tactic when her school-age kids start in. "Every whine costs them a nickel, to be deposited in a special jar," she says. "Then we give the money to the charity box at church on Sunday." When you're out in public, you can head off most whining by establishing some rules before you leave. My two kids know that there's every possibility of a small candy or sticker purchase if they make Mommy's trip to Target as pleasant as possible. They also know that the moment they start complaining in that tone of voice, the deal's off. Sometimes my 5-year-old slips up, but my 8-year-old has this rule down cold.
It bears keeping in mind that everyone whines -- moms and dads, too. But our kids model their behavior on ours, so the next time you're griping about soccer-practice schedule, take a minute to listen to yourself and then go put a nickel in the whine jar. Your child will be impressed.
Besides contributing regularly to Parenting, Julie Tilsner writes about kids and food at badhomecooking.blogspot.com.
kids. Who knows better than they how to extract most anything they want within minutes of applying the technique? I'm talking about whining, of course -- that grating mewling that causes us to do anything (anything!) just to make it go away. But you can break the habit. And the rewards of victory can be rich for both of you.Toddlers
Why they do it: Early talkers whine like babies cry. Some experts say that whining tends to peak in a child's development when she's feeling out of control and overwhelmed -- emotions that pretty much sum up toddlerhood. She lacks the vocabulary to articulate her frustrations, and that whimpering is the natural default noise. Certain triggers, such as hunger and fatigue, can also cause breakdowns (true for kids of all ages), so keep that in mind the next time you take your toddler grocery shopping close to naptime.
How to stop it: Patience becomes the first rule when confronted with these early bouts of whining. When her son, Matthew, who's almost 3, melts down because he can't wait 10 more minutes for dinner, Rae Sullivan of Durham, North Carolina, gives him a little extra attention, like five minutes of lap or snuggle time. Those five minutes are well spent if it means she can finish cooking without another whinefest. Tossing him a few crackers to eat in the meantime doesn't hurt, either. (Parenting.com: When good kids mouth off )
"A lot of toddlers don't even know they're whining," says Sheila Oliveri, a mom of three and a nursery school teacher in St. Louis, Missouri. So give your little complainer an exaggerated demonstration: "Whyyyyyy are you taaaalkingg like thaaaaaat?" The result will be twofold: "You'll show her exactly how irritating whining is," says Oliveri, "and you may make her laugh, which will make her forget why she was complaining in the first place." Or try recording your child. Play it back to her so she knows what she sounds like, and work with her on better ways to ask for the things she wants or needs.
Preschoolers
Why they do it: Like toddlers, the 3-to-5 set has a low threshold for frustration. Plus, they're going through a lot of changes -- such as starting school, facing a new baby sib, or graduating to a big-kid bed -- that make them extra hungry for your attention, even if it's the negative kind. ( Parenting.com: Moving to a big-kid bed)
How to stop it: The great thing about preschoolers is that they can still be distracted by a clever trick. For instance, Debbie Granick of St. Louis uses a "whine" cup, or bowl or bucket or whatever's at hand. "Whenever one of them starts, I say, 'Here, go pour out your whine and bring me your regular voice.' It gets a smile, or at least that 'Oh, Mom' look, and then they'll usually change their tone." She then thanks her child for using a "pleasant" voice. Or whisper your answer back. "You may have to whisper it several times, but your child will have to be quiet to hear you, and a lot of times he'll mimic your tone of voice," says Karen Shaffer, a mom of three in Highland, California.
By the time they're 4, most kids are able to understand that their behavior has consequences. So you can start using the "I can't understand you when you whine" technique. "When my children complain, I say, 'I'm sorry, but when you talk in that voice, I can't understand anything you're saying. Use your normal voice and I'll try to listen to you.' Then I ignore them until they start to comply," says Audrey Smith, a mom of two in Long Beach, California. It works, she says, but you have to be as consistent as possible. And that's not easy, as we all know. Who among us hasn't caved in? Trouble is, if your child sees you can be broken, he'll simply up the ante, and your whining problem will be worse.
Besides being consistent, look for ways to reinforce the behavior you do want, like thanking him when he repeats his request in a polite tone.
Grade-schoolers
Why they do it: Besides whining when they're tired or hungry, kids grumble when they're asked to do things they don't want to do (insert your chore of choice) or when they're bored. Whining is learned behavior, and by the time a kid is in elementary school, she's a pro. (Parenting.com: Little kid, big temper?)
How to stop it: Some moms swear by sending their child to the "whine" room as soon as she starts. Sending her away -- to the corner of the living room, say, and letting her vent aloud to herself -- spares you from having to listen to it and may help the offender understand what she sounds like.
Shaffer has another tactic when her school-age kids start in. "Every whine costs them a nickel, to be deposited in a special jar," she says. "Then we give the money to the charity box at church on Sunday." When you're out in public, you can head off most whining by establishing some rules before you leave. My two kids know that there's every possibility of a small candy or sticker purchase if they make Mommy's trip to Target as pleasant as possible. They also know that the moment they start complaining in that tone of voice, the deal's off. Sometimes my 5-year-old slips up, but my 8-year-old has this rule down cold.
It bears keeping in mind that everyone whines -- moms and dads, too. But our kids model their behavior on ours, so the next time you're griping about soccer-practice schedule, take a minute to listen to yourself and then go put a nickel in the whine jar. Your child will be impressed.
Besides contributing regularly to Parenting, Julie Tilsner writes about kids and food at badhomecooking.blogspot.com.
2.jpg)
Sunday, April 22, 2007
New virus found
The virus was found in three Melbourne patients who died just weeks after they received organs from a 57-year-old man who suffered a fatal brain haemorrhage one week after returning from Europe.
Australian officials said the infection was similar to lymphocytic choreomeningitis virus (LCMV), which was linked to the deaths of several transplant patients in the United States last year.
"I'm very pleased that out of a sad episode we've been able to draw some conclusions and find something new in a world first," Dr Mike Catton from the Victorian Infectious Disease Laboratory said.
"It's a new virus and it's a new way of finding the virus."
Catton said tests carried out with the assistance of the Greene Infectious Disease Laboratory at Columbia University in New York looked at tissue samples taken from the dead tranplant patients using new gene sequencing techniques.
The new virus was found in all samples taken from the transplant recipients but not in tissue taken from the donor.
"The fact that we haven't yet discovered it in the donor doesn't rule out the fact that this was transmitted from donor to recipient," he said.
"There's much work that needs to be done characterising this virus in both laboratories and that will be continuing as we speak."
Catton said doctors did not know yet how many people could be infected with the virus or whether it has killed anyone in the past.
But Australian officials insisted that the new virus did not pose a threat to the community and was not thought to be an infectious disease.
"Organ transplant recipients are hit with a variety of drugs to suppress their immune system so that they don't reject the organ that's transplanted," Victoria state's acting chief health officer Dr John Carnie said.
"So if you're immuno-depressed, any kind of infection can have devastating consequences, whether it's the common cold or influenza or anything like that."
Australian doctors began investigating in January when three women who received organs from the same donor died within days of each other and no common cause could be established between the deaths.
Two women, aged 63 and 44, each received a kidney while the donor's liver went to a 64-year-old woman.
Carnie said he hoped the discovery did not lead to calls to stop the transplant programme.
"This may be an extremely rare one-off event and we don't want to deprive people of the benefits of a liver or kidney or something else that would be life-saving for some event that may be extremely rare," he said.
© 2007 AFP
Australian officials said the infection was similar to lymphocytic choreomeningitis virus (LCMV), which was linked to the deaths of several transplant patients in the United States last year.
"I'm very pleased that out of a sad episode we've been able to draw some conclusions and find something new in a world first," Dr Mike Catton from the Victorian Infectious Disease Laboratory said.
"It's a new virus and it's a new way of finding the virus."
Catton said tests carried out with the assistance of the Greene Infectious Disease Laboratory at Columbia University in New York looked at tissue samples taken from the dead tranplant patients using new gene sequencing techniques.
The new virus was found in all samples taken from the transplant recipients but not in tissue taken from the donor.
"The fact that we haven't yet discovered it in the donor doesn't rule out the fact that this was transmitted from donor to recipient," he said.
"There's much work that needs to be done characterising this virus in both laboratories and that will be continuing as we speak."
Catton said doctors did not know yet how many people could be infected with the virus or whether it has killed anyone in the past.
But Australian officials insisted that the new virus did not pose a threat to the community and was not thought to be an infectious disease.
"Organ transplant recipients are hit with a variety of drugs to suppress their immune system so that they don't reject the organ that's transplanted," Victoria state's acting chief health officer Dr John Carnie said.
"So if you're immuno-depressed, any kind of infection can have devastating consequences, whether it's the common cold or influenza or anything like that."
Australian doctors began investigating in January when three women who received organs from the same donor died within days of each other and no common cause could be established between the deaths.
Two women, aged 63 and 44, each received a kidney while the donor's liver went to a 64-year-old woman.
Carnie said he hoped the discovery did not lead to calls to stop the transplant programme.
"This may be an extremely rare one-off event and we don't want to deprive people of the benefits of a liver or kidney or something else that would be life-saving for some event that may be extremely rare," he said.
© 2007 AFP
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Kılcal Damar Telenjiektazi
Kılcal Damar (Telenjiektazi) nedir? 
Derideki çok küçük kan damarları 1 mm ye kadar genişleyerek gözle görünür hale gelmiştir. Genelde yüz ve bacaklarda görülür.
Yüzümüzde kılcal damarlar neden olur?
Yüzümüzdekiler bazen bir neden olmadan da gelişebilir. Ama en önemli sebep güneştir. Çok güneşlenenlerde boyunda ense gibi bölgelerde üzerinde ağ şeklinde kılcal damarların olduğu kahverengi, kırmızı renk değişikliği olabilir. Kılcal damarlar bazı hastalıklarda, gebelik, alkol ve östrojen alımı, kortizonlu kremlerin uzun süreli uygulanması sonucu da gelişebilirler. Tek olabilir veya gruplar yapabilirler.
Bacaklardaki kılcal damarlar neden olur?
Bacaklardaki damarlar genelde kadınlarda görülür. Genetik, dolaşım problemleriyle ilgili olabilirler. Gebelik sonrası gelişebilir.
Kılcal damarların tedavisi var mı?
Evet. Hasta kozmetik açıdan rahatsız oluyorsa en güvenli ve pratik tedavi lazerdir. Yan etki riski çok azdır
Vücudumuzda kırmızı benler neden olur?
Vücudumuz yaşlandıkça küçük, iyi sınırlı, kırmızı renkte hafif kabarık damarsal oluşum gelişebilir. Lazerle tedavi edilebilirler.
Kırmızı lekeler doğuştan olabilir mi?
Kırmızı lekeler doğuştan olabilir. Bebek doğduğunda veya yaşamın ilk haftalarında ortaya çıkarlar. Çok çeşitli renk, yapı ve büyüklükte olabilirler. Bunlardan hemanjiomların çok faklı tipleri vardır küçük olanlar zararsız da olabilir ama bazıları ciddi kozmetik ve sağlık sorunları yaratabilirler ve tedavi edilmesi gerekir.
Şarap Lekesi (Portwine Stain) nasıl bir hastalıktır?
Bin bebekten birinde doğum anında vardır. Başlangıçta açık pembe renkli, yıllar içinde koyulaşıp, morumsu renge dönüşebilen çeşitli büyüklük ve yerde olabilen lekelerdir. Önce düzdür sonra yüzeyi sıklıkla kabalaşır ve üzerinde kabarıklıklar gelişebilir. Bulundukları yere göre bazı anomalilerle birlikte olabilirler. En sık baş ve boyunda görülür ve kendiliğinden geçmezler. Estetik açıdan hastayı rahatsız ederek psikolojisini etkileyebilir
Şarap lekesi tedavi edilebilir mi?
Şarap lekesi tedavi edilebilir. Şarap lekesinin tüm dünyada kabul görmüş tedavi şekli lazerdir ve Pulse-dye laser sistemi halen standart kabul edilmektedir. Türkiye’de de bu tedaviyi kolaylıkla uygulayabiliyoruz. Tedavi ne kadar erken yapılırsa o kadar başarılıdır
Damarsal oluşumlarda lazer tedavileri nasıl yapılıyor?
Lazer tedavisi derinin damarsal yapıdaki oluşumlarını tedavi etmek için uzun yıllardır kullanılıyor ve daha etkili ve güvenli bir sistem yok denilebilir. Tedavi edilecek soruna göre lazer çeşidi değişir. Yeni lazerler üretilmekle beraber bazı lazerler bazı hastalıkların tedavisinde klasikleşmiştir. Örneğin bunlardan biri Pulse dye lazerdir. Sonuçları çok iyi, yan etkileri azdır. Pulse dye lazerler, yaklaşık 20 yıldır birçok cilt rahatsızlığının tedavisinde kullanılmaktadır. Özellikle şarap lekesinde çok etkilidir. Ve hasta ömür boyu taşımak zorunda olduğu bir lekeden lazerle kurtulabilir. Kılcal damarlarda, kiraz angiomlarında, rozasede(gülleme), güneş hasarına bağlı yaşlanma tedavisinde de çok başarılıdır. Tedavi sırasında sadece lastik çarpmasını andıran hafif bir rahatsızlık duyulur. Uygulama kolaydır ve kısa sürer. Lazer tedavileri seanslar halinde uygulanır.
Derideki çok küçük kan damarları 1 mm ye kadar genişleyerek gözle görünür hale gelmiştir. Genelde yüz ve bacaklarda görülür.
Yüzümüzde kılcal damarlar neden olur?
Yüzümüzdekiler bazen bir neden olmadan da gelişebilir. Ama en önemli sebep güneştir. Çok güneşlenenlerde boyunda ense gibi bölgelerde üzerinde ağ şeklinde kılcal damarların olduğu kahverengi, kırmızı renk değişikliği olabilir. Kılcal damarlar bazı hastalıklarda, gebelik, alkol ve östrojen alımı, kortizonlu kremlerin uzun süreli uygulanması sonucu da gelişebilirler. Tek olabilir veya gruplar yapabilirler.
Bacaklardaki kılcal damarlar neden olur?
Bacaklardaki damarlar genelde kadınlarda görülür. Genetik, dolaşım problemleriyle ilgili olabilirler. Gebelik sonrası gelişebilir.
Kılcal damarların tedavisi var mı?
Evet. Hasta kozmetik açıdan rahatsız oluyorsa en güvenli ve pratik tedavi lazerdir. Yan etki riski çok azdır
Vücudumuzda kırmızı benler neden olur?
Vücudumuz yaşlandıkça küçük, iyi sınırlı, kırmızı renkte hafif kabarık damarsal oluşum gelişebilir. Lazerle tedavi edilebilirler.
Kırmızı lekeler doğuştan olabilir mi?
Kırmızı lekeler doğuştan olabilir. Bebek doğduğunda veya yaşamın ilk haftalarında ortaya çıkarlar. Çok çeşitli renk, yapı ve büyüklükte olabilirler. Bunlardan hemanjiomların çok faklı tipleri vardır küçük olanlar zararsız da olabilir ama bazıları ciddi kozmetik ve sağlık sorunları yaratabilirler ve tedavi edilmesi gerekir.
Şarap Lekesi (Portwine Stain) nasıl bir hastalıktır?
Bin bebekten birinde doğum anında vardır. Başlangıçta açık pembe renkli, yıllar içinde koyulaşıp, morumsu renge dönüşebilen çeşitli büyüklük ve yerde olabilen lekelerdir. Önce düzdür sonra yüzeyi sıklıkla kabalaşır ve üzerinde kabarıklıklar gelişebilir. Bulundukları yere göre bazı anomalilerle birlikte olabilirler. En sık baş ve boyunda görülür ve kendiliğinden geçmezler. Estetik açıdan hastayı rahatsız ederek psikolojisini etkileyebilir
Şarap lekesi tedavi edilebilir mi?
Şarap lekesi tedavi edilebilir. Şarap lekesinin tüm dünyada kabul görmüş tedavi şekli lazerdir ve Pulse-dye laser sistemi halen standart kabul edilmektedir. Türkiye’de de bu tedaviyi kolaylıkla uygulayabiliyoruz. Tedavi ne kadar erken yapılırsa o kadar başarılıdır
Damarsal oluşumlarda lazer tedavileri nasıl yapılıyor?
Lazer tedavisi derinin damarsal yapıdaki oluşumlarını tedavi etmek için uzun yıllardır kullanılıyor ve daha etkili ve güvenli bir sistem yok denilebilir. Tedavi edilecek soruna göre lazer çeşidi değişir. Yeni lazerler üretilmekle beraber bazı lazerler bazı hastalıkların tedavisinde klasikleşmiştir. Örneğin bunlardan biri Pulse dye lazerdir. Sonuçları çok iyi, yan etkileri azdır. Pulse dye lazerler, yaklaşık 20 yıldır birçok cilt rahatsızlığının tedavisinde kullanılmaktadır. Özellikle şarap lekesinde çok etkilidir. Ve hasta ömür boyu taşımak zorunda olduğu bir lekeden lazerle kurtulabilir. Kılcal damarlarda, kiraz angiomlarında, rozasede(gülleme), güneş hasarına bağlı yaşlanma tedavisinde de çok başarılıdır. Tedavi sırasında sadece lastik çarpmasını andıran hafif bir rahatsızlık duyulur. Uygulama kolaydır ve kısa sürer. Lazer tedavileri seanslar halinde uygulanır.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Monday, April 09, 2007
Smokers make poorer workers
Smokers were also more likely to have a less than 
honourable discharge, to be demoted, to desert, and to earn less than their non-smoking colleagues, the study showed.
Historically, the prevalence of smoking among US military personnel has been higher than among civilians, say the authors. After a period of decline, smoking rates have once more started to climb.
There are currently around 59,000 women serving in the US Navy.
The findings are based on an analysis of the career progression of almost 5,500 women entering the US Navy over a period of 12 months between 1996 and 1997.
Time in service, the proportion being discharged early or facing disciplinary procedures, as well as promotions, demotions, absences without leave, and pay grades were all assessed.
The women’s progress was tracked for around eight years.
Some 45% had never smoked. But 27% were daily smokers when they enlisted. The remainder were ex smokers or smoked occasionally.
Compared with non-smokers, daily smokers were less likely to enlist for eight years, and they were significantly more likely to leave before they had served their full term.
Non-smokers achieved the longest period of service; daily smokers achieved the shortest. Significantly fewer regular smokers re-enlisted
Regular smokers were significantly more likely than non-smokers to be discharged for medical reasons, bad behaviour, misconduct, including drug misuse, and personality disorders.
On average, non-smokers were paid significantly more than daily smokers, even after taking account of educational attainment and time in service.
The performance of those who had smoked in the past or were occasional smokers typically fell somewhere in between that of people who had never smoked and daily smokers.
"Cigarette smoking might simply be a ‘marker’ for other underlying factors, such as non-conformity and high risk taking, that contribute to poorer performance in the military," they explain.
honourable discharge, to be demoted, to desert, and to earn less than their non-smoking colleagues, the study showed.Historically, the prevalence of smoking among US military personnel has been higher than among civilians, say the authors. After a period of decline, smoking rates have once more started to climb.
There are currently around 59,000 women serving in the US Navy.
The findings are based on an analysis of the career progression of almost 5,500 women entering the US Navy over a period of 12 months between 1996 and 1997.
Time in service, the proportion being discharged early or facing disciplinary procedures, as well as promotions, demotions, absences without leave, and pay grades were all assessed.
The women’s progress was tracked for around eight years.
Some 45% had never smoked. But 27% were daily smokers when they enlisted. The remainder were ex smokers or smoked occasionally.
Compared with non-smokers, daily smokers were less likely to enlist for eight years, and they were significantly more likely to leave before they had served their full term.
Non-smokers achieved the longest period of service; daily smokers achieved the shortest. Significantly fewer regular smokers re-enlisted
Regular smokers were significantly more likely than non-smokers to be discharged for medical reasons, bad behaviour, misconduct, including drug misuse, and personality disorders.
On average, non-smokers were paid significantly more than daily smokers, even after taking account of educational attainment and time in service.
The performance of those who had smoked in the past or were occasional smokers typically fell somewhere in between that of people who had never smoked and daily smokers.
"Cigarette smoking might simply be a ‘marker’ for other underlying factors, such as non-conformity and high risk taking, that contribute to poorer performance in the military," they explain.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
The Value of Herbs in the Treatment of Cancer
Of all conditions which the herbalist/traditional Chinese medical doctor may treat, cancer represents a major test of the herbal tools we have at our disposal. A common and largely accurate perception of the damaging effects of malignancy is that "if the cancer doesn’t kill you, the biomedical treatments for it will." This statement, while accurate in some regards, doesn’t take into account the growing effectiveness of chemotherapy against many forms of cancer. Determining the effectiveness of biomedicine must be considered within a long-term perspective, however; survival rates are commonly measured in 5- and 10-year intervals, while a "cure" is considered when a cancer survivor has been cancer-free for seven years after cessation of treatment. The issues surrounding human health and the sequelae of malignancy are not as simple as these statistics suggest, however. While some rapidly growing forms of cancer may develop within ten days to two weeks of cancer cell implantation (malignant melanoma, for example), other slower-growing tumors (consider prostate cancer) may take up to ten years to make themselves detectable. To use the term "cured" for a patient who remains cancer-free after seven years is both unrealistic and arbitrary, given the unpredictability of cancer.
Aside from whether or not a cancer survivor is presently ‘cancer-free’, also of consideration is
the general state of health of the individual, which oncology tends to disregard. Of primary concern to the oncologist is whether malignancies have redeveloped, not whether conditions exist which may portend the derangement of cellular processes which could ultimately lead to loss of differentiation. This is one of the most appropriate and effective roles the TCM doctor/herbalist can fulfill—to help reestablish an underlying balance in the individual, and to unravel the complex patterns inherent in the body which can, if left untreated, lead to the development of cancer.
Another appropriate role for TCM doctors and advanced herbalists is in the use of herbs as an adjunct to ongoing biomedical treatment for existing cancer. This can be addressed using any or all of three main approaches: 1) to offset the damaging side-effects of radiation and chemotherapy; 2) to benefit the patient’s immune system, which biomedicine overwhelms and supplants with its powerful agents; and 3) to aid in tumor reduction itself, potentially shortening the length of time the patient needs to receive radiation and/or chemotherapy.
Listed below are ten herbs from the Chinese and western herbal traditions which address this third treatment approach--tumor reduction itself, via their 'antineoplastic' action. Consider that different forms of malignancy are treated with different substances, and each individual case may require entirely separate treatment principles, suggesting that anti-neoplastic herb choices must be chosen from appropriate categories of action. Obviously, there are more than 10 herbs with antineoplastic action in the Chinese and western pharmacopeia, but these can be considered a 'jumping off' point for further study; this is my personal intent. Information provided on these herbs is based on both empirical and clinical evidence gathered third-hand; verification of clinical and/or empirical findings is difficult to provide without access to the studies themselves, and no guarantees are made for these herbs’ effectiveness. References for all information is provided below.
Chinese Herbs:
Common Name: Oldenlandia
Chinese Name: Bai He She She Cao
Latin: Herba Hedyotidis Diffusae/Oldenlandia Diffusae
Family: Rubiaceae
TCM Category: Clear Heat/Relieve Toxicity
Antineoplastic Action(s):
--Used in treatment of stomach, esophageal and colon cancer;
--Activates reticuloendothelial system and increases phagocytosis by lymphocytes. Also, in high concentrations shows inhibitory affect in vitro on cells from acute lymphocytic and granulocytic leukemia.
Common Name: Selaginaella
Chinese Name: Shi Shang Bai
Latin: Herba Selaginellae Doederleinii
Family: Selaginellaceae
TCM Category: Clear Heat/Relieve Toxicity
Antineoplastic Action(s):
--Mice inoculated with granuloma-180 and injected with Shi Shang Bai showed 40-50% tumor inhibition of tumors; Mice with hepatic cancer lived significantly longer than control group not treated with Shi Shang Bai.
--Helpful in treatment of lung and throat cancer, and malignant hydatidiform moles, with remission in 50% of patients. Commonly used in China in treatment of smaller body cancers in nose, throat, lung and liver. When used with chemotherapy and radiation shown to accelerate cancer remissions.
Common Name: Sophora Root
Chinese Name: Shan Dou Gen
Latin: Radix Sophorae Tonkinensis
Family: Leguminaceae
TCM Category: Clear Heat/Relieve Toxicity
Antineoplastic Action(s):
--In doses of 60g/kg had significant effect in treatment of cervical cancer in mice, and an inhibitory affect on sarcoma-180. Used in treatment of acute lymphocytic/granulocytic leukemia, inhibiting dehydrogenase activity and cellular respiration of malignant cells.
Common Name: Zedoania
Chinese Name: E Zhu
Latin: Rhizoma Curcumae Ezhu
Family: Zingeberaceae
TCM Category: Invigorate Blood
Antineoplastic Action(s):
--Inhibits granuloma-180, often combined with San Leng (Rhizoma Sparganii Stoloniferi).
–-In China, 80 cases of cervical cancer patients were treated with a solution of Zedoania, which was injected directly into the tumor sites. 30 patients were completely cured, while 15 were found to have a 50% size reduction.
Common Name: Rhubarb Root and Rhizome
Chinese Name: Da Huang
Latin: Radix et Rhizoma Rhei
Family: Polygonaceae
TCM Category: Clear Heat/Relieve Toxicity
Antineoplastic Action(s): --Injected subcutaneously had a killing effect on neoplastic granulomas in mice. Inhibited growth of melanoma, breast tumor cells and ascitic hepatic carcinoma in humans via the actions of emodin and rhein, major constituents of Da Huang.
Western Herbs:
Common Name: Red Clover
Latin: Flos Trifolium pratense
Family: Papilionaceae
Antineoplastic Action(s):
--Red Clover contains isoflavone compounds, such as genistein, which have weak estrogen properties. Various laboratory studies show that these isoflavones may help prevent and combat malignant tumors, especially of the breast and prostate.
Common Name: Pau D’Arco, Lapacho, Taheebo
Latin: Tabebuia impestiginosa
Family: Rubiaceae
Antineoplastic Action(s):
--Lapachol and beta-lapachone (known collectively as naphthaquinones) are two primary active compounds in Pau D’Arco. These compounds have anti-cancer/anti-tumor properties, although the effective dosage is considered toxic; Pau D’Arco is commonly used in the treatment of cancer in Central and South America with good results.
Common Name: Mistletoe
Latin: Viscum alba
Family: Loranthaceae
Antineoplastic Action(s):
--Contains anti-tumor proteins, and has been shown by current cancer research in Germany to have antineoplastic activity.
Common Name: Cleavers
Latin: Galium aparine
Family: Rubiaceae
Antineoplastic Action(s):
--Cleavers is considered the best lymphatic tonic in the western herbal pharmacopoeia, and is both alterative and diuretic. It has a long tradition of use for tumor reduction and lymphatic drainage, especially indicated when cancer has nodal involvement.
Common Name: Sweet Violet
Latin: Flos Viola odorata
Family: Violaceae
Antineoplastic Action(s):
--Sweet Violet has a long tradition and reputation as an anti-cancer herb, used especially as a poultice for cancers of the skin. Current scientific research has yet to bear out this reputation in the clinical setting
Aside from whether or not a cancer survivor is presently ‘cancer-free’, also of consideration is
the general state of health of the individual, which oncology tends to disregard. Of primary concern to the oncologist is whether malignancies have redeveloped, not whether conditions exist which may portend the derangement of cellular processes which could ultimately lead to loss of differentiation. This is one of the most appropriate and effective roles the TCM doctor/herbalist can fulfill—to help reestablish an underlying balance in the individual, and to unravel the complex patterns inherent in the body which can, if left untreated, lead to the development of cancer.Another appropriate role for TCM doctors and advanced herbalists is in the use of herbs as an adjunct to ongoing biomedical treatment for existing cancer. This can be addressed using any or all of three main approaches: 1) to offset the damaging side-effects of radiation and chemotherapy; 2) to benefit the patient’s immune system, which biomedicine overwhelms and supplants with its powerful agents; and 3) to aid in tumor reduction itself, potentially shortening the length of time the patient needs to receive radiation and/or chemotherapy.
Listed below are ten herbs from the Chinese and western herbal traditions which address this third treatment approach--tumor reduction itself, via their 'antineoplastic' action. Consider that different forms of malignancy are treated with different substances, and each individual case may require entirely separate treatment principles, suggesting that anti-neoplastic herb choices must be chosen from appropriate categories of action. Obviously, there are more than 10 herbs with antineoplastic action in the Chinese and western pharmacopeia, but these can be considered a 'jumping off' point for further study; this is my personal intent. Information provided on these herbs is based on both empirical and clinical evidence gathered third-hand; verification of clinical and/or empirical findings is difficult to provide without access to the studies themselves, and no guarantees are made for these herbs’ effectiveness. References for all information is provided below.
Chinese Herbs:
Common Name: Oldenlandia
Chinese Name: Bai He She She Cao
Latin: Herba Hedyotidis Diffusae/Oldenlandia Diffusae
Family: Rubiaceae
TCM Category: Clear Heat/Relieve Toxicity
Antineoplastic Action(s):
--Used in treatment of stomach, esophageal and colon cancer;
--Activates reticuloendothelial system and increases phagocytosis by lymphocytes. Also, in high concentrations shows inhibitory affect in vitro on cells from acute lymphocytic and granulocytic leukemia.
Common Name: Selaginaella
Chinese Name: Shi Shang Bai
Latin: Herba Selaginellae Doederleinii
Family: Selaginellaceae
TCM Category: Clear Heat/Relieve Toxicity
Antineoplastic Action(s):
--Mice inoculated with granuloma-180 and injected with Shi Shang Bai showed 40-50% tumor inhibition of tumors; Mice with hepatic cancer lived significantly longer than control group not treated with Shi Shang Bai.
--Helpful in treatment of lung and throat cancer, and malignant hydatidiform moles, with remission in 50% of patients. Commonly used in China in treatment of smaller body cancers in nose, throat, lung and liver. When used with chemotherapy and radiation shown to accelerate cancer remissions.
Common Name: Sophora Root
Chinese Name: Shan Dou Gen
Latin: Radix Sophorae Tonkinensis
Family: Leguminaceae
TCM Category: Clear Heat/Relieve Toxicity
Antineoplastic Action(s):
--In doses of 60g/kg had significant effect in treatment of cervical cancer in mice, and an inhibitory affect on sarcoma-180. Used in treatment of acute lymphocytic/granulocytic leukemia, inhibiting dehydrogenase activity and cellular respiration of malignant cells.
Common Name: Zedoania
Chinese Name: E Zhu
Latin: Rhizoma Curcumae Ezhu
Family: Zingeberaceae
TCM Category: Invigorate Blood
Antineoplastic Action(s):
--Inhibits granuloma-180, often combined with San Leng (Rhizoma Sparganii Stoloniferi).
–-In China, 80 cases of cervical cancer patients were treated with a solution of Zedoania, which was injected directly into the tumor sites. 30 patients were completely cured, while 15 were found to have a 50% size reduction.
Common Name: Rhubarb Root and Rhizome
Chinese Name: Da Huang
Latin: Radix et Rhizoma Rhei
Family: Polygonaceae
TCM Category: Clear Heat/Relieve Toxicity
Antineoplastic Action(s): --Injected subcutaneously had a killing effect on neoplastic granulomas in mice. Inhibited growth of melanoma, breast tumor cells and ascitic hepatic carcinoma in humans via the actions of emodin and rhein, major constituents of Da Huang.
Western Herbs:
Common Name: Red Clover
Latin: Flos Trifolium pratense
Family: Papilionaceae
Antineoplastic Action(s):
--Red Clover contains isoflavone compounds, such as genistein, which have weak estrogen properties. Various laboratory studies show that these isoflavones may help prevent and combat malignant tumors, especially of the breast and prostate.
Common Name: Pau D’Arco, Lapacho, Taheebo
Latin: Tabebuia impestiginosa
Family: Rubiaceae
Antineoplastic Action(s):
--Lapachol and beta-lapachone (known collectively as naphthaquinones) are two primary active compounds in Pau D’Arco. These compounds have anti-cancer/anti-tumor properties, although the effective dosage is considered toxic; Pau D’Arco is commonly used in the treatment of cancer in Central and South America with good results.
Common Name: Mistletoe
Latin: Viscum alba
Family: Loranthaceae
Antineoplastic Action(s):
--Contains anti-tumor proteins, and has been shown by current cancer research in Germany to have antineoplastic activity.
Common Name: Cleavers
Latin: Galium aparine
Family: Rubiaceae
Antineoplastic Action(s):
--Cleavers is considered the best lymphatic tonic in the western herbal pharmacopoeia, and is both alterative and diuretic. It has a long tradition of use for tumor reduction and lymphatic drainage, especially indicated when cancer has nodal involvement.
Common Name: Sweet Violet
Latin: Flos Viola odorata
Family: Violaceae
Antineoplastic Action(s):
--Sweet Violet has a long tradition and reputation as an anti-cancer herb, used especially as a poultice for cancers of the skin. Current scientific research has yet to bear out this reputation in the clinical setting
Monday, April 02, 2007
Acupuncture
I don't usually stick my tongue out at my doctor. But that is exactly what Bianca, a clinic intern at the Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College in Berkeley, California, has asked me to do.The college offers a discount on acupuncture if you agree to let students like Bianca observe your treatment. And because nothing else seems to be helping curb my back pain, I've decided to play along.
"Like, really stick it out?" I ask, glancing at the five other interns clustered around Bianca, all leaning forward and staring at my mouth.
"Yes," she says. "We all want to take a look."
Reluctantly, I open wide and extend my tongue as far as it'll go. Bianca has already asked me about my menstrual blood and vaginal discharge in front of the group (both are pretty normal, thank you). Now, as the students debate various aspects of my tongue --like its color (dusky purple) and coating (thin and white). I think of a different question: What, exactly, does this have to do with my backache?
Acupuncture is a type of traditional Chinese medicine that's been practiced for at least 2,500 years. It's partly based on the idea that backaches (and any other complaints) aren't singular problems. "You're taught that what happens in one part of the body is reflected in the rest of the body," says Jill Blakeway, a renowned acupuncturist in New York. "It emphasizes the interconnectedness of everything in the universe." (Health.com: Feel better, naturally )
Acupuncture also teaches that the body contains two opposing forces: yin and yang. Together, they contribute to your chi (pronounced "chee"), a Chinese word roughly translated as "vital energy." If this energy flow is interrupted or blocked, it can cause pain and disease. This is part of the reason that Bianca's examining my tongue -- acupuncturists think your tongue can reveal energy imbalances in your body. Turns out a purple color suggests stagnation in your chi, which could lead to a range of disorders, including a sore back.
Acupuncturists try to restore balance in the body by stimulating specific points, often by inserting thin metal needles into the skin. Sometimes electrical currents are even added to the needles to increase their effectiveness.
No one is entirely sure how acupuncture works, but groups like the National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization agree it's a useful remedy. The WHO lists more than 40 conditions for which acupuncture is often used, including addictions, nausea and vomiting, asthma, digestive issues, sinusitis, osteoarthritis, and allergies. It's also used increasingly for infertility. Some of the best evidence shows it may offer relief for pain -- from post-surgery dental pain to menstrual cramps, from migraines to tennis elbow.
"It's definitely effective in some cases," says Mehmet Oz, M.D., a heart surgeon and vice chairman of surgery at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia University, who recommends acupuncture to his patients. "What I love the most is that acupuncture makes us think very differently about how the body works." Oz and Blakeway both agree that acupuncture is worth a try if Western medicine seems to fail you. (Health.com: Immunity boosters )
After my tongue exam, Bianca and her classmates ask questions about my overall state. Do I have trouble sleeping? No. Am I generally hot or cold? I fluctuate. And how is my appetite? Healthy! Then their professor, Hua Ling Xu, chair of the AIMC Oriental Medicine Department, identifies treatment points on my wrists, shoulders, hands, ankles, and the backs of my knees. As I lie face down on the table, Xu swabs each point with alcohol, flicks it with her finger, and briskly taps sterile needles into my body.
I feel a slight prick when the needles -- inserted a quarter-inch to an inch deep -- puncture my skin. (If you experience pain, they need to be adjusted). I also feel what acupuncturists call a chi sensation, which I've heard described as "deep," "achy," "tingly," or "quivery." One point in my back makes my left hand twitch. Another, next to my thumb, sends what feels like a flash of electricity through my entire body. And in the 20 minutes I'm on the table, I notice something ironic: Having 14 needles stuck in my body is surprisingly relaxing.
I leave the clinic feeling energized, with the muscles in my back looser and my mind peaceful and centered, despite my microscopic puncture wounds. I return for two more sessions, and, although I don't feel completely pain-free, I've started recommending acupuncture to friends and family --no matter what their tongues look like.
Cnn.com
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Birth Control
Women today have a wide variety of birth control methods to choose from. From condoms to the contraceptive pill, from IUDs to diaphragms, every woman can find a type of birth control that they feel comfortable with. Yet, all this choice can make it difficult to decide just which form of contraception is the right one for you. By reading up on the tried and tested kinds of birth control, as well as newer contraceptives, you can get a better idea of what would be most suitable for you.
Because there are so many different methods of birth control, contracpetives are typically sorted into various categories. Contraceptive types include barrier methods, hormonal birth control, long-term contraceptives, and natural birth control. Although some contraceptive methods are inadequate, the majority of birth control options are effective. However, it is important to note that no form of contraception provides 100% protection against pregnancy. The only fool-proof way not to get pregnant is to abstain from sex completely.
Barrier methods of birth control work to prevent pregnancy by stopping sperm from coming into contact with an egg. Contraceptives that fall into this category include female condoms, diaphragms, cervical caps, the contraceptive sponge, and male condoms. Associated with few birth control side effects, these contraceptives are non-hormonal. Additionally, the male and female condoms are the only forms of birth control that offer any type of protection against STDs.
Hormonal contraceptives help prevent a pregnancy by using synthetic forms of naturally occurring hormones to prevent your body from ovulating. In some cases, the hormones may also work to thin the lining of the uterus and to thicken cervical mucus. Unfortunately, hormones can also produce some unpleasant side effects, causing some women to be turned off of these very effective birth control methods. Depo-Provera (the "birth control shot"), birth control pills, the birth control patch, the birth control ring, Implanon as well as some IUDs, such as the Mirena, are examples of hormonal contraceptives.
Forms of long-term birth control include tubal ligations, IUDs, and, for men, vasectomies. Both tubal ligations and vasectomies are meant as permanent birth control methods, although they can be reversed. Once an IUD is inserted by your health care professional, it can stay in place for anywhere from five to seven years.
Many women prefer to use natural, hormone free birth control. Known as Fertility Awareness Methods (FAM), this type of contraception relies upon periodic abstinence when a woman is fertile. FAM can involve charting your basal body temperature and/or menstrual cycle; noting the changes in your cervical mucus; and using the rhythm method or it’s newest incarnation, the standard days method. Breastfeeding is also a very effective type of natural birth control known as the lactational amenorrhea method (LAM).
Gel 'could treat major back pain'
A hi-tech gel could be used instead of major surgery to treat 
chronic lower back pain, according to a study.
The gel contains tiny particles which swell and stiffen when injected into a damaged area.
Tests on animals, reported in the journal Soft Matter, showed it was able to repair the discs that provide a cushion between the bones of the spine.
The University of Manchester work raises the possibility of patients being able to regain full mobility.
Our approach has the advantage of restoring spinal mobility whereas spinal fusion surgery results in a significant loss of mobility at the fused and adjacent discs
Professor Tony FreemontUniversity of Manchester
It offers a potential alternative to spinal fusion surgery, a technique in which the bones of the spine - the vertebrae - are fused together to reduce pain by eliminating motion in the affected area.
This is a major procedure, which requires considerable recovery time and can lead to a significant loss of mobility.
Degeneration of the intervertebral discs causes holes in the load-bearing tissue of the disc.
This decreases the height of the disc, reducing its ability to insulate the vertebrae, and resulting in pain.
Smart sponges
The micro gel particles the research team have developed are like "smart sponges" when dispersed in water.
The material is a fluid with a low pH - indicating a high level of acidity - and can be injected through a syringe.
However, at the higher pH found in the body it changes to a stiff gel because of the absorption of water.
In tests, the researchers injected the gel into a damaged disc taken from a pig, and increased pH to levels similar to those found in the body by injecting alkaline solution.
Researcher Professor Tony Freemont said there was a pressing need to develop a non-surgical method for repairing intervertebral discs.
He said: "Our approach has the advantage of restoring spinal mobility whereas spinal fusion surgery results in a significant loss of mobility at the fused and adjacent discs."
However, his colleague Dr Brian Saunders said: "Although we are encouraged by our findings, much work lies ahead to develop a viable non-surgical repair technology to replace spinal fusion as the standard surgical treatment for chronic lower back pain."
Complex problem
The Manchester team plan to investigate the development of biodegradable micro gels that can release additives to stimulate regeneration of intervertebral disc tissue.
Dr Alison McGregor, an expert in back pain at Imperial College London, described the research as "very exciting".
However, she said: "Managing the back pain of people with degenerate discs often goes beyond damage to the disc itself and leads to many problems in the surrounding tissues, especially muscles and ligaments.
"I am not sure that restoring some of the properties to the disc will lead to normal motion and normal function.
"Often there are many psychosocial factors and other factors that are contributing to the pain and disability that these people present with."
Dr Joan Hester, president of the British Pain Society, agreed the gel would not work for all back pain sufferers.
"Pain can come from the tiny nerves that run round the edge of the disc, from ligaments, facet joints, inflamed nerve roots, from bone and from muscle spasm.
"Improving mechanical function of the disc and increasing mobility must have a beneficial effect, but will not provide a cure for all back pain.
"Injecting material into an intervertebral disc carries a small risk of introducing infection."
The research was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
chronic lower back pain, according to a study.The gel contains tiny particles which swell and stiffen when injected into a damaged area.
Tests on animals, reported in the journal Soft Matter, showed it was able to repair the discs that provide a cushion between the bones of the spine.
The University of Manchester work raises the possibility of patients being able to regain full mobility.
Our approach has the advantage of restoring spinal mobility whereas spinal fusion surgery results in a significant loss of mobility at the fused and adjacent discs
Professor Tony FreemontUniversity of Manchester
It offers a potential alternative to spinal fusion surgery, a technique in which the bones of the spine - the vertebrae - are fused together to reduce pain by eliminating motion in the affected area.
This is a major procedure, which requires considerable recovery time and can lead to a significant loss of mobility.
Degeneration of the intervertebral discs causes holes in the load-bearing tissue of the disc.
This decreases the height of the disc, reducing its ability to insulate the vertebrae, and resulting in pain.
Smart sponges
The micro gel particles the research team have developed are like "smart sponges" when dispersed in water.
The material is a fluid with a low pH - indicating a high level of acidity - and can be injected through a syringe.
However, at the higher pH found in the body it changes to a stiff gel because of the absorption of water.
In tests, the researchers injected the gel into a damaged disc taken from a pig, and increased pH to levels similar to those found in the body by injecting alkaline solution.
Researcher Professor Tony Freemont said there was a pressing need to develop a non-surgical method for repairing intervertebral discs.
He said: "Our approach has the advantage of restoring spinal mobility whereas spinal fusion surgery results in a significant loss of mobility at the fused and adjacent discs."
However, his colleague Dr Brian Saunders said: "Although we are encouraged by our findings, much work lies ahead to develop a viable non-surgical repair technology to replace spinal fusion as the standard surgical treatment for chronic lower back pain."
Complex problem
The Manchester team plan to investigate the development of biodegradable micro gels that can release additives to stimulate regeneration of intervertebral disc tissue.
Dr Alison McGregor, an expert in back pain at Imperial College London, described the research as "very exciting".
However, she said: "Managing the back pain of people with degenerate discs often goes beyond damage to the disc itself and leads to many problems in the surrounding tissues, especially muscles and ligaments.
"I am not sure that restoring some of the properties to the disc will lead to normal motion and normal function.
"Often there are many psychosocial factors and other factors that are contributing to the pain and disability that these people present with."
Dr Joan Hester, president of the British Pain Society, agreed the gel would not work for all back pain sufferers.
"Pain can come from the tiny nerves that run round the edge of the disc, from ligaments, facet joints, inflamed nerve roots, from bone and from muscle spasm.
"Improving mechanical function of the disc and increasing mobility must have a beneficial effect, but will not provide a cure for all back pain.
"Injecting material into an intervertebral disc carries a small risk of introducing infection."
The research was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Trojan horse
Trojan horse strategy defeats drug-resistant bacteria
A new antimicrobial approach can kill bacteria in laboratory experiments and eliminate life-threatening infections in mice by interfering with a key bacterial nutrient, according to research led by a University of Washington scientist. The joint project, conducted at the UW, the University of Iowa, and the University of Cincinnati, will be featured in the April 2 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Bacteria are increasingly resistant to antibiotics, and existing drugs work poorly against chronic infections like those that occur in wounds, on medical devices and in the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis. For these reasons, a great deal of research is focused on finding new antibiotic compounds. In this study, researchers took a different approach. Rather than trying to find agents that best killed bacteria in test tubes, they sought to intensify the stress imposed on microbes by one of the body's own defense mechanisms. "The competition for iron is critical in the struggle between bacteria and host," explained the study's senior author, Pradeep Singh, associate professor of medicine and microbiology at the UW. "The body has potent defense mechanisms to keep iron away from infecting organisms, and invaders must steal some if they are to survive." Iron is critical for the growth of bacteria and for their ability to form biofilms, slime-encased colonies of microbes that cause many chronic infections. "Because iron is so important in infection, we thought infecting bacteria might be vulnerable to interventions that target iron," explained Yukihiro Kaneko, senior fellow in microbiology at the UW and the study's lead author. To accomplish this, the researchers used gallium, a metal very similar to iron.
"Gallium acts as a Trojan horse to iron-seeking bacteria," said Singh. "Because gallium looks like iron, invading bacteria are tricked, in a way, into taking it up. Unfortunately for the bacteria, gallium can't function like iron once it's inside bacterial cells." The researchers showed that gallium killed microbes, and prevented the formation of biofilms. Importantly, gallium's action was intensified in low iron condition, like those that exist in the human body. Gallium was even effective against strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from cystic fibrosis patients that were resistant to multiple antibiotics. In mice, gallium treatment blocked both chronic and acute infections caused by this bacterium. The idea of using gallium as a substitute for iron was developed by a group led by Bradley Britigan, a researcher at the University of Cincinnati and a co-author on this study. The general approach of targeting stresses already applied by natural defense mechanisms could be a promising new way to treat infections. "We badly need new approaches to fight bacteria," said Singh. "The gallium strategy isn't ready for clinical use yet," he added. "However, we think this approach is promising, and we can't afford to leave any stone unturned." Source: University of Washington
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
