September 24, 2009, 6:55 AM CT

La Jolla Institute scientist earns prestigious NIH Award

A scientist at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology has received one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)'s top awards -- the 2009 NIH Director's Pioneer Award. The prestigious prize carries with it funding for total costs of up to $4.7 million over five years, and is designed to support the work of exceptionally creative scientists, whose novel proposals offer the potential to make extraordinary contributions to human health.

Hilde Cheroutre, Ph.D., received the award during the Pioneer Award Symposium today at the NIH headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland. NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., announced the winners. Dr. Cheroutre is one of a select group of 18 researchers nationwide chosen for the 2009 prize from among more than 2,300 applicants. The award will fund her innovative research proposal that, if proved to be successful, would create a new way of detecting, treating and possibly preventing autoimmune diseases, with the potential for identifying high risk for autoimmunity in newborns.

In announcing the winners, the NIH said the awards are part of its ongoing efforts to encourage highly creative researchers to explore bold ideas that have the potential to catapult fields forward and speed the translation of research into improved health......... Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source

September 23, 2009, 7:23 AM CT

Changes in Brain Mechanisms for Cocaine Addicts

About 2 million Americans currently use cocaine for its temporary side-effects of euphoria, which have contributed to making it one of the most dangerous and addictive drugs in the country. Cocaine addiction, which can cause severe biological and behavioral problems, is very difficult to overcome. Now, University of Missouri scientists Ashwin Mohan and Sandeep Pendyam, doctoral students in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, are utilizing computational models to study how the brain's chemicals and synaptic mechanisms, or connections between neurons, react to cocaine addiction and what this could mean for future therapies.

"With cocaine addiction, addicts don't feel an urge to revolt because there is a strong connection in the brain from the decision-making center to the pleasure center, which overwhelms other normal rewards and is why they keep seeking it," Pendyam said. "By using computational models, we're targeting the connection in the brain that latches onto the pleasure center and the parameters that maintain that process".

Glutamate is the major chemical released in the synaptic connections in the brain; the right amount present determines the activity of those connections. Using the computational model, MU scientists observed that in an addict's brain excessive glutamate produced in the pleasure center makes the brain's mechanisms unable to regulate themselves and creates permanent damage, making cocaine addiction a disease that is more than just a behavioral change......... Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source

September 23, 2009, 7:13 AM CT

Private umbilical cord banking not cost-effective

Private cord blood banking is not cost-effective because it costs an additional $1,374,246 per life-year gained, as per a new analysis by UCSF researchers. The research team also concluded that private cord blood banking is cost-effective only for families with a child with a very high likelihood of needing a stem cell transplant.

The scientists used a technique called decision analysis that tracks hypothetical groups of people and allows comparison of expected costs and health benefits of two alternative strategies (in this case, private cord blood banking versus no cord blood banking). Results of the study appear in the October 2009 issue of the journal "Obstetrics & Gynecology".

Cord blood is collected from the umbilical cord shortly after a baby's birth and has the potential to treat a variety of medical conditions ranging from leukemia to metabolic disorders to cerebral palsy. Public cord blood banks store cord blood at no cost and make the blood available to anyone needing therapy, or for research purposes.

Private cord banks charge a fee to store a baby's cord blood for his/her own possible future use or for a family member's possible future use.

"While there are plausible medical advantages of umbilical cord blood stem cells, a number of of these benefits are primarily theoretical at this point," said Aaron Caughey, MD, PhD, co-author of the paper, a UCSF associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences, and director of the UCSF Center for Clinical and Policy Perinatal Research. "Expectant parents need to understand the true likelihood of their family benefitting from private cord blood banking in order to make an informed decision about this expensive process." ......... Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source

September 22, 2009, 10:23 PM CT

What is Compression Wear?

Compression wear includes leg wear such as gradient stockings and arm sleeves. They are different from athletic or dress socks. They are designed to improve circulation in the arms and legs. Improved circulation cures swelling and aches caused by the accumulation of blood or lymph in the limbs. These stockings and arm sleeves are used to treat ailments like lymphedema, blood clots and venous ulcers.

Compression stockings are used in the treatment of varicose veins. The stockings do not allow the veins near the skin to expand. This reduces amount of blood that can flow through the veins that are closer to the skin. The design of the garment is such that the tissues just beneath the skin are also compressed. This causes the blood to flow into the inner veins or capillaries. The gradient stockings are designed to ensure highest compression at the ankle. The pressure progressively decreases towards the upper part of the leg. This prevents blood from accumulating in the legs.

Lymphedema
The pressure of the garment also prevents too much fluid from seeping out of the capillaries. This makes it a preferred mode of managing lymphedema - a condition where lymph tends to accumulate in the limbs. Lymphedema patients are required to wear compression stockings when they travel by air to prevent deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

DVT
DVT is the clotting of blood in a deep vein. It is a result of frequent travel in planes where humidity is not properly maintained. Therefore, it is known as economy class syndrome. Two years of compression therapy is recommended for patients who have DVT by the American College of Clinical Pharmacy. Compression wear is required by because it controls DVT and also prevents Post Thrombotic Syndrome (PTS).

Who else needs compression wear?
Pregnant women may also need compression therapy because pregnancy hormones affect blood vessels. This leads to swelling of veins. The extra blood produced to carry oxygen and nutrients to the fetus tend to accumulate at the ankles or knees. Medical compression stockings are different from antiembolism stockings because the latter are made for bed bound patients. Patients need to switch to compression stockings when they start moving around.

Compression leg wear and arm sleeves are available at medical stores and may be purchased over the internet. Stockings and arm sleeves that have higher compression can be purchased only if they are prescribed by physicians. Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 04:40:39 GMT

Littman Bluetooth Stethoscope

I want my doctor to have nothing but the coolest, fastest, and best technology when it comes to keeping me healthy. The Littmann 3200 Bluetooth Stethoscope is a necessary update to an outdated piece of equipment that seems long overdue. When my doctor is listening to my heart or looking for pneumonia, I want them to have super-powers, but this high-tech stethoscope will do in a pinch.

Designed just like a traditional stehoscope, the Littmann 3200 Bluetooth Stethoscope has the added feature of being able to instantly upload and update your vitals to a nearby computer. The stethoscope also has active, noise reduction technology which allows your doctor to hear up to 38% better. It also has active noise amplification which will help with obese patients or with patients that have a feint heartbeat. These are the patients that that a doctor needs to help most, and the Littmann 3200 Bluetooth Stethoscope certainly gives them the tool. The Bluetooth stethoscope costs $379, which might seem a lot for you and me, but were not rich doctors, right?

via Oh Gizmo!
Posted by: Jeff      Read more     Source

August 26, 2009, 10:58 PM CT

Working too much can be dangerous

Allowing teens to work too a number of hours in the wrong environment can be dangerous for their sexual health by fostering conditions that lead them to older sex partners, a newly released study shows.

This is just one of the key findings in a University of Michigan study of youth on what predicts age of sex partners. Jose Bauermeister, one of the authors, says age difference of sex partners is important, because a larger age difference is linked to riskier sexual behavior and STDs, including HIV.

The study observed that a youth's self esteem and alcohol use also play a role in the age difference between sex partners, says Bauermeister, an assistant research professor in the School of Public Health.

Bauermeister stresses the research shows that overall, teenagers who work part-time benefit in almost all areas over those who don't have jobs. However, those benefits come with caveats, he said.

Bauermeister's team followed youths in Flint, Mich. as they transitioned from adolescence to young adulthood (ages 14 thru 25), to see what factors predicted sex partner age difference. A number of factors can lead to age differences in sex partners, with girls commonly dating older than boys and young men, the study found.

Working too a number of hours in an adult atmosphere without adequate supervision can lead to exposure to adults and eventually sexual activity with older partners, particularly for young girls, Bauermeister said. Age and number of work hours matter in adolescents, but any negative impact isn't apparent after age 18 or 19, the study found......... Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source

August 11, 2009, 11:18 PM CT

Formal education lessens the impact of Alzheimer's disease

Scientists at the Department of Psychiatry, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universitt Mnchen, investigated the effects of formal education on the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. They were able to show that education diminishes the impact of Alzheimer's disease on cognition even if a manifest brain volume loss has already occurred. The results are reported in the current issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease ("Education attenuates the effect of medial temporal lobe atrophy on cognitive function in Alzheimer's disease: The MIRAGE Study," Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, August 2009).

Dr. Robert Perneczky, Department of Psychiatry at Klinikum rechts der Isar explains: "We know that there is not always a close association between brain damage due to Alzheimer's disease and the resulting symptoms of dementia. In fact, there are individuals with severe brain pathology with almost no signs of dementia, whereas others with only minor brain lesions exhibit a considerable degree of clinical symptoms." These phenomena are often ascribed to the theoretical concept of cognitive reserve. A high level of cognitive reserve results in a strong individual resilience against symptoms of brain damage; cognitive reserve can therefore be seen as protective against brain damage......... Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source

July 28, 2009, 11:18 PM CT

Male germ cells can be directly converted into other cell types

Scientists have found a way to directly convert spermatogonial stem cells, the precursors of sperm cells, into tissues of the prostate, skin and uterus. Their approach, described this month in the journal Stem Cells, may prove to be an effective alternative to the medical use of embryonic stem cells.

The hunt for alternatives to embryonic stem cells has led to some promising yet problematic approaches, some of which involve spermatagonial stem cells (SSCs). Scientists recently observed, for example, that SSCs grown in the laboratory will eventually give rise to a few cells that look and act like embryonic stem cells. This process can take months, however, and only a small percentage of the SSCs are converted into "embryonic stem-like" cells.

Other scientists have used viruses to insert genes into SSCs that will spur them to turn into ES-like cells. But this approach is problematic and the use of viruses to ferry in the needed genes has caused concern.

The new method, recently developed at the University of Illinois, takes advantage of the unusual interaction of two tissue types: the epithelium and the mesenchyme. The epithelium lines the cavities and surfaces of glands and a number of organs and secretes enzymes and other factors that are essential to the function of these tissues. The mesenchyme is the connective tissue in embryos. (In adults, the connective tissue is called stroma.)......... Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source

July 24, 2009, 0:03 AM CT

Stem cells not the only way to fix a broken heart

Scientists appear to have a new way to fix a broken heart. They have devised a method to coax heart muscle cells into reentering the cell cycle, allowing the differentiated adult cells to divide and regenerate healthy heart tissue after a heart attack, as per studies in mice and rats published in the July 24th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication. The key ingredient is a growth factor known as neuregulin1 (NRG1 for short), and the scientists suggest that the factor might one day be used to treat failing human hearts.

"To my knowledge, this is the first regenerative treatment that appears to be applicable in a systemic way," said Bernhard Khn of Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School. For instance, he added, people might one day go to the clinic for daily infusions of NRG1 over a period of weeks. "In principle, there is nothing to preclude this going into the clinic. Based on the all the information we have, this is a promising candidate." He emphasized, however, that further studies would be mandatory to demonstrate safety before such therapy could be tested in human patients.

The heart had long been considered an organ largely incapable of repairing itself. Heart muscle cells, also known as cardiomyocytes, do proliferate during prenatal development. Soon after birth, however, the cells become binucleated, meaning that they have two nuclei, and withdraw from the cell cycle, giving rise to the notion that adult cardiomyocytes are terminally differentiated and incapable of further proliferation......... Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source

July 12, 2009, 8:47 AM CT

DHA in Alzheimer's disease

Results from two large studies using DHA, an omega 3 fatty acid, were reported today at the Alzheimer's Association 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD 2009) in Vienna.

One of the trials was conducted by the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study (ADCS) supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), and the second by Martek Biosciences Corporation (Martek), the primary company that makes algal DHA for supplementation. The NIA trial lasted 18 months and was conducted in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's. Martek's trial was six months, and the compound was tested in healthy people to see its effect on "age related cognitive decline" (ARCD). Both studies used Martek's algal DHA.

The results of the ADCS trial show no evidence for benefit in the studied population. The Martek trial showed a positive result on one test of memory and learning, but that study was in healthy elderly adults, not people with Alzheimer's or another dementia. The results need confirmation, as is standard scientific practice.

"These two studies and other recent Alzheimer's treatment trials raise the possibility that therapys for Alzheimer's must be given very early in the disease for them to be truly effective," said William Thies, PhD, Chief Medical & Scientific Officer at the Alzheimer's Association. "For that to happen, we need to get much better at early detection and diagnosis of Alzheimer's, in order to test therapies at earlier stages of the disease and enable earlier intervention"......... Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source