Myocardial Infarction

A new medical breakthrough may revolutionize treatment of patients with myocardial infarction. Researchers at the Gladstone Institutes replaced in mice models�dead tissue with viable tissue after a�miocardial infarction. The discovery was announced recently in the latest issue of Nature. Experiments on regenerative medicine started long ago, but until now researchers have not�managed to translate many of their�findings on�mouse models.

The experiment may have multiple implications regarding treatment after stroke. Dr. Srivastava�explains that once deprived of oxygen, the�heart muscle can not be revived and dies.�The occlusion�of a vessel�that supplys�blood the�heart leads to ischemia and ultimately�to a�heart�attack which results in the death of�the myocardial tissue. That portion of the�heart muscle� supplied by the vessel will not participate in contraction, which means that the heart may not function properly. The main treatment applied after a heart attack is coronary angioplasty, recanalization of the obstructed vessel that�determined the�infarction. In other words, the blocked vessel is opened with a balloon , then a stent is installed. Although this procedure can save lives,� it should be mentioned that angioplasty is performed 4-6 hours after stroke. It is therefore necessary for the patient to arrive as soon as possible to�the hospital. Otherwise the heart tissue dies.� The main complication that can occur after a heart attack is heart failure�as the heart can no longer exercise�its function as�a �pump. Patients with heart failure�present dyspnea (shortness of breath),�and can not�lead a normal life. The only solution here is heart transplantation.�Drugs can not cure heart failure�and only relieve the symptoms.

Myocardial Infarction

Dr. Srivastava�stated that�experiments�conducted on�mice are�clear evidence that they can make the dead tissue in viable tissue able to contract. He also said that this�is a less invasive method that can restore heart function after a�myocardial infarction.

The experiment was conducted on rats with myocardial infarction who were injected three genes (GMT) responsible for development of embryonic stem cells into heart cells. The researchers found that after one month�the initially dead cells were transformed into cells that were able to�contract. Moreover, after three months later�these cells had a capacity of contraction even greater�than normal.

Researchers now hope to translate the experiment to�mammals and eventually humans. Moreover, they think to find a treatment for other diseases currently incurable spinal cord injury such as, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

Treatment For Type 2 Diabetes

A�study led by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies discovered a�new type 2 diabetes treatment�target represented by a�pair of molecules that control hepatic glucose production, IP3�and calcineurin. The study, published in the journal Nature, was conducted on mice and had promising results, as stated� Professor Marc Montminy, Salk’s head of Clayton Foundation Laboratories for Peptide Biology. He is convinced that if he manages to control the activity of both molecules, he�can control blood glucose levels.�Such discoveries�of novel�treatments�able to�fight diabetes�are necessary due to the�high�incidence of diabetes and the cost that this disease�has. In U.S. alone,�26 million people�are�currently diagnosed with diabetes�and it is estimated that nearly 80 million more�are at risk of developing diabetes in the near future.

Diabetes

During a�research�focused on�glucose metabolism, Professor Marc Montminy�and his team found that glucagon, an� antagonist�hormone of �insulin, also secreted by the pancreas, activates the genetic switch (CRTC2), which increases blood glucose. Insulin, on the other hand, inhibits CRTC2, and lowers blood glucose. The researchers also found that in type 2 diabetes�the genetic switch is turned on too strong, and insulin�cannot inactivate�CRTC2. In addition, they discovered how glucagon acts at the level of molecular receptors, IP3, which are found on the surface of liver cells. Through signaling pathways involving calcium and calcineurin, glucagon determines the�liver�to produce glucose during fasting.�Scientists also found that IP3�receptor�and calcineurin�are�found in increased numbers�in the liver of diabetic patients. The�new therapeutic target are just these two molecules, receptor IeP3�and calcineurin. If researchers manage to reduce the activity of these two molecules, then hepatic glucose production could be�fully controlled.

Diabetes is a chronic condition characterized by hyperglycemia, ie increased blood glucose levels. Blood glucose level is controlled by insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas. Insulin works by introducing glucose into cells, hence lowers blood glucose levels. When insulin is insufficient, glucose can not enter cells and hyperglycemia ensues. First, hyperglycemia is asymptomatic, but in time lead to serious complications such as blindness, atherosclerosis (narrowing of blood vessels), neuropathy (nerve damage) and nephropathy (impaired renal function). Symptoms can be caused by complications or triad: polyuria (frequent urination), polydipsia (thirst continues), polyphagia (increased appetite).

Current treatment of diabetes includes��biguanides, drugs that reduce hepatic glucose output and increases glucose uptake in peripheral tissues, thiazolidinediones.�There�are also used meglitinides, sulfonylureas, alpha-glucoside inhibitors, etc.. The most used drug, however, �is metformin, a biguanide. Metformin�is the only oral antidiabetic�medicine that does not cause weight gain. However it should be�mentioned�that metformin should be used carefully in people with liver or renal dysfunction.

New Study Finds Link Between Lung Cancer and Estrogen

A new study presented on the 3rd of April reveals that there is a link between lung cancer and estrogen levels. The study, presented at the annual American Association for Cancer Research meeting points out to new possible therapies against lung cancer that would involve targeting the metabolism of estrogen.

Scientists have discovered through the use of laboratory mice that the metabolism of estrogen results into toxic compounds in the lungs of mice. After further exposing the mice to tobacco smoke, scientists found that the quantity of these toxic compounds increased.��Author of the study, Jing Peng, says that these results will help find new lung cancer medication that would suppress the formation of these toxic metabolites.

It’s been known for a long time that tobacco smoke is the main risk factor of lung cancer. However, recent studies show that another important risk factor could be estrogen. If a link between estrogen and lung cancer is found in future studies it wouldn’t be the first form of cancer that estrogen is connected to – already being known that estrogen plays an important role in breast cancer and other gynecological cancers as well.

Lungs Cancer

The research team, lead by Jing Peng and Margie Clapper, found high levels of 4 hydroxy-estrogens, a known carcinogenic metabolite of estrogen, in the lungs of healthy examined laboratory mice. These metabolites have been previously found to influence the growth of cancerous cells and are involved in the generation of free radicals (molecules that are harmful to cells).

Researchers tested the levels of 4 hydroxy-estrogens (4-OHEs) again after exposing the laboratory mice to tobacco smoke for 2 months. They discovered that the levels of 4-OHEs increased. This result indicates that these carcinogenic metabolites could influence the destruction of cells and could be beneficial to the appearance �of lung cancer.

Through the study it has also been found that the levels of 4-OHEs in female mice was almost double compared to the levels of 4-OHEs found in male mice. Margie Clapper notes that it has not been established whether these levels would be the same in humans, as most lung cancer cases for non-smokers appear in men, not women.

The leading authors believe that the results of their study will be helpful for further research in the area of lung cancer medication. Numerous patients have already enrolled in clinical trials in order to test the effect of anti-estrogen drugs on lung cancer.

“We believe that levels of these toxic estrogen metabolites may one day be useful in predicting a person’s lung cancer risk or prognosis”, said Jing Peng.

How Does Our Brain Respond To Food?

It seems that the brain of people suffering from obesity or anorexia respond differently to food compared to a normal brain, shows a new study. Neuroscientists have discovered in what way is this response different, and this new approach may help them understand the eating disorders�in order to find a new possible treatment for patients suffering from symptoms like overeating or anorexia.

One of the researchers, namely�Laura Martin of Hoglund Brain Imaging Center at the University of Kansas Medical Center explains:�“This body of work not only increases our understanding of the relationship between food and brain function but can also inform weight loss programs.”

The findings of this study was presented on the 3rd of April�at the 19th annual meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society in Chicago, IL.

When a person is eating, the areas of the brain involved in the reward system are activated. These regions are also involved in addiction. This new study reveals that the response of these areas to food is unique to each individual, depending on its eating behaviour.

Human Brain

Laura Holsen of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospitaland and her�team conducted a study observing the changes in fMRI brain scans of individuals with eating disorders. The subjects had anorexia nervosa, obesity or Prader-Willi syndrome ( rare genetic disorder that is characterized by a chronic feeling of hunger that leads to life-threatening��obesity, low muscle tone, incomplete sexual developement, cognitive disabilities). The control group was composed of normal healthy subjects.

The anorexic group, who was previously severely restricted from food, had a decreased responses in the reward and pleasure areas of the brain when they were shown various pictures of food. In contrast, the same regions of the brain have shown a significantly increased activity in the obese group.

These findings also has an implication in the eating decisions made by a healthy individual.�Holsen says: “Even in individuals who do not have eating disorders, there are areas of the brain that assist in evaluating the reward value of different foods, which in turn plays a role in the decisions we make about which foods to eat.” These every day eating decisions are studied by�Kyle Simmons of the Laureate Institute. He found that at the mere sight of food determines an increased activity in the insula that processes taste, meaning that �the brain starts anticipating its food and also evokes the feelings associated with that particular food.

Simmons adds: “Knowing which brain regions underlie inferences about food taste and reward is critical if we are going to develop efficacious interventions for obesity and certain eating disorders”

Immune System Enzyme

The serine proteases are enzymes that cut up proteins and by doing this they activate signal molecules. These enzymes are released by neutrophil granulocytes – specialized white blood cells that represent the first line of defense in case of a bacterial infection. The signal molecules obtained from the action of these enzymes are called chemokins, and they play an important role in the inflammation process�because they determine other immune cells to migrate in the infected tissue and destroy the pathogens.

Immune System Granulocytes

If the mechanism is not properly controlled by the body, there are too many activated immune cells and they can harm the healthy tissue. This happens in chronic inflammatory diseases, thus a method to alleviate the symptoms of these diseases is to inhibit the serine proteases.�“Proteases sometimes act as�accelerants�and can even trigger a chronic inflammation quite independently of bacterial intruders. If we dampened down the defences, we could counteract this effect”, explains Dieter Jenne, the research group leader.

A new�serine�protease was discovered by scientists at Max Plank Institute of Neurobiology in�Martinsried: the neutrophil�serine�protease 4 (NSP4). This protein could be a potential target for new drugs designed to cure diseases that involve an overactive immune system.�Dieter Jenne sais:�“The special thing about this enzyme is that it cuts proteins that have the amino acid arginine at a particular point.�This is where NSP4 differs from the other three known neutrophil serine proteases, which are similar in molecular structure, but have a different recognition motif.”

This different motif of recognition could be used to develop new drugs that inhibit NSP4, thus reducing the inflammation. To date, none of the substances that were thought to have a blocking effect on the neutrophil proteases have been developed into effective drugs:�“So far, we don’t know the identity of the NSP4 substrate, but we assume they must be signal molecules”, says Dieter Jenne.

Using gene sequences, it was shown that NSP4 has remained almost unchanged during hundreds of million of years of evolution.�“That would indicate that NSP4 regulates a fundamental process”, says Dieter Jenne. The enzyme was not known of until now because its concentration at the inflammation site is much lower than other proteases. Scientists at Max Planck discovered it while searching serine proteases encoding genes in the human genome, and found a gene sequence that was previously unknown.

One of the researchers,�Natascha C.�Perera, lead author of the study, examined the enzyme in its active, folded state. Now the scientists have to study the enzyme in vivo to understand its whole function besides the pro-inflammatory function, and thus discover the possible side effects that can occur by blocking it. This means another step towards new active substances that may help patients with inflammatory diseses.

Heroin Is More Effective Than Methadone

A new study�conducted by researchers at the�Providence Health Care and the University of British Columbia proved that treating long-term street heroin users is more cost-effective if the drug used is medically prescribed heroin(diacetylmorphine) rather than methadone.

The study�was based on administrative drug data from British Columbia, as well as on the findings drawn from the North American Opiate Medication Initiative (NAOMI) which made a trial of medically prescribed heroin in Vancouver from 2005 to 2008. This was the first clinical trial of prescribed heroin that took place in North America. The treatments were compared using a cost-effectiveness analysis over a periods of one, five and ten-year period, as well as lifetime horizon. The research crew was led by Dr. Aslam Anis, director of the Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences (CHÉOS) at Providence Health Care and professor in UBC’s School of Population and Public Health.

Morphine Diacetate

Although both medically prescribed heroin and methadone reduce criminal activity, patients treated with heroin stayed in the treatment longer and thus the incidence of relapse was lower in comparison with those treated with methadone and on the long run this means an economic benefit. The study also pointed out that using diacetylmorphine maintenance therapy on a patient makes him more likely to live longer than using methadone.

The average lifetime social �costs associated to each therapy are $1.14 million per year per person for the methadone group in comparison to the lesser cost of $1.09 million in the diacetylmethadone group. These numbers were estimated considering treatment expenditures, costs for grug therapies and also costs borne by the justice systems.�“NAOMI demonstrated that heroin-assisted therapy is a more effective treatment option than MMT, but now, thanks to this study, we can also confidently say that there are significant economic benefits of using this medication,” explains Dr. Anis .

Co-author Dr. Martin Schechter, a CHÉOS scientist and professor at UBC’s School of Population and Public Health says that the most frequent question on everybody’s mind is whether the direct cost of the diacetylmethadone-assisted theory is too increased to be affordable.�“What this study shows is that the more appropriate question is whether we can afford not to,” he adds.

The result of the NAOMI study, based on a randomized trial, was published in the�New England Journal of Medicine and it shows that medically prescribed heroin is more cost effective because patients under diacetylmorphine maintenance therapy tent to stay longer in the treatment and thus are more unlikely to use this drug or other illegal drug, and also are more unlikely to be a part of an illegal ativity than patients treated with oral methadone.

Chronic Venous Insufficiency

Chronic venous insufficiency is one of the most widespread diseases that mainly affects women, women / men ratio being two to one. The main cause of this disease is represented by�a malfunction of the venous valves in the legs. Due to the fact that venous valves are not closing properly, blood that circulates through the veins of the legs will be unable to overcome gravity and will stagnate at this level leading to edemas and even varicose ulcers. Conventional treatment for chronic venous insufficiency�makes use of�diureticts�and anti-inflammatory drugs.

Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA in Stuttgart were able to create valve implants for this widespread disease. This implants are created from polycarbonate-urethane (a plastic) and are aimed to treat the cause of chronic venous insufficiency and not just the symptoms, as is the case of drug treatment.

The central nucleus of this implants made by polycarbonate-urethane, 3D droplet dispensing technology which allows scientists to a apply a certain polymer onto a surface without a certain form and in the same time to exploit polymer hardness. 3D droplet dispensing technology is an additive procedure that allows three-dimensional geometries to be created layer by layer using a polymer�, explains the leader of the researchers team.

Venous Valve Implant

The reason why researchers used polycarbonate-urethane for valve implants is represented by the fact that this material is very flexible and strong and can be�easily seen into the surrounding tissue. Another feature of this material is that polycarbonate-urethane can form structures in very thin layers which are ideal for venous valve implants.� By using PCU in combination with our 3D dispensing kinematics, we can achieve seamless transitions within the material between six different grades of elasticity and hardness � without any breaking points whatsoever. This technique mirrors the design of highly stressed structures in nature. It can't be done using injection molding�, explained�the scientists.

Polycarbonate-urethane become a venous valve prosthesis by a technique that is using nitrogen and the 3D droplet dispensing tool. Initially, the polymers are dissolved by a solvent and the are placed onto a venous valve prosthetic mold. After this procedure the prosthetic valve is introduced into streams of warm nitrogen, procedure which makes the solvent to evaporate. This step is repeated for several times until venous valve prosthesis is fully coated with droplets of polycarbonate-urethane. Due to the fact that this prosthesis is very flexible, doctors can implant it into a vein of the lower limb by venous catheter passed through the skin.

Venous valve implants represent�a step forward in the treatment of� chronic venous insufficiency and�also represent�the first treatment which is treating the cause of the disease and not only the symptoms. In the future researchers want to make their�venous valve implants�as durable as heart valve implants.

Robotic Surgery Very Effective In Treating Oropharyngeal Cancer (Video)

Over the last decades physicians observed a significant increase�in incidence of oral cancers among young patients. Although oral cancer was considered quite rare in young patients and mostly related to advanced age, smoking and alcohol abuse, its incidence is�currently increasing among 30- to 50-year-old patients who never smoked but infected with the human papillomavirus or HPV. Luckily this new�type of cancer is not�very agressive and the�latest�treatment�options available�like robotic surgery can provide a substantial benefit compared with�open neck surgery or�neck irradiation.

Da Vinci Robotic Surgery

A recent study, available in the March issue of�Mayo Clinic Proceedings reveals amazing results in HPV�patients�whose oral tumors (squamous cell carcinomas)�were removed�with the aid of robotic surgery.

According to study author�Eric Moore, MD the cancer cure�results were�surprisingly even better compared with traditional surgery options but we must keep in mind that the treated�HPV�mediated cancers�were not so aggressive.�Robotic surgery proved to by successful in keeping the patient’s ability to swallow and speak normally.

The study was conducted on a batch of 66 patients with oropharyngeal cancer treated with robotic surgery using the da Vinci robotic surgical system. All participants underwent imaging tests every few months in order to highlight�a possible cancer�recurrence and after about 2 years scientists concluded that the surval rate was above 92%, percentage very close to that of the traditional surgical approach�methods but less invasive.

Due to the fact that traditional surgical approaches include the�removal and reconstruction�of�certain portions of the jawbone, neck and tongue, scientists were also very curious how patients healed after undergoing robotic surgery. About 96% of patients that were treated using the da Vinci robotic surgical system, were able to swallow normally after�3 weeks, less than 4% needed a�gastrostomy tube (�tube surgically placed into the stomach through the abdominal wall in order to bypass the thorat).

The results show that robotic surgery is certainly an effective treatment option�that must�be considered by any oncologist or surgeon�advising his patiens regarding the available therapies.

For more detailed data,�Dr Moore and his research team�now�aim to asses the outcome of trasoral robotic surgery on a larger batch of patiens.

Study Evaluates Iodine Deficiency Around The World

Nutrition researchers at the ETH Zurich have�conducted a global study�regarding iodine intake in school children and revealed the benefits of salt iodization. The world's dietary iodine intake is at the highest level so far which is a tremendous accomplishment in terms goiter prevention, except from South Asia and Africa where the population is still getting too little iodine intake. The study was conducted by�Michael Zimmermann and Maria Andersson, from the ETH Laboratory of Human Nutrition, in collaboration with the ICCIDD (International Council for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders) and the World Health Organisation.

Salt

The World Health Organisation has shown that in the last eight years there was a decrease in the number of countries with low iodine intake (from 54 countries in 2003 to 32 countries in 2011). With this study,�the iodine consumption�data from 148 countries was evaluated by� researchers at ETH, and then�compared�the results�made public by the�World Health Organisation in 2003 and 2011. The number of countries with sufficient dietary iodine intake increased to 105 (in comparison to 67 countries in 2003),�therefore the prevalence of symptoms related to iodine deficiency like goiter and impaired mental development dropped, all due to iodized salt.

For example Switzerland was found by ETH to be one of the 105 countries without low levels of dietary iodine intake�in the overall population – a fact also confirmed by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health. In�Switzerland there are only two population groups that have�a borderline low iodine intake, namely�infants and lactating women.�The countries in which the iodine deficiency persists are represented by�South Asia and Africa: 76 million children in South Asia and 58 million children in Africa do not get enough iodine from their diets.�In these regions, one�in three school children still has a�low iodine intake.

On the other hand, the study also identified countries in which�the dietary iodine intake has decreased over the�past years from a level that was assumed to be adequate to a level that exposes the population to symptoms related to iodine deficiency. This happens especially in industrialized countries like United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and many others. In Russia the iodine intakes was higher during the Soviet Union than it is now, the population having too little iodine in their diets for their normal�metabolic needs.

One Half Of Adult Depression Cases Originate In Adolescence

Researchers at Bangor and Oxford Universities have discovered that almost 50 percent of adults suffering from clinical depression have had their first encounter with this particular�problem in adolescence, noting that lately depression is more commonly found between the ages of 13 and 15. Professor Mark Williams from the Oxford University says that depression cases are increasingly found in teenage patients, unlike several decades ago when depression was mostly observed in middle-aged patients. The appearance of depression in younger patients has turned depression into an important health problem in the past few years.

Depression

The current study was conducted on 275 patients who were experiencing recurring episodes of depression. Researchers tried to discover a correlation between the age of patients when they first became affected by depression and the appearance of mental health problems later in life. The article published in The Journal of Affective Disorders shows that almost 48 percent of the patients who suffered from depression before they reached the age of 18 have later suffered from these recurring depression episodes. After a thorough assessment, scientists also found that patients between the ages of 13 and 15 are the ones who suffer from depression more often than others.

Researchers say that depression is known for its recurrence. Patients that once suffered from depression have almost a 50 percent chance to become depressed again later in life. Scientists also add that the risk of a recurring depression episode increases with the number of depression episodes that a patient goes through.

However, depression can be avoided. MBCT (Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy) and simple Cognitive Therapy have a large impact on the progression of recurring depression episodes. Scientists are still trying to find out the best methods to avoid the recurrence of depression and to prevent it from becoming a problem.

“The Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy course offers people who are vulnerable to recurrent depression the opportunity to engage in a raining process which builds skills in recognizing and responding wisely to the first signs of depression”, says Rebecca Crane of the Center for Mindfulness Research at Bangor University. She also adds that these therapies can help patients recognize and respond to bad habits and unconstructive behavior.