Study Reveals Glaucoma Should Be Considered A Neurological Disease

A new study published in the journal�Ophthalmology, suggests that glaucoma should no longer be categorized only as an eye disease. A group of top scientists suggest that glaucoma should be viewed as a neurological disorder. Due to the fact that nerve cells in the brain degenerate, coinciding with what happens in Parkinson and Alzheimer’s disease, convinced researchers that glaucoma should be categorizes as a neurological disease. Professor Jeffrey L. Goldberg, also lead author of the study says that new treatment for glaucoma is already being administered to patients or will soon begin clinical trials.

Until now it was believed that glaucoma is caused by a high intraocular pressure. The eye condition is currently on top of the list of diseases causing irreversible blindness. Common treatment for glaucoma used to be either surgery or the prescription of medication that would help lower the intraocular pressure, which would have been previously measured using a method called tonometry. Tonometry is still used today, but it’s not the only test that patients have to take in order for the doctor to tell if it’s glaucoma or not. Other tests include�gonioscopy, which examines the angle of the anterior chamber, tests that measure any changes in the shape and size of the eye and tests that assess any damage done to the optic nerve. Doctors should track the changes of intraocular pressure and see whether treatment is effective or not.

Glaucoma Diagnosis

However, with all the medication or surgery that are capable of lowering the intraocular pressure, some patients still experience vision loss. Other patients develop allergic reactions to eye drops or find them disturbing. These problems are what provided the impulse needed by researchers to try to find another cause for glaucoma and develop new medication afterwards.

The study mainly focuses on the damage that the retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) suffer. These cells are essential for a patient’s ability to see and are connected through the optic nerve to the brain.

There are now new clinical trials for glaucoma medication that targets these RGCs. The new treatment is based on injecting RGC growth factors into the eye of glaucoma patients. These medications are already known to be efficient in conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. There are also a few planned clinical trials based on stem cell therapy.

“As researchers turn their attention to the mechanisms that cause retinal ganglion cells to degenerate and die, they are discovering ways to protect, enhance and even regenerate these vital cells,” said Dr. Goldberg. “Understanding how to prevent damage and improve healthy function in these neurons may ultimately lead to sight-saving treatments for glaucoma and other degenerative eye diseases.”

If these new studies and clinical trials will prove to be �correct, future medication for glaucoma will also be able to restore the vision of some of the patients. Future studies on the RGCs might also prove to be effective in determining the genetic factors that make some patients more vulnerable to glaucoma than others.

H5N1 – Risks vs Benefits

There is�great controversy among scientists these days regarding what level of biosafety is best for studying the new strains of H5N1 flu virus. Researchers from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and the University of Michigan have different opinions regarding the management of these new strains.

According to WHO, H5N1�virus is transmitted mainly among birds and very rare in humans, but when it is transmitted, it�proves fatal in 60% of cases. Shortly after the two research teams have created mutations in the H5N1�virus,�this has sparked great controversy in the medical world. Many experts believe that research should not be published because the virus could be turned into a�biological weapon. Even if these new developed strains are more virulent, scientists say they can help create some better vaccines�in case�of a potential pandemic. The�genetically modified virus could be even more dangerous because it has proven to be highly contagious among ferrets infected. Biosecurity experts, on the other hand, fear that�the strains�may reach the wrong hands and could trigger a pandemic worse than the Spanish in 1918, which killed about 40 million people.

Influenza virus H5N1

The question now�focuses on�the security level that researchers should adopt in order that, on the one hand, to not endanger human life, and on the other hand, to continue with their�research.

Including the �virus in a biosafety level (BSL) has profound implications on the population. The fact that H5N1�avian�influenza virus is transmitted to mammals and, moreover, �it s�lethal potential� over 50%, �makes some researchers to wonder whether the current level of biosecurity� is appropriate.

U.S. guidelines category includes current H5N1�viruses in BSL 3. BSL 3 is the name given to pathogens that are transmitted through the air and cause lethal diseases, but for which�there is�treatment available. BSL 4�are those �pathogens for which there is no treatment, and �there are only four laboratories in the U.S. that work with this level of biosecurity. Instead, most laboratories and hospitals are equipped to work in a BSL3 environment.

Adolfo García-Sastre�of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, thinks�it is exaggerated to consider H5N1�as BSL4�, saying that even if it is contagious, there is� vaccine against this virus and the disease can be treated. In contrast, Michael Imperiale�and Michael Hanna of the University of Michigan,�believes that H5N1�should �be included in BSL4. Even if this virus is not transmitted from human to human mutations� recently created increased it s virulence. Moreover, the vaccine is not available worldwide and once a pandemic started it would be difficult to control.

Premature Delivery – Obstetrician’s Clinical Decision Making Heavily Influenced By Parents

A study conducted�by researchers�at�University of Pennsylvania focused on parent’s influence on obstetricians regarding deliveries between the 22 and 26 weeks of gestation (periviable deliveries). Parents usually want to prolong pregnancy or�pursue any intervention possible to save the baby’s life. The results were published in�the March�issue of�the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Neonates born at the gestational age of 22 to 26 weeks are prone to neonatal death (about 50% of the newborns) or severe illness mainly neurologic disabilities. A previous study concluded that performing cesarean at 24 weeks translates into�a higher chance of survival but also doubles morbidity.

Obstetrician

The current study was based on data collected from 21 obstetricians�from academic medical centers in Philadelphia.�Obstetricians were interviewed�regarding personal factors that concur to their clinical decision making, their typical patient approach�and how they usually manage periviable delivery. Challenges they face while counseling the patient were also put into question. The results were very surprising: primary influence in obstetric decision making was the patient’s preference and perspectives on patient autonomy. Formal policies regarding practice standards for this kind of delivery varies from institution to institution, and even in the same institution different obstetricians have different opinions whether a particular neonate could be saved or not. One participant said: “It’s very much dependent upon who’s on that night.”

Patient autonomy is regarded�differently by obstetricians and this influenced their approach to decision making and counseling: from just offering information to considering that the emotions and the complexity of the case interfere too much with the parents’ judgement and thus they are incapable of making a correct decision. The hardest part is being uncertain about the fetal outcome or about the benefit of certain obstetrical interventions and trying to explain this uncertainty to parents.�Dr. Tucker Edmonds, assistant professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Indiana University said:�“In counseling patients, the obstetricians prioritized objectivity and respect for autonomy but deemphasized hope. However, a recent study found that patients who faced these decisions prioritized hope.”

Patients with�poor education or patients not fluent in English are harder to counsel according to�most study�participants, although they also declared they are not influenced by social factors.

Aspirin Lowers Trans-Fat Related Ischemic Stroke Risk In Postmenopausal Women

A new study, ‘Trans Fat Intake, Aspirin and�Ischemic Stroke Among Postmenopausal Women’, �published in the journal Annals of Neurology, shows that women with a high consumption of trans fats�are�at higher risk of suffering�an ischemic�stroke. The study also shows that the risk of stroke was lower among women�treated with�aspirin on a daily basis.

The study was conducted on a sample of 87,025� postmenopausal healthy women� , aged between 50 and 79, whose diets contained high amounts of trans fats.�The�results showed that these women have a 39% higher risk of stroke than women who�included in their diets�small amounts of trans fats. Also, the study revealed that the risk was even higher among women who were not�on aspirin,� the risk�for these women was 66%.

Aspirin

Taken over a long period of time, aspirin may reduce stroke risk in women who consume large amounts of trans fats.�Besides its�analgesic and antipyretic properties�aspirin has anti-inflammatory and anti-platelet effects. Long-term use may reduce the risk of myocardial infarction.
Trans fats, unsaturated or hydrogenated fats, are those vegetable fats that result from hot or cold�processing, roasting, boiling, baking, or transformation from liquid to solid.

Trans fats are regarded as the�most health�dangerous fats that people include in their diets. They are found in baked products, fried fast foods, mixed cakes and�many other products. These fats are not�essential lipids�and�do not provide any�health benefit.� Their most harmful effect�can be observed on the cardiovascular system. These fats not only raise LDL cholesterol, but�they also�reduce the ‘good’ cholesterol,� that is HDL cholesterol. It is known that LDL fraction�plays a key role in�the pathogenesis�of atherosclerosis. In addition,�trans fats can be�the culprit behind�a heart attack or a stroke. HDL cholesterol fraction�prevents the obstruction of�vessel wall and transports�cholesterol�to the liver.

During the�the study 1,049 new cases of stroke from 1994 to 2005 were analyzed. It was found that women with strokes were more likely to be smokers, sedentary and diabetic and to have�a lower�socioeconomic�status�than those who ate less trans fat. Researchers from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health have remarked that there was no association between stroke risk�and consumption of other types of fat, saturated or monounsaturated.

Sirin Yaemsiri, a doctoral student in the school’s Epidemiology Department, study author, points out that these results represent a warning�regarding limiting trans fat intake among postmenopausal women�dut to the increased stroke risk.

Targeting Two Different Cancer Molecules Makes Chemotherapy More Effective

In a study published this week in the journal Cancer Discovery, scientists at the University of California, San Francisco, found that�targeting two different molecules of cancer is�a more effective way to shrink a tumour. This new discovery may improve the effectiveness of treatments that use different drug combinations.

The team at UCB believes that this�two-target approach, which was tested in mice, may�lead to the development of�new therapies�able�to treat a wide�variety of cancers. Even if clinical trials are still ongoing, this new approach may provide new hope for cancer patients.

Chemotherapy

Donald McDonald, MD, PhD, of UCSF Helen Diller member of the Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Cardiovascular Research Institute and professor of anatomy, noted that the results of the study are very�promising. However, this new finding must be tested�during clinical trials in order to prove its effectiveness�on humans.

Up until�now, studies on mice had spectacular results. Highly aggressive tumor metastasis have been reduced significantly and in some cases, � metastases were�eliminated�completely. The two targets are two proteins known for a long time to be involved in cancer pathogenesis. The first is called c-MET, involved in cancer aggressiveness. In other words�c-MET�plays an important role�in the process of metastasis. The second one, the vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF),�is a protein involved in blood vessel growth. By blocking VEGF, tumor can not�normally�develop its needed�vascular network and consequently dies.

In 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of such a drug to treat colon cancer, Avastin. Avastin�was also approved in 2008 for use in�metastatic breast cancer. However, Avastin was later revoked by the FDA arguing that this�drug does not prolong survival of cancer patients.

Currently�some�facts about cancer progression remain unclear. For example, scientists still do not know why some tumors respond to treatment and others do not. Also, researchers do not know why a tumor responds initially and then becomes resistant to a certain treatment. In an earlier study, a team led by Douglas Hanahan, UCSF professor, found that�Avastin-like�drugs shrink tumors, but also increase�cancer aggressiveness. This means that blocking VEGF�encourages the tumor to metastasize more easily.

In their study, researchers have inhibited VEGF�with two agents, the neutralizing antibody and sunitinib. c-MET was bolcked�by three agents, crizotinib, PF-04217903, and cabozantinib. Surprisingly, cabozantinib�inhibited both VEGF�and c-MET. Simultaneous inhibition of both proteins�had a more�powerful�effect than blocking only one protein.

Scientists Announce Eureka Discovery That Breaks Through The Protection Mechanisms Of Mycoplasma Tuberculosis

A new breakthrough in the fight against the bacterium that causes tuberculosis has been made by scientists at Colorado State University. Researchers have discovered the essential cellular function that is necessary for the mycobacterium to survive medication and the action of the body’s defensive systems. They have also discovered the composite that is essential to the particular cellular function.

Current tuberculosis medication lacks effectiveness in killing the bacterium because of the cellular membrane that surrounds the bacterium. A treatment scheme that combines the effect of multiple drugs is necessary to treat tuberculosis in numerous patients. Unfortunately most of the current medication will eventually be ineffective due to the�development of�highly resistant strains. Researchers are working on the development of a new drug that would have a different action on the bacterium, thus killing it and keeping the high resistant strains under control.

Mycobacterium Tauberculosis

The main components of the almost impenetrable envelope that surrounds the bacterium are mycolic acids. These acids are synthesized inside the cell, reaching cell envelope only after being transported through the cell membrane.

Without mycolic�acids in the cell envelope, the bacteria die,� said Mary Jackson, professor in the department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, whilst also researcher on the project. The discovery made by researchers from Colorado State University involves stopping of a certain transporter from moving mycolic acids from the synthesis point to the outer cell envelope. By blocking certain transporters, a new possible way of killing the bacterium has been found. Researchers have been trying to identify the certain transporter for decades, knowing the fact that if they stop mycolic acids from reaching the cell envelope, new drugs that could kill the bacterium could be developed.

If mycolic acids cannot be transported, the tuberculosis bacterium cannot grow,� said Mike McNeil, professor and co-researcher on the project with Jackson. McNeil also adds that the new discovery is very important, and the development of new drugs will be difficult, nevertheless very important for patients suffering from tuberculosis.

Both Jackson and McNeil note that several different transporters found in the bacterium might also be involved in transporting mycolic acids. The discovery of such transporters could ease the development of new medication.

New Study Shows Link Between Conformity And Certain Brain Region

A new study published in the journal Current Biology reveals a link between a patient’s conformity and the amount of gray matter present in a specific region of the brain.

According to the study, the choices of individuals, varying from political views, to life changing actions or even the type of meal eaten for lunch, are influenced by the options of the people that surround them. Researchers have discovered an anatomical link between decisions and peer influence. Researchers at the New York University, University College London and at Aarhus University have, for the first time, identified a measure that could help predict the reaction of an individual based on social pressure.

Scientists used a neuroimaging technique known as VBM (Voxel-based morphometry), that allows the investigation of focal differences in brain anatomy, thus allowing accurate mapping of gray and white matter using MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans. The trial was conducted on the brains of 28 patients.

In order to measure the response to social influence, patients underwent a test that analyzed the change of musical preferences after�listening to the opinion of music critics. One week before testing each patient had to select 20 songs that they liked. Afterwards, on the testing day, they had to rate their previous choices out of ten.

The next step of the study was to inform the test subjects that music critics had studied their ratings whilst listing a rating of their own. After comparing the choices they made with the choices the critics made, participants were asked to re-rate their choices. The result was a change in ratings, believed to be based on social influence.

Brain Wiring

Analyzing the collected data revealed that the gray matter present in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex is correlated with social influence. This correlation has been observed in both hemispheres of the brain, linking it to the tendency of certain individuals to conform.

Previous studies conducted by scientists analyzed the brain activity of participants facing the disagreement of experts in certain domains. The studies managed to predict the amount of influence that experts would have on certain participants. The comparison of the two studies revealed that the volume of gray matter found in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex can also predict the way an individual will respond when faced with the disagreement of critics. Researchers found that the orbitofrontal cortex is directly involved in the recognition of social conflict: the disapproval of a certain choice, which may lead to a change in the patient’s choice accordingly.

“The ability to adapt to others and align ourselves with them is an important social skill. However, at what level is this skill implemented in the brain? At a software (information processing) or hardware (structural) level? Our results show that social conformation is, at least in part, hard-wired in the structure of the brain”, says Professor Chris Frith, leader of the study.

Researchers say that the current study could explain the consequences of brain atrophy or development. Patients with a damaged lateral orbitofrontal cortex often show a change in social interactions.

This finding suggests that perhaps we should look at how these individuals learn what is important from the expressed preferences of others,” said Daniel Campbell-Meiklejohn, the first author of the study.

Study Links Middle Age Cardiovascular Disease To Complications During Pregnancy

Results of a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association highlights that women with gestational hypertension or diabetes are at a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease later in life.

Abigail Fraser, M.P.H., Ph.D., School of Social and Community Medicine at the University of Bristol, United Kingdom, underlined that it is important for women with pregnancy complications to seek medical help and to adopt a heathy lifestyle in order not to develop cardiovascular disease later in life. She also pointed that pregnancy could be an�opportunity to recognize women who might develop heart disease. If medical staff would be aware of this risk, the cardiovascular�disease could be successfully prevented.

Pregnancy Altrasound

Gestational hypertension, or preeclampsia, is a pregnancy complication that occurs�develops from�20 weeks gestation.�Although�it’s �cause is not well understood, it seems that there is an endothelial�dysfunction in the maternal blood vessels. The main symptoms are headache, epigastric pain, visual disturbances and�bleeding. Preeclampsia�is associated with HELLP�syndrome, that is hemolysis, hepatic enzymes elevated and low platelets. The final stage of preeclampsia�is eclampsia, which occurs when besides hypertension associates seizures.

Although�preeclampsia�develops�during pregnancy, it can also appear postpartum. Recent studies have showed�that the number of antepartum�preeclampsia�have reduced, while the incidence of postpartum�have increased. This�shift is probably due to the fact that on one hand, it could be a later manifestation of the disease, and on the other hand,�the medical professionals are not aware of the potential risk of developing postpartum preeclampsia.

The study, conducted on 3.146 pregnant women, revealed that women with preeclampsia�and/or gestational diabetes are at higher risk of heart disease. Moreover, pregnancy complications have been correlated with higher levels of glucose and insulin. Thus, patients with preeclampsia�weremore probably overweight and had elevated cholesterol.

The researchers also calculated the patient’s odd of developing cardiovascular disease in the nest 10 years by using�CVD�Framingham risk score, that is the scientists measured parameters�such as age, total and HDL cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, diabetes and smoking status.

New Vaccine Against HIV Tested On Volunteers

Seropositive volunteers participated in a new test led by scientists from the Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp University Hospital and Antwerp University, involving a new therapeutic vaccine that uses cells extracted from their own body that are charged and reinjected. A better response from the immune system was observed on the tested patients.

A cure for AIDS has not been found yet, but thanks to modern medicine and the use of various antiretroviral drugs, patients can now continue living their lives in a normal way. Unfortunately, if for any reason the treatment is stopped, there is a high risk for the symptoms to relapse. The problem with AIDS is well known by the medical world, consisting in an insufficient response of the body’s own dendritic cells (DCs, or antigen-presenting cells), responsible for transferring the information from the HIV virus to the CD8 cells (cytotoxic T cell) causing the destruction of the infected cells.

Virologists, HIV-physicians and hematologists�from Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine and Antwerp University Hospital have been trying to solve this problem for several years. They have succeeded in ‘charging’ the dendritic cells of seropositive volunteers with messenger RNA for HIV proteins. The effect of laboratory testing is that �‘charged’ dendritic cells are now able to activate the CD8 cells, or battle cells.

Human testing was the next logical step and the researchers received grants from Belgian, Flemish and French foundations. A total number of 6 seropositive volunteers, patients that have been using the so-called medicine cocktails were tested. The scientists filtered large numbers of dendritic cells from each patient, providing them with the necessary genetic information of the HIV virus. After the process, the dendritic cells were frozen.

Hiv Vaccination

The six volunteers received a four time, four week interval, injected dose of their own cultivated dendritic cells. The effect was very promising: the CD8 cells started to recognize the virus, more and more efficiently, after each new dose, without any visible side-effect. The battle against HIV continues, as the capability of the virus to rapidly change its own proteins in order to dodge the CD8 cells is widely known.

The cure for AIDS may not have been discovered yet, but the progress made is encouraging: a new vaccine created with the help of dendritic cells from seropositive patients, with no visible side-effect, that still has a satisfying therapeutic effect shows a lot of promise and represents a possible starting ground for future research.

Regrow Blood Vessels In Patients With Heart And Vascular Diseases

Scientist from the University of Texas discovered a new method which can regrow blood vessels in the heart and limbs which are affected by obstructive vascular diseases. This research is very important because heart diseases represent the leading cause of death world wide.

This method of treatment which has been successfully tested on rats, allow doctors to inject a lipidic substance into the damaged blood vessel, thus avoiding a surgical intervention. When this lipidic substance is inside the body can stimulate the vessel cells to grow, thus stimulating the growth of new blood vessel� from the affected blood vessels.

“Others have tried using growth factors to stimulate vessel growth in clinical trials and have not been successful. We think that a major reason for this is that previous methods assumed that the diseased tissues retained the ability to respond to a growth stimulus. Our method basically delivers extra components that can restore growth factor responsiveness to the tissue of patients with long-standing clinical disease.”, said Baker, a faculty member in the school's Department of Biomedical Engineering.

The researchers created limbs ischemia in rats and then� for a period of seven days the scientists� injected a lipidic substance with a osmotic pump into the rats limbs. The results of doppler ultrasonography� which were performed after a week of treatment showed a increased blood flow in the limbs.

Blood Vessels

Central ischemia affects the heart and appear when the heart vessels are�narrowed or blocked by deposits of fat. This deposits of fat are caused by smoking, high blood pressure, unhealthy diet or diabetes.

Until now, ischemia was treated by introducing a stent in the obstructed vessel or directly by a surgical procedure which is redirecting the blood flow to the tissue. These methods are not effective for a long period of time and present some limitations. This new method which was discovered by the scientists from the University of Texas, combines a cellular growth factor ( a substance which is able to stimulate vascular cells to grow, to proliferate and to differentiate, like cells which are involved in the healing wounds) known as fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2) with a lipidic receptor which can enhance its activity.

A important challenge for the scientists was to prevent the binding of FGF-2 with others cells receptors. To avoid this possibility, the researches embed FGF-2 in synthetic nano-particles with a lipidic base that contain a co-receptor known as syndecan-4. This combination of growth factor and co-receptor is able to direct the nano-particle direct to the affected cells and has the capacity to stimulate the cell differentiation and proliferation.

With this study, the researchers believe that in the future will have the opportunity to understand how tissues can become resistant to revascularization therapies and maybe they will discover a more effective treatment for vascular disorders.