Clipmarks | wildcat's 'medicine' clips

Stem Cells 2.0: Scientists Make Revolutionary Advance

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:07:19 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

A while back scientists were making revolutionary breakthroughs in stem cell research. Unfortunately they fell foul of interpretations of thousand year old texts in foreign languages, and a government with the scientific understanding of a squashed grape said "Sorry, our kind and loving God requires that people continue to suffer from Parkinson's, anemia, and various other horrible ailments." Luckily, scientists are awesome and did the obvious thing - make ANOTHER revolutionary breakthrough to get around the problem.

The previous problem with stem cells was that they came from aborted or otherwise unviable fetuses. Note that these fetuses had been terminated anyway, and the only issue now was whether it was more moral to chuck the goo in a bin and burn it, or use it to help cure the sick. The ethical answer, apparently, isn't what you think.

This issue can now be sidestepped with the creation of induced pluripotent stem cells (IPS) from any kind of tissue

Tags: stem cells, breakthrough, medicine

An 'attractive' man-machine interface

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 15:45:43 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: physorg.com

Researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston have developed a new “nanobiotechnology” that enables magnetic control of events at the cellular level. They describe the technology, which could lead to finely-tuned but noninvasive treatments for disease, in the January issue of Nature Nanotechnology (published online January 3).

The technology could lead to non-invasive ways of controlling drug release or physiologic processes such as heart rhythms and muscle contractions, says Ingber, the study’s senior investigator. More importantly, it represents the first time magnetism has been used to harness specific cellular signaling systems normally used by hormones or other natural molecules.

“This technology allows us to control the behavior of living cells through magnetic forces rather than chemicals or hormones,”

Tags: health, drug release, medicine

Men Carry Breast Cancer Genes, Too

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 10:42:34 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: The great equalizer...

Clip Source: physorg.com

(AP) -- Doctors are encouraging a new group of people to consider getting tested for genes that raise the risk of breast cancer: men. Male relatives of women with such genes often do not realize that they, too, may carry them, and face greater odds of developing male breast cancer, as well as prostate, pancreatic and skin cancer, new research suggests.

"Everyone thinks of breast and ovarian cancer and just assumes it's all women. They don't even realize these genes can be inherited from the father's side of the family," said Dr. Mary Daly of Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia.

After seeing breast cancer in several male patients who did not know they were at risk, Daly conducted a small study, which was presented Friday at a conference in Texas. She now is trying to convince more fathers, sons and brothers of women with the genes to get tested.

"Very few of them want to," she said.

Tags: men, breast cancer, health, genetics, medicine

The Peace Drug

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 02:06:34 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: "I don't think I got the placebo,"

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

Post-traumatic stress disorder had destroyed Donna Kilgore's life. Then experimental therapy with MDMA, a psychedelic drug better known as ecstasy, showed her a way out. Was it a fluke -- or the future?

THE BED IS TILTING!

Or the couch, or whatever. A futon. Slanted.

She hadn't noticed it before, but now she can't stop noticing. Like the princess and the pea.

By objective measure, the tilt is negligible, a fraction of an inch, but she can't be fooled by appearances, not with the sleep mask on. In her inner darkness, the slight tilt magnifies, and suddenly she feels as if she might slide off, and that idea makes her giggle.

"I feel really, really weird," she says. "Crooked!"

Donna Kilgore laughs, a high-pitched sound that contains both thrill and anxiety. That she feels anything at all, anything other than the weighty, oppressive numbness that has filled her for 11 years, is enough in itself to make her giddy.

"Now I feel all warm and fuzzy," she announces. "I'm not nervous anymore."

Tags: science, health, medicine, drugs, ecstazy, mdma

If Sativex Works, So Does Pot

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 16:54:54 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.reason.com

A new study reported in the journal Pain finds that Sativex, an orally administered cannabis extract spray, is effective at treating neuropathic pain in patients for whom standard painkillers do not provide adequate relief. During the five-week study, 125 subjects with peripheral neuropathic pain continued to take previously prescribed analgesics and achieved additional relief from Sativex, averaging a reduction of about 1.5 points on a 10-point self-reported pain scale, compared to half a point for the placebo spray. The research is part of GW Pharmaceuticals' efforts to gain wider regulatory approval for Sativex, which is approved for treatment of multiple sclerosis in Europe and for treatment of both cancer pain and M.S.-related neuropathic pain in Canada.

Every study that demonstrates Sativex's medical utility also demonstrates marijuana's medical utility, belying the U.S. government's claim that it has none

Tags: sativex, health, medicine, pain treatment, pot, canabis

Medical Literacy: Read this or Die

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 09:47:19 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: Literacy! what a concept..

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

What you don't know might kill you—and cost the nation a bundle.

More than one-third of American adults have only basic or below-basic literacy in health matters, which costs the United States upwards of $238 billion in healthcare expenditures, according to a government- and industry-funded study.

And by basic literacy, we're talking about merely being able to read a label to determine if a product is for a head cold or diarrhea, or administer a proper dose to oneself or a child.

The cost of not understanding

Adults with low health literacy are less likely to comply with prescribed treatment and self-care regimens, make more medication or treatment errors, are less likely to use preventive care, and they lack the skills needed to navigate the healthcare system.

Low functional literacy may be responsible for $32 billion to $58 billion in healthcare spending, a substantial part of expenditures financed by Medicaid and Medicare.

High-tech, low-tech

Tags: literacy, health, education, medicine

When the Patient Is a Googler

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 08:04:05 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.time.com

We had never met, but as we talked on the phone I knew she was Googling me. The way she drew out her conjunctions, just a little, that was the tip off — stalling for time as new pages loaded. It was barely audible, but the soft click-click of the keyboard in the background confirmed it. Oh, well, it's the information age. Normally, she'd have to go through my staff first, but I gave her an appointment.

Susan had chosen me because she had researched my education, read a paper I had written, determined my university affiliation and knew where I lived. It was a little too much — as if she knew how stinky and snorey I was last Sunday morning. Yes, she was simply researching important aspects of her own health care. Yes, who your surgeon is certainly affects what your surgeon does. But I was unnerved by how she brandished her information, too personal and just too rude on our first meeting

Every doctor knows patients like this. They're called "brainsuckers

Tags: google, medicine, health, patient, doctors

Strange but True: Snake Oil Salesmen Were on to Something

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 08:39:24 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

Snake oil really is a cure for what ails you, if that happens to be arthritis, heart disease or maybe even depression

Throughout the 19th century salesmen traveled the U.S. peddling solutions to all medical ills. As depicted in numerous Westerns and in Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, the "doctor" was aided by a shill in the crowd who would, at the appropriate moment, call out that this medicament, ointment or tincture had solved his woes. Once the unsuspecting public had purchased the con artists' wares, both would quickly depart before the townspeople discovered the worthlessness of the claims.

SNAKE OIL: Chinese water snakes have lots of omega 3 fatty acids in their oil, meaning such snake oil might actually cure aches and pains.

For centuries snake oil has been a folk remedy in Chinese medicine, used primarily to treat joint pain such as arthritis and bursitis

Tags: snake oil, medicine, health, heart disease, depression, cure

The Truth About Deadly 'Superbugs'

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 12:03:26 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: "Anyone who doesn't believe in evolution just has to look at MRSA," Blaser said of the microbe's growing arsenal of drug resistance.

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

NEW YORK – Armies of invisible creatures are spreading across the planet, infesting local communities and claiming the lives of innocent children in their wake. And the attackers are immune to some of the world's best weaponry.

It sounds more like a sci-fi movie plot than reality, but "superbugs"—deadly microbes that can resist drugs designed to wipe them out—are far from imaginary. Schoolchildren in several states recently have died from infections caused by MRSA bacteria, otherwise known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and medical recordkeeping shows such cases are increasing annually.

But need the masses live in fear of stubborn yet deadly microbes such as MRSA as their numbers rise worldwide, or are we overreacting?

Most medical experts think superbug diseases are here to stay but offer a major caveat: Only a fraction of the population need worry a little, if at all.

An estimated 18,650 Americans died in 2005 from MRSA

Tags: science, medicine, superbugs, drug resistence, bacteria

Pandemic test paints dire scenario

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 19:32:33 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: wildcat is back for a while, hi to all!

Clip Source: www.computerworld.com

Pandemic test undertaken by financial services paints dire scenario

October 24, 2007 (Computerworld) -- If a pandemic strikes the U.S., it will kill about 1.7 million people, hospitalize 9 million, exhaust antiviral medications and reduce basic food supplies, according to a planning scenario developed by financial service firms preparing for such a catastrophe.

This particular disaster occurred only on paper. But those grim numbers are some of the pandemic planning assumptions used by nearly 3,000 banks, insurance companies and security firms in a just-concluded, three-week, paper-based exercise that may have been the largest pandemic test of its kind.

In each week of this drill, participants -- some 10,000 people were involved -- received an updated scenario and were asked to assess their capability to deliver services as the pandemic deepened and then abated.

Tags: pandemic, virus, medicine, financial services, disaster scenario

Race to be first to ‘hibernate’ human beings

Sun, 27 May 2007 10:24:43 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

TURNING science fiction into science fact, American doctors are preparing to chill volunteers into a state of suspended animation that could keep them asleep for months.

Medical teams in Los Angeles, Boston and Pittsburgh are racing to become the first to test out new theories of “induced hibernation” which could save lives and also help to send man towards the stars.

Hasan Alam, a surgeon at Massachusetts general hospital and consultant to the US army, is poised to start the first human trials before the end of the year.

Last week he said that he wanted to equip ambulances with a clear saline solution called plasma expander that would be injected into seriously injured victims at the scene of a car accident.

The plasma would rapidly send body temperature from 37C to 10C, slowing the metabolism, delaying the onset of shock and limiting damage from wounds

Tags: science, medicine, health, hibernation, plasma expander

Mommy the Automaton

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 15:07:15 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.wired.com

Mommy the Automaton: New Interactive Simulators Teach Labor and Birth

A new generation of complex, electronic birth simulators are allowing medical students to practice labor and birth -- especially when there are complications.

"It gives us the opportunity to learn and practice but do no harm," said Dr. Kay Daniels, a clinical associate professor who trains students at Stanford University.

Interactive simulation robots first became popular in the 1990s after scientists developed them for anesthesiologists in training. They've since been designed for various types of medical training and even for veterinary students, who work on dog mannequins.

Tags: science, medicine, labor, health, birth simulator

The Medical Tricorder Takes Two Steps Away From Sci Fi

Mon, 02 Jul 2007 11:27:33 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.wired.com

Markers like these in a CT scan can help scientists determine what genes are active in liver cancer.
Image: Michael Kuo/UCSD Department Of Radiology

Two recent scientific discoveries mark the latest steps toward the ultimate medical-diagnosis technology: the tricorder.

Bones McCoy made Star Trek's portable black box famous by using it to diagnose ailments without ever touching a patient. Now, studies show that the tricorder is closer to becoming reality, because of new medical-imaging technology and a new state of matter.

"When we were conceptualizing (our experiment), we saw the ultimate device should be noninvasive, giving you the molecular details of the disease going on inside the body," said Howard Chang of Stanford University's Comprehensive Cancer Center. "I think a tricorder is a useful idea.... It shows the gap between what we have now and what we hope technology will achieve in the end."

Tags: science, technology, tricorder, scifi, medicine, imaging technology

EU Says Europeans Are Getting Fatter

Thu, 31 May 2007 14:44:55 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: physorg.com

A majority of adults are obese or overweight in most European Union nations and kids increasingly contributing to make Europe a fat continent, the EU's top public health official said Wednesday.

The numbers are frightening," said EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou.

Bad diets based on fatty and sweet ingredients combined with physical laziness by now account for six of the seven top factors leading to bad health, Kyprianou said.

The EU Commission has warned governments for years to do something about the culture of flab, but the situation is getting worse. "Everybody has to be blamed - including the authorities, including the industry, including the consumers."

In the 27-nation bloc, the EU says that over 21 million children are overweight. "Even more worrying is that the rate of increase of that number is more than 400,000 children a year

Tags: health, medicine, obesity, fat, sweet, diet, overweight

why menthol feels fresh

Thu, 31 May 2007 14:48:13 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: physorg.com

Detecting cold, feeling pain: Study reveals why menthol feels fresh

Scientists have identified the receptor in cells of the peripheral nervous system that is most responsible for the body's ability to sense cold.

The finding, reported on-line in the journal "Nature" (May 30, 2007), reveals one of the key mechanisms by which the body detects temperature sensation. But in so doing it also illuminates a mechanism that mediates how the body experiences intense stimuli – temperature, in this case – that can cause pain.

As such, the receptor – known as menthol receptor TRPM8 -- provides a target for studying acute and chronic pain, as can result from inflammatory or nerve injury, the researchers say, and a potential new target for treating pain

The finding is a milestone in an investigation the team began several years ago

It's been known for years that menthol and related cooling agents evoke the psychophysical sensation of cold

Tags: science, health, cold, nervous system, pain, medicine, sensory receptors, temperature