Experimental vaccine may protect against HIV infection
Scientists have developed a novel vaccine candidate that may prevent HIV infection by stimulating an immune response against sugars that form a protective shield around the virus.
Scientists have developed a novel vaccine candidate that may prevent HIV infection by stimulating an immune response against sugars that form a protective shield around the virus.
“An obstacle to creating an effective HIV vaccine is the difficulty of getting the immune system to generate antibodies against the sugar shield of multiple HIV strains,” said Lai-Xi Wang, a professor at University of Maryland in the US. “Our method addresses this problem by designing a vaccine component that mimics a protein-sugar part of this shield,” said Wang.
Researchers designed a vaccine candidate using an HIV protein fragment linked to a sugar group. When injected into rabbits, the vaccine candidate stimulated an antibody response against the sugar shield in four different HIV strains. The protein fragment of the vaccine candidate comes from gp120, a protein that covers HIV like a protective envelope.
A sugar shield covers the gp120 envelope, bolstering HIV’s defenses. The rare HIV-infected individuals who can keep the virus at bay without medication typically have antibodies that attack gp120. Researchers have tried to create an HIV vaccine targeting gp120, but had little success as the sugar shield on HIV resembles sugars found in the human body and therefore does not stimulate a strong immune response.
More than 60 strains of HIV exist and the virus mutates frequently. As a result, antibodies against gp120 from one HIV strain will not protect against other strains. To overcome these challenges, researchers focused on a small fragment of gp120 protein that is common among HIV strains. They used a synthetic chemistry to combine the gp120 fragment with a sugar molecule, also shared among HIV strains, to mimic the sugar shield on the HIV envelope.
Researchers then injected the protein-sugar vaccine candidate into rabbits and found that the rabbits’ immune systems produced antibodies that were physically bound to gp120 found in four dominant strains of HIV in circulation. “This result was significant because producing antibodies that directly target the defensive sugar shield is an important step in developing immunity against the target and therefore the first step in developing a truly effective vaccine,” Wang said.
“But the ability of the vaccine candidate to raise substantial antibodies against the sugar shield in only two months is encouraging. Other studies took up to four years to achieve similar results. This means that our molecule is a relatively strong inducer of the immune response,” he added.
Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/health/experimental-vaccine-may-protect-against-hiv-infection/story-YF4nSGuvIivxziTsH3mYTO.html
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Health Ministry to set up ‘model lab’ in each district to fast-track diagnosis
The move follows a health ministry review of diagnostic facilities in four states– Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.
The Union health ministry has decided to upgrade and modernise at least one diagnostic laboratory in each district across India to fast-track diagnosis, especially during an epidemic.
These “model labs” can then be replicated across health centres and hospitals across states, which will help reduce overcrowding of tertiary care hospitals due to referrals.
“The lab of one district hospital will be upgraded with a focus on strengthening microbiology, pathology and biochemistry. States can select and choose the one they want to upgrade first and can later replicate the model in other district hospitals,” said Dr Jagdish Prasad, director general of health services (DGHS).
The move follows a health ministry review of diagnostic facilities in four states– Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.
“The assessment report found some labs didn’t have equipment while the others did not have adequately trained staff to handle those sophisticated machines. Maintenance is also a big problem, as a result many expensive equipment lie unused and people are referred to far-off places for tests,” said Prasad.
On October 25, the DGHS reviewed technical advisory group meeting for integrated laboratories at the district level, and asked for response from the states.
The project is expected to take about six months to complete, and will be spearheaded by director National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and his team.
“Health is a state subject, so the project can’t materialise without taking the states on board. We have asked the states to choose districts as per their requirement. We will show them it is possible to create facilities with a limited budget and produce high-class test reports,” he says.
As part of the greater plan, the health ministry will also mentor a medical college in each state and train doctors, nurses, paramedical and technical staff, who can further train their peers in other hospitals.
“We want to standardise medical colleges and hospitals attached to them. This will be a good way to ensure all of them follow a standard protocol. All these hospitals and labs will gradually be integrated to benefit patients in the long run,” said Prasad
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Senior citizens, beware: High thyroid hormone levels can increase risk of heart disease
Older adults with higher levels of a thyroid hormone may be at an increased risk of artery disease and consequent death, according to new research. Free thyroxine (known as FT4) is a hormone produced by the thyroid gland that helps control the rate at which the body uses energy. Previous research linked the hormone to risk of irregular heartbeats.
The findings showed that elderly with high levels of FT4 hormone may be at twice the risk of having high levels of coronary artery calcification scores, which may be an indicator of atherosclerosis — the process of progressive thickening and hardening of the walls of arteries from fat deposits on their inner lining.
“We expected that thyroid function would influence the risk of developing atherosclerosis by affecting cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure. However, our results remained very similar after accounting for several cardiovascular risk factors,” said lead author Arjola Bano, from Erasmus University in the Netherlands. “This suggests that mechanisms other than traditional cardiovascular risk factors may play a role,” Bano added.
Further, increasing FT4 levels were associated with 87% greater risk of suffering an atherosclerosis-related cardiovascular event as well as double the risk of atherosclerosis-related cardiovascular death. “Our findings suggest that thyroid hormone FT4 measurement can help identify individuals at increased risk of atherosclerosis,” Bano said.
For the study, detailed in the journal Circulation Research, the team analysed data from 9,420 participants with an average age of 65. They looked at data on two types of hormones: thyroid-stimulating hormone and free thyroxine (known as FT4) and their link to atherosclerosis and death due to coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease or other artery-related illness.
Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/health/senior-citizens-beware-high-thyroid-hormone-levels-can-increase-risk-of-heart-disease/story-MHyAosp0Z8nMAZncBfvgMJ.html
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Midnight Eating Habits May Increase Your Risk of Diabetes & Cardiac Issues
Late night eating habits disrupt the working of the body’s biological clock as it is out-of-sync with the 24-hour cycle.
Are you in the habit of late night snacking? Beware, as people with this habit have a higher risk of developing various heart diseases and diabetes, says new research. Late night eating habits disrupt the working of the body’s biological clock. It is out-of-sync with the 24-hour cycle, resulting in high blood-fat levels and heart problems, the researchers found.
“The fact that we can ignore our biological clock is important for survival; we can decide to sleep during the day when we are extremely tired or we run away from danger at night,” said Ruud Buijs, Professor at the University of Mexico in Mexico City. “However, doing this frequently — with shift work, jet lag, or staying up late at night — will harm our health in the long-term, especially when we eat at times when we should sleep,” Buijs added.
The researchers studied rats who were subjected to a challenge. They were fed during the beginning of rest phase (day) and the beginning of active phase (night). The results showed that after feeding the rats at the beginning of their rest period, the level of blood fat spiked more drastically than when fed during the beginning of their active phase.
The research, published in the journal Experimental Physiology, revealed no change in the blood fat levels when the researchers removed the part of the rat’s brain that controls the 24-hour cycle. It was evident that the presence of blood fat in high levels not only affected the metabolism rate but also increased the chance of various heart diseases and diabetes.
Sorce: http://www.news18.com/news/lifestyle/midnight-snacking-may-increase-your-risk-of-diabetes-and-cardiac-issues-1570903.html
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EECP Therapy – A new, cheaper, non-invasive treatment for heart disease
EECP- Enhanced External Counter Pulsation is gaining prominence as far treating a heart disease is concerned. It is in fact a non-invasive surgical method employed to un-block the clogged arteries and blood vessels that carry blood to the human heart. Leggings are placed within your legs which are fitted with pneumatic cuffs. Whenever the heart beat has completed a contraction the same is detected on the EECP machine and the capillaries expand and give a better passage to pump blood into the heart.
The non-surgical method is definitely cheaper when compared to a bypass surgery. The total cost of EECP is 95,000 almost one-fourth of what it costs you to do a bypass surgery. Bypass surgery is done wherein artificial stents are introduced to expand the passage of blood carrying vessels to the heart muscle. This corrects blocked arteries. But there is a significant amount of risk involved while performing the operation. The chances of survival quotient of the patient involved, gets challenged apart from being very costly.
EECP heart treatment in a nutshell
What does EECP actually do?
The patient has leggings attached in between his/her legs and these are fitted with cuffs. The cuffs inflates with every contraction and sequentially contracts with every expansion felt by the heartbeat. The opposite swings between the cuff movement and heart muscles facilitates as a form of exercise which is experienced by the body. This is the reason why symptomatic reactions of chest pain or fatigue as experienced by patients even after a bypass surgery is nullified in this method of treatment.
The treatment takes an hour each for 35 sittings. Patients are able to experience very good results with the non-invasive mode of treatment. In Bangalore itself, there are four centers for EECP wherein you can avail the treatment. Medanta in Gurgaon, Frontier Lifeline Hospital (Dr KM Cherian Heart Foundation) in Chennai, BM Birla Heart Research Centre in Kolkata and Asian Heart Institute & Research Centre in Mumbai are some of the other units offering EECP at the national level.
Few take-aways from the session and pointers to maintain a healthy and a young heart
You ladies go for a facial session at the beauty parlor to get a glowing and a youthful skin, isn’t it? What do you really do about maintaining a healthy heart? Just think about it.
Drink plenty of water to keep the body well hydrated. A well hydrated body promotes better blood circulation and the enhanced blood circulation adds to the wellness of the heart muscles as well.
Do an hour of yoga or deep breathing exercises. Practicing meditation or deep breathing gives you a relaxing effect. Most importantly it keeps the blood pressure down which is needed for the healthy functioning of the heart.
Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables especially to reduce cholesterol and to supply the body with needed nutrients and vitamins for optimal functioning of the body.
Go for nature treks once in 6 months. A visit to a hill station or so. The relaxing effect soothes the stressed muscles of the heart.
Last but definitely not the least laugh out loud. Bring out the hilarious side of you. Laughter relates to a joyful mood. When you smile 16 muscles contract while you frown the number is 52. Hence smile or laugh a lot to have a healthy heart.
Source: http://eecpindia.co.in/eecp-heart-treatment-non-invasive-methods-of-treating-heart-disease/
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Corneal donor tissue can be stored for 11 days, says study
Donor corneas, the eye’s clear outer covering, are generally not used for surgery if they have been preserved for longer than seven days.
Corneal donor tissue can be safely stored for 11 days without negatively impacting the success of a transplant, a clinical trial has shown.
Currently, donor corneas, the eye’s clear outer covering are generally not used for surgery if they have been preserved for longer than seven days.
Expanding the window in which donor tissues can be considered suitable “by even just a few days” should help safeguard quality donor tissue and access to vision-saving transplantation procedures, the researchers said.
“The current practice of surgeons to use corneas preserved for no longer than seven days is not evidence-based.
“Rather that practice is based on opinion, which hopefully will change with this new evidence,” said lead investigator Jonathan Lass, from the Case Western Reserve University.
For the study, appearing in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology, the team looked at three-year graft success rates among a total of 1,090 individuals (1,330 eyes) who underwent cornea transplant via Descemet’s stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty by 70 surgeons at 40 surgical sites.
Overall, the three-year success rates were the same for corneas preserved for eight-to-14 days compared with up to seven days (92.1 per cent versus 95.3 per cent).
In a separate analysis, the team analysed the extent of endothelial cell loss (ECL) — the loss of cells in the corneal endothelium that continued to occur as a normal part of ageing in the grafted donor cornea three years after it had been transplanted.
They non-invasively measured ECL in the 945 eyes with successful grafts and found that corneas preserved up to seven days had a 37 per cent loss of cells versus a 40 per cent loss in corneas preserved for eight-to-14 days.
Taken together, the separate analyses looked at graft success rates and ECL support that used corneas stored up to 11 days, the researchers said.
Source: http://zeenews.india.com/health/corneal-donor-tissue-can-be-stored-for-11-days-says-study-2056202
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