This drug may reduce harmful inflammation in stroke patients
Researchers have found that an anti-inflammatory drug — licensed for treating rheumatoid arthritis — may help patients in the early stages of stroke to reduce harmful inflammation.
The study follows earlier research that shows the drug given as an intravenous therapy reduces inflammation in stroke and sub-arachnoid haemorrhage patients.
According to the researchers, stroke is the most common cause of disability in adults and a leading cause of death worldwide.
“Though strokes affect different people in different ways, for many people they have a devastating effect on their long-term health and wellbeing. Excessive inflammation after a stroke is known to be harmful and predicts a worse outcome in patients,” said co-author Craig Smith, Professor at The University of Manchester.
For the study, published in the journal Stroke, researchers recruited 80 participants.
They were given six doses of the drug or placebo over three days. The first dose was given within six hours after the onset of the stroke symptoms.
The drug — Kineret — was given as a small injection just under the skin without giving the patients any identifiable adverse reactions.
Inflammatory markers were measured in the blood before treatment began and during study treatment and the study looked at ischemic strokes only.
“We have shown that Kineret injections, started within six hours of stroke onset significantly reduces levels of inflammation in patients,” said co-author of the study Craig Smith, Professor at The University of Manchester.
It is one of biologic agents transforming treatment in a range of illnesses, the researcher said.
The protein Interleukin-1 (IL-1) is part of the body’s defences and naturally produced to combat a range of illnesses. However, researchers have previously shown IL-1 increases inflammation and brain injury following a stroke.
Kineret works by blocking the actions of IL-1 which is released into the body following injury caused by a stroke.
Source: http://zeenews.india.com/health/this-drug-may-reduce-harmful-inflammation-in-stroke-patients-2094087
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Now, there’s an injectable bandage that can heal internal injuries
An injectable bandage fabricated from a seaweed-derived gel that is used in cooking can stop internal bleeding and promote wound healing, according to researchers of Indian origin in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Texas A&M University.
This self-administering injectable gel can prevent death from excessive blood loss from road traffic accidents, internal bleeding and shrapnel injury, they claim. Researchers used kappa-carrageenan found in seaweed to design injectable hydrogels, which are jelly-like 3-D water swollen polymer networks that simulate the structure of human tissues. Mixing this hydrogel with clay-based nanoparticles produced an injectable gelatin that led to plasma protein and platelets to form blood adsorption on the gel surface to accelerate clotting.
“These biomaterials can be introduced into a wound site using minimally invasive approaches to promote a natural clotting cascade and initiate wound healing response after hemostasis (the process to stop bleeding),” said Dr Akhilesh K. Gaharwar, assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University. The study is published in the journal Acta Biomateriali.
Innovators are calling it a remarkable addition to the achievements in nanotechnology. “Many people die in road accidents due to internal bleeding from lack of timely medical aid, this innovation will help address the lacunae,” said Manish Goel, CEO, i3 Nanotec LLC & ICube Nanotec India.
“A more conducive environment for academia-industry partnerships and incubation space for young scientists will undoubtedly foster such and many more innovations. It is disheartening to see so many young researchers migrate to IT and finance, when nanotechnology has the potential of being lucrative while contributing to the society,“ he said.
These injectable bandages are also conducive to prolonged release of medicines used to heal wounds.
Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/health/now-there-s-an-injectable-bandage-that-can-heal-fatal-internal-injuries/story-ukF9KLgUc4en5gVpz052FK.html
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Eating broccoli daily may prevent hardening of neck arteries in older adults
One should include cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and sprouts in their daily diet because they are good for health and may also help prevent the hardening of neck arteries.
According to a new study, consuming these veggies three or more times each day can prevent hardening of neck arteries in elderly women and also decrease the risk of heart diseases.
A team of researchers have observed a 0.05 millimetre lower carotid artery wall thickness between high and low intakes of total vegetables.
Lead author Lauren Blekkenhorst, from the University of Western Australia,”That is likely significant, because a 0.1 millimetre decrease in carotid wall thickness is associated with a 10 per cent to 18 per cent decrease in risk of stroke and heart attack.”
In addition, each 10 grams per day higher in cruciferous vegetable intake was associated with 0.8 per cent lower average carotid artery wall thickness.
“After adjusting for lifestyle, cardiovascular disease risk factors (including medication use) as well as other vegetable types and dietary factors, our results continued to show a protective association between cruciferous vegetables and carotid artery wall thickness.”
For the study, the research team distributed food frequency questionnaires to 954 Australian women aged 70 and older.
The women noted their vegetable intake in a range from “never eating vegetables” to “three or more times per day”.
Vegetable types included cruciferous, allium (for example, onions, garlic, leeks and shallots), yellow/orange/red, leafy green and legumes.
Sonograms were used to measure carotid artery wall thickness and entire carotid trees were examined to determine carotid plaque severity.
However, due to the observational nature of this study, a causal relationship cannot be established.
Blekkenhorst said, “Still, dietary guidelines should highlight the importance of increasing consumption of cruciferous vegetables for protection from vascular disease.”
The study is detailed in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Source: http://zeenews.india.com/health/eating-broccoli-daily-may-prevent-hardening-of-neck-arteries-in-older-adults-2096739
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At 6.5 kg, smallest baby undergoes liver transplant in Navi Mumbai
A critically ill 14-month-old baby underwent a liver transplant surgery in Navi Mumbai-based Apollo Hospital. According to the hospital, Ram Mistry is the smallest baby at 6.5 kg to have undergone a liver transplant in Maharashtra. The baby’s aunt donated a part of her liver to save his life.
Ram was diagnosed with end-stage liver disease due to a rare congenital condition called Biliary Atresia which progressed to advanced liver cirrhosis within months of his birth.
Mumbai-based NGO ‘Transplants – Help the Poor’ Foundation helped the family with arranging financial help for the transplant.
Speaking about the case, Dr Darius F Mirza, Head of the liver transplant, Apollo Hospitals, Navi Mumbai said, “Biliary atresia is a rare disease in newborns where the liver’s bile ducts are absent and require surgical correction. In Ram’s case, the transplant was needed very early. His aunt stepped forward to donate part of her liver. Our goal is to provide life-saving liver transplantation to all such children regardless of their family’s ability to afford this treatment. While the disease will not regenerate, he will be put on long-term medication.”
Ishani Mistry, Ram’s mother, said, “It was stressful and traumatic to see that our child was going through all this at such a tender age. We are grateful to the doctors and to all those who came forward to help us through their donations and contributions. I am indebted to my sister who came forward to donate a part of her liver.”
Dr Narendra Trivedi, CEO, Apollo Hospitals, Navi Mumbai, said, “The gesture of his aunt coming forward to donate part of her liver is admirable. The liver is the only organ that grows by itself even after having donated a part of it.”
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/health/report-at-65-kg-smallest-baby-undergoes-liver-transplant-in-navi-mumbai-based-apollo-hospital-2601451
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Diabetes patients can use this new sticky patch to end the use of painful finger-prick blood tests
A team of researchers have developed a novel sticky patch which can non-invasively monitor glucose levels in diabetics through the skin. The patch will end the frequent use of painful finger-prick blood tests in diabetes patients.
Instead of piercing the skin to take blood, the patch draws glucose out from fluid between cells across hair follicles, which are individually accessed via an array of miniature sensors using a small electric current.
As per the study, the glucose collects in tiny reservoirs and is measured. Readings can be taken every 10 to 15 minutes over several hours.
The patch does not require calibration with a blood sample – meaning that finger prick blood tests are unnecessary, due to the design of the array of sensors and reservoirs.
The research team from the University of Bath in the UK hope that it can eventually become a low-cost, wearable sensor that sends regular, clinically relevant glucose measurements to the wearer’s phone or smartwatch wirelessly, alerting them when they may need to take action.
The advantage of this device is that each miniature sensor of the array can operate on a small area over an individual hair follicle – this significantly reduces inter- and intra-skin variability in glucose extraction and increases the accuracy of the measurements taken such that calibration via a blood sample is not required.
Richard Guy, from the University of Bath said,”A non-invasive – that is, needle-less – method to monitor blood sugar has proven a difficult goal to attain.”
He said,”The closest that has been achieved has required either at least a single-point calibration with a classic ‘finger-stick’, or the implantation of a pre-calibrated sensor via a single needle insertion.”
He added,”The monitor developed at Bath promises a truly calibration-free approach, an essential contribution in the fight to combat the ever-increasing global incidence of diabetes.”
“We utilised graphene as one of the components as it brings important advantages: specifically, it is strong, conductive, flexible, and potentially low-cost and environmentally friendly,” said Adelina Ilie, from University of Bath.
“In addition, our design can be implemented using high-throughput fabrication techniques like screen printing, which we hope will ultimately support a disposable, widely affordable device,” she said.
In this study the team tested the patch on both pig skin, where they showed it could accurately track glucose levels across the range seen in diabetic human patients, and on healthy human volunteers, where again the patch was able to track blood sugar variations throughout the day.
The next steps include further refinement of the design of the patch to optimise the number of sensors in the array, to demonstrate full functionality over a 24-hour wear period, and to undertake a number of key clinical trials.
The study was published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
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US FDA approves first AI device to detect diabetic eye disease
In a first, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has permitted marketing of an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based device to detect certain diabetes-related eye problems.
The device, called IDx-DR, is a software programme that uses an artificial intelligence algorithm to analyse images of the eye taken with a retinal camera.
The FDA permitted marketing of IDx-DR to Iowa-based medical device company IDx LLC on Wednesday to detect greater than a mild level of the eye disease diabetic retinopathy in adults who have diabetes.
Diabetic retinopathy, a common cause of vision loss among people living with diabetes, occurs when high levels of blood sugar lead to damage in the blood vessels of the retina, the light-sensitive tissue in the back of the eye.
“Early detection of retinopathy is an important part of managing care for the millions of people with diabetes, yet many patients with diabetes are not adequately screened for diabetic retinopathy since about 50 percent of them do not see their eye doctor on a yearly basis,” Malvina Eydelman of FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health said in a statement.
“Today’s decision permits the marketing of a novel artificial intelligence technology that can be used in a primary care doctor’s office,” Eydelman said.
IDx-DR provides a screening decision without the need for a clinician to also interpret the image or results, which makes it usable by health care providers who may not normally be involved in eye care.
A doctor uploads the digital images of the patient’s retinas to a Cloud server on which IDx-DR software is installed.
If the images are of sufficient quality, the software provides the doctor with one of two results, either “more than mild diabetic retinopathy detected: refer to an eye care professional” or “negative for more than mild diabetic retinopathy: re-screen in 12 months.”
If a positive result is detected, patients should see an eye care provider for further diagnostic evaluation and possible treatment as soon as possible.
The FDA evaluated data from a clinical study of retinal images obtained from 900 patients with diabetes at 10 primary care sites.
In the study, IDx-DR was able to correctly identify the presence of more than mild diabetic retinopathy 87.4 per cent of the time and was able to correctly identify those patients who did not have more than mild diabetic retinopathy 89.5 per cent of the time, FDA said.
The FDA, however, said that IDx-DR should not be used in patients with diabetes who are pregnant as diabetic retinopathy can progress very rapidly during pregnancy and the device is not intended to evaluate rapidly progressive diabetic retinopathy.
Source: http://zeenews.india.com/health/us-fda-approves-first-ai-device-to-detect-diabetic-eye-disease-2099321
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