Now, a vaccine for birth control
The vaccine has now received approvals from Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for Phase I clinical trial. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has designed a protocol for this vaccine to be tested on 120 women at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH) in New Delhi.
“If it passes through the human phases of clinical trials, it will be the world’s first birth control vaccine, which will temporarily protect women against pregnancy,” Dr Talwar told DNA.
The vaccine is genetically engineered and the technology has been transferred to Bharat Biotech in Hyderabad, which will manufacture it for trial on 120 women subjects, 50 in Phase-I trial and an additional 70 in Phase-II trial.
DNA accessed the clinical trial protocol, which will be used to administer the vaccine. Non-pregnant, but sexually active women, between 22 to 35 years, with two living children will be enrolled in the study. 25 women will be enrolled at AIIMS, and another 25 at SGRH. Eligible candidates are being screened for recruitment in the Gynaecology departments at these hospitals. “Five doses — 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 mg will be administered, respectively, to ten women.
The vaccine prevents secretion of Beta Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin (HCG) hormone, which is crucial for implantation of the fertilised embryo to the uterus. If we can prevent this hormone from circulation in female’s blood, by generating antibodies through the vaccine, there will be no pregnancy,”said a senior scientist at ICMR.
The women will be monitored on a monthly basis for the levels of antibodies in their blood. The subjects will also be trained to maintain a menstrual and an intercourse diary. If all goes well, conducting Phase-I and II trials will take close to three and half years.
While initially Dr Talwar had derived the vaccine by purifying a pregnant woman’s urine, the current recombinant version is genetically engineered based on his previous vaccine research work.
While hormonal contraceptives currently in use, in the form of pills or injectibles, are steroids that have an adverse effect on the health of the woman, and other ways to halt pregnancy like Intra Uterine Devices are known to cause bleeding, this vaccine has no side-effects, he explains.
“The women will have a normal functioning sex life and menstrual cycle. She will have to take the vaccine once in close to three months for prevention of pregnancy, we pre-empt and she can simply discontinue it when she chooses to get pregnant,” said the scientist.
The vaccine has completed it’s pre-clinical toxicity studies on animals — rodents and marmosets and is showing promising results.
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/health/report-dna-exclusive-now-a-vaccine-for-birth-control-2604958
iMedWorks Ask Platform Links below:
1. Get a Medical Second Opinion
2. Search doctors and Request Appointment
Suffering from cavities? This new technique can treat and rebuild teeth
Are dental treatments burning a hole in your pocket? Researchers have now designed a convenient and natural product that uses proteins to rebuild tooth enamel and treat dental cavities. “Remineralisation guided by peptides is a healthy alternative to current dental health care,” said lead author Mehmet Sarikaya at the University of Washington.
The new biogenic dental products can — in theory — rebuild teeth and cure cavities without today’s costly and uncomfortable treatments. “Peptide-enabled formulations will be simple and would be implemented in over-the-counter or clinical products,” Sarikaya said.
Cavities are more than just a nuisance. According to the World Health Organization, dental cavities affect nearly every age group and are accompanied by serious health concerns. Additionally, direct and indirect costs of treating dental cavities and related diseases have been a huge economic burden for individuals and health care systems.
“Bacteria metabolise sugar and other fermentable carbohydrates in oral environments and acid, as a by-product, will demineralise the dental enamel,” said co-author Sami Dogan. Although tooth decay is relatively harmless in its earliest stages, once the cavity progresses through the tooth’s enamel, serious health concerns arise. If left untreated, tooth decay can lead to tooth loss.
This can present adverse consequences on the remaining teeth and supporting tissues and on the patient’s general health, including life-threating conditions. Taking inspiration from the body’s own natural tooth-forming proteins, the UW team has come up with a way to repair the tooth enamel. The researchers accomplished this by capturing the essence of amelogenin — a protein crucial to forming the hard crown enamel — to design amelogenin-derived peptides that biomineralize and are the key active ingredient in the new technology. The bioinspired repair process restores the mineral structure found in native tooth enamel.
“These peptides are proven to bind onto tooth surfaces and recruit calcium and phosphate ions,” said Deniz Yucesoy, a co-author. The peptide-enabled technology allows the deposition of 10 to 50 micrometers of new enamel on the teeth after each use. Once fully developed, the technology can be used in both private and public health settings, in biomimetic toothpaste, gels, solutions and composites as a safe alternative to existing dental procedures and treatments.
The technology enables people to rebuild and strengthen tooth enamel on a daily basis as part of a preventive dental care routine. It is expected to be safe for use by adults and children. The research findings have been published in ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering.
Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/health/suffering-from-cavities-this-technology-can-help-treat-and-rebuild-teeth/story-KUwPxI92tCm3FRPunV35tJ.html
iMedWorks Ask Platform Links below:
1. Get a Medical Second Opinion
2. Search doctors and Request Appointment
Ayurvedic dengue cure: Indian scientists create first of its kind drug to treat the disease
Indian scientists have formulated an Ayurvedic drug to cure dengue, claimed to be the first in the world, and the medicine is likely to be available in the market by next year. The Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), an autonomous body under the Ministry of AYUSH and ICMR’s, regional research centre in Belgaum in Karnataka, have already conducted pilot studies which have proved the clinical safety and efficacy of the drug.
According to Professor Vaidya K S Dhiman, Director General of CCRAS, the Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial, which is a medical study involving human participants and is an internationally accepted method of testing is going on in the medical colleges of Belgaum and Kolar.
This drug has been made with seven herbal ingredients which are in use in Ayurveda system of medicine since centuries, Dhiman said. Dengue is emerging as a major health problem in tropical countries and is drawing the attention of government and all health agencies due to its fatality and limitations of treatment in conventional system, Dhiman said.
As such there is no direct references and description regarding dengue in Ayurveda and Siddha literatures. “We started working on making this drug in 2015 and in the process pilot studies were conducted in Medanta Hospital, Gurgaon, and in the medical colleges of Belgaum and Kolar which proved the clinical safety and efficacy of this drug in the management and treatment of dengue. We had prepared the drug by June last year,” Dhiman said.
During the pilot study 90 patients were given this drug in highly concentrated liquid form. But in the ongoing clinical trial, the drug is given in tablet form. Dengue is caused by the aedes aegypti mosquito which breeds in clean water. The symptoms of dengue include high fever, joint pains, headache, nausea, vomiting, dip in blood pressure along with a characteristic skin rash.
Though the fever does not last beyond a week, in some cases there is severe drop in the level of platelets which turn fatal. At present, there is no specific drug or antibiotic to treat dengue and the treatment focuses on providing relief from the symptoms. Rest and fluid intake for adequate hydration is important.
According to WHO, dengue is the fastest growing mosquito-borne disease across the world today, causing nearly 400 million infections every year. India in 2017 has seen 15, 7220 cases of dengue and 250 deaths due to the disease (till December 24), as per the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) data. In 2016, the country registered 129166 cases and 245 deaths.
Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/health/ayurvedic-dengue-cure-indian-scientists-create-first-of-its-kind-drug-to-treat-the-disease/story-7JE1Qj4u0ptwbTLg6gOh9K.html
iMedWorks Ask Platform Links below:
1. Get a Medical Second Opinion
2. Search doctors and Request Appointment
Diabetes patients get hope for slow-healing wounds
A new study by Yale University has given renewed hope to diabetic patients with slow-healing wounds.
The researchers found out about a certain protein for maintaining wounds and said that if its effects could be reversed then it could help in healing wounds in diabetes patients.
“We discovered that a specific protein, thrombospondin-2 (TSP2), is elevated in wounds of patients with diabetes as well as in animal models of diabetes,” said Britta Kunkemoeller, one of the researchers.
“To determine whether TSP2 contributes to delayed wound healing, we genetically removed TSP2 from a mouse model of diabetes and observed improved wound healing. Our study shows that TSP2 could be a target for a specific therapy for diabetic wounds,” she said.
Most of the work done before on diabetes wound healing had focussed on the kinds of cells which are involved in the healing of wounds such as immune cells, skin cells and the cells which form blood vessels. Compared to that, Kunkemoeller’s research focuses on TSP2, a component of the extracellular matrix.
Along with giving structural support, the extracellular matrix helps in regulating processes which are imperative for wound healing, including the behaviour of immune, skin and vessel-forming cells.
Currently, it is the standard wound care protocol which is observed, like moist bandages, removing damaged tissue and footwear which aids in reducing pressure on the wound. However, in spite of these measures, the wounds still remain at times. In extreme cases, it becomes imperative to amputate the affected foot or lower leg.
“Our focus on TSP2 therefore allowed us to study a single molecule that influences several wound-healing related processes,” said Kunkemoeller.
The research shall be presented at the American Society for Investigative Pathology yearly meeting during the 2018 Experimental Biology meet.
iMedWorks Ask Platform Links below:
1. Get a Medical Second Opinion
2. Search doctors and Request Appointment
Painful bone biopsies will soon be replaced with small credit card-sized chips to treat plasma cancer
Scientists have developed a low-cost, reliable blood test for multiple myeloma that uses a small plastic chip about the size of a credit card, which could make painful bone biopsies a relic of the past.
The diagnosis and treatment of multiple myeloma, a cancer affecting plasma cells, traditionally forces patients to suffer through a painful bone biopsy, said researchers from University of Kansas in the US.
During that procedure, doctors insert a bone-biopsy needle through an incision to get a bone marrow sample – or make a larger incision and remove a section of bone via surgery.
The blood test, described in the journal Integrative Biology, uses a small plastic chip about the size of a credit card that can deliver the same diagnostic information as a bone biopsy – but using a simple blood draw instead.
“For the last 10 years, we have been developing a blood-based test for a variety of cancer diseases – one of them is multiple myeloma,” said Steven Soper, a professor at the University of Kansas.
“We will be able to eliminate the need for bone-marrow biopsies and allow the clinician to determine the best way to treat the disease using a blood draw,” said Soper.
“From this test, the clinician will be able to determine the stage of the disease, what type of drug will best treat the disease and monitor for signs of recurrence if the disease goes into remission,” he said.
High levels of circulating multiple myeloma cells are linked with more aggressive disease and worse outcomes, so a sensitive test is vital for assessing the state of the disease in a patient and devising the most effective therapy.
“The chip we are using, because it is made from a plastic, can be injection molded, the same method that is used to produce CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray Discs,” Soper said.
“What is really nice is we can produce these chips for a couple of dollars per chip, which makes it really appropriate for testing in a clinical setting,” he said.
The technology could have applications across many cancers, making diagnostics easier for patients and clinicians, and helping usher in more tailored therapies that could improve patient outcomes, researchers said.
Image source: https://www.m3india.in/contents/news/72767/chip-based-blood-test-could-replace-painful-bone
iMedWorks Ask Platform Links below:
1. Get a Medical Second Opinion
2. Search doctors and Request Appointment
LED bulbs can give you cancer, stay away from the blue light
Reigniting the debate over exposure to the “blue light” emitted by outdoor LED screens and heightened risk of cancer, an international team of researchers have concluded that there is a “strong link” between the two. To reach this conclusion, the researchers from University of Exeter in Britain and the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) determined indoor exposure to artificial light through personal questionnaires.
The outdoor levels of artificial light, such as emitted by street lights, were evaluated for Madrid and Barcelona, based on nocturnal images taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The study included medical and epidemiological data of more than 4,000 people between 20 and 85 years of age in 11 Spanish regions.
Results obtained for both cities show that participants exposed to higher levels of blue light had a 1.5 and two-fold higher risk of developing breast and prostate cancer, respectively, as compared to the less-exposed population. The findings, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, found that the “blue light” emitted by LED lights seems to affect circadian rhythms and sleeping patterns, which then impacts hormone levels. Both breast and prostate cancers are hormone-related.
The World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified night shift work as probably carcinogenic to humans. There is evidence pointing to an association between exposure to artificial light at night, disruption of the circadian rhythm, and breast and prostate cancers.
“With this study, we sought to determine whether night exposure to light in cities can affect the development of these two types of cancer,” explained Manolis Kogevinas, ISGlobal researcher and coordinator of the study.
According to Alejandro Sainchez de Miguel from University of Exeter and a lead author on the study, blue light is also produced by smartphones and tablets but the current study looked only at blue light from outdoor LEDs. “That is a confusion for many journalists; we have not done anything in phones. But the same mechanism may be affecting the phones or the bulbs at home, because the physiology is the same,” CNN quoted SAinchez de Miguel as saying.
Given the ubiquity of artificial light at night, determining whether it increases or not the risk of cancer is a public health issue. “At this point, further studies should include more individual data using for instance light sensors that allow measuring indoor light levels. It would also be important to do this kind of research in young people that extensively use blue light emitting screens,” suggested Ariadna GarcAa, ISGlobal researcher and first author of the study.
“We know that depending on its intensity and wave length, artificial light, particularly in the blue spectrum, can decrease melatonin production and secretion,” added Martin Aub, Physics Professor at CEGEP in Sherbrooke, Canada and study co-author.
Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/health/these-lights-are-harmful-for-health-may-trigger-breast-and-prostate-cancer/story-9loGV6AVpsfSAEhwWGNpzI.html
iMedWorks Ask Platform Links below:
1. Get a Medical Second Opinion
2. Search doctors and Request Appointment