This drug may reduce harmful inflammation in stroke patients

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

Source: http://zeenews.india.com/health/scientists-develop-new-sticky-patch-to-monitor-blood-sugar-in-diabetes-patients-2098525

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US FDA approves first AI device to detect diabetic eye disease

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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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Now, a vaccine for birth control

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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

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Suffering from cavities? This new technique can treat and rebuild teeth

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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

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Ayurvedic dengue cure: Indian scientists create first of its kind drug to treat the disease

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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

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Diabetes patients get hope for slow-healing wounds

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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.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/health/diabetes-patients-get-hope-for-slow-healing-wounds/story-HQDi7dHRFk45etvfuhpqqM.html

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