Ever wondered why you suffer from digestive issues after a nice meal at your favourite restaurant?
The actual problem could lie in the menu card rather than the food itself, warn city doctors. The neat-looking and well-laminated menu card is the breeding ground of harmful drug-resistant bacteria, which could upset your stomach causing problems as simple as loose motions to complicated blood infections.According to experts in infectious diseases, the menu card is about 100 times dirtier than the toilet seat cover, to be precise.
City doctors suggest that the next time you visit a restaurant, make sure to wash your hands after touching the menu card. “First order your dishes and then wash hands,” they advise. The bacteria present on menu cards like Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli are capable of surviving for almost two days. Dr Suneetha Narreddy , infectious diseases consultant at Apollo Hospitals, Jubilee Hills, points out that ketchup bottles, salt and pepper shakers and chairs in restaurants are also home to harmful germs. “Spillage of food on menu cards, chairs and tables is quite common. Cleaning them with disinfectants will reduce the number of bacterial colonies and thus the chances of infection,” Dr Suneetha explains.
Dr KS Soma Sekhar Rao, senior medical gastroenterologist and heptalogist, says, “Various types of disease causing germs like Salmonella typhi (typhoid), Vibrio cho lerae (cholera), E coli and enterobacteria (gastroenteritis) have been found on menu cards during recent examinations. Viruses that cause acute viral hepatitis like hepatitis A and hepatitis E have also been found on menu cards.”
Consultant gastroenterologist Dr Naveen Polavarapu says the bottom of the menu card is highly contaminated.The left and right sides also contain bacteria. “These bugs are transmitted from paper to hand and then to paper. E coli and S aureus have developed resistance to many antibiotics. Lack of personal hygiene by staff is also a contributory factor,” he cautions.
00seshunarayanahttps://imedworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/MedWorks-Logo-02-300x300.pngseshunarayana2020-08-12 16:28:152020-08-12 16:28:15Menu cards are 100 times dirtier than toilet covers
The sample size for the study was 21,623 people who underwent preventive health check-up during January – December 2016
On the occasion of World Hypertension Day on May 17, 2017, a study by Indus Health Plus revealed that 27 per cent males and 24 per cent females from 25-35 years age group have reported of pre-hypertension. If left untreated, it would develop into hypertension eventually, leading to stroke or cardio-vascular diseases (CVDs). The sample size for the study was 21,623 people who underwent preventive health check-up during January – December 2016.
The report states that incidences of hypertension is increasing consistently in Mumbai area, with 35 per cent to 40 per cent urban people and 18 per cent to 20 per cent rural people suffering from it.
Amol Naikawadi, Preventive Healthcare Specialist, Indus Health Plus says, “90 per cent of the population are unaware about the silent symptoms of hypertension. Mumbaikars are not meeting healthy lifestyle recommendations that are important in preventing hypertension and its complications. While those from urban areas blamed work pressure and job insecurity for rising levels of stress and eventually hypertension, people from semi-rural and rural area blamed the increasing cost and increased in-house expenditure. If not treated on time, hypertension can lead to heart problems, renal and multiple organ failure. A timely and routine check-up can reduce the risk of hypertension.”
00seshunarayanahttps://imedworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/MedWorks-Logo-02-300x300.pngseshunarayana2020-08-11 16:56:012020-08-11 16:56:01Hypertension may lead to stroke or cardio-vascular diseases: Indus Health Plus report
Study finds MRI and MRI-guided biopsy cheaper long-term than standard ultrasound.
A diagnostic MRI followed by one of three MRI-guided biopsy strategies is a cost-effective method to detect prostate cancer, according to a new study out of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. Researchers compared MR-guided approaches to the current standard of transrectal ultrasound guided biopsies and found that these approaches yielded net health benefits that were well within commonly accepted threshold for costs-benefit ratios and thus are cost-effective strategies for detecting prostate cancer. The paradigm-shifting research was published in the preeminent journal Radiology.
“Many consider MRIs to be cost-prohibitive, especially when evaluating for a common entity such as prostate cancer. This was our expectation as well, prior to doing this work, but our study found the opposite. We found that performing MRI before biopsy and using that information to alter biopsy pathways would be a strategy that would add health benefits to the patient population in a cost effective manner,” said Vikas Gulani, MD, PhD, study advisor and associate professor of radiology, urology, and biomedical engineering at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and member of both the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center and Case Center for Imaging Research.
The study was jointly first-authored by Shivani Pahwa, MD, department of radiology, and Nicholas Schiltz, PhD, department of biostatistics; and was developed in close collaboration with Lee Ponsky, MD, department of urology, and Mark Griswold, PhD, department of radiology.
The researchers found using MRI to help detect lesions and guide biopsies increased standardized quality-adjusted life years for patients and was cost-effective in 94.05% of simulations. The benefits were consistent across age groups, and could change how doctors identify and sample cancer lesions.
The current standard of care for detecting prostate cancer involves 12 biopsy samples collected during an invasive transrectal ultrasound. Since most tumors are not visible on ultrasound, up to 40% of clinically significant tumors are missed via this method, and many found are clinically insignificant. The approach regularly results in patients entering treatment pathways with potential negative side effects, to treat low-risk tumors. Biopsies may also cause bleeding and complications, increasing health care costs.
MRI offers a non-invasive alternative to transrectal ultrasound which can help better steer biopsy pathways. Doctors could use MRI to evaluate patients for potentially harmful lesions, and then use that information in one of three MRI guided strategies for biopsying potential foci of cancer, and bypass biopsy if a scan is completely negative. Although scans are expensive, they can add health benefits by triaging patients into proper treatment pathways. MR tends to miss low risk cancer, the overtreatment of which is a major contributor to high health and financial costs in prostate cancer. Similarly, a negative MRI is a very good predictor of exclusion of aggressive disease. A combination of such factors is likely the reason for the cost effectiveness of the MRI guided strategies. Current estimates place prostate cancer care costs in the United States at over $10 billion annually, and the price tag is rising.
The findings may help streamline prostate cancer treatment protocols to better serve patients. Said Gulani, “Costs are escalating in part due to expensive and inefficient diagnostic pathways, and placement of patients in incorrect treatment groups. If we can maximize efficiency in how we identify clinically significant lesions and diagnose patients, we can reduce unnecessary treatments for our patients, and reduce costs to our hospitals.”
00seshunarayanahttps://imedworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/MedWorks-Logo-02-300x300.pngseshunarayana2020-08-11 16:50:272020-08-11 16:50:27Early MRI may lower costs for prostate cancer treatment
A team of researchers at the Gladstone Institutes uncovered a new strategy to treat heart failure, a leading contributor to mortality and healthcare costs in the United States. Despite widespread use of currently-approved drugs, approximately 40% of patients with heart failure die within 5 years of their initial diagnosis.
“The current standard of care is clearly not sufficient, which highlights the urgent need for new therapeutic approaches,” said Saptarsi Haldar, MD, an associate investigator at Gladstone and senior author of a new study featured on the cover of the scientific journal Science Translational Medicine. “In our previous work, we found that a drug-like small molecule called JQ1 can prevent the development of heart failure in mouse models when administered at the very onset of the disease. However, as the majority of patients requiring treatment already have longstanding cardiac dysfunction, we needed to determine if our strategy could also treat established heart failure.”
As part of an emerging treatment strategy, drugs derived from JQ1 are currently under study in early-phase human cancer trials. These drugs act by inhibiting a protein called BRD4, a member of a family of proteins called BET bromodomains, which directly influences heart failure. With this study, the scientists found that JQ1 can effectively treat severe, pre-established heart failure in both small animal and human cell models by blocking inflammation and fibrosis (scarring of the heart tissue).
“It has long been known that inflammation and fibrosis are key conspirators in the development of heart failure, but targeting these processes with drugs has remained a significant challenge,” added Haldar, who is also a practicing cardiologist and an associate professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. “By inhibiting the function of the protein BRD4, an approach that simultaneously blocks both of these processes, we are using a new and different strategy altogether to tackle the problem.”
Currently available drugs used for heart failure work at the surface of heart cells. In contrast, Haldar’s approach goes to the root of the problem and blocks destructive processes in the cell’s command center, or nucleus.
“We treated mouse models of heart failure with JQ1, similarly to how patients would be treated in a clinic,” said Qiming Duan, MD, PhD, postdoctoral scholar in Haldar’s lab and co-first author of the study. “We showed that this approach effectively treats pre-established heart failure that occurs both after a massive heart attack or in response to persistent high blood pressure (mechanical overload), suggesting it could be used to treat a wide array of patients.”
Using Gladstone’s unique expertise, the scientists then used induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), generated from adult human skin cells, to create a type of beating heart cell known as cardiomyocytes.
“After testing the drug in mice, we wanted to check whether JQ1 would have the same effect in humans,” explained co-first author Sarah McMahon, a UCSF graduate student in Haldar’s lab. “We tested the drug on human cardiomyocytes, as they are cells that not only beat, but can also trigger the processes of inflammation and fibrosis, which in turn make heart failure progressively worse. Similar to our animal studies, we found that JQ1 was also effective in human heart cells, reaffirming the clinical relevance of our results.”
The study also showed that, in contrast to several cancer drugs that have been documented to cause cardiac toxicity, BRD4 inhibitors may be a class of anti-cancer therapeutics that has protective effects in the human heart.
“Our study demonstrates a new therapeutic approach to successfully target inflammation and fibrosis, representing a major advance in the field,” concluded Haldar. “We also believe our current work has important near-term translational impact in human heart failure. Given that drugs derived from JQ1 are already being tested in cancer clinical trials, their safety and efficacy in humans are already being defined. This key information could accelerate the development of a new heart failure drug and make it available to patients more quickly.”
Story Source:Materials provided by Gladstone Institutes.
00seshunarayanahttps://imedworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/MedWorks-Logo-02-300x300.pngseshunarayana2020-08-11 16:45:442020-08-11 16:45:44Cancer-cardiac connection illuminates promising new drug for heart failure
Use of the generic versions of directly-acting antiviral (DAA) drugs that are available in India to treat hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is not only cost effective but actually saves lifetime costs for treating infected patients in that country. A report from an international research team appears in the open-access journal PLOS ONE and describes finding that the upfront costs of DAA are offset by the avoidance of costs incurred to treat late-stage disease.
“More than 9 million people are infected with HCV in India, and more than 70 million worldwide,” says Jagpreet Chhatwal, PhD, of the Institute for Technology Assessment at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), senior and corresponding author of the paper. “These persons are at risk of developing serious conditions such as cirrhosis and liver cancer, which can be fatal. However, only a fraction of them have been treated with these drugs so far.”
First introduced in 2011, DAAs such as sofosbuvir (Sovaldi) and ledipasvir (which is combined with sofosbuvir in Harvoni) have proven to be remarkably successful in the battle against HCV infection, with cure rates exceeding 95 percent. In developed countries, treatment with DAAs is very expensive — reaching nearly $65,000 in the U.S. — although it meets standards for cost effectiveness. In those countries the advent of these drugs has drastically changed the landscape of HCV infection. But other countries have lagged behind in their use.
Through agreements with the pharmaceutical companies that developed these drugs, generic drug manufacturers in India are now able to produce versions that cost as little as $300 for the entire duration of treatment. But the absence of data on the cost effectiveness of these drugs in that country and low budgets for HCV treatment have meant that only a small proportion of people needing these drugs have received them.
The research team — including investigators from Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow, India, and the World Health Organization — used a mathematical model to compare the outcomes of DAA treatment with those of no DAA treatment based on profiles of 30 hypothetical patients with characteristics typical of Indian patients with HCV infection. Factors incorporated into the model included the natural history of HCV disease, the costs of DAA administration, the costs of treating the adverse outcomes of HCV disease, and quality of life of individuals infected with HCV.
The model indicated that, compared with no DAA treatment, use of the generic drugs in HCV-infected Indian patients would increase life expectancy by more than eight years while reducing lifetime health care costs by more than $1,300 per person. Payback for the upfront costs of DAA drugs would be achieved in an overall average of less than 10 years — under 5 years for patients at advanced stages of HCV disease and almost 12 years if treatment begins at earlier stages. Even though there was wide variation in the factors — such as patient age, disease stage, and viral genotype — input to the model, results always indicated that generic DAA treatment reduced lifetime costs.
“Our hypothesis was that treatment would be cost saving, given the low drug costs in India. However, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the full payback was achieved so soon after treatment,” says Chhatwal, who is an assistant professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School. “Our finding that treatment pays back its initial costs makes a very strong statement — that investment in HCV screening and treatment should be a priority for public health agencies in India and other countries where generic DAAs are available. It could also be argued that generic DAAs should be made available in other low- and middle-income countries where HCV infection is common and budgets for treatment limited.”
Lead author Rakesh Aggarwal, MD, DM, of the Department of Gastroenterology at Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS), a WHO Collaborating Center on Viral Hepatitis, says, “This is a win-win situation for the low- and low-middle-income countries where the generic DAAs can be sold. If these countries spend money on HCV treatment today, they will recoup it in the form of reduced health care expenditure within less than one decade. There is hardly any other health care intervention with such good return. Our results should show political leaders in those countries that they have a wonderful opportunity to make a difference for their constituents.”
Story Source:Materials provided by Massachusetts General Hospital.
00seshunarayanahttps://imedworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/MedWorks-Logo-02-300x300.pngseshunarayana2020-08-11 16:35:332020-08-11 16:35:33Costs for generic hepatitis C drugs available in India would be paid back in 5 to 10 years
Women who take common antibiotics to treat infections during the early stages of pregnancy may be at a two-fold higher risk of suffering a miscarriage, a new study warns.
Researchers from the Universite de Montreal in Canada looked at data from about 8,702 cases, defined as clinically detected spontaneous abortions, which were matched with 87,020 controls. The mean gestational age at the time of miscarriage was 14 weeks.
Researchers found that many classes of common antibiotics, such as macrolides, quinolones, tetracyclines, sulfonamides and metronidazole, were associated with increased risk of miscarriage in early pregnancy.
Erythromycin and nitrofurantoin, often used to treat urinary tract infections in pregnant women, were not associated with increased risk, the researchers said.These findings may be useful for policy-makers to update guidelines for the treatment of infections during pregnancy , the researchers noted.
The study was published in the ‘Canadian Medical Association Journal’.
00seshunarayanahttps://imedworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/MedWorks-Logo-02-300x300.pngseshunarayana2020-08-11 15:57:492020-08-11 15:57:49Antibiotics may up miscarriage risk
Finally, some respite for caffeine lovers! Your daily cup of coffee may not be as bad as you have been told.
A new study, published in the journal BMJ Open, suggests that a your daily dose of coffee can help prevent the risk of liver cancer by nearly 50 per cent. For the longest time, coffee has been regarded as a villain primarily because of its high caffeine content. Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is responsible for perking you up and giving you an instant boost of energy on drinking coffee. It is also present in other beverages like energy drinks.
A lot of previous studies have indicated that too much consumption of caffeine may cause an upset stomach, indigestion, high blood pressure, increased heart rate and anxiety. However, this new study suggests that one cup of coffee daily may actually be good for you.
For the study, researchers from the University of Southampton and the University of Edinburgh universities examined data from 26 previous studies that involved more than 2.25 million participants. The results showed that people who drank one cup of coffee daily had a 20 per cent lower risk of developing the most common type of liver cancer known as hepatocellular carcinoma. Further, they found that those who drank two cups of coffee daily had a 35 per cent reduced risk of suffering the disease while drinking five cups cut their risk by half. Decaffeinated coffee may also be able to lend similar benefits but its effect was very small in comparison to regular coffee.
The researchers are not suggesting that everyone should start consuming lots of coffee every day but they found a link and more study is required to strengthen the evidence that shows positive effects of moderate consumption of coffee. When consumed in moderation, coffee may act as a ‘wonderful natural medicines’, they say. They are still working on trying to find why coffee has a liver cancer-protective effect. Drinking coffee has also been linked to better heart health and increased mental alertness.
We know that moderation is the key but how much is too much? According to the US FDA, 400 to 500 milligrams of coffee consumption per day is considered to be ‘safe’ (that’s almost 4 cups). However, the effects may vary from person to person. Excess coffee consumption can have side effects like stomach pain, diarrhea, acid reflux, insomnia and restlessness. If you’ve been experiencing any of these frequently for a long time, it’s time to cap your coffee intake. Bangalore-based Nutritionist, Dr. Anju Sood does caution us and suggests,”Drinking one or two cups of coffee may be fine but if you exceed that it may cause dehydration in your body. In that case, the essential water soluble minerals and vitamins are also flushed out of the body. Therefore, you must stick to your daily dose and combine it with other fluids like warm herbal teas, fresh juices or buttermilk to keep yourself hydrated all day,”
00seshunarayanahttps://imedworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/MedWorks-Logo-02-300x300.pngseshunarayana2020-08-11 13:14:352020-08-11 13:14:35A Cup of Coffee Every Day May Lower the Risk of Liver Cancer
Pre-eclampsia (PE) is a disorder of pregnancy characterized by the onset of high blood pressure and often a significant amount of protein in the urine
Pregnant women, who suffer from chronic hypertension, bleeding disorders or urinary tract infections are at risk of stroke during or after childbirth.
One in ten pregnant women, who suffer preeclampsia — characterised by high blood pressure, swollen feet, ankles and face and severe headaches — may be six times more at risk of suffering a stroke during or after childbirth, researchers said.
Preeclampsia — a high-blood pressure disorder unique to pregnancy — develops in about 3 to 8 per cent of all pregnant women.
The study showed that certain conditions like chronic hypertension, bleeding disorders or urinary tract infections may increase the risk of stroke in women with preeclampsia.
Pregnancy-associated stroke occurs up to 6 times more often in women with preeclampsia compared with pregnant women overall.
“Women with preeclampsia who had chronic hypertension, bleeding or clotting disorders, or infections — particularly urinary tract infections — appeared to be at significantly increased risk of stroke,” said lead author Eliza C Miller, postdoctoral student at Columbia University in the US.
Infections cause inflammation, which is known to play an important role in triggering stroke, especially in young people.
Preeclampsia itself is an inflammatory disorder. Infections may be what pushed some of these women over the edge, the researchers explained.
For the study, published in the journal Stroke, the team analysed the health records of 197 women who had a preeclampsia-related stroke and 591 women with preeclampsia who did not have a stroke.
The incidence of stroke in women with preeclampsia was over 200 per 100,000 deliveries, and more than one in 10 women in the study who had a preeclampsia-related stroke died in the hospital.
“It’s important to note that the risk of stroke in women with preeclampsia doesn’t end with delivery, as is commonly thought. Nearly two-thirds of preeclampsia-related strokes occur after birth, when the mother has gone home,” Miller said.
“Women with preeclampsia should take any neurological symptoms, such as severe headache, very seriously, especially during the postpartum period,” she suggested.
00seshunarayanahttps://imedworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/MedWorks-Logo-02-300x300.pngseshunarayana2020-08-11 13:07:472020-08-11 13:07:47Pregnant mothers, beware! Pre-eclampsia may increase stroke risk by 6 times
Zika virus disease has reached India, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) confirming first three cases in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad.
The WHO endorsed the findings of laboratory tests conducted in the country, saying all three cases, including that of a pregnant woman, were reported from Bapunagar area of the city.
The disease is spread by daytime-active Aedes mosquitoes and an infection during pregnancy can cause birth defects in newborns known as microcephaly — a condition in which babies’ head is abnormally small. It is characterised by brain damage and may cause other defects like blindness, deafness, and even seizures.
“The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare – Government of India (MoHFW) reported three laboratory-confirmed cases of Zika virus disease in Bapunagar area, Ahmedabad District, Gujarat State, India,” the global health body said in a statement.
India has strengthened its surveillance system in the past few years to detect and contain new infections. Only three Zika cases have been detected in around 50,000 tested so far, a senior Health Ministry official said.
According to the WHO statement, routine surveillance detected a laboratory-confirmed case of Zika virus disease through RT-PCR test at B J Medical College in Ahmedabad.
This was further confirmed at the national reference laboratory at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune on 4 January this year. The WHO said two additional cases were then identified through the Acute Febrile Illness (AFI) and the Antenatal clinic (ANC) surveillance.
Between 10-16 February in 2016, a total 93 blood samples were collected at BJ Medical College (BJMC) out of which one sample from a 64-year-old male had tested positive for Zika virus.
“This was first Zika positive case reported through AFI surveillance from Gujarat,” the statement said. Also, a 34-year-old woman delivered a baby at BJMC on 9 November and during her stay in the hospital she developed a low-grade fever after delivery.
The woman had no history of fever during pregnancy and had no history of travel for three months. A sample from the patient was referred to the Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL) for dengue testing and was found to be positive for the virus.
“She was discharged after one week (on 16 November, 2016). The sample was re-confirmed as Zika virus positive at NIV,” the statement said.
Besides, a 22-year-old pregnant woman in her 37th week of pregnancy was tested positive for Zika virus disease at the same hospital.
As per the WHO statement, immediately after the cases were reported, the Health ministry had shared the national guidelines and action plan on Zika virus disease have been shared with the states to prevent an outbreak of the disease and containment of spread in case of any outbreak.
It also constituted an inter-ministerial task force. A technical group tasked to monitor emerging and re-emerging diseases regularly reviewed the global situation on Zika virus disease.
All the international airports and ports have displayed information for travellers on Zika virus disease while the airport health officers along with airport organisations, the National Centre for Disease Control and the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme are monitoring appropriate vector control measures in airport premises.
In addition to NIV and NCDC in Delhi, 25 laboratories have also been strengthened by Indian Council of Medical Research for laboratory diagnosis, while three entomological laboratories are conducting Zika virus testing on mosquito samples.
“The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has tested 34,233 human samples and 12,647 mosquito samples for the presence of Zika virus. Among those, close to 500 mosquitoes samples were collected from Bapunagar area, Ahmedabad district, in Gujarat, and were found negative for Zika.
“The Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) is monitoring microcephaly from 55 sentinel sites. As of now, no increase in number of cases or clustering of microcephaly has been reported from these centers,” the WHO said.
While coming out with the report, the WHO said it assumes significance as it describes the first cases of Zika virus infections and provides evidence on its circulation in India.
“These findings suggest low level transmission of Zika virus and new cases may occur in the future,” it said, while stressing on strengthening surveillance to better characterise the intensity of the viral circulation and geographical spread and monitor Zika virus related complications.
“Zika virus is known to be circulating in South East Asia Region and these findings do not change the global risk assessment. WHO encourages member states to report similar findings to better understand the global epidemiology of Zika virus,” the statement said.
The risk of further spread of Zika virus to areas where the competent vectors, the aedes mosquitoes, are present is significant given the wide geographical distribution of these mosquitoes in various regions of the world.
Those infected with the virus may have mild fever, skin rashes, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain or headache. These symptoms normally last for 2-7 days.
While countries in the Caribbean are worst hit by the disease, a large number of cases have been reported from South and Central America.
00seshunarayanahttps://imedworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/MedWorks-Logo-02-300x300.pngseshunarayana2020-08-11 12:55:372020-08-11 12:55:37Zika virus reaches India, WHO confirms 3 cases in Ahmedabad
For the first time in the world scientists have come up with a tiny implant that can heal a person’s damaged eardrum to help restore their hearing. The implant is made of silk, and spun entirely by silkworms! And you thought the critters were only good to spin you some silk!The tiny implant combines science with nature(silkworm), to bring an easier and cheaper alternative to the currently existing grafting techniques.
The implant is said to aid the Chronic Middle Ear Disease and the resultant perforated ear drum or more commonly known as the “burst eardrums”. The condition is common in several millions across the world, causing hearing impairments like reduced hearing and infections,that costs about 30,000 lives every year.
The complicated infection can result in damaging the eardrum and mastoid bone with hearing loss and also cause severe pain occurring within the ear. The infection is tough to contain, but this new device, known as the ClearDrum, is said to provide immense relief. Similar in appearance and size to a contact lens, the novel implant born out of the combination of science and silkworms, can restore hearing of patients with painful damaged ear drums.
The team of researchers led by Marcus Atlas from Ear Science Institute Australia, has invented a tiny bio-compatible silk implant on which the patient’s own cells grow and flourish ensuing in a healed eardrum.
Tested over numerous years in exhaustive set ups, scientists claim that the implant can perform even better than a person’s original eardrum. Atlas claims that the USP of the implant is its strength and its biocompatibility, which has never been seen before. It can bring down the complexity attached to the current surgical procedures used for repairing damaged ear-drums. The current technique involves making grafts from the patient’s own tissues and using specialised and delicate microsurgery techniques and applying them to the eardrum to close the hole. Patients are also often supposed to follow up the surgery with more surgeries and medications due to the limitations of the current techniques.
The greatest advantage of the implant is its reduced time of surgery, and its strength which makes it last longer, which will allow the implant to be used in more cases and by more surgeons in more countries than current solutions. Also, the new process is expected to be less expensive, less invasive and also speed up the healing of the ear drum.
00seshunarayanahttps://imedworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/MedWorks-Logo-02-300x300.pngseshunarayana2020-08-11 12:52:482020-08-11 12:52:48These Tiny Ear-Implants Spun By Silkworms Can Help Restore Hearing
