Posts

Experimental vaccine may protect against HIV infection

/0 Comments/in /by

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

iMedWorks Ask Platform Links below:

1. Get a Medical Second Opinion
2. Search doctors and Request Appointment

Health Ministry to set up ‘model lab’ in each district to fast-track diagnosis

/0 Comments/in /by

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

Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/health/centre-to-set-up-model-lab-in-each-district-to-fast-track-diagnosis/story-maXDErnYXxq1dfqc6JjU6L.html

iMedWorks Ask Platform Links below:

1. Get a Medical Second Opinion
2. Search doctors and Request Appointment

Senior citizens, beware: High thyroid hormone levels can increase risk of heart disease

/0 Comments/in /by
A caucasian senior woman in a doctors office. She has white hair and is wearing a blue top. She is sitting in the examination room with an asian nurse holding a clipboard. She is holding a hand to her chest and looking uncomfortable. She is experiencing chest pains. The nurse is touching the patients shoulder to comfort her.

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

iMedWorks Ask Platform Links below:

1. Get a Medical Second Opinion
2. Search doctors and Request Appointment

Midnight Eating Habits May Increase Your Risk of Diabetes & Cardiac Issues

/0 Comments/in /by

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

iMedWorks Ask Platform Links below:

1. Get a Medical Second Opinion
2. Search doctors and Request Appointment

Corneal donor tissue can be stored for 11 days, says study

/0 Comments/in /by

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

iMedWorks Ask Platform Links below:

1. Get a Medical Second Opinion
2. Search doctors and Request Appointment

Breast cancer ‘can return 15 years after treatment ends’

/0 Comments/in /by

Breast cancer can resurface after remaining dormant for 15 years following successful treatment, a study has found.
Women with large tumours and cancer that had spread to the lymph nodes had the highest 40% risk of it coming back.
Researchers writing in the New England Journal of Medicine said extending treatment with hormone therapy could reduce the risk of it recurring.
Scientists analysed the progress of 63,000 women for 20 years.
All had the most common form of breast cancer.
This is a type fuelled by the hormone oestrogen which can stimulate cancer cells to grow and divide.
Every patient received treatments such as tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors which block the effects of oestrogen or shut off the hormone’s supply.
Although after five years of treatment their cancers had gone, over the next 15 years a steady number of women found that their cancer spread throughout their body – some up to 20 years after diagnosis.
Women who originally had large tumours and cancer that had spread to four or more lymph nodes were at highest risk of the cancer returning the next 15 years, the study said.
Women with small, low-grade cancers and no spread to the lymph nodes had a much lower 10% risk of cancer spread over that time.

‘Remarkable’

Lead researcher Dr Hongchao Pan, from University of Oxford, said: “It is remarkable that breast cancer can remain dormant for so long and then spread many years later, with this risk remaining the same year after year and still strongly related to the size of the original cancer and whether it had spread to the (lymph) nodes.”
Doctors have long known that five years of tamoxifen reduces the risk of recurrence by about a third in the five years after stopping treatment.
Recent research has suggested that extending hormone therapy to 10 years may be more effective at preventing breast cancer recurrence and death.
Aromatase inhibitors, which only work for post-menopausal women, are believed to be even more effective.
But there are side effects with hormone treatments which can affect patients’ quality of life and cause them to stop taking the pills.
These include menopausal symptoms, osteporosis, joint pain and carpal tunnel syndrome.
Prof Arnie Purushotham, senior clinical adviser at Cancer Research UK, which funded the study, said that since the research began, new drugs had been used to treat breast cancer and those worked in different ways to tamoxifen.
He said: “It’s vital that work continues to better predict which cancers might return.
“We also need to know what the difference for women might be in taking hormone therapies for 10 years instead of five, the side effects and how this affects patients’ quality of life.”
Sally Greenbook, from charity Breast Cancer Now, said it was essential that women discussed any changes in treatment with their doctor.
“We would urge all women who have had treatment for breast cancer not to be alarmed, but to ensure they are aware of the signs of recurrence and of metastatic breast cancer, and to speak to their GP or breast care team if they have any concerns.”

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/health-41928647

iMedWorks Ask Platform Links below:

1. Get a Medical Second Opinion
2. Search doctors and Request Appointment

Blood pressure starts dropping 14 years prior to death: Study

/0 Comments/in /by

The researchers found blood pressure declines were steepest in patients with dementia, heart failure, late-in-life weight loss, and those who had high blood pressure to begin with. But long-term declines also occurred without the presence of any of these diagnoses.

Doctors have long known that in the average person, blood pressure rises from childhood to middle age, but a new study warns that in the elderly, blood pressure gradually begins to decrease about 14 years before death. The study that looked at the electronic medical records of 46,634 British citizens who had died at age 60 or older showed that blood pressure declines were present not only in those with hypertension but also in those who were not diagnosed with the condition.

The findings, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine, however, do not suggest that hypertension should not be treated in late life or that those diagnosed with hypertension should stop their blood pressure medications. “Our work highlights the importance of conducting research evaluating older patients like those seen in physician practices everywhere,” said one of the study authors George Kuchel from the University of Connecticut in the US.

The researchers found blood pressure declines were steepest in patients with dementia, heart failure, late-in-life weight loss, and those who had high blood pressure to begin with.But long-term declines also occurred without the presence of any of these diagnoses.
The findings should make both doctors and researchers carefully consider what dropping blood pressure really means for older patients, Kuchel said. More research is needed to figure out why blood pressure declines in the elderly in this way.
“Observational studies such as ours need to be followed by rigorous clinical trials in order to guide clinical care guidelines,” Kuchel said.

Source: http://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/health/blood-pressure-starts-dropping-14-years-prior-to-death-4968978/

iMedWorks Ask Platform Links below:

1. Get a Medical Second Opinion
2. Search doctors and Request Appointment

Air pollution can damage a child’s brain forever: UNICEF

/0 Comments/in /by

The link between air pollution and respiratory diseases is well-established, but the United Nations Children’s Fund, in a report on Tuesday, said there is a growing body of scientific research which shows that air pollution can permanently damage a child’s brain.

The findings come at a time when India, particularly in the north, is facing a serious crisis due to rising levels of pollution. Last month, Delhi schools had to be shut temporarily to reduce children’s exposure to pollutants that had enveloped the capital.

The Unicef report also said that South Asia had the largest proportion of babies living in areas where air pollution is at least six times higher than international limits (10 micrograms per cubic metre).
The Unicef report, titled “Danger in the air”, explains that brain damage can happen through several mechanisms. First, it stated, particulate matters can cause neuro-inflammation by damaging the blood-brain barrier – a thin, delicate membrane that protects the brain from toxic substances.
Second, exposure to specific air pollutant particles, such as magnetite, can lead to oxidative stress which is often the cause of neurodegenerative diseases. Quoting multiple studies, the UN body said polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons commonly found in areas of high automobile traffic contribute to a loss of or damage to white matter in the brain. White matter is important for continued learning and development. “Pollutants can permanently damage their developing brains,” Unicef executive director Anthony Lake said.

The latest analysis of multiple researches states that pollutants can cross the placenta and affect the developing brain of a foetus. “A young child’s brain is especially vulnerable because it can be damaged by a smaller dose of toxic chemicals. Children are also highly vulnerable to air pollution because their physical defences and immunities are not fully developed’, Unicef said.
It advised parents to reduce children’s exposure to pollutants by making it feasible for them to travel during times of the day when air pollution is lower.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health-news/air-pollution-can-damage-childs-brain-forever-says-unicef/articleshow/61943444.cms

iMedWorks Ask Platform Links below:

1. Get a Medical Second Opinion
2. Search doctors and Request Appointment

Common painkillers may double obesity risk: study

/0 Comments/in /by

Researchers from the Newcastle University in the UK have warned that regular use of commonly prescribed painkillers may double the risk of developing obesity and also cause sleep deprivation. Over the past 10 years, there has been a large increase in the prescription of medications such as opioids and some antidepressants for chronic pain management.

Scientists assessed the cardio-metabolic health — the inter-relationship between metabolic and cardiovascular disease — in more than 133,000 participants from the UK Biobank. Body Mass Index (BMI), waist circumference and blood pressure were studied.

The findings, published in the journal PLOS ONE, shows that medications commonly used to treat pain, like gabapentinoids, gabapentin, pregabilin and opiates, doubled the risk of obesity and were associated with poor sleep.

The study shows that people on opiates and cardio- metabolic drugs reported 95 per cent rates of obesity, 82 per cent ‘very high’ waist circumference and 63 per cent hypertension, as opposed to those on cardio-metabolic drugs only. The results suggest that chronic pain medications should be prescribed for shorter periods of time to limit serious health complications.

In 2016, 24 million opiates prescriptions were issued in the UK, exactly double the amount of 2006. Two years ago, 11,000 patients were admitted to hospital due to an opiate overdose. Opioids are recognised as being among the most dangerous prescription painkillers because they are addictive which can lead to them being abused. Patients can require continuous use of the drugs to feel normal and avoid symptoms of withdrawal.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/common-painkillers-may-double-obesity-risk-study/article21290389.ece

iMedWorks Ask Platform Links below:

1. Get a Medical Second Opinion
2. Search doctors and Request Appointment

Scientists just developed a gel to treat eye injuries

/0 Comments/in /by

Scientists have developed an on-the-spot, temperature-sensitive gel that could seal eye injuries on the battlefield.

The reversible, temporary seal developed by researchers at University of Southern California (USC) in the US changes from a fluid to a super-strong semi-solid when applied to the eye.

When the patient is ready for surgery to permanently close the injury, doctors can remove the seal by adding cool water.

The material the group worked with for retinal implants is a hydrogel called PNIPAM, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), which has a unique attribute that makes it a natural fit for this application.

When cooled, the hydrogel becomes a liquid for easy application, and when heated, it becomes a viscous semi-solid with strong adhesion, researchers said.

“Since the initial hydrogel’s transition temperature was very close to the temperature of the human eye, we had to modify its properties to ensure that it would form a solid seal as soon as the gel was applied to the eye by a soldier or medic,” said Niki Bayat, lead author of the study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

“Providing a perfect, yet reversible seal, the smart hydrogel shows promise for the next generation of tissue adhesives,” Bayat said.

When an ophthalmologist is ready to repair the eye, the hydrogel can be extracted by applying cool water and converting it back to a less adhesive state.

The research team also developed a special syringe for the hydrogel that would be easy to use on the front lines and capable of quickly cooling the hydrogel before application.

The syringe has a cooling chamber filled with calcium ammonium nitrate crystals – the type used in instant ice cold packs.

By adding water to the chamber, the crystals activate and cool the hydrogel to operating temperatures within 30 seconds.

The customised seal and delivery device will also reduce the amount of time it takes to close penetrating eye injuries overall.

“We were able to optimise the delivery device so that it not only rapidly cools the hydrogel but also holds it at that temperature, giving users a 10-minute window to fill penetrations in the eye,” said John Whalen, assistant professor at USC.

Source: http://zeenews.india.com/health/scientists-just-developed-a-gel-to-treat-eye-injuries-2064219

iMedWorks Ask Platform Links below:

1. Get a Medical Second Opinion
2. Search doctors and Request Appointment