Stem Cells Help Restore Hearing and Vision In Animals

In a research the scientist have found that stem cells from tiny embryos can be used to restore lost hearing and vision in animals. This, they believe is a first step towards helping people.

One team repaired hearing in guinea pigs using human bone marrow stem cells, while another grew functioning eyes in tadpoles using frog cells.

The findings help describe some of the most basic biological processes underlying the development of hearing and sight The new insight may help in the development of the new field of regenerative medicine. Read more

Exercise And Sleep Reduce The Rik of Cancer

A new study has found that regular physical activity can significantly lower a woman’s risk of developing cancer. A good sleep is another factor.

In a long-term study of nearly 6,000 US women, researchers found that those who exercised the most had a 25 percent lower chance of developing cancer than those who were the least active.

But among younger, physically active women, those who slept less than seven hours a night had a 47 percent higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer than those who regularly got a good night’s rest. Read more

Group Therapy Helps Breast Cancer Patients

A recent research conducted by researchers in United States have found that psychological group therapy for women with breast cancer helps them to cope better with their disease and also helps them to live longer.

The research was conducted in Ohio State University’s and led by Barbara Andersen. They  studied 227 women with breast cancer. Patients were divided into two groups. One group took part in a year of therapy in groups of eight to 12 patients led by two clinical psychologists, while the other did not.

After 11 years, the women who participated in the group therapy were 56 percent less likely to die of breast cancer and 45 percent less likely to have their cancer return, the researchers wrote in the journal Cancer.

Psychological interventions have been found  to enhance quality of life and reduce distress.

The improved survival may stem from better immune function resulting from stress reduction, the researchers said.

Brain Might Have Partially Slept When You Feel Sleepy

A research conducted by scientists at Washington State University have brought a new theory  that people feel sleepy when parts of their brains are actually asleep.

Popular belief that there is a center in the brain that controls when to fall sleep and dictates the time to for one to drift off.  However these researchers suggest that sleepiness results when independent groups of brain cells become fatigued and switch into a sleep state, even when an individual is awake.

When a threshold reaches and people doze off.

Krueger, one of the researchers insists if sleep were being directed by a control center, the whole brain would respond at the same time. However, he adds, the brain behaves like a self directing orchestra in which most sections are more or less in sync, but a few race ahead or lag behind at any given time.

According to him, when a person is sleepwalking, the neuronal groups needed for balance are in a wake state while those needed for consciousness are in a sleep state. On the other hand, in sleep inertia, enough neuronal groups are in a wake state for one to be awake in a general sense, but some groups are still in a sleep state.

New Technology Just Needs To Swipe a Card For Medical Test

Cards loaded with blood or urine samples can be scanned in minutes

Scientists have designed a sensitive prototype to test dozens of disease simultaneously by scanning a card loaded with microscopic blood, saliva or urine samples.

Unlike lab tests today, results could be available in minutes, not hours to weeks. The prototype works on same principle givant magnetoresistance or GMR that reads data on computer hard drives or listen to tunes on portable digital music players. Read more

Charged Immune Cells Beat Back Cancer

Scientists in the United States have created super-charged immune cells that helped beat back cancer tumours in half of a small group of patients tested, according to a study. Adding an artificial receptor to T-lymphocyte immune cells boosted their ability to fight a deadly form of caner called neuroblastoma, the researchers reported on Sunday.

Neuroblastoma attacks the nervous system. While fairly rare, it accounts for 7 percent of all childhood cancers, and 15 percent of non-adult cancer deaths.

In more than sixty percent of cases, it is not diagnosed until it has already spread to other parts of the body. Read more

Fruits, Vegetables Improve Response In Cancer Patients

Naturally occurring apigenin facilitates the death of cancer cells

Resistance of tumor cells to chemotherapy is the leading cause of death among cancer patients.

Now a study  reports that ingesting apigenin – a naturally occurring dietary agent found in vegetables and fruit – improves cancer cells’ response to chemotherapy.

It has been found in the study that apigenin localizes tumor suppressor p53, a protein, in the cell nucleus. This step is a necessary step for killing the cell that results in some tumor cells responding to chemotherapy.

TOI reported as

The study, published this week in the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provides a novel approach to conquer tumor resistance to chemotherapy, and suggests an avenue for developing safe chemotherapy via naturally occurring agents.

In normal condition, the cells have low levels of p53 diffused in their cytoplasm and nucleus. On damage of DNA in the nucleus, p53 moves to the nucleus where it activates genes that stop cell growth and cause cell death.

p53 ensures that cells with damaged DNA are killed.

Apigenin is able to activate p53 and transport it into the nucleus, resulting in a stop to cell growth and cell death.

Apigenin is mainly found in fruits (including apples, cherries, grapes), vegetables (including parsley, artichoke, basil, celery), nuts and plant-derived beverages (including tea and wine).

Its growth inhibitory properties have been found in several cancer lines, including breast, colon, skin, thyroid and leukemia cells. It has also been shown to inhibit pancreatic cancer cell proliferation.

The study advocates the inclusion of vegetables and fruit in our daily diet to help prevent cancer.

Nicotine May Play A Role In Breast Cancer Formation

According to a recently published study, nicotine could play a role in the development and growth of tumors in breast cancer.

For the first time the effects of nicotine on mammary cells has been studied and it has been concluded that chemical found in cigarette smoke could contribute to cancerous growth.

Both breast epithelial cells-protective cell tissue that lines organs throughout the body and cancerous cells have nicotine receptors (nAChR), which have the potential to increase cell growth and migration in the presence of nicotine.

Further studies are necessary to strengthen the findings but the preliminary study indicates that nicotine affects growth related process

Prolonged Cell Use May Cause Rash

Doctors baffled by an unexplained rash on people’s ears or cheeks should be on alert for a skin allergy caused by too much mobile phone use, the British Association of Dermatologists said on Thursday.

Citing published studies, the groups said a red or itchy rash, known as “mobile phone dermatitis,” affects people who develop an allergic reaction to the nickel surface on mobile phones after spending long periods of time on the devices.

It is worth doctors bearing this condition in mind if they see a patient with a rash on the cheek or ear that can not otherwise be explained, it said. The British groups said many doctors were unaware mobile phones could cause the conditions.

Safety concerns over mobile phones has grown as more people rely on them for everyday communication, although the evidence to date has given the technology a clean bill of health when it comes to serious conditions like brain cancer.

“In mobile phone dermatitis, the rash would typically occur on the cheek or ear, depending on where the metal part of the phone comes into contact with the skin,” the group said in a statement.

In theory it could even occur on the fingers if you spend a lot of time texting on metal menu buttons.

Nickel is a metal found in products, ranging from mobile phones to jewelry to belt buckles and is one of the most common causes of allergic contact dermatitis, according to the Mayo Clinic in the US.

Earlier this year Lionel Bercovitch of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island and colleagues tested 22 handsets and found nickel in 10 of the devices. Dr. Graham Lowe, from the British Association of Dermatologists, said: “If you have had a previous reaction to a nickel-coated belt-buckle or jewellery, you are at greater risk of reacting to metal phones.

Source: TOI

Non-Surgical Cure for Sinusitis Available

Balloon sinuplasty, a technique in which a balloon is inflated in the affected nasal area to clear blockage, is likely to help many patients of  acute or chronic sinusitis.

“The usual treatment was to open the nasal tract in order to reach the blockage and then remove the mucus.

Sinusitis is the inflammation of the sinuses. Sinuses are air filled cavities around nasal passage which makes skull lighter and help in conditioning of the air.  When inflammation occurs collection of secretions make head heavier and patient finds it difficult to breathe.

In this condition one is prone to catching viral or bacterial infections.

With balloon sinuplasty, the blockage can be cleared without open surgery and the patient can go home the same day.

Procedure

A wire catheter is introduced through the nostril and guided to the blockage. The catheter has a balloon in the front. Once the balloon reaches the site of blockage, it is inflated and the blockage is cleared. Then the catheter is pulled out.

Symptoms of Sinusitis

1. Reduced sense of smell, taste
2. Difficulty in breathing
3. Pain and swelling around eyes, cheeks, nose or forehead
4. Pain in upper jaw and teeth
5. Discharge of thick mucus
6. Nasal congestion
7. Cough

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