Despite all that contemporary medicine knows about psychology, neurology and human behavior, it has yet to devise anything that works better than Alcoholics Anonymous to help drunks stay sober.
Now, ”printer” that creates made-to-measure human organs
June 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment
London, June 4 (ANI): Patients needing transplants would soon ask doctors to ”print” new organs for them, it has been claimed.
The California-based regenerative medicine company Organovo has already unveiled a prototype machine capable of growing new arteries.
Company bosses believe the technology could be used to create new organs.
The machine is based on 3D laser printing technology used to make new machine parts for industry.
But instead of combining layers of plastic and metal, the “bioprinter” puts together living tissue.
Two laser-based printing heads are used to place living cells onto thin sheets of gel with microscopic precision.
Thereafter, multiple layers are laid on top of each other in a specially designed “scaffold” and the cells begin to fuse together.
“Ultimately the idea would be for surgeons to have tissue on demand for various uses,” the Telegraph quoted Organovo”s chief executive Keith Murphy, as saying.
Murphy added: “The best way to do that is get a number of bio-printers into the hands of researchers and give them the ability to make three dimensional tissues on demand.” (ANI)
15 killed in Turkish bus crash
May 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Moscow, May 26 (IANS/RIA Novosti) At least 15 people, including 13 Russians, were killed and 26 injured when a tourist bus fell into a river in Turkey, officials said Tuesday.
The incident occurred Tuesday, when the bus, en route from Alanya to Pamukkale town, veered off the road and fell into the Aksu River in southwestern Turkish region of Antalya, Russian emergency situations ministry spokeswoman Yelena Chernova said.
Chernova said 13 Russians and two Turks, who were also on the bus, have died and 26 have been hospitalised.
The Russian health ministry said six of the injured were in a critical condition.
According to preliminary information, the accident took place after the driver suffered a heart attack.
Meanwhile, Russia said it will send a team of doctors from the Disaster Medicine Centre to Turkey to help the survivors.
Arsenic in playgrounds not harmful to kids: Study
May 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Washington, May 21 (ANI): Researchers in University of Alberta have found in a study that children in playgrounds aren’t at risk from pressure treated wooden playground structures.
For parents who love to take their kids to the playground every summer, this is a great bit of news.
Chris Le, a scientist in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, can put to rest any safety concerns regarding playgrounds made of chromated copper arsenate-treated wood.
The study compared arsenic levels in urine and saliva samples of children playing in eight pressure treated wooden playgrounds and those in eight playgrounds made of other materials.
It found no significant difference in the concentration of arsenic species in children playing on playgrounds with or without the chemically treated wood – and hence concluded that CCA treated wood in playgrounds is not likely to significantly contribute to the overall arsenic exposure in children.
Around 70 per cent of playgrounds in North America are made with pressure-treated wood. Le and his group want to encourage children to stay physically active, just make sure to wash their hands after play. (ANI)
Former Miss Russia busted for drug possession
May 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment
New York, May 19 (ANI): Former Miss Russia Anna Malova has been charged for criminal possession of narcotics, forgery and criminal impersonation of a physician.
A special narcotics officer busted the 1998 Miss Universe semifinalist, when she walked out of a pharmacy on 6th Avenue in Greenwich Village.
The pharmacist claimed Malova”s doctor believed Malova stole a prescription pad and wrote out phony prescriptions for painkillers.
Moreover, the police had arrested Malova less than 3 months ago over larceny, reports MyFoxny.com
News.
Malova is a medical doctor but does not hold a license to practice medicine in the United States. (ANI)
India steps in to tackle Lankan drug shortage
May 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Colombo, May 15 — India has stepped in to help Sri Lanka overcome a severe shortage of medicines including the fast depleting stock of saline in hospitals across the country. A worried Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition had to request the Sri Lankan air force (SLAF) to fly special missions to India to pick up bulks of saline bottles to supply to hospitals and health care units in cities, towns and villages. A team of senior officials from the healthcare ministry is also expected to fly to Mumbai to speed up the process of acquiring stocks of dozens of categories of life saving medicine as well.
“The first two flights came back with 27,750 bottles of saline each. The third flight from Mumbai is expected to bring back another 25,000 bottles of saline,” Healthcare Ministry’s C Samarawikrama said.
Ultrasound could be used as a male contraceptive
May 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment
London, May 12 (ANI): University of North Carolina experts believe a blast of ultrasound to the testes can safely stop sperm production for six months.
The boffins, in fact, are beginning to conduct tests to see if ultrasound can be used as a reversible male contraceptive, reports The BBC.
Lead researcher Dr James Tsuruta said: “We think this could provide men with up to six months of reliable, low-cost, non-hormonal contraception from a single round of treatment.
“Our long-term goal is to use ultrasound from therapeutic instruments that are commonly found in sports medicine or physical therapy clinics as an inexpensive, long-term, reversible male contraceptive suitable for use in developing to first world countries.”
According to the boffins, once the testis has stopped producing sperm and all “sperm reserves” have been depleted, the man will be temporarily infertile. (ANI)
Caffeine ‘effective in preventing cataract formation’
May 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Washington, May 6 (ANI): Caffeine may provide the lens protection against damage that could lead to the formation of cataracts, according to a new study.
The study has been presented at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.
Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD hypothesized that caffeine may inhibit the intraocular generation of reactive oxygen species in the lens and consequent damage to the tissue.
The team studied the oxyradical effects in vitro by incubating mice lenses in medium exposed UVA in the presence of kynurenine with and without caffeine. In vivo studies were conducted in rats by incorporating caffeine with galactose in their diet. In both cases, caffeine was found to be effective in protecting the lens against damage.
As reported in the abstract, “These effects of caffeine have not been reported before and are hence considered highly interesting in view of its relatively high content in widely consumed beverages.” (ANI)
Exercise in youth to make old age bones stronger
May 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Washington, May 4 (ANI): Physical activity when young increases bone density and size, which may mean a reduced risk of osteoporosis later in life, concludes a new study.
For the thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, around 3,200 men had their bones examined and their exercise habits mapped. Of these, just over 2,300 18-year-olds were selected at random to have their heel bone examined by the researchers. The heel bone is particularly useful to study as it is directly impacted by exercise, being loaded with the full weight of the body.
“In this group, we found that those who actively did sports, and also those who used to do sports, had greater bone density than those who had never done sports,” explains Martin Nilsson, physiotherapist and doctoral student at the Institute of Medicine.
The researchers also looked at bone density and structure in the lower leg in around 360 19-year-old men who had previously done sports but had now stopped training. They found that men who had stopped training more than six years ago still had larger and thicker bones in the lower leg than those who had never done sports.
“This result is particularly important, because we know that a bone with a large circumference is more durable and resistant to fractures than a narrower bone,” says Nilsson.
The researchers also studied bone density throughout the body in around 500 randomly selected 75-year-old men. Those who had done competitive sports three or more times a week at some point between the ages of 10 and 30 had higher bone density in several parts of the body than those who had not.
The researchers have therefore established that there is a positive link between exercise while young and bone density and size. (ANI)
Susan “Shrieking” Boyle given sedatives on Tokyo flight
April 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment
London, April 24(ANI): Singer Susan Boyle had to be given sedatives while on a flight to Tokyo, as she kept “shrieking” which disturbed her fellow passengers, it has emerged.
The ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ star was onboard Upper Class section of a Virgin flight.
Apparently, the 49-year-old celebrity’s minders gave her pills to help her sleep but the medicine’s effect wouldn’t last for too long.
She allegedly walked up and down the aisle, shouting.
“The sedatives kept wearing off. It was lucky she was in the relatively small upstairs cabin, otherwise she would have disturbed the whole aircraft,” the Daily Star quoted a doctor on the flight, as saying.
A passenger on the flight said Boyle was “unbearable” and even her team of 10 minders could not keep her under control.
The onlooker said: “She was shrieking at the top of her voice and disturbing the other passengers.
“At one moment she was highly animated, then she would be in a drowsy state and helped back to her seat.
“Some of us were worried that she might do something silly because we were just outside the cockpit door.” (ANI)
Routine lifting doesn’t really harm your back
April 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Washington, Apr 16 (ANI): Frequent lifting does more good than harm for one’s back, according to a researcher in the University of Alberta”s Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine.
Tapio Videman said disc degeneration is the main suspected origin of severe back symptoms and the main target in spine surgery.
But he challenged the common perception that disc degeneration is caused by physical loading, the pressure put on the spine that comes with, for example, frequent lifting.
Videman”s research team found that more physical loading might in fact slightly delay disc degeneration as it”s known to be good for the bones, muscles and tendons.
They studied identical male twins where one of the siblings was, on average, 29 pounds heavier than the other.
He said that the most prevalent source of physical loading is what each individual is carrying around on a daily basis— his or her own body weight.
The study found that there was no evidence that the loading in the form of extra body weight was harmful to the person”s spinal discs.
In fact, the heavier twin had slightly less disc degeneration compared to the lighter twin.
Videman concluded that routine physical loading is not bad for a disc, within limits.
He said that the findings have immediate implications for preventative strategies and patient education.
In his opinion, people who are unsure about physical-loading activities while at work, home or at the gym because of fear of harming their back, should challenge their spines by gradually increasing daily physical loading. (ANI)
Chinese medicine may help breech position births
April 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Researchers from the University of Western Sydney are working with the John Hunter Hospital to determine whether Chinese medicine can be used to reposition babies in the breech position before birth.
The researchers are seeking 30 women in the Hunter who are at least 34 weeks pregnant to participate in the pilot study.
Associate Professor Caroline Smith says they are using a form of Chinese medicine called moxibustion.
“It’s a dried herb which is compressed into a comb and involves lighting that comb and it’s placed close to the skin, and by lighting that it has an effect with stimulating some therapeutic effect,” she said.
“We use the moxibustion on both feet alternatively and there is a particular point that we use.”
Patel trial adjourns
April 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment
The Brisbane manslaughter trial of former Bundaberg-based surgeon Jayant Patel has been adjourned.
Patel, 59, has pleaded not guilty in the Supreme Court in Brisbane to unlawfully killing three people and causing grievous bodily harm to a fourth.
Yesterday, the prosecution moved on to the next stage of the trial with evidence about the death of 46-year-old James Phillips.
The trial was to resume this morning with further evidence about Mr Phillips from the director of renal medicine, Dr Peter Miach.
Mr Phillips died in 2003 after undergoing surgery for throat cancer.
But Justice John Byrne today told the jury it would not be required today due to matters raised by Patel’s defence team.
An apple a day won’t keep cancer away
April 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment
An international study of nearly 500,000 people has found that eating more fruit and vegetables does not ward off cancer.
In 1990 the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended that everyone eat five servings of fruit and vegetables a day to prevent cancer and other diseases.
But a study led by the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in the US found that less than 3 per cent of cancers could be avoided by healthy eating.
But health experts are urging people not to give up fruit and vegetables, saying they are beneficial against heart disease and some cancers, including bowel and breast cancer.
Highly-educated women drink the most
April 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment
London, April 5 (ANI): Women who attend university consume more alcohol than their less-educated counterparts, says a new British study.
The study carried out at the London School of Economics showed that women with degrees are almost twice as likely to drink daily, and they are also more likely to admit to having a drinking problem.
The researchers found a similar link between educational attainment and alcohol consumption among men, but the correlation is less strong.
The findings are based on the study of thousands of 39-year-old women and men, all born in the UK during the same week in 1970.
“The more educated women are, the more likely they are to drink alcohol on most days and to report having problems due to their drinking patterns. The better-educated appear to be the ones who engage the most in problematic patterns of alcohol consumption,” the report concluded.
The researchers of the study suggest several possible explanations as to why better-educated women drink more.
They tend to have children later, postponing the responsibilities of parenthood. They may have more active social lives or work in male-dominated workplaces with a drinking culture.
As girls, they may have grown up in middle-class families and seen their parents drink regularly.
The study appears in the journal Social Science and Medicine. (ANI)
Remote medical trainees get housing boost
March 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment
The Federal Government is allocating more than $2 million to student accommodation on Thursday Island, off far north Queensland.
The James Cook University’s School of Medicine and Dentistry will use the funds to buy four two-bedroom units on the island.
The federal Member for Leichhardt, Jim Turnour, says the property will provide accommodation for students taking part in clinical placements.
“We know if we want to get doctors, dentists [and] allied health professionals working in rural and remote settings then we need to provide them with opportunities to train in these places,” he said.
“To actually get training on the ground up there with Indigenous people and people in a remote location means they’re much more likely to work there in the longer term.”
Socceroos doctor heads to Liverpool
March 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment
The Socceroos’s chief doctor has been given a senior medical role at the English Premier League team, Liverpool.
Dr Peter Brukner has been appointed as head of sports medicine at the club, after a world wide search for a leader in the field.
He will stay with the Socceroos until the end of the World Cup in South Africa.
Dr Brukner says it is an endorsement of Australia’s sport medicine
“In many ways, Australia leads the world in sports medicine and I guess that’s reflected by my appointment,” he said.
“Liverpool tell me they did a world-wide search and basically they decided that Australian sports medicine was the best in the world.”
Dr Brukner has previously worked with the Melbourne and Collingwood AFL teams, and looked after various other national teams including swimming, athletics and hockey.
He was also a medical boundary rider for ABC Grandstand football.
Stomach pacemaker can help treat stomach disorders, chronic vomiting
March 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Washington, Mar 30 (ANI): Individuals suffering from acute stomach disorders can occasionally suffer from chronic vomiting. According to a study from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, this symptom can be treated with electrical impulses from a pacemaker in the stomach.
A new method enables patients who could benefit from this treatment to be identified, and electrical stimulation leads to reduced nausea and fewer days in hospital, shows the study.
Gastric electrical stimulation has previously been shown to be effective in most diabetics who suffer from severe vomiting due to the disease. New research shows that people with other severe stomach disorders could also benefit from this treatment.
27 patients were included in a study testing electrical stimulation of the stomach. 22 had fewer symptoms as a result of initial temporary stimulation, and 20 of these then had a permanent pacemaker surgically inserted into the stomach. Of the patients who responded well to temporary stimulation, 90 percent also had good results in a long-term follow-up of the surgically inserted pacemaker.
The treatment led to reduced nausea and vomiting. In another study of 16 patients, electrical stimulation led to fewer days in hospital in the year following treatment. Simple temporary stimulation through the skin can be used to identify the patients who could benefit from the treatment.
“We insert gastric electrodes into the patient under local anaesthesia through a small incision in the skin, and these are then connected to an external pacemaker,” explains junior doctor Stina Andersson, a doctoral student at the Department of Internal Medicine. “If the results are positive, we can be relatively certain that treatment with a surgically inserted pacemaker will work for that patient. The next step is to insert a pacemaker using keyhole surgery.” (ANI)