Now a simple paper test to detect
cancer!
US
researchers said Monday they have developed a simple, cheap paper test that
could reveal within minutes whether a person has cancer.
The
diagnostic, based on a urine sample, works much like a pregnancy test,
researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) reported in
the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, according to
Xinhua. The approach involves using a technology to amplify signals from tumour
proteins that would be hard to detect on their own, simply by injecting special
nanoparticles into the body, the researchers said. These nanoparticles, coated
with peptides, can interact with tumour proteins called proteases. In a
patient’s body, these particles congregate at tumour sites, where cancer
proteases cleave the peptides, which then accumulate in the kidneys and are
excreted in the patient’s urine.
These
biomarkers are easily detectable using an approach known as a lateral flow
assay, the same technology used in pregnancy tests. In tests in mice, the
researchers were able to accurately identify colon tumours, as well as blood
clots. MIT professor and the paper’s senior author Sangeeta Bhatia described
these tests as the first step toward a diagnostic device that could someday be
useful in human patients.
‘This is a
new idea — to create an excreted biomarker instead of relying on what the body
gives you,’ Bhatia said. ‘To prove this approach is really going to be a useful
diagnostic, the next step is to test it in patient populations. Bhatia said the
technology would likely first be applied to high-risk populations, such as
people who have had cancer previously, or had a family member with the disease.
Eventually, she would like to see it used for early detection in developing
countries, where cancer rates have climbed sharply in recent years.
With the
current version of the technology, patients would first receive an injection of
the nanoparticles, then urinate onto the paper test strip. To make the process
more convenient, the researchers are now working on a nanoparticle formulation
that could be implanted under the skin for longer-term monitoring.
Source: http://health.india.com
25.02.2014
Coming soon — a bionic pancreas that can monitor and
adjust blood sugar levels!
Scientists are trialling bionic pancreas that can monitor
and adjust blood sugar levels and may be available to diabetics within three
years. The bionic pancreas trialled among 30 adults was very
well-received by the participants, and has been approved by the US Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) for three transitional outpatient studies over the
next 18 months. People with type 1 diabetes are
unable to produce insulin, a hormone that is required to control the level of
sugar in the bloodstream.
Associate professor of biomedical engineering at Boston
University Dr Edward Damiano, and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School
Dr Steven Russell developed the bionic pancreas. The device comprises a
sensor inserted under the skin that relays hormone level data to a monitoring
device, which in turn sends the information wirelessly to an app on the user’s
smartphone, ‘Gizmag’ reported.
Based on the data, which is provided every five minutes, the
app calculates required dosages of insulin or glucagon to maintain optimal
blood sugar levels and communicates the information to two corresponding
hormone infusion pumps worn by the patient. The bionic pancreas has been
trialled with diabetic pigs and in three hospital-based feasibility studies
amongst adults and adolescents over 24-48 hour periods. The
upcoming studies will allow the device to be tested by participants in
real-world scenarios with decreasing amounts of supervision. If the
trials are successful, a more developed version of the bionic pancreas will be
created. The device will be a single, dual-chamber insulin and glucagon
pump, without the need for being paired with a smartphone app.
It will be tested in hundreds of participants with type 1
diabetes over a six-month period, with the results compared against
participants in a control group using their usual care routine. According
to ‘USA Today’, Damiano hopes that the bionic pancreas will gain FDA approval
and be rolled out by 2017.
Source: http://health.india.com
25.02.2014
No
matter how badly people treat you, never drop down to their level, just know
you’re better and walk away
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