Stem cell jab could help cure heart
disease
For the first time, scientists have successfully
tested a revolutionary new treatment in heart patients, paving way for a stem
cell jab to treat heart diseases.
The heart failure breakthrough involves
injecting patients with their own stem cells.
In a quick and easy procedure, doctors take bone
marrow from the patients' hips before injecting them directly into the heart to
strengthen the muscle, the media report said.
With the new ground-breaking treatment at the
Mayo Clinic's Centre for Regenerative Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota, heart
pumping function improved within six months for every patient.
The patients also enjoyed improved fitness and
could walk longer distances, researchers said.
"I think it's an exciting time where
regenerative medicine is no longer science fiction. This study is providing
clinical evidence for a new approach in cardiovascular regenerative
medicine," Dr Andre Terzic, lead researcher of the study, said.
During the trial, 45 heart failure patients were
treated with a special type of stem cell harvested from the top of the
patient's hip.
Researchers used proteins to instruct the stem
cells to behave like heart cells and then injected them into the patient's
heart.
All the patients saw greater improvement in
their heart health than another group given the standard treatments for heart
failure. The amount of blood pumped out with each heartbeat increased by a
dramatic seven per cent.
The study was published in the Journal of the
American College of Cardiology.
13.04.2013
People with apple-shaped bodies at risk of
kidney disease
High blood pressure in the kidneys of people
with apple-shaped bodies may put them at an increased risk of developing kidney
disease later in life, according to a new study.
The study published in the Journal of the
American Society of Nephrology (JASN) suggests that these individuals may
benefit from treatments that reduce kidney blood pressure.
People with "apple-shaped" bodies -
when fat is concentrated mostly in the abdominal area - are more likely than
those with "pear-shaped" bodies to develop kidney disease.
To study the issue, Arjan Kwakernaak, from
University Medical Center Groningen, in The Netherlands and his colleagues
looked for links between waist-to-hip ratio, which reflects central body fat
distribution, and kidney measures in 315 healthy individuals with an average
body mass index of 24.9 kg per square metre.
Higher waist-to-hip ratios were associated with
lower kidney function, lower kidney blood flow, and higher blood pressure
within the kidneys.
"We found that apple-shaped persons - even
if totally healthy and with a normal blood pressure - have an elevated blood pressure in their kidneys. When they
are also overweight or obese, this is even
worse," said Kwakernaak.
This suggests that elevated blood pressure in
the kidneys of individuals with apple-shaped bodies may be responsible for
their increased risk of developing kidney disease later in life.
Previous studies have shown that high blood
pressure in the kidneys can be treated through salt restriction or with drugs
that block what is known as the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system.
"Our current data suggest that such
interventions could be particularly useful in subjects with a central body fat
distribution," said Kwakernaak.
13.04.2013
Criticism is always easier than constructive
solutions
Jaron
Lanier
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