New urine test to detect blood clots
Scientists, including one of Indian-origin, have developed a
simple urine test to detect dangerous blood clots, which can cause
life-threatening conditions such as strokes and heart attacks.
In a new study published in the journal ACS Nano,
researchers Sangeeta N Bhatia, lead author and PhD candidate Kevin Lin and
postdoctoral fellow Gabriel Kwong describe the results of the urine test on
laboratory mice. Blood clots - clumps of platelets and fibrin proteins - can
threaten to choke off blood flow and lead to a wide range of serious and
sometimes fatal conditions including atherosclerosis and stroke.
Usually, blood clots are a good thing. They form a plug that
stops the bleeding after an injury. But sometimes, a clot forms when it really
isn't needed, such as when a person sits too long on a long-distance flight and
develops "deep-vein thrombosis."
In that case, a clot forms in the leg, blocking blood flow
and causing leg pain. But it also can dislodge and move throughout the body to
the heart or even the brain, which is life-threatening. Diagnosing a blood
clot, or thrombosis, is tricky, however, and current clinical tests aren't
always reliable.
Researchers wanted to develop a simple and more reliable way
to test for these obstructive blood clots. They describe development and
testing of "synthetic biomarkers" - lab-made materials for detecting
what is going on in the body. They added small pieces of proteins called
peptides onto nanomaterials that are similar to those already approved and used
in the clinic.
They injected the tiny nanomaterials into mice, which are
stand-ins for humans. The peptides got chopped up if a blood clot was actively
forming in the mice, and those peptide fragments were detected in a simple
urine test.
"Our results demonstrate that synthetic biomarkers can
be engineered to sense vascular diseases remotely from the urine and may allow
applications in point-of-care diagnostics," the researchers said.
Source: www.indianexpress.com
21.10.2013
Wearing tight belts may cause throat cancer
Wearing a belt which is too tight can increase the risk of
developing throat cancer, especially in overweight people, a new study has
warned.
Scottish experts claim that restriction around the waist,
especially if someone is overweight, can allow stomach acid to move up into the
gullet which can cause damage that increases risk of oesophageal cancer.
Doctors from Glasgow and Strathclyde universities and
Southern General Hospital recruited 24 healthy volunteers with no history of
acid reflux.
Half the volunteers had normal waist sizes while the rest
were overweight. Each was asked to swallow a specially designed probe, which
took a range of measurements both before and after each participant had eaten a
meal, 'The Daily Record' reported.
Measurements were also taken while the volunteers were
wearing a tight belt and without a belt. Researchers found that even in healthy
volunteers, wearing a tight belt and being overweight caused a partial hiatus
hernia and acid reflux.
"Wearing a tight belt, especially if you are
overweight, puts strain on the valve between the stomach and the gullet. This
causes stomach acid to leak upwards into the gullet," said lead researcher
Professor Kenneth McColl, of Glasgow University's institute of cardiovascular
and medical sciences.
"Unlike the stomach, which is designed to withstand
this, the gullet is damaged by the acid. This causes heartburn and, in the
longer term, possibly oesophageal cance
Source: www.indianexpress.com
21.10.2013
Weak men
believe in luck but strong men
believe in cause and effect
Ralph
Waldo Emerson
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