7 February, 2014

First sensory-enhanced artificial hand enables amputee to 'feel'

A 36-year-old man from Denmark has become the first amputee in the world to "feel" in real-time with a sensory-enhanced artificial hand. The prosthetic is surgically wired to nerves in his upper arm, allowing him to handle objects and instantly sense what they feel like.

The sensory system connected to the artificial hand was created by Silvestro Micera and colleagues from the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland and the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies (SSSA) in Italy.

A prototype of the technology was tested in February last year, findings of which have recently been published in the journalScience Translational Medicine.

To create sensors in an artificial hand that detect information from touch, the scientists measured tension in artificial tendons that control finger movement. This measurement was turned into an electrical current.

Because the central nervous system is unable to understand this electric current, the researchers used computer algorithms to change the electric signals into an impulse that can be understood by sensory nerves.

These new impulses were then sent through wires into four electrodes that were surgically implanted into the nerves of the upper arm, therefore producing the sense of touch.

Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com

07.02.2014

Depression is 'a causal risk of coronary heart disease'

Symptoms of depression may be causally linked to the risk of coronary heart disease. This is according to new research recently published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

The research team, including Dr. Eric Brunner of the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London in the UK, says the findings indicate that depressive symptoms should be considered potential risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD).

The investigators say previous research that has assessed the link between depression and cardiovascular disease is diverse, in that some studies have shown strong associations between the two while others have been inconclusive.

The team notes that some studies in dispute of the association may be biased as a result of "reverse causation." This means that vascular disease has not been deemed as the consequence of depressive symptoms, but as the influence.

Furthermore, the investigators question the accuracy of depressive symptoms assessed in previous research.

For their study, the researchers decided to exclude reverse causation as an explanation for the association between depression and vascular events.

They also set out to determine whether there is any evidence that the likelihood or severity of depressive symptoms are a direct cause of vascular events. This is known as a "dose-response" effect.

The investigators analyzed data of 10,308 civil servants in the UK who were a part of the Whitehall II study.

All participants underwent clinical examination and were required to complete a 30-item General Health Questionnaire.

Subjects were followed up for 20 years. During this time, health assessments were carried out every 2-3 years and any major stroke or CHD events were recorded. Participants were also measured for their "exposure" to depression on six separate occasions.

Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com

07.02.2014

You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last one