30, October 2014

Study: New blood substitute may be safer than donor blood

A new blood substitute has been developed which could be a safer and more effective alternative to using donor blood.

The substance, described as ‘superior to blood in many ways’ by a study in the journalArtificial Cells, Nanomedicine and Biotechnology, can be stored for 320 days at room temperature, compared to normal blood which can only last for one day. This makes it easier to access, transport and therefore more suited to emergency situations when blood is urgently needed. Unlike blood, it can be heat treated to inactivate infectious agents.

The substance is created by crosslinking haemoglobin, superoxide dismutase, catalase and carbonic anhydrase to form a soluble polyHb-SOD-CAT-CA nanobiotechnoloigical complex. Not only can it perform all the functions of a red blood cell, but each element has been enhanced by increasing the concentration of enzymes.

Professor Thomas Ming Swi Chang, lead author of study said:

‘During the HIV crisis in the late 1980s there was a real push from the scientific community to develop an effective blood substitute, to help stop the spread of the disease through blood transfusions. This led to 20 years of intensive R&D, but this only resulted in simple oxygen carriers in the form of PolyHb, for those conditions that only require an oxygen carrier.

Now that HIV is no longer a threat in donor blood for many countries, R&D in this area has again slowed down. We cannot afford to let history repeat itself, waiting until another major epidemic forces our hand to carry out more research. Thankfully, what we’ve shown here could well be a promising step forward towards a complete red blood cell substitute that we’ve been waiting for’.

The study tested the substance on rat models undergoing severe hemorrhagic shock, an emergency condition in which severe blood and fluid loss make the heart unable to pump enough blood to the body. The new blood substitute performed better in the tests than donor blood. Results showed that in addition to supplying the needed oxygen, it was able to remove carbon dioxide and oxygen radicals from tissues more effectively, better maintain blood pressure and reduce the chance of a heart attack and damage to other vital organs.

Chang continued:

‘On top of halting the spread of disease, an effective blood substitute could provide huge help during major accidents or large-scale wars. We hope the potential of our approach will raise awareness of this issue, and expedite further research in all approaches around the world.’

Source: http://informahealthcare.com/

30.10.2014

Daylight saving associated with public health benefits

We all like the light evenings and dread the clocks going back, but it has now been shown that more hours of waking daylight may be beneficial to our health. Research published today (just before the end of UK daylight saving) shows that permanent adoption of daylight saving could increase the amount of physical activity in children.

Activity was recorded in over 23,000 children aged 5–16 years from nine countries (including Australia, England, Norway, Portugal and USA) using electronic devices that measure body movement.  The levels of activity were then compared according to the time of sunset and were shown to drop markedly when sunset was brought forward by an hour.

It was found that the children’s total daily activity levels were 15-20% higher on days when the sun set after 21:00 than on days with sunsets before 17:00.  The difference was still evident after adjusting for weather conditions and was particularly marked in European and Australian populations. The researchers estimated that extending evening daylight by one hour would provide 200 extra waking daylight hours per year and increase the level of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity by 6% per child per day.

The study author Anna Goodman, of London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said:

This study provides the strongest evidence to date that, in Europe and Australia, evening daylight plays a role in increasing physical activity in the late afternoon and early evening – the ‘critical hours’ for children’s outdoor play. Introducing additional daylight savings measures would affect each and every child in the country, every day of the year, giving it a far greater reach than most other potential policy initiatives to improve public health.

The effect of sunset time on children's activity levels applied equally to girls and boys, irrespective of weight, and across different socio-economic backgrounds. 

Ashley Cooper, Professor of Physical Activity and Public Health at the University of Bristol, concludes:

While the introduction of further daylight savings measures certainly wouldn't solve the problem of low physical activity, we believe they are a step in the right direction.

Proposals to permanently shift the clocks forward by an hour have been debated in both the UK and Australia. By demonstrating that the introduction of additional daylight saving measures in Europe and Australia could yield worthwhile public health benefits, this study may provide additional support in favour of such a move.

Source: http://informahealthcare.com/

30.10.2014

It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed

Theodore Roosevelt