UV-activated membrane may replace injections for
premature babies
According to a study appeared in the journal Advanced
Functional Materials, drugs can be delivered to premature babies via a plaster
rather than an injection. Instead of using injections or probes, it will in
future be possible to deliver drugs to premature babies via a plaster.
Researchers have developed a UV-activated membrane, which releases a gentle
dose of medication to the skin of a patient. The plaster, which delivers drug
through the membrane, can be simply stuck to the skin of the premature baby,
after which it will provide the tiny patient with a continuous dose of, say,
caffeine for several hours, without stressing the child as an injection would
have done.
For some years now premature babies have been given
caffeine to prevent respiratory arrest. The membrane developed at the Swiss
Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology changes its
properties when it is irradiated with ultraviolet (UV) light. ‘A similar effect
is seen in photochromatic sunglasses, where silver-doped glass reacts to UV
light by darkening,’ the researchers noted. ‘In the new medicinal membranes,
however, another light-sensitive chemical group, called spiropyrans, is active,’
they added.
When activated, these make
the membrane more permeable, so that the drug is able to pass through it more
rapidly, a capability which is retained for several hours. In the absence of UV
irradiation, the membrane simply prevents the active agent from permeating
through it.
Source: www.thehealthsite.com
31.10.2014
Living in urban area doesn’t improve health outcomes
in people with heart disease
A study published in the journal Circulation:
Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes suggested that people living in
rural areas are at an equal risk of dying due to heart disease as their urban
counterparts, unlike suggested by earlier research that health outcomes are
different for those living in rural and urban areas.
The study, carried out by researchers at Women’s College
Hospital in Ontario and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES)
and led by an Indian-origin scientist, shows that regardless of the fact that
people in rural areas don’t have proper access to health care they are not at
an increased risk of dying due to heart disease compared to those living in
urban areas who have all the facilities.
This the first ever study
examining outpatient quality of care between urban and rural communities. The
study analysed records of more than 38,000 people with chronic ischemic heart
disease living in either urban or rural areas. According to the analysis,
people living in rural areas had lesser specialist visits
but visited hospital emergency departments more frequently for care. They
were prescribed statins less often, were tested less frequently for cholesterol
and blood sugar levels but experienced a similar risk of hospitalisation
and death compared to urban counterparts.
These observations
contradicts all existing research that suggested gaps in care
for those living in rural areas and urban areas. ‘Research has long suggested
people with heart disease in rural areas are at a disadvantage when it comes to
access to health care and longevity,’ said Dr Sacha Bhatia, lead author of the
study and a cardiologist at Women’s College Hospital. ‘Our study shows once a
patient leaves the hospital their overall health outcomes are similar
regardless of where they live,’ said Bhatia.
The researchers said while those living in rural
areas access their care differently, it did not result in poor health outcomes.
‘From our study, we know that people with heart disease in rural areas tend to
rely heavily on emergency departments for their care because of a lack of
outpatient access to family doctors and specialists,’ said Bhatia.
Source: www.thehealthsite.com
31.10.2014
Watch your
thoughts, they become words; watch your words, they become actions; watch your
actions, they become habits; watch your habits, they become character; watch
your character, it becomes your destiny
Lao Tzu
No comments:
Post a Comment