Latest advances in medical research thread

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Cancer deaths under 80 ‘will be eradicated’
Cancer deaths under 80 will be eradicated The Times

Dying of cancer could be confined to the very old within decades, experts have predicted.

A daily aspirin for the middle-aged, cancer testing by pharmacists and improvements in screening and drugs will help to eliminate cancer deaths in people under 80, according to a report published today.

 

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One punch to knock out flu: Researcher sees universal flu vaccine ahead

The fact that this year's flu shot is not a good match against this year's influenza strain is well known, and has happened before.

But now researchers at McMaster University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York say that a universal flu vaccine may be on the horizon, thanks to the recent discovery of a new class of antibodies that are capable of neutralizing a wide range of influenza A viruses.

 

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Michigan man leaves hospital with artificial heart

A Michigan man is wearing his heart on his back.

Stan Larkin, 24, is the first person in the state to walk out of the hospital without a human heart thanks to a 13-pound portable compressor known as the Freedom Driver.

The device, which can be carried around in a backpack, keeps the Ypsilanti resident’s SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart beating while he waits for a transplant, according to the Detroit Free Press.

 

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Prolonging lifespan: Researchers create 'Methuselah fly' by selecting best cells

Scientists have managed to considerably prolong the lifespan of flies by activating a gene which destroys unhealthy cells. The results could also open new possibilities in human anti-aging research

Normally, there are two copies of this gene in each cell. By inserting a third copy, the researchers were able to select better cells more efficiently. The consequences of this improved cell quality control mechanism were, according to Moreno, "very exciting": The flies appeared to maintain tissue health better, aged slower and had longer lifespans. "Our flies had median lifespans 50 to 60 percent longer than normal flies," said Christa Rhiner, one of the authors of the study.

Could azot also slow down the human aging process?

However, the potential of the results goes beyond creating Methuselah flies, the researchers say: Because the gene azot is conserved in humans, this opens the possibility that selecting the healthier or fitter cells within organs could in the future be used as an anti aging mechanism. For example, it could prevent neuro- and tissue degeneration produced in our bodies over time.

http://www.scienceda...50115134624.htm

 

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Vitamin D 'helps immune system to fight colorectal cancer'
Medical News Today - ‎3 hours ago‎

Researchers from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have shown in a new study that vitamin D can help the body fight against colorectal cancer by boosting the immune system.

 

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Temporary tattoo could let diabetics monitor glucose levels without jabbing themselves
By Ben Coxworth
January 16, 2015
2 Pictures

Finger-prick blood tests are currently an unpleasant necessity for diabetics. Perhaps before too long, however, the blood glucose information gathered in those tests could be attained using something much more fun and painless than a lancet – a temporary tattoo.

 

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Microcapsule delivery method opens door for protein to treat osteoarthritis
By Darren Quick
January 20, 2015

Although known to reduce inflammation and aid in the repair of damaged tissue, the protein molecule called C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) could not previously be put to use in treating osteoarthritis as it breaks down easily in the body. But now researchers at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) could make this possible by using slow-release microcapsules containing the protein.

 

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Portable device could be used to treat Parkinson’s disease
By Ben Coxworth
January 21, 2015

Among other things, one of the symptoms of advanced Parkinson’s disease is an impaired sense of balance. Although this typically isn't very responsive to medication, Swedish scientists at the University of Gothenburg's Sahlgrenska Academy are developing an alternative treatment – a wearable device that stimulates the patient's vestibular system.

 

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Nanobot micromotors deliver medical payload in living creature for the first time
By Colin Jeffrey
January 21, 2015
3 Comments

Researchers working at the University of California, San Diego have claimed a world first in proving that artificial, microscopic machines can travel inside a a living creature and deliver their medicinal load without any detrimental effects. Using micro-motor powered nanobots propelled by gas bubbles made from a reaction with the contents of the stomach in which they were deposited, these miniature machines have been successfully deployed in the body of a live mouse.

 

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Targeting certain immune cell halts type 1 diabetes in mice
By Nick Lavars
January 21, 2015

Scientists working at St Louis University (SLU) have demonstrated the ability to prevent type 1 diabetes in mice by focusing on a particular immune cell whose properties weren't entirely clear. They discovered that impeding the development of this cell they could in fact stop the onset of the disease.

 

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Scientists successfully slow ageing and increase lifespan of mice
January 22, 2015 Lucy Ingham

For the first time ever, scientists have successfully modified the expression of a particular gene in mice to not only increase their lifespan, but also slow the rate at which they age.

The gene in question, Myc, is common to all animals, and has long been the subject of research after it was found to be responsible for regulating cell proliferation, growth and death. It has even been closely linked to cancer.

Normally animals have two copies of the Myc gene, but researchers from Brown University bred laboratory mice to only have one – the first time anyone has done this in any mammal.

To their surprise, the scientists found that the mice lived longer than their two-Myc counterparts and also aged at a slower rate.

The female mice lived 20% longer, while the male mice lived 10% longer.

“The animals are definitely aging slower. They are maintaining the function of their organs and tissues for longer periods of time,” explained lead study author John Sedivy, the Hermon C Bumpus professor of biology and professor of medical science at Brown University.

Scientists successfully slow ageing and increase lifespan of mice - Factor

A mice is a hell of a lot closer to us then a fly Progress.

 

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Innovative organ preservation system to boost transplant rates and success
January 22, 2015 Lucy Ingham

Scientists have developed an organ preservation system that could significantly improve the success rate of liver transplants, while enabling the organs to be preserved for longer before transplant.

The system, which has been successful in animal studies, uses what is known as machine perfusion to pump a cell-free, cooled, oxygen-rich fluid into the liver while it is waiting to be transplanted.

This keeps the liver fed with oxygen as if it were still in the body, and so maintains its quality for longer than with the traditional organ storage and transport system.

As a result, the system has been demonstrated to have a considerably higher success rate, suggesting it could be used to significantly increase the number of healthy, quality livers available to patients on the transplant waiting list.

 

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http://timesofindia....ow/45976403.cms

NEW DELHI: A global team of about 300 scientists studied over 30,000 brain scans of people from 33 countries and found that eight common genetic mutations are behind the aging of brain. This was the largest collaborative study of the brain to date and its findings could lead to targeted therapies and interventions for Alzheimer's disease, autism and other neurological conditions.

The study known as the Enhancing Neuro Imaging Genetics through Meta Analysis (ENIGMA) Network was led by researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) and involved 190 institutions. The findings are published on Jan 21 in Nature. This is the first high-profile study since the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of the US launched its Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) centers of excellence in 2014.

 

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4-Year-Old Australian Boy Receives World’s First Artificial Pancreas

In 2013 alone, over 79,000 children around the globe were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes: an autoimmune disorder that affects the amount of insulin produced by the pancreas. Receiving insulin therapy through a traditional pump or injections can require a lot of work to ensure blood sugar levels are safe, particularly during the night.

- See more at: IFLScience

 

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Telomere extension turns back aging clock in cultured human cells, study finds

A new procedure can quickly and efficiently increase the length of human telomeres, the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes that are linked to aging and disease, according to scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Treated cells behave as if they are much younger than untreated cells, multiplying with abandon in the laboratory dish rather than stagnating or dying.

The procedure, which involves the use of a modified type of RNA, will improve the ability of researchers to generate large numbers of cells for study or drug development, the scientists say. Skin cells with telomeres lengthened by the procedure were able to divide up to 40 more times than untreated cells. The research may point to new ways to treat diseases caused by shortened telomeres.

"Now we have found a way to lengthen human telomeres by as much as 1,000 nucleotides, turning back the internal clock in these cells by the equivalent of many years of human life," said Helen Blau, PhD, professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford and director of the university's Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology. "This greatly increases the number of cells available for studies such as drug testing or disease modeling."


The researchers found that as few as three applications of the modified RNA over a period of a few days could significantly increase the length of the telomeres in cultured human muscle and skin cells. A 1,000-nucleotide addition represents a more than 10 percent increase in the length of the telomeres. These cells divided many more times in the culture dish than did untreated cells: about 28 more times for the skin cells, and about three more times for the muscle cells.

"We were surprised and pleased that modified TERT mRNA worked, because TERT is highly regulated and must bind to another component of telomerase," said Ramunas. "Previous attempts to deliver mRNA-encoding TERT caused an immune response against telomerase, which could be deleterious. In contrast, our technique is nonimmunogenic. Existing transient methods of extending telomeres act slowly, whereas our method acts over just a few days to reverse telomere shortening that occurs over more than a decade of normal aging. This suggests that a treatment using our method could be brief and infrequent."

 

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Samsung Unveils Prototype Stroke Detecting Headset
by Editors on Jan 23, 2015

While brain monitoring using EEG is not a new technique, advancements in technology may allow it to be used for detecting a variety of conditions that are currently hard to diagnose. Samsung is continuing to show evidence that it’s serious about getting a major foothold in the medical field with the announcement that it’s been working on a wearable EEG headset that can be used by patients themselves to detect signs of stroke as well as for regular monitoring to gauge stress levels, analyze sleep, and other brain health parameters that are often not measured quantitatively.

The Early Detection Sensor & Algorithm Package (EDSAP) will pair up with a user’s smartphone or tablet to display the results of the ECG tests, which can be done within about a minute. The company says that its sensors are able to pickup a much higher quality signal than current EEG headsets thanks to newly developed dry electrodes made of a novel material discovered by the group. The material is rubbery in feel, is highly conductive, and doesn’t require a gel or saline solution to be applied to make a good electrical connection with the scalp.

 

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Stem Cell Transplant Improves Physical and Cognitive Symptoms In 50% Of MS Patients
January 23, 2015 | by Janet Fang

Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is an autoimmune disorder that affects the brain and spinal cord. The immune system destroys the patient's own myelin, the protective membrane wrapped about the nerves, thus disrupting communication with the central nervous system. About 50 percent of patients are unable to walk 25 years after their diagnosis.

Rather than suppress the immune system with a high dose of drugs, a technique called autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) hopes to reset the immune system. Hematopoietic simply refers to blood, and autologous means using one’s own cells, instead of those from a donor. So what happens is, after low-dose immunosuppressive drugs are administered to dampen the body’s response, stem cells harvested from the patient’s blood are infused back.

Northwestern’s Richard Burt and colleagues examined the outcomes of 145 MS patients who were treated with this stem cell transplant during trials between 2003 and 2014. Specifically, the patients—who ranged in age from 18 to 60 years old—have relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: Symptom flare-ups are followed by periods with little or no symptoms. The patients were periodically tested (2.5 years on average) with the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), which measures the functi

The team found significant improvement in 41 patients tested after two years—that’s about 50 percent of the patients who were tested at that interval. For patients tested at four years, they found similar improvement in 23 patients, or 64 percent of the patients tested. Patients who received HSCT showed improvement in physical and cognitive function as well as quality of life, the researchers report. Furthermore, MRI imaging showed a reduction in the volume of brain lesions.

After four years, the relapse-free survival was 80 percent. And the four-year progression-free survival was 87 percent. However, the EDSS score did not improve in patients with secondary-progressive MS or in those who've had MS for more than 10 years.

 

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Researchers pinpoint two genes that trigger severest form of ovarian cancer
Researchers pinpoint two genes that trigger severest form of ovarian cancer

In the battle against ovarian cancer, UNC School of Medicine researchers have created the first mouse model of the worst form of the disease and found a potential route to better treatments and much-needed diagnostic screens.

 

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Telomere-lengthening procedure turns clock back years in human cells
By Helen Clark
January 28, 2015

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have developed a new procedure to increase the length of human telomeres. This increases the number of times cells are able to divide, essentially making the cells many years younger. This not only has useful applications for laboratory work, but may point the way to treating various age-related disorders – or even muscular dystrophy.

 

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Structure of world's largest single cell is reflected at the molecular level
Published: Thursday, January 29, 2015 - 16:52 in Biology & Nature
Structure of world s largest single cell is reflected at the molecular level e Science News

Daniel Chitwood, Ph.D., assistant member, and his research group at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center's in St. Louis, in collaboration with the laboratory of Neelima Sinha, Ph.D., at the University of California, Davis, are using the world's largest single-celled organism, an aquatic alga called Caulerpa taxifolia, to study the nature of structure and form in plants. They have recently reported the results of their work in the online journal, PLOS Genetics. "Caulerpa is a unique organism," said Chitwood. "It's a member of the green algae, which are plants. Remarkably, it's a single cell that can grow to a length of six to twelve inches. It independently evolved a form that resembles the organs of land plants. A stolon runs along the surface that the cell is growing on and from the stolon arise leaf-like fronds, and root-like holdfasts, which anchor the cell and absorb phosphorus from the substrate. All of these structures are just one cell."