A multiple myeloma patient whose cancer had stopped responding after nine different treatment regimens experienced a complete remission after receiving an investigational personalized cellular therapy known as CTL019 developed by a team at the University of Pennsylvania. The investigational treatment was combined with chemotherapy and an autologous stem cell transplant
The probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG was no more effective than regular medical care in preventing the colonization of superbugs in the gastrointestinal tracts of critically ill patients, according to a pilot study by Washington University researchers.
Compared with routine medical care, probiotics administered to critically ill patients in intensive care units showed no benefit in preventing the colonization of drug-resistant microbes in the intestinal tract, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Probiotics
Adenomas are rare liver tumours, a certain percentage of which can become malignant. Using a new MR (magnetic resonance) technique at MedUni Vienna, it is now possible to classify adenomas without subjecting patients to invasive tissue sampling procedures.
Hitherto patients have had to undergo biopsy to take tissue samples for histological examination in order to determine whether a hepatocellular adenoma is benign or potentially malignant. Using a new imaging technique at the University Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at MedUni Vienna (Christian Herold), this type of tumour can now be clearly classified by means of a liver-specific MR contrast agent.
Adenomas of the liver are relatively rare. They can develop in different ways. Hence there are three subtypes (benign, inflammatory, pre-malignant) and a fourth unclassifiable subgroup with different clinical courses and potential progression. It is now possible to determine which group a particular adenoma belongs to using a new MR imaging technique.
The liver-specific contrast agent, gadoxetic acid, targets the bile transporters OATP (organic anion-transporting polypeptide) and MRP (Multidrug Resistance-Related Protein) in adenoma cells and normal liver cells. These will either absorb the agent or re-excrete it. The tumours can then be classified on the basis of the relative proportion of these surface transporters as compared to normal liver cells, as shown in the MR image.
Researchers at USC and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have developed a brain prosthesis that is designed to help individuals suffering from memory loss.
The prosthesis, which includes a small array of electrodes implanted into the brain, has performed well in laboratory testing in animals and is currently being evaluated in human patients.
Designed originally at USC and tested at Wake Forest Baptist, the device builds on decades of research by Ted Berger and relies on a new algorithm created by Dong Song, both of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. The development also builds on more than a decade of collaboration with Sam Deadwyler and Robert Hampson of the Department of Physiology & Pharmacology of Wake Forest Baptist who have collected the neural data used to construct the models and algorithms.
When your brain receives the sensory input, it creates a memory in the form of a complex electrical signal that travels through multiple regions of the hippocampus, the memory centre of the brain. At each region, the signal is re-encoded until it reaches the final region as a wholly different signal that is sent off for long-term storage.
If there
Pediatric patients who listened to 30 minutes of songs by Taylor Swift , Rihanna and other singers of their choosing — or audio books — had a significant reduction in pain aft er major surgery, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study.
The children, ages nine to 14, chose from a playlist of top music in different genres including pop, country, rock and classical. Short audio books were another option in the study.
A strategy to control post-surgical pain without medication is important because opioid analgesics — most commonly used to control post-surgical pain — can cause breathing problems in children. Thus, caregivers usually limit the amount of opiods prescribed, and children
Many Danes are prescribed NSAIDs for the treatment of painful conditions, fever and inflammation. But the treatment also comes with side effects, including the risk of ulcers and increased blood pressure. A major new study now gathers all research in the area. This shows that arthritis medicine is particularly dangerous for heart patients, and also that older types of arthritis medicine, which have not previously been in focus, also appear to be dangerous for the heart.
‘It’s been well-known for a number of years that newer types of NSAIDs – what are known as COX-2 inhibitors, increase the risk of heart attacks. For this reason, a number of these newer types of NSAIDs have been taken off the market again. We can now see that some of the older NSAID types, particularly Diclofenac, are also associated with an increased risk of heart attack and apparently to the same extent as several of the types that were taken off the market,’ says Morten Schmidt, MD and PhD from Aarhus University, who is in charge of the research project. He adds:
‘This is worrying, because these older types of medicine are frequently used throughout the western world and in many countries available without prescription.’
Each year, more than 15 per cent of the western countries collects a prescription for NSAIDs. This figure increases with age. Sixty per cent of the adult population in Denmark collects at least one prescription for an NSAID within a ten-year period. Heart patients are no exception and previous studies have shown that up to forty per cent of Danish patients with heart failure or previous heart attacks are prescribed NSAIDs.
The study, which was carried out in collaboration between 14 European universities and hospitals, including a number of leading European heart specialists, is today being published in the most prestigious European journal of heart medicine, European Heart Journal.
In the study, the researchers have gathered all research on the use of NSAIDs in patients with heart disease. The survey means that the European Society of Cardiology has now for the first time formulated a number of recommendations about what doctors should consider before prescribing painkillers to their patients.
‘When doctors issue prescriptions for NSAIDs, they must in each individual case carry out a thorough assessment of the risk of heart complications and bleeding. NSAIDs should only be sold over the counter when it comes with an adequate warning about the associated cardiovascular risks. In general, NSAIDs are not be used in patients who have or are at high-risk of cardiovascular diseases,’ says another of the authors, Professor in cardiology Christian Torp-Pedersen, Aalborg University, Denmark. EurekAlert
For patients in intensive care, knowing how much glucose, lactate and other substances are in the blood is a question of life or death. EPFL has developed a miniaturized microfluidic device that will allow medical staff to monitor these levels in real time and react more quickly.
No larger than a pack of chewing gum, the prototype developed by EPFL
Investigators at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have discovered that brain scans can be used to predict patients
RA is the commonest autoimmune arthritis affecting 1% of the population. Despite its main articular manifestations, RA can involve extra-articular organs including the auditory system.
Environmental factors for instance smoking, alcohol and noise can deteriorate the condition. Passive smokers are also at risk of HI. Long-term exposure to alcohol affects hearing in RA, causing harmful effects on the cochlear function.
Results of pure tone audiometry revealed that RA patients have high prevalence of HI for all frequencies.Transiently Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions (TEOAEs) test has been used widely to evaluate cochlear function, and is capable of detecting various amounts of decreases in RA patients at an early stage of the disease.
Treatment of HI in RA is empirical. Oral steroids and intensifying Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs might be an option. Anti-oxidants (eg. vitamin E) may play a protective role for the inner ear. Regular audiometric test and TEOAEs should be performed. Patients will also benefit from the cessation of smoking and alcohol. Like other causes of HI in healthy individuals, HI in RA can also be managed by use of different types of hearing aids and implantable devices.
EurekAlert www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-04/bsp-iic042216.php
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