New method of gene therapy is developed

FLANDERS, Belgium (UPI) — Flemish scientists say they have developed an improved and safer technique to deliver genes into the body’s cells during genetic therapy.

Gene therapy is the introduction of genetic material into a patient’s cells resulting in a cure or a therapeutic effect, said researchers at the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology in Belgium. The success of gene therapy ultimately depends on the gene delivery vehicles, or vectors, and most vectors have been derived from viruses that can be tailor-made to deliver therapeutic genes. The drawback is some of the viral vectors can induce side effects, including cancer and inflammation.

Now Marinee Chuah, Thierry VandenDriessche, Eyayu Belay and colleagues at the Catholic University of Leuven say they’ve developed a non-viral approach that overcomes some limitations associated with viral vectors.

The technique is based on non-viral genetic elements called transposons — mobile DNA elements — that the scientists constructed to carry therapeutic genes into the target cell DNA, eliminating the need for viral vectors.

“We show for the first time that it is now possible to efficiently deliver genes into stem cells, particularly those of the immune system, using non-viral gene delivery,” Chuah said.

The researchers, in collaboration with Zsuzsanna Iszvak and Zoltan Ivics and colleagues at the Max Delbrück Center in Berlin are now testing the technology to treat specific diseases, including cancer and genetic disorders.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 11th May 2009

Weather plays a role in swine flu outbreak

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (UPI) — With swine flu being reported in the United States, one might wonder whether weather has any part in spreading the flu — and the answer is maybe

The main way swine flu is transmitted is through contact with an infected person or contact with a pig that is infected. In people, it’s thought to spread mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing.

As to the question of the role weather conditions play in the outbreak, accuweather.com said the warmer weather means more people are gathering for events and, therefore, they can come into contact with infected people who potentially remain contagious for up to seven days following illness onset.

An infected person who sneezes or coughs without covering their mouth can theoretically allow a dispersion of the virus in crowded, public locations, thereby expanding the outbreak.

And accuweather.com noted the warmer spring weather also means more vacations and more people traveling. That means some of the cases might be related to people traveling into Mexico, the outbreak’s epicenter.

Accuweather.com Senior Meteorologist Henry Margusity urges travelers to check the CDC Web site for information on restrictions due to the swine flu.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 30th April 2009

Phthalates found in obese children

NEW YORK (UPI) — A U.S. study suggests endocrine disruptors such as phthalates may play a role in childhood obesity, the Mount Sinai School of Medicine said.

Researchers found children in New York’s East Harlem are three times more likely than other children in the United States to be overweight.
The study determined neighborhood characteristics — including availability of convenience foods — likely play a strong role in the number of obese children. Eighty percent of the children in the study reported purchasing food items from convenience stores at least one time per week, the hospital said in a report released Thursday.

High levels of phthalates and Bisphenol A found in the children’s urine may play a role in obesity by disrupting hormones that regulate growth and development, researchers said. Higher levels of three endocrine disruptors — 2,5 DCP, MBP and MEHHP — were also found.

The levels of DCP, formed in the body from the chemical DCB, were three to 10 times higher than those found in a national sample of children the same age, the report said. The chemical is common in mothballs, room deodorizers and toilet bowl deodorizer cakes.

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 22nd April 2009

New nerve block may change pain management

BOSTON (UPI) — Children’s Hospital Boston scientists say they’ve created a slow-release anesthetic drug-delivery system that could potentially revolutionize pain treatment.

The researchers said their National Institutes of Health-funded work might change the way physicians treat pain during and after surgery, as well chronic pain.

The scientists said they used specially designed fat-based particles called liposomes to package saxitoxin, a potent anesthetic, and produced long-lasting local anesthesia in rats without apparent toxicity to nerve or muscle cells.

“The idea was to have a single injection that could produce a nerve block lasting for days, weeks, maybe even sometimes months,” said Dr. Daniel Kohane, the report’s senior author. “It would be useful for conditions like chronic pain where, rather than use narcotics (that) are systemic and pose a risk of addiction, you could just put that piece of the body to sleep, so to speak.”

The scientists said that previous attempts to develop slow-release anesthetics have been unsuccessful due to toxicity problems. But in the new study, Kohane and his colleagues report saxitoxin packaged within liposomes is able to block nerve transmission of pain without causing significant nerve or muscle damage.

Kohane said he is now optimizing the formulation to make it last even longer and it is quite conceivable that clinical trials would soon start.

The research appears in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 20th April 2009

Stem cell therapy grows new blood vessels

BLOOD VESSEL

LONDON, Ontario ,  — A Canadian researcher has grown new blood vessels using bone marrow stem cells.

David Hess of The University of Western Ontario in London drew human bone marrow and simultaneously isolated three different types of stem cells that co-ordinate together to form new blood vessels.

These cells — pro-angiogenic stem cells — were purified to remove inflammatory or contaminated cells and injected into the circulation of mice with one of their leg arteries. The stem cells honed into the area of ischemia — inadequate blood supply — and induced blood vessel repair.

“We can select the right stem cells from the patient’s own bone marrow and put them back in the area of ischemia to allow these cells to coordinate the formation of new blood vessels.” Hess said in a statement. “These principles could be applied not only to ischemic limbs but to aid in the formation of new blood vessels in ischemic tissue anywhere in the body, as an  example after a stroke or heart attack.”

A clinical trial involving 21 patients with end-stage peripheral artery disease is currently underway in Houston USA. The study was published in the journal Blood.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International

Sourced and publ;ished 15th April 2009 by Henry Sapiecha

Face transplant performed in Boston

A NEW FACE

BOSTON (USA) — A man  injured severly  in a fall has undergone the second partial face transplant performed in the United States, says a spokesman  from a Boston hospital.

Eight surgeons, led by Dr. Bohdan Pomahac at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, performed the transplant Thursday during 17 hours of intense surgery, The Boston Herald reported Friday.

The surgeons replaced the man’s nose, hard palate, upper lip, facial skin, muscles that animate the face and the nerves that power them and provide sensation, the hospital statement said.

The surgery was made possible through organ donation from the New England Organ Bank, the hospital said, adding that the patient’s identity was being kept private.

FACE SURGERY

The first face transplant in the United States was performed in December at Ohio’s Cleveland Clinic on a woman who had suffered severe facial trauma. The woman was able to breathe through her nose, smell, eat solid foods and drink from a cup once the surgery was completed, her doctors said.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 15th April 2009

Pill-cam to help diagnose gut problems

The camera capsule (size: 11mm x 26 mm) has four white-light-emitting diodes beneath its transparent optical dome (Pic: New England Journal of Medicine)

pill cam video you tube

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 13th April 2009

When mixing your foods can be

dangerous

weight watcher

For people whose eyes are bigger than their stomachs, a big meal with lots of different tastes usually satisfies. But some foods do not go with others. When the mix is wrong, people will not be able to assimilate the nutrients in the food. Sometimes there are risks of more serious side effects.

Crabs and persimmons are a well-known example. When the two are eaten together, they cause diarrhea.

Li Hongyan, a senior nutritionist from Shanghai Tongmai Food Co Ltd, suggests that when mixing different foods, people have to look out for those that might result in bad reactions.

She offers some tips.

Category 1: Soybean and milk products

Bean curd and spinach

When bean curd and spinach are eaten at the same time, they affect absorption of calcium and may lead to blockages in the abdomen. Spinach contains oxalic acid, which can react with the calcium in bean curd in the intestines and form insoluble precipitates of calcium oxalate. The foods taken together affect the absorption of calcium.

Bean curd and green onion

The combination of bean curd and green onions may affect the absorption of calcium. Bean curd contains plenty of nutrition like protein and calcium. But green onions contain a great deal of oxalic acid. When calcium meets oxalic acid, the calcium oxalate they form destroys calcium. If one eats bean curd mixed with green onions over a long time, it can lead to a lack of calcium causing spasms, osteomalacia and fractures.

Milk and chocolate

sexy chocolate

Believe it or not, milk and chocolate do not match. While milk is rich in protein and calcium, chocolate contains oxalic acid. Eaten together, the calcium from milk and the oxalic acid of chocolate can combine and form insoluble calcium oxalate, which is not only indigestible but also can cause diarrhea.

Milk and pomelo

The protein in milk can react with the fruit acids in pomelos and make one’s stomach feel bloated. The acid can also over-stimulate the stomach and cause diarrhea.

Lactic acid drink and ham

Many people like having a sandwich with yogurt. However, ham and bacon in sandwiches, when taken with yogurt, could cause cancer. To extend the preservation of meat products, producers add nitrate to prevent decay and botulinus. But when nitrate meets organic acid, it can turn into nitrosamine, a carcinogen.

Soy milk and egg

Soy milk contains nutrition including vegetable proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. If drunk by itself, it is very nourishing. However, if taken together with eggs, it can reduce the activity of protease, which helps the body assimilate protein. Eggs are, of course, very rich in protein.

Category 2: Meat

Mutton and vinegar

mix and match

Mutton is a “hot” food, while vinegar is “warm” and like alcohol. When the two are cooked together, they can over-activate yang energy and the circulation. According to Compendium of Materia Medica, a book on Chinese herbal medicine, eating mutton and vinegar at the same time harms the heart.

Mutton and watermelon

Watermelon is a “cold” food. When taken together with mutton, the “heat,” the nourishing effect of the mutton will be dramatically decreased. For those who suffer from asthenia of the spleen, it can harm their energy and upset the spleen and stomach.

Beef and chestnut

chestnuts

Beef and chestnuts are good for the stomach. However, chestnuts contains vitamin C, which can react with microelements in the beef and lessen the chestnuts’ nutrition. The combination is not good for digestion and can cause dyspepsia.

Category 3: Seafood

Crab and tea

Some people might get used to drinking tea after eating crabs, thinking that it is good for the digestion. On the contrary it can cause indigestion. Gastric juices are diluted after drinking tea while eating crabs, and this not only disturbs assimilation but also reduces the ability of the gastric juices to sterilize. On the other hand, tea has as much tannic acid as persimmons.

Shrimp and vitamin C

If someone eats shrimps and also takes a lot of vitamin C on the same day, he or she is taking a serious risk. Shrimps contain a compound which reacts with vitamin C becoming the poison arsenic.

Catergory 4: Vegetable

White radish and carrot

The ferment in carrot can destroy the vitamin C in the white radish. To get the best nutrition, it is better to eat them separately.

Persimmon and sweet potato

Having persimmon and sweet potato at the same time can cause blockages in the stomach. The sugar in the sweet potato gets fermented in the stomach, which increases stomach acid. Together they could even cause a gastric hemorrhage or gastric ulcers.

so confused

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 30th March 2009

Synthetic ‘natural’ skin cream developed

BABY SKIN GRAFTS

LEIDEN, Netherlands (UPI) — Dutch scientists say they have created a synthetic version of Vernix caseosa, a protective substance that covers fetuses and newborn babies.

Leiden University Professor Joke Bouwstra said Vernix caseosa aids in the growth of skin both before and after birth, providing “waterproofing” in utero that allows the skin to grow in wet conditions and then, after birth, hydrating and cleansing the skin and even healing when applied to ulcers.

BABY PARTS

Bouwstra said the synthetic version of the natural buttery ointment she and colleague Robert Ribmann developed shows the same structure and unique properties as does Vernix caseosa.

As well as helping pre-term babies develop essential protection against temperature changes, dehydration and infection, it is said that their artificial VC could also benefit sufferers of various skin diseases.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 24th March 2009