StemCell Therapy

Cellect Biotechnology Provides Corporate Update and Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2016 Financial Results P&T Community TEL AVIV, Israel, March 23, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cellect Biotechnology Ltd. (NASDAQ:APOP) (TASE:APOP), a developer of innovative technology which enables the functional selection of stem cells, today provided a corporate update and ... and more »

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Cellect Biotechnology Provides Corporate Update and Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2016 Financial Results - P&T Community

Everyone suffering from degenerative arthritis is scared of one operation -- knee replacement surgery. Now, researchers believe the key to success here could be preserving the joint rather than go in for a replacement.

For those suffering with age-related (degenerative) arthritis of the knee, a stage comes when all the reasonable non-operative options stop working. Thats when the option of surgery comes into the picture.

Dr J Maheshwari of Max Smart Super Specialty Hospital, Saket said that one common option suggested is knee replacement, and it being as intimidating as it sounds, it is natural that patients look for an alternative. Other non operative options such as stem cell treatment, oil messages etc. with large claims and no scientific backing also come into consideration.

Scared of the so called Total Knee Replacement, the patients often fall for alternative treatment modalities with tall claims and no scientific validity, and ultimately land up in a situation where knee replacement, like it or not, remains the only option.

Sometimes the surgery is delayed so much that even the best of surgeons cannot give a good result, and the fear of the patient actually comes true, said Dr Maheshwari.

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There is a recent advance in medicine, where the scientific community is focusing on joint preservation and not replacement options. Some of these are non surgical -- such as physiotherapy, weight reduction, modification in lifestyle etc, but others are surgical, where effort is to keep the original joint going. Some of these options may be surgical, aimed at corrective surgery in early stages of the arthritis, where one can see that if left to itself that particular joint is going to the path of damage, and hence future knee replacement.

These options could be key-hole surgery (arthroscopic surgery), which, if done at the right time, can halt the progress of the disease and may save one from knee replacement. Unfortunately, most patients do not have significant complaints at this stage, and may ignore their problem.

Joint preservation is the key here. (Shutterstock)

Dr Maheshwari further stated, in some patients with deformed legs (bow legs), the progress of arthritis can be halted by correcting the alignment, what is called high tibial osteotomy (HTO). Best approach, therefore would be to see a specialist to get yourself evaluated whether you have some such issue which may be the reason for your knee to take downhill course, and whether some intervention can prevent it from reaching knee replacement stage. Even in cases, where joint is damaged beyond a certain level, it is not necessary that total replacement is the only option. There are options where only the damaged part of the knee is capped (partial replacement).

Knee, as we know it today, is made up of three distinct compartments. Often the damage is limited to only one of the three compartments, and in such cases, a limited surgery on that compartment can produce good results, without changing the whole joint. These operations are more recent in the armamentarium of knee surgeons, and have been shown to be effective. These options are not applicable in every patient of advanced knee arthritis, but in some, selected by careful investigations and special X rays. These are good joint preserving options.

As a last resort, knee replacement is always an option in case it is ascertained that all compartments of the knee are damaged. Also knee replacement remains a potent back up option in any case where partial replacement has been done in the past, and for some reason it has not given desired results.

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Knee arthritis: Joint preservation and not replacement are the new ... - Hindustan Times

Generational differences in arthritis prevalence Nature.com A longitudinal study of four birth cohorts (19351944, n = 1,598; 19451954, n = 2,208; 19551964, n = 2,781; and 19651974, n = 2,230) found that succeeding generations had a higher prevalence of arthritis. Various risk factors were associated with ...

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Generational differences in arthritis prevalence - Nature.com

A small stem cell trial in which patients with severe spinal injuriesappeared to make remarkable progress is still showing excellent results, according to the company conductingthe research.

One of the patients in the trial is 21-year-old Kris Boesen, from Bakersfield, California, whose story we reported on last year.A car crash had left theBakersfield, California native with three crushed vertebrae, almost no feeling below his neck, and a grimprognosis. Doctors believed he would live the rest of his life as a paraplegic.

Enter stem cell therapy. Most treatments for serious spinal injuries concentrate on physical therapy to expand the range of the patients remainingmotor skills and to limit further injury, not to reverse the actual damage. But last April, as part of an experimental phase 2 clinical trial called SCiStar, researchers injected Boesen with 10 million stem cells. By July, hehad recovered use of his hands to the point where he could use a wheelchair, a computer and a cellphone, and could take care of most of his daily living needs.In recent months his progress has continued, says his father.

Boesen is not the only patient to have improved in the trial, according toAsterias Biotherapeutics, which is conducting the research. Boesen is part of a cohort of six patients who were experiencing various levels of paralysis and were injected with the 10 million stem cell dose. In a Jan. 24update, the company saidfive of those patientshad improved either one or twolevels on a widely used scale to measuremotor function in spinal injury patients.

On Tuesday, Asterias issued a newupdate, announcingthat the sixth patient in the cohort has experienced a similar improvement.

While spontaneous recovery for spinal injury patients does occur,the likelihood of all six patients recovering to the degree they haveis less likely, researchers say.

This is as good as you could hope at this point, said Charles Liu, Boesens neurosurgeon and director of the USC Neurorestoration Center. So far all the evidence is pointing in the right direction.

To measure improvement in spinal injury patients, researchers use two yardsticks: the Upper Extremity Motor Scale, or UEMS, and the International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury, or ISNCSCI. On the UEMS scale,patients are scored from 0 to 5 on theirability to use five key muscles in the wrists, elbows and fingers. The ISNCSCI scale assesses where damage has occurred along the different levels of the cervical vertebrae, which generally determines the scope of impairment to the body and the level of care needed.

For instance, if a patient has sustained damage at the fourth cervical vertebra down, known as C-4, at the base of the neck, it generally means that person is paralyzed from the neck down, requiring round-the-clock care and a ventilator to breathe.A patient with a C-5 injury may not be able to move her arms or hands, requiring about 6 to 12 hours per day of assisted care; and at the C-6 level, better motor function mayallow a patient to take care of most of herdaily living needs on her own.

Which is all to say that even one level of recovery could substantially improve the daily life ofa spinal injury patient.

According to Asterias, all six patients in the 10million-cell cohort have improved their general UEMS scores, and jumped at least one motor level on the ISNCSCI scale on one or both sides of their body.

Two patients have improvedtwo motor levels on one side; and one patient,Boesen, has improved two motor levels on both sides.

Steve Cartt, president and CEO of Asterias, said anotherpatient, Jake Javier of Danville, California, has gonefrom partial paralysis to being able to use his hands well enough to considerpursuing a computer science career.

Throws Like a Regular Throw

In September, Boesens father, Rod Boesen, told us how excited he wasthat his son had regained some feeling in one of his feet. Last week, at11 months post-injection, the elder Boesensaid Kris has continued to improve.

Now he can move his toe and his knee together at the same time, Boesen said. Theyre about to give him a manual wheelchair now [instead of a motorized one]. He can grip with his hands enough to use a manual one.

Boesen said the movement in his sons arms and hands has greatlyimproved since September.Kris, a formerhigh school pitcher, had beenflinging a ball to his dog like people throw hand grenades, Boesen said. They kind of cradle them and thats how Kris would do it. But now he throws like a regular throw, tosses that ball down the hall, has that release point down, and just wings it.

Asterias is currently recruiting patients for a trial in which theyll receive 20 million stem cells, the optimal dose, according to company researchers. Two patients have already started the 20 million stem cell therapy, and six-month results from those patients will be released in the fall, Cartt said.

Patients who received 2 million stem cells in an earlier phase of the study have not shown much change in their condition, according to the Jan. 24 update.

Guarded Optimism

While Boesens father is impressed with the results, the optimism of researchers inside and outside the studyhas been guarded.The trial is still in its early stages, and the sample size is small, said Paul Knoepfler, a cell biology professor and stem cell researcher at UC Davis, who is not involved in the SCiStar study.

As a scientist, I still would want to wait for more data, Knoepfler said. Its certainly interesting, but its still early. Its a phase 2 trial.

To address the issue of small sample size, Asterias islooking at historical data to determinethe level of improvement for patients in similar circumstances who did not receive stem cell therapy. The company has said it found a meaningful difference in the recovery of its study patients compared to the norm.

Liu said one of the most importantresults is the lack of significant side effects or other negative outcomes resulting from the treatment to date.

Thats very significant to me, Liu said. Thats the first thing you look for, is anyone hurt from this therapy.

There was also a concern, he said, that some patients might regress over time, once the initial injection of stem cells wore off. Thathasyet to occur.

No one has lost anything theyve gained, Liu said. We were very happy to see that. This is all very promising.

The next step for the SCiStartrial will be to establish a control group, Cartt said.

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Strong Progress for Paralyzed Patients After Stem Cell Therapy, Company Says - KQED

Three women reportedly went blind after a stem cell treatment at a Florida clinic.

Whats more is that at least two of the women had gone to the clinic because it was listed as a macular degeneration study on a federal database.

Doctors call the incident an example of how risky such clinics can be.

News reports from The Associated Press, The New England Journal of Medicine and others say that a clinic the experimental procedure occurred was in Sunrise, Florida run by U.S. Stem Cell Inc.

Age-related macular degeneration can rob a person of their central vision.

The women were injected in their eyes with a cell preparation derived from her own fat tissue.

Ophthalmologist Dr. Thomas Albini of the University of Miami, who examined the women, said one woman is totally blind and the others legally blind. He said all suffered detached retinas.

These women had fairly functional vision prior to the procedure and were blinded by the next day, Albini said.

The clinics method hasnt been proven effective or tested for safety in people, he added.

Its very alarming to us as clinicians that somebody would do this to both eyes at the same time, said Albini.

Dr. Thomas Albini of the University of Miami.

Elizabeth Noble, one of the women said she was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration that blurs the central vision. The former educator said she heard about the treatment at the clinic for a research study described on ClinicalTrials.gov, a website run by the National Institutes of Health.

The former educator said she heard about the treatment at the clinic for a research study described on ClinicalTrials.gov, a website run by the National Institutes of Health.

Its very easy to register studies on ClinicalTrials.gov and essentially use a government website as a marketing device, Leigh Turner, a bioethicist at the University of Minnesota, told BuzzFeed News.

Noble went to the clinic in June 2015 where staff took fat from around her belly button, extracted those cells and mixed them with Nobles blood plasma. They then injected it into both her eyes for $5,000, according to a story in Buzzfeed.

In an editorial accompanying the Journals report, stem cell expert Dr. George Daley, dean of Harvard Medical School, called the clinics treatment careless.

This report joins a small but growing medical literature highlighting the risks of such wanton misapplication of cellular therapy, he wrote. Providing such treatments for profit outside a proper research setting is a gross violation of professional and possibly legal standards, he said.

Buzzfeed reports this isnt the first time experimental procedures at a clinic have gone awry.

In 2010, for example, a woman with the autoimmune disease lupus died after her own bone marrow cells were injected into her kidneys at a clinic in Thailand.

In 2013, the Florida Department of Health revoked the medical license of Zannos Grekos over the death of a 69-year-old woman. He had extracted material from her bone marrow, filtered it, and then infused it into the arteries feeding her brain. The woman had a stroke.

Treatment for age-related macular generation is at the center of the Medicare fraud trial in West Palm Beach of Dr. Salomon Melgen, who happens also to be tied to a bribery scandal involving a U.S. senator.

Read The Palm Beach Posts coverage of the fascinating Melgen trial by clicking here.

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Blinded by science: Women go blind after stem-cell treatment at Florida clinic - MyPalmBeachPost (blog)

Interview by Kev Kharas Photography byDamien Maloney Courtesy: Unlimited.World

(March 22, 2017, Boston, Sri Lanka Guardian) Russian-born Maria Konovalenko is one of the most visible faces at work in the pro-longevity community today. A zealous advocate for the fight against human ageing and a PhD scientist and researcher at the trailblazing Buck Institute in California, her ultimate goal is to use advances in science and technology to help people live the longest, healthiest lives they possibly can.

Her ethos that ageing and dying should be seen as diseases that humanity can work together to cure challenges everything we understand about natural life cycles. It also hints at the possibilities that lie ahead for radical human lifespan extension an extra 30 years in her lifetime, she conservatively estimates, then rapidly up to 200, 300. Beyond that, lies the rather more distant goal of human immortality.

VICE: Can you give me a broad overview what youre up to currently?

Maria K:Im in the third year of my PhD inBiology of Aging, set up by USC and the Buck Institute, the leading organisations in the field. I became a student here in the programmes first year so basically it started with us, were the guinea pigs. I feel incredibly privileged. Im focusing on ageing and stem cells in mouse tracheas were trying to figure out which genes are responsible for the failure of tissue to replenish itself.

With the emergence of things like the Google-fundedCalico Labs, would you say theres been a more concerted push to understand the secrets of immortality in recent years?

Not immortality. Were way off that. What were looking at now are the basic mechanisms that drive ageing, figuring out why our bodies lose their regenerative potential over time. Some people are answering different questions for example, why do we develop neurodegenerative pathologies, like Alzheimers? Were all looking at different mechanisms and then trying to interfere with them to slow down ageing. You can extend the lifespan of a worm ten times thats unbelievable! but when you look at more complex animals, like mammals, its not as effective.

What do you think we can expect within the limits of our lifetime?

If youre in your sixties or seventies, hopefully, within the next decade or so, well have a therapy that will extend your health span the years in which youre generally healthy and free from disease. Thats based on recent discussions at one of the big ageing conferences, and what some of the key biologists believe. If youre in your thirties, your life expectancy and the probability of more breakthrough techs being developed is way higher.

We could develop a combination of things that have a synergistic effect. For example: the Buck Institutes Dr Pankaj Kapahi created a worm that had two tailored genetic mutations if administered separately, these mutations had been shown to give about 100 and 60 percent extra lifespan, respectively. But, administered together, they didnt yield to a 160 percent increase in lifespan it was actually an increase of almost 500 percent!

How could AI help expand human lifespan?

AI could change the fate of humanity. People in biology are already dealing with tons of data, but AI would be able to come up with models and predictions based on the entire breadth of existing human knowledge in biology, very quickly. Heres an example: the IBM AI-supercomputer Watson was able to digest all our collective cancer knowledge and diagnose cancer patients more accurately than human physicians. AI wouldnt just be the tool that scientists use it would be the scientist.

What kind of opportunities could radically extended lifespans give us as a species?

I think that liberation from biological ageing is one of the most wonderful things that could happen to humans. We could end pain, disease, suffering; we could go to different planets, deal with the technological problems that space travel poses, create new worlds.

What do you think the global economy might look like in such a world?

Everything would immediately be different in a world with AI. Its very hard to make any meaningful predictions beyond its arrival. But I believe that when it does, technological progress will be the main driver of the economy. The economy of the previous two centuries was driven by what was inside the Earth oil, gas, things like that. Right now, the most expensive companies are tech companies.

If people were born into a world with the expectation of significantly longer life 200, 300 years what do you think would happen to punishments for crimes likemurder?

It would be costly for the government to keep criminals alive in prison for 200, 300 years. Wed have to rethink our old penitentiary system. If a person has done something wrong, maybe we could use tech to change underlying psychological factors that caused the person to commit the crime in the first place. Maybe well come up with a neurotransmitter cocktail, for example, that lets us treat criminals as if violence is a curable disease?

How about the ideal of romantic monogamy if people are living much longer, will they still want to spend their entire lives with one person?

People are very interesting creatures because our relationships adapt and change along with us. I know I might sound extremely optimistic, but there are way too many dystopias in the movies; how might the world look if everything goes right? If the future-society changes so much that monogamys no longer beneficial for an individual, then people will adapt. Chances are the number of pairs staying together for life will decrease. But I dont think it will hit zero.

As a generation, what kind of legacy do you think we should be looking to leave behind?

Definitely extending lifespan and health-span by somewhere in the region of 30 percent. This will happen within the coming few decades. As for the bigger legacy, people are building the base of the algorithms that will hopefully create AI in the more distant future. So that will probably be part of our legacy, too.

Do you believe in life after death?

I dont. However, have you seenBlack Mirror? The San Junipero episode I believe thats a very basic, optimistic representation of what mind uploading might look like in the future. If you could somehow transfer consciousness from a biological subject into some kind of storage device that could be life after death.

Is that something youd enjoy?

Absolutely. I dont want to die. You would be forever young.

Why would you like to live forever?

I would like to implement my dreams. And they range from having a pair of wings, to being able to drink a cocktail in a bar on Mars, to solving the existing problems of the world economic inequality, diseases that make our lives miserable, things like that. I have an endless list of dreams. And thats why I need an endless amount of hours.

Featured image: Maria at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato, California, credit Damien Maloney

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Science to Beat the Death: 200 300 years old human in the Future! - Sri Lanka Guardian

Italian surgeon Paolo Macchiarini. Photo: AP Photo/Lorenzo Galassi

A seventh patient of Italian surgeon Paolo Macchiarini, who was fired from a Swedish university over accusations of misconduct, has died.

Macchiarini performed two synthetic trachea transplants on Yesim Cetir, 26, in Stockholm in 2012 and 2013, but she suffered brutal complications until her death.

In the early hours of Monday, her father Hayrullah Cetir announced on his Facebook account that Yesim died at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia.

"My daughter Yesim died tonight [Sunday] at 9.15pm may she rest in peace," he wrote, publishing a picture of her in a hospital bed.

Macchiarini operated on eight patients between 2011 and 2014, three of them at the prestigious Stockholm-based Karolinska Institute, which selects the winners of the Nobel Prize in medicine.

Only one of the patients survived after having a synthetic trachea, designed and implanted by Macchiarini, removed during a surgery in Russia in 2014.

Cetir was the victim of two failed surgeries as her trachea was first badly damaged during treatment in Turkey before she received surgery in Stockholm.

She went to the United States to receive a trachea from a donor, without being able to recover.

"It is with great sorrow that I offer my sincere condolences to Yesim Cetir's family after having heard about her death. It would of course be inappropriate to discuss her earlier medical condition and treatment," Macchiarini said in a written comment to Swedish public broadcaster SVT.

The surgeon gained worldwide fame in 2011 by carrying out the world's first graft of an artificial plastic trachea, which was to be colonized by the patients' stem cells.

While he said in the medical journal The Lancet that the technique was working, successive deaths of his patients and falsifications in the article led him to be sacked.

Macchiarini was suspected of having embellished his resume to be hired by the Karolinska Institute. He is being investigated by Swedish police.

The scandal hit the Nobel Prize and caused several resignations within the institute.

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Macchiarini's seventh transplant patient dies - The Local Sweden

Blindness is a lack or loss of vision that cannot be corrected with glasses or contact lenses. A person is considered legally blind when their vision is worse than 20/200. Most people who use the term blindness refer to being unable to see anything or unable to see any light. However, the majority of people considered legally blind can actually see something, like light, shadows, vague outlines or rough shapes.

Blindness can be caused by any number of issues, but the most common are injuries to the eye, diabetes, glaucoma and macular degeneration. Approximately 700,000 people in the US meet the legal definition of blindness.

The treatments available for blindness depend on the cause. Medications or surgeries may help, but often blindness is irreversible. Early intervention can be helpful in slowing the progression of blindness, though generally treatment involves receiving guidance and learning how to function with a visual impairment.

Although blindness can pose some challenges to those that are affected, people who are blind are just as capable of functioning and going about daily activities as people with perfect vision. Blindness does not affect everyone in the same way and those who have it can make their own unique decisions about how to manage it.

Some choose to use assistive devices such as canes or service dogs, while others do not. Blindness can be a visible or invisible condition. Many blind people do not fit into societal conceptions or stereotypes of what a person with blindness looks like.

Early intervention services, support groups and awareness organizations are all available for people with blindness and can often provide a great deal of assistance and resources. Research continues in the hopes of finding new technologies that can reverse blindness.

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Blindness | The Mighty

If you have low vision, eyeglasses, contact lenses, medicine, or surgery may not help. Activities like reading, shopping, cooking, writing, and watching TV may be hard to do. The leading causes of low vision and blindness in the United States are age-related eye diseases: macular degeneration, cataract and glaucoma. Other eye disorders, eye injuries, and birth defects can also cause vision loss.

Whatever the cause, lost vision cannot be restored. It can, however, be managed. A loss of vision means that you may have to reorganize your life and learn new ways of doing things. If you have some vision, visual aids such as special glasses and large print books can make life easier. There are also devices to help those with no vision, like text-reading software and braille books.

The sooner vision loss or eye disease is found and treated, the greater your chances of keeping your remaining vision. You should have regular comprehensive eye exams by an eye care professional.

NIH: National Eye Institute

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Blindness | Low Vision | MedlinePlus

The Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB) was established in 1971 by a passionate group of families driven to find treatments and cures for inherited retinal diseases that were affecting their loved ones. At that time, little was known about these blinding retinal degenerative diseases. Very little research was being done, and there were no clinical trials for potential treatments.

The Foundations goal was clear and focused: To drive the research that would lead to preventions, treatments, and vision restoration for the spectrum of degenerative retinal diseases, specifically macular degeneration including age related macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, Usher syndrome, Stargardt disease and Leber congenital amurosis (LCA). Together these conditions affect more than 10 million Americans and millions more throughout the world.

Today, the Foundation Fighting Blindness is the worlds leading private funder of retinal disease research. That funding has been a driving force behind the progress toward cures, including the identification of more than 250 genes linked to retinal disease, and the launch of 20 clinical trials for potential treatments.

On an annual basis, the Foundation Fighting Blindness and the Foundations Clinical Research Institute fund more than 100 research grants. The research projects are conducted by more than 150 research investigators at institutions, eye hospitals, and universities in the United States, Australia, England, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Italy, Israel, and Mexico.

More about the Foundation Fighting Blindness

More Information about Retinal Degenerative Diseases

Support our Mission

To Support the Foundations mission through a personal donation (Donate button) or to include the Foundation in your estate planning go to:http://myplantofightblindness.org/

Additional Resources

FFB Annual Reports FFB Board of Directors FFB Senior Staff

Leading retinal research scientists praise the advances enabled by the Foundation.

FFB is an extraordinary organization. It has given hope to people who didnt previously have hope, and it has supported the most important fundamental research in the retinal degenerations being carried out anywhere in the world today. Thanks to FFB, I have confidence that we will understand and be able to successfully treat many of these (retinal degenerative) diseases in the relatively near future... we are on the verge of human clinical trials and that would not have happened without the support of the FFB.

This incredible flowering of knowledgewas nursed into existence by the Foundation Fighting BlindnessIf you were to take the thousand most important papers published in the past 15 years in the field of inherited retinal diseases, you would find that over 900 have authors supported by this Foundation.

The Foundation has given a sense of hope to the families that are affected. Theyve pulled in scientists like me and others to be interested in the problems and apply our knowledgeits a proactive thing. The Foundation says we need this problem solved, how do we do it. There is no other foundation as focused as this one on these problems.

The Foundation, existing as an independent private entity, is able to very quickly fund young investigators and fund new and exciting projects. The Foundation has really played a major role in getting a number of important projects off the ground, which would not have happened without its support. The Foundation Fighting Blindness has stimulated interaction and collaboration between different scientific groups and centers, and it has funded a variety of research meetings that have helped scientists learn about areas outside their own, so they can do more productive and more powerful research.

The Foundation Fighting Blindness has played a tremendous role in my development as an ophthalmologist and scientist and in the growing of our program. The Foundation has gathered together scientists from all over the world who are interested in a similar thing: to try to cure these diseasesPeople have to say, yes Im interested in helping this year, and Im interested in helping next year because it just isnt Ok for a child to be born missing one gene product in their retina. The Foundation has been a kind of antenna conveying the resources from society to the scientist and they have done a very successful job of it.

For more information, please contact the Foundation at: 7168 Columbia Gateway Drive, Suite 100 Columbia, MD 21046 800-683-5555 800-683-5551 TDD info@FFB.org

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About Us | blindness.org

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, March 22, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Blindness at an early age triggers the brain to make new connections that enhance hearing, smell and touch, as well as memory and language, a new study suggests.

Researchers used MRIs to scan the brains of 12 people who were born blind or lost their sight by age 3.

The scans showed a number of changes in the brains of the people who were blind that weren't present in scans from people who could still see.

Changes caused by early blindness "may be more widespread than initially thought," lead author Corinna Bauer, a scientist at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, said in a hospital news release.

"We observed significant changes not only in the occipital cortex [where vision is processed], but also areas implicated in memory, language processing and sensory motor functions," added Bauer.

Learning more about these connections could lead to more effective rehabilitation programs to help blind people, the researchers suggested.

According to senior study author Lotfi Merabet, "Even in the case of being profoundly blind, the brain rewires itself in a manner to use the information at its disposal so that it can interact with the environment in a more effective manner." Merabet is director of the Laboratory for Visual Neuroplasticity at the Schepens Eye Research Institute at Massachusetts Eye and Ear in Boston.

"If the brain can rewire itself -- perhaps through training and enhancing the use of other modalities like hearing, and touch and language tasks such as Braille reading -- there is tremendous potential for the brain to adapt," added Merabet.

The study was published online March 22 in the journal PLOS ONE.

WebMD News from HealthDay

SOURCE: Massachusetts Eye and Ear, news release, March 22, 2017

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Brain 'Rewires' to Work Around Early Blindness - WebMD

CORBIN, Ky. (WYMT)- On Tuesday, dozens gathered for the Second Annual 'Lights Out Dinner in the Dark' event in Corbin.

The event is hosted by The Freeman Foundation and aims to teach others what it's like to live with a disability.

Travis Freeman, the CEO of the Freeman Foundation, lost his eyesight at just 12 years old.

Now he has made it his mission to educate others about living with a disability.

"We want to break down the barriers that exist between people who have disabilities and those who do not have disabilities," said Freeman.

Which is why he started the 'Lights Out Dinner in the Dark' event.

Guests at the event are blindfolded from the time they walk in until the dinner is over.

Freeman hopes it will give others a better idea of what it's like to live without eyesight.

"We want to break down those barriers and just expose people to what it's like to do things a little differently and have a different kind of experience and have some fun," said Freeman.

The guest speaker of the event and Purple Heart recipient, Matthew Bradford, said it was an honor to speak at the event. He hopes his story of living with disabilities, will help others.

In 2007, Bradford was injured in Iraq when he stepped on an IED.

He ended up losing both of his legs and his eyesight.

"I mean honestly when I got hurt, the legs were my biggest worry," said Bradford. "My one heartache that I had. I didn't really care about losing my vision, it kind of just caught up with me later on."

He said while his injuries changed his life, they didn't stop his life. In fact, his motto is "No legs, no vision, no problem".

He hopes that after the blindfolded dinner, folks will have a greater appreciation for what they can do in life.

"Just don't take things for granted because you never know," said Bradford. "People sometimes don't realize that it is difficult until they're put in that situation."

The Freeman Foundation will also hold a blindfolded 5K this summer. An official date has not been set however organizers hope it will take place in July.

Read more:
'Dinner in the Dark' gives first hand look at blindness - WYMT News (press release)

Taking care of you eyes (NTV News).JPG

Your alarm goes off, you get up, walk to your bathroom, put in your contact lenses and jump in the shower - it's time to start your day, but you could be getting an eye infection and not even know it.

We only have one pair of eyes, so its important that we take care of them. Proper hygiene is the most important step; from the time we wake up to the time we go to sleep.

"A corneal ulcer is the biggest concern, that's when the infection has actually started to eat its way into the cornea; that would be the worst case scenario," says Dr. Nathan Bolen with Advanced Eye Care in Hastings.

An infection that can be caused by water.

"Whether it's lake water or chlorinated pool water or even tap water, the biggest risk is infection," says. Dr. Bolen. We would like you to try and avoid exposure to any kind of water at all. Water is never good for contact lenses, so even if thats tap water or in the shower, if you do accidentally come into contact with water, wed like you to take your contact lenses out, clean them off really well, disinfect them or even throw them away if they are disposable.

It's an infection known as microbial keratitis which can lead to permanent vision loss.

"If it's bad enough, the real concern is if that bacteria or that microorganism ate all the way through the cornea where the cornea was perforated then the infection can enter the eyeball, then it's a very serious infection at that point," explains Dr. Bolen. Even if we can get the infection under control in time, theres also a concern about leaving a scar, and if you have a scar on the cornea that can lead to permanent vision loss.

He says that washing your hands can prevent some of these germs that can cause some problems when it comes to your eyes, so proper handwashing is important.

"After you take your contacts out you want to make sure that you are cleaning them really well with either a multipurpose solution or a hydrogen peroxide type solution," says Dr. Bolen.

He recommends changing your contact case every three months and never reusing old solution. He also recommends following the instructions on the bottle of solution or from your doctor, Thats going to include rubbing, rinsing the contract lenses, you want to store them in a new case with brand new, fresh solution every night.

He says time can be against you if you do have an eye infection.

"Anytime a person ever feels any irritation or if their eye is red at all, we always encourage patients to come in as soon as possible because it is a race against time, sometimes if the infection is bad enough it can just be a matter of a day before things can really turn sour," says Dr. Bolen.

He also recommends contact lens wearers don't sleep in their contact lenses as that can also cause an infection, The most common problems we run into would be people sleeping in their contact lenses, if they arent made to be slept in and then also not replacing the contact lenses frequently enough.

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Showering with your contact lenses could lead to permanent vision loss - NTV

Agricultural biotechnologies are being applied to an increasing extent in crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture and agro-industries, to alleviate hunger and poverty, assist in adaptation to climate change and maintain the natural resource base.

They have not sufficiently benefited smallholder farmers and producers and consumers. More research and developmentof agricultural biotechnologies should be focused on the needs of smallholders.

In order to produce food in a sustainable way for an additional 2 billion people by 2050, a business-as-usual approach will not be sufficient.

This is especially true in the face of climate change and other forces threatening natural resources like biodiversity, land and water that are essential for food production and agriculture, including forestry and fisheries.

To meet these challenges, science and the application of biotechnologies as well as conventional technologies will play a key role.

FAO recognizes that when appropriately integrated with other technologies for the production of food, agricultural products and services, biotechnology can be of significant assistance in meeting the needs of an expanding and increasingly urbanized population. Regarding biotechnology, FAO assists its Member countries and their institutions by:

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Biotechnology | FAO | Food and Agriculture Organization of ...

Biotechnology Gets A Shot In the Arm - Focus on Funds - Barrons.com Barron's (blog) The healthcare sector has been doing rather well, gaining 8.9% year-to-date. Behind just information technology, healthcare stocks have outpaced Trump ... iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology (IBB) volatility low into Credit Suisse ...StreetInsider.com iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (IBB) Rating Increased to ...BBNS all 5 news articles »

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Biotechnology Gets A Shot In the Arm - Focus on Funds - Barrons.com - Barron's (blog)

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) today released the list of speakers for plenary programs at the2017 World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology. The sessions will feature executives from the biofuels, household and personal care, and airline industries who will discuss technology breakthroughs, business partnerships and sustainability initiatives. The worlds largest industrial biotechnology event will be held July 23-26, 2017 at the Palais des congrs de Montral in Montral, Qubec, Canada.

Brent Erickson, Executive Vice President, Industrial and Environmental at BIO, stated, The Plenary Program for the 2017 World Congress will cover several novel topics that are emerging within the industry. Panelists will provide an overview of the current state of biobased food ingredients, flavorings, and personal care products and where market trends are headed in the future. Additionally, industry representatives and trade reporters will discuss how to meaningfully communicate about the biobased economy.

Some highlighted Plenary Sessions include:

Biotech and the Future of Food Ingredients, Flavorings, and Personal Care Monday, July 24, 2017 3:45 pm - 5:00pm

Speakers:

Second Generation Biofuels Poised for Big Wins Tuesday, July 25, 2017 8:30 am - 10:00am

Moderator:Jim Lane, Editor and Publisher, The Digest Speakers:

Effectively Communicating the Benefits of Industrial Biotechnology Tuesday, July 25, 2017 11:45 am 1:30 pm

Moderator:Rebecca Coons, Senior Editor, Chemical Week, IHS Chemical Speakers:

All programs at the World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology are open to attendance by members of the media. Complimentarymedia registrationis available to editors and reporters working full time for print, broadcast or web publications with valid press credentials.

For more information on the conference please visithttp://www.bio.org/worldcongress. For assistance, please contactworldcongress@bio.org.

About BIO

BIO is the world's largest trade association representing biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. BIO also produces theBIO International Convention, the worlds largest gathering of the biotechnology industry, along with industry-leading investor and partnering meetings held around the world.BIOtechNOWis BIO's blog chronicling innovations transforming our world and the BIO Newsletter is the organizations bi-weekly email newsletter.Subscribe to the BIO Newsletter.

Upcoming BIO Events

BIO-Europe Spring Conference March 20-22, 2017 Barcelona, Spain

BIO IP Counsels Committee Conference March 27-29, 2017 Newport Beach, CA

BIO International Convention June 19-22, 2017 San Diego, CA

BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology July 23 - 26, 2017 Montral, Canada

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BIO Announces Plenary Sessions for 2017 World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology - Business Wire (press release)

The USA Commerce

Analytical Guide for Puma Biotechnology, Inc. (PBYI), Liberty ... The USA Commerce The relative strength index or RSI highlights overbought (above 70) and oversold (below 30) areas. The current value of the RSI is 53.11 that is neither bought ... and more »

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Analytical Guide for Puma Biotechnology, Inc. (PBYI), Liberty ... - The USA Commerce

NECC Co-Founder Not Guilty Of Murder

Jurors have found Barry Cadden guilty of racketeering but not guilty of second degree murder in the deadly meningitis outbreak that killed 64

Students at Blackman High School in Murfreesboro were evacuated due to a suspected gas leak.

Shots have been fired outside of Portcullis House, the building that houses the UK parliament in London. At least four people have died.

The Dogs In Harmony animal shelter in Franklin County was damaged by strong winds, when severe weather hit Middle Tennessee.

One Rutherford County school was forced to close Wednesday after strong winds damaged the building's roof.

Three Cheatham County deputies have been cleared in an officer-involved shooting that injured a Nashville firefighter. Reports stated

The search for three gunmen got underway overnight after a man was robbed and shot in East Nashville.

Officers have made an arrest in a fatal shooting that allegedly stemmed from an argument over a pair of shoes.

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Medical Monday: Beating Arthritis - NewsChannel 5 Nashville - WTVF - NewsChannel5.com

TheHorse.com

Elevated SAA Can Help Diagnose Septic Arthritis in Horses TheHorse.com Septic arthritisinflammation of the joints caused by an infectious agentcan cause significant pain and lameness in horses. Although more horses are recovering from infection than in the past, early and accurate diagnosis is still key to successful ...

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Elevated SAA Can Help Diagnose Septic Arthritis in Horses - TheHorse.com

There are more than 100 types of rheumatic diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, gout andlupus. These diseases can greatly impact a persons ability to move without pain.

Rheumatic diseases cause more disability than heart disease, cancer ordiabetes, according to the American College of Rheumatology, but rheumatic diseases tend to be much less understood than the big-name, high-profile diseases. Through practice and education, UCF Health elevates the care of rheumatic diseases to give patients a better quality of life.

Patients often go months or even years in pain before they are accurately diagnosed, says Dr. Shazia Bg, a rheumatologist at UCF Health. There are efforts being made within the rheumatology profession to increase awareness of rheumatic diseases among primary care providers so patients get proper care in a timely manner and thereby have better outcomes. This is especially important in diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis, where the first six months of symptoms can lead to joint damage if not treated.

For some, the struggle with rheumatic disease begins at a young age, and arthritis is often overlooked. This can make accurate diagnoses a struggle for many patients, a number of whom spend years seeking an explanation for their symptoms. Misdiagnoses are not only frustrating, but there can be long-term effects when diseases go untreated.

Managing a disease like rheumatoid arthritis to prevent joint damage and other systemic complications, such as early heart disease, requires a partnership between the patient, the rheumatologist, the primary care physician and sometimes other specialists such as cardiologists. Although there are several treatment options for people with rheumatic diseases, medications can have different effects on different patients. What works for one person might not work for another.

The medications we have today offer patients a much improved quality of life, says rheumatologist Dr. Neha Bhanusali. But finding the best medication that controls their symptoms with minimal to no side effects can take some trial and error.

The rheumatologists at UCF Health incorporate the latest medical literature in treatment and prevention and customize treatment plans based on the patients history, goals, concerns and values to find the best fit for arthritis medications. This is a highly individualized disease, and therefore treatment should always be highly individualized, says Dr. Bhanusali.

Improving the clinical skills of medical professionals is especially important for the diagnosis and treatment of rheumatic diseases since symptoms can differ widely from person to person, making diagnosis difficult.In addition to treating patients, the UCF Health rheumatology team also teaches at the UCF College of Medicine, elevating the awareness of rheumatic diseases among the medical students and residents. Through the med students required course work, they gain exposure to elements of rheumatology, which not only helps decrease misdiagnoses, and therefore shortens the gap between symptom onset and treatment, but also can encourage more students to join the subspecialty.

Dr. Bg works with patients to manage pain and mobility issues commonly associated with rheumatic diseases, improving their quality of life and overall health. She is actively involved with the Arthritis Foundation and the Lupus Foundation of Florida to improve education and awareness of these diseases. Dr. Bgs research projects include managing chronic RA pain with a multidisciplinary team that includes physical therapists, psychologists and physicians, and finding possible environmental and microbial triggers for autoimmune rheumatic diseases.

Dr. Bhanusalis areas of specialization include inflammatory arthritis, lupus, osteoarthritis, advanced biologic therapies and osteoporosis. As a believer in the benefits of an active lifestyle, especially when it comes to arthritis management, she works closely with her patients to develop strategies for increasing mobility and improving their quality of life. Dr. Bhanusalis research has examined the effects of yoga on myositis patients and better approaches to patient care in managing RA.

Dr. Hassan decided to specialize in rheumatology to help people have better functionality and therefore a better quality of life. She is especially interested in helping patients with rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. With a firm understanding of each patients goals as it relates to their disease and the quality of life they desire, she works with a team of professionals to improve each patients outcomes.

If your joints are stiff or hurting, you should never assume its just the aging process. Similarly, you should not assume your childs joint pain is growing pains or that they are just too lazy to move. If inflammatory arthritis is not detected and treated early, it can lead to permanent joint damage, which is why it is important to discuss your symptoms with your primary care physician who can assess the need for referral to a rheumatologist.

UCF Health is the College of Medicines physician practice, offering primary and specialty care to the community. Its newest office is located in Lake Nona at the corner of Narcoossee Road and Tavistock Lakes Boulevard. Most major insurance plans are accepted. Visit UCFHealth.com for more information, or call (407) 266-DOCS to schedule an appointment.

Lindsay is a marketing professional in the architecture/engineering/construction industry.

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Understanding the Different Types of Arthritis - Nonahood News (press release)