StemCell Therapy

A girl of eight whose rare brain disorder is likely to lead to her death when she is in her teens is taking part in pioneering stem cell research in a bid to save others with same condition.

Lily Harrisss skin cells will first be turned into stem cells and then into brain cells by researchers at University College London as they seek treatments or a cure.

About 100 to 200 cases of BPAN beta-propeller protein-associated neurodegeneration are known worldwide, although this is believed to be an underestimate.

Children often suffer delayed development, sleep problems, epilepsy and lack of speech and their symptoms can be mistaken for other conditions.

Lily, from Luton, was diagnosed when she was five. She has very limited communication skills and uses a wheelchair. She wakes four or five times a night and needs drugs to control seizures.

However, she loves swimming and her father Simon said she has recently began singing on car journeys.

Shes laughed and giggled her way through everything, and shes been through a lot, he said.

Shes a beautiful little girl who can be quite naughty sometimes. Were giving her the best time we can while shes here. We have a beautiful little girl and its just so cruel.

Young people with BPAN develop abnormal muscle tone, symptoms of Parkinsons disease and dementia.

Mr Harriss and his wife Samantha, who work for an airline, know that as Lilys condition progresses she may have difficulty swallowing and require pain management.

Mr Harriss said: Lily can point to things she wants, she uses a little sign language and she can say a few words, like mummy, daddy, hello and goodbye.

Medical research like this for children is just absolutely vital.

We know we wont get a cure for Lily but, as parents, we need to be bigger than that. Other children might benefit through Lily. We are so proud of her.

The UCL study is being funded by 230,000 from childrens charity Action Medical Research and the British Paediatric Neurology Association. Lead researcher Dr Apostolos Papandreou hopes his research will lead to trials of treatments.

He said: The parents Ive met understandably feel devastated at the prospect of their children having a progressive disorder. However, theyre really keen to explore new avenues and participate in research projects.

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Girl, eight, with rare brain disorder in pioneering UCL stem cell research - Evening Standard

Scientists have coaxed sound-sensing cells in the ear, called "hair cells," to grow from stem cells. This technique, if perfected with human cells, could help halt or reverse the most common form of hearing loss, according to a new study.

These delicate hair cells can be damaged by excessive noise, ear infections, certain medicines or the natural process of aging. Human hair cells do not naturally regenerate; so as they die, hearing declines.

More than 20 million Americans have significant hearing loss resulting from the death or injury of these sensory hair cells, accounting for about 90 percent of hearing loss in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the new study, scientists at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology reported that they isolated stem cells from a mouse ear, discovered how to get them to multiply in a laboratory setting, and then converted them into hair cells. Their previous efforts, in 2013, produced only 200 hair cells. With a new technique, however, the research team has increased this number to 11,500 hair cells that were grown from one mouse ear. [Inside Life Science: Once Upon a Stem Cell]

Their paper describing the stem cell advance appears today (Feb. 21) in the journal Cell Reports.

Jeffrey Corwin, an expert on hair-cell regeneration and a professor of neuroscience at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, who was not part of this new research, called it "a very impressive studyby a dream team of scientists" and "a big advance" in the pursuit of regenerating these sensory hearing cells in humans.

Hair cells grow in bundles in the inner ear, and are so named because they look like hairs. Many hair cells within the ear are involved in balance, not hearing. But in the cochlea, the hearing organ deep in the ear canal, there are two kinds of specialized hair cells: outer hair cells, which amplify pitch and enable humans to discern subtle differences in sound; and inner hair cells, which convert sound into electrical signals sent to the brain. Humans have two cochleae (one in each ear), and each has only about 16,000 hair cells.

In fish, birds, lizards and amphibians, cochlear hair cells that die can be regenerated in as fast as a few days. However, in mammals, for the most part, the cells cannot regenerate except for mice and other small mammals when they are newly born. But since so many species can naturally regenerate hair cells from a stem cell precursor, including some newborn mammals, many researchers have been motivated to find a way to rekindle hair-cell regeneration in adult mammals and, of course, in humans, Corwin said.

The new research was done by a team led by Albert Edge, director of the Tillotson Cell Biology Unit at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and professor of otolaryngology at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

In 2012, Edge's group discovered stem cells in the ear called Lgr5+ cells. These cells are also found in the gut, where they actively regenerate the entire lining of human intestines every eight days. The research team soon found a way to coax the Lgr5+ cells to differentiate into hair cells, instead of intestinal cells. But the process was slow, and the yield was low.

Now, the researchers have increased the yield dramatically by inserting a new step. After removing Lgr5+ cells from mice, the researchers first get them to divide in a special growth medium. This step produced a two-thousandfold increase in Lgr5+ cells, Edge told Live Science. Then, the researchers moved these stem cells into a different kind of growth culture and added certain chemicals to turn the Lgr5+ cells into hair cells. [7 Ways the Mind and Body Change With Age]

These laboratory-grown hair cells appear to have many of the characteristics of actual inner and outer hair cells, although they might not be fully functional, Edge said. The most immediate use for this new technique will be to create a large set of the cells to test drugs and to identify compounds that can heal damaged hair cells or regrow them and restore hearing, Edge said.

Scientists have had difficulty testing drugs on large batches of actual hair cells because there are so few in mammalian ears and they are deep in the cochlea, hard to extract, Edge said.

The researchers have reason to believe the technique to regenerate fully functional hair cells in humans could someday work. As reported in their paper, the team tested the technique on a sample of healthy ear tissue from a 40-year-old patient who underwent a labyrinthectomy (removal of parts of the inner ear) to access a brain tumor. The adult human stem cells isolated from this tissue also multiplied and differentiated into hair cells, although not as robustly as the mouse cells did.

But as Corwin noted about Edge's research, "You can see in their paper that they are perfecting their technique as they go along."

Follow Christopher Wanjek @wanjekfor daily tweets on health and science with a humorous edge. Wanjek is the author of "Food at Work" and "Bad Medicine." His column, Bad Medicine, appears regularly on Live Science.

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Hear This: Scientists Regrow Sound-Sensing Cells - Yahoo News

BRITISH Blind Sport is returning as a charity partner for the Wright Hassall Regency Run.

Organised by the Leamington and District Round Table the 10k run takes place on Sunday April 2.

The Leamington-based charity which helps blind and partially sighted people to get active and play sport are hoping to encourage more people of all running abilities to become guide runners.

Following the success of the Rio Paralympics the profile of disabled sport is higher than ever and the charity wants runners of any ability to run the 10k and raise funds for them to support their Find a Guide service which pairs visually impaired runners and guide runners.

Fundraising manager for British Blind Sport, Ian Carr, said: The Regency Run is a fantastic event and were really grateful to the Round Table for once again supporting us this way.

The event has really helped us to raise the profile of British Blind Sport in Warwickshire and funds raised will support our guide running programme so we can continue our work in providing sporting opportunities for visually impaired people.

And Mark Chambers from the Round Table added: This is our 13th year hosting the Regency Run, and we hope to see more entries than ever before.

There is always such a good atmosphere and a great sense of community so it should be a fantastic day.

The run has helped to raise thousands of pounds for British Blind Sport over the last few years and were looking forward to supporting the work of the charity again.

Visit http://www.regency10k.co.uk to enter and http://www.britishblindsport.org.uk for further details.

* A WARWICK community centre can continue delivering youth sport activities thanks to cash raised by the Regency Run.

The Gap Community Centre has received 2,000 and will receive 4,000 more over the next two years from the Leamington Round Table as a result of funds raised by the Regency Run.

Based in Oakwood Grove, the donation allows the community centre to fund a youth worker for a whole year to deliver sport activities for young people at the centre.

More than 2,000 people visit the centre each month, with activities available for babies through to the elderly.

Gap director Marcos Campos said they were grateful for the funding.

He added: We are the only universal provision for young people in Warwick, other than after-school clubs, and funding like this is essential to allow us to continue providing this unique provision in the area.

We only charge members 60p a session, 1.20 for non-members you wouldnt get that anywhere else. Those who cant afford to pay, dont pay at all, we want everyone to be able to access the activities we offer here.

Originally posted here:
Blindness charity returns as partner for Recency Run - Leamington Observer

The Hindu

A look into four eye diseases that could lead to blindness The Hindu A recent study from researchers at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found that most Americans regard loss of eyesight as the worst ailment that could happen to them, surpassing such conditions as loss of limb ...

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A look into four eye diseases that could lead to blindness - The Hindu

A web-based program of exercise and coping skills training improves both function and pain in arthritic knees, a new study suggests.

This kind of online therapy can greatly improve access to effective, nonsurgical and non-drug relief for people with osteoarthritis of the knee, researchers say.

"Osteoarthritis is a leading cause of chronic knee pain and disability globally," lead author Kim Bennell, a researcher and physiotherapist at the University of Melbourne in Australia, told Reuters Health.

"It has a significant individual, societal and economic burden and on an individual level knee osteoarthritis causes loss of function, reduced quality of life, and psychological distress," Bennell said by email.

Exercise is known as the gold standard of conservative management for knee osteoarthritis, she added. Psychological treatments, in particular, pain coping skills training that teaches people strategies to manage and cope with their painful symptoms have also been identified as important and effective, Bennell said.

"Sadly, such effective treatments are highly underutilized in the management of osteoarthritis. One reason for this relates to the challenges of accessing a specialist who delivers these services particularly for people living in rural areas where services may be limited or non-existent or due to the mobility issues that are experienced by people suffering chronic knee pain," she said.

For the study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, Bennell and her colleagues enrolled 148 men and women over age 50 with internet access and knee pain on most days of the week over the previous three months.

Participants were randomly assigned to a treatment group or a control group, both of which received web-based educational material about exercise and pain management for arthritis.

The treatment group also got access to an online program called PainCOACH and were asked to complete one 35- to 45-minute module each week over the course of eight weeks and to practice the pain-coping skills they learned daily. The interactive program included training in relaxation, problem solving, using pleasant imagery and changing negative thoughts to cope with pain.

In addition, the treatment group had seven Skype sessions with a physical therapist, each lasting 30 or 45 minutes, over 12 weeks. After evaluating each patient, the therapist taught them exercises for lower-leg strengthening and prescribed a regimen to do three times a week.

At the beginning of the study, then three and nine months later, participants completed multiple questionnaires scoring their pain levels and functioning.

At the three-month mark, those who got the online coping skills and exercise training had significantly lower scores for pain, functioning and distress than when they started and compared to the people in the control group. This difference between the groups remained at nine months, though the gap closed somewhat.

"The important takeaway message from these findings is that an internet-delivered intervention that adopts a holistic approach to the management of chronic knee pain and knee osteoarthritis, using freely available computer software, is effective and well received by its users," Bennell said.

"These results are encouraging and show that 'telemedicine' is clearly ready for prime time," writes Dr. Lisa Mandl, a rheumatologist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, in an accompanying editorial.

"The real added benefit here is that patients do not have to come in for an appointment. They can access high-quality exercise and coping skills therapy, that is particularly tailored to them, at a place and time which is convenient," Mandl told Reuters Health by email.

Patients may also feel more comfortable asking questions of their therapist when they are asking them from the comfort and privacy of their own home, she added.

"They may also be more motivated to follow the programs, knowing that they will receive a personalized follow-up call at home, and cannot avoid talking to the therapist by missing appointment," Mandl said.

Mandl thinks this type of intervention would apply to most people, especially patients who live in rural areas or places without easy access to therapists. "The fact that the therapist could be located anywhere is especially helpful for patients who may not speak English," she noted.

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Online treatment reduces chronic knee pain from arthritis - Fox News

Psoriasis is a lifelong inflammatory skin disease characterized by red, itchy, and scaly patches of skin. Those who suffer from this disease are also at increased risk for many major medical disorders, including psoriatic arthritis, a type of arthritis characterized by psoriasis plus inflammation of and around the joints.

Now a new Canadian study published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology finds that psoriasis patients who develop depression have a 37 percent greater risk of subsequently developing psoriatic arthritis, compared with patients who do not develop depression.

For many years, the rheumatology and dermatology communities have been trying to understand which patients with psoriasis go on to develop psoriatic arthritis and how we might detect it earlier in the disease course, said lead researcher Cheryl Barnabe, M.D., M.Sc., of the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health and the OBrien Institute for Public Health, Cumming School of Medicine, at the University of Calgary.

Depression is quite common among psoriasis patients. Based on recent laboratory findings showing that major depressive disorder is associated with increased systemic inflammation, the researchers hypothesized that psoriasis patients who develop depression may be at increased risk of developing psoriatic arthritis.

There is a tendency to think of depression as a purely psychological or emotional issue, but it also has physical effects and changes in inflammatory and immune markers have been reported in depressed people, commented Scott Patten, M.D., Ph.D., the OBrien Institute for Public Health, Hotchkiss Brain Institute and Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research and Education, Cumming School of Medicine.

Depression may be a risk factor for a variety of chronic conditions and this research is an example of how big data approaches can identify these associations.

The researchers evaluated data from primary care medical records in the United Kingdom to find over 70,000 patients with a new diagnosis of psoriasis. Then they identified the patients who subsequently developed depression and those who developed psoriatic arthritis. Patients were followed for up to 25 years or until they developed psoriatic arthritis.

Their findings show that patients with psoriasis who developed major depressive disorder were at 37 percent greater risk of subsequently developing psoriatic arthritis compared with patients who did not develop depression, even after accounting for numerous other factors such as age and use of alcohol.

The research emphasizes the need for physicians who treat patients with psoriasis to actively identify and address depression. This could include rapid, effective treatment of psoriasis and psychosocial management of the cosmetic burden of psoriasis.

The findings also draw into question the biological mechanisms by which depression increases the risk for psoriatic arthritis. These mechanisms may include altered systemic inflammation as a consequence of depression, or even the role of lifestyle behaviors such as physical activity or nutrition, which are typically worsened by depression, and which may place an individual at risk for psoriatic arthritis.

It is evident to physicians who treat patients with psoriasis, that there is a significant psychological and social burden associated with this disease, which is reflected in an increase in the rates of depression, said Laurie Parsons, M.D., of the Cumming School of Medicine.

This study brings us a little closer to understanding the role of chronic inflammation as a systemic player in both the physical and psychological manifestations of psoriasis and underscores the need for closer attention to symptoms of depression in this group of patients.

Source: Elsevier Health Sciences

APA Reference Pedersen, T. (2017). Depression in Psoriasis Patients Ups Risk of Arthritis. Psych Central. Retrieved on February 23, 2017, from https://psychcentral.com/news/2017/02/23/depression-in-psoriasis-patients-ups-risk-of-arthritis/116785.html

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Depression in Psoriasis Patients Ups Risk of Arthritis - PsychCentral.com

New research provides further evidence of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation as an effective treatment for multiple sclerosis, after finding the procedure halted disease progression for 5 years in almost half of patients.

However, [Dr. Paolo Muraro, of the Department of Medicine at Imperial College London,] warn that further trials are needed to determine the efficacy and safety of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT).

In AHSCT, a patients own stem cells are harvested. The patient is then subject to high-dose chemotherapy to eliminate any diseased cells. Next, the harvested stem cells are returned to the patients bloodstreamIn simple terms, AHSCT resets the immune system.

Overall, the researchers found that 46 percent of patients experienced no disease progression in the 5 years after treatmentAdditionally, patients experienced small improvements in MS symptoms after AHSCT.

While these findings show promise for the use of AHSCT for patients with MS, the team notes that there were eight deaths in the 100 days after AHSCT, which were thought to have been treatment related.

[The study can be found here.]

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post:Multiple sclerosis: Stem cell transplantation may halt disease progression

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Multiple sclerosis treatment could 'reset' immune system with stem cell therapy - Genetic Literacy Project

Image: eyeSight

The National Safety Council reports that 2016 was the deadliest year on US roads in a decade. Autonomous vehicles could eliminate the estimated 90 percent of crashes that are caused by human error, but they aren't ready yet. There are legal and practical matters to sort out and consumer advocate groups have urged regulators not to rush self-driving cars to market before they have been thoroughly tested. In the meantime, semi-autonomous vehicles with automated safety features are the next best thing.

According to the US Department of Transportation's latest study (2014), 10 percent of crashes are caused by distraction, and it's no surprise since so many drivers have their eyes on their smartphones instead of on the road. According to NHTSA, "Data shows the average time your eyes are off the road while texting is five seconds. When traveling at 55mph, that's enough time to cover the length of a football field blindfolded." Yikes.

Technology caused the problem -- and newer technology can help solve it. Semi-autonomous safety features already include adaptive cruise control, automatic headlight adjustments, parking assistance, automatic emergency braking, and more. Now a new system called eyeSight uses embedded computer vision to detect when a driver is distracted or drowsy. An infrared camera tracks the driver's eyes while the computer vision and AI software detect the driver's state and analyze it in real time.

A representative from eyeSight Technologies tells us:

If the driver seems drowsy or distracted, the car will alert the driver and take action through the vehicle's other safety systems, such as adjusting the adaptive cruise control to increase the distance from the car ahead. EyeSight can't detect drunk driving yet, but this capability is under development and expected to be ready in the next couple of years.

Embedded computer vision can also be used for convenience, such as identifying a driver and then adjusting the seat, mirrors, and temperature to that driver's preferences. There is also a time-of-flight sensor that is installed in the center console to provide gesture control. Drivers can use simple hand motions to answer phone calls, turn up the radio's volume, or communicate with the car in other ways. A promotional video for eyeSight shows a driver giving a thumbs up to "like" nearby businesses or songs that are playing, although that feature seems counterproductive since it creates a whole new set of distractions.

VIDEO: MIT thinks 3,000 Uber rides could replace all the taxis in NYC

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Embedded computer vision could prevent distracted driving - ZDNet

A close look at sharp vision in eye structure seen only in humans and other primates Science Daily Figuring out how the fovea functions is essential to the search for strategies to correct central vision loss, including efforts to design visual prosthetics. "Diseases such as macular degeneration are much more debilitating than deficits in peripheral ... and more »

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A close look at sharp vision in eye structure seen only in humans and other primates - Science Daily

Teacher helps blind sisters 'see' science

Marvin Hurst, KENS 9:41 AM. CST February 22, 2017

SAN ANTONIO - Graciously seeking acceptance as normal college students is a box Katy and Olivia Shaw are trying to check.

Yet, their navigation in the classroom and through everyday life yields the inquiry they've heard a million times: 'How does it feel to be blind?'

"We do everything we can when it comes to living everyday life," Olivia said.

The 19-year-olds said being visually impaired is the only normality they've known.

They are both living with a disease affecting their vision called retinopathy. The sisters were diagnosed after being born prematurely.

Katy is blind in her right eye and the teenager has some vision in her left eye which makes reading large print possible.

Seeing is more challenging for Olivia. She has some light perception and some colors are visible to her.

However, this hasn't stopped the Shaw sisters from doing chores at home, cooking and even earning academic fortitude.

Katy has a 3.9 grade point average and Olivia has a 4.0. The sisters are both dual credit students at Northwest Vista College.

"Definitely having this impairment has made it somewhat challenging," Katy said.

The native daughters of Hawaii love science. However, the students said their classroom experience in the subject has not been beneficial towards their dreams.

"Basically, they (teachers) said just go over there and sit until we're done," Katy said.

Olivia wants to become a doctor and Katy wants to work with animals, marine biology specifically.

"It's scary to walk into a field that's so visual with a blindfold on," Olivia said.

Gladys Malave took the blindfold off.

Malave got the sisters for her biology class at Northwest Vista College. Initially, the challenge of teaching an optically driven course to the visually impaired was too weighty.

"I wanted to run," Malave said. "Not me. Not me."

But Malave settled down and thought 'why not me?'

The biology professor learned braille in less than a month. She designed everything from tactile models to brailled labeled microscopes to accommodate Olivia's needs. Katy's large prints requirements were met as well.

"It's a matter of closing your eyes and you just image you are in their shoes," Malave said.

This was a team experience. Malave said she checks with the girls to make sure she's correct.

Their teacher also revealed this classroom challenge has a personal connection.

Malave was diagnosed with autoimmune disease in 2003 and her eyes came under attack.

"My doctor said I could go blind," she said.

She resigned herself to becoming a visually impaired biology professor.

In fact, she made preparations to learn braille. Then, her eye treatments removed the danger of the educator losing sight and she pushed braille to the side.

"It just ignored the call," She said. "The call came back in the form of Olivia and Katy."

The Shaw sisters are among Malave's top students. Visual challenges are met with techniques registering from the girls' fingertips to their brains.

"It feels like we are almost you--I hate to say it likes this---normal students who are just a part of the class and able to participate in the same opportunities as everyone else," Olivia said.

There is one more Shaw sister, Elizabeth, who is scheduled to join her sisters next semester at Northwest Vista College.

Elizabeth, Olivia and Katy are triplets. Her vision is fine, but she is hearing impaired.

The science bug didn't bite her though. Elizabeth wants to be a photographer.

Malave is readying herself in case Elizabeth has to take her biology class.

"Sign language is on my list of things to do. Definitely," she said.

( 2017 KENS)

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Blind sisters gain new vision from biology professor - KIII TV3

Robots, surveillance cameras and drones could one day detect changes to their environment far more quickly and efficiently, using a vision system based on the way the human eye and brain process information.

The EPSRC-funded Internet of Silicon Retinas (IOSIRE) project, led by researchers from Kings College London and also involving University College London and Kingston University, is aiming to develop advanced machine-to-machine communication systems that capture and transmit images from highly efficient vision sensors mimicking the human retina.

Conventional cameras generate entirely new images for each frame, despite the fact that much of the picture remains the same as that of the previous one. This wastes a considerable amount of memory, computing power and time, according to the UCL principal investigator Yiannis Andreopoulos.

If you are processing an image to analyse what is happening in a scene, you often end up throwing away most of the background information, because you are only interested in particular shapes or objects, he said.

In contrast, recently developed dynamic vision sensors (DVS) mimic the way the retina works, by only updating the image at those points where a movement or change in the scene has occurred. When an object moves within a scene it reflects light, which is detected instantly by the sensor, said Andreopoulos.

This significantly increases the speed at which the sensors can produce video frames, resulting in rates of up to 1000 frames per second compared to 20-30 frames per second for conventional cameras.

And because it is not recording the background, just any changes in the scene, the power consumption is very low just 10 to 20 milliwatts compared to up to 200 milliwatts, said Andreopoulos.

Basic processing of images produced by the DVS camera could be carried out locally by the device itself, to produce information needed there and then.

But certain information could also be transmitted to a server in the cloud, at which point more advanced processing and analysis could be carried out, said Andreopoulos.

This resembles the way the mammalian eye is thought to capture scene information, and then transmit it to the visual cortex where the information is processed to generate the three-dimensional rendering of the scene that we see.

In a way, this gives us the illusion that we see this 3D super high-resolution world, but in reality there is very little information being captured by the eye, and to a large extent, the rest is rendered in the brain, said Andreopoulos.

The researchers are aiming for a 100-fold decrease in the amount of energy consumed by the system, when compared to conventional designs for pixel-based visual processing and transmission over machine-to-machine networks.

The project involves Thales, Ericsson, neuromorphic technologies specialist iniLabs, Keysight Technologies UK, and semiconductor company MediaTek.

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Project looks at human eye to sharpen sight of robots and drones - The Engineer

eyeSight offers an advanced automotive solution fulfilling all in-cabin market needs, including driver awareness, driver recognition and gesture control

Herzliya, Israel (Marketwired) - eyeSight Technologies, a leader in Human Machine Interface (HMI) and user awareness embedded computer vision, today announces its automotive solution focusing on in-cabin sensing technology. With the driver as the main focal point, eyeSight offers a complete solution that provides driver awareness, driver recognition and gesture control.

Driver awareness is enabled by a new level of learning and fine-tuned computer vision to ensure that once drowsiness or distraction is detected, eyeSight's solution will inform car systems to provide an alert or take proactive action through the safety systems, such as increase distance from the car ahead with adaptive cruise control.

Driver recognition offers a new level of personalization and comfort between the car and driver, as it constantly improves the system and learns the driver. Merely sitting in the driver's seat will prompt the car to adjust to the specific driver's preferences such as seat position, temperature, volume level, music selection, favorite stations, and more.

Through the same sensor that provides driver awareness and recognition, eyeSight's automotive solution also provides touch-free gesture control that enables an additional level of immediate interaction to minimize distraction for the driver. The simple gestures are natural and tightly coupled with the functions they control to minimize the cognitive load, alleviate the friction of in-car systems and save the driver from the distraction of locating and tapping touch screen buttons.

"For over a decade, we have been investing in R&D to create market leading embedded machine learning solutions, which are already deployed in millions of devices worldwide," said Gideon Shmuel, CEO of eyeSight Technologies. "Adding these new robust computer vision features to our automotive solutions enhances the driver experience and helps prevent distracted driving. With the market transition to semi-autonomous cars, it's vital that our automotive solutions go beyond just driver awareness to give the driver tangible benefits like personalization and gestures."

To learn more about eyeSight Technologies and their new automotive solutions, visit http://www.eyesight-tech.com.

About eyeSight Technologies eyeSight is the leading provider of embedded computer vision solutions, bringing sensing and gesture recognition technology to a variety of devices and industries. The company's technology improves daily life interactions with the home, the car, and other consumer electronics with simplified user interactions that are intelligent and personalized. eyeSight's technology was designed for a wide range of applications, from active interactions with gesture recognition and finger tracking, to passive user detection and face analysis, delivering customized experiences based on user features and actions. For more information, visit http://www.eyesight-tech.com.

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eyeSight Technologies Announces Groundbreaking In-Cabin Sensing Technology To Prevent Distracted Driving - Embedded Technology.com (press release)

Eye diseases and vision loss have become major public health concerns in the United States. As the last of the baby-boom generation approaches age 65, the number of Americans who are visually impaired, including those with low vision, is expected to double to more than 8 million by 2050, according to recent studies funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Low vision is when people have difficulty seeing, even with regular glasses, contact lenses, medicine or surgery. People with low vision may find it challenging to perform everyday activities such as getting around the neighborhood, reading the mail, shopping, cooking, or watching television.

Most people with low vision are age 65 or older. The leading causes of vision loss in older adults are age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, cataract and glaucoma.

Among younger people, inherited eye conditions, infectious and autoimmune eye diseases or trauma most often cause vision loss.

People with vision loss may feel anxious, helpless and depressed. They should know that help is available.

People experiencing vision loss should talk to their eye care professional and seek a referral to a low vision specialist, said Dr. Paul A. Sieving, director of NEI, one of the federal governments principal agencies for vision research.

A low vision specialist is an ophthalmologist or optometrist trained to help people who have low vision maximize their remaining sight and continue to live safe, productive, and rewarding lives. This specialist can develop a vision rehabilitation plan especially for a persons particular needs.

Vision rehabilitation is essential to maximizing the independence, functioning, participation, safety and overall quality of life for people with visual impairment, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

A team of professionals such as occupational therapists, orientation and mobility instructors, low vision therapists, rehabilitation teachers, and adaptive technology specialists provide vision rehabilitation services. These specialists work together to teach people with vision loss a variety of skills, such as:

Using magnifying and adaptive devices

Navigating safely around the home and in public

Finding resources and support

A vision rehabilitation plan helps people reach their true visual potential when nothing more can be done from a medical or surgical standpoint, said Mark Wilkinson, O.D., a low vision specialist at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and chair of the low vision subcommittee for the National Eye Health Education Program.

Among the resources NEI offers to help people with low vision, What You Should Know About Low Vision, is a 20-page, large-print booklet with a companion video that features inspiring stories of people living with low vision. Download the materials for free at nei.nih.gov/lowvision.

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Vision rehab maximizes hope and independence - Stanwood Camano News

Insulin-producing cells (yellow) produce the hormone insulin (green spheres) and are surrounded by other cells in the pancreas.

Carol and Mike Werner/Science Source

By Jennifer Couzin-FrankelFeb. 22, 2017 , 2:00 PM

Type 1 diabetes is one of the most common serious diseases to strike young children, but how does it start? Its a question that has bedeviled scientists for years. Now, a new study pinpoints a warning sign in healthy babies as young as 6 months old. The work could advance prevention efforts and might help explain the genesis of the autoimmune disease.

Type 1 diabetes hits when the body destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. By the time peoplemany of them childrenare diagnosed, most of those cells are gone. Forty thousand new type 1 diabetes cases are recorded each year in the United States, and the disease is on the rise for reasons not well understood. A dream for diabetes researchers is to treat kids earlier, when they are headed down the diabetes road but arent yet there.

About 3 decades ago, scientists discovered a collection of signposts: antibodies directed at certain proteins in the body, including insulin. As they studied these children more intensively, they learned that those with two or more different kinds of these autoantibodies will eventually develop diabetes, though sometimes not for many years. Many clinical trials have since focused on trying to slow disease onset in these individuals.

But what happens before these autoantibodies arise? Ezio Bonifacio, a biologist at the Technische Universitt Dresden in Germany, had the means to tackle this question. He and his colleagues had for years been following children since birth whose genetics and family history put them at increased risk. Beginning in 2000, the researchers began to collect and store blood cells from a subset of these children. Recently, technology had advanced to the point that scientists could analyze single cells in those samples.

We decided that it was time to start to see if there was something happening at the level of the T cells, Bonifacio says. Commonly referred to as the sentries of our immune system, T cells are the villains in diabetes. They for some reason go rogue, leading the attack on insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.

Bonifacio and his colleagues performed sophisticated analysis on T cells from 12 babies who didnt develop autoantibodies latersuggesting they were in the clearand 16 babies who did. Probing the T cells in the lab, they saw that cells from the children who continued down the path toward type 1 diabetes were not normal. Essentially, when the T cells were exposed to a substance called an antigen, which in this case could trigger a response against insulin-producing cells, some of those T cells got activated. This is a faint echo of what happens inside the body of someone developing diabetes: Their T cells are activated against cells in the pancreas much as they would be against a foreign invader, like a virus.

These T cells have somehow already learnt to get halfway toward becoming autoreactive cells, says Bonifacio, whose team reports its findings today in Science Translational Medicine.

Bonifacio cautions that the findings are still preliminary. For one, samples like these from infancy are rare, and thus the number of children whose T cells were studied is modest. For another, although the unusual T cell behavior was entirely absent in kids who didnt get autoantibodies later on, it was recorded in only about half who did.

Still, the work breaks ground by identifying likely signs of type 1 diabetes studies earlier than ever, says Kevan Herold, an endocrinologist at Yale University, who studies ways to prevent the condition. The value of this paper is that theres stuff that can be measured even before the autoantibodies, agrees Gerald Nepom, director of the Immune Tolerance Network and former director of the Benaroya Research Institute in Seattle, Washington.

One central mystery is whats causing the changes in these cells so early in life. Bonifacio and others have looked exhaustively for environmental drivers of type 1 diabetes; although there have been hints of various influences, like certain infections, the punch line here is that the datas inconsistent across all the studies, says Carla Greenbaum, who chairs Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet, which oversees type 1 diabetes treatment and prevention trials, and directs the diabetes program at the Benaroya Research Institute.

So diabetes experts like Greenbaum have their eyes on prevention. Bonifacio is co-leading a study called Pre-POINT-Early, which offers oral insulin to children between 6 months and 2 years old; results are expected sometime next year. An oral insulin prevention study by TrialNet, in people with autoantibodies, will be reported in June. Herold hopes to report data in the near future on a study of an antibody called anti-CD3; he has tested it in newly diagnosed patients and is now trying it as a preventive.

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An early signpost for type 1 diabetes? - Science Magazine

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Not all saturated fats are created equal, it appears. A pair of new studies suggests that certain sources of saturated fat may be worse than othersespecially when it comes to raising risk for type 2 diabetes.

In one study , published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers from Harvard University and the Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Spain tracked 3,349 Spanish adults for about 4.5 years. Overall, they found that people who consumed higher amounts of saturated fats and animal fats were twice as likely to develop diabetes than those who consumed a lower amount.

When the researchers broke down the results by specific food type, the consumption of butter (at 12 grams a day) and cheese (at 30 grams a day) were both linked to an increased risk of diabetes. On the other hand, people who ate whole-fat yogurt actually had a lower risk than those who didn't.

The researchers have several explanations for these findings. Yogurt contains healthful ingredients, like probiotics and protein, that may have protective effects when it comes to diabetes risk, says lead author Marta Guasch-Ferre, a nutrition research fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Even though the results were adjusted to account for other food intake, unhealthy eating patterns may have influenced them. Butter and cheese often come with carbohydrates, like toast or crackers, Guasch-Ferre says. Plus, people who eat more yogurt tend to have better diets than those who dont, she adds.

The study did not find any significant links between diabetes risk and consumption of red meat, processed meat, eggs or whole-fat milk. That was a surprise to the researchers, who suspect that other factors may have diluted these results. They point out that dietary patterns in Spain are different than those in the United States, and that many of the study participants were following a Mediterranean diet, so these findings may not apply to someone following a typical American diet.

Its safe to say, based on the findings of other studies, that processed meat and red meat are associated with cardiovascular disease and other chronic disease risks, says Guasch-Ferre. We know its beneficial to reduce the intake of these meats and to replace them with healthy fats from plant sources like nuts and olive oil.

However, just because a fat may come from a plant doesn't make it healthy. Palm oil, used in a lot of processed foods, is very high in saturated fat. In another recent study, scientists demonstrate how even one dose of palm oil can affect metabolism and reduce the bodys sensitivity to insulin.

For this research, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, German scientists asked 14 healthy men to drink either a glass of plain water or a drink made with palm oil that contained as much saturated fat as a cheeseburger and French fries. When the participants drank one of these beverages, they experienced a reduction in insulin sensitivity, an increase in fat deposits in the liver and changes in their metabolism similar to those experienced by people with diabetes.

For healthy people, the authors say, the occasional fatty meal likely wont cause any permanent damage. But people who regularly eat foods high in palm oil or other saturated fats may face bigger long-term consequences, like chronic insulin resistance and fatty liver disease. Both are risk factors for diabetes.

The American Heart Association recommends that no more than 10% of total calories come from saturated fat and encourages consumption of unsaturated fats and carbohydrates from vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts and legumes. Based on recent research, says Guasch-Ferre, these recommendations seem to be just as important for diabetes risk as they are for heart healthand not just because fatty foods can cause weight gain.

I think its probably more that saturated fats have harmful effects on insulin resistance and other markers of inflammation, more than weight gain, she says. More research is needed, she adds, to fully understand the connection or to make clear recommendations about specific foods.

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This Kind of Fat Lowers Your Risk For Diabetes - TIME

Older adults are at a higher risk for diabetes and pre-diabetes than younger Americans. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than one in every four Americans over the age of 60 has diabetes, and with age comes greater risks for complications.

Diabetes can lead to heart attacks, strokes, blindness, kidney disease, amputations and even death.

However, studies show it is never too late to make changes to improve a persons health. Motivated adults ready to make lifestyle changes can slow the progression of diabetes and avoid or delay complications.

To help adults who want to get better control of their diabetes, Mountain-Pacific Quality Health, the Medicare quality innovative network-quality improvement organization (QIN-QIO) for Montana, Montana State University Teton County Extension and the Montana Geriatric Education Center are partnering together to offer a series of six, free diabetes classes.

These classes provide fun, informative and interactive ways to help people with diabetes or pre-diabetes (high blood sugar).

Understand diabetes and how it affects the entire body;

Manage diabetes in a way that makes sense for them and their individual health goals;

Become more informed members of their health care teams, as they continue to work with their doctors, diabetes educators and other health care providers to improve their health.

The classes support, not replace, professional self-management diabetes education. While the classes are designed for people with Medicare, anyone with diabetes or pre-diabetes is welcome to attend.

The series kicks off March 7, from 6:45 to 7:45 p.m., in the Alice Gleason room at the Choteau/Teton Public Library at 17 Main Ave. N. Classes will then meet every Tuesday through April 18, excluding March 21. Anyone interested in attending these classes can register by calling 466-2492 or emailing to teton@montana.edu.

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Diabetes series begins on March 7 - Choteau Acantha

Science Daily

Researchers implicate suspect in heart disease linked to diabetes ... Science Daily Scientists have struggled to trace the specific biology behind diabetes-associated heart disease risk or find ways to intervene. Now, researchers have hunted ... and more »

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Researchers implicate suspect in heart disease linked to diabetes ... - Science Daily

BBC News

Six-year-old boy's stem cell campaign 'potentially saves 14 lives' BBC News Fourteen people have been given potentially life-saving stem cell donations thanks to a campaign launched to help a young boy with leukaemia. A match was found for Joel Picker-Spence, but it was too late and he died shortly before his seventh birthday ...

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Six-year-old boy's stem cell campaign 'potentially saves 14 lives' - BBC News

Hearing loss affects 360 million people worldwide according to the World Health Organization. Inner ear sensory cells, called hair cells, are responsible for detecting sound and helping to signal it to the brain. Loud sounds and toxic drugs can lead to death of the hair cells, which do not regenerate, and is the root cause for widespread hearing loss. Until now, it was not possible to promote the generation of sufficient quantities of new hair cells.

In a new paper in Cell Reports, scientists from Brigham and Womens Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Massachusetts Eye & Ear describe a technique to grow large quantities of inner ear progenitor cells that convert into hair cells. The same techniques show the ability to regenerate hair cells in the cochlea.

Humans are born with only 15,000 sensory hair cells in each cochlea, which are susceptible to damage from exposure to loud noises and medications, which can lead to cell death and hearing loss over time.

Amazingly, birds and amphibians are capable of regenerating hair cells throughout their life, suggesting that the biology exists and should be possible for humans. Intrigued, we decided to explore whether these hair cells could be regenerated, says Jeff Karp, co-corresponding author and biomedical engineer at BWH.

"We took cochlear supporting cells expressing Lgr5, a marker recently found in stem cells of several organs, and treated them with a drug cocktail that stimulated critical pathways, says Xiaolei Yin, co-lead author on the paper and instructor of medicine at BWH. The team achieved a >2000-fold increase in Lgr5 progenitor cells and found that these progenitors could generate new hair cells in high yield. The team also demonstrated that this approach could work with cells from mouse, non-human primate, and human tissue.

Importantly, the drug cocktail generates new sensory hair cells in intact cochlear tissue, which shows promise for a therapy to treat patients with hearing loss, says Karp. This expansion of large populations of Lgr5-expressing cells and their differentiation to hair cells provides a powerful tool for investigating the regenerative biology of hearing, and these drugs should be relevant for clinical application.

To advance this work to patients, Frequency Therapeutics, is developing a novel small molecule approach to treat chronic hearing loss and expects to be in the clinic within the next 18 months.

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Scientists Unlock Ability to Generate New Sensory Hair Cells - Laboratory Equipment

Mysuru: India witnesses 3.5 million premature deliveries annually, and 9% of those cases result in blindness among newborn babies, said child specialist Dr Vamanrao Bapat.

Dr Bapat was speaking at a district-level convention of Samadrushti Kshamata Vikasa and Anusandhana Mandala (Samakshama) at Nadabrahma Sangeet Sabha on Sunday. "Cases of premature deliveries are on the rise in country. Now, we have better medical facilities to take care of premature babies," he said.

"Earlier, blindness was caused due to bacterial infections, firecrackers and accidents. But now, premature deliveries are the cause, and they are happening due to ignorance during pregnancy and lack of periodical medicare," he said, adding: "Government-sponsored health programmes have reduced or eradicated some diseases. Measles and rubella vaccination drive is also being carried out across the country. It will improve the health among children."

District disabilities officer H R Srinivas said that department is restlessly working to help the disabled.

"Providing them education and medical assistance is our priority. In the district, 15 private schools are functioning for differently abled children. Besides distributing artificial limbs, the department has been providing them financial assistance so they are self-reliant," the officer claimed.

On the occasion, Samakshama honoured Dr Madhura, an eye specialist practising in Mysuru for the past three decades, Manjunath, visually challenged who has done PhD in political science, and Ullas Nayak, a hearing impaired international table tennis champion.

Legal expert Vaidyanathan explained about Disabilities Act and its benefits for the disabled. Earlier in the day, hundreds of visually impaired, hearing impaired and physically challenged persons took out Integration Rally around the venue.

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Premature deliveries causing blindness in babies - ETHealthworld.com