StemCell Therapy

Updated May 21, 2014.

What It Is:

The genetic theory of aging believes that lifespan is largely determined by the genes we inherit. According to the theory, our potential age is primarily determined at the moment of conception.

The Evidence Behind the Theory:

There is some evidence to support this theory. People with parents who have lived long lives are more likely to live long themselves (though this could be partially explained by learned behaviors, such as food preferences).

Also, identical twins (who have the exact same genes) have closer lifespans than siblings.

How Genes Impact Lifespan:

Some genes are beneficial and enhance longevity -- a gene that helps a person metabolize cholesterol would reduce a person's risk of heart disease, for example. But some genes are harmful, like those that increase the risk cancer. Some gene mutations are inherited, too, and may shorten lifespan. (Mutations also can happen after birth, since exposure to toxins, free radicals and radiation can cause gene changes.)

The Bottom Line:

It is estimated that genes can explain a maximum of 35 percent of lifespan. The other determinants are your behaviors, exposures, and just plain luck. So don't think that you are doomed just because your family members tend to die young -- and also don't think that you can ignore your health if your family members tend to live long.

See more here:
Genetics and Aging - The Genetic Theory of Aging

A paper presented to the Oxford Society of Scholars Forum by Rollin A. Van Broekhoven, JD, LLM, DPhil, DLitt, DPS 29 September 2001

INTRODUCTION

In 1729, when the Irish were crushed by poverty, thanks to the brutal economic policies of their English overlords, Jonathan Swift the conservative Irish clergyman who became the worlds greatest satirist wrote up A Modest Proposal. In deadpan prose and in a kindly benevolent style, he suggested that Irish babies be sold for food. That way, he argued, there would be both more food to go around and fewer mouths to feed. Besides, baby skin would make a really soft leather, making possible a new industry that would create jobs and boost the Irish economy.

Swift, the Christian pastor, was lampooning the moral utilitarianism of the Enlightenment, which taught that anything could be morally justified if it were useful giving the greatest tangible benefit to the greatest number. Swift showed where this kind of thinking, if pursued logically, would lead. Indeed, his A Modest Proposal did wake up the conscience of a good number of his readers, who realized that no noble social end could possibly justify the consumption of babies, and no moral philosophy that could justify such a thing could possibly be valid.

...Thinking about moral issues in utilitarian terms has become so ingrained that many Americans are unable to think in any other terms. If something no matter how reprehensible has a positive outcome, it must be okay.1

This paper addresses issues concerning the utilization of human embryonic stem cells in research. Although research also involves adult stem cells, such research does not at the present confront society with the same ethical and legal issues present in human embryonic stem cell research. Two great questions confront the human race at the start of this biotech century.2 The first is whether we should use members of our own kind, namely, Homo Sapiens, in whatever stage of biological existence, for the purpose that is other than the good of the individual concerned. The second, perhaps only in the horizons of our thinking, is whether we should use our growing capacity to design, determine, and transform ourselves and our nature, toward a so-called post-human future.3 What is at stake is societys understanding of what it means to be human. Nevertheless, underlying consideration of this subject are the following questions: If a procedure or process is scientifically or technologically feasible, is it, or should it be morally permissible, or at least be regarded as morally neutral?4 If it is morally permissible or neutral, is it, or should it be legally permissible? For many of us, these questions are intensely personal as we deal with bioethical end of life or incurable disease issues in our own families.

The relation of the natural sciences and morality and religion and law is one of the most fascinating, challenging, controversial, and potentially enriching studies possible in contemporary Western life. At its broadest and most general meaning, science is knowledge that is accumulated, systematized, and formulated with reference to the discovery of general truths or the operation of general laws. At this level, a distinction must be made between the natural or physical sciences, such as physics, chemistry, or biology, and the normative sciences, such as the social sciences. A more specific definition of the natural science may be that it is any systematic field of study or body of knowledge that aims, through experimentation, observation and deduction to produce a reliable explanation of phenomena with reference to the material or physical world.5 Philosophy of science deals, in very general terms, with the philosophical issues associated with the natural sciences.6

The natural sciences tended to be neutral towards religion. They did not require prior or consequent acceptance or rejection of any religious beliefs. As a result, most natural scientists assume that considerations of divine influence upon or involvement within natural order are largely irrelevant to the specific task searching for a natural explanation to patterns observed in nature. A significant philosophical distinction important to understanding the development of the natural sciences concerns rationalism and empiricism.7

On the one hand, rationalism with its emphasis on reason and view that all truth has its origins in human thought, unaided by any form of supernatural intervention or appeal to the experience of the senses, promoted the view that certain truths were universal and necessary. The alternative to rationalism, on the other hand, was an appeal to experience, generally known as empiricism. The issue emerging from the debate between rationalism and empiricism is whether certain truths (assuming there is such a thing as truth) are a priori or a posteriori. The same debate exists in religion and in moral thought, namely is the knowledge of God a priori, implanted there by God, or a posteriori, derived by reflection on experience or divine revelation. How one approaches the question of the morality of stem cell research is in large measure derived from ones a priori understanding of the nature of God and His commands, or ones a posteriori understanding of God based on ones experiences, including experience with God.

Where once there was a dialogue between religion and science, with certain shared assumptions, now there is a growing sense of conflict between religion and science. While the nature and the reasons for this conflict are beyond the scope of this paper, there are four considerations that may be noted that reflect the growing realization of insecurity in the inherited assumptions on which prior prevailing understandings rested.8 These include: the cultural shift reflected in the rise of postmodernism; the growing dissatisfaction with philosophical foundationalism; the influence of the negative direction of the conflict models and imageries; and the tendency to perpetuate outdated and misleading stereotypes often dependent upon incorrect assumptions, findings, and assertions in earlier works.9

Read the original here:
Stem Cell Research, Morality, and Law

The Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine is leading the transformation of health care by creating, educating, and actively supporting a community that embodies the philosophy and practice of healing-oriented medicine, addressing mind, body and spirit. The Center was founded in 1994 by Dr. Andrew Weil, and has focused its efforts in three domains: education, clinical care and research. The Center was built upon the premise that the best way to change a field is to educate the most gifted professionals and place them in settings where they can, in turn, teach others.

The Center offers a broad range of educational opportunities for health care professionals with an interest in learning and practicing the principles of integrative medicine. The majority of the Center's educational offerings are online, including our flagship program: The Fellowship in Integrative Medicine.

The Center has been serving patients at a small consultative practice at the University of Arizona, partnering with patients to facilitate healing by using a wide range of therapies from conventional and complementary traditions. In 2012, the Center opened a primary care clinic in Phoenix, Ariz.: the Arizona Integrative Health Center. The clinic is positioned to give thousands of Arizonans access to world-class integrative primary care unparalleled in the industry, with longer in-depth patient intake appointments, followed by visits with complementary providers, and unlimited classes on health and wellness topics. The clinic will also be the site for an outcomes study, through which statistically relevant data on the effect of IM will be used to open conversations on a national level about insurance reimbursement for integrative health-care services, wellness and prevention.

Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine research activities contribute rigorous scientific studies on the integration of complementary therapies with conventional medicine, with a focus on educational research, corporate health improvement research, and methods to study clinical outcomes in integrative medicine. The Center made leaps forward in 2012 with the hire of world-renowned researcher Esther Sternberg, MD, to establish a collaborative, multidisciplinary translational research program that will explore the science of the mind-body connection from varying perspectives and then translate those findings into IM practice.

The Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine

The Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine leads the transformation of healthcare by creating, educating and actively supporting a community that embodies the philosophy and practice of healing-oriented medicine, addressing mind, body and spirit.

Our commitment is to live the values of Integrative Medicine, thus creating a unique model for transforming medicine.

Creating a New Generation of Doctors from Andrew Weil, M.D. on Vimeo.

Original post:
About the Center: Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine

What is Integrative Medicine and Health?

Integrative medicine and health reaffirm the importance of the relationship between practitioner and patient, focuses on the whole person, is informed by evidence, and makes use of all appropriate therapeutic approaches, healthcare professionals and disciplines to achieve optimal health and healing.

Integrative medicine combines modern medicine with established approaches from around the world. By joining modern medicine with proven practices from other healing traditions, integrative practitioners are better able to relieve suffering, reduce stress, maintain the well-being, and enhance the resilience of their patients.

Although the culture of biomedicine is predominant in the U.S., it coexists with many other healing traditions. Many of these approaches have their roots in non-Western cultures. Others have developed within the West, but outside what is considered conventional medical practice.

Various terms have been used to describe the broad range of healing approaches that are not widely taught in medical schools, generally available in hospitals or routinely reimbursed by medical insurance.

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is the name chosen by the National Institutes of Health. CAM is defined as the broad range of healing philosophies, approaches, and therapies that mainstream Western (conventional) medicine does not commonly use, accept, study, understand, or make available. CAM therapies may be used alone, as an alternative to conventional therapies, or in addition to conventional, mainstream medicine to treat conditions and promote well-being.

Integrative medicine is a new term that emphasizes the combination of both conventional and alternative approaches to address the biological, psychological, social and spiritual aspects of health and illness. It emphasizes respect for the human capacity for healing, the importance of the relationship between the practitioner and the patient, a collaborative approach to patient care among practitioners, and the practice of conventional, complementary, and alternative health care that is evidence-based.

According to the 2012 National Health Interview Survey:

Read the 2012 report What Complementary and Integrative Approaches Do Americans Use?

CAM is attractive to many people because of its emphasis on treating the whole person, its promotion of good health and well-being, its valuing of prevention, and its often more personalized approach to patient concerns.

More:
What is Integrative Medicine and Health? | Osher Center ...

The immune system protects the body from possibly harmful substances by recognizing and responding to antigens. Antigens are substances (usually proteins) on the surface of cells, viruses, fungi, or bacteria. Nonliving substances such as toxins, chemicals, drugs, and foreign particles (such as a splinter) can also be antigens. The immune system recognizes and destroys substances that contain antigens.

Your body's cells have proteins that are antigens. These include a group of antigens called HLA antigens. Your immune system learns to see these antigens as normal and usually does not react against them.

INNATE IMMUNITY

Innate, or nonspecific, immunity is the defense system with which you were born. It protects you against all antigens. Innate immunity involves barriers that keep harmful materials from entering your body. These barriers form the first line of defense in the immune response. Examples of innate immunity include:

Innate immunity also comes in a protein chemical form, called innate humoral immunity. Examples include the body's complement system and substances called interferon and interleukin-1 (which causes fever).

If an antigen gets past these barriers, it is attacked and destroyed by other parts of the immune system.

ACQUIRED IMMUNITY

Acquired immunity is immunity that develops with exposure to various antigens. Your immune system builds a defense against that specific antigen.

PASSIVE IMMUNITY

Passive immunity is due to antibodies that are produced in a body other than your own. Infants have passive immunity because they are born with antibodies that are transferred through the placenta from their mother. These antibodies disappear between ages 6 and 12 months.

Continue reading here:
Immune response: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia

Gene therapy is the therapeutic delivery of nucleic acid polymers into a patient's cells as a drug to treat disease. The polymers are either expressed as proteins, interfere with protein expression, or possibly correct genetic mutations.

The most common form uses DNA that encodes a functional, therapeutic gene to replace a mutated gene. The polymer molecule is packaged within a "vector", which carries the molecule inside cells.

Gene therapy was conceptualized in 1972, by authors who urged caution before commencing human gene therapy studies. The first gene therapy experiment approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) occurred in 1990, when Ashanti DeSilva was treated for ADA-SCID.[1] By January 2014, some 2,000 clinical trials had been conducted or approved.[2]

Early clinical failures led to dismissals of gene therapy. Clinical successes since 2006 regained researchers' attention, although as of 2014, it was still largely an experimental technique.[3] These include treatment of retinal disease Leber's congenital amaurosis,[4][5][6][7]X-linked SCID,[8] ADA-SCID,[9][10]adrenoleukodystrophy,[11]chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL),[12]acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL),[13]multiple myeloma,[14]haemophilia[10] and Parkinson's disease.[15] Between 2013 and April 2014, US companies invested over $600 million in the field.[16]

The first commercial gene therapy, Gendicine, was approved in China in 2003 for the treatment of certain cancers.[17] In 2012 Glybera, a treatment for a rare inherited disorder, became the treatment to be approved for clinical use in either Europe or the United States after its endorsement by the European Commission.[3][18]

Following early advances in genetic engineering of bacteria, cells and small animals, scientists started considering how to apply it to medicine. Two main approaches were considered replacing or disrupting defective genes.[19] Scientists focused on diseases caused by single-gene defects, such as cystic fibrosis, haemophilia, muscular dystrophy, thalassemia and sickle cell anemia. Glybera treats one such disease, caused by a defect in lipoprotein lipase.[18]

DNA must be administered, reach the damaged cells, enter the cell and express/disrupt a protein.[20] Multiple delivery techniques have been explored. The initial approach incorporated DNA into an engineered virus to deliver the DNA into a chromosome.[21][22]Naked DNA approaches have also been explored, especially in the context of vaccine development.[23]

Generally, efforts focused on administering a gene that causes a needed protein to be expressed. More recently, increased understanding of nuclease function has led to more direct DNA editing, using techniques such as zinc finger nucleases and CRISPR. The vector incorporates genes into chromosomes. The expressed nucleases then "edit" the chromosome. As of 2014 these approaches involve removing cells from patients, editing a chromosome and returning the transformed cells to patients.[24]

Other technologies employ antisense, small interfering RNA and other DNA. To the extent that these technologies do not alter DNA, but instead directly interact with molecules such as RNA, they are not considered "gene therapy" per se.[citation needed]

Gene therapy may be classified into two types:

See the rest here:
Gene therapy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Written by Patrick Dixon

Futurist Keynote Speaker: Posts, Slides, Videos - Biotechnology, Genetics, Gene Therapy, Stem Cells

Genetic engineering is the alteration of genetic code by artificial means, and is therefore different from traditional selective breeding.

Genetic engineering examples include taking the gene that programs poison in the tail of a scorpion, and combining it with a cabbage. These genetically modified cabbages kill caterpillers because they have learned to grow scorpion poison (insecticide) in their sap.

Genetic engineering also includes insertion of human genes into sheep so that they secrete alpha-1 antitrypsin in their milk - a useful substance in treating some cases of lung disease.

Genetic engineering has created a chicken with four legs and no wings.

Genetic engineering has created a goat with spider genes that creates "silk" in its milk.

Genetic engineering works because there is one language of life: human genes work in bacteria, monkey genes work in mice and earthworms. Tree genes work in bananas and frog genes work in rice. There is no limit in theory to the potential of genetic engineering.

Genetic engineering has given us the power to alter the very basis of life on earth.

Genetic engineering has been said to be no different than ancient breeding methods but this is untrue. For a start, breeding or cross-breeding, or in-breeding (for example to make pedigree dogs) all work by using the same species. In contrast genetic engineering allows us to combine fish, mouse, human and insect genes in the same person or animal.

Read the original:
Genetic Engineering : What is Genetic Engineering

Technology: Patient Care Apps; Increased Practice Efficiency.

Apps are everywhere, and have the potential to play an important role in patient care. Downloading apps will soon be an American tradition, similar to back in the day when fathers chased their kids around with power tools. I told my boss I was turning thirty and getting my first smartphone, he smiled and said he had socks older than me. So, I did what any new associate would do. I bought him new socks. He chased me around the office with an alger brush.

Turns out your smartphone and sock drawer have more in common than you think. When I was a youngster, not a whole lot went into the sock drawer. It wasnt hard to reach in and grab a matching pair. The older I get though, the more socks go into the drawer and its much harder to find two that go together. In fact, I have a lot of lonesome socks. Studies have shown, if the missing sock does not reappear within the first 24 hours, your chances of finding that sock decrease by 75%. Sounds like my practice consultant on uncollected Co-pays. The same applies to my phone, the longer I have it the more junk it collects. I have a bunch of old apps cluttering my wallpaper in hopes one day Ill actually use that Ab workout app I downloaded months ago.

Therefore, if you havent updated your smart phone or tablet devices this year, youre likely in the floppy disk age of apps. So if youre like me its time to ditch those lonely socks, stop living life in the cheap seats and get yourself some sexier apps!

1. Parks 3-step (Cost: $0.99)

Have a patient with double vision?? Theres an app for that, seriously. There can be many reasons patients have diplopia. Its possible they need prism, vision therapy, or need to lay off the eyeball martinis. Or they may have a paretic extraocular muscle and you need to diagnose it. If youve forgotten everything about the parks 3 step except it involves hypers, obliques and head tilts you need the Parks 3-step app. It utilizes your devices built-in gyroscope and accelerometer to predict the paretic EOM in two swift movements. Enjoy!

Pros: Simple, quick, accurate way of performing the Parks 3-step without diagrams.

Cons: Needs option to input data manually in addition to turning phone and some updated animations.

2. Medical Lab Tests (Cost: $2.99)

Read more here:
All About Eyes | "Your Sight is My Vision"

Neuro-ophthalmology is an academically-oriented subspecialty that merges the fields of neurology and ophthalmology, often dealing with complex systemic diseases that have manifestations in the visual system. Neuro-ophthalmologists initially complete a residency in either neurology or ophthalmology, then do a fellowship in the complementary field. Since diagnostic studies can be normal in patients with significant neuro-ophthalmic disease,[1] a detailed medical history and physical exam is essential and neuro-ophthalmologists often spend significantly more time with the patient than specialists in other disciplines.

Common pathology referred to a neuro-ophthalmologist includes afferent visual system disorders (e.g. optic neuritis, optic neuropathy, papilledema, brain tumors or strokes) and efferent visual system disorders (e.g. anisocoria, diplopia, ophthalmoplegia, ptosis, nystagmus, blepharospasm and hemifacial spasm). The largest international society of neuro-ophthalmologists is the North American Neuro-Ophthalmological Society (NANOS),[2] which organizes an annual meeting and publishes the Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology.

Neuro-ophthalmology focuses on diseases of the nervous system that affect vision, control of eye movements, or pupillary reflexes. Neuro-ophthalmologists often see patients with complex multi-system disease and zebras are not uncommon. Neuro-ophthalmologists are often faculty at large university-based medical centers, typically in the ophthalmology department but may also be housed in other departments or be in private practice. Patients often have co-existing disease in other fields (rheumatology, endocrinology, oncology, cardiology, etc.), thus the neuro-ophthalmologist is usually a liaison between the ophthalmology department and other departments in the medical center.[3]

A neuro-ophthalmologists office is filled with patients who have been misdiagnosed or incorrectly diagnosed and drag literally pounds of diagnostic studies, which often reiterate that neuroimaging is normal, incorrectly performed, or incorrectly interpreted in many neuro-ophthalmologic disorders.[4] Neuro-ophthalmologists are often active teachers in their academic institution, and the first four winners of the prestigious Straatsma American Academy of Ophthalmology teaching awards were neuro-ophthalmologists.[5] Most neuro-ophthalmologists are passionate about their discipline and report high job satisfaction, stating that they think the field continues to be both fascinating and challenging.

Neuro-ophthalmology is mostly non-procedural, however, neuro-ophthalmologists may be trained to perform eye muscle surgery to treat adult strabismus, optic nerve fenestration for idiopathic intracranial hypertension, and botulinum injections for blepharospasm or hemifacial spasm.

Frank B. Walsh was one a pioneer of neuro-ophthalmology, helping to popularize and develop the field. Walsh was born in Oxbow, Saskatchewan in 1895 and earned a degree for University of Manitoba in 1921. He joined the Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute at Johns Hopkins University and began organizing Saturday morning neuro-ophthalmology conferences. Walsh compiled the first neuro-ophthalmology textbook, which was published in 1947 and has been updated over the years by generations of his students.[6]

Ophthalmologists have been decreasing the time spent with a patient due to economic pressures, the use of nonphysicians, and increasing reliance on laboratory tests. Neuro-ophthalmology has been affected more so than other specialties due to the complexity of the patients and the time required to do a neuro-ophthalmic history and physical exam.[5] Additionally, the current medical reimbursement system rewards quantity of service (performing assembly line procedures) rather than quality of service (making a correct diagnosis, patient education, and counseling), and seeing complex patients is not adequately recognized.

Improved functional neuroimaging is paving the way for better understanding, assessment, and management of many neurologic and neuro-ophthalmologic conditions. As our understanding of neuroscience evolves, neuro-ophthalmologists are becoming increasingly better at treatment, rather than only diagnosis, and novel therapies are emerging to treat traditionally vision-devastating disease.[7] For example, clinical trials began in February 2014 to use gene therapy to treat Leber hereditary optic neuropathy,[8] which is one of the first uses of gene therapy in the central nervous system. Progress has also been made in understanding retinal ganglion cell regeneration and in re-establishing synaptic connections from the optic nerve to the brain,[1] more than in other regions of the central nervous system.[9][10] One of the goals of the National Institutes of Health is to use the visual system as a window to understand neural plasticity and regenerative medicine in the central nervous system,[11] an area of neuroscience that has a promising future and is intimately intertwined with neuro-ophthalmology.

The weakening financial environment for academic neuro-ophthalmologists must be addressed so that there is the clinical infrastructure to treat patients, assess and implement emerging technologies and treatments, and train the next generation of neuro-ophthalmologists. Data is needed to quantify the problem (the revenue provided to other departments, the amount of money wasted on unnecessary tests, visits, and procedures before seeing a neuro-ophthalmologist, the average time a patient spends with the neuro-ophthalmologist, etc), and given the direction of ophthalmic and neurologic research, it is imperative to continue to have a vibrant academic neuro-ophthalmologic community for the future.

Read more:
Neuro-ophthalmology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nanomedicine is the medical application of nanotechnology.[1] Nanomedicine ranges from the medical applications of nanomaterials, to nanoelectronic biosensors, and even possible future applications of molecular nanotechnology. Current problems for nanomedicine involve understanding the issues related to toxicity and environmental impact of nanoscale materials (materials whose structure is on the scale of nanometers, i.e. billionths of a meter).

Functionalities can be added to nanomaterials by interfacing them with biological molecules or structures. The size of nanomaterials is similar to that of most biological molecules and structures; therefore, nanomaterials can be useful for both in vivo and in vitro biomedical research and applications. Thus far, the integration of nanomaterials with biology has led to the development of diagnostic devices, contrast agents, analytical tools, physical therapy applications, and drug delivery vehicles.

Nanomedicine seeks to deliver a valuable set of research tools and clinically useful devices in the near future.[2][3] The National Nanotechnology Initiative expects new commercial applications in the pharmaceutical industry that may include advanced drug delivery systems, new therapies, and in vivo imaging.[4] Nanomedicine research is receiving funding from the US National Institutes of Health, including the funding in 2005 of a five-year plan to set up four nanomedicine centers.

Nanomedicine is a large industry, with nanomedicine sales reaching $6.8 billion in 2004, and with over 200 companies and 38 products worldwide, a minimum of $3.8 billion in nanotechnology R&D is being invested every year.[5] In April 2006, the journal Nature Materials estimated that 130 nanotech-based drugs and delivery systems were being developed worldwide.[6] As the nanomedicine industry continues to grow, it is expected to have a significant impact on the economy.

Nanotechnology has provided the possibility of delivering drugs to specific cells using nanoparticles.

The overall drug consumption and side-effects may be lowered significantly by depositing the active agent in the morbid region only and in no higher dose than needed. Targeted drug delivery is intended to reduce the side effects of drugs with concomitant decreases in consumption and treatment expenses. Drug delivery focuses on maximizing bioavailability both at specific places in the body and over a period of time. This can potentially be achieved by molecular targeting by nanoengineered devices.[7][8] More than $65 billion are wasted each year due to poor bioavailability.[citation needed] A benefit of using nanoscale for medical technologies is that smaller devices are less invasive and can possibly be implanted inside the body, plus biochemical reaction times are much shorter. These devices are faster and more sensitive than typical drug delivery.[9] The efficacy of drug delivery through nanomedicine is largely based upon: a) efficient encapsulation of the drugs, b) successful delivery of drug to the targeted region of the body, and c) successful release of the drug.[citation needed]

Drug delivery systems, lipid- [10] or polymer-based nanoparticles,[11] can be designed to improve the pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of the drug.[12][13][14] However, the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of nanomedicine is highly variable among different patients.[15] When designed to avoid the body's defence mechanisms,[16] nanoparticles have beneficial properties that can be used to improve drug delivery. Complex drug delivery mechanisms are being developed, including the ability to get drugs through cell membranes and into cell cytoplasm. Triggered response is one way for drug molecules to be used more efficiently. Drugs are placed in the body and only activate on encountering a particular signal. For example, a drug with poor solubility will be replaced by a drug delivery system where both hydrophilic and hydrophobic environments exist, improving the solubility.[17] Drug delivery systems may also be able to prevent tissue damage through regulated drug release; reduce drug clearance rates; or lower the volume of distribution and reduce the effect on non-target tissue. However, the biodistribution of these nanoparticles is still imperfect due to the complex host's reactions to nano- and microsized materials[16] and the difficulty in targeting specific organs in the body. Nevertheless, a lot of work is still ongoing to optimize and better understand the potential and limitations of nanoparticulate systems. While advancement of research proves that targeting and distribution can be augmented by nanoparticles, the dangers of nanotoxicity become an important next step in further understanding of their medical uses.[18]

Nanoparticles can be used in combination therapy for decreasing antibiotic resistance or for their antimicrobial properties.[19][20][21] Nanoparticles might also used to circumvent multidrug resistance (MDR) mechanisms.[22]

Two forms of nanomedicine that have already been tested in mice and are awaiting human trials that will be using gold nanoshells to help diagnose and treat cancer,[23] and using liposomes as vaccine adjuvants and as vehicles for drug transport.[24][25] Similarly, drug detoxification is also another application for nanomedicine which has shown promising results in rats.[26] Advances in Lipid nanotechnology was also instrumental in engineering medical nanodevices and novel drug delivery systems as well as in developing sensing applications.[27] Another example can be found in dendrimers and nanoporous materials. Another example is to use block co-polymers, which form micelles for drug encapsulation.[11]

Polymeric nano-particles are a competing technology to lipidic (based mainly on Phospholipids) nano-particles. There is an additional risk of toxicity associated with polymers not widely studied or understood. The major advantages of polymers is stability, lower cost and predictable characterisation. However, in the patient's body this very stability (slow degradation) is a negative factor. Phospholipids on the other hand are membrane lipids (already present in the body and surrounding each cell), have a GRAS (Generally Recognised As Safe) status from FDA and are derived from natural sources without any complex chemistry involved. They are not metabolised but rather absorbed by the body and the degradation products are themselves nutrients (fats or micronutrients).

More:
Nanomedicine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

IGERT HIGHLIGHT

NSF Renews IGERT Nanomedicine PhD Program! 2010-2015

We are pleased to announce that the IGERT Nanomedicine Program has been renewed for an additional term 2010-2015. The new $3.1M IGERT Nanomedicine project leverages the success of the current Nanomedicine program at Northeastern to establish a global research and educational partnership between collaborators at Northeastern, University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, Tuskegee University, collaborators at Harvard Medical School hospitals, and foreign partners including universities in Naples, Sao Paulo, York and Delhi.

MISSION

IGERT Nanomedicine Science and Technology is a new integrated doctoral education program in the emerging field of Nanomedicine, created with support from the National Cancer Institute and the National Science Foundation. The program aims to educate the next generation of scientists and technologists with the requisite skill sets to address scientific and engineering challenges, with the necessary business, ethical and global perspectives that will be needed in the rapidly emerging area of applying nanotechnology to human health.

The program began at Northeastern University in 2005 with an NSF IGERT grant funded through the National Cancer Institute. The success of the program has since then led to an NSF funded IGERT renewal grant for the period 2010-2015 with new partners, Tuskegee University, The University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez and collaborators at hospitals affiliated with Harvard Medical School.

The program combines the interdisciplinary expertise of world-renowned faculty members in 11 departments at 3 Universities, collaborating with researchers at teaching hospitals and industry. Students enrolled in a Ph.D. program in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical/Industrial Engineering, Electrical/Computer Engineering, or Pharmaceutical Sciences (Northeastern University), Materials Science and Engineering or Integrative Biosciences (Tuskegee University), Applied Chemistry or Chemical Engineering (UPRM) may apply to the IGERT interdisciplinary program. The IGERT fellow will graduate with a Ph.D. degree in their core subject with specialization in Nanomedicine Science and Technology.

Download the IGERT Nanomedicine e-book summarizing the achievements of the Northeastern University IGERT Nanomedicine program

More here:
IGERT Nanomedicine at Northeastern University

The use of nanotechnology in medicine offers some exciting possibilities. Some techniques are only imagined, while others are at various stages of testing, or actually being used today.

Nanotechnology in medicine involves applications of nanoparticles currently under development, as well as longer range research that involves the use of manufactured nano-robots to make repairs at the cellular level (sometimes referred to as nanomedicine).

Whatever you call it, the use of nanotechnology in the field of medicine could revolutionize the way we detect and treat damage to the human body and disease in the future, and many techniques only imagined a few years ago are making remarkable progress towards becoming realities.

One application of nanotechnology in medicine currently being developed involves employing nanoparticles to deliver drugs, heat, light or other substances to specific types of cells (such as cancer cells). Particles are engineered so that they are attracted to diseased cells, which allowsdirect treatment of those cells. This technique reduces damage to healthy cells in the body and allows for earlier detection of disease.

For example, nanoparticles that deliver chemotherapy drugs directly to cancer cells are under development. Tests are in progress for targeted delivery of chemotherapy drugs and their final approval for their use with cancer patients is pending. One company, CytImmune has published the results of a Phase 1 Clinical Trial of their first targeted chemotherapy drug and another company, BIND Biosciences, has published preliminary results of a Phase 1 Clinical Trial for their first targeted chemotherapy drug and is proceeding with a Phase 2 Clinical Trial.

Researchers at the University of Illinois have demonstated that gelatin nanoparticles can be used to deliver drugs to damaged brain tissue.

Researchers at MIT using nanoparticles to deliver vaccine.The nanoparticles protect the vaccine, allowing the vaccine time to trigger a stronger immune response.

Reserchers are developing a method to release insulin that uses a sponge-like matrix that contains insulin as well as nanocapsules containing an enzyme. When the glucose level rises the nanocapsules release hydrogen ions, which bind to the fibers making up the matrix. The hydrogen ions make the fibers positively charged, repelling each other and creating openings in the matrix through which insulin is released.

Researchers are developing a nanoparticle that can be taken orally and pass through the lining of the intestines into the bloodsteam. This should allow drugs that must now be delivered with a shot to be taken in pill form.

Researchers are also developing a nanoparticle to defeat viruses. The nanoparticle does not actually destroy viruses molecules, but delivers an enzyme that prevents the reproduction of viruses molecules in the patients bloodstream.

See the rest here:
Nanotechnology in Medicine - Nanomedicine

Feature Learn more about human subjects research

The use of human subjects in the field of genomics raises a number of key policy considerations that are being addressed at NHGRI and elsewhere. Learn more about his important topic with a new fact sheet from the Policy and Program Analysis Branch. Read more

Informed consent is the basic and primary tool through which investigators communicate with each potential study participant and is vital to ensuring that the research purpose, any risks and possible benefits, or other implications of participation are understood. NHGRI's online Informed Consent Resource has helped thousands of researchers navigate the informed consent process since 2009. Now, the ICR has been updated to keep pace with advances in genomics over the past several years. Read more

NIH has issued a position statement on the use of public or private cloud systems for storing and analyzing controlled-access genomic data under the NIH Genomic Data Sharing (GDS) Policy. Read the Position Statement

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced steps it will take to ensure that certain tests used by health care professionals to diagnose and treat patients provide accurate, consistent and reliable results to inform patient care. These steps come at a critical time for genomic, or precision, medicine. As more and more genetic tests are developed and marketed, the public must be able to rely on the accuracy and clinical validity of these tests. Read the FDA Release Read a statement from NIH Director Francis Collins

Last Updated: May 8, 2015

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Policy, legal and ethical issues in ... - Issues in Genetics

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Law and Contemporary Problems: All Issues - Duke University

The Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) program was founded in 1990 as an integral part of the Human Genome Project. The mission of the ELSI program was to identify and address issues raised by genomic research that would affect individuals, families, and society. A percentage of the Human Genome Project budget at the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Energy was devoted to ELSI research.

The ELSI program focused on the possible consequences of genomic research in four main areas:

Privacy and fairness in the use of genetic information, including the potential for genetic discrimination in employment and insurance.

The integration of new genetic technologies, such as genetic testing, into the practice of clinical medicine.

Ethical issues surrounding the design and conduct of genetic research with people, including the process of informed consent.

The education of healthcare professionals, policy makers, students, and the public about genetics and the complex issues that result from genomic research.

Information about the ELSI program at the National Institutes of Health, including program goals and activities, is available in the fact sheet Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) Research Program from the National Human Genome Research Institute. The ELSI Planning and Evaluation History web page provides a more detailed discussion of the program.

More discussion about ethical issues in human genetics, including genetic discrimination, the cloning of organisms, and the patenting of genes is available from the Centre for Genetics Education.

The World Health Organization provides further discussion of the ELSI implications of human genomic research.

Next: Genomic Research

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Human Genome Project - Genetics Home Reference

For a comprehensive overview of chronic kidney disease (CKD), from basic terminology to risk factors and matching a treatment option to your lifestyle, DaVita has all the in-depth information CKD patients and their care partners need.

Understanding your kidney disease, or renal disease, is the first step in taking control of your health. When you have kidney disease, your kidneys are no longer able to remove waste effectively from your body or to balance your fluids. The build up of wastes can change the chemistry of your body causing some symptoms that you can feel, and others that you don't.

With kidney diseases, the first symptoms you may have are ones that you won't feel but that will show up in tests that your doctor orders. Common problems are high blood pressure, anemia and weakening bones. It is important to find a kidney doctor (also called a nephrologist). Partner closely with your doctor and your healthcare team as early as possible.

Your kidneys -- two bean-shaped organs located in your lower back -- are your body's filtration system, cleaning wastes and extra fluids from your body and producing and balancing chemicals that are necessary for your body to function. Healthy kidneys also:

Following a kidney-friendly diet, managing health conditions such as diabetes and hypertension and not smoking may help your kidneys function better and longer, even when you have kidney disease.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) comes in stages and knowing your stage is important for deciding treatment. CKD has five stages, ranging from nearly normal kidney function (stage 1) to kidney failure (stage 5), which requires dialysis or kidney transplant.

Understanding your stage can help you learn how to take control and slow the progression of kidney disease. The stages of renal disease are not based on symptoms alone. Instead, they reflect how effectively the kidneys eliminate waste from the blood by using an equation that estimates kidney function, known as glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Determining your GFR requires a simple blood test.

Diabetes and high blood pressure are the top causes of kidney diseases. Another form of CKD is glomerulonephritis, a general term for many types of kidney inflammation. Genetic diseases (such as polycystic kidney disease, or PKD), autoimmune diseases, birth defects, acute kidney failure and other problems can also cause kidney disease. Take a 3-minute Kidney Disease Risk Quiz to see if youre at risk for renal disease (located in the DaVita Educational Tools section).

Ways to take control:

Stages of Chronic Kidney Disease

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Kidney Disease Overview & Education - DaVita

The kidneys are bean-shaped organs that serve several essential regulatory roles in vertebrates. They remove excess organic molecules from the blood, and it is by this action that their best-known function is performed: the removal of waste products of metabolism. They are essential in the urinary system and also serve homeostatic functions such as the regulation of electrolytes, maintenance of acidbase balance, and regulation of blood pressure (via maintaining salt and water balance). They serve the body as a natural filter of the blood, and remove water soluble wastes, which are diverted to the bladder. In producing urine, the kidneys excrete wastes such as urea and ammonium, and they are also responsible for the reabsorption of water, glucose, and amino acids. The kidneys also produce hormones including calcitriol, erythropoietin, and the enzyme renin, the last of which indirectly acts on the kidney in negative feedback.

Located at the rear of the abdominal cavity in the retroperitoneal space, the kidneys receive blood from the paired renal arteries, and drain into the paired renal veins. Each kidney excretes urine into a ureter, that empties into the bladder.

Renal physiology is the study of kidney function, while nephrology is the medical specialty concerned with kidney diseases. Diseases of the kidney are diverse, but individuals with kidney disease frequently display characteristic clinical features. Common clinical conditions involving the kidney include the nephritic and nephrotic syndromes, renal cysts, acute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease, urinary tract infection, nephrolithiasis, and urinary tract obstruction.[1] Various cancers of the kidney exist; the most common adult renal cancer is renal cell carcinoma. Cancers, cysts, and some other renal conditions can be managed with removal of the kidney, or nephrectomy. When renal function, measured by glomerular filtration rate, is persistently poor, dialysis and kidney transplantation may be treatment options. Although they are not normally harmful, kidney stones can be painful.

In humans the kidneys are located in the abdominal cavity, one on each side of the spine and lie in a retroperitoneal position at a slightly oblique angle.[2] The asymmetry within the abdominal cavity caused by the position of the liver, typically results in the right kidney being slightly lower and smaller than the left, and being placed slightly more to the middle than the left kidney.[3][4][5] The left kidney is approximately at the vertebral level T12 to L3,[6] and the right is slightly lower. The right kidney sits just below the diaphragm and posterior to the liver, the left sits below the diaphragm and posterior to the spleen. Resting on top of each kidney is an adrenal gland. The upper parts of the kidneys are partially protected by the eleventh and twelfth ribs. Each kidney together with its adrenal gland is surrounded by two layers of fat (the perirenal and pararenal fat) and the renal fascia. Each adult kidney weighs between 125 and 170grams in males and between 115 and 155grams in females.[7]

The kidney has a bean-shaped structure having a convex and a concave border. A recessed area on the concave border, is the renal hilum, where the renal artery enters the kidney, and the renal vein and ureter leave. The kidney is surrounded by tough fibrous tissue, the renal capsule, which is itself surrounded by perirenal fat (adipose capsule), renal fascia, and pararenal fat (paranephric body). The anterior (front) surface of these tissues is the peritoneum, while the posterior (rear) surface is the transversalis fascia.

The superior pole of the right kidney is adjacent to the liver; and the spleen, for the left kidney. Therefore, both move down on inhalation.

The kidney is approximately 1114cm (4.35.5in) in length, 6cm (2.4in) wide and 4cm (1.6in) thick.

The substance, or parenchyma, of the kidney is divided into two major structures: the outer renal cortex and the inner renal medulla. Grossly, these structures take the shape of 8 to 18 cone-shaped renal lobes, each containing renal cortex surrounding a portion of medulla called a renal pyramid (of Malpighi).[7] Between the renal pyramids are projections of cortex called renal columns (or Bertin columns). Nephrons, the urine-producing functional structures of the kidney, span the cortex and medulla. The initial filtering portion of a nephron is the renal corpuscle, located in the cortex, which is followed by a renal tubule that passes from the cortex deep into the medullary pyramids. Part of the renal cortex, a medullary ray is a collection of renal tubules that drain into a single collecting duct.

The tip, or papilla, of each pyramid empties urine into a minor calyx; minor calyces empty into major calyces, and major calyces empty into the renal pelvis, which becomes the ureter. At the hilum, the ureter and renal vein exit the kidney while the renal artery enters. Surrounding these structures is hilar fat and lymphatic tissue with lymph nodes. The hilar fat is contiguous with a fat-filled cavity called the renal sinus. The renal sinus collectively contains the renal pelvis and calyces and separates these structures from the renal medullary tissue.[8]

The renal circulation supplies the blood to the kidneys via the renal arteries, left and right, which branch directly from the abdominal aorta. Despite their relatively small size, the kidneys receive approximately 20% of the cardiac output.[7]

Read more:
Kidney - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fogarty DG, Tall MW. A stepped are approach to the management of chronic kidney disease. In: Taal MW, Chertow GM, Marsden PA et al. eds.Brenner and Rector's The Kidney.

Tonelli M, Pannu N, Manns B. Oral phosphate binders in patients with kidney failure.N Engl J Med.

Abboud H, Henrich WL. Clinical practice. Stage IV chronic kidney disease.N Engl J Med.

Upadhyay A, Earley A, Haynes SM, Uhlig K. Systematic review: blood pressure target in chronic kidney disease and proteinuria as an effect modifier.Ann Intern Med

KDOQI. KDOQI Clinical Practice Guideline and Clinical Practice Recommendations for anemia in chronic kidney disease: 2007 update of hemoglobin target.Am J Kidney Dis

KDOQI; National Kidney Foundation II. Clinical practice guidelines and clinical practice recommendations for anemia in chronic kidney disease in adults.Am J Kidney Dis.

Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (K/DOQI). K/DOQI clinical practice guidelines on hypertension and antihypertensive agents in chronic kidney disease. Am J Kidney Dis

Visit link:
Chronic kidney disease : MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia

Exquisite and cuisine are not words generally associated with grilling and paleo. After reading this post and even better after trying this 'recipe', I think you will agree.

Did you hear? The national dietetics group admitted they were wrong and caused untold suffering to millions with harmful dietary advice!You didnt hear that? Well, they didnt exactly say those words

Give slow roasting a try. The fat preservation is a HUGE benefit to making meats stay moist and juicy. And placing on an open rack is key for air flow.

People have been critical of me posting against Fung in "Fung I". I have been accused of nitpicking.This brief post provides the reason why? ... 'because He is HARMING people'.If your mother, brother, sister or daughter was receiving such harmful advice from a 'diabetes educator' ... we would all be ranting about the ridiculous advice. And I am now.

This post is a critique of the advice I have read and heard by a so called low carb diabetes expert. Im writing this post to alert people to the fallacies, half-truths and potentially harmful advice the person has given. Ill lay out my overall strategy, shows results and report []

I was once an obese, drug and insulin dependent diabetic.Now I am THRIVING and attempting to live life at its fullest on a low carb paleo style meal plan and lifestyle.

Omelettes can be a 'vehicle' for many meats and vegetables. I urge you again to open your mind to new foods and new food preparations.

I spent 30% of my time with my blood sugars in the 70s and the remaining 70% of the time with my blood sugars between 80-100 mg/dl.

Blood sugars are THE single most important health number for diabetics, IF you eat like me... mainly fatty meats, leafy green vegetables, eggs, coconut oil and butter...

So, please, now is your golden opportunity to realize that overstretching your rubber band WILL make it break. You, only YOU, have the power to PREVENT the end-result diagnosis of diabetes.

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Diabetes Warrior - Diabetes Management from a Paleolithic ...

In 1968, doctors performed the first successful bone marrow transplant. Bone marrow contains somatic stem cells that can produce all of the different cell types that make up our blood. It is transplanted routinely to treat a variety of blood and bone marrow diseases, blood cancers, and immune disorders. More recently, stem cells from the blood stream (called peripheral blood stem cells) and umbilical cord stem cells have been used to treat some of the same blood-based diseases.

Leukemia is a cancer of white blood cells, or leukocytes. Like other blood cells, leukocytes develop from somatic stem cells. Mature leukocytes are released into the bloodstream, where they work to fight off infections in our bodies.

Leukemia results when leukocytes begin to grow and function abnormally, becoming cancerous. These abnormal cells cannot fight off infection, and they interfere with the functions of other organs.

Successful treatment for leukemia depends on getting rid of all the abnormal leukocytes in the patient, allowing healthy ones to grow in their place. One way to do this is through chemotherapy, which uses potent drugs to target and kill the abnormal cells. When chemotherapy alone can't eliminate them all, physicians sometimes turn to bone marrow transplants.

In a bone marrow transplant, the patient's bone marrow stem cells are replaced with those from a healthy, matching donor. To do this, all of the patient's existing bone marrow and abnormal leukocytes are first killed using a combination of chemotherapy and radiation. Next, a sample of donor bone marrow containing healthy stem cells is introduced into the patient's bloodstream.

If the transplant is successful, the stem cells will migrate into the patient's bone marrow and begin producing new, healthy leukocytes to replace the abnormal cells.

New evidence suggests that bone marrow stem cells may be able to differentiate into cell types that make up tissues outside of the blood, such as liver and muscle. Scientists are exploring new uses for these stem cells that go beyond diseases of the blood.

While most blood stem cells reside in the bone marrow, a small number are present in the bloodstream. These peripheral blood stem cells, or PBSCs, can be used just like bone marrow stem cells to treat leukemia, other cancers and various blood disorders.

Since they can be obtained from drawn blood, PBSCs are easier to collect than bone marrow stem cells, which must be extracted from within bones. This makes PBSCs a less invasive treatment option than bone marrow stem cells. PBSCs are sparse in the bloodstream, however, so collecting enough to perform a transplant can pose a challenge.

Newborn infants no longer need their umbilical cords, so they have traditionally been discarded as a by-product of the birth process. In recent years, however, the stem-cellrich blood found in the umbilical cord has proven useful in treating the same types of health problems as those treated using bone marrow stem cells and PBSCs.

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Stem Cells In Use - Learn Genetics