Author Archives: Scarlett Liaifer

Acupuncture as an Alternative Hypertension Treatment

Hypertension, most often known as high blood pressure is a widespread heart condition affecting 5.3 million Canadians. Arteries can become narrowed or blocked, which increases the risk of stroke, heart attack and kidney failure. High blood pressure can be caused by numerous factors including stress, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, obesity, age and family history.

Hypertension further explained (source: Khan Academy)

The most common treatment for hypertension is the administration of diuretics or “water pills”. These pills act to eliminate excess water and salt through the urine which reduces the overall volume of blood pumped by the heart, thus easing stress and strain on the heart. But like with any other drug, diuretic use comes with an array of side effects. Frequent urination and arrhythmia (irregular heart rhythm) are most commonly experienced when taking diuretics but can also be accompanied by electrolyte imbalance and general weakness.

Despite the successes of pharmacological hypertension treatments, an alternative, non-chemical approach has proven effective, electro-acupuncture.

Just as it sounds, electro-acupuncture is a medicinal technique where the patient’s skin is penetrated by thin needles delivering 10-80 mA of current to stimulate specific acupoints.  These points are usually found at nerve-muscle junctions, muscle midpoints or at bone-muscle junctions.

A group of researchers from the University of California determined that by performing electro-acupuncture, the body forms excess enkephalin, an opioid peptide, which saturates the brains opioid receptors and lowers blood pressure by dilating blood vessels and lowering heart rate. Generally, opioid drugs such as morphine and oxycodone minimize pain by reducing the intensity of pain signals travelling to the brain.

Their study showed that hypertension in mice was controlled for up to three days after electro-acupuncture.

I am a firm believer in alternative medical techniques, especially if they reduce the intake of pharmaceuticals, and this research is a promising replacement for traditional chemical approaches to treating clinical hypertension.

  • Scarlett Liaifer

References:

Li, M., Tjen-A-Looi, S., Guo, Z., Longhurst, J. Repetitive Electroacupuncture Attenuates Cold-Induced Hypertension through Enkephalin in the Rostral Ventral Lateral Medulla. Nature. [Online] 20166, 1-11 http://www.nature.com/articles/srep35791#discussion

Video

Primates help advance HIV treatment

Rhesus macaque on which treatment testing was performed. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161013141053.htm

Rhesus macaque on which treatment testing was performed.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161013141053.htm

An international research team based out of the German Primate Center has developed an effective treatment regime against the HIV-like Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) in rhesus macaques.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)  affects more than 36 million people worldwide, it is a sexually transmitted disease which infects vital immune response cells, called helper T cells. By invading these cells, the virus forces the body to kill the helper T cells, thus weakening the host immune system. This environment is ideal for life-threatening infections and cancers to thrive in. Once the number of helper T cells in the blood is below a certain threshold, the patient is diagnosed with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. At this point the body is no longer able to sustain immunity and the patient succumbs to his infections or cancer. The most common cause of death among patients with AIDS is tuberculosis.

T helper cell count as compared to HIV and AIDS progression. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIV/AIDS

T helper cell count as compared to HIV and AIDS progression.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIV/AIDS

 

There is not yet a cure for HIV and AIDS, but a combination of medications are used to fight the HIV infection. Patients are prescribed a regime of six drug classes which prevents the virus from multiplying in the patient’s body, allowing the immune system to recover and protect the patient from infections and cancers. This antiretroviral therapy (ART) controls the virus so that patients can live longer and healthier lives and reduces the risk of transmitting HIV to others.

HIV was originally transmitted as SIV when humans made contact with the blood of chimpanzees while hunting for bushmeat in Africa. In their natural hosts, chimpanzees, SIV is harmless even at high circulating levels, but if a rhesus macaque becomes infected, it will develop SIV, which has nearly identical characteristics as HIV.

In their study, the research team treated SIV-infected rhesus macaques with an antiretroviral drug regime similar to one a human patient would be prescribed if diagnosed with HIV. The macaques were also injected with Vedolizumab, a therapeutic drug used to treat inflammatory bowel diseases in humans such as Crohn’s disease, where the T helper cells also play a vital role.

After finishing the therapy, the macaques had almost no SI virus in their blood and near normal T helper cell levels. Scientists worldwide are testing to see whether a combination of antiretroviral therapy with Vedolizumab would have the same effect in humans infected with HIV.

By pushing the boundaries of effective HIV treatments, some of the adverse effects accompanied by administering continuous antiretroviral drugs such as chronic inflammation and accelerated aging can be reduced or eliminated.

Scarlett Liaifer

HEAVEN-GEMINI: First ever head transplant to be performed

Dr. Sergio Canavero of the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group (TANG) in Italy, is confident that he will be able to perform the worlds first ever head transplant. Set to occur in late 2017, Valery Spiridonov has volunteered to be the first person to undergo a head transplant. Mr. Spiridonov suffers from Werdnig-Hoffmann disease, a rare form of spinal muscular atrophy which is characterized by wasting of voluntary muscle. The success of this operation would allow Mr. Spiridonov to regain full muscular control.

In a paper published earlier this month, Dr. Canavero explains the steps for a successful transplant. The procedure would take a team of 150 medical professionals approximately 36 hours, and would begin by lowering the temperatures of the donor head and body to about 16 degrees Celsius to prevent cell death. The neck would then be cut, the arteries and veins connected by tubes and the spinal cord severed. A sharp cut- equated to a spinal cord injury is made between the C5 and C6 vertebrae. The head is then placed on the body and the spinal cords connected using polyethylene glycol (PEG), which fuses neuronal cell membranes. The remaining muscles and organs will be fused together and the skin stitched up.

Numbering of human vertebrae.

Numbering of human vertebrae. For head transplant, the cut will be made between the C5 and C6 vertebrae.                              Image courtesy of Mayfield Brain and Spine.

A head transplant was performed on mice and “the near-miraculous properties of PEG” provided recovery periods as short as 4 weeks (Ye et al. 2016). Dr. Canavero emphasizes the importance of the sharp spinal cord severance claiming that it will inflict “minimal damage to both the axons in the white matter and the neurons in the gray laminae” both of which are essential for survival post operation and for regaining voluntary muscle control.

Courtesy of Indiana State University.

Grey and white matter of the human vertebrae. With a precise cut, minimal damage will be inflicted, resulting in a successful recovery.                                             Image courtesy of Indiana State University.

The idea may seem far fetched but Dr. Canavero and his team are determined to accomplish this feat by the end of 2017. In the meantime, extensive cadaveric rehearsals and animal trials are being performed.

-Scarlett Liaifer