Tag Archives: Medical Advance

Alzheimer’s disease: An Irreversible Brain Degeneration

Alzheimer’s disease was first discovered back in 1906 by Dr. Alois Alzheimer. It is a degenerative brain disease which is predicted to effect up to 5 million people in the US alone. This disease effect an individual’s cognitive ability, emotion, behavior, physical abilities, and could ultimately lead to death. The following video provides a summary of the Alzheimer’s disease:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Wv9jrk-gXc

Even though this disease was discovered for over a century ago, scientists around the world are still unable to fully understand or discover any cure for the disease. However, they found traces of two forms of proteins known as ‘Plaques’ and ‘Tau’ protein which is believed to be associated with Alzheimer disease.

Normal brain and a brain with Alzheimer's disease

Healthy brain Vs. Brain with Alzheimer’s disease – Plaque and Tangle proteins. <http://neurowiki2012.wikispaces.com/Down+Syndrome>. Photo credit: Jefferson Hospital.

Plaque protein are created from smaller proteins that sticks together and form a clump shape, this protein may block the connection between nervous cells and interfere with the communication network in our brain. In some cases, our body detects that the cell cannot function normally and hence our body started to destroy our own cells. Another protein associated with Alzheimer disease are called ‘tau’ protein, a protein that involved in the process of transporting nutrients to nervous cells. In Alzheimer patients these proteins collapse and form another form of non-functioning protein known as ‘Tangles’ protein. This results in the lack of nutrients being transported to the cell leading to cell death. Both of these abnormal form of proteins interferes with the nervous system in the brain and causes several of symptoms associated to Alzheimer.

“You lose your memory. Step by step, you turn into a person you don’t know anymore. And the one you knew disappears.”- Richard Taylor, Former psychology professor, Alzheimer patient.

Symptoms of Alzheimer's disease

Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. <http://www.doc-advice.com/alzheimers-disease/>.

Due to the facts that this disease targets the nervous system especially in the brain the symptoms may involve the loss of memories, abnormal behavior and changes in personality. The disease will slowly move from one region of the brain to another, along the way it kills nerve cells and started to alter the brain function. It can be seen that as the disease migrate throughout the brain, different symptoms will start to emerge, from unable to form normal speech to emotional control, hallucination, memories lost, the inability to perform everyday tasks and ultimately destroying the regulatory region of the brain leading to death.

“Most people are aware of the problem— I hope — but I don’t think people get just how serious Alzheimer’s is until it happens to somebody they love, and that’s happening more and more.” – Dr. Christopher Ochner, Ph.D. clinical psychology, Columbia University.

Personally, I think Alzheimer’s disease is extremely dangerous and a worldwide threat. It’s a disease that does not only affect one individual but the whole family. More scientific funding is required for research in this field. To prevent the death toll from rising due to Alzheimer, it is crucial for the cause and a cure for this disease to be found.

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

Mad Cow Disease: An Inevitable Death

A disease that has no cure and leads to an inevitable death. ‘Mad Cow Disease’ was first discovered in United Kingdom back in 1986, and for nearly 15 years the outbreak has infected up to 180,000 cattle and damaged many farm communities in the area.

Mad Cow Disease is also known as ‘Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)’, which the name itself suggests a spongy form of the cow’s brain. BSE is a slow progressing disease which targets the central nervous system of the cow causing it to act abnormally and eventually lead to its death. For unknown reasons a protein, known as ‘prion’, located in the brain of a cow, starts to change its conformation. This creates a signal which changes the conformation of other prions like a chain reaction and leads to the slow degradation of the brain. The following video provides a summary of the mad cow disease:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aP-ShyyHiIc
“Mad Cow Disease is an infectious disease of cattle transmitted but by virus or bacteria, but by an abnormal form of type of protein called a prion”- Dr. Linda L. Walsh, Dept. of Psychology, University of Iowa

Transmission of this disease to human will lead to certain death, although the time length for each cases can vary from about 6 months to many years. The form of mad cow disease infected in human is known as ‘variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease’ or vCJD.

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Structure of normal and abnormal prion protein, and its effect on human brain. http://www.viviennebalonwu.com/2015/07/creutzfeldt-jakob-disease-cjd.html.

This disease causes a slow degradation of the brain, creating small holes, and destroying the nervous system. As such, the symptom of this disease may consist of memory lost, lack of coordination, personality change, psychiatric issues, movements, speak and death. The transmission of this disease occurs from the direct consumption of meat infected with the abnormal prions, and possibly from blood transfusion.

“Another risk is the spread of vCJD through blood transfusions – and it is still not known exactly how many people are carriers of the disease.”  – Professor Graham Medley, University of Warwick

Although, many countries started to separate the brain, and other parts of nervous system, from the main food supply after the outbreak in the late 1990. It is possible that there are infected people who are unaware of it. Thus it increases the risk of transmitting this disease to others via blood transfusion.

“We are pretty sure that there are people out there who are infected but don’t have the disease”Professor Graham Medley, University of Warwick

Personally, I feel that there is a higher demand for research regarding prions and a cure for mad cow disease. The cause for this disease is still unknown and because of this, it is extremely difficult to prevent an outbreak from happening or to protect people against it.

 

Poramat Sucharit

Bacteriophages: A Possible Alternative to Antibiotics?

What would happen if we ran out of antibiotics to use against bacteria? Antibiotic resistance is known to be one of the major concerns among doctors and scientists around the world since, it’s our primary defense against bacterial infections. Without these antibiotics, it’d be virtually impossible to treat many types of diseases or even perform surgeries.

The quality of healthcare has significantly improved over the centuries as more people have access to treatment, medicine, and antibiotics. However, it has also increased the risk of wrong applications of drugs, allowing the bacteria to develop defense mechanisms to different types of antibiotics. In fact, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of scientific reports about different drugs resistance cases.

Antibiotic resistance occurs through process known as ‘Natural Selection’, where the bacteria has evolved and is no longer affected by the antibiotics. A stand-out candidate as an alternative for antibiotics is known as bacteriophages.

‘Alternative treatments are urgently required and we are investigating one such treatment – the use of bacteriophage.’

  • Robert Atterbury, Phage Biotechnology, University of Nottingham.                             
Resistance bacteria survived the treatment of antibiotics, thus able to reproduce and increase in numbers.

Resistance bacteria survived the treatment of antibiotics, thus able to reproduce and increase in numbers. <http://www.reactgroup.org/toolbox/mutation-and-selection/>. Photo credit: Uppsala University

‘Bacteriophage, or phage is a virus that infects bacteria, so these don’t infect human cells- they are specialised and only infect bacteria’

  • Brent Gilpin, Science Leader, Environmental Science Group, New Zealand.
Bacteriophage attached itself to the bacteria before releasing its DNA inside.

Bacteriophage attached itself to the bacteria before releasing its DNA inside. <http://www.news-medical.net/news/20151202/Bacteriophage-therapy-an-alternative-to-antibiotics-An-interview-Professor-Clokie.aspx>. Photo credit: News-Medical.net team

Bacteriophage or phage infects the bacterial cell by first recognizing the bacteria and then attaching itself to the bacteria’s surface (cell wall). After the phage has penetrated the cell wall, entering the bacteria, and it releases its DNA inside. This DNA merges itself with the bacterial DNA causing the bacteria to produce proteins for the phage. Other chain reactions occur which causes the bacteria cell to produce more phages and eventually bust out, causing the bacteria to die. – This process is shown in the following video:

‘Bacteriophage Life Cycle’

This method is currently being adopted by many industries including food protection against food-borne disease, and medical treatment for both animal and humans. Furthermore, there are many advantages in using phage therapy; for example the phages are target specific, thus only attacking bacteria with a certain structure. With the right phage, it’s harmless to humans and since, phage is found naturally throughout the environment, there are several types of phages that can be studied and used. In addition to this, phage can be genetically modified to reduce their side effects, harmful abilities, or any unnecessary features. With this, it’s possible that phages can be used as an efficient and effective treatment against bacteria.

I strongly believe that bacteriophage is a potential alternative for antibiotics due to its ability to target specific bacteria, its harmless nature to humans, and its ability to be genetically engineered. Moreover, it can also be used in many industries as a safety precaution, in medical treatments, or even scientific research.

 

Poramat Sucharit

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