MedWorm Tags: induced

Three Common Ailments That Can Be Treated With Regular Exercise

Better Health — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 18:00:42 +0100

It’s Wednesday, so I would like to tell you about some cool things I learned this past week about the science of how exercise can be used as a treatment for three common ailments. First, some background about exercise: The great thing about exercising every day that you eat is that this magic potion is not a shot or a pill. It does not involve a doctor burning or squishing anything in your body. There are no HIPAA forms, no insurance pre-certifications, and not even a co-pay. It’s as we say, easy and free. And drum roll please…exercise is active—not passive. Here’s the Mandrola take on how exercise might treat three specific medical conditions: (more…) *This blog post was originally published at Dr John M* (Source: Better Health)

Biology's new "supermodel" induced pluripotent stem cells

Mary Meets Dolly — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 16:28:25 +0100

At least that is what The Scientist is calling them. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) are adult cells that have been reprogrammed back to a pluripotent state. A pluripotent cell is simply a cell can become most or all of the 200 cell types of the body. iPSCs behave like embryonic stem cells, which are naturally pluripotent, but iPSCs not require the destruction of an embryo. They are the perfect alternative to therapeutic cloning or somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). SCNT creates a cloned embryo that would be destroyed for the pluripotent stem cells inside. Many scientists have called SCNT "the most promising" way to make pluripotent stem cells because it would create embryonic stem cells that are a genetic match to a patient. The problem with SCNT is that to ...

Reading the Newspaper When You’re Depressed

World of Psychology — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 10:41:36 +0100

Learning to read the daily newspaper when you’re depressed is like learning to feed the ducks in Annapolis without getting crapped on by the seagulls: it demands good timing, a certain strategy, and an obnoxiously wide hat (to shield your head). I can’t check CNN.com every half hour for the most recent headlines like Eric, my husband, does. I’m way too anxious about the world’s doom and gloom. Like all the other important activities in my week, I wait for the right moment: when I have a full stomach of protein and fiber, when I’m semi-rested (very rare with two insomniacs as children), when I’m not too caffeinated (even rarer), and when I’m not ticked off at a family member (rarest). When all these circumstances align, which happens as often as a l...

Time Changes and the MS Body

Life with MS — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 19:36:27 +0100

‘Tis the season for travel. Kids will soon be out of school, summer weather entices us to take holidays and my travel schedule for the next month has me on more planes and through more time zones than a healthy body should be subjected let alone one slogging through Multiple Sclerosis. I’ve heard of “recovery times” for the body. It takes a full year for the body to recover from general anesthesia, one day per hour of time change, a month for every year of a relationship after it fails (that might be more of a heart recovery than a body one…). If any of this is the case, my jumping back-and-forth from the east coast and my home time zone three times this month (and then on to GMT!) should leave me just about recovered in time for my birthday… in AUGUST! Travel can be st...

Good and Bad News for Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Mary Meets Dolly — Fri, 13 May 2011 21:25:11 +0100

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) are adult cells that have been reprogrammed back to an embryonic-like (pluripotent) state without creating or destroying embryos. Prolifers have been pointing to iPS cells since they were created as an alternative to destroying embryos for embryonic stem cells. Unlike embryonic stem cells that come from an embryo that is genetically different, iPS cells would be better for transplant because they would already be a genetic match to the patient. iPS cells are also an alternative to cloning embryos for stem cells. The only reason to clone an embryo to harvest stem cells would be to get embryonic stem cells that are a genetic match to the patient. iPS technology achieves the same result as cloning without any eggs and without cloning and dest...

Dopamine May Promote Male Drinking

Twelve Step Facilitation.com — Thu, 05 May 2011 21:45:28 +0100

Image via WikipediaWhy Are Men More Susceptible to Alcoholism?18 October 2010 ElsevierAlcohol is one of the most commonly abused substances, and men are up to twice as likely to develop alcoholism as women. Until now, the underlying biology contributing to this difference in vulnerability has remained unclear.A new study published in Biological Psychiatry reveals that dopamine may be an important factor.Researchers from Columbia and Yale studied male and female college-age social drinkers in a laboratory test of alcohol consumption. After consuming an alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink, each participant underwent a specialized positron emission tomography (PET) scan, an imaging technique that can measure the amount of alcohol-induced dopamine release.Dopamine has multiple functions in the br...

Drug Safety In Preventing Acute Mountain Sickness

Better Health — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 22:00:00 +0100

This is a guest post by Dr. Jeremy Windsor. ********** Steroids and Acute Mountain Sickness In recent years, many attempts have been made to identify safe and effective medications to prevent acute mountain sickness (AMS). Acetazolamide (Diamox), currently the “drug of choice” for this purpose, is not perfect and occasionally causes objectionable side effects. Dexamethasone (Decadron), a powerful steroid medication, has become increasingly popular for prevention and treatment in certain circles. While there is ample evidence to suggest that dexamethasone is effective, a recent case report highlights that this drug is not without risk. In the latest issue of the journal Wilderness & Environmental Medicine [WEM 21(4):345-348, 2010] in an article entitled ”Complicat...

Dopamine May Promote Male Drinking

Twelve Step Facilitation.com — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 15:51:46 +0100

Image via Wikipedia Why Are Men More Susceptible to Alcoholism? 18 October 2010 Elsevier Alcohol is one of the most commonly abused substances, and men are up to twice as likely to develop alcoholism as women. Until now, the underlying biology contributing to this difference in vulnerability has remained unclear. A new study published in Biological Psychiatry reveals that dopamine may be an important factor. Researchers from Columbia and Yale studied male and female college-age social drinkers in a laboratory test of alcohol consumption. After consuming an alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink, each participant underwent a specialized positron emission tomography (PET) scan, an imaging technique that can measure the amount of alcohol-induced dopamine release. Dopamine has multiple functi...

Brain Swelling and Damage Associated With Vaccines

vactruth.com — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 14:25:40 +0100

Catherine Frompovich Vactruth.com 09/16/2010 Brain Swelling and Damage Associated With Vaccines – Inappropriately Labeled Shaken Baby Syndrome Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines Meeting Sept. 2-3, 2010, Rockville, MD With all due respect to what’s been presented at this meeting, the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines needs to hear about the unfortunate miscarriage of justice against parents whose children suffer brain swelling vaccine damage and are legally prosecuted by authorities with such charges as Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS). Munchausen by Proxy (MSBP), Fictitious Induced Illness (FII), Non-Accidental Injury (NAI), Physical Abuse, Failure to Protect, and Child Abuse. Numerous infants and toddlers suffer brain trauma with or without hemorrhages; brain swelling (ed...

Sudden Death In Young Athletes And Routine Cardiac Screening

Better Health — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:00:38 +0100

It’s the dog days of what seems to have been an unusually hot summer (though DrRich does not know whether it has been sufficiently warm to affect the global cooling trend we’ve been in for the past decade), and as is all too common at this time of year, we are seeing extraordinarily heartbreaking stories (like this one) about healthy, robust young athletes dying suddenly on the practice fields. Most of these tragic sudden deaths are due to a heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy often does not produce any symptoms prior to causing sudden death. But it can be easily diagnosed, before exercise-induced sudden death occurs, by screening young athletes with electocardiograms (ECGs) and echocardiography. A couple of summers ago, the New York Times wr...

Study: What Makes A Sports Bra Most Comfortable?

Better Health — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 01:13:23 +0100

Many women will tell you that large breasts are an impediment to exercise, both in terms of discomfort and embarrassment. According to a study of 20 women with C+ breasts in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (MSSE), sports bras which provide breast encapsulation, compression, and elevation (whereas traditional sports bras only provide compression and encapsulation) are more comfortable during physical activity. Breast motion tracking was done via “infrared light-emitting diodes (2-mm diameter)…placed directly on both nipples under each bra using double-sided surgical tape, as the nipples have been found to be the best indicator of vertical breast displacement.” (more…) *This blog post was originally published at Medgadget* (Source: Better Healt...

Miscarriage? Don’t Wait To Get Pregnant Again

Better Health — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 18:00:00 +0100

About 15 to 20 percent of women who know they are pregnant will have a miscarriage. The loss of a pregnancy before 20 weeks is considered a miscarriage. Many women suffer grief and shock after a miscarriage and fear there is something wrong with them or that they did something to cause it. But the reasons for miscarriage are usually not known. Women are often told to wait “a few months” to get pregnant again to let their bodies recover. A new study published in the British Medical Journal looked at over 30,000 women who had a miscarriage in their first recorded pregnancy and subsequently became pregnant again. They found that women who conceived again within six months were less likely to have another miscarriage or problem pregnancy. They were even less likely to have a...

Lupus – an autoimmune disease

Nursing Comments — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 01:59:36 +0100

Lupus, also known as lupus erythematosus, is an autoimmune inflammatory disorder that occurs mostly in women. A healthy immune system is one that can protect you from germs and illness. It makes antibodies which are special chemicals that fight off infection. With a disease like lupus, the immune system gets confused and begins attacking the healthy cells in your body. It does this by making autoantibodies, which are antibodies that attack the body’s normal cells. Lupus produces widely varying symptoms, although joint pain is reported by most patients and skin lesions are common. Lupus can cause short periods of symptoms alternating with healthy periods, or can progress into a life-threatening disorder affecting the heart, kidneys and other organs. Peopl...

Anorexia Nervosa

Inside Surgery — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 23:38:05 +0100

Pathophysiology severe disturbance of caloric intake with refusal to maintain an adequate body weight Signs and Symptoms 1) self-starvation and over concern with body weight and shape 2) binge eating and purging 3) weight < 85% of normal 4) fear that weight will get out of control with even small caloric intake 5) distorted body image (patients see themselves as fat even when emaciated) 6) lack of menses 7) acrocyanosis of digits cold intolerance 9) hypothermia 10) self-induced vomiting 11) decreased cardiac output 12) cardiac failure 13) bradycardia 14) enlarged salivary glands 15) dental erosion 16) edema 17) lanugo (soft downy hair on body) 18) onset usually in mid to late adolescence Characteristic Test Findings Laboratory – 1) hypoglycemia 2) decreased estrogen 3) increased T4 ...

Alcohol Induced Dementia

Recovery Is Sexy.com — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 03:45:47 +0100

Alcohol-induced dementia in a functional alcoholic? Woman lives with alcohol-induced dementia Cheryl Thorson remembers well when she started drinking at age 16. But she can’t remember what happened 10 minutes ago. Thorson, 54, of Wausau drank for 27 years after she started in high school, and before she quit, “it was nothing for me to go into a tavern and drink a bottle of rum,” Thorson said. “I enjoyed it. It was good.” She was what counsellors would call a “functional alcoholic.” She held down good jobs and eventually became a business owner. She said she never got in a serious car crash because of her drinking and never got pulled over for drunken driving. Consequences came later in the form of alcohol-induced dementia, a disease that has devast...

Using Fat Cells to Cure Diseases!

Genetics and Health — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:40:42 +0100

Take a look at this! Scientists have found a way to change our fat into the “miracle” cure-all that stem cells are purported to be. Using fat that were removed during liposuction, Stanford researchers found a method that reprograms these millions of fat cells into a state that is similar to embryonic stem cells! The fat cells are genetically reprogrammed back into “induced pluripotent stem cells” or iPSCs which have the potential to grow into any cell or tissue. Like embryonic stem cells, iPSCs can be used to replace damaged or destroyed organs, and treat a variety of diseases like Alzheimer’s diseases, spinal cord injury, stroke, burns, heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis. And fat cells-turned-stem-cells have none of the ethical controversie...

To scientists: Have lots of fat for making stem cells. Call Me!

Mary Meets Dolly — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:23:00 +0100

Scientists have discovered that fat cells are easier to make into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) than skin cells. IPS cells are adult cells that have been programmed to act like embryonic stem cells by inducing pluripotency, or the ability to become most or all of the 200 cell types in the body. From NatureNews:Fat cells and pigment-producing skin cells can be reprogrammed into stem cells much faster and more efficiently than the skin cells that are usually used suggesting large bellies and little black moles could provide much-needed material for deriving patient-specific stem cells....The Stanford researchers used liposuction to extract a couple litres of fat from the bellies of four overweight individuals aged 40 to 65. They then treated the tissue to remove all the g...

Are induced pluripotent stem cells the same as cloning?

Mary Meets Dolly — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 02:54:02 +0100

I have once again come off of vacation to comment on an important and breaking development in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS). There is a lot of important distinctions to be made here so I hope you stay with me to the end. Chinese researchers have announced that they have created induced pluripotent stem cells and have used them to produce living mice. From USA Today:The paper writes that two teams of Chinese researchers succeeded in "inducing cells from connective tissue in mice to revert back to their embryonic state and producing living mice from them."I had to scratch my head at this because of the nature of iPS cells. Induced pluripotent stem cells are cells that are reprogrammed to an embryonic state by introducing genes into the cell or by growing them in a cert...

Differences Found Between Embryonic Stem Cells And Induced Pluripotent Cells

Mary Meets Dolly — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:53:00 +0100

Wow, that was a mouthful. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are cells that have been "reprogrammed" back to pluripotency. What is pluripotency? Pluripotent stem cells can become most or all of the over 200 cell types of the human body. Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent. (Which makes sense because an embryo will eventually grow into a fetus, then an infant, then a toddler, then a pain-in-the-butt teenager, etc. Did I say that out loud?) It is this flexibility that researchers find valuable. IPSCs are also pluripotent but unlike embryonic stem cells, a human embryo does not have to be destroyed to get iPSCs. IPSCs are created by taking an adult cell and placing it is a special protein mixture, or introducing certain genes, and reprogramming it back to a mo...

Protein Power!

Mary Meets Dolly — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 03:13:07 +0100

Researchers at Scripps Institute have created induced pluripotent stem cells using proteins instead of genetic material. From the story:A new technique of making artificial stem cells has been made safer, according to a scientific team from the Scripps Research Institute and other academic centers.The cells, called Induced Pluripotent Stem cells, are made from fully differentiated adult cells, regressed back into an embryonic like state....The Scripps-led team found a way of producing these act-alike cells in a way that makes them more suitable for human therapy.......previous methods of making these act-alike embryonic stem cells have used dangerous methods of genetic modification, giving the cells a propensity to turn cancerous....The new research describes a way of chemically modifyin...

Lead Into Gold: "Protein Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells" Made Without Genetic Material

Secondhand Smoke — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 23:24:00 +0100

This is potentially huge: Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, which permit tailor made, patient specific pluripotent stem cell lines to be created ethically without the use of embryos, can now be made without using genetic material. From the story, "Purely Protein Pluripotency," in The Scientist (no link):Researchers have attained the holy grail of cellular reprogramming: inducing pluripotency without using any DNA-based materials. Using only a cocktail of purified proteins and a chemical additive, investigators have generated induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells that don't carry the potential burden of unexpected genetic modifications, according to a new study published online today (Apr. 23) in Cell Stem Cell."This new advancement is both exciting and startling," Huck-Hui Ng, a stem cell res...

Caffeine Eases Exercise-Induced Muscle Pain

Healthbolt — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 04:52:30 +0100

Great news for all the caffeine addicts out there. It’s a known fact that caffeine is a performance enhancer, one of the very few that isn’t banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. But now a new study by University of Illinois researchers has found that caffeine eases the muscle pains of exercising. The study involved 25 fit, college-aged men. Some of the participants were regular caffeine users, ie ones who drank at least four cups of coffee (or the equivalent in caffeine laced drinks) a day on average, while others either didn’t take in caffeine at all or only had a small daily intake. After an initial exercise test on an exercise bike to determine maximal oxygen consumption, the participants were then monitored while doing two high-intensity, half-hour exercise sessio...

High-Dose Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy Effective Treatment For Patients With Low Volume Lung or Liver Metastases

Libby's H*O*P*E* — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 21:30:22 +0100

Libby’s H*O*P*E*™ previously reported on potential treatments for “oligometastasis,” which is defined as cancer that spreads to a few distant body sites, on June 23, 2008 and August 17, 2008. Two related U.S. multi-institutional, phase I/II clinical studies and one Canadian Phase I clinical study reported recently results from an evaluation of the efficacy and [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*)

Pluripotent stem cells without cloning or viruses

Mary Meets Dolly — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 16:14:07 +0100

The "holy grail" of regenerative medicine would be stem cells that are pluripotent (able to become most or all of the 200 cell types in the body) that are also a genetic match to a patient. This would mean that a patient could be treated with cells that are flexible enough to become whatever cell type is needed but also would not require that the patient take drugs to prevent rejection like with other transplants. As of now, there are two ways that scientist are looking to achieve this. Therapeutic cloning is the first. Therapeutic cloning would create a cloned embryo that would be a "genetic match" to the patient and then that cloned embryo would be destroyed for the embryonic stem cells inside. Unfortunately, this approach has all kinds of problems. First...

Lead Into Gold: IPS Cells Advances Continue

Secondhand Smoke — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:57:00 +0100

President Obama still hasn't rescinded the Bush stem cell policy. He will, but it may matter a lot less than people once thought. The IPSC advances continue, opening the door possibly for a way forward in biotechnology that all Americans can support. And, it is reported in the Washington Post! From the story:Scientists have developed what appears to be a safer way to create a promising alternative to embryonic stem cells, boosting hopes that such cells could sidestep the moral and political quagmire that has hindered the development of a new generation of cures.The researchers produced the cells by using strands of genetic material, instead of potentially dangerous genetically engineered viruses, to coax skin cells into a state that appears biologically identical to embryonic stem cells. "...

iPS cells breaking new ground

Mary Meets Dolly — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:46:30 +0100

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) are the new alternative to embryonic stem cells. They behave like embryonic stem cells, but they are created from adult cells, side-stepping the moral trespass of ripping open a human embryo.The problem with iPS cells was that to induce pluripotency (the flexibility to become many different types of cells) researchers had to use retroviruses that would insert transforming genes into genetic material of the cell. These retroviruses have been known to cause cancer. Last week scientists announced that they induced pluripotency with adenoviruses, which are considered to be harmless because they do not insert the transforming genes into the DNA of the adult cell. From the Washinton Post:Scientists last year shook up the scientific and political landscape by ...

iPS cell lines developed for disease research and drug discovery

Mary Meets Dolly — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 15:36:10 +0100

Embryonic stem cells are not even close to adult stem cells in trials and treatment for disease. But anytime that fact is brought into the open, ESC supporters say that ESC research is vital to understanding how a disease progresses and for use in drug discovery. The idea is to make or take embryos with certain diseases then rip them open, harvest the pluripotent stem cells inside and then use those stem cells for research into disease progression and new pharmacological treatments. I have read repeatedly that using human embryos in this way is not only important but necessary. Not so much. Researchers have created 10 pluripotent stem cell lines with diseases ranging from Parkinsons to diabetes. These lines did not come from embryos, but from patient cells that have been reprogramed or &qu...

Insulin without the stem cells

Mary Meets Dolly — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:46:36 +0100

Stem cells are supposed to cure everything, if you buy into the media frenzy. First we were told that embryonic stem cells were the best. But because of Bush's very right but very unpopular stance on funding ESC and cloning research, scientists have been looking for alternatives. Induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS, came from looking at alternatives to riping open existing embryos or cloning new ones to obtain pluripotent stem cells. iPS cells are adult stem cells that have been "reprogrammed" back to a pluripotent or "embryonic" state. Scientists at Harvard have used nuclear reprogramming technology to take normal pancreatic cells, not stem cells, and program them to produce insulin. From the LA Times:Harvard study may ultimately shift treatment options away from st...

Info on iPSCs

Mary Meets Dolly — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 17:30:00 +0100

I think I am finally rested enough from working and trying to raise a family that I can approach my computer to blog. (I just had to clean the house top to bottom first!) A lot of people have been asking me about the ethics of induced pluripotent stem cells or iPSCs. These are cells that have been taken from an adult and reprogrammed into becoming more like an embryonic stem cell which are considered pluripotent. In case you forgot what pluripotent means, a pluripotent stem cell can become all of the tissue types in the body, EXCEPT placenta. (This is important as you will see later.) Do No Harm has a great Fact Sheet on iPSCs and how they compare to their more hyped embryonic brothers. It is a good read to keep you up to date.I think an important addition is the claim that inducing an ad...

Lead Into Gold: Scientists Wax Enthusiastically

Secondhand Smoke — Fri, 02 May 2008 04:37:00 +0100

The power of the IPSCs is becoming so evident that, like Ian Wilmut before them, many scientists are joining the field. From a story in Nature Reports Stem Cells: The fact that making iPS cells does not pose the technical and ethical challenges of working with eggs or embryos is drawing large numbers of researchers into the field and speeding up reprogramming research. "This is definitely the hot thing right now," says Melina Fan, executive director of Addgene, the Cambridge, Massachusetts–based nonprofit repository that distributes both Thomson's and Yamanaka's viral vectors for the cell-reprogramming genes. As of 17 April, she says, there have been 704 requests from 178 labs at 142 institutions for Thomson's vectors; 514 requests from 131 labs at 113 institutions for Yamanaka's human i...

Does stress make my MS worse?

Life with MS — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 21:24:16 +0100

If there is one word I hear in conversation about multiple sclerosis more oft than nearly any other, it’s “stress.” “Stress caused my MS,” “I need to avoid stress,” “When I get stressed…” This stress really seems (and I write “seems” for a reason) to have some serious, perceived effects on multiple sclerosis. I will be first in line to state that the weeks and months around my diagnosis would not be considered “low” on a civilian stress scale (let’s face it, police, fire, military and the like face stresses that would make us blush for calling our lives stressful). The thing is, I try to think of things as logically as I possibly can. Saying stress would have a negative impact on my MS just doesn’t make sense to me. Think about this: Pre-multiple scl...

Brain Science #28: Edward Taub’s Revolutionary Approach to Stroke Rehabilitation

the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 02:00:24 +0100

Discussion Forum Audience Survey Subscribe via iTunes™ Subscribe in a reader or podcatcher Subscribe to Brain Science Podcast with Dr. Ginger Campbell by Email Donations and Subscriptions Links and References: Dr. Taub recommends that interested listeners do their own Google search under “constraint-induced movement therapy” or CI Therapy, but I have included a few links below: About Dr. Taub: Announcement of his recent article in JAMA link to JAMA article mentioned in the podcast William James Fellow Award 1997 Dr. Taub’s faculty page at UAB (includes contact information) Other Links: Information about the Taub Clinic Training program for therapists References: Effect of Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy on Upper Extremity Function 3 to 9 Months Afte...

The latest stem cell breakthrough: what is in it for you?

The Doctor Weighs In — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 07:22:40 +0100

This study estimated the per-individual yearly cost of PD in 1997 at $24,041 ($24,425 in 1998). Based on a prevalence of one million affected individuals, the total economic burden was calculated at $24 billion. So there you have it. I listed only four diseases that may be amenable to stem cell therapy. The reason I included the costs of these diseases is to highlight the cost to you, in the form of health-care insurance and direct costs, before you die.What is a stem cell?Just think of it as the stem of a plant, which gives rise to the branches and leaves. The developing embryo is formed by a few cells that have the potential to develop into any of the body’s almost 200 cell types. We call such cells ‘pluripotential’, and when their origin is from an embryo they are call...

Not all hypos lead to police brutality

The Diabetes Blog — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 04:00:00 +0100

Filed under: Daily News, Opinion, ComplicationsWow. I'm floored. Not every diabetic experiencing hypoglycemia in a pubic place becomes a victim of police brutality. A Texas woman with diabetes was recently discovered in her car on the side of a road by a police deputy. She was incoherent, talking to herself. No, the deputy did not drag her in to the station for DUI. Constable's Deputy Russell Whitton, intelligent guy, realized something was up and used the lady's cell phone to call the most recently missed call. This put him in touch with a relative, and he was able to establish that the lady had been reported missing, is diabetic, and was about to go into shock. The deputy gave her LifeSavers to help raise her blood sugar and called for an ambulance. . In the course of blogging for TDB I'...

Sleep apnea + pregnancy = heart risks

The Cardio Blog — Fri, 25 May 2007 04:00:00 +0100

Filed under: Prevention, ResearchSleep apnea is a big problem all by itself, but when you start complicating things by combining it with a pregnancy the health risks only compound. In a recent study that looked at 4 million women sleep apnea was tied to an increased risk for both gestational diabetes and pregnancy-induced high blood pressure.This is one of those situations where prevention really is the best medicine. Maintaining a healthy weight (obesity is one of the greatest risk factors) and actively managing sleep apnea if you have it is key.Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments (Source: The Cardio Blog)

Lack of adrenaline causes insulin-induced hypoglycemia

The Diabetes Blog — Sat, 19 May 2007 04:00:00 +0100

Filed under: Type 1, Type 2, Childhood, Adult Onset, Lifestyle, Drugs, ResearchWhen blood sugar is falling, the stopper built into the body is the release of glucagon from the liver. However, when hypoglycemia is due to injected insulin - the stopper isn't entirely in place. Scientists explain how epinephrine (adrenaline) plays a major role in regulating glucose in times of low blood sugar and how this response could be adversely affected by the use of beta-blockers. During insulin-induced hypoglycemia in dogs, the roles of epinephrine and glucagon were evaluated. The dogs fasted overnight to remove excess glucose from the blood. The dogs also had their adrenal glands removed. The adrenal glands are the source of epinephrine. Epinephrine is released into the bloodstream in response to phys...

Why Results from an Allergy or Intolerance Test May Be Misleading: Part 1

Breath Spa for Kids — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 15:34:00 +0100

There are significant problems involved with direct-to-consumer (DTC) testing for allergies and intolerances. Dr. Scadding characterised some of these self-tests as a waste of money and in response to a question about whether she considered that these tests were sufficiently regulated, she answered, "They should be banned". She went on to outline some of the harm that is experienced by children when they are misdiagnosed or if they pursue unnecessary allergen avoidance.Dr. Scadding discussed a recent example that illustrates some of the potential problems for consumers who have access to direct-to-consumer tests.Dr. Scadding: For example, I saw a child this morning before coming here and she had...We did skin tests that are well recognised and she had skin tests to house dust mite and also...

Patient pages for August

Medicine and Man — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 02:41:53 +0100

Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia Endometriosis: What You Should Know Medicine Interactions with Grapefruit: What You Should Know Rickets: What It Is and How It’s Treated Pressure Ulcers Technorati Tags: Heparin induced thrombocytopenia, Endometriosis, Grapefruit, Rickets, Pressure sores, Patient pages (Source: Medicine and Man)