Rebekah Eliason for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

In an exciting new study, researchers have discovered a way to collect cells for the regeneration of corneal tissue – the clear membrane covering the pupil that directs light into the back of the eye.

The research team from Boston reported that purified human stem cells were used to improve long-term vision in mice. Currently, the team is waiting for FDA-approval to begin patient clinical trials.

This collaborative research effort was led by Natasha Frank, MD, and Markus Frank, MD, using work done at Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Schepens Eye Research Institute, Boston Children’s Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the US Department of Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System.

In some people blood vessels grow onto the cornea, vision clouding known as corneal blindness results. This condition is caused when limbus stem cells, located behind the cornea, are destroyed by injury, infection or autoimmune disease. Outcomes are inconsistent, but limbal stem cell transplants from an uninjured eye or deceased organ donor have had promising results.

“Previously published work on limbal epithelial cell grafts showed that when more than three percent of transplanted cells were stem cells, transplants were successful—less than three percent and the transplants were not,” said HSCI Affiliated Faculty member Natasha Frank.

“The question in the field then was whether we could enrich the limbal stem cells. But until this study there was no specific marker that could isolate these cells,” added Frank.

In this study, researchers have discovered the biological marker ABCB5 protein that is located on the surface of the limbal stem cells. In order to purify only the cells responsible for successful limbal cell transplants, the team developed an antibody that could mark limbal cells in a sample of general human limbal cells.

“ABCB5 allows limbal stem cells to survive, protecting them from apoptosis [programmed cell death],” says Markus Frank. “The mouse model allowed us for the first time to understand the role of ABCB5 in normal development, and should be very important to the stem cell field in general.” according to Natasha Frank.

Researchers successfully transplanted purified limbal stem cells from adult humans into mice with corneal blindness. At five weeks and thirteen months, the team checked to see if the corneas had re-grown. They discovered that the mice corneas were normal and even had the same thickness and protein expression as corneas in healthy mice.

“I think a very exciting part of the study is that even though there is a lot of evidence that adult stem cells contribute to tissue regeneration, what we see is basically the first evidence that you can take adult stem cells and regrow the organ that’s been damaged,” Frank said.

In future research, the team plans to search for a way to replicate limbal stem cells. This would allow a single donor eye to produce enough transplantable cells to help several different patients. In addition they will partner with biopharmaceutical companies to produce commercial qualities of the ABCB5 antibody for humans, and they are planning to further collaborate with co-author Victor Perez, MD, a professor of ophthalmology at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, to move the techniques used in the current study into clinical trials.

“This finding will now make it much easier to restore the corneal surface. It’s a very good example of basic research moving quickly to translational application,” said Bruce Ksander, PhD, an associate scientist at Schepens Eye Research Institute.

This study was published in the journal Nature.

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redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online
A new process known as “somatic cell nuclear transfer” is far better and much more accurate when it comes to coaxing embryonic stem cells out of human skin tissue, according to new research appearing in Tuesday’s edition of the journal Nature.
Scientists from Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), the University of California-San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies created stem cells using two different methods: nuclear transfer, which involves moving genetic material from a skin cell into an empty egg cell, and a more traditional method in which activating a small number of genes reverts adults cells back to an embryonic state.
Experts believe that stem cell therapies could someday be used to replace human cells damaged through injury or illness, including spinal cord injuries, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis. Human embryonic stem cells (ES cells), which are cells cultured from discarded embryos, are viewed by scientists as the “gold standard” of the field, and the new study reports that somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) more closely resembled ES cells.
This marks the first time that researchers had directly compared the SCNT method with the induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS cell) technique, and in a statement, co-senior author and UCSD assistant professor in reproductive medicine Dr. Louise Laurent explained that the nuclear transfer ES cells were “more completely reprogrammed” and had “fewer alterations in gene expression and DNA methylation levels” than the iPS cells.
Access to actual human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) has been limited in the US due to ethical and logistical issues, forcing researchers to devise other methods to create stem cells, the study authors explained. Typically, that means creating iPS cells by taking adult cells and adding in a mixture of genes that regress those cells to a pluripotent stem-cell state. Those cells can then be coaxed into cells resembling those found in the heart or brain.
Over the past year, however, an OHSU-led team of researchers have built upon somatic cell nuclear transfer (the same technique used for cloning organisms) to transplant the DNA-containing nucleus of a skin cell into an empty human egg. Once completed, the combination naturally matures into a group of stem cells.
For the first time, the OHSU, UCSD and Salk Institute researchers conducted a direct, in-depth comparison of the two different methods. They created four nuclear transfer ES cell lines and seven iPS cell lines using the same skin cells as the donor genetic material source, and then compared them to a pair of standard human ES lines.
A battery of standard tests revealed that all 13 cell lines were shown to be pluripotent. However, when the researchers used powerful genomic techniques to take a closer look at the DNA methylation (a biochemical process responsible for turning genes on or off) and the gene expression signatures of each cell line, they discovered that the nuclear transfer ES cells more closely resembled those of ES cells than did iPS cells in both characteristics.
“If you believe that gene expression is important, which we do, then the closer you get to the gene expression patterns of embryonic stem cells, the better. Right now, nuclear transfer cells look closer to the embryonic stem cells than do the iPS cells,” co-senior author Joseph R. Ecker, director of the Salk Institute’s Genomic Analysis Laboratory and co-director of the Center of Excellence for Stem Cell Genomics, said in a statement.
Despite the results, Ecker explained that he did not expect to see a large increase in the use of nuclear transfer protocols – in part because the method is one that falls into restricted for federal funding purposes. However, he believed that their findings could be adapted to improve the protocols used in the production of iPS cells, provided scientists can determine exactly what component of an egg helps spur on the growth of pluripotent stem cells.
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April Flowers for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
As people become more aware of how stress affects their lives in almost every area, mindfulness meditation has risen in popularity as a way to improve both mental and physical health. Researchers have investigated the usefulness of mindfulness on everything from gene expression to cancer treatment, but most of these studies focus on lengthy, weeks-long training programs.
Carnegie Mellon University researchers took a different direction in their investigation into the benefits of mindfulness meditation practice. The researchers investigated the effects of brief mindfulness meditation on the ability to be resilient under stress. Their findings, published in Psychoneuroendocrinology, reveal that brief mindfulness meditation practice — 25 minutes a day for three consecutive days — alleviates psychological stress.
“More and more people report using meditation practices for stress reduction, but we know very little about how much you need to do for stress reduction and health benefits,” said J. David Creswell, associate professor of psychology in the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
The research team recruited 66 healthy individuals between the ages of 18 and 30 years of age for the three day experiment. The recruits were divided into two groups. The first group went through a brief, three day mindfulness meditation program. For 25 minutes a day, the participants were given breathing exercises to help them monitor their breath and learn to focus on the present moment. The remaining participants completed a matched three-day cognitive training program. During this program, they were asked to critically analyze poetry in an effort to enhance problem-solving skills.
After finishing their final exercises, both groups completed stressful math and speech tasks in front of stern-faced evaluators. The participants self-reported their stress levels during the tasks, then provided saliva samples for cortisol measurements. Cortisol is commonly called the “stress hormone.”
Reduced stress perceptions were reported by the participants who received the brief mindfulness meditation training. This suggests that the mindfulness practice fostered psychological stress resilience. The mindfulness participants also showed a greater cortisol reactivity than the critical thinking participants.
“When you initially learn mindfulness mediation practices, you have to cognitively work at it – especially during a stressful task,” Creswell said in a recent statement. “And, these active cognitive efforts may result in the task feeling less stressful, but they may also have physiological costs with higher cortisol production.”
The researchers are focusing their investigations on the possibility that mindfulness can become more automatic and easy to use with long-term mindfulness training. They believe that this will result in reduced cortisol reactivity.
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National Institutes Of Health
During the summer, it is important for everyone, especially older adults and people with chronic medical conditions, to be aware of the dangers of hyperthermia. The National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the NIH, has some tips to help mitigate some of the dangers.
Hyperthermia is an abnormally high body temperature caused by a failure of the heat-regulating mechanisms in the body to deal with the heat coming from the environment. Heat stroke, heat syncope (sudden dizziness after prolonged exposure to the heat), heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat fatigue are common forms of hyperthermia. People can be at increased risk for these conditions, depending on the combination of outside temperature, their general health and individual lifestyle.
Older people, particularly those with chronic medical conditions, should stay indoors, preferably with air conditioning or at least a fan and air circulation, on hot and humid days, especially when an air pollution alert is in effect. Living in housing without air conditioning, not drinking enough fluids, not understanding how to respond to the weather conditions, lack of mobility and access to transportation, overdressing and visiting overcrowded places are all lifestyle factors that can increase the risk for hyperthermia.
People without air conditioners should go to places that do have air conditioning, such as senior centers, shopping malls, movie theaters and libraries. Cooling centers, which may be set up by local public health agencies, religious groups and social service organizations in many communities, are another option.
The risk for hyperthermia may increase from:
Age-related changes to the skin such as poor blood circulation and inefficient sweat glands

• Alcohol use
• Being substantially overweight or underweight
• Dehydration
• Heart, lung and kidney diseases, as well as any illness that causes general weakness or fever
• High blood pressure or other health conditions that require changes in diet. For example, people on salt-restricted diets may be at increased risk. However, salt pills should not be used without first consulting a physician.
• Reduced perspiration,caused by medications such as diuretics, sedatives, tranquilizers and certain heart and blood pressure drugs
• Use of multiple medications. It is important, however, to continue to take prescribed medication and discuss possible problems with a physician.

Heat stroke is a life-threatening form of hyperthermia. It occurs when the body is overwhelmed by heat and is unable to control its temperature. Heat stroke occurs when someone’s body temperature increases significantly (above 104 degrees Fahrenheit) and shows symptoms of the following: strong rapid pulse, lack of sweating, dry flushed skin, mental status changes (like combativeness or confusion), staggering, faintness or coma. Seek immediate emergency medical attention for a person with any of these symptoms, especially an older adult.
If you suspect someone is suffering from a heat-related illness:

• Get the person out of the heat and into a shady, air-conditioned or other cool place. Urge the person to lie down.
• If you suspect heat stroke, call 911.
• Apply a cold, wet cloth to the wrists, neck, armpits and/or groin. These are places where blood passes close to the surface of the skin, and the cold cloths can help cool the blood.
• Help the individual to bathe or sponge off with cool water.
• If the person can swallow safely, offer fluids such as water or fruit and vegetable juices, but avoid alcohol and caffeine.

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has found that the parasite responsible for Malaria alters the scent of its mammalian host – causing it to become more attractive to the mosquitoes that spread the disease from host to host.

The malaria parasite can be propagated only by mosquito. The flying insect ingests the parasite via infected blood, leading to the following generation developing within the mosquito’s gut. These burgeoning parasites then journey to the mosquito’s salivary glands and are transferred to the new host during the following ingestion of blood.

The new study showed mosquitoes are particularly attracted to mice infected with malaria, even when the mice didn’t show symptoms.

“Malaria-infected mice are more attractive to mosquitos than uninfected mice,” said study author Mark Mescher, associate professor of entomology at Penn State. “They are the most attractive to these mosquito vectors when the disease is most transmissible.”

In the study, researchers from Penn State and the Swiss Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) examined chemicals emitted by infected mice. They discovered that the chemicals mosquitoes like the most were predominantly released during the highly infectious phase of the disease – 13 to 20 days after infection.

“There appears to be an overall elevation of several compounds that are attractive to mosquitoes,” said Consuelo De Moraes, a professor of biocommunication and Entomology at ETH Zurich.

The international team was able to identify four specific chemical compounds that were highly attractive for the mosquitoes.

The study team mentioned although afflicted people smell more attractive, they generally do not develop a distinct body odor. They added that the malaria pathogen could also have negative effects on mosquitoes.

“Since mosquitoes probably don’t benefit from feeding on infected people, it may make sense for the pathogen to exaggerate existing odor cues that the insects are already using for host location,” Mescher said.

Surprisingly, the researchers also found that when afflicted mice no longer had symptoms, they still released the mosquito-attracting chemicals.

While the results of the mice-based study can’t be directly translated to humans, the researchers said they were interested in focusing future research on how to prevent the spread of malaria from asymptomatic individuals.

“We were most interested in individuals that are infected with the malaria parasite but are asymptomatic,” De Moraes said. “Asymptomatic people can still transmit the disease unless they are treated, so if we can identify them we may be able to better control the disease.”

“If this holds true in humans, we may be able to screen humans for the chemical scent profile using this biomarker to identify carriers,” Mescher added.

Another malaria study published in March found warming temperatures will allow mosquitoes spreading the disease to travel into higher altitudes. The study team said without improved monitoring and control efforts, malaria cases will increase significantly as the planet’s temperatures increase in the years ahead – spreading the disease to areas of Africa and South America that have traditionally faced a low risk of infection.

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By K.C. Gonzalez, University of Texas at San Antonio
Researchers at UTSA are discovering that the current protective eyewear used by our US armed forces might not be adequate to protect soldiers exposed to explosive blasts.
According to a recent study, ocular injuries now account for 13 percent of all battlefield injuries and are the fourth most common military deployment-related injury.
With the support of the U.S. Department of Defense, UTSA biomedical engineering assistant professor Matthew Reilly and distinguished senior lecture in geological sciences Walter Gray have been collaborating with researchers at the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research at Joint Base San Antonio Fort Sam Houston and the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio to understand the unseen effects that can occur as a result of a blast injury.
In a basement laboratory at Fort Sam Houston military base, the research team has spent the last two years simulating Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blasts on postmortem pig eyes using a high-powered shock tube.
So far, they have discovered that the shock wave alone created by an IED, even in the absence of shrapnel or other particles, can cause significant damage to the eyes that could lead to partial or total blindness.
Perhaps the most striking discovery is that these blasts can damage the optic nerve, which transmits information from the eye to the brain. Optic nerve injuries occur even at low pressures and could be the cause of many visual deficits, which until now have been associated traumatic brain injuries.
“There has been considerable controversy surrounding whether primary blasts could damage the eye,” shared Reilly. “No one had shown conclusive evidence before, perhaps because they weren’t looking at the problem quite as closely as we have. We had some idea of what to look for based on results from computational models and now we have experimental data that supports this phenomenon.”
This groundbreaking research will not only help physicians know what type of injuries to screen for and treat following a blast injury, but also create a reliable model to test various protective eyewear solutions that might prevent or reduce blast damage to the eyes.
Reilly has several family and friends who currently or previously serve in the military who have had various injuries.
“I wasn’t in the military but I would like those who serve our country to be better protected in the field or give them better diagnostics when they are injured,” he said. “I want to make sure their quality of life is as high as possible after they have been deployed. I am just trying to give back.”
Moving forward, the research team plans to delve further into the link between the optic nerve and the brain in an effort to understand the causes and symptoms of traumatic brain injuries.

Alan McStravick for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

This year’s FIFA World Cup, being played in Brazil, is a quadrennial event that captures the attentions of a staggering majority of the people that live on this planet. Excusing the pun, the event kicked off by celebrating a revolutionary advancement in paraplegic mobility technology made possible by work done by one of Brazil’s native sons, Dr. Miguel A. L. Nicolelis, MD, PhD.

Heading up the Walk Again Project, Nicolelis explained how the group’s goal was to have a fully functioning first-of-its-kind brain-controlled whole-body exoskeleton ready for demonstration just before the first match of the tournament was played. I have previously had the opportunity to document his and his team’s work leading up to that day.

Duke University-based Nicolelis and his Walk Again Project enabled 29-year-old paraplegic Juliano Pinto to launch the biggest sporting event on Earth by donning the exoskeleton and willing it to move with the power of his mind, kicking out the first ball to officially begin the World Cup almost three weeks ago.

While news of this amazing prototype was welcomed the world over, equally good news was announced this week for individuals living with paralysis in the United States. That is because the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has now cleared for marketing and sale a motorized exoskeleton called ReWalk.

This bionic suit first gained attention just over two years ago when Britain’s Claire Lomas became the first person to complete a marathon while wearing an assistive motorized device, reports CNET‘s Dana Kerr. Lomas finished the 2012 London Marathon in 16 days time. This is an impressive feat for someone who previously was unable to move due to a severe spinal cord injury.

ReWalk was designed to enable its wearer the ability to stand, walk and navigate stairs with limited assistance. In a statement heralding the FDA announcement, director of the Office of Device Evaluation, Christy Foreman stated, “Along with physical therapy, training, and assistance from a caregiver, these individuals may be able to use these devices to walk again in their homes and in their communities.”

ReWalk, developed by Argo Medical Technologies of Marlborough, MA, was subjected to a standard de novo classification process by the FDA. This process is used for all devices that are novel in design and intended use. The FDA also put ReWalk through the ringer, testing all aspects of its hardware and software as well as its battery systems and overall durability. Aiding in the final decision to approve the device for sale was clinical data obtained from 30 participants currently using the device.

As noted above, ReWalk has already jumped the regulatory hurdles in Europe and has been available for the purchase price of about $70,000 US. That will be the anticipated price of the device here in the US once it goes on sale as well. Once made available, Argo Medical Technologies will be required to provide to the FDA a post-market clinical study that highlights specifically any adverse events as a result of use of the device.

As reported by the USA Today, Marine Capt. Derek Herrera, a paraplegic trained on the device, will be one of the first Americans to own one.

“I see this as a milestone for people in my same situation,” Herrera said in an Argo Medical Technologies press statement. “It will be incredible for me to regain independence, to use the system to walk and stand on my own.”

Alan McStravick for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

In a feature in this past April’s Ad Age magazine, a write up was done on the re-branding of McDonald’s mascot Ronald McDonald that detailed, among other things, the new wardrobe for the hamburger-hocking clown.

As Lorene Yue noted, “These days, the spokesclown for McDonald’s Corp. has been relegated mostly to the nonprofit Ronald McDonald House Charities, in part to make him a smaller target for activists who accuse the company of using him to market fast food to kids.” Continuing she explained, “But starting in June, he’ll take a bigger role in McDonald’s social media channels to promote its new “Fun makes great things happen” campaign.”

This re-emergence of the child-friendly clown seems particularly ill-timed to the release of a new study on childhood obesity and its tie to unhealthy food branding and marketing. This study, conducted by a research team out of Michigan State University (MSU) and the University of Oregon (UO) and led by Anna McAlister, assistant professor of advertising and public relations found that the more familiar a child was with logos and other images associated with fast food restaurants, sodas and other unhealthy snack option brands, the more likely the child was to be overweight or obese.

“We found the relationship between brand knowledge and BMI to be quite robust,” McAlister commented. “The kids who know the most about these brands have higher BMIs.” BMI, or Body Mass Index, is a number calculated from a child’s weight and height. This method is typically very reliable in determining body fatness in most children and teens. While not a direct measure of body fat, research has shown BMI correlates to other measures, such as underwater weighing and dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. Doctors and researchers rely on BMI as it is an inexpensive and easy-to-perform method for screening weight categories that lead to later health problems.

Previous studies have explicitly shown that children who struggle with being overweight at a young age tend to maintain unhealthy weight levels as they age and mature.

The researchers brought together a participant group of children between the ages of 3 and 5 years of age whom they asked to identify certain logos, brands and images like golden arches, silly rabbits and the crown of a king. Those children that were able to enthusiastically identify each picture tended to have a higher BMI than those who presented less recognition of the images.

“The results varied, which is a good thing,” McAlister noted. “Some kids knew very little about the brands while others knew them exceptionally well.”

To support their initial results, the team conducted the study twice with separate groups of children. In the first attempt they discovered that exercise habits among the group tended to offset the negative effects of too much familiarity with unhealthy food. Unfortunately, that same finding could not be duplicated in the second group.

“The inconsistency across studies tells us that physical activity should not be seen as a cure-all in fixing childhood obesity,” McAlister claimed. “Of course we want kids to be active, but the results from these studies suggest that physical activity is not the only answer. The consistent relationship between brand knowledge and BMI suggests that limiting advertising exposure might be a step in the right direction too.”

It’s this last point that should have parents on guard with respect to the McDonald’s Corporation pulling the pusher of Happy Meals out of mothballs and gussying him up in new duds. No marketing decision by McDonald’s, and to a lesser extent their competitors, is ever made lightly. In the same Ad Age article, David Zlotnik, McDonald’s director of global marketing perhaps showed his cards when he admitted, “We’ve been working on his new clothes for probably close to two years.”

McAlister almost seems careful not to assign full blame to the correlation between brand recognition and BMI squarely at the purveyors of the marketing and advertising. Recognizing that children get most of their food messages from television, one could argue those kids with higher BMI suffer the condition due to a sedentary lifestyle that usually means they spend too much time in front of the TV. It’s akin to a chicken v. egg paradox. Are they familiar with the images, brands and logos because they have higher BMI thanks to a sedentary lifestyle or do they have a higher BMI because they are bombarded by the messages they see on TV?

However, McAlister did explain what they believe their study ultimately told them. “From our results,” she said, “it would suggest that it’s not the TV time itself, but rather what is learned about these brands. It’s probably the developing food knowledge, not the sedentary lifestyle.”

Serving as co-author on the paper, UO professor Bettina Cornwell believes the study results provide important insight into children’s relationship with food, or their “first language of food.” As she notes, it doesn’t take long for a child to figure out their likes and dislikes and that early lesson can stick with them their entire lives.

“What we’re trying to show here is just how young kids are when they develop their theory of food,” McAlister added. “As early as three years of age, kids are developing a sense of what food means to them.”

The study and its findings have been published in the most recent issue of the journal Appetite.

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U.S. Food and Drug Administration

There are more theories about teething and “treating” a baby’s sore gums than there are teeth in a child’s mouth. One thing doctors and other health care professionals agree on is that teething is a normal part of childhood that can be treated without prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) medications.

Too often well-meaning parents, grandparents and caregivers want to soothe a teething baby by rubbing numbing medications on the tot’s gums, using potentially harmful drugs instead of safer, non-toxic alternatives.

That’s why the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning parents that prescription drugs such as viscous lidocaine are not safe for treating teething in infants or young children, and that they have hurt some children who used those products.

FDA has previously recommended that parents and caregivers not use benzocaine products for children younger than 2 years, except under the advice and supervision of a health care professional. Benzocaine—which, like viscous lidocaine, is a local anesthetic—can be found in such OTC products as Anbesol, Hurricaine, Orajel, Baby Orajel, and Orabase.

The use of benzocaine gels and liquids for mouth and gum pain can lead to a rare but serious—and sometimes fatal—condition called methemoglobinemia, a disorder in which the amount of oxygen carried through the blood stream is greatly reduced. And children under 2 years old appear to be at particular risk.

Parents Have Safer Alternatives

On average, children get one new tooth every month from 6 months of age to about age 3, for a total of 20 “baby teeth.”

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), occasional symptoms of teething include mild irritability, a low-level fever, drooling and an urge to chew on something hard.

Because teething happens during a time of much change in a baby’s life, it is often wrongly blamed for sleep disturbances, decreased appetite, congestion, coughing, vomiting and diarrhea.

If your child’s gums are swollen and tender, gently rub or massage the gums with your finger, and give your child a cool teething ring or a clean, wet, cool washcloth to chew on.

Chill the teething ring or washcloth in the refrigerator for a short time, making sure it’s cool—not cold like an ice cube. If the object is too cold, it can hurt the gums and your child. The coolness soothes the gums by dulling the nerves, which transmit pain.

“The cool object acts like a very mild local anesthetic,” says Hari Cheryl Sachs, M.D., a pediatrician at FDA. “This is a great relief for children for a short time.”

Parents should supervise their children so they don’t accidentally choke on the teething ring or wash cloth.

Avoid Local Anesthetics

For teething, avoid local anesthetics such as viscous lidocaine or benzocaine-containing teething products except under the advice and supervision of a health care professional.

Viscous lidocaine is a prescription medication, a local anesthetic in a gel-like syrup. Doctors may prescribe it for chemotherapy patients (children and adults) who are unable to eat because of mouth ulcers that can occur with chemotherapy. Dentists may use it to reduce the gag reflex in children during dental X-rays and impressions.

Parents may have viscous lidocaine on hand if it has been prescribed to treat another family member for pain relief from conditions such as mouth or throat ulcers. But it should never be used to comfort a teething baby.

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP)—a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing medication errors—has received reports of teething babies suffering overdoses of viscous lidocaine. Symptoms include jitteriness, confusion, vision problems, vomiting, falling asleep too easily, shaking and seizures.

The drug also “can make swallowing difficult and can increase the risk of choking or breathing in food. It can lead to drug toxicity and affect the heart and nervous system,” says Michael R. Cohen, RPh, MS, ISMP president.

Parents have been known to repeatedly apply viscous lidocaine if a baby keeps fussing, says Cohen. They have also been known to put liquid gel forms of a topical anesthetic into a baby’s formula or even soak a pacifier or a cloth in it, then put that in their baby’s mouth. How much the baby gets is not measured, so it may be too much, he says. For all these reasons, FDA recommends viscous lidocaine not be used to treat the pain associated with teething.

“Teething is a normal phenomenon; all babies teethe,” says Ethan Hausman, M.D., a pediatrician and pathologist at FDA. “FDA does not recommend any sort of drug, herbal or homeopathic medication or therapy for teething in children.”

Gerard LeBlond for www.redorbit.com – Your Universe Online

A study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association reveals a possible link to premature death in adults who watch too much television. Adults who watch at least three or more hours of TV per day, double the risk of early death by any cause, according to the study.

Lead author Miguel Martinez-Gonzalez, from the Department of Public Health at the University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain, along with several colleagues from CIBER-OBN — the official Spanish agency for funding biomedical research — participated in this study.

“Television viewing is a major sedentary behavior and there is an increasing trend toward all types of sedentary behaviors. Our findings are consistent with a range of previous studies where time spent watching television was linked to mortality,” Martinez-Gonzalez stated.

The study involved 13,284 young and healthy Spanish university graduates. The average age was 37, and 60 percent of them were women. Over an 8.2 year period, the researchers assessed three types of sedentary behavior — television viewing time, time spent on a computer and daily driving time — and their association with death from all causes.

Among the participants, there were 97 deaths, 19 were from cardiovascular causes, 46 were from cancer and 32 from other causes. The researchers took into account other risk factors, and concluded that the risk of death was two times higher in the participants who watched three or more hours of TV per day.

Computer use and driving time showed no significant association with premature death. However, they also concluded that more studies were needed to confirm the association between computer use and driving with death rates.

“As the population ages, sedentary behaviors will become more prevalent, especially watching television, and this poses an additional burden on the increased health problems related to aging,” Martinez-Gonzalez said. “Our findings suggest adults may consider increasing their physical activity, avoid long sedentary periods, and reduce television watching to no longer than one to two hours each day.”

Previous research concluded that half of the US population are leading sedentary lives. The American Heart Association recommends that people get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, or at least 75 minutes of intense aerobic activity per week, and moderate-to high-intensity strength training at least two days per week.

Alan McStravick for www.redorbit.com – Your Universe online

Earlier this month, redOrbit reported about how food marketers were pulling some interesting tricks out of their bag to convince the casual consumer that a patently unhealthy item might actually be considered a healthful option. Many consumers, however, don’t need to be told that slapping the word ‘antioxidant’ on a bottle of Cherry 7-Up doesn’t make it a better drink option than, say, water or natural fruit or vegetable juice.

Despite packaging and advertising trickery, many consumers are using their common sense to try and eat more sensibly rather than trying to adopt a diet mentality that often ends with dissatisfaction and disappointment at the results.

At this year’s Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting and Food Expo, held in New Orleans this week, it was revealed in a panel discussion that greater than 50 percent of consumers have actively expressed an interest in products with reduced levels of salt and sugar. Unfortunately, food packaging practice is maintaining a focus on advertising the low- or no-fat attribute of a product.

The panel also cited recent research which shows that only ¼ of consumers claimed they were dieting, yet more than 70 percent of consumers stated they did actually want to lose weight.

“Consumers know they need to take care of their health,” said Lynn Dornblaser, director, innovation & insight, Mintel Group, Ltd. “They want to lose weight, but they don’t like the idea of dieting. They know that living a healthy lifestyle is all about moderation.”

As noted by the panel, a shift in consciousness by many consumers has been realized in the reduction in desire for low- and no-fat options and the increase in the desire for foods that contain less sodium and sugar. More than 50 percent of consumers surveyed identified a reduction in sodium and sugar as being more important than calorie and carbohydrate count and reduced fat.

“And yet in the US market, it’s all about low- or no-fat claims,” said Dornblaser. “Products that make a low-sugar, low-calorie or low-sodium claim are less prevalent.”

Dornblaser’s singling out the US is important. This is because in Europe and the rest of the world, food marketing focusing on no- or low-fat is less common.

Despite US companies still extolling the fat content of their products, they have been quietly and slowly reducing sugar and salt levels in response to consumer demands. Food producers have recognized that consumers are keenly looking at their nutritional labels, especially with regard to the overall sodium and sugar content in the product.

Dornblaser recognizes the slow adoption on behalf of the food producers because “most consumers know that less sodium means less taste.” For this reason, we are seeing products that promote healthier sodium levels but also tout the good taste of the product.

The panel discussion also took a look at some of the emerging consumer trends that may actually send mixed messages to food producers:

* Consumers consistently rank taste as the most important food attribute (88 percent), followed by appetite satisfaction or satiety (87 percent), and value (86 percent).

* Food that was grown or made locally was important to just 36 percent of consumers.

* “Artisan” food, a relatively undefined term to reflect non-processed food, or food made by hand or by a small firm, was deemed important by 36 percent of consumers.

* Thirty-three percent of consumers stated that “organic” was an important food attribute.

Also on the panel, Joanne L. Slavin, professor in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota, stated that the US Dietary Guidelines for 2015 will likely again recommend lower levels of both sugar and salt in food products. Additionally, she also anticipates continued, “movement toward whole foods and away from nutrients,” and reference to trending topics “such as sustainability, gluten, vegan diets and food processing.”

“Consumers look to flavor first, health attributes second,” said Dornblaser. “Any (food producer) has to keep that in mind. Consumers aren’t afraid of sugar or salt, they’re afraid of too much sugar or salt. The way to do that overtly and covertly is reduce when you can. Consumers do look at the nutrition statement.”

[ Watch The Video: Food Fears: Increasing Familiarity Is The Best Way To Avoid Ingredient-Based Food Fear ]

By Brian Wansink, Cornell University

Daily headlines on internet pages and blogs claim: “New ingredient X is harmful to your health.” Such warnings can scare people into avoiding these ingredients without actually knowing the facts, leading some people to have food fears about ingredients such as sugar, fat, sodium, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), mono sodium glutamate (MSG), and others. While some of these food fears are merited, others can be misleading.

A new Cornell University study published in Food Quality and Preference, investigated who might be most prone to food fears, why, and what can they do to correct misperceptions. The phone survey of 1008 US mothers investigated what they thought about the food ingredient HFCS. When comparing those who avoided HFCS with those who did not, the study uncovered three key findings about avoiders: 1) They were more likely to receive their information from the internet rather than TV, 2) they had a desire to have their food related choices known by their friends or reference groups, and 3) they were not willing to pay more for foods that instead contained regular table sugar when compared to peers who did not avoid HFCS.

Researchers found that giving consumers more information about the ingredient such as its history can be effective in reducing ingredient fears. To arrive at this conclusion they asked participants to rate the healthfulness of Stevia, a natural sweetener. Half of the participants were given historical and contextual information to read about the product and the remaining participants were not given anything to read. Those who received information about an ingredient’s history rated the product as healthier than those who did not. Lead author Brian Wansink recommends, “To overcome food ingredient fears, learn the science, history, and the process of how the ingredient is made, and you’ll be a smarter, savvier consumer.”

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
In reaction to widespread nutritional deficiency illnesses in the first part of the 20th century, cereal makers began adding essential vitamins and minerals to their products around 1940.
Now, a new report from the health research and advocacy organization Environmental Working Group has found that popular breakfast cereals are exposing developing and very young children to excessive levels of vitamin A, zinc and other nutrients.
“Heavily fortified foods may sound like a good thing, but it when it comes to children and pregnant women, excessive exposure to high nutrient levels could actually cause short or long-term health problems,” said report author Renee Sharp, a research director at EWG. “Manufacturers use vitamin and mineral fortification to sell their products, adding amounts in excess of what people need and more than might be prudent for young children to consume.”
The advocacy group noted that high doses of vitamin A could have toxic effects and cause liver problems, skeletal irregularities and hair thinning. The EWG added that excessive amounts of zinc can damage copper absorption in the body, impair both types of blood cells and disrupt the immune system. Pregnant women taking too much vitamin A can bring about developmental abnormalities in the fetus. Seniors with high vitamin A intake have been known to have problems with osteoporosis and hip fractures, the group said.
The newly-released report heavily criticized the federal Daily Values for most vitamins and minerals, which may date back to 1968. The group said these values were calculated for adults, not children – resulting in nutrient amounts in products that are much higher than necessary for children.
The report authors noted packaging that states a product has “added vitamins” only compounds the nutritional problem.
“In other words, when a parent picks up a box of cereal and sees that one serving provides 50 percent of the Daily Value for vitamin A, he or she may think that it provides 50 percent of a child’s recommended intake,” said report author Olga Naidenko, an EWG research consultant. “But he or she would most likely be wrong, since the Daily Values are based on an adult’s dietary needs.”
The report’s analysis of nearly 1,600 cereal labels and over 1,000 breakfast bars revealed that 114 cereals contained 30 percent or more of the recommended level of intake for vitamin A, zinc and/or niacin. The report also found 23 cereals with at least one nutrient in amounts “much greater” than the amounts considered safe for children age 8 and under by the National Academy of Sciences.
According to USA Today reporter Michelle Healy, Kellogg spokesperson Kris Charles responded to the report by categorizing it as incomplete.
“The report ignores a great deal of the nutrition science and consumption data showing that without fortification of foods such as ready-to-eat cereals, many children would not get enough vitamins & minerals in their diets,” Charles said in a statement. “Less than 2 percent of all cereals assessed by EWG made their ‘Top 23’ list and the vast majority of these are adult-oriented cereals not regularly consumed by children.”
The Food and Drug Administration is currently accepting feedback on recommended variations to the Nutrition Facts labels and the EWG said the FDA should demand labels on products marketed to children show percent Daily Values particular to each age group, such as 1-to-3-year-olds and 4-to-8-year- olds.

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)

As the number of pacemakers implanted each year reaches into the millions worldwide, improving the lifespan of pacemaker batteries has been of great concern for developers and manufacturers. Currently, pacemaker batteries last seven years on average, requiring frequent replacements, which may pose patients to a potential risk involved in medical procedures.

A research team from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), headed by Professor Keon Jae Lee of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at KAIST and Professor Boyoung Joung, M.D. of the Division of Cardiology at Severance Hospital of Yonsei University, has developed a self-powered artificial cardiac pacemaker that is operated semi-permanently by a flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator.

The artificial cardiac pacemaker is widely acknowledged as medical equipment that is integrated into the human body to regulate the heartbeats through electrical stimulation to contract the cardiac muscles of people who suffer from arrhythmia. However, repeated surgeries to replace pacemaker batteries have exposed elderly patients to health risks such as infections or severe bleeding during operations.

[ Watch The Video: Self-powered Pacemaker ]

The team’s newly designed flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator directly stimulated a living rat’s heart using electrical energy converted from the small body movements of the rat. This technology could facilitate the use of self-powered flexible energy harvesters, not only prolonging the lifetime of cardiac pacemakers but also realizing real-time heart monitoring.

The research team fabricated high-performance flexible nanogenerators utilizing a bulk single-crystal PMN-PT thin film (iBULe Photonics). The harvested energy reached up to 8.2 V and 0.22 mA by bending and pushing motions, which were high enough values to directly stimulate the rat’s heart.

Professor Keon Jae Lee said:

“For clinical purposes, the current achievement will benefit the development of self-powered cardiac pacemakers as well as prevent heart attacks via the real-time diagnosis of heart arrhythmia. In addition, the flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator could also be utilized as an electrical source for various implantable medical devices.”

This research result was described in the April online issue of Advanced Materials “Self-Powered Cardiac Pacemaker Enabled by Flexible Single Crystalline PMN-PT Piezoelectric Energy Harvester“

April Flowers for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
PTSD is one of the biggest problems facing our returning veterans. Time Magazine’s Battleland Blog asserts that 21 percent of the 500,000 post-9/11 troops treated by the VA are being treated for PTSD, not counting veterans of the Vietnam or Korean wars. With so many vets under treatment for PTSD, you would think the US Department of Defense (DOD) and the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) would have a firm grip on which of their treatments are working the best.
[ Watch the Video: PTSD Treatment Going Unmeasured By VA And DOD ]
A recent report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), however, reveals that this is not the case. The report, the second in a two-phase assessment of PTSD services for the military, determined that the DOD and the VA do not measure the effectiveness of treatment for PTSD, nor have they kept pace with the growing demand for PTSD treatment. These findings call into question the millions of dollars spent to improve the mental health of returning servicemen.
“Both departments lack a coordinated, consistent, and well-developed evidence-based system of treatment for PTSD and need to do a better job tracking outcomes,” said Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, chair of the IOM committee, and chair of the Department of Epidemiology at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. “Mental health is among the most important factors behind successful re-entry after military service, and we don’t know if treatments are working.”
This report follows a recent scandal at the VA that resulted in the resignation of VA Secretary Eric Shinseki on May 30. Federal investigators found that in a network of more than 1,700 healthcare facilities, veterans were being systematically denied timely care. The facilities, according to the investigation, suffered from inefficiency and bureaucracy.
The IOM report has more comprehensive tallies for the number of veterans being treated for PTSD. According to the results, an estimated five percent of all being treated in the military health system suffer from PTSD, with a higher eight percent seen among those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Between 2003 and 2013, the number of veterans from all eras seeking help with PTSD more than doubled — going from approximately 190,000 (4.3 percent of total VA users) to more than half a million (9.2 percent). Of all the PTSD sufferers treated by the VA in 2012, 23.6 percent were veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The VA spent $294 million in 2012 alone to treat PTSD. That number is expected to reach $500 million by 2017 if the treatment demands continue to rise at the current rate.
The VA and the DOD already have a host of programs and services in place to help. These range in intensity to prevent, screen for, diagnose, and treat current and former service members who have PTSD or who are at risk for it. The report finds that the current efforts of the DOD are local, ad hoc, incremental, and crisis-driven, with little planning devoted to the development of a long-range approach to obtaining desired outcomes. The VA’s programs, in contrast, have a more unified organizational structure, ensuring more consistency of treatment. Without data analysis to determine which treatments are the most effective, neither department has any ways of measuring whether the care they provide is effective, or whether the money they spend is resulting in high-quality healthcare.
“Given that the DOD and VA are responsible for serving millions of service members, families, and veterans, we found it surprising that no PTSD outcome measures are used consistently to know if these treatments are working or not,” said Galea. “They could be highly effective, but we won’t know unless outcomes are tracked and evaluated.”
The IOM committee noted an exception: the VA’s specialized intensive PTSD programs. These programs are collecting outcome data, but they only serve one percent of PTSD-suffering veterans. Moreover, the data collected suggests that these programs are only moderately successful in improving the symptoms of the patients.
The IOM report strongly suggests that both departments develop, coordinate and implement a measurement-based PTSD management system. This system should document patients’ progress over the course of treatment, regardless of where they receive treatment, and continue with long-term follow-up using standardized and validated instruments. One example of such validated instruments would be the PTSD checklist, which is one of several reliable and valid self-report measures that could be used to monitor patient progress and guide modification of individual treatment plans.
The report also found that neither department’s strategic efforts necessarily encourage the use of best practices for preventing, screening for, diagnosing, and treating PTSD. Leaders at all levels within the DOD and service branches were found to not be consistently held accountable for implementing policies and programs to manage PTSD effectively. The VA’s central office has established policies for minimum care and PTSD treatment, yet it is unclear if the VA leaders adhere to those policies, encourage staff to follow the guidance, or use the data available from its specialized PTSD programs to improve the way they manage the disorder, according to the IOM.
The committee suggests that both VA and DOD leaders should communicate a strong mandate through their chain of command regarding the high priority that PTSD management and using best practices should have. Holding those leaders, who are responsible for delivering high-quality care for their populations, accountable can also help ensure that information on PTSD programs and services is gathered, measured and reported.
The committee also recommends that both agencies maintain an adequate workforce of mental health professionals. Although both have substantially increased their workforce, they have not kept pace with demand for services. Such shortages of staff could result in clinicians not having adequate time to provide evidence-based psychotherapies.
“There is generally good will and spikes of excellence in both departments. Substantial effort has been made toward providing service members excellent PTSD care. However, there is tremendous variability in how care is implemented and an absence of data that tell us if programs are working or not,” Dr. Galea said.
“In many respects our findings that neither the DOD nor the VA has a system that documents patients’ progress and uses standardized instruments to chart long-term treatment are not surprising,” he added. “We are hopeful that the report will provide a blueprint for where we need to get to.”

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

While cancer treatment is well-known for the physical and emotional stress it puts on a patient, a new study has revealed new details about the financial pain that treatment can inflict on a person.

Published in the journal Cancer, the new study resulted in the development of an 11-question tool called the COmprehensive Score for financial Toxicity (COST) that can accurately measure a patient’s risk for, and capacity to withstand, financial stress.

“Few physicians discuss this increasingly significant side effect with their patients,” said study author Dr. Jonas de Souza, a head-and-neck cancer specialist at the University of Chicago Medicine.

“Physicians aren’t trained to do this. It makes them, as well as patients, feel uncomfortable,” he added. “We aren’t good at it. We believe that a thoughtful, concise tool that could help predict a patient’s risk for financial toxicity might open the lines of communication. This gives us a way to launch that discussion.”

The team developed the COST survey by starting with a literature review and a number of extensive in-person interviews. The researchers chatted with 20 patients and six cancer specialists, along with nurses and social workers. These initial conversations resulted in a list of 147 questions. The scientists then whittled the list down to 58 questions. Next, they asked 35 patients which of the remaining questions were the most critical to their situation, resulting in a 30-item list.

“In the end, 155 patients led us, with some judicious editing, to a set of 11 statements,” de Souza said. “This was sufficiently brief to prevent annoying those responding to the questions but thorough enough to get us the information we need.”

The researchers described their 11 questions as short and easy to understand. Questions included asking patients the degree with which they agreed with statements like, “My out-of-pocket medical expenses are more than I thought they would be” or “I am able to meet my monthly expenses.”

Patients who helped devise COST had been in therapy for at least sixty days and had obtained bills. Not including the top 10 percent and the bottom 10 percent, participants earned between $37,000 and $111,000. The median yearly income for these patients was approximately $63,000.

The researchers said they expected that financial toxicity would be connected with income.

“But in our small sample that did not hold up,” de Souza said. “People with less education seemed to have more financial distress, but variations in income did not make much difference. We need bigger studies to confirm that, but at least we now have a tool we can use to study this.”

The team said they are now expanding their study to confirm these findings and link the newly developed scale with quality of life and stress in cancer patients.

“We need to assess outcomes that are important for patients,” de Souza said. “The cost burden cancer patients experience is definitely one. Measuring this toxicity is the first step towards addressing this important issue.”

“At the end,” he added, “this is another important piece of information in the shared-decision-making process.”

April Flowers for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

The fastest growing allergy in the world right now is to peanuts. Reactions run the gamut from a slightly swollen tongue to severe, and potentially fatal anaphylaxis. Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) says that allergy to peanuts is on the rise in children, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that nearly 4 million Americans have the allergy. There may be an answer on the horizon, however.

In a recent study, researchers from North Carolina’s Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T) describe a new, patented, process for removing up to 98 percent of allergens from peanuts. Allergens are the substances in organic products that trigger allergic reactions such as swelling or hives. The new process, developed by NC A&T School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences’ food and nutrition researcher Dr. Jianmei Yu and two former colleagues, involves soaking de-shelled and roasted peanuts in a solution of food-grade enzymes. Yu stresses that the “new” peanuts are not genetically modified.

“Treated peanuts can be used as whole peanuts, in pieces or as flour to make foods containing peanuts safer for many people who are allergic,” said Yu. “The treated peanuts could even be used in immunotherapy, under a doctor’s supervision, the hypoallergenic peanuts can build up a patient’s resistance to the allergens.”

Two key peanut allergens, Ara h1 and Ara h 2, are reduced by the new process. Ara h 1 is reduced to undetectable levels, while Ara h2 is reduced 98 percent. Researchers used human skin-prick trials, conducted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, to measure the effectiveness of their method.

NC A&T has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with a Toronto-based firm that specializes in commercializing emerging technologies in food, agriculture, and a variety of other fields, Xemerge.

“This is one of the best technologies in the food and nutrition space we have seen,” said Johnny Rodrigues, Chief Commercialization Officer of Xemerge.

“It checks all the boxes: non-GMO, patented, human clinical data, does not change physical characteristics of the peanut along with maintaining the nutrition and functionality needed, ready for industry integration from processing and manufacturing to consumer products.”

Other approaches have been made to reduce peanut allergens that involved chemicals and irradiation. The NC A&T process uses neither of these; rather it employs commonly available food-processing equipment. Dr. Yu is working with Xemerge to further refine the process by testing other food-grade enzymes. Rodrigues says that there is no timetable, yet, for releasing the hypoallergenic peanuts to grocery stores and food manufacturers.

“We have the FDA, and food manufacturers’ product cycles to factor in,” Rodrigues added. “Remember that in many cases, the peanut processors will be selling to a third party who will be integrating the hypoallergenic peanuts into their branded products.”

Not everyone is convinced, however. Dr. Ruchi Gupta is a pediatrician at Northwestern University in Chicago, and the author of The Food Allergy Experience. She cautions allergy sufferers to be wary of new products.

“I love that people are working on products to improve the lives of people with peanut allergies, but do we need them and will people use them? I think more testing is needed,” she told Reuters Health. “Even a small amount of the allergenic proteins in peanuts can cause very severe allergic reactions.”

Alan McStravick for www.redorbit.com – Your Universe online
Stories of a marijuana breathalyzer have existed in the same realm as those pee-pool tablets we all heard about as children but never saw. Oh sure, we had friends whose other friends parents used it in their pool , but for many, it was just the chance that we might create a cloud of color emanating from our trunks that caused us to think more than twice before letting go and letting it flow.
Imagining just the possibility that a marijuana breathalyzer could exist has the same cooling effect on those who might think about drugging and driving. Current methods of detection rely on the collection of saliva, blood or urine. However, due to the long-term nature of marijuana staying in your system, proving an individual was drugged at the time of driving is very hard to prove and therefore conviction rates are staggeringly low.
That could all be about to change.
Kal Malhi, a former member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) who spent a good deal of his career as a drug enforcement officer has, with the assistance of two physicians, developed the world’s first marijuana breathalyzer that is capable of detecting whether or not an individual ingested cannabis in the two-hours previous to being tested. Malhi calls his new invention the Cannabix Breathalyzer.
Digital Journal reports that Malhi believes if it makes it into the hands of law enforcement it will further dissuade people from driving under the influence of marijuana. Partnering with Dr. Raj Attariwala of Vancouver, British Columbia and Florida physician Dr. Bruce Goldberger, Malhi claims he was inspired to develop the device after coming across a Swedish study about breath testing technology.
Law enforcement has stepped up enforcement of anti-drinking and driving policies across much of North America. As a result, that enforcement, regarded as a potential deterrent, has lowered DWI arrests and convictions in many localities. “People are becoming very afraid to drink and drive nowadays,” Malhi told CTV News, “because they feel that they will get caught and charged. But they’re not afraid to drug and drive because they don’t feel that law enforcement will do anything about it.”
Presenting law enforcement with a tool that could aid in deterrence, Malhi sees his Cannabix device as an invaluable resource in helping to lower the overall numbers of those who choose to get high and then get behind the wheel of an automobile. The Cannabix device, still unpatented, must now be subjected to a battery of field tests to determine its efficacy and its legality as a potential evidence gathering device against defendants. In the meantime, marijuana advocates at NORML have addressed the dearth of scientific evidence supporting the need to step up enforcement of drugged driving arrests and convictions. While they concede there is a brief impairment of psychomotor skills, they contend it is short lived and usually presents itself in slowing the speed of the vehicle and a slightly diminished response time to emergency situations.
In the blog entry on their site they state, “Nevertheless, this impairment does not appear to play a significant role in on-road traffic accidents. A 2002 review of seven separate studies involving 7,934 drivers reported, ‘Crash culpability studies have failed to demonstrate that drivers with cannabinoids in the blood are significantly more likely than drug-free drivers to be culpable in road crashes.’”
On the other side of the argument, the University of Washington’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute highlights some alarming trends about perceptions of relative safety, when compared to alcohol use and driving, with regard to marijuana use by younger people.
Regardless of which side of the fence you are on in this debate, it is important to arm yourself with knowledge presented by both sides in forming your final opinion. While the Cannabix Breathalyzer may or may not be awarded a patent after its field testing, a product will likely be introduced soon to the tool bag used by law enforcement for the detection of recent cannabis use by drivers.

Rebekah Eliason for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

Reports from a new study at McGill University indicate that there are a greater number of deaths from commonly prescribed painkillers than from heroin and cocaine overdose combined. This study is the first of its kind and highlights a huge public health issue.

Death from prescribed painkillers has dramatically increased in recent years with 16,000 US deaths in 2010. In per capita opioid consumption, the United States and Canada rank first and second.

“Prescription painkiller overdoses have received a lot of attention in editorials and the popular press, but we wanted to find out what solid evidence is out there,” says Nicholas King, of the Biomedical Ethics Unit in the Faculty of Medicine.

For this study, King and his team set out to identify and summarize available evidence to perform a systematic review of the existing literature regarding painkiller overdose. The team did a comprehensive survey of scientific literature and only included reports that contained quantitative evidence.

“We also wanted to find out why thousands of people in the U.S. and Canada are dying from prescription painkillers every year, and why these rates have climbed steadily during the past two decades,” says King. “We found evidence for at least 17 different determinants of increasing opioid-related mortality, mainly, dramatically increased prescription and sales of opioids; increased use of strong, long-acting opioids like Oxycontin and methadone; combined use of opioids and other (licit and illicit) drugs and alcohol; and social and demographic factors.”

Professor Kind adds, “We found little evidence that Internet sales of pharmaceuticals and errors by doctors and patients–factors commonly cited in the media — have played a significant role.”

According to the researchers this study suggests there is a complicated “epidemic” where physicians, users, the health care system and the social environment all hold responsibility.

“Our work provides a reliable summary of the possible causes of the epidemic of opioid overdoses, which should be useful for clinicians and policy makers in North America in figuring out what further research needs to be done, and what strategies might or might not be useful in reducing future mortality,” says King. “And as efforts are made to increase access to prescription opioids outside of North America, our findings might be useful in preventing other countries from following the same path as the U.S. and Canada.”

This study was published in the American Journal of Public Health.

Rebekah Eliason for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

People suffering from diabetes are known to often struggle with depression as well. According to new research, the symptoms of depression among people with type 2 diabetes can significantly be reduced by interventions for “diabetes distress.”

This finding suggests that what doctors are usually labeling as depression may not be a co-morbid psychiatric disorder. Instead researchers believe the depression may be a reaction to the stress of living with a disease that is difficult and complex to manage.

In a second study, researchers emphasized the importance of treating type 1 diabetes patients for depression regardless of the cause. They discovered that the more signs of depression reported by the patient, the greater the person’s risk of death.

“Because depression is measured with scales that are symptom-based and not tied to cause, in many cases these symptoms may actually reflect the distress that people are having about their diabetes, and not a clinical diagnosis of depression,” said lead author Lawrence Fisher, PhD, ABPP, Professor of Family and Community Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.

For this study, Fisher and his research team designed diabetes-specific measures of distress in order to reflect the patient’s level of worry regarding the disease. In addition, patients were asked to fill out the Patient Health Questionnaire, which provided a measure of depressive symptoms.

Patients who reported a high amount of distress regarding their disease and also exhibited high levels of depressive symptoms were given one of three treatments designed to reduce stress related to diabetes rather than directly addressing the depressive symptoms.

The first group participated in an online diabetes self-management program. A second group also participated in the online program but additionally received individual assistance to help problem solve the specific issues causing their diabetes distress. The third group of patients received personalized health risk information, which was followed by general educational material about diabetes sent through the mail. Each group also received personal phone calls throughout the study.

Over a twelve-month period, all three interventions significantly reduced distress about the disease and lowered depressive symptoms. The reductions were maintained by patients throughout the course of the study. Fisher said overall, 84 percent of those scoring above 10 on the PHQ8 (maximum 27, with 10 being moderate depression) reduced their levels of depression to below 10 following the interventions. For all three interventions, the reductions were evenly distributed.

“What’s important about this,” said Fisher, “is that many of the depressive symptoms reported by people with type 2 diabetes are really related to their diabetes, and don’t have to be considered psychopathology. So they can be addressed as part of the spectrum of the experience of diabetes and dealt with by their diabetes care team.”

This study was presented at the American Diabetes Association’s 74th Scientific Sessions.

Johns Hopkins University

Findings Could Pave Way for Inexpensive Food-Based Preventive Strategies

A clinical trial involving nearly 300 Chinese men and women residing in one of China’s most polluted regions found that daily consumption of a half cup of broccoli sprout beverage produced rapid, significant and sustained higher levels of excretion of benzene, a known human carcinogen, and acrolein, a lung irritant. Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, working with colleagues at several US and Chinese institutions, used the broccoli sprout beverage to provide sulforaphane, a plant compound already demonstrated to have cancer preventive properties in animal studies. The study was published in the June 9 online edition of the journal Cancer Prevention Research.

“Air pollution is a complex and pervasive public health problem,” notes John Groopman, PhD,  Anna M. Baetjer Professor of Environmental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and one of the study’s co-authors. “To address this problem comprehensively, in addition to the engineering solutions to reduce regional pollution emissions, we need to translate our basic science into strategies to protect individuals from these exposures. This study supports the development of food-based strategies as part of this overall prevention effort.”

Air pollution, an increasing global problem, causes as many as seven million deaths a year worldwide, according to the World Health Organization, and has in recent years reached perilous levels in many parts of China. Last year, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified air pollution and particulate matter (PM) from air pollution as carcinogenic to humans. Diets rich in cruciferous vegetables, of which broccoli is one, have been found to reduce risk of chronic degenerative diseases, including cancer. Broccoli sprouts are a source of glucoraphanin, a compound that generates sulforaphane when the plant is chewed or the beverage swallowed. It acts to increase enzymes that enhance the body’s capacity to expunge these types of the pollutants.

The 12-week trial included 291 participants who live in a rural farming community in Jiangsu Province, China, approximately 50 miles north of Shanghai, one of China’s more heavily industrialized regions. Participants in the control group drank a beverage made of sterilized water, pineapple and lime juice while the beverage for the treatment group additionally contained a dissolved freeze-dried powder made from broccoli sprouts that contained glucoraphanin and sulforaphane. Sixty-two men (21%) and 229 women (79%) with a median age of 53 (ranging from 21 to 65) years were enrolled in the study. Urine and blood samples were taken over the course of the trial to measure the fate of the inhaled air pollutants.

The research team found that among participants receiving the broccoli sprout beverage, the rate of excretion of the carcinogen benzene increased 61% beginning the first day and continuing throughout the 12-week period. In addition, the rate of excretion of the irritant acrolein, rapidly and durably increased 23% during the 12-week trial. Secondary analyses by the investigators indicated that the sulforaphane may be exerting its protective actions by activating a signaling molecule, NRF2, that elevates the capacity of cells to adapt to and survive a broad range of environmental toxins. This strategy may also be effective for some contaminants in water and food.

“This study points to a frugal, simple and safe means that can be taken by individuals to possibly reduce some of the long-term health risks associated with air pollution,” notes Thomas Kensler, PhD, professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School and one of the study’s co-authors. “This while government leaders and policy makers define and implement more effective regulatory policies to improve air quality.”

The clinical trial targeting prevention is notable in that it evaluated a possible means to reduce the body burden of toxins following unavoidable exposures to pollutants. The majority of clinical trials involve treatments of diseases that have already presented or advanced into later stages. Further clinical trials, to evaluate optimal dosage and frequency of the broccoli sprout beverage, are planned in the same general region of China.

“Rapid and Sustainable Detoxification of Airborne Pollutants by Broccoli Sprout Beverage: Results of a Randomized Clinical Trial in China” was written by Patricia A. Egner; Jian Guo Chen; Adam T Zarth; Derek Ng; Jinbing Wang; Kevin H Kensler; Lisa P Jacobson; Alvaro Munoz; Jamie L Johnson; John D Groopman; Jed W. Fahey; Paul Talalay; Jian Zhu; Tao-Yang Chen; Geng-Sun Qian; Steven G. Carmella; Stephen S. Hecht; and Thomas W. Kensler.

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (P01 ES006052 and P30 S003819). Safeway, Inc. donated the lime juice used in this study.

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online

Researchers from the Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute have devised a new text message program which they claim could help patients control their diabetes by sending them information about proper nutritional habits, the benefits of physical activities and reminders to check blood sugar on a regular basis.

The program is part of the Dulce Digital study, and initial results suggest a text message-based self-management intervention improved the glycemic control of high-risk Latinos suffering from type 2 diabetes. The researchers reported their findings Friday during a presentation at the 74th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association.

“The use of mobile phones in health care is very promising, especially when it comes to low-income populations with chronic diseases,” Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute corporate vice president Dr. Athena Philis-Tsimikas explained in a statement Friday.

“We found that by using text messages we were able to circumvent many of the barriers these patients face, such as lack of transportation or childcare, while still being able to expand the reach of diabetes care and education,” she added.

Dr. Tsimikas and her colleagues joined forces with a community clinic located in the San Diego area known for providing services to a large number of Latino patients with type 2 diabetes. They recruited 128 participants and then randomly placed them in one of two different groups: those receiving only standard treatment for the condition (the control group) or those who received text messages in addition to regular care.

The standard treatment program consisted of regular visits with primary care physicians, as well as a brief computerized presentation including nutrition standards for those with diabetes; desired targets for blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol levels; and the various medications recommended to help keep the disease in check.

“For the text messaging group, the same standard care was provided but in addition, messages were sent to their mobile devices at random times throughout the week,” the institute said. “Two to three messages were sent each day at the beginning of study enrollment, and the frequency tapered off over a six-month period.”

The content of some of those text messages included reminders to check blood sugar both before and after participating in physical activity, using smaller plates in order to help make portions look larger and trick yourself into feeling fuller after eating, and remembering to take medications at the same time each day.

At the end of the six month period, Dr. Tsimikas and her fellow investigators – whose research was supported by the McKesson Foundation – discovered that those participating in the Dulce Digital program experienced a significantly larger decrease in hemoglobin A1c test levels than those receiving only regular care.

“Potential next steps include incorporating text messaging into conventional self-management education programs,” the institute said. Possibilities include having patients meet in one-on-one or group visits, and then have supplemental texts sent as ongoing reminders over the course of the next six months.