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    Category Health/Medical

    Patients with Multiple Sclerosis may benefit from OTC therapy

    July 2, 2017, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Demyelination by MS. The CD68 colored tissue shows several macrophages in the area of the lesion. Original scale 1:100. Credit: Marvin 101/Wikipedia

    Demyelination by MS. The CD68 colored tissue shows several macrophages in the area of the lesion. Original scale 1:100. Credit: Marvin 101/Wikipedia

    Over-the-Counter antioxidant lipoic acid holds promise in improving patients’ lives after an OHSU pilot study. Treatment options currently are limited for people suffering from secondary progressive MS. The randomized double-blind study involved 51 participants who completed the 2-year trial. 27 people were given a 1,200-milogram daily dose of lipoic acid, with the remaining 24 participants given a placebo. Researchers are using the findings from the pilot trial to design the expanded multi-site clinical trial to begin later this year in Portland and other sites that have yet to be finalized.

    “These are high doses,” said Rebecca Spain, M.D...

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    Popular Class of Drugs Reverse potentially Harmful Genetic Changes from Heart Disease

    July 2, 2017, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Atenolol reverses heart failure symptoms in TAC mice. (a) Experimental design overview. MEF2-LacZ mice (6–8 weeks old) underwent transverse aortic constriction (TAC) or Sham surgeries, followed by Solvent or Atenolol (50 mg/kg/day) treatment (n = 9). (b) Functional analysis of TAC or Sham mouse hearts after four weeks of Atenolol or Solvent treatment. End systolic diameter (ESD), end diastolic diameter (EDD), ejection fraction (EF), fractional shortening (FS), end systolic volume (ESV), end diastolic volume (EDV), left ventricular mass (LV), and left ventricular posterior wall depth (PWDd) were assessed by ultrasound echocardiography. (n = 9), Data are presented as mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05 **P < 0.01 ***P < 0.001 vs Sham + Sol. (c) WGA stain depicting cardiac hypertrophy. Images are representative of an average of n ≥ 10 images per heart, 4 animals per group. Scale bar: 25 µm. Graph below shows cardiomyocyte size (CM cell size), quantified based on an average of ≥10 cell measurements per mouse (n = 4). (d) Masson’s Trichrome stain depicting fibrosis. Images are representative of n = 10 images per heart, 5 animals per group. Cardiomyocytes appear red, nuclei appear black and collagen appears blue. Scale bar: 100 µm. Graph shows quantified cardiomyocyte fibrosis based on a three representative images per mouse (n = 5). Data are presented as mean ± SEM. **P < 0.01 vs Sham + Sol. #P < 0.05 vs TAC + Sol.

    Atenolol reverses heart failure symptoms in TAC mice. (a) Experimental design overview. MEF2-LacZ mice (6–8 weeks old) underwent transverse aortic constriction (TAC) or Sham surgeries, followed by Solvent or Atenolol (50 mg/kg/day) treatment (n = 9). (b) Functional analysis of TAC or Sham mouse hearts after four weeks of Atenolol or Solvent treatment. End systolic diameter (ESD), end diastolic diameter (EDD), ejection fraction (EF), fractional shortening (FS), end systolic volume (ESV), end diastolic volume (EDV), left ventricular mass (LV), and left ventricular posterior wall depth (PWDd) were assessed by ultrasound echocardiography. (n = 9), Data are presented as mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05 **P < 0.01 ***P < 0.001 vs Sham + Sol. (c) WGA stain depicting cardiac hypertrophy...

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    New clues found to common Respiratory Virus

    July 1, 2017, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Image: Scientists have solved the structure of a protein that helps a common respiratory virus evade the immune system. The team, led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, have identified critical parts of the protein that could be targeted with drugs or vaccines, opening up the possibility of preventing or treating an infection that sickens thousands of babies and elderly people every year. Credit: Daisy Leung

    Image: Scientists have solved the structure of a protein that helps a common respiratory virus evade the immune system. The team, led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, have identified critical parts of the protein that could be targeted with drugs or vaccines, opening up the possibility of preventing or treating an infection that sickens thousands of babies and elderly people every year.
    Credit: Daisy Leung

    “We solved the structure of a protein that has eluded the field for quite some time,” said Daisy Leung, PhD, an assistant professor of pathology and immunology, and of biochemistry and molecular biophysics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis...

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    Miniature Technology, big Hope for Disease Detection

    June 30, 2017, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Image: First, a flexible stamp is inked with the APTES solution (i). The stamp is then pressed onto the glass surface (ii). A microfluidic channel is placed over the APTES pattern on the glass (iii), and the device is ready to be used to immobilize bioreceptors and, eventually, to help make a diagnosis (iv). Credit: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST)

    Image: First, a flexible stamp is inked with the APTES solution (i). The stamp is then pressed onto the glass surface (ii). A microfluidic channel is placed over the APTES pattern on the glass (iii), and the device is ready to be used to immobilize bioreceptors and, eventually, to help make a diagnosis (iv).
    Credit: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST)hi nun

    Smple printing method to create effective disease detection tools. Currently, microfluidic bioassay devices are the preferred diagnostic tools that allow clinicians to measure the concentration of disease biomarkers within a patient’s biological sample, such as blood...

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