Flashback to the year of 2008, a man named Timothy Ray Brown cured of HIV. At that time, the man dubbed the 'Berlin patient' is considered to be recovered from the infection after receiving two bone marrow transplants.
While, those two transplants are actually to treat some other diseases were discovered a few years earlier, namely acute myeloid leukemiua. Apparently, the spinal cord which is derived from a donor with a rare gene that carries a mutation that is immune to HIV. Mutations were termed CCR5-delta 32 then follow to move to Brown, as quoted by CNN on Wednesday, July 20, 2016.
Timothy Ray Brown on the cover of POZ magazine. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1cdM2j)
The virus search seen in his blood a few years later, but remains undetected even though he was not treated with antiretroviral drugs. That is, clinically he has recovered from the infection, according to doctors.
There were several attempts in other patients conducted by scientists to apply the same approach, for example, in 2 patients in Boston. But, only Brown is the only person cured of HIV.
However, in a study presented on Sunday in the 2016 Towards an HIV Cure Symposium as a prelude 21st International AIDS conference in Durban, South Africa, there are some data from some patients positive force on HIV has greatly decreased after receiving stem cell transplants are similar to Brown.
The study is part of a project initiated by the European EPISTEM for potential HIV cure using stem cell transplants. Research as well as to deepen the knowledge of Brown healing. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | CNN]
Two of the women experienced temporary blindness due to frequently check the phone in a dark room. Doctors advised mobile users to always see the phone screen with both eyes if they are in a dark room.
The report published in the New England Journal of Medicine, as quoted by the Independent on Friday, June 24, 2016. In the journal, two women aged 22 and 40 years old reported experiencing "transient smartphone blindness" for months.
Both women had been looking at their phones with one eye, while the other was covered by a pillow. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1bbuC6)
Those women complained often of vision loss for up to 15 minutes. After conducting a number of health checks, doctors could not find the causes.
Dr Gordon Plant, an ophthalmologist at an at Moorfield Eye Hospital, UK, said, "I asked, 'what were you doing when this happened?' And the answers of both patients were the same.
According to him, both often check the phone in bed, lying on her side, with one eye while the other eye is covered by a pillow. "So one of their eyes adapt to light due to see the phone screen, while others adapt in the dark," he said.
When the cell phone is placed, they can not see with the eye that had just worn look the mobile screen. It happened because the eye takes a few minutes to adjust to the other eye that is adaptable in the dark.
While Dr Rahul Khurana, spokesman for the American Academy of Ophthalmology, said that the hypothesis was interesting to be assessed, but the two cases are not enough to serve as a common foundation that see the phone in the darkness with one eye can cause temporary blindness. He also doubts whether the case also happened to all mobile phone users.
Dr Khurana, who acknowledged that he is an avid smartphone user, admitted that he and his wife tried the same scenario, but it is even harder to see the phone screen with one eye in darkness. "Very strange," he said.
Our advice to maintain the health of your eyes, try to use the phone in the room that has adequate lighting and in a good position as sitting or standing. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | INDEPENDENT]
The scientist preparing the dogs as part of the program for early detection of Malaria. Cases of Malaria is still prevalent in some parts of the world. In 2015 alone there were an estimated 214 million cases of Malaria worldwide, about 438,000 of the patients died.
And scientists believe that dogs are able to sniff the people who were infected by Malaria through their keen sense of smell. The dogs utilization will benefit, Malaria can be detected more quickly and without going through a variety of tests and save thousands of lives.
Daisy, a Medical Detection Dog, taking part in a trial. (PIcture from: http://adf.ly/1auyXj)
Dogs can detect the smell that smell almost no smell or identified by the human sense of smell. Previous research showed that dogs have the ability to high accuracy in detecting cancer in humans. In August last year, the use of dogs to sniff cancer has been approved.
Dr. Claire Guest, CEO of Medical Detection Dogs, an animal trainer for medical purposes say, "Dogs have been proven to detect cancer up to 93 percent accuracy. I believe that they can also learn to detect the smell of Malaria."
Steve Lindsay, an expert in the development of Malaria control in the School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences at Durham University and chairman of the investigation in this project said, "Patients infected with Malaria parasites secrete specific mouth breath."
Medical Detection Dog Daisy stationed at a laboratory carousel as part of a trial. (PIcture from: http://adf.ly/1auyXj)
The smell that is expected to be sniffed by dogs. Dogs can be placed at the entrance as a filter for those who would enter the Malaria-free area.
"Using dogs to detect the parasite has an advantage, portable, does not require a laboratory, and can be done directly on the ground. So, we will easily find and treat people with malaria and thus this disease will soon disappear," he said as quoted by The Independent, May 26, 2016.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has donated a grants to the research commission of the University of Durham, Medical Detection Dogs and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine as part of the development of this program. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | THE INDEPENDENT]
Stan Larkin managed to survive without human heart in his body for more than a year, before he received a donor heart. The 25-year-old men 'wear' artificial heart in a backpack during 24/7 for 555 days.
Stan Larkin with the Freedom® portable driver installed on his body. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1aypuP)
The artificial heart pump blood throughout the body and make Stan alive. The success of this procedure showed that the artificial heart devices can be used to maintain other patients with heart failure in total during their wait for a donor heart.
It started when Stan became the first patient in Michigan that uses artificial heart devices in 2014. Stan and his brother, Dominique diagnosed as teenagers with familial cardiomyopathy, a genetic heart condition that can lead to heart failure without any warning. This condition is one of the main causes of death in athletes.
After years of waiting for a donor heart and never can be, Stan and his brother eventually have to be willing to lose their hearts and replaced by an artificial heart device known as 'SynCardia.'
"Conditions are both very severe and when we first take care of them in intensive care units (ICU)," said Jonathan Haft, a surgeon in University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center who handles transplants for Stan and Dominique.
Team doctors want both received the heart transplants, "But we were not sure we had enough time. Conditions unique anatomy on both the commonly used technology was useless," he continued.
Devices such as implantable defibrillators can help the patients with partial heart failure, but can not help patients of heart failure in total.
Dominique just need to use the technology for heart failure in total for several weeks before finally getting a heart transplant. But Stan had to wait until more than a year. Instead of remain in the hospital, he was fitted with the Freedom® portable driver so he could go home in the meantime.
At that time, how many things he could do with that device. The portable device is shaped backpack weighs of 6 kg which is connected to the vascular system of the patient, to continue to pump oxygenated blood throughout the body.
As quoted of Science Alert, using a portable device was not easy, Stan complained not being able to hold his daughters or give them piggy back rides. But he managed to continue playing basketball! The real surprise for the doctors who treated him.
"The device was not designed to be used while playing basketball," says Haft. He then continued, "Stan pushed the envelope with this technology. He really thrived on the device."
Finally, Stan received a donor heart on May 9, 2016, and has now fully recovered. He shares his story, which he described as "emotional rollercoaster" with an emphasis on increasing awareness about 5.7 million Americans are living with heart failure and the need for heart donors.
"You're heroes to all of us," David J. Pinsky, director of the Frankel Cardiovascular Centre, said of Stan and Dominique. "The fact that you take your story public and allow us to teach others makes a difference. You'll make a difference for a lot of patients. You'll make a difference to the doctors of the future. We thank you for allowing us to share your story and your bravery in sharing it."*** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | SCIENCE ALERT]
A new study shows that the green light exposure can help those who suffer from migraines and post-traumatic headache. In the Brain journal, the researchers from Harvard Medical School states, that the 'pure green light waves' help alleviate sensitivity to light, called photophobia, and can reduce the intensity of headaches.
A new study claims exposure to green light can reduce the severity of migraines. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1aZ9Ea)
The researchers said more than 80 percent of migraine sufferers experiencing photophobia, so many people suppress it by isolating themselves in a dark room and can not perform daily activities.
"Their inability to endure seeing the light most often makes them inactive," said Rami Burstein, a professor of anesthesia at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and Harvard Medical School. He is the lead author of the study.
For this study, the migraine sufferers were asked to report how the effects of color and different light intensities to their headaches. In the light level as in the office in general, the patients reported only light green light that does not make their headaches worse. Other lamps, blue, yellow and red, make the head more sick.
The researchers said the patients reported that the green light reduces the intensity of their pain by about 20 percent. The reason, the green light creates less electrical signals generated by the retina of the eye and the brain cortex.
The main author of this study hope that the patients can immediately feel the immediate benefit of this finding. He also tried to design an economical light bulbs to emit "pure green light at low intensity and imagine the sunglasses that can block all light other than green. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | VOA NEWS]
The team of scientists in Sweden may have found a substitute for antibiotics to fight infection. In mice, called models, they train the body's natural immune system called innate immune, to weaken and destroy bacteria that cause kidney infection, which often occurs in children.
The innate immune system is the body's first line of defense, and work in two different ways to fight infection. The first way, researchers call "a good anti-bacterial defense," targeting and killing pathogens. Alternatively, the system that causes inflammation-redness, swelling and fever that accompanies illness or injury. It is also an important part of the immune reaction, but also can significantly damage the tissue, and in some cases add to the progress of disease or infection.
A microbiologist reads a panel to check on a bacterium's resistance to an antibiotic in the Infectious Disease Laboratory at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1a3KUV)
"So the question is, can treat infections by stopping the bad parts of the immune defense and keep the antibacterial defenses. This is what we do on the model," says Catharina Svanborg, a professor of clinical immunology at Lund University in Sweden.
She and her fellow researchers found, the second part of the process was controlled by two different molecules, so they simply turn off the inflammatory molecules. By turning off the molecule, researchers can take advantage of the body's immune defense that leads to healing.
"It's surprising because this technology has not been used in this way to treat the infection. So, this is an unexpected finding but it is a logical step that was taken after the show that they are different," she continued.
Svanborg and her colleagues published their findings in the journal Science Translational Medicine. She said the researchers plan to conduct additional trials, to see whether the innate immune system can kill other pathogens, such as the cause of pneumonia.
"This is the same for all the different categories and conceptually, what we do is not to kill the bacteria directly, we harness the immune system such that tissue damage is pressed and the symptoms are suppressed," she explained.
Given the urgency and the more serious antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, Svanborg sure, someday some diseases treated only by using the body's immune system. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | VOA NEWS]
