Tiny Oxygen Generators Boost Effectiveness of Anticancer Treatment

ScienceDaily (Aug. 31, 2011) — Researchers have created and tested miniature devices that are implanted in tumors to generate oxygen, boosting the killing power of radiation and chemotherapy.

The technology is designed to treat solid tumors that are hypoxic at the center, meaning the core contains low oxygen levels.

"This is not good because radiation therapy needs oxygen to be effective," said Babak Ziaie, a Purdue University professor of electrical and computer engineering and biomedical engineering. "So the hypoxic areas are hard to kill. Pancreatic and cervical cancers are notoriously hypoxic. If you generate oxygen you can increase the effectiveness of radiation therapy and also chemotherapy."

The new "implantable micro oxygen generator" is an electronic device that receives ultrasound signals and uses the energy to generate a small voltage to separate oxygen and hydrogen from water ╨ a chemical operation called water electrolysis.

"We are putting these devices inside tumors and then exposing the tumors to ultrasound," Ziaie said. "The ultrasound energy powers the device, generating oxygen.

The devices were created at the Birck Nanotechnology Center in the university's Discovery Park. Purdue researchers are working with Song-Chu (Arthur) Ko, an assistant professor of clinical radiation oncology at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

Researchers have tested the devices in pancreatic tumors implanted in mice, showing they generated oxygen and shrunk tumors faster than tumors without the devices. The devices are slightly less than one centimeter long and are inserted into tumors with a hypodermic biopsy needle.

"Most of us have been touched by cancer in one way or another," Ziaie said. "My father is a cancer survivor, and he went through many rounds of very painful chemotherapy. This is a new technology that has the potential to improve the effectiveness of such therapy."

Findings are detailed in a research paper appearing online this month in Transactions on Biomedical Engineering. The paper was written by research assistant professor Teimour Maleki, doctoral students Ning Cao and Seung Hyun Song, Ko and Ziaie.

To read more about Anticancer Treatment, please click the above title.

Blast-Related Injuries Detected in the Brains of US Military Personnel

ScienceDaily (June 2, 2011) — An advanced imaging technique has revealed that some U.S. military personnel with mild blast-related traumatic brain injuries have abnormalities in the brain that have not been seen with other types of imaging.

The abnormalities were found in the brain's white matter, the wiring system that nerve cells in the brain use to communicate with each other.

The study is reported June 2 in The New England Journal of Medicine by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany.

They evaluated 84 U.S. military personnel evacuated to Landstuhl from Iraq and Afghanistan after exposure to many types of explosive blasts. Abnormalities were found in 18 of 63 patients diagnosed with mild traumatic brain injury, but not among 21 injured in other ways.

Traumatic brain injuries are estimated to have affected as many as 320,000 military personnel in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Most of these are classified as mild traumatic brain injuries, also known as concussions.

"We call these injuries 'mild', but in reality they sometimes can have serious consequences," says senior author David L. Brody, MD, PhD, assistant professor of neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

In the new study, white matter abnormalities were detected using an advanced magnetic resonance imaging method called diffusion tensor imaging. Diffusion tensor imaging allows scientists to assess the movement of water in tissue. Changes in the patterns of water movement are often linked to injury or disease, but the significance of the abnormalities seen in the military service personnel is not yet fully understood.

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Possible Culprit Is Found for Lou Gehrig’s Disease

New York Times (August 29, 2011)-
THE HYPOTHESIS
An accumulation of neural proteins causes Lou Gehrig’s disease.
THE INVESTIGATOR
Dr. Teepu Siddique, Northwestern University.
Ever since the New York Yankees Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig benched himself in 1939, never to return to the game, the ailment that now bears his name has stoked dread in the American imagination.

Lou Gehrig’s disease — also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or A.L.S. — has afflicted well-known figures like the jazz great Charles Mingus, the physicist Stephen Hawking and the historian Tony Judt. The disease stems from the progressive deterioration of nerve cells, leading to a loss of control over voluntary muscles, difficulty breathing and swallowing, creeping paralysis and eventually death. There is no cure and no good treatment.

Scientists are still unsure exactly what causes most cases. But in the journal Nature last week, researchers at Northwestern University identified a possible culprit: a cellular housekeeping agent that normally helps cells to clear away proteins that are damaged or misfolded. When the housekeeper fails, proteins seem to aggregate inside nerve cells, which may be contributing to their destruction.

The finding has been hailed as a breakthrough by patient groups and scientists. The new work is “fueling great enthusiasm and interest,” said Dr. Amelie Gubitz of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, which helped finance the new work.

Still, it is far from clear that this is the wellspring of A.L.S. There are at least a dozen processes that also might contribute to the demise of motor nerve cells, Dr. Gubitz noted.

Scientists are investigating, for example, defects in cellular mitochondria, which are responsible for producing energy. They are researching problems with the neurotransmitter glutamate, which seems to overstimulate cells in A.L.S., causing toxicity. They are looking into abnormalities in the motor axons that run from nerve cell bodies to the junctions with muscles they cause to contract.

It’s possible that one of these might prove more important — or more amenable to treatment — than the others, Dr. Gubitz said. “We don’t know that yet,” she added. “We still need to pursue all of them.”

Yet there is growing evidence for the hypothesis that that defective protein clearance plays a pivotal role in A.L.S.

In the early 1990s, Dr. Siddique helped to discover mutations in a gene called SOD1 associated with some inherited forms of the disease. He and other researchers have since identified a variety of other mutations relevant to A.L.S. “The problem is that these mutations pertain to a very small number of patients,” he said in an interview.
To read more about ALS, please click on the above title.

PRO-Parents 2011 Calendar of Workshops

THESE WORKSHOPS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, 
LET US KNOW IF YOU NEED ACCOMMODATIONS WHEN REGISTERING.
TO SCHEDULE A WORKSHOP IN YOUR AREA
. PLEASE CALL: 1-800-759-4776

Please Feel Free to Submit a Request for a Workshop or Presentation at a Location in your City or County.

8/17/2011
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Individual Education Program (IEP) Workshop
(Charleston)
Youth Advocate Program

4995 LaCross Road 
Suite 1075
 North Charleston, SC
Kim Preston, PRO-Parents of SC

South Carolina Special Kids Project 
Education Coordinator
For More Information or To Register Call: 
1-800-759-4776 or (803) 772-5688

8/18/2011
11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Individual Education Program (IEP) Workshop

Lexington County Public Library

(Cayce – West Columbia)
 1500 Augusta Road
 West Columbia, SC 29169
Tanya Inabinet, PRO-Parents of SC
 Region 2, Education Coordinator
For More Information or To Register Call: 
1-800-759-4776 or (803) 772-5688

8/18/2011
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
*
Transitioning Out of Special Education Workshop

Florence County DSS Office

2685 South Irby Street
Florence, SC
Kim Preston, PRO-Parents of SC

South Carolina Special Kids Project 
Education Coordinator
For More Information or To Register Call: 
1-800-759-4776 or (803) 772-5688

8/25/2011
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
*
Is Your Child a Target of Bullying? Workshop

Maryville Pentecostal Holiness Church

2014 Poplar Street
Georgetown, SC
Kim Preston, PRO-Parents of SC

South Carolina Special Kids Project
Education Coordinator
For More Information or To Register Call: 
1-800-759-4776 or (803) 772-5688

8/27/2011
9:00 am – 3:00 pm
*
Linking Families with Special Education Workshop

Hampton County DSS Office

102 Ginn Altman Avenue
Suite A
Hampton, SC
Kim Preston, PRO-Parents of SC

South Carolina Special Kids Project
Education Coordinator
For More Information or To Register Call: 
1-800-759-4776 or (803) 772-5688

9/08/2011
5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
*
ADD / ADHD Workshop

Bamberg County IFCCS

104 Bridge Street
Bamberg, SC
Kim Preston, PRO-Parents of SC

South Carolina Special Kids Project
Education Coordinator
For More Information or To Register Call: 
1-800-759-4776 or (803) 772-5688

9/10/2011
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
*
Is Your Child a Target of Bullying? Workshop

Limestone College
 2724 West Palmetto Street #8
Florence, SC
Kim Preston, PRO-Parents of SC

South Carolina Special Kids Project
Education Coordinator
For More Information or To Register Call: 
1-800-759-4776 or (803) 772-5688

9/13/2011
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
*
Individual Education Program (IEP) Workshop

Fairfield County DSS Office

136 Kincaid Bridge Road
Winnsboro, SC
Rene Sharkey, PRO-Parents of SC

South Carolina Special Kids Project
Project Coordinator
For More Information or To Register Call: 
1-800-759-4776 or (803) 772-5688

9/15/2011
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
*
Is Your Child a Target of Bullying? Workshop

Dillon County DSS Office 
1211 Highway 34 West
Dillon, SC
Kim Preston, PRO-Parents of SC

South Carolina Special Kids Project
Education Coordinator
For More Information or To Register Call: 
1-800-759-4776 or (803) 772-5688

9/15/2011
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
*
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Workshop

Marlboro County DSS Office
 713 South Parsonage Street
Bennettsville, SC
Kim Preston, PRO-Parents of SC

South Carolina Special Kids Project
Education Coordinator
For More Information or To Register Call: 
1-800-759-4776 or (803) 772-5688

9/15/2011
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
*
Communicating With Your Child’s School and IEP Team Workshop

Mizpah Baptist Church
(Lee County DSS)
 3659 Jamestown Road
Camden, SC
Rene Sharkey, PRO-Parents of SC

South Carolina Special Kids Project
Project Coordinator
For More Information or To Register Call: 
1-800-759-4776 or (803) 772-5688

9/15/2011
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Is Your Child a Target of Bullying? Workshop

Spartanburg Regional Hospital
 101 East Wood Street
(Dinning Room Cafeteria)
Spartanburg, SC
Susan Bruce, PRO-Parents of SC 
Region 3, Education Coordinator
For More Information or To Register Call: 
1-800-759-4776 or (803) 772-5688

9/21/2011
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Is Your Child a Target of Bullying? Workshop

Oconee DDSN 
116 South Cove Road
Seneca, SC
Susan Bruce, PRO-Parents of SC
 Region 3, Education Coordinator
For More Information or To Register Call: 
1-800-759-4776 or (803) 772-5688

9/22/2011
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
*
Getting and Keeping the First Job Workshop

Williamsburg County DSS Office 
831 Eastland Avenue
Kingstree, SC
Kim Preston, PRO-Parents of SC
 South Carolina Special Kids Project
Education Coordinator
For More Information or To Register Call: 
1-800-759-4776 or (803) 772-5688

9/26/2011
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Transitioning Out of Special Education Workshop

Horry County DDSN Office
 250 Victory Lane
Conway, SC
Kim Preston, PRO-Parents of SC 
South Carolina Special Kids Project
Education Coordinator
For More Information or To Register Call: 
1-800-759-4776 or (803) 772-5688

9/27/2011
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
*
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Workshop

Richland County DSS Office 
3220 Two Notch Road
Columbia, SC
Rene Sharkey, PRO-Parents of SC 
South Carolina Special Kids Project
Project Coordinator
For More Information or To Register Call: 
1-800-759-4776 or (803) 772-5688

10/05/2011
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Is Your Child a Target of Bullying? Workshop

Laurens County DDSN
 1860 Highway 14
Laurens, SC
Susan Bruce, PRO-Parents of SC
 Region 3, Education Coordinator
For More Information or To Register Call: 
1-800-759-4776 or (803) 772-5688

10/13/2011
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Transition Into Special Education Workshop

HITCH UP
 Spartanburg Regional Hospital
Bearden – Josey Breast Center Conference Room
101 East Wood Street
 Spartanburg, SC
Susan Bruce, PRO-Parents of SC 
Region 3, Education Coordinator
For More Information or To Register Call: 
1-800-759-4776 or (803) 772-5688

10/14/2011
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Individual Education Program (IEP) Workshop

Pickens County DDSN 
1308 Griffin Mill Road
Pickens, SC
Susan Bruce, PRO-Parents of SC 
Region 3, Education Coordinator
For More Information or To Register Call: 
1-800-759-4776 or (803) 772-5688

10/19/2011
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Transition Into Special Education Workshop

Oconee DDSN
 116 South Cove Road 
Seneca, SC
Susan Bruce, PRO-Parents of SC
 Region 3, Education Coordinator
For More Information or To Register Call: 
1-800-759-4776 or (803) 772-5688

10/25/2011
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
*
Transitioning Out of Special Education Workshop

Cherokee County DSS Office 
216 Macedonia Road 
Gaffney, SC
Rene Sharkey, PRO-Parents of SC
 South Carolina Special Kids Project
Project Coordinator
For More Information or To Register Call: 
1-800-759-4776 or (803) 772-5688

11/16/2011
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
ADD / ADHD Workshop

Oconee DDSN 
116 South Cove Road 
Seneca, SC
Susan Bruce, PRO-Parents of SC 
Region 3, Education Coordinator
For More Information or To Register Call: 
1-800-759-4776 or (803) 772-5688

12/02/2011
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Transition Into Special Education Workshop

Pickens County DDSN 
1308 Griffin Mill Road
 Pickens, SC
Susan Bruce, PRO-Parents of SC
 Region 3, Education Coordinator
For More Information or To Register Call: 
1-800-759-4776 or (803) 772-5688

New Autism Speaks Guide Helps Parents Better Understand and Navigate the IEP Process

New York, N.Y. (August 23, 2011) – "Autism Speaks, the world’s largest autism science and advocacy organization, today released Individualized Education Program (IEP): Summary, Process and Practical Tips, a free, new online guide that provides parents with important and reliable information and advice about navigating the IEP process, created by a team of pro bono lawyers at Goodwin Procter.
The 26-page guide includes an overview and timeline of key events in the typical IEP process, and clearly explains the steps parents need to take throughout – including how to contest an unfavorable decision. In addition to a list of questions to consider in developing a draft IEP,the guide also includes tips, resources, a checklist and answers to frequently asked questions, as well as a list of helpful web sites and other resources.
“The IEP process can be daunting, overwhelming and highly frustrating for parents who are trying to ensure their child is getting the appropriate educational opportunities,” said Lisa Goring, Autism Speaks vice president of Family Services. “We hope this guide will give families an effective roadmap that prepares them to make informed decisions and advocate for their child as effectively as possible.”
"As the summer winds down and students and their families begin to focus on a new school year, many in the special needs community approach the new year with trepidation, facing the question of whether their child’s placement is appropriate, and what to do in the event it is not,” added JohnFerguson,a partner at Goodwin Procter and leader of the guide’s development team. “We are proud to have collaborated with Autism Speaks in preparing the IEP guide in the hopes that it can help de-mystify the process and help more folks receive the programs and services to which they are entitled."
To read the entire article, click on the title above.

Report: Vaccines Are Safe, Hazards Few And Far Between

NPR News, August 25, 2011:
"Vaccines do come with risks for trouble, but problems are generally rare, according to a new review of the evidence from the Institute of Medicine.
The independent panel considered adverse effects from eight common childhood vaccines, and found that in many cases there wasn't enough evidence to if say there was a problem. But the committee came out loud and clear on the controversial question which drove the report.
Do vaccines — such as the one against measles, mumps and rubella — cause autism?

Nope.

"The MMR vaccine does not cause autism," Ellen Clayton, a pediatrician who chaired the panel, said in a media briefing Thursday. "The MMR and the DTaP do not cause Type 1 diabetes. And the killed flu vaccine does not cause Bell's palsy, and it does not trigger episodes of asthma."
The group found convincing evidence for 14 health problems, including seizures and brain inflammation, and identified the vaccines that are linked to those problems. The panel of experts looked at both studies of whole populations, and individual case reports of adverse events.
"We looked very hard, and we did not find many adverse effects," Clayton said. "I think that's really good news. It's really clear that the vaccines we administer to children have saved lots of lives, and have avoided a lot of suffering."
Two live vaccines — MMR and one against chickenpox — were found to be responsible for most of the serious side effects. The committee found clear evidence that the MMR can cause fever-related seizures, which usually cause no long-term harm. The MMR also can cause brain inflammation in people with immune system problems."

To read the entire article, click on the title above.

Vitamin A Supplements Save Kids' Lives, Researchers Say

NPR News August 26, 2011:
"It's not often that health experts say the evidence on something is so good that it would be wrong to keep studying it. But that's exactly what a group of researchers who've reviewed 43 trials on vitamin A supplementation for young children in developing countries contend.
Their review showed that vitamin A supplements reduced child mortality by 24 percent in low and middle income countries by preventing measles, diarrhea, and other illnesses in children. This translates into saving about 600,000 lives a year.
In fact, starting any new trials to test vitamin A on kids – using a standard placebo vs. treatment trial – would be unethical for the kids getting the placebo, they say in a paper published Thursday in the British Medical Journal, because the benefits of vitamin A are so clear.
"I've never really seen something that works so clearly," Evan Mayo-Wilson, a lecturer at the Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention at the University of Oxford and an author of the study, tells Shots. "From the 1970s through today, the picture hasn't changed. It's striking because the evidence of a really big reduction in mortality is very consistent."
Some 190 million children around the world are deficient in vitamin A; usually these are kids whose families can't afford eggs and dairy products. A deficiency in the nutrient makes kids more vulnerable to a range of illnesses including diarrhea, measles, and respiratory infections, which could also kill them. Though vitamin A supplements have now been available for more than a decade in developing countries where the child mortality rate has fallen, the researchers say there hasn't been any direct proof that the supplements were responsible for it."
To read the entire article, click on the title above.

New Drug Cures Multiple Viruses in Human Cells

Christine Dell'Amore, National Geographic News, Published August 22, 2011--

Single treatment can kill 15 virus types in 11 mammals, study shows.

There's no cure for the common cold—yet.

A new drug can scout out and kill numerous types of viruses infecting human and animal cells, researchers have announced. It's the first time a single drug has been shown to work against a range of viruses, from those that cause seasonal sniffles to more fatal diseases.
"Several decades ago the discovery and production of antibiotics revolutionized the way bacterial infections were treated," said study co-author Todd Rider, a senior staff scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory and Division of Comparative Medicine.

"We hope that this will similarly revolutionize the way viral infections are treated. That covers everything from cold and flu viruses to more serious clinical pathogens like HIV and hepatitis viruses and ultimately even more deadly viruses like Ebola and smallpox."
Though there are plenty of drugs to treat bacterial infections, there are few that can battle viruses. The antiviral drugs that have been developed are highly specific, with each drug targeting just one strain of a virus, which can easily mutate and become resistant to the medication.

So Rider and colleagues took a different approach—tailoring their new drug to work with the body's built-in defense mechanism.

NOTE: To read the entire article, click on the title above.

Scientists Reengineer Antibiotic to Overcome Dangerous Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

ScienceDaily (Aug. 24, 2011) — A team of scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has successfully reengineered an important antibiotic to kill the deadliest antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The compound could one day be used clinically to treat patients with life-threatening and highly resistant bacterial infections.

The results were published in an advanced online issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

"[These results] have true clinical significance and chart a path forward for the development of next generation antibiotics for the treatment of the most serious resistant bacterial infections," said Dale L. Boger, who is Richard and Alice Cramer Professor of Chemistry at The Scripps Research Institute and senior author of the new study. "The result could not be predicted. It really required the preparation of the molecule and the establishment of its properties."

The compound synthesized is an analogue of the well-known commercial antibiotic vancomycin.

The new analogue was prepared in an elegant total synthesis, a momentous achievement from a synthetic chemistry point of view. "In addition to the elegantly designed synthesis," said Jian Xie, postdoctoral fellow in Boger's group and first author on the publication, "I am exceedingly gratified that our results could have the potential to be a great service to mankind."

A Single Atom Changes Everything

Vancomycin is an antibiotic of last resort, which is used only after treatment with other antibiotics has failed. Clinically, it is used to treat patients that are either infected with the virulent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), individuals on dialysis, or those allergic to beta-lactam antibiotics (penicillin, cephalosporins).

To read more about Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria, please click the above title.

Tennessee’s Summitt Reveals Dementia Diagnosis

New York Times (August 23, 2011)- Pat Summitt, the longtime women’s basketball coach at Tennessee who has won more games than any other major college coach, said she forgot things at crucial points in games at times last season and struggled to keep track of when meetings were scheduled. She grew so confused that on a few days she simply stayed home from work.

It was not until after the season ended that she sought a medical diagnosis and learned she has symptoms of early onset Alzheimer’s disease.

Ms. Summitt, 59, revealed the diagnosis on Tuesday, and said she planned to continue to coach. She said her doctor at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., encouraged her to continue as long as she felt up to it.

“I plan to continue to be your coach,” Ms. Summitt said in a videotaped statement posted on the university’s Web site. “Obviously, I realize I may have some limitations with this condition since there will be some good days and some bad days.”

Ms. Summitt built a powerhouse program in Knoxville that often outshone the university’s men’s team, amassing 1,079 victories that make her the most successful Division I coach of either gender. She will enter her 38th season at Tennessee in pursuit of her ninth national title.

Long known for a steely, intense coaching style, Ms. Summitt will now also be the public face of a debilitating disease.

To read more about Pat Summitt, click the above title.

New Target for Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes and Prediabetes Identified

ScienceDaily (Aug. 22, 2011) — Researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center have shown that an enzyme found in the mitochondria of cells is decreased in the skeletal muscle of those with diabetes, a finding that could lead to the development of drugs to boost the activity of this enzyme in an effort to fight the disease.

A paper in published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that the enzyme, Sirt3, is decreased in the skeletal muscle of humans and animals with diabetes by at least half, compared to those without diabetes and that this may contribute to development of insulin resistance, one of the earliest manifestations of the disease. Sirt3 is found in the mitochondria, the power producers of cells that convert energy into usable forms.

"Ours is perhaps the first study to understand what is going wrong in the mitochondria of those with diabetes," said senior author C. Ronald Kahn, M.D., Head of the Joslin Section on Integrative Physiology and Metabolism and the Mary K. Iacocca Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. "Many studies have shown that the mitochondria don't work well in those with diabetes. This points to a cause of why they don't work well."

Dr. Kahn said the study sought to look at how decreased Sirt3 levels might affect the metabolism of cells, particularly how it could affect insulin action in cells. "We know that one of the hallmarks of early diabetes is insulin resistance in muscle, but we didn't know what caused it," he said.

In the Battle to Relieve Back Aches, Researchers Create Bioengineered Spinal Disc Implants

ScienceDaily (Aug. 1, 2011) — Every year, millions of people contend with lower back and neck discomfort. With intent to ease their pain, Cornell University engineers in Ithaca and doctors at the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City have created a biologically based spinal implant that could someday spell relief for these countless sufferers.
Lawrence Bonassar, Ph.D., associate professor of biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering, and Roger Härtl, M.D., associate professor of neurosurgery at Weill Cornell Medical College and chief of spinal surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, have created bioengineered spinal discs that have been successfully implanted and tested in animals.
The other scientists on the paper are Robby Bowles, Cornell Ph.D. '11, and Harry Gebhard, M.D., of Weill Cornell Medical College.
Their research will be published online Aug. 1, 2011 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"We've engineered discs that have the same structural components and behave just like real discs," says Bonassar. "The hope is that this promising research will lead to engineered discs that we can implant into patients with damaged discs."
Each year, 40 percent to 60 percent of American adults suffer from chronic back or neck pain. For patients diagnosed with severe degenerative disc disease, or herniated discs, neurosurgeons perform surgery called discectomy -- removing the spinal disc -- followed by a fusion of the vertebrate bones to stabilize the spine. In spite of the surgery, the patient's back will likely not feel the same as before their injury.
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New Cystic Fibrosis Drug Improves Lung Function

Web MD (Dec. 21, 2010) -- An experimental cystic fibrosis drug appears to delay the progression of the chronic disease in children who have normal to mildly impaired lung function, according to a new study.

''These findings are encouraging," researcher Frank Accurso, MD, professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, tells WebMD.

The drug is called denufosol.

''The patients who received the drug improved lung function compared to placebo," he says. When he compared lung function before and after denufosol, "the improvement was 2%.''

'It's important because although the improvement was modest, the longer-term effect of the drug could be substantial," he says.

Doctors believe the lungs of children with cystic fibrosis (CF) are normal at birth and that lung damage occurs early in life. The hope is that denufosol will delay or prevent the progressive changes that lead to irreversible airflow obstruction, Accurso says.

The findings were published online in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Other cystic fibrosis experts say the results look promising for those patients with milder symptoms.

About 30,000 children and adults in the U.S. have cystic fibrosis, according to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

The inherited and chronic disease affects the lungs and digestive system. A defective gene causes the body to make sticky, thick mucus that clogs the lungs and leads to lung infections, and also obstructs the pancreas, leading to digestive problems.

Denufosol works differently than other cystic fibrosis drugs, Accurso tells WebMD. "Most of the other drugs treat the secondary manifestations of CF, such as airway infection and inflammation.''

Denufosol belongs to a class of drugs known as ion channel regulators. In cystic fibrosis, the chloride ion does not flow normally through cell membranes and there is increased sodium absorption, leading to the thick, sticky mucus that in turn increases infection risk.

Denufosol increases chloride secretion, inhibits sodium absorption, and in the process helps clear mucus.

In his study, Accurso assigned 352 cystic fibrosis patients, all age 5 or older, either to get inhaled denufosol or placebo three times a day for 24 weeks. All had early-stage disease, with no or minimal lung function impairment.