Un soldado intenta dormir. Pero tiene miedo, no se siente seguro en sus sueños. Se despierta de una sacudida. Tiembla. No es capaz de dormirse de nuevo, tiene pánico a recordar la violencia vivida en la guerra. Sufre estrés postraumático. Para aliviar este tipo de situaciones, el Ejército estadounidense está trabajando en un proyecto en el que un ordenador transmite imágenes conocidas y relajantes que los militares ven al ponerse unas gafas 3D y con las que logran sustituir sus pesadillas reales por sueños artificiales más agradables, según publica la revista «Wired».
El plan está basado en una terapia cognitivo-conductual llamada «Power Dreaming», que, como ocurre en la película «Origen» de Christopher Nolan -que protagoniza Leonardo Di Caprio-, logra adentrarse en los recuerdos traumáticos de los militares utilizando la realidad virtual y la retroacción biológica, y promueve el autocontrol de las funciones fisiológicas del cuerpo.
Más del 50% de los soldados estadounidenses sufren estrés postraumático y tienen pesadillas por las noches ya que «es el único momento en el que no pueden esconder la terrible experiencia vivida», según un estudio de la la asociación Uniformed Services Academy of Family Physicians.
El programa del Ejército estadounidense está basado en el juego virtual «Second Life». Los promotores del proyecto esperan que, con el tiempo, los soldados afectados por estrés postraumático sean capaces de traer a su mente imágenes prediseñadas necesarias y crear sueños a medida para calmarse y poder conciliar el sueño. Ya sin necesidad del ordenador y de las gafas 3D.
**Publicado enn "ABC"
27 October 2011
Identifican genes que inmortalizan las células madre tumorales
Según un comunicado, estas cadenas de material genético, llamadas microRNAs y de función casi desconocida, son capaces de regular la expresión de otros genes, por lo que la caracterización de estas cadenas abre una vía para erradicar los procesos malignos, ya que el bloqueo de su función podría inducir la senescencia -tendencia a envejecer- de las células tumorales. El estudio, publicado en 'Medicinal Research Reviews' y financiado por la Fundación BBVA, indaga en el envejecimiento de las células y la inmortalidad de éstas, partiendo de la premisa que la característica que hace que las células tumorales sean tan nocivas es precisamente esta capacidad de ser inmortales, ya que no envejecen ni se autoeliminan, contrariamente al comportamiento de las células sanas.
Esta inmortalidad de las células cancerígenas hace que los tumores crezcan sin control y sean tan malignos, de modo que uno de los retos de este grupo ha sido identificar los microRNAs que hacen posible esta inmortalidad "para estudiar después los mecanismos que desactiven esta eterna juventud y convierten las células malignas en mortales".
Actualmente se conoce que más de un tercio de todos los genes de nuestro genoma se regulan mediante microRNAs, de forma que su estudio es más que obligado y todas las hipótesis apuntan a su papel clave en el proceso de inmortalidad de las células. Concretamente, el trabajo del VHIR tiene el objetivo de caracterizar los microRNA terapéuticos para erradicar los procesos malignos, y para ello sus investigaciones están centradas preferentemente en la introducción de la senescencia prematura celular como mecanismo antitumoral. Concretamente, este grupo ha llegado a identificar hasta 28 microRNAs capaces de escaparse de los mecanismos de la senescencia y, en consecuencia, mantener el potencial proliferativo celular y otorgar inmortalidad a la célula. "La característica más notable de este hallazgo es que los microRNAs específicos de células madre han sido capaces de evadir la senescencia con mayor efecto biológico que el resto de los microRNAa conocidos, induciendo así esta inmortalización", ha explicado la doctora Matilde Lleonart, coordinadora del estudio.
*"EUROPA PRESS"
Esta inmortalidad de las células cancerígenas hace que los tumores crezcan sin control y sean tan malignos, de modo que uno de los retos de este grupo ha sido identificar los microRNAs que hacen posible esta inmortalidad "para estudiar después los mecanismos que desactiven esta eterna juventud y convierten las células malignas en mortales".
Actualmente se conoce que más de un tercio de todos los genes de nuestro genoma se regulan mediante microRNAs, de forma que su estudio es más que obligado y todas las hipótesis apuntan a su papel clave en el proceso de inmortalidad de las células. Concretamente, el trabajo del VHIR tiene el objetivo de caracterizar los microRNA terapéuticos para erradicar los procesos malignos, y para ello sus investigaciones están centradas preferentemente en la introducción de la senescencia prematura celular como mecanismo antitumoral. Concretamente, este grupo ha llegado a identificar hasta 28 microRNAs capaces de escaparse de los mecanismos de la senescencia y, en consecuencia, mantener el potencial proliferativo celular y otorgar inmortalidad a la célula. "La característica más notable de este hallazgo es que los microRNAs específicos de células madre han sido capaces de evadir la senescencia con mayor efecto biológico que el resto de los microRNAa conocidos, induciendo así esta inmortalización", ha explicado la doctora Matilde Lleonart, coordinadora del estudio.
*"EUROPA PRESS"
Ovarian stimulation for IVF treatment increases risk of borderline ovarian tumours later in life
Researchers from The Netherlands have found that subfertile women whose ovaries are stimulated into producing extra eggs for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) have an increased risk of ovarian malignancies, in particular borderline ovarian tumours, later in life.
The long-term risk for ovarian malignancies (ovarian cancer and borderline ovarian tumours) is twice as high among women who undergo ovarian stimulation for IVF compared with subfertile women not treated with IVF. This is due to the increased incidence of borderline ovarian tumours, according to the research, published online today (Thursday 27 October) in Europe’s leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction [1]. In addition, the overall risk for malignant (invasive) ovarian cancer was not significantly increased in this group of subfertile women treated with IVF.
Lead researcher Professor Flora van Leeuwen, Head of the Department of Epidemiology in The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, said: "This study, with 15 years of follow-up, is the first to include a comparison group of subfertile women not treated with IVF. This is particularly important because IVF-treated women are different from the general population due to the fact that difficulty conceiving or never having been pregnant are known risk factors for an increased risk of developing ovarian malignancies. Women who were unable to conceive after one or more years of frequent unprotected sexual intercourse were considered to be subfertile, and the main causes of subfertility observed in this study population were Fallopian tube problems, male subfertility, unexplained infertility and endometriosis."
The research was based on data from the OMEGA study, which is a large nationwide observational study examining the late-effects of hormone stimulation in women diagnosed with subfertility problems from all 12 IVF clinics in The Netherlands between 1980 and 1995. The study was conducted by Prof van Leeuwen in Amsterdam, Prof Curt Burger in the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department of Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam and their colleagues in the other IVF clinics in The Netherlands. The investigators identified 19,146 subfertile women who received at least one IVF ovarian stimulation treatment and 6,006 subfertile women who were not treated with IVF. Data on reproductive factors were derived from a mailed questionnaire and subfertility treatment information was obtained from medical records. The incidence of ovarian malignancies (including borderline ovarian tumours) was assessed by linking these data with Dutch disease registries up to June 2007.
Prof van Leeuwen said: "We found that of the 25,152 subfertile women included in the analysis 77 had ovarian malignancies. Surprisingly, of the 61 women who had ovarian malignancies in the IVF treatment group, 31 had borderline ovarian cancer and 30 had invasive ovarian cancer. This proportion of ovarian borderline tumours was unusually high. Borderline ovarian tumours are tumours with a low malignancy potential, which means that they are not fatal, but would require extensive surgery and cause substantial morbidity."
After adjusting for factors that could confound the results such as age, how many children (if any) the women had already had, and cause of subfertility, the long-term risks for ovarian malignancies and borderline ovarian tumours were significantly elevated in the IVF treatment group compared with the subfertile group of women not treated with IVF. For ovarian malignancies overall and for borderline ovarian cancer, there was a two- and four-fold higher risk, respectively, in the IVF treatment group compared with the subfertile group not treated with IVF. While the risk of invasive ovarian cancer was slightly increased in the IVF treatment group, this was not statistically significant.
Prof van Leeuwen said: "Our data clearly show that ovarian stimulation for IVF is associated with an increased risk of borderline ovarian tumours and this risk remains elevated up to more than 15 year after the first cycle of treatment."
Ovarian cancer is the eighth most commonly reported cancer, accounting for 3.7% of all female cancer cases. It usually occurs in older patients and it is the leading cause of gynaecological cancer death; more than 140,000 women died from the disease in 2008 worldwide.
"The individual risk of developing ovarian cancer or a borderline ovarian tumour is very low. In The Netherlands the cumulative risk of ovarian malignancies (including borderline ovarian tumours) before the age of 55 is 0.45% in the general population. The results of our analysis suggest this risk increases to about 0.71% for women who undergo IVF, with the increase being due to borderline tumours of the ovary," Prof van Leeuwen said.
"When we compared ovarian malignancy incidence with the general female population, we also found an increased risk of invasive ovarian cancer in the IVF treatment group after 15 years of follow-up. This is a cause of concern because this type of cancer usually requires extensive surgery and chemotherapy and has poor survival rates. However, this increase may be caused by how many children (if any) the women had already had in the IVF treatment group compared with the general female population. More research is needed to examine the risk of invasive ovarian cancer, especially after a longer follow-up in IVF treated women," she said.
The researchers had expected that the risk of ovarian malignancies would increase with more IVF cycles but this was not observed. They intend to follow up their work by examining this issue further. "The total number of women with ovarian malignancies in this analysis was low (only 77 women), hence the statistical power of the study to investigate risk after many IVF cycles, or risk after long durations of follow-up, was limited," said Prof van Leeuwen. "We are currently expanding our study population to include another 8,800 women who started their IVF ovarian stimulation treatment during the years 1995-2000, with an emphasis on including women who have had three or more treatment cycles, and with 4,200 subfertile women not treated with IVF in the years 1980-2000," she added.
Prof van Leeuwen concluded: "If we find out that women who receive several IVF cycles or large doses of ovarian stimulating drugs are at a greater risk of ovarian cancer, then these women would need to be informed about these risks when continuing IVF treatment and possibly advised to discontinue treatment after three to six cycles (depending on which number of cycles would be associated with the high risk of ovarian malignancies)."
The long-term risk for ovarian malignancies (ovarian cancer and borderline ovarian tumours) is twice as high among women who undergo ovarian stimulation for IVF compared with subfertile women not treated with IVF. This is due to the increased incidence of borderline ovarian tumours, according to the research, published online today (Thursday 27 October) in Europe’s leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction [1]. In addition, the overall risk for malignant (invasive) ovarian cancer was not significantly increased in this group of subfertile women treated with IVF.
Lead researcher Professor Flora van Leeuwen, Head of the Department of Epidemiology in The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, said: "This study, with 15 years of follow-up, is the first to include a comparison group of subfertile women not treated with IVF. This is particularly important because IVF-treated women are different from the general population due to the fact that difficulty conceiving or never having been pregnant are known risk factors for an increased risk of developing ovarian malignancies. Women who were unable to conceive after one or more years of frequent unprotected sexual intercourse were considered to be subfertile, and the main causes of subfertility observed in this study population were Fallopian tube problems, male subfertility, unexplained infertility and endometriosis."
The research was based on data from the OMEGA study, which is a large nationwide observational study examining the late-effects of hormone stimulation in women diagnosed with subfertility problems from all 12 IVF clinics in The Netherlands between 1980 and 1995. The study was conducted by Prof van Leeuwen in Amsterdam, Prof Curt Burger in the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department of Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam and their colleagues in the other IVF clinics in The Netherlands. The investigators identified 19,146 subfertile women who received at least one IVF ovarian stimulation treatment and 6,006 subfertile women who were not treated with IVF. Data on reproductive factors were derived from a mailed questionnaire and subfertility treatment information was obtained from medical records. The incidence of ovarian malignancies (including borderline ovarian tumours) was assessed by linking these data with Dutch disease registries up to June 2007.
Prof van Leeuwen said: "We found that of the 25,152 subfertile women included in the analysis 77 had ovarian malignancies. Surprisingly, of the 61 women who had ovarian malignancies in the IVF treatment group, 31 had borderline ovarian cancer and 30 had invasive ovarian cancer. This proportion of ovarian borderline tumours was unusually high. Borderline ovarian tumours are tumours with a low malignancy potential, which means that they are not fatal, but would require extensive surgery and cause substantial morbidity."
After adjusting for factors that could confound the results such as age, how many children (if any) the women had already had, and cause of subfertility, the long-term risks for ovarian malignancies and borderline ovarian tumours were significantly elevated in the IVF treatment group compared with the subfertile group of women not treated with IVF. For ovarian malignancies overall and for borderline ovarian cancer, there was a two- and four-fold higher risk, respectively, in the IVF treatment group compared with the subfertile group not treated with IVF. While the risk of invasive ovarian cancer was slightly increased in the IVF treatment group, this was not statistically significant.
Prof van Leeuwen said: "Our data clearly show that ovarian stimulation for IVF is associated with an increased risk of borderline ovarian tumours and this risk remains elevated up to more than 15 year after the first cycle of treatment."
Ovarian cancer is the eighth most commonly reported cancer, accounting for 3.7% of all female cancer cases. It usually occurs in older patients and it is the leading cause of gynaecological cancer death; more than 140,000 women died from the disease in 2008 worldwide.
"The individual risk of developing ovarian cancer or a borderline ovarian tumour is very low. In The Netherlands the cumulative risk of ovarian malignancies (including borderline ovarian tumours) before the age of 55 is 0.45% in the general population. The results of our analysis suggest this risk increases to about 0.71% for women who undergo IVF, with the increase being due to borderline tumours of the ovary," Prof van Leeuwen said.
"When we compared ovarian malignancy incidence with the general female population, we also found an increased risk of invasive ovarian cancer in the IVF treatment group after 15 years of follow-up. This is a cause of concern because this type of cancer usually requires extensive surgery and chemotherapy and has poor survival rates. However, this increase may be caused by how many children (if any) the women had already had in the IVF treatment group compared with the general female population. More research is needed to examine the risk of invasive ovarian cancer, especially after a longer follow-up in IVF treated women," she said.
The researchers had expected that the risk of ovarian malignancies would increase with more IVF cycles but this was not observed. They intend to follow up their work by examining this issue further. "The total number of women with ovarian malignancies in this analysis was low (only 77 women), hence the statistical power of the study to investigate risk after many IVF cycles, or risk after long durations of follow-up, was limited," said Prof van Leeuwen. "We are currently expanding our study population to include another 8,800 women who started their IVF ovarian stimulation treatment during the years 1995-2000, with an emphasis on including women who have had three or more treatment cycles, and with 4,200 subfertile women not treated with IVF in the years 1980-2000," she added.
Prof van Leeuwen concluded: "If we find out that women who receive several IVF cycles or large doses of ovarian stimulating drugs are at a greater risk of ovarian cancer, then these women would need to be informed about these risks when continuing IVF treatment and possibly advised to discontinue treatment after three to six cycles (depending on which number of cycles would be associated with the high risk of ovarian malignancies)."
La Agencia Española de Medicamentos ofrece una web con más servicios para profesionales y ciudadanos
La Agencia Española de Medicamentos y Productos Sanitarios (AEMPS), dependiente del Ministerio de Sanidad, Política Social e Igualdad, ha presentado un nuevo diseño de su página web 'www.aemps.gob.es', con el objetivo de ser "más útil" y proporcionar puntualmente a los ciudadanos y profesionales toda la información sobre medicamentos y productos sanitarios de forma comprensible y atendiendo a criterios como la transparencia y el rigor científico.
La AEMPS elabora y publica de forma continua en su web "abundante información" sobre todos los productos que regula y, en ella, ciudadanos y profesionales tienen la fuente primaria de información sobre medicamentos y productos sanitarios, "elaborada desde la independencia y el rigor científico para que sea segura y fiable".
Entre la información existente se encuentra aquella sobre qué medicamentos autorizados, condiciones de utilización, disponibilidad, problemas de suministro, suspensiones, retiradas, problemas de seguridad, medicamentos ilegales, alertas por problemas de calidad y la notificación de muchas otras acciones regulatorias.
Asimismo, se ofrecerá cualquier novedad legislativa que forme parte de las responsabilidades que la AEMPS tiene encomendadas para velar por las garantías de calidad, seguridad, eficacia e información de los medicamentos y productos sanitarios desde el punto de vista de protección de la salud de los ciudadanos.
La AEMPS elabora y publica de forma continua en su web "abundante información" sobre todos los productos que regula y, en ella, ciudadanos y profesionales tienen la fuente primaria de información sobre medicamentos y productos sanitarios, "elaborada desde la independencia y el rigor científico para que sea segura y fiable".
Entre la información existente se encuentra aquella sobre qué medicamentos autorizados, condiciones de utilización, disponibilidad, problemas de suministro, suspensiones, retiradas, problemas de seguridad, medicamentos ilegales, alertas por problemas de calidad y la notificación de muchas otras acciones regulatorias.
Asimismo, se ofrecerá cualquier novedad legislativa que forme parte de las responsabilidades que la AEMPS tiene encomendadas para velar por las garantías de calidad, seguridad, eficacia e información de los medicamentos y productos sanitarios desde el punto de vista de protección de la salud de los ciudadanos.
El Colegio de Médicos de Navarra insiste en que no es necesario ningún registro oficial de objetores de conciencia
Ante la reciente publicación en el Boletín Oficial de Navarra de una Orden Foral por la que se crea un fichero informatizado bajo la denominación de "Registro de profesionales sanitarios objetores de conciencia en relación con la interrupción voluntaria del embarazo", el Colegio de Médicos de Navarra ha reiterado su postura ante esta situación, ya expresara el pasado mes de noviembre de 2010, cuando fue publicada la Ley Foral 16/2010 que regula la creación del registro de profesionales en relación a la interrupción voluntaria del embarazo.
La postura de la entidad colegial navarra manifestada por aquel entonces fue la del rechazo al registro de objetores creado por la Administración navarra, al entender que si bien la Ley de salud sexual y reproductiva y de la interrupción voluntaria del embarazo, de marzo de 2010, establece que “la negativa a realizar la interrupción voluntaria del embarazo por razones de conciencia deberá manifestarse anticipadamente y por escrito”, dicha obligación no conlleva la necesidad de creación de ningún registro oficial. El Colegio de Médicos sostiene, al respecto, que es suficiente una “mera notificación administrativa personal ante la dirección de los servicios correspondientes con la finalidad de poder organizar la asistencia sanitaria demandada.
La consejera de Salud, Marta Vera, por su parte, ha señalado que "en este momento, lo único que ha hecho el sistema navarro de salud es generar un archivo informático y registrarlo en la Agencia de Protección de Datos en cumplimiento del mandato de la ley".
Vera ha recordado, al mismo tiempo, que “el registro de objetores lo creó una ley que fue aprobada en noviembre del año pasado por el Parlamento con los votos en contra de UPN y CDN”, normativa, que, en estos momentos, “está recurrida ante el Tribunal Constitucional por 50 diputados del grupo parlamentario 'popular' , estando a la espera del pronunciamiento.
**publicado en "MEDICOS Y PACIENTES"
La postura de la entidad colegial navarra manifestada por aquel entonces fue la del rechazo al registro de objetores creado por la Administración navarra, al entender que si bien la Ley de salud sexual y reproductiva y de la interrupción voluntaria del embarazo, de marzo de 2010, establece que “la negativa a realizar la interrupción voluntaria del embarazo por razones de conciencia deberá manifestarse anticipadamente y por escrito”, dicha obligación no conlleva la necesidad de creación de ningún registro oficial. El Colegio de Médicos sostiene, al respecto, que es suficiente una “mera notificación administrativa personal ante la dirección de los servicios correspondientes con la finalidad de poder organizar la asistencia sanitaria demandada.
La consejera de Salud, Marta Vera, por su parte, ha señalado que "en este momento, lo único que ha hecho el sistema navarro de salud es generar un archivo informático y registrarlo en la Agencia de Protección de Datos en cumplimiento del mandato de la ley".
Vera ha recordado, al mismo tiempo, que “el registro de objetores lo creó una ley que fue aprobada en noviembre del año pasado por el Parlamento con los votos en contra de UPN y CDN”, normativa, que, en estos momentos, “está recurrida ante el Tribunal Constitucional por 50 diputados del grupo parlamentario 'popular' , estando a la espera del pronunciamiento.
**publicado en "MEDICOS Y PACIENTES"
Recycling thermal cash register receipts contaminates paper products with BPA
Bisphenol A (BPA) -- a substance that may have harmful health effects -- occurs in 94 percent of thermal cash register receipts, scientists are reporting. The recycling of those receipts, they add, is a source of BPA contamination of paper napkins, toilet paper, food packaging and other paper products. The report, which could have special implications for cashiers and other people who routinely handle thermal paper receipts, appears in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology.
Kurunthachalam Kannan and Chunyang Liao explain that manufacturers produce more than 8 billion pounds of BPA worldwide every year. Research links BPA with a variety of harmful health effects. BPA has been used in plastic water bottles, the lining of food cans and a variety of other products. But how much do non-food sources contribute to humans' daily BPA exposure? BPA coats the surfaces of thermal receipts, where it acts as a developer for the printing dye. To see whether this source of BPA was a concern, the researchers analyzed hundreds of samples of thermal cash register receipts and 14 other types of paper products from the U.S., Japan, Korea and Vietnam.
They found BPA on 94 percent of the receipts. The only receipts with that were BPA-free were those from Japan, which phased out this use of BPA in 2001. BPA was in most of the other types of paper products, with tickets, newspapers and flyers having the highest concentrations. But these levels still paled in comparison to BPA on receipts, which the study said are responsible for more than 98 percent of consumer exposure to BPA from paper. The researchers estimate that receipts contribute about 33.5 tons of BPA to the environment every year in the U.S. and Canada. They note that handling of paper products can contribute up to 2 percent of the total daily BPA exposures in the general population, and that fraction can be much higher in occupationally exposed individuals.
*Source: American Chemical Society
Kurunthachalam Kannan and Chunyang Liao explain that manufacturers produce more than 8 billion pounds of BPA worldwide every year. Research links BPA with a variety of harmful health effects. BPA has been used in plastic water bottles, the lining of food cans and a variety of other products. But how much do non-food sources contribute to humans' daily BPA exposure? BPA coats the surfaces of thermal receipts, where it acts as a developer for the printing dye. To see whether this source of BPA was a concern, the researchers analyzed hundreds of samples of thermal cash register receipts and 14 other types of paper products from the U.S., Japan, Korea and Vietnam.
They found BPA on 94 percent of the receipts. The only receipts with that were BPA-free were those from Japan, which phased out this use of BPA in 2001. BPA was in most of the other types of paper products, with tickets, newspapers and flyers having the highest concentrations. But these levels still paled in comparison to BPA on receipts, which the study said are responsible for more than 98 percent of consumer exposure to BPA from paper. The researchers estimate that receipts contribute about 33.5 tons of BPA to the environment every year in the U.S. and Canada. They note that handling of paper products can contribute up to 2 percent of the total daily BPA exposures in the general population, and that fraction can be much higher in occupationally exposed individuals.
*Source: American Chemical Society
Advance toward a breath test to diagnose multiple sclerosis
Scientists are reporting the development and successful tests in humans of a sensor array that can diagnose multiple sclerosis (MS) from exhaled breath, an advance that they describe as a landmark in the long search for a fast, inexpensive and non-invasive test for MS — the most common neurological disease in young adults. Their report appears in the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience.
Hossam Haick and colleagues report that doctors now diagnose MS based on its characteristic symptoms, which include muscle spasms, numbness, coordination problems and slurred speech. One common tool for confirming the diagnosis and making informed decisions on treatment is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain. Another tool is a lumbar puncture or “spinal tap” to analyze the fluid that bathes the brain and spinal cord. But MRI scans are costly, and lumbar punctures are invasive.
To overcome these obstacles, the researchers have identified volatile organic compounds that can be associated with MS from exhaled breath. Based on these findings, the researchers developed a new sensor array that can diagnose MS by analyzing the determined chemical compounds that appear in the breath of MS patients. Using the developed sensors, the researchers carried out a proof-of-concept clinical study on 34 MS patients and 17 healthy volunteers and found that the developed sensors are just as accurate as a spinal tap but without the pain or the risk of side effects.
“The results presented here open new frontiers in the development of fast, noninvasive and inexpensive medical diagnosis tools for detection of chronic neurological diseases,” the scientists stated. “The results could serve as a launching pad for the discrimination between different subphases of stages of multiple sclerosis as well as for the identification of multiple sclerosis patients who would respond well to immunotherapy.” A large clinical study with the reported sensors is underway and will be reported in the future.
*Source: American Chemical Society
Hossam Haick and colleagues report that doctors now diagnose MS based on its characteristic symptoms, which include muscle spasms, numbness, coordination problems and slurred speech. One common tool for confirming the diagnosis and making informed decisions on treatment is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain. Another tool is a lumbar puncture or “spinal tap” to analyze the fluid that bathes the brain and spinal cord. But MRI scans are costly, and lumbar punctures are invasive.
To overcome these obstacles, the researchers have identified volatile organic compounds that can be associated with MS from exhaled breath. Based on these findings, the researchers developed a new sensor array that can diagnose MS by analyzing the determined chemical compounds that appear in the breath of MS patients. Using the developed sensors, the researchers carried out a proof-of-concept clinical study on 34 MS patients and 17 healthy volunteers and found that the developed sensors are just as accurate as a spinal tap but without the pain or the risk of side effects.
“The results presented here open new frontiers in the development of fast, noninvasive and inexpensive medical diagnosis tools for detection of chronic neurological diseases,” the scientists stated. “The results could serve as a launching pad for the discrimination between different subphases of stages of multiple sclerosis as well as for the identification of multiple sclerosis patients who would respond well to immunotherapy.” A large clinical study with the reported sensors is underway and will be reported in the future.
*Source: American Chemical Society
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