Stem Cells from Pelvic Bone May Preserve Heart Function

 Stem cells from the pelvic bone may help hearts beat stronger. Doctors and other clinicians at the Orlando Health Heart Institute are researching the use of stem cells from pelvic bone marrow to restore tissue and improve heart function after muscle damage from heart attacks.

"The thought is the body may use itself to heal itself," said Vijaykumar S. Kasi, MD, PhD, an interventional cardiologist, director, Cardiovascular Research, and principal investigator for the clinical trial at ORMC. "Because stem cells are immature cells they have the potential to develop into new blood vessels and preserve cardiac muscle cells. By infusing certain stem cells into the area of the heart muscle that has been damaged from a heart attack, tissue can be preserved and heart function restored."
The PreSERVE-AMI Study, sponsored by Amorcyte, LLC, a NeoStem, Inc. company (NYSE Amex: NBS), is for patients who have received a stent to open the blocked artery after a specific heart attack history (in part a ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction, or STEMI, a critical type of heart attack caused by a prolonged period of blocked blood supply, affecting a large area of the heart muscle and causing changes in the blood levels of key chemical markers). The study evaluates the effectiveness and safety of infusing stem cells collected from a patient's bone marrow into the artery in the heart that may have caused the heart attack. About 160 patients will participate in this national study at approximately 34 sites.
The infusion procedure begins with a catheter inserted through an incision in the groin. An X-ray camera is used to guide doctors in positioning the catheter in the heart artery where the stent was placed. A balloon is inflated within the stent and the infusion takes place in the area impacted by the heart attack. Because the study is randomized, double blinded and placebo controlled, patients are infused with either AMR-001, a cell therapy product composed of stem cells taken from one's own bone marrow, or a placebo (inactive substance).
Prior to the infusion, patients are screened using various assessments including an electrocardiogram, a cardiac MRI (magnetic resonance image) and a cardiac nuclear test. After the necessary screenings, patients have a mini-bone marrow procedure where the stem cells are "harvested" (removed) from the bone marrow in their pelvic bone, using a special needle. The stem cells are processed at Progenitor Cell Therapy, another NeoStem, Inc. company, in preparation for infusion. Patients who are randomized to placebo will have their bone marrow frozen and stored and available to them for clinical use, should they require bone marrow for any reason.
"We are excited to participate in innovative clinical trials as part of our continued efforts to play a vital role in future solutions to improve patient outcomes," said Dr. Kasi. "Heart disease remains the No.1 killer of men and women in our country." Effective treatment options are part of the medical journey to more heart healthy communities locally and globally.
"Severe heart failure, often the end result of large or multiple heart attacks, is a major health care challenge, impacting more than five million people in the United States and costing more than $35 billion annually," said Dr. Kasi. "Stem cell therapy is part of the movement from treatment to cure and has the potential to overcome limitations and expenses of heart transplants and offers hope for patients who are desperately praying for another chance at life."

**Published in "SCIENCE DAILY"

La fiebre de los tapones de plástico solidario contra las enfermedades raras

Un depósito del Ayuntamiento de Alcalá de Henares, en la Vía Complutense, está preñado de decenas de toneladas de tapones de plástico. En el último mes se han recogido unas 20. «¡Y mira que en Navidad, cuando empezamos, conseguimos nueve y nos parecían muchísimas!», dice Rocío, la madre de Sara.
Sara tiene 11 años y va en silla de ruedas. Sufre ataxia telangiectasia. Sus músculos se van apagando progresivamente. No hay cura para su enfermedad, pero los tapones sobre los que ella misma se zambulle podrían ser un camino para lograr una solución.

**Más información, en Orbyt.

*EL MUNDO

New pregnancy risk for babies and moms

Pregnant women who are overweight with moderately elevated blood sugar never set off any alarms for their physicians. The big concern was for women who were obese or who had gestational diabetes because those conditions are known to cause a host of health risks to the mom and baby. But a new study shows these women who are just above average for weight and blood sugar are at a higher risk of bad pregnancy outcomes than previously known. In fact, this group is at higher risk than pregnant women who are obese with normal blood sugar or pregnant women who have gestational diabetes and a normal weight.
"These are women who have not been on our radar because they don't have gestational diabetes and aren't obese, but our study shows if you are one step away from each of those, you carry some significant risks," said principle investigator Boyd Metzger, M.D., a professor of medicine-endocrinology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. "We need to address the combination of overweight and blood sugar of these women as urgently as we do for women who are obese or have gestational diabetes."
This group of women comprised about 6 percent of the total number of women in the study. Obese women made up 16 percent of the group and those with gestational diabetes accounted for 13.7 percent.
The study also found women who are both obese and have gestational diabetes are at a much higher risk of having an adverse pregnancy than women having only one of those conditions.
The paper, published in the April issue of Diabetes Care, is from the Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome (HAPO) Study and includes 23,316 women from nine countries.
One of the adverse outcomes for these mothers is having large babies, the result of fat accumulation. Large babies increase the risk of injury to the baby during vaginal delivery, increasing the likelihood of a Caesarean section.
The study found when the mothers are obese and have gestational diabetes, the babies weigh 340 grams more than babies of mothers with normal weight and blood sugar. When the mothers are overweight (but not obese) with above-average blood sugar levels, the babies weigh 214 grams more. Mothers of normal weight but with gestational diabetes have babies who weigh 164 grams more. And obese mothers with normal glucose levels have babies with an increased weight of 174 grams.
A pregnant woman's higher blood sugar level and weight also can lead to higher insulin and lower blood sugar levels in a newborn. In turn, these effects may eventually trigger obesity and diabetes, perhaps as early as childhood.
"The big message from this is when you look at the impact of nutrition, metabolism and weight on pregnancy outcomes, every woman - on her first prenatal visit -- should get a prescription for a session with a dietician and an appropriate healthy eating plan for her pregnancy," said Metzger, also the Tom D. Spies Professor of Metabolism and Nutrition at Northwestern's Feinberg School. "This doesn't happen, but it should, and insurance companies should reimburse it."

**Source: Northwestern University

Las técnicas más prometedoras para luchar contra el vitíligo

El vitíligo es un trastorno que se caracteriza por la aparición de manchas blancas en la piel. Afecta al 1% de la población mundial y aparece cuando el sistema inmunitario ataca y destruye los melanocitos (las células encargadas de la pigmentación), lo que deja ese área de la piel sin color. Normalmente afecta a la cara, codos, rodillas, manos y pies, especialmente en personas con un tono de piel más oscuro. Suele hacer acto de presencia entre los 10 y los 30 años de edad, aunque puede desarrollarse en cualquier momento de la vida.

No es una enfermedad grave, pero sí causa un perjuicio estético en las personas que lo sufren. Actualmente, el tratamiento más común es el uso de medicamentos aplicados directamente en la piel y terapias de luz, que pueden combinarse para repigmentar la zona afectada. Pero no son las únicas. Durante la reunión anual de la Academia Americana de Dermatología, se presentaron las últimas técnicas quirúrgicas que han demostrado un gran éxito devolviendo el color a la piel:

-Injerto. La piel sana del paciente se utiliza para cubrir las zonas afectadas por vitiligo. Pueden someterse a este tipo de operación los pacientes que tengan vitíligo estable o que no haya cambiado durante al menos los últimos seis meses. La tasa de éxito es del 80-90% en la mayoría de los casos.

-Trasplante de melanocitos. En este procedimiento, los melanocitos y queratinocitos se obtienen de la piel del paciente mediante cirugía bajo anestesia local y crecen en un cultivo de laboratorio toda la noche. Después, las células obtenidas se implantan en las manchas blancas. Tiene una tasa de éxito del 95% y está especialmente recomendado para áreas donde el vitiligo sea limitado y estable.

-Cirugía de mantenimiento. La fototerapia se utiliza con frecuencia tras el injerto o el trasplante de melanocitos para estimular las células y acelerar la pigmentación en las áreas tratadas.

«Es muy importante que, ante un cambio inusual en la pigmentación de la piel, consulte al dermatólogo porque los tratamientos para el vitíligo son más efectivos cuanto antes se empiece», advierte el doctor Rebat M. Halder, jefe del departamento de Dermatología de la Universidad Howard (EE.UU.).

**AGENCIAS

Feral pigs exposed to nasty bacteria

A North Carolina State University study shows that, for the first time since testing began several years ago, feral pigs in North Carolina have tested positive for Brucella suis, an important and harmful bacteria that can be transmitted to people. The bacteria are transmitted to humans by unsafe butchering and consumption of undercooked meat. Clinical signs of brucellosis, the disease caused by the bacteria, in people are fairly non-specific and include persistent flu-like symptoms. The bacteria can also spread in pig populations, causing abortions in affected swine.
In a study conducted to test N.C. feral pig populations for several types of bacteria and viruses, about 9 percent of feral pigs studied in Johnston County and less than 1 percent of feral pigs surveyed randomly at 13 other sites across the state showed exposure to B. suis.
Dr. Chris DePerno, associate professor of forestry and environmental resources at NC State and the corresponding author of a paper describing the research, says the results are troubling for people who hunt feral pigs for sport or food.
"Now that exposure to Brucella suis has been found in North Carolina's feral pig populations, people need to take care when hunting, butchering and cooking feral pigs," DePerno says. "That means wearing gloves when field dressing feral pigs and cooking the meat to the proper temperature."
Dr. Suzanne Kennedy-Stoskopf, an NC State research professor of wildlife infectious diseases and a co-author of the paper, says that testing positive for antibodies to B. suis means the feral pigs have been exposed to and mounted an immune response against the bacteria. Antibodies do not eliminate B. suis from pigs, so the animals are considered infected and capable of transmitting the bacteria to other pigs and people. She adds that control and eradication programs introduced in the late 1990s eliminated swine brucellosis from all commercial pig populations in the United States.
Kennedy-Stoskopf says that B.suis can be transmitted among pig populations when pigs ingest infected tissue or fluids. Direct contact with infected pigs or ingestion of contaminated food and water could cause currently uninfected pig populations to become infected.
"Spillover from infected feral pigs to commercial pigs is an economic and a public-health concern," Kennedy-Stoskopf says. "The biggest public-health risk is to pork processors and hunters who field dress feral pigs. Although cases of brucellosis are rare in the United States, people need to understand the clinical signs -- like intermittent fevers and persistent headaches -- and go to the doctor for diagnosis and treatment if they have these flu-like symptoms." Because clinical signs are so non-specific, it is important to tell your physician if you have had any exposure to feral swine carcasses and meat.
Feral pig populations are exploding across the country, DePerno says. Besides the rabbit-like reproductive proclivity of feral pigs, people are partially responsible for the population boom. There is strong evidence that humans have transported feral pigs into new areas for hunting.
"Control of feral pig populations is difficult at best," DePerno says. "Research indicates that about 70 percent of the population will need to be removed each year to keep a wild population stable. Regarding feral pigs, hunting usually removes from 8 to 50 percent of a given wild population."
Feral pigs can be destructive to the environment and can out-compete native animals. They dig, root and tear up crop lands; eat just about anything; and can spread disease to animals and people.
DePerno hopes that more research on how far feral pigs travel -- and increased scrutiny of hunters who move feral pigs from place to place -- will help keep feral populations from spreading.
NC State graduate student Mark Sandfoss and postdoctoral researcher Dr. Maria Palamar conducted research and co-authored the paper, which is published in the Journal of Wildlife Diseases. Researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Rollins Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory contributed to the research.

**Source: North Carolina State University

Los alimentos que provocan más alergias

Melocotón, leche, huevo, melón, gamba, pescado, kiwi, plátano, nuez, sandía, cacahuete, manzana, tomate y avellana. Estos catorce alimentos altamente consumidos y aparentemente inofensivos son los que más alergias provocan en nuestro país, según el estudio EuroPrevall. En concreto, la leche, el huevo y el pescado son los que más reacciones desencadenan entre la población infantil, mientras que en los adultos son las frutas y los frutos secos.

Las alergias alimentarias se han duplicado en la última década. Hoy en día, casi todos conocemos a alguien de nuestro entorno que las sufre. Las cifras lo confirman: un 5% de los niños en edad escolar y un 8% de los adultos la experimenta ante el consumo de determinados productos.

Este tipo de hipersensibilidad tiene un componente genético y puede aparecer en cualquier época de la vida. Además, en el caso de las frutas y las verduras, está relacionada con la alergia respiratoria al polen.

«No se nace alérgico. Existe una predisposición que tiene una base genética, pero es la exposición al alimento lo que hace que el paciente sea alérgico», explica la doctora Belén de la Hoz, coordinadora del Comité de Alergia a Alimentos de la Sociedad Española de Alergología e Inmunología Clínica (SEAIC).

Pero igual que aparece, puede desaparecer. «En algunos alimentos y más frecuentemente en niños hay tolerancia espontánea», señala la experta. Pero si persiste, la única manera de prevenirla es excluir esa comida de la dieta, aunque desde hace algún tiempo la inmunoterapia oral se está perfilando como un tratamiento eficaz. Consiste en administrar poco a poco, bajo vigilancia médica, cantidades cada vez mayores del alérgeno que provoca rechazo para modular la respuesta inmunitaria y conseguir la tolerancia a ese alimento.

Reconocer qué comidas nos producen alergia es fácil porque los síntomas siempre se manifiestan a los pocos minutos de la ingesta. En la mayoría de los casos aparecen signos cutáneos (urticaria, eritema, hinchazón en párpados y labios). Otra señales de alerta son la diarrea, los vómitos o el dolor abdominal, así como la rinitis y la conjuntivitis. Y en los casos más severos, problemas respiratorios o cardiovasculares.

Si por alguna razón, la persona alérgica ingiere el alimento de forma accidental (a veces se encuentran en trazas muy pequeñas en otros productos) la reacción se trata con antihistamínicos en los casos leves y con el autoinyector de adrenalina en las situaciones más graves.

**Publicado en "ABC"

New insights into when beach sand may become unsafe for digging and other contact

With summer days at the beach on the minds of millions of winter-weary people, a new study provides health departments with information needed to determine when levels of disease-causing bacteria in beach sand could pose a risk to children and others who dig or play in the sand. The report appears in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology. Tomoyuki Shibata and Helena M. Solo-Gabriele explain that disease-causing bacteria from sewage can cause skin infections and gastrointestinal (GI) disorders in people who come into contact with contaminated water. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has guidelines to determine when microbe levels in water are high enough to pose an unacceptable risk of GI illness for contact with both ocean water and freshwater. Microbes, however, tend to concentrate in higher levels in beach sand -- to the point where one previous study found that the sand on one fingertip, placed in the mouth, had enough germs to cause GI illness. No guidelines exist to determine when contact with beach sand might be too risky for children and others who play in beach sand, digging in it or being buried in the sand. The scientists set out to fill that knowledge gap.
The scientists used millions of computer simulations and measurements of disease-causing microbes at beaches in California and Florida to determine how many bacteria would have to be present in beach sand to exceed the EPA's guideline for water. In doing so, they established "reference levels" for beach sand that correspond to the EPA risk guidelines for water. The focus of children at the beach environment is especially important, due to play behavior at beach sites that would increase a child's exposure, the scientists noted.
The authors acknowledge funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

**Source: American Chemical Society