In a medical breakthrough, a 28-year-old woman has become the first person in the world to give birth to a baby using ovarian tissue that was removed
Previous successful transplants resulting in pregnancies have used frozen ovary tissue removed from adult women, but in this case it was taken from a girl
The breakthrough, described in the journal Human Reproduction, gives hope to thousands of young cancer victims who face treatments such as chemotherapy which can damage the ovaries
had received a transplant of her brother's bone marrow to treat her sickle-cell anaemia which needed chemotherapy to disable the immune system
Doctors removed her right ovary just before she turned 14 and froze tissue fragments. Puberty and breast development had begun
and when she was 15 doctors began hor mone replacement therapy (HRT) to induce menstruation.
and doctors, led by Isabelle Demeestere, a gynaecologist and research associate at Erasme hospital, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, stopped the HRT
The doctors said the woman should be able to have more children and that a second transplantation was possible
In a medical breakthrough, a 28-year-old woman has become the first person in the world to give birth to a baby using ovarian tissue that was removed
Previous successful transplants resulting in pregnancies have used frozen ovary tissue removed from adult women, but in this case it was taken from a girl
The breakthrough, described in the journal Human Reproduction, gives hope to thousands of young cancer victims who face treatments such as chemotherapy which can damage the ovaries
had received a transplant of her brother's bone marrow to treat her sickle-cell anaemia which needed chemotherapy to disable the immune system
Doctors removed her right ovary just before she turned 14 and froze tissue fragments. Puberty and breast development had begun
and when she was 15 doctors began hor mone replacement therapy (HRT) to induce menstruation.
and doctors, led by Isabelle Demeestere, a gynaecologist and research associate at Erasme hospital, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, stopped the HRT
The doctors said the woman should be able to have more children and that a second transplantation was possible
Cure for untreatable wounds BEIJING: Chinese scientists have claimed successfully growing muscle stem cells in a test tube,
a breakthrough that could potentially save the careers of top athletes besides cure untreatable injuries caused from accidents and surgeries due to cancer."
"It can generate enough stem cells to heal permanent wounds, especially those caused externally,"said Hu Ping, a cell biologist with the Shanghai Institute for Biological science at the Chinese Academy of Sciences."
"Muscle stem cells are the ultimate way to cure muscle-related wounds or diseases, "Hu said,
but also address a wide range of medical issues such as treatments for people involved in car accidents,
those who have had surgery for cancer, or sufferers of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).""This technology could cure (recently retired Chinese hurdler) Liu Xiang's injury,
"Hu said, referring to Asia's first Olympic gold medallist in the 110-metre hurdles at the 2004 Athens Olympics who also ranks as the continent's first world champion hurdler.
A nagging tendon injury caused the Shanghai native to limp off the track when Beijing hosted the Summer Games in 2008.
blaming his longstanding injury. Now scientists from his hometown believe they have found a way to restore him to full health,
along with millions of other patients bearing muscle-related injuries. By transplanting the stem cells from the test tube back into the patient's body
large wounds require large numbers to be dragged over from healthy parts of the patient's body,
adding that no cure was available-until now. The professor said a similar method could be used to grow tendon stem cells to treat injuries like Liu's. She added that
although tests on mice showed that the test tube-generated cells were almost identical to the natural cells,
The team has contacted hospitals in China about conducting human trials but has struggled to find volunteers,
"Most people in China don't care about muscle injuries until they find they cannot walk,
#Microsoft's drones to catch mosquitoes and help stop epidemics WASHINGTON: Microsoft researchers are developing autonomous drones that collect mosquitoes to look for early signs that potentially harmful viruses are spreading,
with the goal of preventing disease outbreaks in humans. Project Premonition, launched by American tech company Microsoft,
is developing a system that aims to detect infectious disease outbreaks before they become widespread. Project Premonition could eventually allow health officials to get a jump start on preventing outbreaks of a disease like dengue fever
or avian flu before it occurs, whether or not it is a disease spread by mosquitoes,
researchers said. It will do that by relying on what Ethan Jackson the Microsoft researcher who is spearheading the project,
calls'nature's drones'-mosquitoes-to look for early signs that a particular illness could be on the move.
Until recently, the idea of culling through mosquitoes to try to find diseases that are known both
with the goal of preventing disease outbreaks in humans. Project Premonition, launched by American tech company Microsoft,
is developing a system that aims to detect infectious disease outbreaks before they become widespread. Project Premonition could eventually allow health officials to get a jump start on preventing outbreaks of a disease like dengue fever
or avian flu before it occurs, whether or not it is a disease spread by mosquitoes,
researchers said. It will do that by relying on what Ethan Jackson the Microsoft researcher who is spearheading the project,
calls'nature's drones'-mosquitoes-to look for early signs that a particular illness could be on the move.
Until recently, the idea of culling through mosquitoes to try to find diseases that are known both
#In a first, drug offers hope for children with dwarfism An experimental drug, vying to become the first approved treatment for dwarfism, improved growth in children by a significant amount in a preliminary study, the drug's developer,
Biomarin Pharmaceutical, said on Wednesday. In the study, the 10 children who got the highest dose of the drug grew at an average rate of 6. 1cm,
can also increase the growth rate for people with dwarfism to 6 centimetres per year but the effect wears off after one year.
or vosoritide, is aimed at treating achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism. The company says there may be 24
Women with achondroplasia typically grow to about four feet tall, and men a few inches taller.
The condition also causes disproportionate growth that can lead to complications like bowed legs, sleep apnea and spinal cord compression,
which can require surgery to correct. It is too soon to say if vosoritide can prevent any of those complications.
Some people with dwarfism say it is not a disease that needs treatment. But about 80%of children with achondroplasia are born to parents of normal stature,
and many parents want treatments for their children. One is a torturous surgery that lengthens the legs by breaking them h
#First electric plane gets wings in China BEIJING: The world's first electric passenger aircraft to gain an airworthiness certificate has been produced by China,
#This vaccine could help block HIV WASHINGTON: Scientists have designed a new experimental HIV vaccine that may stimulate the immune system to block infection from the deadly virus. New research led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI),
INTERNATIONAL AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and the Rockefeller University shows in mice that the vaccine candidate can stimulate the immune system activity necessary to stop HIV infection.
The findings could provide key information for the development of an effective AIDS vaccine, researchers said.
The research, published in the journals Cell and Science, represents a leap forward in the effort to develop a vaccine against HIV
which has struggled so far to elicit antibodies (immune system molecules) that can effectively fight off different strains of the virus."The results are said pretty spectacular
While many vaccines for other diseases use a dead or inactive version of the disease-causing microbe itself to trigger antibody production,
immunisations with"native"HIV proteins are ineffective in triggering an effective immune response, due to HIV's ability to evade detection from the immune system
This challenge has led researchers to believe that a successful AIDS vaccine will need a series of related
and block HIV infection. This suggested that eod-GT8 60mer could be a good candidate to serve as the first in a series of immunisations against HIV
"The vaccine appears to work well in our mouse model to'prime'the antibody response,
and heating to around fifty people living, for example, in a refugee camp or emergency hospital.
and heating to around fifty people living, for example, in a refugee camp or emergency hospital.
An important potential benefit that brainwave technology might offer is the ability to improve the accessibility of media content to people with disabilities.
For example, people affected by motor neurone disease or suffering locked-insyndrome may increasingly be able to use brain-computer interfaces to get a better experience of digital
#New breath test may detect pneumonia LONDON: A simple breath test can now detect if a critically ill patient is infected with pneumonia or not.
Chemically analysing breath specimens from patients in intensive care can reveal bacterial infection in the lower respiratory tract of ventilated patients at risk of developing pneumonia.
Though the study is at an initial stage, the results so far look promising and could potentially have a huge effect on clinical practice as healthcare associated infections are a major issue worldwide."
"Pneumonia can be treated with antibiotics but there are two major problems-it can be difficult to detect
and diagnose and because of that we tend to use potent broad spectrum antibiotics in anyone who shows symptoms of infection,
"said Paul Dark, one of the researchers and honorary consultant in intensive care medicine at Salford Royal.
Current methods of confirming the presence of infections involve laboratory tests of samples from deep in the lungs,
which is time consuming.""Now we know that it is feasible to capture and measure breath chemicals of patients on mechanical ventilators,
"said Stephen Fowler, clinical lecturer in the University of Manchester's Centre for Respiratory Medicine and Allergy.
#UK plans world's first artificial blood transfusions by 2017 LONDON: The world's first human trial of artificial blood grown in a lab from stem cells is set to take place in the UK by 2017.
The UK's NHS (National Health service) Blood and Transplant has announced that manufactured blood will be used in clinical trials with human volunteers within two years.
Research led by scientists at the University of Bristol and NHS Blood and Transplant, used stem cells from adult and umbilical cord blood to create a small volume of manufactured red blood cells.
and thalassemia who require treatment with regular transfusions and for whom it is difficult to find compatible donors.
This will involve a group of 20 volunteers who will receive a small volume transfusion of between five and ten millilitre of the lab-produced blood."
"said Dr Nick Watkins, NHS Blood and Transplant Assistant Director of research and Development.""We are confident that by 2017 our team will be ready to carry out the first early phase clinical trials in human volunteers,
"Research has laid the foundation for current transfusion and transplantation practices. Continued investment in research and development is critical to our role in saving and improving lives through blood and organ donation,"he added d
#ost sensitivetest to detect superbugs Researchers have developed the world's most sensitive test to quickly detect dangerous infectious diseases and deadly superbugs such as C difficile and MRSA.
In essence, the new method can pick up any compound that might signal the presence of infectious diseases,
researchers developed a molecular device made of DNA that can be switched'on'by a specific molecule of their choice-such as a certain type of disease indicator
"This invention will allow us to detect anything we might be interested in, bacterial contamination or perhaps a protein molecule that is a cancer marker.
"says Dr. Barbara Sherman, a clinical professor of behavioral medicine. Much of the technology comes off the shelf
"says Dr. Barbara Sherman, a clinical professor of behavioral medicine. Much of the technology comes off the shelf
#New discovery may generate ways to beat deadly malaria WASHINGTON DC: Scientists have identified new ways which help the malaria parasite survive in the blood stream of its victims,
and the finding could lead to new treatments for the disease. Medical Research Council's (MRC) Toxicology Unit researchers at the University of Leicester and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found a key protein,
called a protein kinase (Pfpkg), that plays a central role in various pathways and allow the parasite to survive in the blood.
Co-lead author of the study professor Andrew Tobin said that the understanding of malaria's survival in the blood stream was a real breakthrough
and could lead to cure that stops malaria in its tracks without causing toxic side-effects.
According to the World health organization malaria currently infects more than 200 million people worldwide and accounts for more than 500,000 deaths per year.
Malaria has been a problem in India for centuries. At present, official figures for malaria in India, available at NVBDCP
indicate 0. 7-1. 6 million confirmed cases and 400-1, 000 deaths annually. Professor Patrick Maxwell, chair of the MRC's Molecular and Cellular Medicine Board,
said tackling malaria was a global challenge, with the parasite continually working to find ways to survive our drug treatments.
This study opened the door on potential new treatments that could find and exploit the disease's weak spots but with limited side-effects for patients s
#New sensor chip to detect prostate cancer early Researchers have developed a smart sensor chip that can detect prostate cancer more accurately
and efficiently than current tests which rely heavily on antibodies. The sensor chip, able to pick up on subtle differences in glycoprotein molecules,
will help improve the process of early stage prostate cancer diagnosis, researchers said. Glycoprotein molecules play an essential role in our immune response, because of
which they are useful clinical biomarkers for detecting prostate cancer and other diseases. The team of chemical engineers and chemists at the University of Birmingham, created a sensor chip with synthetic receptors along a 2d surface to identify specific
so could feasibly be kept on the shelf of doctors'surgery anywhere in the world. It can also be recycled for multiple uses without losing accuracy,
The findings show how the rate of false readings that come with antibody based diagnosis can be reduced by the new technology that focuses on the carbohydrate part of the molecule.
the team wanted to identify the presence of disease by detecting a particular glycoprotein which has specific sugars in a specific location in the molecule."
#Sugar trail may lead to early cancer detection NEW DELHI: In a breakthrough that could lead to a new protocol for cancer detection and treatment,
scientists have identified a glucose delivery mechanism which helps cancer cells to survive and grow. The discovery can help in early detection of not only pancreatic and prostrate cancer but many others like cancer of the breast and colon.
Announcing the findings, scientists from the University of California, Los angeles (UCLA) also suggested the use of certain antidiabetic drugs to reduce the growth of tumours.
Experts and doctors say the findings can give a new protocol worldwide for cancer detection and treatment.
along with positron emission-tomography tomography (PET) that can enable early detection of these cancers cells. Experts say this is the first promising evidence that PET imaging techniques
and treat pancreatic and prostate cancers. The findings also provide strong evidence that certain type-2 diabetic drugs,
belonging to a new class known as SGLT2 inhibitors which are approved already by the US Food
and reduce tumour growth and increase survival among pancreatic and prostate cancer patients. Pancreatic cancer, estimated as the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the US behind only lung,
colon and breast cancers, is also increasing significantly in India. In most cases, the tumour is detected at a very late stage,
making it very difficult for doctors to remove it. Prostate cancer, though generally more treatable, is also witnessing a rapid increase in incidence in India as well as globally.
While globally it is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men in India, the incidence of prostate cancer among men has increased by over 220%between 1900 and 2013.
Researchers at UCLA will next begin a clinical study to further investigate the importance of sodium-dependent glucose transporters in glucose delivery.
They hope that these findings will lead to the potential use of the existing antidiabetic medicines to reduce the viability of pancreatic and prostate cancer cells
and improve the survival rate in patients i
#Why HIV progresses slowly in some people Even in the absence of HIV therapy, some HIV-infected people may not suffer from AIDS for many years due to enhanced cholesterol metabolism in certain immune cells,
which is inherited an trait, shows research. The findings may lead to potential development of new approaches to control HIV infection by regulating cellular cholesterol metabolism."
"We have known for two decades that some people do not have the dramatic loss in their T cells
and progression to AIDS that you would expect without drug therapy, "said lead author Giovanna Rappocciolo, assistant professor at University of Pittsburgh in the US.
T-cells are a type of white blood cells that play a very important role in human immunity by scanning for cellular infections."
"Instead, the disease progresses more slowly and we believe altered cholesterol metabolism in certain immune cells may be a reason,
"These results improve understanding of how nonprogressors control HIV without drug therapy and potentially may contribute to new approaches to manage HIV infection,"Rappocciolo added.
The findings were presented at the eighth INTERNATIONAL AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Vancouver, Canada a
#New laser device spells end for diabetic finger pricking LONDON: A new technology developed by an Indian-origin scientist,
and eliminate the need for daily finger pricking for diabetics. Currently, many people with diabetes need to measure their blood glucose levels by pricking their fingers,
squeezing drops of blood onto test strips, and processing the results with portable glucometers. The new technology, developed by Professor Gin Jose and a team in the Faculty of engineering at the University of Leeds,
This could help improve the lives of millions of people by enabling them to constantly monitor their glucose levels without the need for an implant."
this technology opens up the potential for people with diabetes to receive continuous readings, meaning they are alerted instantly
The results of a pilot clinical study, carried out at the Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine under the supervision of Professor Peter Grant,
and eliminate the need for daily finger pricking for diabetics. Currently, many people with diabetes need to measure their blood glucose levels by pricking their fingers,
squeezing drops of blood onto test strips, and processing the results with portable glucometers. The new technology, developed by Professor Gin Jose and a team in the Faculty of engineering at the University of Leeds,
This could help improve the lives of millions of people by enabling them to constantly monitor their glucose levels without the need for an implant."
this technology opens up the potential for people with diabetes to receive continuous readings, meaning they are alerted instantly
The results of a pilot clinical study, carried out at the Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine under the supervision of Professor Peter Grant,
Scientists at the premier Regional Medical Reference Centre (RMRC) at Port Blair have found that the bacterial species that causes leptospirosis is no longer socially aloof,
while posing a greater threat to public health. The study is the first to demonstrate how leptospira mutates to form a biofilm, an extra protective layer of microbial cells,
In July, leptospirosis came out of nowhere to kill 16 people in two weeks. The mutation study, published in a Federation of European Microbiological Studies journal in May, was a wake-up call for public health experts to find better ways to tame the bacteria.
The world over leptospirosis has emerged as a crucial zoonotic disease, with leptospira evolving and thriving in an array of mammal hosts
and routinely causing havoc by sneaking into humans.""The biofilms showed very high resistance to Penicillin g, ampicillin and tetracycline,
some of the leading antibiotics used to treat acute leptospirosis in humans and animals,"said Dr Paluru Vijayachari, director of the Port Blair institute."
raised a need to understand its role in epidemics better. Two rare sergroups of the bacteria, Tarassovi and Djasmin, were found responsible for the recent outbreak.
"Humans can literally catch infection in the blink of an eye. The infection can enter through membranes of the eyes, nose or mouth,
or through cuts and abrasions,"said Dr Jayanti Shastri, head of microbiology at BYL Nair Hospital.
She said its spread in humans could be controlled by treating or vaccinating animals.""Till that happens, early diagnosis
and prompt treatment is the key
#Vaccine success holds hope for end to deadly scourge of Ebola The world is for the first time on the verge of being able to protect humans against Ebola,
the World health organization (WHO) said on Friday, as data from a trial in Guinea showed a vaccine was 100 percent effective.
Initial results from the trial, which tested Merck and Newlink Genetics'VSV-ZEBOV vaccine on some 4, 000 people who had been in close contact with a confirmed Ebola case,
showed 100 percent protection after 10 days. The results were described as"remarkable"and"game changing"by global health specialists."
"We believe that the world is on the verge of an efficacious Ebola vaccine, "WHO vaccine expert Marie Paule Kieny told reporters in a briefing from Geneva.
The vaccine could now be used to help end the worst recorded outbreak of Ebola, which has killed more than 11,200 people in West Africa
since it began in December 2013. WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said the results, published online in the medical journal The Lancet,
were an"extremely promising development"."""This is going to be a game changer, "she told reporters.""It will change the management of the current Ebola outbreak and future outbreaks."
"This and other vaccine trials were tracked fast with enormous international effort as researchers raced to be able to test potential therapies
and vaccines while the virus was still circulating.""We knew it was a race against time
and that the trial had to be implemented under the most challenging circumstances, "says John-Arne Rottingen, head of infectious disease control at the Norwegian Institute of Public health and chair of the trial's steering group."
"Ring vaccination"The Guinea trial began on March 23 to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of a single dose of VSV-ZEBOV using a so-called"ring vaccination"strategy,
where close contacts of a person diagnosed with Ebola are immunised-either immediately, or at a later date.
As data began to emerge showing the very high protection rates in those vaccinated immediately,
however, researchers decided on July 26 that they would no longer use the"delayed"strategy, since it was becoming clear that making people wait involved unethical and unnecessary risk.
with all participants receiving the vaccine immediately, and will be extended to include 13-to 17-year-olds and possibly also 6-to 12-year-old children,
Jeremy Farrar, a leading infectious disease specialist and director of the Wellcome Trust, said the trial"dared to use a highly innovative and pragmatic design,
which allowed the team in Guinea to assess this vaccine in the middle of an epidemic"."""Our hope is that this vaccine will now help bring this epidemic to an end
and be available for the inevitable future Ebola epidemics, "his statement said. The medical charity Doctors without Borders (MSF),
which has led the fight against Ebola in West Africa, is now calling for VSV-ZEBOV to be rolled out to the other centres of the outbreak, Liberia and Sierra leone,
where it says it could break chains of transmission and protect front-line health workers. The success of the Guinea trial is a huge relief for researchers, many of
whom had feared that a sharp decline in cases this year would scupper hopes of proving that a vaccine could work.
as the only real hope for demonstrating the efficacy of a vaccine e
#China plans to enforce real names on Social media Chinese government has issued new regulations to eliminate fake social media accounts.
In the study published in The New england Journal of Medicine, researchers from Sweden employed a mobile phone app on a sample of 30,000 patients from Stockholm, Sweden.
The researchers found that the notification system brought about a 30 percent increase in the number of volunteers providing emergency CPR for victims of heart attack.
they said that the 30-day survival rate after heart attack, was 10 percent when onlookers provided CPR,
there was a 30 percent increase in CPR administration by onlookers before medical responders reached the spot.
but not part of the health care system formally, came forward. Later, another 4, 000 joined and these were usually volunteers within the distance of about one-third of a mile from the patient.
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