#Technology Detects Lingering Cancer cells During Breast Surgery Many patients undergoing lumpectomy surgery at NYU Langone Medical center for the removal of an early detected breast tumor the surgical option of choice for this diagnosis
--are benefitting from new intra-operative technology that detects microscopic amounts of cancer cells on removed tumor tissue not visible during or following surgical intervention.
thereby sparing them the anxiety and frustration of additional follow-up surgery, said Freya Schnabel, MD, Director of Breast Surgery at NYU Langone.
The study examined close to 600 patients who underwent lumpectomies for non-palpable breast malignancies. It concluded that the utilization of Marginprobe was as much as three times more effective in finding additional cancer on the margins of removed tumor tissue,
compared to more traditional intra-operative imaging and other assessment tools. e found that adjunctive use of the Marginprobe device in the operating room significantly improved surgeonsability to identify additional cancer cells on the margins of removed tumors,
Dr. Schnabel said. arginprobe detection of additional cancer cells along the margins of removed tissue indicates that additional tissue removal is warranted.
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer affecting women in the U s, . with over 285,000 new cases diagnosed each year.
It is estimated that between 60 to 75 percent of these patients opt for a lumpectomy the removal of the cancerous lesion,
They may not want to go out on their own and deal with the risk and stress of a startup,
The system can identify developing conditions that could lead to hypoxia or G-induced loss of consciousness (GLOC.
We discovered that hypoxia can develop in different conditions. In non-pressurized cockpits, for example, when flying helicopters over high mountain ranges, hypoxia can develop slowly over the course of an hour.
When caused by oxygen supply failures or human condition, blood oxygen levels can drop, from 90 to 60-70 percent.
whilst simultaneously providing drivers with a stress-free, elegant mode of transportation. Article provided in agreement with Bradley Taylor who is a guest contributor to Earthtechling
and Oklahoma infrastructure in some states is scarce. o avoid feelings of range anxiety common in owners of CNG-only vehicles we made the Impala bi-fuel allowing our customers to drive on CNG when available and on gasoline
#State Leadership In Financing A Greener Future While crippling paralysis has become standard operating procedure for Congress in the face of mounting climate and energy challenges,
causing the spread of disease. But western-style toilets require sewage lines and treatment plants that aren feasible in many places.
#Spotting inherited heart disease before it strikes CM affects one in 2500 adults, with an annual incidence of between 5%and 8%per 100 000, says INHERITANCE coordinator Professor Eloisa Arbustini of the Foundation IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo. t is one of the leading causes
of heart failure due to systolic dysfunction, being responsible for 10 000 deaths per year in Europe, and it is the most common indication for cardiac transplantation in adolescents and adults.
Early diagnosis and management of the disease is fundamental, but in spite of the fact that it is inherited in up to half of all cases,
That means several different genes may cause the disease. INHERITANCE researchers have worked to characterise different types of DCM,
and they undertook genetic studies to explore the molecular makeup behind the different mutations that cause the disease.
meaning researchers can identify family members at risk before they develop the disease. They have developed also ground-breaking,
and carries a high risk of ventricular arrhythmias, even in the early phases of the disease. nother major achievement of INHERITANCE has been to provide policy makers with a healthcare model that can be applied across the continent,
she says. Using this model to diagnose and care for families identified with genetic DCM allows doctors to provide tailored monitoring,
28th february 2014 Rare Diseases Day 2014 Project details Project acronym: INHERITANCE Participants: Italy (Coordinator), France, UK, Nederlands, Spain, Denmark, Germany, Sweden FP7 Proj.
#The telltale blood of schizophrenics It can take a long time for schizophrenia sufferers to receive the treatment they need partly
The EU-funded Schizdx project has developed the world first blood test for schizophrenia. This breakthrough dramatically reduces the time needed to confirm suspected cases
or split personalities involved in schizophrenia. It is a disorder where the various mental functions gradually break down,
Hallucinations and delusions are a hallmark of this condition, but they are just two of a multitude of potentially disabling symptoms.
Other psychotic disorders, notably bipolar disorder and depression, can have similar manifestations. There could also be physical causes.
People developing symptoms of schizophrenia don usually attribute their altered sense of reality to an illness.
The blood test could also help to detect the disease in the early stages, improving the chances of successful management.
and managed early do better in the long run. he fact that mental disorders have a physical component has been known for a long time,
People who have a mental disorder have a much higher rate of diabetes for example. They also have changes in their immune system.
The Schizdx team conducted extensive research into the traces that schizophrenia and similar psychotic disorders leave in the body.
The aim was twofold: the partners wanted to advance the understanding of these diseases in general,
so as to generate leads for the development of new drugs, and they also wanted to develop innovative diagnostic tools.
Multiple possibilities Other potential developments include upgrading the test to include bipolar disorder and depression. The aim would be to create a test that can cover the three disorders in one go not ustto establish
or doesn have schizophrenia, but to determine which, if any, of the three disorders the person does have.
It causes lung diseases like the malignant form of cancer called mesothelioma. Yet asbestos is still with us.
while the International labour organization (ILO) estimates that 100,000 workers worldwide die each year from all asbestos-related diseases.
#The artificial hand that'feels'like a real one As far as medical research has come towards treating illness and injury,
says Sebelius. Even beyond the physical disability that amputees suffer, many must also deal with depression, a distorted self-image,
#The gold standard for cancer treatment Humanity battle against cancer is an unceasing one, and in recent years, new technologies have improved steadily the odds of beating the disease.
According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the five-year survival rate for breast cancer in most member countries is now over 80%.
But doctors have discovered that they are not effective against all cancers; tumours tend to become resistant during lengthy treatment,
The team focused on two types of cancer: breast and prostate. Experiments on female mice bearing highly metastatic human breast cancer cells,
and Aud8, revealed a 53%reduction in cancer growth compared to the control treatment, within a month.
in order to undertake the experimental phase among terminally ill cancer patients. Project details Project acronym PERMIDAS Participants:
Brain injuries suffered in a car crash during a business trip in Dubai have left the 47-year-old unable to work.
The severity of his injuries only became apparent sometime after the accident. He would get regular blackouts.
So it is about learning news ways of living with new rules Is there a way for traumatic brain injury victims like Jouni get a second chance at a normal life?
Traumatic brain injuries, or TBIS, are difficult to treat. As every trauma is different, and because our brains control virtually all bodily functions it is often a challenge for neurologists to offer a clear diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation.
What kind of diseases has had the patient before? Are there any earlier injuries, and what kind of injuries?
What kind of drugs have been used for treatments? Also what does the medical imaging tell us or what does the blood biomarkers (blood samples) tell us The database allows neurologists to compare their patientscases with similar ones.
The project biomedical engineers combined algorithms and statistical models to enable analysts to accurately predict the outcome of planned treatments for individual patients. here is quite often missing data.
that has included even making a speech at a seminar on traumatic brain injuries. After some difficult months, he says he now looking to the future:
For example, the end-of-line production defect rate for the tiny catheters (flexible tubes) used for treating patients with cardiovascular disease is as high as 80%.
#Massive study closes in on cancers risk markers Cancer research has taken a huge leap forward with scientists now able to identify more than 80 genetic markers found to increase the risk of breast ovarian and prostate cancer.
for cancer in the prestigious scientific journal Nature Genetics. The research was led by scientists at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, the University of Cambridge and the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in the UK,
with support from more than 160 research groups worldwide. This international network brought together five global studies on 100 000 patients with breast, ovarian or prostate cancer.
Another 100 000 healthy volunteers comprised a control group. Scientists took DNA from all 200 000 subjects
and compared those with cancer, and those without, to assess each individual's inherited risk.
Overall, the study found that common genetic variation links all these cancers. This can be described as a genetic'spelling mistake'
Each alteration was seen to raise the risk of ovarian, breast or prostate cancer by a small amount,
although a small minority of men with several markers saw their risk of prostate cancer increase more than fourfold.
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men worldwide, contributing to 14%of all new cancer cases.
It is predicted that the number of cases will almost double to a figure of 1. 7 million by 2030.
In addition, the test also identified those with a smaller than average risk of developing the cancers.
and take us a step closer to having an effective prostate cancer screening programme.''With this new information, researchers now have a clearer picture of the total number of genetic changes that can explain the risk of getting these cancers.
The next step is to calculate the individual cancer risk, which will help to better understand how these cancers start
and grow so that new treatments can be developed. It is possible this could lead to a DNA screening test within five years.
COGS coordinator Professor Per Hall from the Karolinska Institutet says:''COGS is the largest genotyping project in the world targeting identification of genetic changes that influence the risk of common cancers.
The collaborative efforts have been tremendous and the key to its success.'Other financial contributors to the COGS project are the Märit and Hans Rausing Initiative against Breast cancer, the Swedish Research Council, Cancer Research UK and the Cancer Risk Prediction
Center (CRISP). Project details Project acronym: COGS Participants: Sweden (Coordinator), Germany, United kingdom, Australia, Netherlands, Spain, Denmark, France, Finland, Belgium Project FP7 223175 Total costs:#
can be particularly susceptible to cracks from thermal fatigue and stress corrosion. Most inspections are carried out with conventional ultrasonic testing that requires frequent changes of the probes in a high radiation environment,
#Developing new weapons in the fight against cancer Cancer causes some 13%of deaths worldwide.
Of these deaths some 90%are caused not by the original cancer but by its spread to other parts of the body.
These secondary cancers known as metastases are caused most often by'circulating tumour cells'(CTCS) which escape from the primary tumour and travel around the body in the bloodstream.
the greatly improved quantity and quality of information that can be gathered about the cells opens up the possibility of more complex diagnosis and treatment of cancers.
With cancers often behaving differently in different patients, and displaying different characteristics, the technology developed by CAMINEMS should allow clinicians to move closer to the ideal of personalised medical diagnosis and treatment.
The more advanced a cancer is, the more difficult it is to treat. The new CAMINEMS technology could help detect sooner
if a cancer is developing resistance to a treatment, and thus save precious months or years in switching to a new,
Unfortunately, when it comes to disease, complex diseases are also the most common ones. Over-forested and degraded land is threatening the country's wealth of biodiversity.
Agricultural lands for olive orchards and other crops are being damaged. Unregulated quarrying has deteriorated coastal mountain ecosystems and soil quality.
#Sweetening the bitter pill of cancer treatment Despite a massive research effort, cancer is still a major killer in Europe.
the Cyclon project is developing biocompatible sugar-based drug-delivery systems that could lead to a breakthrough in the fight against various cancers.
and are gaining valuable knowledge in many aspects of drug delivery for cancer treatment development,
#Nanotechnology to fight hospital superbugs Each year, twice as many people die in Europe from hospital acquired infections than from road accidents.
These infectious diseases have developed antibiotic resistance and spread despite the best efforts of staff, mainly through textiles like bed linen.
But, even in the journey from laundry to the hospital, there are all sorts of opportunities for new infections.
6. 6%of all patients catch a hospital acquired infection (HAI; France now reports 750,000 HAI cases a year,
and not spread the infections, says Nanobond project coordinator Patrice Vandendaele, from Belgium-based Devan Chemicals,
and island communities around the Mediterranean are affected by water-stress problems. According to the European environment agency (EEA), 16 to 44 million additional people will suffer water scarcity in Southern Europe by 2070.
and cancer detection A multidisciplinary EU-funded research team has tested successfully a pioneering HIV-detection technique that is ten times more sensitive than any identification method used to date.
has achieved also positive results in similar early detection tests for different types of cancer. The EU-funded MIMIC project is currently working towards a breakthrough in cancer diagnostics
which is based on an ultra-sensitive detection system that is able to pick up minute concentrations of disease-related molecules in body fluids.
The method it uses draws on the body's natural processes of biomineralisation the production of minerals.
A similar diagnostic approach to that being used in MIMIC's cancer research has already proven effective in detecting HIV/AIDS.
This HIV breakthrough is a triumph for the diagnostic approach MIMIC first developed for cancer detection,
these sensors could then clearly identify the disease'biomarkers'the telltale signs of diseased cells.
the stronger the signal and the better the ability to'sense'it the greater the chances of detecting disease.
while MIMIC's work does not improve cancer treatment per se, it can improve its diagnosis
."Since it can detect cancer-related molecules at ultra-low concentrations, it might be possible to detect the tumour at a very early stage before it spreads
The scientist reveals that the process has shown already potential in detecting cancer reoccurrence in prostate cancer patients."
"Patients who have undergone total prostatectomy may benefit from ultra-sensitive systems that can detect the prostate-specific cancer biomarkers at much lower concentrations
and would enable much earlier diagnosis of the disease. Writing in Nature Nanotechnology, Dr de la Rica and Professor Stevens also state that affordable methods for detecting disease biomarkers at ultra-low concentrations can potentially improve the standard of living in countries lacking costly
medical resources. Current strategies for ultra-sensitive detection often require sophisticated instruments that may not be available in laboratories with fewer resources
and ground-breaking nature of their work in both cancer and HIV could provide a valuable boost to the competitiveness of the EU in the fields of health care and nanotechnology e
After supporting the development of informatics at Avantium he moved to Novartis in Switzerland to expand the company's expertise and now works with the Institute of Cancer Research in London.
and more effective route to the creation of vaccines to combat some of the most devastating diseases affecting farm livestock.
the PLAPROVA consortium focused on the use of plants proteins to produce vaccines against diseases such as avian flu, bluetongue, foot and mouth disease,
and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome. Plants have been used to produce pharmaceuticals in the past, but the crucial element at the heart of the three-year PLAPROVA project was a technique for doing this much more quickly than previously possible an advance
usually in a matter of months from the time the strain of disease is first indentified.
which cells ommunicate Human immune systems often recognise pathogens by the sugar structures on their surface.
This is now being tested for its ability to protect plants from disease -and it is possible it will also be able to influence wound healing in human tissue.
#Promising future for tiny epilepsy defibrillator Antal Berényi combined a boyhood passion for electronics and years of medical training to build a device that,
and stop epileptic attacks just as a defibrillator corrects heart arrhythmia. Like its inventor, the prototype device,
which is being readied for trials in the US, has all the makings of a big future. fotolia. com Antal Berényi left Szeged University in Hungary for the United states with a plan.
and stop epileptic attacks without drugs and without major brain surgery. To the 50 million people worldwide who suffer from epileptic seizures a chronic neurobiological disorder this simple plan could transform their lives.
Working with the renowned scientist Dr György Buzsáki of CMBN Rutgers, State university of New jersey (US), he not only built the prototype device,
when an epileptic seizure is coming and applies tiny, on-demand electric pulses which help the brain return to normal functioning.
would mean less invasive and more cost-effective procedures, lower risks of infection and improved overall outcomes,
especially for the 30%of epileptics who cannot be treated with drugs. The fact that the device can be implanted in a minimally invasive way is"crucial"
This can dramatically reduce complications (infections, intracerebral bleeding, etc. because the brain tissue is exposed not directly to any manipulation,
and the project's work has gained wider attention following the November publication in Science magazine of the team's findings on'Closed-loop control of epilepsy by trans-cranial electrical stimulation'.
#Expanding insight into Alzheimer's disease Chronic neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's, are all characterised by an inflammatory reaction within the brain.
The fellow, Diego Gómez-Nicola, from the CNS Inflammation group at the University of Southampton in the United kingdom, examined how a specific cell protein receptor called CSF1R controls the spread and inflammation in neurodegenerative diseases.
As part of the European union (EU)- funded Marie Curie project called PRONEURODEG, Gómez-Nicola discovered that a laboratory drug targeting the identified protein could help effectively combat the disease.
I was able to delay the symptoms of the disease and also prevent the loss of neurons,
which slowed the onset of the clinical and pathological course of prion disease, and extended the survival rate,
He found that some activity during the disease compensated for cell death at the hippocampus,
says the research looked at an aspect that all neurodegenerative diseases have in common: the activation of immune cells and their increase in number.
The researchers know that infections elsewhere in the body communicate with the brain, and that is why we feel ill.
For drivers, SARTRE can reduce their stress and increase their comfort. It combines the advantages of public transportation,
#EPICENTROMERE#Unlocking the secrets of cell behaviour Understanding how our cells behave strengthens our ability to tackle genetic diseases and cancer.
Fotolia, 2012 Drinking water with high arsenic levels leads to skin diseases and disorders in blood vessels. It gradually evolves into cancers that can attack the bladder,
lungs and kidneys and induce diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Partial solutions exist for the filtering out of arsenic
but two types of arsenic are found in drinking water. One type of arsenic (As V) is removed easily,
and saves lives Fotolia 2012while human lives and health are the mostimportant concern counterfeiting is a problemthat plagues other industries too.
#ACTINOGEN#Uncovering a hidden source of new antibiotics In recent years, the emergence of multiple-drug-resistant bacteria has created a major health threat, for example through hospital-acquired infections from drug
-resistant'superbugs'such as MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and the rapidly emerging multi-drug resistant Gram negative hospital infections.
It has allowed also the resurgence of'old'diseases that we thought were things of the past,
such as new strains of tuberculosis against which existing drugs are powerless. It was to meet the unaddressed need for new antibiotics that the ACTINOGEN research project began in 2005
#PHARMA-PLANTA#Harnessing plant biotechnology to revolutionise pharmaceutical production The hope is that the drug will prove effective in preventing HIV infection.
the decision opened the way for trials of other plant-derived medicines to treat a range of diseases.
Meanwhile, other diseases for which it is envisaged that GM plants could provide new drugs include cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and others which,
Neurosurgeon Francesco Cardinale is a specialist in epilepsy surgery. He helped the robot engineers at Politecnico di Milano understand what doctors really need.
rug-resistant epilepsy, Parkinsons and other motor skill problems like for example dystonia, chronic pain and all types of brain cancer, said Cardinale.
The robot, developed within the EU Robocast project, is a year away from surgical trials.
#Playing for health Consider the following health problems, related by three different people:""Every day I said to myself:'
"Under study in Barcelona is the complex disease, Binge Eating Disorder, which leads to a total loss of control when eating.
which are not-to states of mind like sadness or anxiety"."In The netherlands, physical ailments are also benefiting form this novel approach.
so we thought they can provide effective complimentary therapies in different diseases. This videogame is like a bonding factor between patients and their therapists and doctors."
"Indeed, the videogame identifies boredom, excitement or anxiety in patients-and their cognitive responses-with the help of emotion recognition technologies and biosensors.
"explains Stephanie Jansen-Kosterink So how long will it be before you can get a videogame prescription for certain mental disorders or physical rehabilitation?
The Consortium has developed the core e-Infrastructure (neugrid) required to develop disease markers on extra large brain imaging datasets.
Core grid-based applications have been integrated of acknowledged utility for early diagnosis and disease marker development.
The DECIDE consortium has implemented onto neugrid a popular tool for the detection of a diagnostic marker for Alzheimer's disease based on PET imaging (gridspm.
Early diagnosis and disease markers to test drugs quickly and efficiently are critical success factors.
Extra large brain imaging datasets are lately available that will allow to develop disease markers. The community of imaging scientists working on Alzheimer's disease need new powerful environments to perform experiments on such datasets.
Who is involved? Four academic partners leaders in imaging neuroscience and based in Brescia (IT), Amsterdam (NL), Stockholm (SW),
and Genève (CH), representing the community working in the fields of Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases,
inflammatory diseases including multiple sclerosis, and psychiatric diseases including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Four technical partners based in Archamps (FR), Paris (FR), Bristol (UK),
and Sophia-Antipolis (FR), leaders in the field of biomedical image processing and grid computing for biomedical applications.
The neugrid e-infrastructure is so far the first and only European effort aiming to offer a distributed working environment to computational neuroscientists. neugrid has been developed for the front runner community of neuroscientists working in the field of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases (i e.
The technology could also be applied to medicine, for example, to continuously monitor diabetics or cystic fibrosis sufferers.
after he was victim to several heart attacks. He will now receive a defibrillator implant, which should regulate his heart rate.
north of London, is being used for sufferers of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes or obesity. The device, worn on the waist, can take measurements 24 hours a day,
A new generation of implant will greatly improve the quality of life from many deaf people allowing them to converse in louder conditions.
The technical advances from the Healthy Aims project allows one to envision a future without deafness,
#The eaves of death for malaria mosquitoes EU-funded researchers have developed three new tools to kill malaria-carrying mosquitoes.
They are now working to bring their low-cost innovations to market quickly a boost to the global battle against this deadly disease.
Over the past two decades global efforts to prevent malaria and treat its victims have contributed to reduce infection dramatically
and save millions of lives. Even so, each year around 200 million people catch malaria, and 600 000 die from the disease, mostly children and women in Africa, according to the World health organization.
Prevention through insecticide-treated bednets and indoor sprays, is one of the best ways to win the battle.
But mosquitoes are becoming resistant to insecticides potentially reversing the gains made so far. In response, the EU-funded MCD project has developed three new weapons against them a special coating that transfers insecticides effectively to mosquitoes landing on it,
The netherlands-based research company specialises in developing products to control disease-transmitting insects. have been working in the field of malaria research for the past 22 years,
and bricks on up to 7 000 houses one that would yield solid scientific evidence that these tools can be deployed broadly to reduce the burden of malaria.
Overtext Web Module V3.0 Alpha
Copyright Semantic-Knowledge, 1994-2011