1. Medicine

Category Archives: Medicine

Penn Medicine Researchers Pin Down the Genetics of Going Under

Posted on by

Newswise PHILADELPHIA - Falling asleep in your bed at night and being put to sleep under general anesthesia as well as waking up in the morning or coming out of anesthesia arent quite the same thing, yet they share some important similarities. Max Kelz, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, along with colleagues from Penn, UCSD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Thomas Jefferson University, explored the distinctions between anesthetic unconsciousness and sleep by manipulating the genetic pathways known to be involved in natural sleep and studying the resulting effects on anesthetic states. Their work will be published in PLOS Genetics.

Previous research by Kelzs team pointed to a neurological barrier, called neural inertia, that separates awareness from anesthetic unconsciousness and resists the transition from one state to the other. They also found that the processes by which the brain enters anesthesia and then later reemerges into consciousness are actually quite different -- one isnt simply the reverse of the other. With this knowledge in hand, Kelz and his colleagues used a Drosophila model system to focus on the genetic pathways controlling neural inertia. In this new study we sought to understand whether anesthetics were working on some of the natural systems that regulate normal sleep and wakefulness, says Kelz.

They found that four genes involved in natural sleep, Sh (Shaker), sss (sleepless), na, and unc79, also control neural inertia and thus the effects of induction and emergence of anesthetic unconsciousness. Various mutations in these four genes profoundly affect neural inertia and can even collapse it completely. For example, says Kelz, Mutations in the sleepless gene can cause some resistance to entering an anesthetic state, and an even larger impact on the exit from the anesthetic state. Flies with the sleepless mutation pop out of the anesthetic state at doses at which their normal siblings are still entering. When we moved sleepless around to different parts of the fly brain to figure out the circuits in which the gene works to alter wakefulness or the propensity to enter an anesthetic state, we found that we could completely dissociate the forward process of entering an anesthetic state from the reverse process of exiting.

This latest work confirms the existence of neural inertia as a state that naturally resists a change in the brains consciousness, similar to a phenomenon studied by sleep scientists. Sleep inertia is a phenomenon in which it can take minutes to hours before full cognitive power returns to us when we are abruptly awakened from natural sleep, Kelz explains. We modeled the idea [neural inertia] off the natural process of sleep inertia. Not much is known mechanistically about sleep inertia or why that happens, but here we see the anesthetics as a model potentially for helping to understand sleep inertia.

Aside from distinct differences between induction of and emergence from anesthesia, the work shows that the neural pathways involved can vary with different anesthetic drugs. The present study was largely conducted using isofluorane, a common general anesthetic, but there seem to be many neurological roads to anesthetically-induced unconsciousness, not all of which involve the same genes. The experimenters found that with a different drug, halothane, their Drosophila subjects reacted quite differently.

While Id like to say that theres one general set of neurons upon which anesthetic drugs work, its very clear that its not that simple, Kelz says. Individual anesthetic agents probably have distinct molecular targets and have differential effects on some of the underlying circuits that help maintain wakefulness. When we looked at halothane, we found is that the story of these four genes [Sh, sss, na, and unc79] doesnt explain halothanes action. So were really just scratching the surface in understanding a single anesthetic, isofluorane. Theres undoubtedly much more going on before we can start to speak about any anesthetic or a generic anesthetic.

Trying to identify just how well the analogy of sleep as a metaphor for anesthesia holds is important not just from a scientific standpoint, but also from a therapeutic one. There are some downsides to using existing anesthetic drugs, Kelz points out. If we understood the good features of the anesthetics, the ways in which they cause a loss of consciousness, and if we could replicate the desirable effects by specifically tuning the brains natural systems that regulate arousal, we might be able to avoid some of the undesirable actions of the anesthetic.

Such understanding could also benefit coma patients and those suffering from sleep disorders. We might be able to come up with strategies for helping to extract patients from vegetative states, or come up with some novel therapies or ideas to treat many of the issues that plague sleep medicine, Kelz says.

Other Penn authors include Eliot B. Friedman, MD, Hsiao-Tung Hung, Mallory Sowcik, and Amita Sehgal, PhD.

The study was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health (R01 GM088156, R01 NS072431), the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the University of Pennsylvania's Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, the Whitehall Foundation, the Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program from the R.W. Johnson Foundation, and the Perelman School of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care.

The rest is here:

Penn Medicine Researchers Pin Down the Genetics of Going Under

WIN Consortium Receives 3 Million Euro EU FP7 Grant to Conduct WINTHER, WIN’s First Cancer Personalized Medicine …

Posted on by

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The WIN Consortium (www.winconsortium.org) in personalized cancer medicine today announced it has received an European Union Framework Program 7 (EU FP7) grant of 3 million Euros to conduct WINTHER (WINTherapeutics), WINs first personalized medicine clinical trial. Based on a systems biology concept, WINTHER is the first clinical trial offering a choice of therapy guided by each patients biology for all the patients in the study.

The EU Health Directorate awarded the grant for WINTHER for its scientific merit and trial design said Dr. Vladimir Lazar, Founder and Chief Operating Officer of WIN Consortium. Significant additional funding for WINTHER has been committed by Pfizer Novartis, and Millennium.

WINTHER represents a breakthrough concept compared to current oncology practice, which at best offers personalized, biology-guided therapy to the 30-40% of patients who harbor known tumor DNA aberrations, and for whom targeted therapy is available. WINTHERs novel approach comprehensively investigates DNA, and RNA from dual biopsies of tumor and matched normal tissue of the same histology for each patient. This data is examined by an algorithm-driven bioinformatics tool to provide a predictive efficacy score for all existing drugs for each individual patient.

WINTHER Global PI Jean-Charles Soria stated, In WINTHER, for all patients without known oncogenic events of the tumor DNA (representing about 60% of the population), the choice of therapy will be guided by analyses of RNA of the tumor versus RNA of the normal matched tissue. The results of DNA and RNA analyses will be investigated by a bioinformatics program capable of determining a predictive score of efficacy for existing anticancer therapies (standard or targeted, expensive or not) for a given patient.

WINTHER is an academic and international study conducted at six WIN Consortium member cancer centers, representing five countries: Institut Gustave Roussy (France); Vall dHebron (Spain); Chaim Sheba Medical Center (Israel); Segal Cancer Center (Canada); UCSD Cancer Center (USA); and MD Anderson Cancer Center (USA). WINTHER technology partners and bioinformatics include Agilent Technologies, Foundation Medicine, Ariana Pharma and Ben Gurion University. Patient enrollment is underway in three countries, with study completion scheduled for 2015.

The WINTHER trial demonstrates the WIN Consortiums goal of catalyzing global, multi-sector collaboration to advance the most promising innovations in personalized cancer medicine said Catherine Bresson, Director of Operational Team. Initiated in 2010 with leadership from Institute Gustave Roussy (France) and MD Anderson Cancer Center (USA), WIN represents a global collaboration of leading academic, industry, and non-profit organizations. WIN is a non-profit, non-governmental organization headquartered in Paris.

Read more from the original source:

WIN Consortium Receives 3 Million Euro EU FP7 Grant to Conduct WINTHER, WIN’s First Cancer Personalized Medicine ...

Medicine shortage being felt across the country

Posted on by

Retail representatives from States to discuss situation in Mumbai today

Hyderabad/Chennai/Mumbai, Sept. 3:

Shubas father-in-law had carried only a limited stock of his asthma medicine when he travelled from Payyanur (Kerala) to Mumbai to spend time with his children. After all, the medicine could be bought at pharmacies anywhere in the country.

But that was not to be, as the family found out when he exhausted his stock. The medicine was not available with chemists in Mumbai, Payyanur or Chennai and Shuba had to call the doctor in Kerala to get an alternative to this asthma medicine.

Supplies of some medicines are falling short across the country, as companies are in the process of withdrawing stocks with the old prices and replacing them with new batches bearing the revised price. This exercise follows the Governments new drug pricing policy that aims to make medicines more affordable.

But Sanjay, a Hyderabad-based chemist, anticipates medicine shortages. The (Government) order mandates us to sell the drugs at a reduced price. The new packs with changed MRPs are yet to come, while the distributors may not be willing to push the stock (with old rates) on hand," he points out.

P. Elango, General-Secretary of Tamil Nadu Pharmaceutical Distributors Association (TNPDA), says the shortfall in the State pertains only to a few premium brands.

Some companies had gone to Court on the issue and were given some interim relief, provided they gave their list of revised medicine prices to the chemists. But G. Somaskandan, TNPDA General-Secretary (Chennai), says many manufacturers have failed to send the price lists along with the repackaged stocks.

NPPA chief C.P. Singh, however, said there were no reports of shortages from across the country. Officials with the Food and Drug Administration in Maharashtra and Gujarat point out that low-priced alternatives are available in the market, as only high-priced drugs listed as essential needed a revision.

Trade margins are a concern, as the DPCO (Drug Price Control Order) 2013 reduces the margins for retailers and wholesalers, said J.S. Shinde, who heads the All India Chemists and Druggist Association. The earlier margins were 20 per cent to the retailer and 10 per cent to the wholesaler, which comes down to 16 per cent and eight per cent, respectively.

Go here to see the original:

Medicine shortage being felt across the country

Entire Staff of Doctors From Midwest Maternal-Fetal Medicine Named to 2013 Best Doctors List

Posted on by

ST. LOUIS, MO--(Marketwired - Sep 4, 2013) - The entire staff of doctors from Midwest Maternal-Fetal Medicine (MFM), a St. Louis-based group of obstetricians who specialize in treating high-risk pregnancies, was named to the 2013 Best Doctors List released in August. Midwest MFM is the only maternal-fetal medicine practice in St. Louis to have all doctors named to the list.

The doctors from Midwest MFM who were selected for the Best Doctors List include Dr. Gilbert Webb, Dr. Sue Moore, Dr. James A. Bartelsmeyer, Dr. Bruce Morris, Dr. Carolyn Martin, and Dr. William Ott. Midwest MFM's Medical Director, Dr. Gilbert Webb, was named to the Best Doctors List for the sixth year in a row. Other doctors from the practice also made the list for multiple consecutive years.

"At Midwest Maternal-Fetal Medicine, we are dedicated to quality and specialized care for our patients. It's that focus that guides everything we do," said Dr. Gilbert Webb. "We are proud to be recognized among our peers."

The St. Louis Best Doctors list is determined by The Best Doctors in America 2013 database, which includes more than 45,000 doctors in over 40 medical specialties and 400 subspecialties. The list is determined by using the highest industry standards for survey methodology and processes, according to the organization.

About Midwest Maternal-Fetal MedicineMidwest Maternal-Fetal Medicine (MFM) is a group of specialists, sometimes called perinatologists or high-risk obstetricians, with training in obstetrics and gynecology, and have taken their education a step further to gain an in-depth understanding of pregnancy complications and treatments through years of additional training and board certifications. Midwest MFM specialists work in collaboration with obstetricians to provide care for high-risk pregnant women.

Read more:

Entire Staff of Doctors From Midwest Maternal-Fetal Medicine Named to 2013 Best Doctors List

Using medicine balls to burn fat and build muscle

Posted on by

Aaron and Blair working out with medicine balls

(MERCY HEALTH PARTNERS) - Medicine balls are a great change of pace from the normal weight training workout. The variety they add can take your exercise program to the next level when you are trying to burn fat or strengthen muscle. These weighted balls are excellent at working muscles that often get ignored in typical weight training programs. So every often drop the weights and pick up a medicine ball. Here are a few of my favorite exercises.

Big Circles - Stand with your feet shoulder width apart with a slight bend in the knees. Hold a medicine ball over your head, elbows slightly bent. Rotate your arms clockwise, using the medicine ball to draw large circles in front of your body, returning to the starting position over your head. Engage your core throughout the entire exercise.

Wood Chop - Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart. With slight bend in the elbows stand with the medicine ball above your head. Bend at the waist and bring the medicine ball backward through your legs (like you are going to throw the ball through your legs, but hold onto the ball the entire time). Quickly reverse the movement with explosive energy, returning to the staring position.

Squat Press - Stand holding the medicine ball close to your chest, feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Push your hips back, bend your knees, and lower your body until the top of your thighs are parallel to the floor. Explode up as you press the ball up over your over your head. Return the ball back to your chest.

Standing Twist - Hold a medicine ball with both hands in front of your chest and your arms straight. Keeping your arms extended, pivot on your right foot and rotate the ball and your torso as far as you can to the left. Reverse direction, pivoting on your left foot and rotate all the way to the right side. Return to the starting position to complete one rep.

Seated Twist - Sit on the floor with legs straight. Hold a medicine ball with both hands just above your lap. Engage your abdominal muscles and twist your torso to the right and place the ball behind you tapping on the floor. Contract the abdominal muscles and twist all the way to your left side, placing the ball behind you. Return to the starting position with the ball in front, completing one rep.

Perform this routine for 10 to 20 reps of each exercise as a stand-alone workout or at the end of your workout.

View original post here:

Using medicine balls to burn fat and build muscle

Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals Continues Efforts to Fight Medicine Abuse with The Partnership® at Drugfree.org

Posted on by

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Mallinckrodt (MNK) announced today that it will continue its collaboration with The Partnership at Drugfree.org for a second year in support of The Medicine Abuse Project. The campaign brings together families, communities, industry, health care professionals, educators, law enforcement and government officials to help save lives by preventing teen medicine abuse. Mallinckrodt is renewing its support as a Gold Sponsor, extending the Companys strong commitment to fighting abuse, diversion, and misuse of powerful pain medications.

Mallinckrodt is dedicated to providing safe and effective medications for the treatment of patients with pain, and equally committed to collaborating with organizations like The Partnership at Drugfree.org to curb diversion, misuse, and abuse, said Mark Trudeau, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals. Support of The Medicine Abuse Project is one example of our broad engagement to prevent medicine abuse and ensure access only to the patients who need treatment. We think this project has been especially effective, given the range of stakeholders involved from public health officials to community groups to law enforcement since collaboration is critical to addressing this vital issue.

Medicine abuse is one of the most significant and preventable adolescent health problems facing our families today, said Steve Pasierb, President and CEO of The Partnership at Drugfree.org. The Partnership is grateful for socially responsible companies like Mallinckrodt whose support has helped us launch The Medicine Abuse Project and mobilize both parents and the public to learn about the problem, talk with their kids about the dangers of misuse and abuse of prescription drugs, and properly monitor, safeguard, and dispose of excess prescription drugs in their homes.

A recent study by The Partnership for Drugfree.org found that one in four teens in the U.S. (24 percent) misused or abused a prescription drug at least once in their lifetime, a 33 percent increase since 2008. The Medicine Abuse Project aims to reverse that trend by empowering parents to educate their children on the risks of abusing medicine, as well as safeguarding and properly disposing of unused medications.

The Projects overarching goal by 2017 is to prevent half a million teens from abusing medicine. Phase I of the campaign, launched in September 2012, began raising awareness of the issue by asking stakeholders to take aPledge against medicine abuse. To date, more than 7,200 people have taken the Pledge. Through media and digital engagement, advocacy, and community outreach efforts, such as National Drug Take-Back Day, the campaign has reached millions of Americans in an effort to achieve its goal. For more information, visit drugfree.org/MedicineAbuseProject.

ABOUT MALLINCKRODT

Mallinckrodt is a leading global specialty pharmaceuticals business that develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes specialty pharmaceutical products and medical imaging agents.The Companys Specialty Pharmaceuticals segment includes branded and generic drugs, and the Global Medical Imaging segment includes contrast media and nuclear imaging agents. Mallinckrodt has approximately 5,500 employees worldwide with direct sales in roughly 50 countries and distribution in approximately 40 countries. The Companys 2012 revenue totaled $2.1 billion. To learn more about Mallinckrodt, visit http://www.mallinckrodt.com.

Visit link:

Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals Continues Efforts to Fight Medicine Abuse with The Partnership® at Drugfree.org


  1. Medicine