Category Archives: Nano Medicine

NEW YORK -- Researchers are reporting the first treatment to speed recovery from severe brain injuries caused by falls and car crashes: a cheap flu medicine whose side benefits were discovered by accident decades ago.

Severely injured patients who were given amantadine got better faster than those who received a dummy medicine. After four weeks, more people in the flu drug group could give reliable yes-and-no answers, follow commands or use a spoon or hairbrush -- things that few of them could do at the start. Far fewer patients who got amantadine remained in a vegetative state, 17 percent versus 32 percent.

"This drug moved the needle in terms of speeding patient recovery, and that's not been shown before," said neuropsychologist Joseph Giacino of Boston's Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, co-leader of the study. He added: "It really does provide hope for a population that is viewed in many places as hopeless."

Many doctors began using amantadine for brain injuries years ago, but until now there's never been a big study to show that it works. The results of the federally funded study appear in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

Each year, an estimated 1.7 million Americans suffer a traumatic brain injury. About three-quarters are concussions or other mild forms that heal over time. But about 52,000 people with brain injuries die each year and 275,000 are hospitalized, many with persistent, debilitating injuries, according to government figures.

Amantadine, an inexpensive generic, was approved for the flu in the mid-1960s.

The study was done in the U.S., Denmark and Germany and involved 184 severely disabled patients, about 36 years old on average. About a third were in a vegetative state, meaning unconscious but with periods of wakefulness. The rest were minimally conscious, showing some signs of awareness. They were treated one to four months after getting injured, a period when a lot of patients get better on their own, Giacino noted.

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Flu drug speeds up brain recovery

By STEPHANIE NANO Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) - Researchers are reporting the first treatment to speed recovery from severe brain injuries caused by falls and car crashes: a cheap flu medicine whose side benefits were discovered by accident decades ago.

Severely injured patients who were given amantadine got better faster than those who received a dummy medicine. After four weeks, more people in the flu drug group could give reliable yes & no answers, follow commands or use a spoon or hairbrush - things that few of them could do at the start. Far fewer patients who got amantadine remained in a vegetative state, 17% versus 32%.

"This drug moved the needle in terms of speeding patient recovery, and that's not been shown before," said neuropsychologist Joseph Giacino of Boston's Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, co-leader of the study. He added: "It really does provide hope for a population that is viewed in many places as hopeless."

Many doctors began using amantadine for brain injuries years ago, but until now there's never been a big study to show that it works. The results of the federally funded study appear in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

A neurologist who wasn't involved in the research called it an important step. But many questions remain, including whether people less severely injured would benefit, and whether amantadine actually improves patients' long-term outcome or just speeds up their recovery.

Each year, an estimated 1.7 million Americans suffer a traumatic brain injury. Falls, car crashes, colliding with or getting hit by an object, and assaults are the leading causes. About three-quarters are concussions or other mild forms that heal over time. But about 52,000 people with brain injuries die each year and 275,000 are hospitalized, many with persistent, debilitating injuries, according to government figures.

With no proven remedies to rely on, doctors have used a variety of medicines approved for other ailments in the hopes that they would help brain injury patients. Those decisions are based on "hunches and logic rather than data," said Dr. John Whyte, of the Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute in suburban Philadelphia. He led the study along with Giacino.

Amantadine (uh-MAN'-tah-deen), an inexpensive generic, was approved for the flu in the mid-1960s. The first inkling that it might have other uses came a few years later when it appeared to improve Parkinson's symptoms in nursing home patients who got it. It was found to have an effect on the brain's dopamine system, whose many functions include movement and alertness, and it was later approved for Parkinson's.

It's now commonly used for brain injuries, and the researchers felt it was important to find out "whether we're treating patients with a useful drug, a harmful drug or a useless drug," Whyte said.

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Study: Old flu drug speeds brain injury recovery

14-02-2012 06:19 A new microrocket is fueled by acid, creating hydrogen bubbles that propel it forward.

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Motion in Acid - Video

Your office is now under siege from the flu.

One worker down. Then, bang, your buddy in the next cubicle.

How can you combat the seasonal body count? Perhaps, one day, with guided nano rockets small enough to be injected into the body - each carrying a payload of medicine.

Researchers at Radbound University Nijmegen in Holland, say they have made strides in creating smart, self-fuelled delivery pods that could target disease like a missile hones in on an enemy position.

Media in Europe on Tuesday likened it to the shrunken vessel Proteus in the 1966 sci-fi movie Fantastic Voyage. With miniaturized crew onboard, they try to clear a blood clot in a scientist.

And head researcher Professor Jan van Hest tells QMI Agency that likeness -- minus Raquel Welch and crew -- doesn't make him laugh.

"In fact the comparison is not that far off," wrote van Hest in an e-mail exchange, explaining the nano-system works like a rocket, complete with a motor that can combust fuel.

The gas escapes the nano-rocket only from one side, which results in a thrust that makes the rocket move forward fast -- travelling a distance of more than 100 times its own length in a second.

But van Hest cautioned controlling medicine delivery pods in an actual human is still science fiction.

"We first aim to develop this technology for diagnostics applications outside of the human body," he said

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Nano-rockets carrying medicine through body closer to reality

12th State conference of Jana Vignana Vedika gets under way

The percentage of GDP allocated for promotion of science has registered a negligible increase from 0.8 last year to 0.9 now. This is despite political leaders promising to increase it substantially.

Making this observation at the 12th State conference of the Jana Vignana Vedika here on Sunday, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology Director Ch. Mohan Rao said lack of proper funding was lamentable. He said scientific temper should be promoted among people. He, however, cautioned going against any religion.

He spoke at length on biological approaches, reconstructing Indian population, rice and its proteins, and peptides and nanotechnology.

The scientist presented a glimpse of future medicine, which is individualised, nano encapsulated novel drug, cell-based therapy, gene therapy, and nano robotic clinical procedure.

Superstitions

JVV first president Vinod Kumar Gaur said: “India is known as a great country since time immemorial as it has scientific researches and unity.” But superstitions, which emerged recently, ruined the country, he told the delegates. People in general need to improve themselves by knowing more about science and implement its principles in their lives.    

Vignan Prasar member T.V. Venkateswaran from New Delhi gave a lecture on the emergence of mathematics and said that 2012 was declared as National Year of Mathematics to coincide with the 125th birth anniversary of Father of Mathematics, Ramanujam.

Statistics

He gave a statistics on how mathematics transformed and how mathematicians suffered in proving the existence of the subject. “Mathematics is vital for the existence of science in the world,” he opined.

The State conference was attended by persons such as MLCs – K.S. Lakshmana Rao, Ilapuram Venkaiah, V. Balasubramanyum, and Geyanand, professor A. Ramachandraiah, general secretary of All-India People's Science Network T. Gangadharan, and members of the Jana Vignana Vedika.

The members were happy at the successful inaugural of the conference and hoped it would celebrate silver jubilee very soon.

Krishna District Collector S.A.M. Rizvi, formally launching the conference, called upon the members of the JVV to dispel the superstitions among people and educate them on scientific principles.

Speaking on the occasion, he said superstitions had become a hindrance in the development of society.

He spoke about a recent incident where a man sacrificed a 14-year-old boy for hidden treasure.

JVV State president B.N. Reddy awareness programmes were organised on seven aspects such as education, pollution, agriculture, environment, women empowerment, science, and liquor.

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Allocation for science promotion negligible, says CCMB Director

06-02-2012 20:07 Video abstract of original research paper "Nano-TiO2/PEEK bioactive composite as a bone substitute material: in vitro and in vivo studies" published in the International Journal of Nanomedicine by Xiaomian Wu, Xiaochen Liu, Jie Wei, et al.

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28101 video abstract - Video