Biopeer

New nanotechnology shows promise in radiology and drug delivery

Researchers at the University of Delaware and Washington University in St. Louis have discovered how a mechanism to "train" synthetic polymer molecules to assemble by themselves and form into long, multi-compartment cylinders. These copolymers are 1,000 times thinner than a human hair, and have potential uses in radiology, signal communication and the delivery of therapeutic drugs in the human body. "Moving from a sphere to a cylinder, you could conceivably deliver two or three, or four different drugs in one injection, one to one part of the body and others to other parts of the body all through the same self-assembly," said Darrin Pochan, associate professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Delaware.

Scientists at the New York University School of Medicine have invented a hand-held device, called the BrainScope, that can detect subtle brain damage immediately after a concussion. Mild-to-moderate concussions often to go unnoticed because symptoms like nausea quickly resolve. According to the researchers the device is simple to operate and may prove especially useful on the battlefield or the football field, enabling detection of brain damage immediately after mild head injuries. The newly invented device is currently in pre-clinical testing at three hospitals: Bellevue Hospital Center in New York City, Case-Western Reserve in Cleveland, and Washington University in St. Louis. Emergency room doctors at these hospitals are determining whether the device is useful in making rapid assessments of brain dysfunction.

A study published in the August issue of Journal of Nuclear Medicine explored how useful molecular imaging and nuclear medicine are to treating depression and understanding brain dysfunction. The researchers found that antidepressants normalized the low blood flow in the brain that is usually found in depression patients. They also found electroconvulsive therapy worsened low blood flow. "Currently, clinical psychiatry is based almost solely on subjective observer-based judgment," said Omer Bonne, associate professor at Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center in Jerusalem. "Our findings suggest that objective imaging evaluations could support subjective clinical decisions."

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Interventional radiology suite to produce soft-tissue images

A new study by researchers from the Baptist Cardiac & Vascular Institute in Miami, FL revealed that CT-like soft tissue images could be achieved from the interventional radiology area. Study involving 35 patients used flat panel C-arm fluoroscopic unit located in the interventional radiology area, to evaluate vascular and non-vascular clinical applications. Inferences from the clinical applications showed that 80% of the information directly affected the interventional therapy. “It gives the interventional radiologist the ability to acquire CT-like volumetric soft tissue images in the interventional suite without having to transport the patient to a CT scanner,” said Constantino Pena, MD, lead author of the study.

Multi-specialty MIOT Hospitals, Chennai, India has come-up with a non-surgical procedure called as ‘Pinhole Surgery’, which claims to cease the possibility of open surgeries. Research provides that pinhole surgery would apply advancements in interventional radiology and perform the surgery by passing small catheters through blood vessels to treat the affected area directly. Researchers feel that non-surgical method would eliminate bleeding in blood vessels and reduce complications in surgery. “The surgery can be used for many procedures like stenting for coronary diseases, to implant pacemakers and arrest bleeding in the brain, lungs, limbs and even to treat tumors and fibroids,” said, Dr K Murali, Head of the Department, Interventional Radiology.

Leading Brands beverage company, Richmond, has discovered a new blueberry juice – TrueBlue, for oral administration to patients undergoing magnetic resonance imaging scans (MRI) on their bile ducts. Research provides that blueberry juice could isolate intricacies in the bile duct system, by darkening the stomach fluids, which degrades the quality of MRI. “Blueberry juice given orally will affect the way the stomach fluid behaves on MRI and effectively remove it from appearing on the image. This allows for better visualization of the bile ducts,” said Wayne Patola, a supervisor in St Paul's Hospital MRI department in Vancouver.

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Anesthetic radiation comes to the rescue of lung cancer patients

Lung cancer, one of the major causes of cancer deaths linked to smoking may be treated with small doses of radiation. A recent Australian study reports that palliative or sedative radiation, normally administered to ease the pain caused by cancer symptoms, may be effective enough to significantly escalate the lifespan of the patient by 5 years or more after diagnosis of advanced lung cancer.

The study conducted at Peter Mac Callum Cancer Center, Melbourne, Australia, by a research team under the leadership of radiation oncologist, Dr Michael Mac Manus, focused on 2337 patients suffering from incurable lung cancer. All the victims were treated with low doses of radiation therapy for a maximum of 68 days following which, they were continuously monitored through either physical examinations or chest radiographs. The results revealed that a little more than one per cent survived the 5-year landmark. About one-third of these survivors were considered ‘cured’ after their cancer stopped progressing on reaching the 5-year juncture. There was a 43 per cent chance of them surviving the 5-year timeline and a 78 per cent probability of reaching a cancer-arrested or ‘progression-free’ state.

According to the Global Lung Cancer Coalition, globally 10 million people are detected with lung cancer each year out of which half of the patients succumb to the deadly disease within a year of diagnosis. While unusual treatments or faith healings were used as explanations for some cases of survival, this study is believed to render some hope among the newly detected cases of lung cancer.