Dementia rate decreasing

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Sphingosine Fights Deadly Cytokine Storm Especially in Flu

With flu season approaching it is important to note that many flu deaths are related to strong immune reaction resulting in what is termed a cytokine storm.

Not all strains of flu cause this reaction so it may not matter this year, but this is something to remember.

The flu causes death one of two ways – either by overwhelming the system of very young, old, or otherwise already ill individuals – this happens with the ordinary seasonal flu and the Type A H1N1 which is now spreading like wildfire.

A really dangerous influenza virus actually causes deaths among the strongest and most healthy individuals by causing the person’s normal immune system to overreact and flood the lungs with fluid.

An abstract from PubMed related to this reads, "Cytokine storm defines a dysregulation of and an excessively exaggerated immune response most often accompanying selected viral infections and several autoimmune diseases. Newly emerging and re-emerging infections of the respiratory tract, especially influenza, SARS, and hantavirus post considerable medical problems. Their morbidities and mortalities are often a direct result of cytokine storm. This chapter visits primarily influenza virus infection and resultant cytokine storm. It provides the compelling evidence that illuminates cytokine storm in influenza pathogenesis and the clear findings that cytokine storm is chemically tractable by therapy directed toward sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor (S1PR) modulation, specifically S1P1R agonist therapy. The mechanism(s) of how S1P1R signaling works and the pathways involved are subjects of this review."

Fortunately, as I have reported elsewhere, there is an easy fix, Sphingosine-1-phosphate differently regulates the cytokine production and can be used to treat the patient experiencing a dangerous cytokine storm.

Researchers at the La Jolla, California-based Scripts Research Institute have recently reported that the sphingosine drug directly impacts the cytokine response and therefore may be a vital tool in reducing the mortality of any new pandemic flu virus which has a high mortality rate caused by the cytokine storm.

Unlike existing drugs which attack the virus itself, this drug doesn’t attempt to stop the flu infection and is therefore independent of the particular strain involved – rather it targets what is the real danger, leaving the patient time to recover on their own.

http://newsblaze.com/usnews/health/drug-targets-killer-cytokine-storm-from-flu_9341/

http://www.jstor.org/stable/27978941

Coma Patient Awakened by Ultrasonic Beam and Recovery Greatly Enhanced

There are tens of thousands of patients in a so-called vegetative state after head trauma or other incidents but researchers in LA MIGHT have found a new treatment, although they caution that the patient’s rapid recovery COULD be a coincidence. But further research should be easy to conduct and a definitive answer may be found quickly.

PLEASE HELP, NO, I'M NOT ASKING FOR ANY MONEY, BUT IF YOU THINK GETTING SELECTED BREAKING MEDICAL NEWS OF THIS SORT IS USEFUL PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT THE BLOG OR CRITICALMEDICALNEWS.COM

The patient (25 year-old Bradley Crehan) sustained a brain injury from a fall which required removal of part of his skull to relieve pressure and he was put into a medically induced coma.

But when the doctors tried to bring him out of the coma he was mostly unresponsive and it was predicted that it would take a minimum of 6 months for any real recovery.

The team at UCLA then targeted his thalamus with ultrasonic waves for five minutes guided by MRI images.

According to a report in STAT, “A day after the treatment,  Crehan started recognizing objects, attempted to use a spoon, and could blink on command, [said the study’s lead author, Martin M. Monti, a UCLA psychologist and neuroscientist]. Three days later, Crehan understood questions and could reliably gesture yes and no.

“He even gave me a fist bump when I was leaving,” Monti said. “He had emerged.”

Crehan’s recovery was swift and smooth. He left the hospital in four months, faster than anyone expected. “When I left, the nurses were saying, ‘Whoa, you’re leaving already?’” Crehan said.

Unfortunately for this important development, the case study was published in Brain Stimulation, an Elsevier publication I don’t have access to.

There are two drugs which have also been shown seperately to stimulate coma/vegetative state patients in rare instances, one is the sleep medication Ambien and the other is Amantadine.

Both are long shots but given the alternative and the safety of the two drugs it might be worthwhile to suggest to doctors that they give them a try if you have a relative in this condition.

PLEASE HELP, NO, I'M NOT ASKING FOR ANY MONEY, BUT IF YOU THINK GETTING SELECTED BREAKING MEDICAL NEWS OF THIS SORT IS USEFUL PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT THE BLOG OR CRITICALMEDICALNEWS.COM

Another Big Advance in Cancer Treatment On the Horizon Uses Magnetic Bacteria

One of the biggest problems in treating the 85% of cancers which are solid tumors is getting the chemotherapy to the portions of tumors which are starved of oxygen (hypoxic) due to the rest of the tumor consuming so many of the available resources.

Now (August 15) Nature Nanotechnology is reporting that McGill university researchers in Canada have been experimenting with the use of a magnetotactic bacteria Magnetoccus marinus (A.K.A. MC-1) to carry drugs to the parts of tumors which can’t be reached using the conventional transport methods using liposomes, micelles and polymeric nanoparticles.

MC-1 has some nanoparticles which act as magnets and can therefore be moved to the tumor with a weak magnetic field.

The MC-1 bacteria then seek out the hypoxic cells because they normally live in deep water where there is a low oxygen concentration.

The researchers feel this technique can be applied quickly but are currently collaborating on developing the necessary medical protocols for a trial.

This is an exciting time in cancer research. I recently published a report on bypassing the blood brain barrier, and another on a potential cure for melanoma which blocked metastasis and another about a newly effective drug combination.

Stay tuned, or better yet, get an RSS feed and keep ahead of diseases with information before your doctor gets home to read his journals.


PLEASE HELP, NO, I'M NOT ASKING FOR ANY MONEY, BUT IF YOU THINK GETTING SELECTED BREAKING MEDICAL NEWS OF THIS SORT IS USEFUL PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT THE BLOG OR CRITICALMEDICALNEWS.COM

Potential CURE for Melanoma, the Deadliest Skin Cancer May Be On Near Horizon

Anyone who has ever had malignant melanoma (as I have) and takes any interest in the disease which will probably kill them, knows that it isn’t the melanoma on the skin which matters - it is entirely benign EXCEPT that sooner or later it will spread to the brain and other organs (metastasis) and that’s what is eventually fatal.

Treatments for MM are basic, beginning with excising (cutting out) the tumor and, 10 years ago, simply hoping it hadn’t spread yet.

Just 10 to 15 years ago if the tumor had spread that was essentially a death sentence because there was no good chemotherapy.

I was fortunate.

My cousin who was diagnosed at almost the same time, wasn’t.

The Situation Today

Today there are various chemotherapy treatments which save many patients at the high cost of making them very sick for a period.

But a recently announced discovery by Israeli researchers at Tel Aviv University holds the hope of an actual CURE for all malignant melanoma if discovered early enough.

What they found were two substances which stop the metastasis of the cancer by preventing the epidermal tumor from reaching a blood vessel and spreading to other organs.

The initial report was a reprint from American Friends of Tel Aviv University run in Science Daily.

The newly discovered chemicals don’t actually cure melanoma but do something almost as good by preventing the metastasis which is actually the cancer’s danger.

“Transforming melanoma into a nonthreatening illness

“Having discovered the mechanism, the researchers proceeded to look for substances that could intervene and block the process in its earliest stages. They found two such chemicals: one (SB202190) inhibits the delivery of the vesicles from the melanoma tumor to the dermis; and the other (U0126) prevents the morphological changes in the dermis even after the arrival of the vesicles. Both substances were tested successfully in the lab, and may serve as promising candidates for future drugs. In addition, the changes in the dermis, as well as the vesicles themselves, can be used as powerful indicators for early diagnosis of melanoma.

"Our study is an important step on the road to a full remedy for the deadliest skin cancer," said Dr. Levy. "We hope that our findings will help turn melanoma into a nonthreatening, easily curable disease."

Potential

This discovery has important implications because, if it proves possible to put this into a drug and the drug isn’t dangerous to humans, it would virtually eliminate the threat of malignant melanoma, very important to survivors because it usually reoccurs.

While waiting for a "cure" patients should probably read what I found about Vitamin D-3 and its potential to extend life of MM patients. It was vital before recent chemotherapy advances and today won't interfere with more modern treatments.

See my pamphlet on the subject which includes citations from medical studies published in Europe.

CDC Adds Bahamas to Zika Travel Warning List Also, GBS Death in San Juan PR

A few minutes ago the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta, Ga., USA) announced that it has added The Bahamas to the interim travel guidance for pregnant women and heir partners.

Find the travel notice here

The island of New Providence (including Nassau) is the site where the Zika virus has been detected.

See the full list of Zika travel area recommendations here.

The CDC reminds travelers that the particular mosquitoes which transmit Zika are unusual in that they are aggressive daytime biters. (Most mosquito species show a preference for nocturnal feeding.)

The CDC also warns that some of those infected with Zika will show no symptoms and can therefore transmit the virus unknowingly to sexual partners even after leaving the infection zone.

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) Death

A further note, Zika isn't just a danger to babies, pregnant women and their fetuses, it can also apparently trigger the Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in adults which is a serious paralyzing neurologic condition which has recently been the cause of death of at least one person in Puerto Rico a 35-45 year old male.

Find a Guillain-Barré report here.

GBS causes muscle weakness, loss of reflexes, and numbness or tingling in your arms, legs, face, and other parts of your body.

Now that Polio has been virtually eliminated, GBS is the leading cause of such paralysis. Although virtually eliminated, there has been a recent outbreak of poliomyelitis in Nigeria.

Assessment of Guillain-Barre Syndrome Mortality and Morbidity in the UnitedStates: Implications for Acute Flaccid Paralysis Surveillance

A CDC travel warning for Zika involves warning pregnant women to avoid the area and not have unprotected sex with anyone recently returned from the region.

Effective barriers include include male and female condoms and dental dams. Dental dams are latex or polyurethane sheets used between the mouth and vagina or anus during oral sex.

For additional information on preventing the sexual transmission of Zika click here,

New Parkinson’s Hope - Preliminary ONLY

I don’t normally cover medical developments at this stage but with zero useful long term treatments for Parkinson’s Disease available, I feel that this is worth reporting.

The standard of treatment (essentially the ONLY treatment) for this nerve disease which affects about 700,000 Americans and upwards of 10 million worldwide has, for thirty years, been the chemical levodopa drug which initially gives very good relief from the disease which causes tremors and progressive paralysis along with a number of other symptoms.

Problems with L-dopa

Levodopa or L-dopa works great for most patients when initially given to Parkinson’s and other nerve damaged patients but the effectiveness wears off either gradually for Parkinson’s or dramatically for some other diseases.

Now a Cambridge, MA company, Voyager Therapeutics is conducting AADC gene therapy trials which shows promise in extending the period when L-dopa works.

This was shown in the 1990 Robert De Niro/Robin Williams movie Awakenings which chronicle the discovery by Dr. Oliver Sacks who produced dramatic awakening of catatonic patients who had suffered encephalitis infections.

Clinical Trial

The following is a direct quote from the clinical trial information sheet.

“Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder involving loss of neurons that release dopamine in the striatum. To compensate for the loss of dopamine, patients are typically prescribed levodopa medication which is converted to dopamine by the enzyme Aromatic L-Amino Acid Decarboxylase (AADC). As Parkinson's disease progresses, levodopa therapy becomes less effective and is associated with motor fluctuations, involuntary movements and other complications.

This study will primarily investigate the safety of increasing AADC levels in the striatum via AADC gene delivery. The hAADC gene is packaged into a gene transfer vector derived from a common, non-pathogenic virus (AAV2) to which >90% of humans have been exposed. This investigational drug, termed AAV2-hAADC, will be injected directly into the striatum during a neurosurgical procedure that is performed with real-time MRI imaging to monitor delivery.

Subjects will continue to take Parkinson's disease medications, including levodopa.

The safety and potential clinical responses to AAV2-hAADC will be assessed by repeated clinical evaluations of Parkinson's disease, cognitive tests, laboratory blood tests and neuroimaging. Clinical evaluations will be performed over a 3 year follow-up period. A test to specifically assess the clinical response to levodopa will be performed once before AADC gene delivery and approximately 6 months after.”

Find information on the clinical trial here: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01973543?term=AADC&rank=2