NEW DELHI: Be it smartphones, notebooks or electric cars, lithium-ion batteries have revolutionized our world, laying the foundation for a wireless, fossil fuel-free society, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said on Wednesday while awarding the 2019 Nobel prize in Chemistry to John Goodenough, Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino.

The Li-ion technology is currently the best performing technology for energy storage based on batteries. Li-ion batteries are used in small electronics (smartphones, laptops etc) and are also the best options for electric cars.

In the 1970s as the world stared at oil crisis, Whittingham from Binghamton University in the US, American professor and solid-state physicist Goodenough (currently at the University of Texas at Austin) and Japanese chemist Yoshino advanced the development in the field through the 1980s.

Since Lithium is the lightest metal, using lithium ions made batteries lighter.

The lithium-ion batteries were launched commercially by Sony and Asahi Kasei Corporation in 1991.

Today, the race is on among the stakeholders to find a battery that can let users enjoy time on their devices without worrying about the charge.

Researchers from the University of Alberta recently developed a new battery technology that could provide 10 times more charge capacity compared to the lithium-ion power packs.

This battery technology utilizes silicon nanoparticles as an electrode for the lithium-ion batteries. Silicon is abundant, and the substance only costs around a third of the price of high-purity graphite, which sells for more than $10,000 per metric ton.

Going forward, smartphones will sport graphene batteries that charge swiftly, and will mark a quantum leap from the fast charging technologies and the current default of lithium-ion batteries.

When it comes to electric cars, Elon Musk-run Tesla has achieved great deal of efficacy in this field and is now aiming to create a lithium-ion battery that can run a car or an electric truck for over 16 lakh kms.

Current Tesla cars can achieve about 8 lakh kms out of their batteries before they face any serious problem.

A new research paper from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada has claimed the Jeff Dahn-led team is close to creating a lithium-ion battery that can run a car for over 1 million (over 16 lakh) miles.

For more than a decade, Tesla engineers have been obsessed with making the world's most efficient electric vehicles.

As a result, Tesla vehicles already travel farther on a single charge than any other production EV on the market.

Model S and Model X cars can achieve nearly 600 kms and 525 kms per charge on a 100 kWh battery pack.

Tesla's choice of cylindrical cells sets it apart from other EV players. The company also uses a liquid-cooled thermal management system to manage battery temperatures whereas other automakers take a more economical air-cooling approach.

By adjusting the temperature of the battery pack, Tesla is able to ensure that cells are operating in their most efficient and optimal states, thereby maximizing battery longevity as well as performance.

It has been argued that lithium will be one of the main objects of geopolitical competition in a world running on renewable energy and dependent on batteries.

Current research areas for lithium-ion batteries include life extension, energy density, safety, cost reduction and charging speed, among others.

Research has also been under way in the area of non-flammable electrolytes as a pathway to increased safety based on the flammability and volatility of the organic solvents used in the typical electrolyte.

See the rest here:
From phones to Tesla cars, lithium-ion batteries come of age - Economic Times

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

"The Aesthetic Medicine Congress", in collaboration with the British College of Aesthetic Medicine, takes place at the Hotel Palace from October 11 to 13. Top international and local experts will present trends in aesthetic medicine, rejuvenation and facial and body shaping for around 400 announced participants.

In addition to presenting the latest technology and research results, there will also be live demonstrations, interactive panels and lectures on topics ranging from aesthetic medicine to medical tourism.

The Second Congress of Aesthetic Medicine in Dubrovnik, under the high auspices of the President of the Republic of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, will be opened by Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli.

Apart from Croatia and the region, participants from Congress come from Britain, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, France, Greece, USA, Mexico, India, UAE

The famous names of aesthetic medicine are coming to the congrees, such as Raj Kanodia, Tapan Patel, Matt Stefanelli, Bob Khanna, Herve Raspaldo, Tracy Mountford, Tom van Eijk, Iman Nurlin, Dimitris Sykianakis, Ravi Jain and David Ecclestone. The local experts and lecturers are Sinisa Glumicic, Mario Zambelli, Nikola Milojevic, Davor Mijatovic, Zoran Zgaljardic, Tomica Bagatin, Zeljana Bolanca, Aleksandar Milenovic, Mladen Dudukovic and others.

TAMC 2019 is an international aesthetic congress that offers an interactive, evidence-based, multidisciplinary program and provides a platform to encourage the exchange of ideas and experiences, educate, initiate intense discussions, and expand opportunities for new contacts.

TAMC 2019 covers all aspects of aesthetic medicine, and this year's highlights include: anti-aging and face shaping dermal fillers, skin rejuvenation treatments including stem cell and blood plasma treatments, aesthetic gynecology, life extension (gerontology), body shaping and fat reduction, Botulinum toxin type A basic and advanced techniques, complication management, anatomy, cosmetic surgery, cosmetic dentistry, patient communication, business building and marketing, as well as medical tourism.

Link:
The Aesthetic Medicine Congress to bring trends in plastic surgery to Dubrovnik - The Dubrovnik Times

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Kristin Hull is Founder, CEO, and CIO of Nia Impact Capita

If you look 208 years into the futureaccording to the worlds top economistsyoull see a far more healthy, secure, and productive world fueled by gender equality. Though its not very encouraging to those of us living in a culture of entrenched bias, we owe it to future generations to move toward fairness and inclusiveness anyway. The fact is, harnessing the talent we need to compete in the 21st and 22nd century means elevating women and girls today. International Day of The Girl (Friday, October 11th) is a reminder that we need to play the long game. We all have to do our part to accelerate progress for our girls, their girls, and their girls even if the benefits of a more fair and open society will not be our own to enjoy.

These trailblazing female CEOs are humble about their formative years, frank about the daunting challenges they encountered, and relentlessly encouraging.

We need girls to believe that they belong at the table, says Diana Kapp, that they deserve to make money and have power. Kapps new book, Girls Who Run the World: 31 CEOs Who Mean Business, tells the origin stories of female leaders who are disrupting an array of industries from construction to personal genetics, biotech to green energy. Consider that the unstoppable Jessica Matthews of Uncharted Power, Tina Sharkey of Brandless, Kara Goldin of Hint, and Anne Wojcicki of 23andMe were all once just ordinary girls who set out on stratospheric climbs with no guides, no manuals, and no maps. Like a World Book Encyclopedia of feminine role models, Kapp's trailblazing CEOs are humble about their formative years, frank about the daunting challenges they encountered, and relentlessly encouraging.

After tracking these womens trajectories from childhood dreamers to game-changing leaders, Kapp noticed they all shared a similar characteristic. These women have cajones, she says. They embrace imperfection and experimentation, are determined to figure things out on their own, and are willing to move forward without knowing many of the answers.

Female CEOs featured in Girls Who Run The World by Diana Kapp

The book connects the reader to the girl inside each of these innovators, granting a friendly and intimate access meant to inspire and ignite the ambitions of young women. Each story illustrates how passion and conviction for new ideas drive purpose, why a tough skin is critical, how to withstand the inevitable doubters, and how to be nimble and pivot when necessary. Most important is the willingness to "fail and flail" because inevitably, things go wrong, often. The message for the next generation is that these girls did it, and you can too. And that even in the face of failure, its still worth it to strike out boldly on your own.

In the spirit of International Day of The Girl, lets send our girls a message of inspiration and support. Attitudes are only going to change when this generation, the next generation, and every generation of girls after refuse to believe they deserve anything less.So what would you say to yourself as a young girl? and share your message with girls everywhere tomorrow, October 11th.

Here's a gallery of women CEOs who have plenty of great ideas for young women.

See the original post:
Notes To Myself As A Girl: Female CEOs Tell Girls What They Need To Hear Most - Forbes

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

The trypanosomatid parasite Crithidia mellificae infects managed honeybees, but could it also affect wild bees? A recent article investigates.

Cara Macfarlane 11 Oct 2019

Source: Strobl et al, 2019

Several regions of the world have reported adecline in wild bee species. A contributing factor may be pathogen spillover from managed honeybees, and a variety of pathogens so far exclusively linked to honeybees have been detected in several wild bee species.

However, the detection of a pathogen does not necessarily mean the infection is spreading per se. Pathogens may behave differently within a novel host, where a species may not serve as a suitable host or the parasite does not replicate. Disease progression and symptom intensity can also differ both between and within species.

Several factors influence host susceptibility to pathogens and infection, such as life history traits (e.g. reproductive strategies and sociality), environmental traits, nutrition and the genetics of the host and pathogen. For example, greater infection resistance is typically observed in hosts with genetic heterozygosity and in social groups with higher genetic diversity. The haploid susceptibility hypothesis predicts in Hymenoptera the haploid males from unfertilized eggs should have higher susceptibility (compared to diploid females) as they lack heterozygosity.

Trypanosomatids are unicellular eukaryotic flagellate parasites, and some species colonize the hindgut of bees. They damage intestinal cells through formation of hemidesmosomes, and these lesions can reduce host health at the individual and colony level. In bumblebees, parasite cells multiply after oral ingestion and are transmitted to novel bumblebee hosts via fecal-oral transmission.

The trypanosomatid parasite Crithidia mellificae infects honeybees. While little is known about the effects of infection, there are positive correlations between C. mellificae infection levels and honeybee colony winter mortality. Two common solitary bee species, Osmia cornuta and Osmia bicornis have also recently been suggested as novel hosts of C. mellificae.

In a recent paper, Strobl and colleagues tested whether this parasite could infect a solitary bee by challenging male and female O. cornuta with C. mellificae. The authors also employed honeybee workers as positive controls to assess infection parameters in a known host. Bee body mass, survival and pathogen infection levels were evaluated as measures of susceptibility.

O. cornuta were randomly allocated to treatment (exposed to C. mellificae cells) or uninfected controls, and the males and females separated (control: n = 2 cages, C. mellificae exposure: n = 4 cages). Honeybee workers were randomly allocated to eight cages (control: n = 3, C. mellificae exposure: n = 5), and all cages were maintained for 19 days.

Each cage was provided with a C. mellificae-infected sucrose solution or with sucrose (controls). Survival was recorded every 24 hours and dead individuals were removed. Bees were investigated for living C. mellificae cells before inoculation with C. mellificae (day 0) and on days 6, 10, 15 and 19 post inoculation (p.i.). Bees were individually weighed to assess body mass and anesthetized with CO2, before quantifying C. mellificae cells. DNA sampled on day 0, 15 and 19 was analyzed by PCR and parasite loads were quantified by qPCR.

C. mellificae cell counts on specific days preinfection and p.i. (A) In honeybees (A. mellifera), C. mellificae cell counts significantly increased over time p.i. (B) In O. cornuta females (), C. mellificae cell counts did not significantly change over time p.i. (C) C. mellificae cell counts did not significantly change in O. cornuta males ().

In all groups of bees, body mass did not significantly change over time p.i. (all P> 0.05) or differ between control and C. mellificaeexposed individuals.

After 19 days p.i., 75.5% of the 83 control honeybees and 63.2% of the 128 C. mellificae-exposed honeybees were alive, with significantly reduced survival in parasite-exposed individuals. Of the 80 honeybees sampled for C. mellificae counting, 32.5% of the bees were infected. Parasite cell counts increased 6.6 fold in infected honeybees between days 6 and 19 p.i. and significantly reduced survival.

C. mellificae exposure did not significantly affect survival of O. cornuta females. Of the 25 control O. cornuta females 80.7% survived compared to 68.1% of the 56 C. mellificae-exposed females. However, male O. cornuta had the lowest survival of all bee groups. After 19 days p.i., 39% of the 43 controls and none of the 81 C. mellificae-exposed male bees were alive. Of the 41 O. cornuta females sampled over the entire p.i period, 68.3% showed C. mellificae cells, whereas 90% of the 30 males sampled showed parasite cell counts.

In O. cornuta bees, C. mellificae numbers increased 23.6 fold within cages but did not significantly change between days 6 and 19 p.i. in individual females or males. In both female and male O. cornuta, the proportion of infected individuals increased over time p.i.

A significant positive correlation between C. mellificae cell counts and C. mellificae genomic equivalent copies per bee was also observed in all groups of bees.

Proportion of infected individuals on specific days p.i. The proportion of infected honey bee (A. mellifera) workers, O. cornuta females () and O. cornuta males () are shown on days 6, 10, 15 and 19 p.i.

Strobl and colleagues demonstrate that the solitary wild bee O. cornuta can host the honeybee parasite C. mellificae, and that males are more susceptible. The proportion of infected hosts also increased in O. cornuta cages with feces, but not in honeybee cages without feces. This indicates a fecal-oral transmission route for C. mellificae, as with Crithidia species infecting bumblebees.

The reduced survival of infected honeybee workers provides some causal evidence for the correlation between overwintering colony mortality and C. mellificae infection levels. With evidence of a negative effect on managed honeybee species and male wild solitary bee species, field studies are required to evaluate spillover potential from managed to wild bees and vice versa.

Read the original here:
Trypanosomatid parasites in bees... taking a walk on the wild side? - BugBitten - BMC Blogs Network

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

In light of the announcement of the 2019 Nobel Laureates, we highlighted 3 of the 50 Cornell faculty and alumni, past and present, who have been awarded Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry and Physiology and Medicine.

Hoffmann

Prof. Roald Hoffmann, chemistry, is the Frank H. T. Rhodes Professor of Humane Letters, Emeritus and has been part of the Cornell faculty since 1965. Hoffmann has researched a variety of sub-fields within chemistry, including organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry and solid state chemistry.

Hoffmann shared the Nobel Prize with Kenichi Fukui in 1981 for their theories, developed independently, concerning the course of chemical reactions. However, Hoffmann relatedmixed feelings regarding the Nobel Prize: pleasure at the recognition, but alsosadness that his colleague R.B. Woodward did not live to receive it with him. He also described the jealousy of peers and the pressure of being watched in the future.

If everyone around you asks you what are going to do next, you begin to think about that and that inhibits creativity, Hoffman said.

However, winning the Nobel Prize didnt change his focus on research and teaching, including teaching undergraduates.

I remained a scientist and I remained teaching Introduction to Chemistry, though I havent done it for 10 years now because Im retired, Hoffman said.

Hoffmann has also been heavily involved in the humanities throughout his life, writing plays, books and poetry. Hoffmann has always believed strongly in the importance of communicating science to the public, saying that scientists should take every opportunity to speak to the general public.

When asked what advice he had for students interested in a future in research, Hoffmann suggested getting research experience in college.

The research experience allows you to move from very large classes [] to the research group and the research group meetings which are usually smaller and which are more of a scientific family, Hoffman said.

Varmus

While many scientists began their careers with a deep passion for science, Dr. Varmus story was more complex. Varmus went through high school hating science.

[I] grew up in pleasant circumstances on Long Island where my major interests in life were tennis and fiction, not science. Science teachers were pretty appalling, Varmus said in a lecture on May 2nd.

While Varmus started as a physician, his career changed course because of his work as a commissioned officer in the Public Health Service of the NIH.

That experience at NIH, my first serious exposure to laboratory life and at the advanced age of 28, determined the course of my career, Varmus wrote in an email to The Sun.

After Dr. Varmus won the 1989 Nobel Prize for his research partnership with J. Michael Bishop studying oncogenesis [becoming cancerous] in retroviruses, Varmus pursued leadership opportunities in addition to research.

I took advantage of my new public platform to get engaged in the leadership of institutions that I admire, hoping to make changes that I thought were important, Varmus said.

Despite his numerous leadership positions, including seven years as the director of the NIH, 10 years as President of Memorial Sloan Kettering and five years as the director of the National Cancer Institute, Varmus continued his research.

Varmus is now the Lewis Thomas University Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical School, and is studying the molecular mechanisms of oncogenesis.

McClintock

Barbara McClintock M.S. 25, PhD 27, was a pioneering researcher in cytogenetics, the study of the structure of DNA within a cell nucleus. Her discoveries transformed the field of genetics, and while she passed away in 1992, her memory lives on.

McClintock studied the chromosome structure inside maize cells, and discovered what were later called jumping genes, or components that moved between chromosomes. Decades passed before her work was recognized, because her research did not align with conventional wisdom in science before the discovery of DNA.

Previously, people thought that each chromosome is a unique structure/entity, containing its own genetic materials, Prof. Jun Kelly Liu, molecular biology and genetics, wrote in an email. This is also the reason why it took people many years to accept the mobile genetic element concept that she proposed.

After other scientists confirmed her theories, McClintock won the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for the discovery that she made many decades earlier, making her the only Cornell-affiliated woman to date to win a Nobel Prize in science. While a she was a Cornell alumna, McClintock did not become a Cornell faculty member because the university refused to hire a female professor.

Liu reflected on the mixed Cornells mixed legacy related to McClintock in an email with the Sun: Its really inspiring to have a woman scientist win the Nobel Prize. She didnt get hired as a professor at Cornell even with all her groundbreaking work, all because she was a woman.

While other women have since won the Nobel prize in physiology and medicine, chemistry and physics, women remain underrepresented among science laureates. Liu has some suggestions for addressing this concern.

We need more women to be in faculty positions so that they can serve as role models to students who are considering a career in the sciences, Liu said.

Anil Oza 22 contributed to reporting in this article.

Excerpt from:
A Look at Past Cornell-Affiliated Nobel Prize Laureates: How their Legacy will Inspire Generations of Scientists to Come - Cornell University The...

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Express News Service

BENGALURU:Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in Indian women and accounts for 27 per cent of all cancers in women. About 1 in 28 women are likely to develop breast cancer during their lifetime. In the urban areas the incidence is 1 in 22 as compared to the rural areas where 1 in 60 women develop breast cancer. The incidence begins to rise in the early thirties and peaks at the age of 50 64 years.CausesThe exact cause of breast cancer is not known. However, several factors affect our risk of developing breast cancer. The chances of developing the disease depends on a combination of our genes and bodies, lifestyle, life choices and the environment. Being a woman and age are the two biggest risk factors.The other risk factors aren Early puberty: Women who started their periods at an early age have a slightly increased risk of breast cancer. The earlier you began your periods, the higher your risk, but this effect is small and gradual. The increase in risk is probably because of the longer exposure to the female hormone estrogen.

nLate menopause: Women who go through themenopause later than average have a slightly increased risk of breast cancer. The later you go through menopause, the higher your risk, but this effect is small and gradual. The increase in risk of breast cancer seen in women who have a late menopause is probably because these women are exposed to the female hormone oestrogen for longer than women who go through the menopause earlier.

n Genetics: In a small number of women, breast cancer runs in the family. Of allwomen who develop breast cancer, up to 15% has asignificant family history of the disease and about one in 20 has inherited a fault in a gene linked to breast cancer. Women who have inherited faults in known breast cancer genes such as BRCA1 or BRCA2 are atincreased risk of developing breast cancer.

n High breast density: The amount of tissue compared to fat in your breasts is known as breast density. Having high breast density (a low proportion of fat) is one of the biggest risk factors for breast cancer. The density of your breasts tends to gradually fall over time, but because age is also a risk factor for breast cancer, this does not mean that your risk of breastcancer reduces as your breasts change. In fact, your risk of breast cancerincreases as you get older.n Ethnicity: A white woman is more likely to develop breast cancer than a black, Asian, Chinese or mixed-race woman. Ashkenazi Jews and Icelandic women have a higher risk of carrying inherited faults in breast cancer genes, such as BRCA1 or BRCA2, which are known to increase the risk of developing breast cancer.Life choices, lifestyle and environment: Factors that increase the risk of breastn cancer are: Weight gain, lack of exercise, alcohol, hormone replacement therapy, the combined oral contraceptive pill, ionizing radiation, radiotherapy, stress and possibly shift work.Pregnancy and breastfeeding reduce the risk. Age and number of pregnanciesaffect the risk. The earlier the pregnancies and the more the number of pregnancies, the lesser is the risk of cancer. Breastfeeding slightly reduces your risk of breast cancer and the longer you breastfeed, the more your risk of breast cancer is reduced. Breastfeeding may reduce breast cancer risk by altering the balance of hormones in the body and by delaying the return of your periods.

How do I reduce the risks?Unfortunately, there is nothing that you can do to change most of the above risk factors. Lifestyle modifications should as detailed above should be made.But all women should be breast aware this means knowing what is normal for you so that you are aware as soon as something changes. The sooner you notice a change the better, because if cancer is found early, treatment is more likely to be successful. Get into the habit of looking at and feeling your breasts from time to time. This will help you to notice any change if it occurs.

What is Breast Self-Awareness?Breast self-examination (BSE) and clinical breast examination are inexpensive and noninvasive procedures for the regular examination of breasts. Evidence supporting the effectiveness of these 2 screening methods is controversial.Even with appropriate training, breast self-examination has not been found to reduce breast cancer mortality. In fact, most of the expert groups now recommend breast self-awareness instead of BSE. Breast self-awareness is a womans attunement to the normal appearance and feel of her breasts, so that she can seek medical advice if she notices any changes such as pain, a mass, new onset nipple discharge, or redness.

The author is the director, senior obstetrician and gynaecologist - Fortis La Femme Hospital, Richmond Road, Bengaluru.

See more here:
One in 28 women develops breast cancer - The New Indian Express

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

As with fertility testing, the type of infertility treatment you receive will depend on your unique health and medical history. If youre a woman with a blocked fallopian tube, for instance, you may need surgery to remove the blockage or to repair damage before trying other fertility treatments. If youre a man who isnt producing sperm, its possible you have a blockage as well, and your doctor might recommend a procedure that retrieves viable sperm directly from the testes, or a surgery that removes the blockage.

If youre a woman under 35, treatment will likely start conservatively, said Dr. Choi. For example, your doctor may prescribe oral drugs such as clomid or letrozole, which increase the odds of pregnancy by boosting the number of eggs you release during ovulation. This approach is also common for women with certain hormonal conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome, in which ovulation doesnt occur regularly.

Your doctor might instruct you to combine oral drugs with sex at home; or to time taking them with ovulation or with an in-office procedure called an intrauterine insemination (IUI), in which a clinician prepares a sperm sample then inserts it directly into the uterus to increase the odds of conception.

[More on intrauterine insemination.]

Women who are over 35 may also start conservatively with oral drugs or IUI, but if those measures dont work after a couple of tries, or if its clear from your medical history that they arent likely to work, Dr. Choi typically recommends moving more quickly to more aggressive treatments, such as in vitro fertilization (I.V.F.). Here, the idea is to fertilize the egg outside of the body and then put the resulting embryo back in. (To read more about I.V.F., see our guide on it here.)

Fertility treatments will also vary for people who are single, in same-sex relationships or transgender. If youre a woman whos single or in a same-sex relationship, for example, you may try IUI or I.V.F. with sperm from a donor, depending on your age and your fertility status. Women in same-sex partnerships will also need to decide which partner should carry the baby, which will depend on preference, age and health. (It is also possible for one partner to harvest eggs and the other to carry the embryo, a process sometimes called reciprocal I.V.F., shared maternity or co-maternity.)

Men who are single or in same-sex partnerships will need a surrogate to carry the embryo, whether she uses IUI, I.V.F. or some other means of conception. Men in these circumstances may also need an egg donor.

If youre transgender, your fertility treatment will depend on your individual history regarding sex reassignment surgeries, hormone treatments and so on. For example, if youve already had sex reassignment surgery, you may need donor sperm or eggs, unless you froze your own beforehand. If you only had hormone treatments, you may be able to reverse this process temporarily through new hormone treatments (under the guidance of a physician), in order to produce viable sperm or eggs.

Continue reading here:
Your Guide to Fertility and Getting Pregnant - NYT Parenting

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

When did you first hear about the hunger disease study that was conducted in the Warsaw Ghetto?

I visited Poland as part of a delegation from Ichilov Hospital [in Tel Aviv]. Given the composition of the group, our guide, Yaki Gantz, included medical information in his tours. One day, when we were near the Warsaw Childrens Hospital, he told us about the hunger that had existed in the ghetto during World War II. And then he mentioned, in passing, that because the hunger was so acute, a group of Jewish physicians there decided to carry out a study of its effects.

The situation in the Warsaw Ghetto was singular. There is testimony of a meeting of senior Gestapo personnel and Nazi physicians Eichmann was also in attendance at which it was decided to liquidate the ghetto by means of starvation. According to their calculations, low-calorie food rationing would wipe it out in nine months.

They calculated a daily ration, just as we dietitians do.

It was racially derived rationing: Germans received more than 2,000 calories; Jews, less than 200.

There was a clear hierarchy [in the occupied countries]. First the Germans, then the Ukrainians, whose ration was about 1,000 calories; the Poles with 600; and the Jews, at the bottom, with 180 calories. As a dietitian, I must say that this is an incomprehensible number 180 calories a day means one slice of bread, one potato and soup, which was mostly water. I doubt that a portion of soup like that contained more than 10 calories. Thats nothing. My head started to spin.

I said to my colleague, dietitian Dror Ben Noah: Do you understand 180 calories? He too was shocked. I asked whether he had ever heard of the hunger disease study that had been conducted in the ghetto. He said he hadnt. Google turned up only a few results, referring to the fact that the study had indeed been carried out. The material itself the data, the findings simply doesnt exist on the web. We realized that we had to do something.

Well talk about the fate of the manuscript that documented the study shortly, but lets first consider the story itself. The plan to starve the ghettos residents didnt cause its liquidation, but it definitely took a toll. The bodies lying in the street, which we know all too well from photographs, were those of victims of starvation.

Its a lethal combination hunger and disease. The starvation plan mainly took the lives of the most vulnerable: the elderly, children, mothers of small children. Its also important to emphasize that the ration of 180 calories was provided in return for payment, and most people could not afford it, of course.

But in practice the ghetto inmates managed to obtain additional food, through smuggling, the black market and public kitchens.

The public kitchens of the Joint [the Joint Distribution Committee] gave out soup and that truly was one of the most amazing and moving things I learned on my trip, in connection with the research study. They declared that from their point of view, the distribution of the soup made it possible to give children in the ghetto an educational experience involving courtesy and cooperation.

The brutal hunger gave rise to horrors, undoubtedly. There was cannibalism. There was violence, people murdered and stole to get food. And yet, on the other hand, a bowl of watery soup could engender values. A social network. Support. You need to see the photographs of the orderly line where everyone is waiting patiently. Of the children sitting at sparkling-clean tables. Those who were fortunate in the ghetto existed on 800 calories a day, but that average consumption also gradually decreased, as time passed and resources dwindled.

Seeking validity

In February 1942, a group of Jewish physicians in the ghetto, led by Dr. Israel Milezkowski, decided to conduct an extensive study of the physiology and pathology of hunger there.

Milezkowski thought in practical terms. He wanted to understand how hunger disease could be cured. It was another physician, Dr. Julian Fliederbaum, who saw the potential of such a study, who created the whole research platform. He wrote that this was a singular opportunity to study hunger and that he wanted to do so with the best tools at his disposal, so that the results would have incontrovertible scientific validity.

An impressive research structure was indeed created. The study was divided into several sections, each led by an expert in a particular field. The topics researched included blood circulation, clinical aspects of starvation in children, bone marrow and more.

To begin with, the scale of the research project was immense. More than 100 participants, which is a huge study. By comparison, in clinical studies we conduct today, in a metabolic laboratory, having 10 subjects is considered a dazzling success. The ghetto study was carried out at the highest standards.

How could the researchers know that the subjects medical condition was due to hunger and not to a combination of that and other diseases?

The subjects were hospitalized in separate rooms that were strictly off-limits, to avoid infection. They were given medical tests and the results were recorded on the wall. Like a medical chart. The tests they administered were solely for research purposes, irrespective of the subjects medical condition.

Its sad and horrible, and its very hard for me to say this, but they also performed autopsies to ascertain that this was in fact the cause of death. Anyone who was found to have been suffering from a different disease was omitted from the study. The most difficult part was to collect the various findings from all sections of the research. The researchers spent the nights in the cemeterys [ritual] purification structure, collecting, summarizing, performing autopsies and writing up the findings as in a scientific article.

Jews were prohibited from engaging in scientific work. If theyd been caught, they all would have been executed.

The Judenrat [Jewish Council, established by order of the Germans] authorized the research. Its members understood the importance of the study, and also allocated resources to it. Money was needed to smuggle in equipment blood-test kits, for example. Most of the smugglers were women, because if the authorities caught a male smuggler they could check to see if he was circumcised and know immediately that he was a Jew. Imagine youre sending a female smuggler to get hold of some piece of medical equipment. She has no idea what it even is. What to ask for. So they draw her a detailed picture. As a professional, I can only admire their thinking.

For example, the researchers wanted to understand what happens to the energy usage of a person who loses weight. Thats a question that occupies the experts in our field even today. We measure it with special equipment and calculators, but they simply calculated it using a pen and paper. The subjects underwent a test for tuberculosis, as the physicians realized that they could draw inferences from this about the immune system. They examined the acidity of the digestive system, hormone levels. What was even known about hormones in the 1940s? Look, at that point in history, the finest medical minds of Central Europe were concentrated in the Warsaw Ghetto. All of them were Jews. It was absolutely a scientific hothouse horrifying and frightening, but a hothouse. They even did glucose-tolerance tests.

What I wonder is where they got sugar.

They used 75 grams of sugar per subject. Sugar was priceless in such a situation. One cannot imagine how much it was worth.

Act of defiance

Is it even imaginable how the researchers themselves stood up to it? After all, they were hungry themselves.

They were hungry. Picture it: a physician studying the disease he is himself is suffering from and from which he will also likely die. We know the stories about physicians who fell ill with diseases and tried to come up with medication to treat them; some of them succeeded. That is not the case here. They werent doing the research in order to save themselves. They did the research in the clear knowledge that they would suffer the identical fate: There were physicians who took part in the project, and died of hunger.

And the study ended with the Grossaktion the deportation and mass murder of the Jews in the ghetto during the summer of 1942.

The researchers final meeting was apparently held in August 1942, during that Aktion. Dr. Milezkowski informed the group that this would be the last one and announced that the findings had been hidden in the cemetery. Some of the physicians who had taken part in the study were also deported in the Aktion. As far as is known, a week after that meeting most of them were no longer alive.

Of those who led the study, only one survived. The manuscript was successfully smuggled out of the ghetto. Milezkowski himself apparently committed suicide. He wrote an introduction to the study, which is jolting: I hold my pen in my hand and death stares into my room.

Yes. He understood this was the end. He understood that if the study would survive and be published, it would perpetuate the memory of all the participants. He writes explicitly that this project is their response to the murderers, adding, I shall not wholly die. This is a story of unbelievable heroism. The way they functioned, under those conditions. The self-surrender, the transcendence. I cant understand where they found the inner fortitude to do all that.

The study gave them meaning.

What is more precious than meaning? The study is their act of defiance, the doctors revolt. We should note the courage of Prof. [Witold] Orlovski, the Polish colleague who safeguarded the manuscript. After the war, Dr. Emil Apfelbaum, the only one of the leaders of the study who survived, retrieved the text from Orlovski and passed it on to the Joint Distribution Committee. Because the JDC was then headquartered in France, the manuscript was translated into French and published in France. I dont know how many copies were printed probably only dozens.

In 1979, an English-language version was published in book form under the editorship of Dr. Myron Winick, an American expert on nutrition, under the title Hunger Disease: Studies by the Jewish Physicians in the Warsaw Ghetto. At the moment, the fate of the original manuscript is unknown.

True. No one knows where it is. By the way, even the Joint didnt know it had this material. I contacted the organizations historian and didnt let up, until one day she called and said, We have it. They produced the Polish and French versions, in 1946. The materials are in their archives.

Are copies of the English edition still available?

They exist but are rare. I found a few copies on Amazon and eBay. I bought them, because I think that every copy should be salvaged and preserved. The thing is that, because of our interest, and because we bought a few copies, we drove the price up. The first copy I bought cost $5. Now theyre going for $1,000. We are raising money to buy all the extant copies.

Lets talk about the studys relevance for our time. When you declare that you want to save it, the goal is not to place it in a museum. You want to make this body of knowledge available. From your perspective, its a textbook.

This study is super-relevant in terms of all the issues were dealing with today in the field of nutrition. People dont realize it, but most of our work in hospitals focuses on malnutrition thats generated by disease. Because we live in a society of abundance, we find it hard to understand that hunger exists. But such research is relevant also, lets say, when it comes to the metabolic or biochemical situation of people with advanced cancer a situation in which, even if there is plenty of food available, the body simply consumes itself. That condition is described in an unprecedented way in the study.

We understand today that a phenomenon like edema stems from hunger. But it wasnt yet known at the time the ghetto study was conducted. That study examined, proved and effectively diagnosed a disease that is today called the hunger disease. A disease that has various symptoms, and if treated at the relevant stage, if there is timely intervention can be cured with food.

That is an important point in itself that there is a point of no return, after which it becomes impossible to save a starving person by means of feeding. Can you describe the stages [development] of hunger disease?

The first stage is a decline in the reserves of fat. The second stage is an accelerated aging of all the body tissues. The final stage, which is relevant for our time, is called cachexia a sometimes irreversible decline in the mass of body fat and muscle; in children, it also affects the bones. At this stage, in cancer sufferers, for example, in order to help the patient, its necessary to treat the source of the cachexia. The tumor itself. The patient is fed, of course, but only if treatment of the cancer is successful will he be able to begin to recover.

The internal organs also respond to hunger with a process of shrinkage and nonfunctioning.

Autopsies performed during the study revealed a small liver, an enlarged spleen and a weakened heart muscle.

Winick writes that the physicians most important conclusion was that the rehabilitation process from hunger disease must be gradual. If the medics of the Allied liberation forces had known that, possibly many lives could have been saved. Many survivors died after liberation, simply because they ate.

That is a truly appalling story. Do you know what they were given? Condensed milk. The people who liberated them thought the survivors needed to be given something that would be both imperishable and rich in calories. But condensed milk is actually pure fat. Their body couldnt handle it. One of our fellow dietitians, Shulamit, second-generation [to Holocaust survivors], told us that when the Allies arrived in the camp where her father was, and distributed food, her father said: Take care of the others, I can wait. And thats how he was saved. If hed fallen on the food like all the others, he would have died on the spot.

When a person suffering from anorexia-induced cachexia comes to see me, we feed them very carefully. Ten calories per kilo of body weight, for example. At the same time, we start to correct the deficiencies in micronutrients, because that is what kills them. We add phosphorus, magnesium, vitamins. Without that treatment, all youre doing is bombarding the patient with calories, and the body just collapses. Only after we see a correction in those values can the caloric value be increased. Death resulting from food intake is a phenomenon we also have see among children in Africa, because of the good intentions of aid organizations, which simply didnt know what to do.

Generally speaking, its more difficult to assist undernourished children, because they need food in order to develop and not just in order to survive. When they dont receive food, the heart, the liver and the brain dont develop. It can be clearly seen that the process of collapse, which in adults lasted months, took weeks in children.

Unique point in history

I wonder if among the subjects in the ghetto there were those who were not in a terminal state, and who could possibly have been helped, but whose fate was sealed for the sake of the research.

I dont know. The findings show that they arrived in different stages of hunger. I find it hard to believe that any of them was in truly initial stages. Were talking about women who weighed 28 kilos [62 pounds]; elderly people who weighed 34 kilos. That is not a good situation. Its important to understand: They were given food in the ghetto hospital. Meager food, but still food. They were treated well. They were given painkillers. Their eye infections were treated. But it was impossible to save them.

Palliative care.

Yes. Their [suffering] was relieved as much as possible. And additionally, they were subjected to testing. The physicians carried out some of the tests on themselves, to set a reference point. Its all detailed here in the study. Systematically. With graphs they drew. Its simply out of the question that we dont have this material.

Overall, and for obvious reasons, there are very few studies about hunger. The best known of them is the Minnesota Starvation Experiment of 1944-45, which is controversial in itself.

That study was conducted on [draft-age young men]. What sort of malnutrition regime was imposed on them in the project? To consume 1,800 calories a day instead of 3,000 or 4,000. What would have happened if theyd had to subsist on the rationing that existed in the ghetto? God help us. Beyond that, the researchers didnt reach the achievements of the hunger study in Warsaw. The latters findings on how hunger affects the eyes, for example, is unparalleled.

The only way to arrive at such findings is through atrocities. Ethically and practically, there is no way to conduct a study of this kind. It could only have occurred at that point in history.

The doctors in the Warsaw Ghetto could also perform an autopsy to see exactly how hunger affected organs, but that was not an option in the Minnesota experiment. Its a wild historical drama: That horror is the greatness of the ghetto study; its the total opposite of the appalling studies the Nazis carried out in the Holocaust.

We havent spoken about the psychological effect of hunger.

At first there is whats known as hunger madness. People become violent. People are ready to do anything. Anything in order to eat and get food. Cannibalism can occur. Killing. Theft. The Minnesota study dwelt on this stage, because they wanted to understand the behavior of POWs; the study describes how they had to restrain the subjects with force because they were willing to do anything to get food. They wanted to eat everything, including non-foods. After the madness comes a stage of apathy. Youre hungry but you dont want to eat. Food is no longer of interest. The subjects in the ghetto study were already in that phase. They were apathetic.

That connection, between the studys historical importance and its scientific relevance, is rare.

Its findings are relevant. The method and the planning are relevant. Even the equipment they used is relevant. You know, I came back from Warsaw obsessed. My children cant take me any more. They tell me Im driving everyone crazy. I told the story of the research project to people I met in the supermarket. I just wanted to shout it out to the world. A month ago, I got back from another trip to Poland, this time to a conference in Krakow. It was unbelievable: The lectures revolved around the questions and the findings of the study. The knowledge theyre so proud of in 2019 it all already existed but no one knows about it. Its a scientific legacy of the first order.

The physicians in the ghetto had to decide either to despair of the situation and give up, or to tell themselves: I am a doctor and this is my way to fight back. They have not received sufficient scientific appreciation, certainly not enough for their greatness of spirit. Breakthrough studies like this one, studies that are milestones, are quoted and made use of for years upon years. This study remained in the dark. Today I can find through Google an article that appeared 30 years ago in the Lancet and order it. There is no access to the [text of the original] hunger disease study. Only those with a physical copy of the book can make use of it.

You and your colleagues have a plan.

Absolutely. First, we have to get hold of all the copies of the English-language edition that still exist and distribute them in relevant places: universities, laboratories, nutrition units in hospitals. The second thing I want to do is to get the book retranslated, from the Polish original. I dont know Polish, but even the superficial comparison I made shows that there are sections missing in the English and French versions. For example, the Polish version has the initials of all the names of the subjects. There are names of doctors who took part in the study and were omitted, and thus not perpetuated. I imagine that other things are also missing.

The aspiration is to translate the whole book anew and make it accessible, digitally, in libraries, in other sources. For people to work with it, study it, quote from it. And, of course, in the end we also want to have a Hebrew version, with notations and commentaries relevant for our time from expert physicians. On all these fronts we are moving ahead slowly but surely. It will all happen. We are goal-motivated. We will not give up.

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The secret starvation study conducted by Jewish doctors at Warsaw Ghetto - Haaretz

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SAN RAMON, Calif., Oct. 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Surprising results in a new national survey find that consumers rarely trust popular celebrity endorsements for weight loss programs. In fact, according to the survey, conducted by LeanMD, Inc., nearly 60% of adults say medical professionals are their go-to-source for weight loss information. Although the weight loss industry paid out multi-million dollar sums to celebrities for their endorsements last year, including the Kardashians, Oprah Winfrey, Rob Lowe, Marie Osmond and Dan Marino, the survey uncovered the fact that less than 2% of consumers are inclined to take their advice.

Less surprisingly, the survey found that men and women across all age, regional and economic demographics, have attempted to lose weight. Over one third of respondents have lost between ten and 25 pounds in their lifetime.

LeanMD, Inc. is a medically supported weight loss program that features a mobile app and offers patients a way to lose weight safely and effectively. Additional findings from their survey of 1,022 adults age 18 to 65 from across the US include:

"Although the weight loss industry pours incredible amounts of money into celebrity endorsements, we were not surprised to find most adults prefer to get their medical advice from a medical professional," said Dr. Mark Musco, co-founder, CEO & Chief Medical Officer of LeanMD. "When we look at a patient, we see the entire person, including their lab results, medical history, body composition analysis, and more. As medical providers, we have access to all the tools needed to maximize patients' metabolism and help them reach optimum health levels. For example, we can check hormone levels, thyroid function and other key metrics; and we can prescribe medications to help the patient manage hunger safely."

Dr. Musco adds that losing weight can be risky especially if the patient has known (or unknown) health conditions and it is important to have weight loss and vital signs monitored consistently, to ensure weight loss is accomplished safely.

About LeanMD, Inc.LeanMD is a medically supported weight loss program that features a mobile app and offers patients a way to lose weight safely and effectively. Today, LeanMD has locations throughout California, Colorado, Hawaii, Indiana, Louisiana, Texas and Oregon, with new markets scheduled to launch. Learn more at http://www.leanmd.com.

Photo(s):https://www.prlog.org/12793274

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View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/national-survey-debunks-celebrity-endorsements-with-nearly-60-of-adults-claiming-medical-professionals-are-their-go-to-source-for-weight-loss-info-300937297.html

SOURCE LeanMD, Inc.

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National Survey Debunks Celebrity Endorsements with Nearly 60% of Adults Claiming Medical Professionals are their Go-To Source for Weight Loss Info -...

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Mens Journal aims to feature only the best products and services. We update when possible, but deals expire and prices can change. If you buy something via one of our links, we may earn a commission.Questions? Reach us at shop@mensjournal.com.

Keeping the weight in check is a never-ending process. Even if someone gets set into a routine that becomes second nature, it is still basically work. Working to make sure the weight stays at the ideal level. But sometimes those people with a set routine start to see a weight gain. Slowly but surely the weight can inch up the scale.

What could possibly be causing this weight gain? There are plenty of reasons for this but the main reason that affects most people is a decrease in metabolism. As people grow older, their metabolism drops. Its just a fact of life. But sometimes it drops too steeply at too young an age. It can cause problems like weight gain or muscle mass decrease or trouble sleeping.

Trying to figure out if it is actually the metabolism levels that are causing these problems can be as simple as going to the doctor. But who really wants to go to the doctor? Nobody. Not because making sure the body is in top shape is a bad thing. Its because the entire process of going to the doctor is just a nightmare. Waiting forever and, even with insurance, spending too much money on what will end up being a 5-minute meeting with a doctor. Its mind-numbing.

Luckily, there is a way to get some health facts without having to go to the doctor. Cutting out at the middle man can only be a good thing. Over at EverlyWell, there are tons of options for take-home tests to get levels on all sorts of things. Testosterone levels or cholesterol levels can be checked from home with ease. And fittingly, EverlyWell also has a Take Home Metabolism Test.

The Take-Home Metabolism Test is really simple to use. Just order the test and it will be delivered pretty quickly to the home. Once it has arrived, enter the barcode on the box into the EverlyWell site. Then it is time to just give a little prick on the finger to extract a little bit of blood, then deposit some saliva into the prepackaged vials that come in the box. Pack them up and send them back to EverlyWell. From there, a board-certified physician will check the levels and send the results in on the EverlyWell platform.

What the doctor is going to look at is the levels of three key hormones. What the test will check out is cortisol, free testosterone, and thyroid-stimulating hormone levels. From there, the doctor will be able to figure out if the metabolism is not working at the highest functionality. And it is simple as can be. The Take-Home Metabolism Test is a lot simpler than having to get up and go to the doctor.

Being able to check out the metabolism levels at home with the Take-Home Metabolism Test is really the definition of convenient. There is nothing too difficult here. And from the comfort of home, each man can figure out what needs to be done with these results. There are plenty of ways to work around a metabolism deficiency. But they cant be utilized without the knowledge this test can provide. Get it now to get back on the right path.

Get It: Pick up the Take-Home Metabolism Test ($89) at EverlyWell.

Check out the great products and gear we recommend to Mens Journal readers.

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Get Your Metabolism In Order With This Take Home Test From EverlyWell - Men's Journal

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Jordan Teitelbaum is a successful guy. Also, busy. At 32, the father of two is finishing an endoscopic sinus surgery fellowship (he specializes in removing brain tumors through the nose), looking for a job, paying the mortgage on his new house, and trying to be present in the life of the woman he married three years ago while attempting, in the spare moments he doesnt really have, to look ahead.

Im only partially into my thirties, I can see that this will be the most demanding decade yet, he laughs. Im trying to set up the rest of my life, not just for myself, but for my little family.

Teitelbaum doesnt sleep much. And hes far from alone. Doctors or not hell, parents or not American thirtysomethings tend to struggle with the stress of their third decade after the comedown from their mid-twenties before stabilizing in their forties, lightening up in their fifties, and peaking again in their sixties. (Research shows that happiness peaks at the age of 23 and 69, hold the jokes.) The ennui takes many thirtysomethings by surprise they tend to be, after all, more secure and stable professionally, personally and financially than twentysomethings but maybe it shouldnt. In 1968, ur-developmental psychologist Erik Erikson posited that there are eight stages of psychosocial development and that the sixth stage, Intimacy vs. Isolation, occurs between the ages of 18 and 40. This stage is characterized by significant emotional conflict in close relationships. If the stage is completed, people move on to have healthy, secure, and committed relationships. If not, they struggle to move on with their lives and face a heightened risk of loneliness and depression in the long term. In other words, thirtysomethings like Teitelbaum are playing a high stakes game.

No wonder theyre so stressed.

Regardless of lifestyle, personal well-being, as measured by Gross Domestic Product in aggregate, tends to bottom out in peoples thirties. Why? Because as thirtysomethings shed the impractical expectations they carried through their twenties, age, economic realities, and social changes deliver a combination punch that, emotionally speaking, puts many on their ass. And, yes, its worse for parents. Theres reason to believe that the early parenthood drives down well-being scores significantly. As rewarding as parenthood may be in the long-term, the short term is hard as hell.

Before we hit our thirties its acceptable to make mistakes both professionally and romantically. But as we get older, failure may feel more significant and lead to some loneliness and isolation, Karen Rosen, a psychotherapist and clinical social worker, explains. Combine this with the strain of sustaining a household and you have some adults who are really tapped out. Its a time of pretty strained resources.

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There are plenty of economic factors that exacerbate thirtysomethings economic concerns. Financial experts recently estimated that the age of 31 is the most expensive year of peoples lives on average, costing people about $61,000. This is a consequence of a combination of big bills, such as weddings, buying a house, having a baby, and paying for a honeymoon, on top of everyday expenses, but does not include retirement savings or money to support a family in the long-term that will cost extra. That means that, with the average salary hovering just over $44,000 among full-time employees, plenty of people spend their third decade going into debt. This is more the case now than historically because of the outsized effect of the Great Recession on Millennials. Americans born between 1981 and 1996 have fallen short of every generation of young adults born after the Great Depression, amassing less wealth than their parents and grandparents higher levels of education. Men and women in their thirties are marrying at the lowest rates on record, and the U.S. birth rate is similarly the lowest it has been in 32 years.

Though the job market has recovered since cratering in 2008, Millennials remain behind when it comes to earning, wages adjusted seemingly forever down after entering a job market at cut-rate salaries, and thats on top of decades of wage stagnation. It doesnt help that student debt has exploded. The average debt after graduation is about currently $30,000, nearly double what it was in the 1990s.

What can people in their thirties do other than white knuckle it through the toughest time of their lives?

The not-so-great good news for Millennials is that many owe less because they have fewer assets. In 2016, homeownership rates fell to 36 percent among people under 30, compared to nearly half of Baby Boomers who owned homes at the same age. This has inevitably driven down home ownership rates overall to the lowest in half a century, 63 percent, compared to nearly 70 percent in 2005, when the subprime lending bubble was about to burst. The problem is not that Millennials are unmotivated or unaware of their generational shortcomings. Research out of Stanford found that most people over 25 actually want to get married by the age of 27, buy a home by 28, and start at family by their 29th birthdays. But since the ability to accomplish these goals has decreased with every generation, those between the ages of 25 and 34 want them the most. But thanks to the rise of the gig economy and false promises of hustle culture, they are the least set up to achieve them.

And heres the thing: Thirtysomethings would be feeling the burn even if none of those things was true. Why? Because thirtysomethings are in a high resource demand part of their lives. They are, on average, supporting a kid, making car payments, and trying to invest or investing in real estate. They are also incurring the costs of working (commuting isnt free) while also spending on activities designed to help them maintain social connections that seem increasingly tenuous. If weddings make peoples twenties expensive, everything makes peoples thirties expensive. This is a lesson people tend to learn in the fifties, when they report being about five to six percent happier than those in their thirties in no small part because theyve made it to lower demand, higher resource point in their lives.

Theres a reason why grandparents often seem so much happier than new parents. They have money.

They also have kids. That might sound odd, but theres a difference between having young children and having grown kids. Research suggests that having grown kids increases well-being profoundly and that having young children does not. Individuals who invest the struggle that is their thirties into having children, like Teitelbaum, generally experience higher levels of happiness in their fifties, whereas those who do not either flatline or become worse off.

A recent study of over 55,000 people 50 and older demonstrated this, along with other work published in 2011 and 1994. Parents are not invariably happy, but they become happier once children achieve economic independence and move out. This is presumably because grown kids provide social and emotional support and keep their parents engaged in a way that infants can not and do not, forcing their parents to look for meaningful connection elsewhere.

And that search, as many can attest, becomes hard after the party-hardy twenties come to an end. A study of over three million men and women found that the number of friendships they had started to decline in their mid-twenties, dropped off dramatically throughout their thirties, and did not begin to rebound again until their mid-forties, when their kids were older and more self-sufficient. The problem? Thirtysomethings just dont have the bandwidth to maintain many close relationships and lose touch with the outside world as a result. And this takes a massive toll. Friendship has been found to lower blood pressure and BMI, increased longevity, improved psychological health, and increase individuals ability to cope with rejection. For thirtysomethings, this is particularly dangerous. Consider Maslows hierarchy of needs. Its called a hierarchy for a reason: If people cannot elevate themselves to a point where they feel a sense of belonging, they will not be able to elevate themselves further and get a sense of self-esteem. This makes the inevitable diaspora of the thirties friends moving for work, love, and to have children profoundly destabilizing on a personal level.

Our basic needs such as food, sleep, shelter, and safety are the staples of our well-being. Lack in any of this can, in the long run, have detrimental effects on our health, Dr. Lina Velikova, a physician and sleep expert. When those needs are not met, it is that much harder for people to experience deeper feelings of fulfillment.

Its also worth dwelling on that second need for a moment because sleep and sleep related issues define, in many senses, the experience of living through ones thirties.

Sleep starts to naturally decline in sleep that starts at the age of thirty, exacerbating mental and emotional strain. Deep sleep specifically, also known as delta sleep, which supports memory and learning as well as facilitates hormone production, declines by some 50 percent by the time people enter their thirties. A massive review of literature published in 2017 found that this may be a result of aging brains fail to recognize signals of tiredness or exhaustion. The result is usually a combination of insomnia and sleepiness, the haze of early middle age. Parents, who lose an average 109 minutes of sleep every night for the first year of their childrens lives, struggle more.

People who sleep less than the recommended seven-hour minimum produce more stress hormones like cortisol, experience more inflammation, and are at a higher risk for certain types of cancers. Sleep deprivation can also lead to sexual dysfunction. Because thirtysomethings are often unaware of a biological transition taking place, they may misdiagnose symptoms of sleeplessness as signs of true sexual dysfunction, mood disorders, or even burnout.

Long story short, because of tiredness and feelings of abandonment, thirtysomethings focus bad energy on themselves. And all that self-reflection can exacerbate the problems.

In America, psychoanalysis really took off because it spoke to consumerism, it spoke to privileging the individual over the collective or community, and spoke to the inward, almost egotistically if overdone self-reflection, psychotherapist Michael Aaron explains.

The American wellness industry, broadcasting messages about hustling, seizing the day, getting perfect skin, meditating, and eating the right CBD vitamins, offers, at best, half-measures.

The problem is that individualism rarely makes anyone feel better. An overwhelming amount of evidence suggests that, for better or worse, immediate resources and environment move the needle the most when it comes to overall well-being. Immediate resources, thanks to increased spending, and environment, thanks to social shifts, are the two places that thirtysomethings tend to feel like theyre losing ground. Does therapy solve that? Only if therapy promotes social behaviors and only if it helps dad and mom find time to see friends. Pre-modern man didnt have these problems.

Aaron cites French sociologist mile Durkheims seminal 1897 work, Suicide, in which Durkheim demonstrates a strong link between industrialization and suicide rates. He concludes that capitalism makes it harder for individuals to meet their basic needs while maintaining close interpersonal relationships.

People were feeling atomized, and less of a sense of community, and feeling more alone and isolated. In losing their sense of community, they were more likely to experience depression that could lead to suicide, Aaron explains. Durkheims point is that we cannot minimize the role of the broader society in the way it affects people.

The American wellness industry, broadcasting messages about hustling, seizing the day, getting perfect skin, meditating, and eating the right CBD vitamins, offers, at best, half-measures. Rather than being empowered to solve problems by thinking socially, Americans are pushed towards consumer solutions. It is remarkable how many of those solutions are sold at considerable cost to people in their thirties.

So what can people in their thirties do other than white knuckle it through the toughest time of their lives? Making more of an effort to address basic social and emotional needs is obvious, but may not be practical for everyone. Time is short (especially for parents). But sleeping more, participating in active financial planning, and asking for help are all good ideas. And, as with all things, expectations are key and, research proves, strongly correlated with happiness and well-being. Thirtysomethings who expect to be crushing it, likely wont. Those who understand that they may have to sacrifice short-term well-being for long-term stability, on the other hand, will likely make it through unscathed.

Every day is a marathon, but I am happy precisely because I have two great kids, a talented and takes-care-of-most-things wife who is the dopest mom, and I am doing well in my career, says Teitelbaum. He pauses for a second to consider his success. Drained is a good word for it, he adds.

Teitelbaum claims he is happy. And thats critical. Happiness and well-being are different. While happiness is considered a temporary state or feeling, well-being is a more permanent stasis based on health, happiness, welfare, and prosperity. If well-being is the meal, then happiness is the butter. The good news is that happiness is not off the table for people in their thirties, especially parents of young children, and represents one area where they can gain traction. It may be a few years before you can get a full nights sleep, workout, eat right, or hang out with your buddies regularly, but it is possible to be content and proud of the hard work getting done.

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Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

The application provides an instant and fast responding source for its users. Applications are of different types that inspire people and to use for specific reasons. Almost every app has unique and special attention and attraction to specific communities for some purpose.

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Latest Application Ideas for Online Consultancy and Other Activities - iLounge

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Some women think that if they are not overweight, there is no need to do exercise or work out. However, it is a common mistake. Exercise is very important as it provides various health benefits besides weight loss.

Did you know exercise releases endorphins, which are feel-good chemicals? If you know the benefits of working out, you will stay motivated to do it regularly. We have compiled a list of benefits of regularly working out so that you can get out of your bed and get going.

What are the risks of not exercising?

A sedentary type of lifestyle can increase the risk of health problems such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, or osteoporosis. It can also lead to premature death from all causes such as complications of being overweight and obesity.

In many parts of the world, the number of overweight and obese people is increasing rapidly. Overweight and obesity are two of the major health issues caused due to not working out, while there are many more than these two. Therefore, it is advised that you take time out of your busy schedule to work out and see the benefits yourself. Here are a few of those benefits:

1. Prevents muscle loss

Over time, our bodies are not able to build muscles efficiently. Also, our muscles break down more quickly as compared to when we are young. If we make the workout a part of our regular schedule, we can not only maintain our muscle mass but can also increase it.

As a woman, if you work out regularly, you can keep your metabolism high. This will give you the strength and endurance to complete your everyday tasks. You can also prevent falls, which can be a life-changing experience for some of the adults.

2. Exercise improves sleep

Sleep is important to look and feel good because your body does the repair work during sleep. You get to replenish vital nutrients and vitamins during sleep. A growth hormone is secreted during sleep that helps to rebuild skin and hair, which is why it is called beauty sleep!

As per a survey, it was discovered that women find it more difficult to sleep or stay asleep as compared to men. This tendency may get even more troublesome during motherhood, monthly hormonal changes, or at the time of menopause. However, regular exercise can help improve sleep.

3. It increases your energy levels

A regular workout can help you increase your energy levels. Apart from being an energy booster for healthy people, it is a good solution for those suffering from various medical conditions. As per a study, regular exercise helped reduce the feelings of fatigue, which had complained about persistent fatigue.

You can combat chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and other serious illnesses through regular workout. It has also proven to increase the energy levels in people suffering from diseases such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis, etc.

If you want, you can also include supplements in your diet to get a better physique and higher energy levels. Body Iron Inside Out is an awesome website to check out the reviews of other users and see how they are benefited by taking particular supplements.

4. Reduces PMS symptoms and menstrual cramps

Some women find it difficult to deal with Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and menstrual cramps. However, studies suggest that regular exercise or workout is an effective way to reduce PMS symptoms and menstrual cramps.

Apart from reducing PMS symptoms, it is also effective for dealing with mental issues such as stress and irritability, which are very common among women. Working out during your menstrual periods has proven to improve your mood and reduce menstrual pain.

5. It helps you control your diabetes

Along with taking the right kind of diet to lower blood sugar levels, working out regularly is a great add-on. It increases your insulin sensitivity so that your cells can use the available insulin to take up glucose in a much efficient way.

An increase in insulin sensitivity can help delay your need for medication or let you use smaller doses than before. We all know exercise helps in reducing weight, which will, in turn, help you get your diabetes under control.

6. Weight Management

One of the most common and known benefits of workout is weight management. Working out regularly helps increase your caloric expenditure, which in turn will help you lose weight or maintain your ideal weight.

Regular exercise can help enhance your metabolic rate, which can make weight management a much simpler affair for you. It will also keep the obesity-related and heart-related diseases away from you.

Bottom Line

Regular workout offers many benefits that can enhance and improve nearly all aspects of your physical and mental health. It increases the production of hormones that are responsible for making you happier and help you sleep better.

Your skin will glow, you will lose weight, the risk of acquiring chronic diseases decreases, and your sex life improves tremendously. It helps improve sexual desire, function as well as performance in both men and women. You must do regular workout, whether it is aerobic or a combination of aerobic and resistance training, to get a healthier life.

However, you must consult a physician before starting any kind of workout so that you do it properly, especially if you have some pre-existing health issues.

Continue reading here:
6 Benefits of Workouts for Women - Don't Just Look Healthy, Be Healthy - Siliconindia.com

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

MONTREAL - Quebec will now cover the cost of a breakthrough immunocellular cancer treatment for young patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and adults with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, who meet the criteria.

"The therapeutic value was demonstrated," said Health Minister Danielle McCann on Tuesday, adding, "this kind of immunotherapy treatment is the way of the future, and we are at the forefront."

The health care investment represents $35-million annually for the province.

CAR-T cell therapy was approved by Health Canada last year for the two life-threatening cancers, when standard first line treatments are ineffective, or when patients have suffered relapses. However, up until now, access to the treatment has been limited to patients who are part of studies.

Now that the therapy is on RAMQ's list, it's estimated about 60 adults and ten children will benefit annually in Quebec.

"It's exciting, because we actually empower the patient's own immune system to target and attack and destroy this cancer,' says Dr. Isabelle Fleury, a hematologist-oncologist at Maisonneuve Rosemont Hospital, one of two centres in Quebec where the treatment is offered.Its also where pivotal immunotherapy research was conducted, which helped lead to the therapys regulatory approval.

Six-year-old St-Jean-sur-Richelieu resident Olivia Labelle was treated with CAR-T two months ago at Ste-Justine Hospital, the second centre accredited to administer the therapy. "She did really great, and her leukemia is in remission," according to her pediatric hematologist-oncologist, Dr. Henrique Bittencourt, who calls the treatment "revolutionary."

Dr, Bittencourt cautions that CAR-T, an immunotherapy and gene therapy combined, is not always the answer. Some pediatric patients relapse, but Bittencourt says 50 per cent of patients are still in remission about three-and-a-half years later.

As young Olivia zoomed around a Ste-Justine hallway, only pausing to hang upside-down on a sofa next to her doctor, it was difficult to imagine how sick she'd been only months earlier. "It's reassuring," her mother Anabelle Soucy-Cote sighs. "We've learned to appreciate the good moments."

After two rounds of chemotherapy failed, 64 year old Richard Vallieres became eligible for CAR-T therapy to help him recover from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Dr. Fleury was there with him in his Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital room as he received his re-engineered immune cells on Tuesday. "Of those (adult patients) who respond to CAR-T, 70 per cent are still in remission two years later, so it's a giant step," Fleury says.

CAR-T stands for chimeric antigen reception T-cell therapy.

In simple terms, this is how the personalized treatment works:

Currently, the patient's cells have to be sent to the United States to be modified. There are plans to develop a similar type of cell transformation laboratory at Maisonneuve Rosemont.

Minister McCann told CTV other provinces are in the process of analyzing whether they will follow Quebec's lead. Two hospitals in Ontario are developing treatment centres of their own.

In the meantime, "Quebec will also be able to provide care for people who are coming from other provinces in Canada," the health minister explained.

See more here:
Quebec to cover revolutionary cancer treatment for types of leukemia and non-Hodgkins lymphoma - CTV News

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Dr. John Geyman has been retired from medical practice for over twenty years now. But during that time, he has written more than twenty books as an emeritus faculty at the University of Washington.

Most of the books focus on the dysfunction of our medical industrial complex from the privatization of Medicare to Obamacare and Trumpcare and how we can replace it with pure single payer Medicare for all.

Lets go to some of the outliers first. You wrote a book called Flight is a Lifetime Passion.

I grew up in Santa Barbara during the war, Geyman told Corporate Crime Reporter in an interview last week. We were close to a Marine air base. I would look up and see B-17s or Wildcats fly over. I was always looking at the sky. I followed that closely as a teenager.

I wanted to fly in the Navy when I graduated from Princeton, but I flunked my eye test. Even though my eyes were better than 20/20, I had too much astigmatism. And if you are trying to land on a carrier with astigmatism, it doesnt work out well.

I didnt get to fly then, but I learned to fly during medical school and have flown regularly since those early years. Now I am a united flying octogenarian or UFO where I fly cancer patients regularly to the mainland from our island for chemo and radiation therapy.

It has always been a passion. And Ive had a number of airplanes, all small ones, some open air. Ive flown them across the country, including a biplane across from Texas to here in Washington. Flying has been an avocation for me. And Ive written several books on flying.

You wrote a book titled Souls on a Walk: An Enduring Walk Unbroken by Alzheimers.

Thats about my wife of 56 years Gene (Eugenia). She died of Alzheimers about eight years ago. She had a sixteen year course of Alzheimers. As is often the case in the early part, the signs are subtle. But I took care of her at home the whole way, except for the last four days in the hospital. I wrote about that and shared that experience and the whole problem of taking care of Alzheimers patients. She was an artist and painted a beautiful painting, even in the last few months. That book is a sharing of what it was like.

Do you have any insights into the causes of Alzheimers?

No. And there is still no cure on the horizon. There have been different theories as to the cause, but no one has nailed it down. The biggest risk is just growing older.

Most of your books deal with the healthcare system broadly. Your early books were The Modern Family Doctor and Changing Medical Practice (1971) and Family Practice: Foundation of Changing Healthcare (1980).

The first book where you deep dive on policy is Healthcare in America: Can Our Ailing System Be Healed? (2002).

I was trying to look at the whole system for the first time. I looked at the major trends decreasing access and increasing costs, specialization, increased technology. I looked at the politics, rationing in our free market society, lessons from other countries.

Then comes The Corporate Transformation of Healthcare: Can the Public Interest be Served (2005). Falling Through the Safety Net: Americans without Health Insurance (2005). Shredding the Social Contract: The Privatization of Medicare (2006).

Since then, Medicare has been privatized to a far greater degree. Medicare has effectively been corrupted. Now when you say Medicare for All, you are saying bring in a corrupted Medicare for All?

There always has been a pressure to privatize because there is a belief that the private sector is more efficient than the government sector. Thats fallacious. Traditional Medicare started in 1965 as a public single payer program for people over 65. But private insurers have always been pushing. And they say they can do it better. And they got government policy makers to go along.

The government has bailed out private insurers along the way with many billions of dollars in overpayments. It has been collusion with the federal government based on a theory that private is better. But it isnt. There is a huge amount of fraud in both Medicare and Medicaid. In Medicaid overpayments are endemic in more than 30 states, often involving unnecessary or duplicative payments to providers.

Is there any indication that a single payer system will be any better at deterring fraud than a multi-payer system?

Billing would be very much simplified. There would be negotiated fees with physicians, with other healthcare professionals that would be reasonable, fair and consistent. There would be negotiated global annual budgets with hospitals, nursing homes and other facilities. Right now, we have an electronic medical record which has become rapidly a billing instrument.

There are all kinds of daily profiteering on that. Two thirds of physicians are now employed by big hospital systems or in some cases insurance companies. The pressure on physicians is to upcode or say that you did more in that office visit than you actually did. The electronic record is a big part of the inflation in healthcare costs right now.

That would be reined in by simplifying the whole billing system under single payer.

You wrote a book in 2008 titled The Corrosion of Medicine: Can the Profession Reclaim Its Moral Legacy? Like the general population, doctors are split on the question of single payer.

There is a lot of distrust throughout our population of government and of Congress. One reason for the distrust is the privatization. There is also a lot of denial about the extent of the problem.

The polls show that 84 percent of Democrats support Medicare for All and even 52 percent of Republicans support Medicare for All.

But there are some polls asking if you were forced to give up your employer based insurance, would you still be in favor of Medicare for All? And those polls come out different.

The employer based system is being hyped by the coalition against Medicare for All. But its a very fragile system. Something like 40 million people lose their jobs or leave their jobs every year. And they lose their health insurance. The average person now has twelve different jobs before they get to be 50 years old. Its a very unstable system right now. And we would be much better off with a well run Medicare for All.

Under Medicare for All, 95 percent of Americans will pay less than they do now for health care and insurance. Its a no brainer if you look at the whole system.

In 2008, you came out with Do Not Resuscitate: Why the Health Insurance Industry is Dying and How We Must Replace It.

You say that we must replace it with a government run single payer. But its not just privatization that is undermining Medicare. Its also rampant government bureaucratization.

This is true. Its poor health policy. Its government at its worst bailing out the private insurance industry. That isnt to say that Medicare for All, well done, as it is in almost all advanced countries in the world western Europe, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Scandinavia. There are solid approaches for determining fair fees, bulk purchasing of drugs and medical supplies lots of savings though decreased administrative costs.

The overhead of private insurers is 18 to 20 percent. Traditional Medicare is 2.5 percent in this country right now.

In 1995, Taiwan solved their health care problems with a solid Medicare for All system. I was in practice in Mount Shasta in 1965 when Medicare and Medicaid came in. It was seamless. A patient would come in and show me their card. And the question was how can I help you? Not whats your insurance, as is the first question today when you go to the doctor.

In 2015 you wrote a book titled How Obamacare is Unsustainable: Why We Need a Single Payer Solution for all Americans. You were not a fan of Obamacare.

I wasnt. The politics hijacked it. Now, nine years into Obamacare, it has failed to contain costs or improve quality of care. The Obamacare insurers limit patient choice and access through restrictive and changing networks. Often even a doctor in a network doesnt know he or she has been changed. And patients often find out after the fact. Premiums have gone up by profiteering private insurers. That continues. More than 27 million are not insured. And 84 million Americans are underinsured. Deductibles keep going up. Deductibles as high as $10,000 a year are in effect. Middle aged Americans are much more likely to die of heart disease than they were in 2010. Obamacare has failed to improve access and contain costs because the private insurers have such a big role in the system. And there is quite a bit of fraud out there.

You say the vast majority of Americans support single payer. If that is the case, why dont we have it?

There is a huge amount of disinformation and rhetoric in the debate over how we should proceed. And much of it is carefully used to discredit Medicare for All.

Dr. Don McCanne does the quote of the day for Physicians for a National Health Program. Here is how he frames the situation:

Im much more worried about our friends than our enemies. A decade ago our friends kicked us out of the negotiations and brought us Obamacare. By now we could have had everyone covered at a cost we could afford, but instead we have tens of millions of uninsured and underinsured who are losing their choices in health care while our national health care expenditures increase at twice the rate of inflation, all the while perpetuating suffering, hardship, and premature death.

[For the complete q/a format Interview with John Geyman see 33 Corporate Crime Reporter 38(13), Monday October 7, 2019, print edition only.]

Link:
John Geyman on the Failure of Obamacare the Medical Industrial Complex and the Single Payer Solution - Corporate Crime Reporter

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

What are the symptoms?

Metastatic disease symptoms are tricky because they vary depending on where the cancer cells have spread, Henry says. Some symptoms might be caused by side effects of medication or they might be an indication of depression. Its important to explore the cause.

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I always encourage a patient with a history of breast cancer to call us if she has a new symptom, especially if it sticks around longer than expected, she says.

These are some common symptoms of metastatic breast cancer by site:

Symptoms of bone metastases:

Symptoms of brain metastases:

Symptoms of liver metastases:

Symptoms of lung metastases:

What are the treatments?

Patients with metastatic disease are primarily treated with systemic therapies drugs that work throughout the body. These include chemotherapy, targeted drugs and hormonal therapy. Surgery or radiation may be used to slow the growth or reduce the size of tumors.

Identifying optimal treatment depends on the specific type of breast cancer, specifically the hormone receptor status and the HER2 status of the cancer.

There are many different types of breast cancer. Oncologists will conduct extensive testing of tumors, with sequencing, and look at specific findings to understand what the cancer might respond to best, Henry explains.

For example, patients with hormone receptor positive cancers are typically first treated with anti-hormone treatments such as an aromatase inhibitor or fulvestrant, often in conjunction with other targeted drugs. Those with HER2-positive cancer will receive Herceptin or other treatments directed against HER2 as part of treatment. In addition, women with a BRCA gene mutation may receive a PARP inhibitor as part of their treatment.

More and more treatments are being developed and approved, so we have many more options for treatment now than we did just five to 10 years ago, Henry says.

Do men get metastatic breast cancer?

Yes. But only about 1%-2% of all breast cancers occur in men, so the disease is not very common in men overall. But when it does occur in men, it can spread and become metastatic, Henry says.

What is the prognosis?

While there is no cure for metastatic breast cancer, there are treatments that slow the cancer, extending the patients life while also improving the quality of life, Henry says. Many patients now live 10 years or more after a metastatic diagnosis.

We are seeing improvements in how long people are living. The new types of medicines that are being approved treat the cancer and help with other symptoms. People are not only living longer, but they are also feeling better longer for the most part, which is very encouraging.

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How do clinical trials fit into the equation?

I think clinical trials in general are very important, because almost every drug we have in practice right now, we learned about through a clinical trial, Henry says.

The Rogel Cancer Center always tries to have clinical trials available for all patients, no matter the stage.

Ask your oncologist about the opportunity to participate in clinical trials, even if it hasn't been mentioned to you, Henry says. It's one way to get access to new exciting drugs, which may be beneficial.

What if a patient sees the term metastatic on an online pathology report before seeing the oncologist? Does that mean they have stage 4?

Because we have electronic medical records now, and everyone has fairly early access to documents like pathology reports, it can cause a lot of anxiety and be very confusing to a patient, Henry says. Sometimes a pathology report may say metastatic to lymph node. But that may not mean it is stage 4. It may simply mean the cancer has spread to an adjacent lymph node. Henry emphasizes that patients should talk to their doctor to understand their diagnosis.

What hope do you give patients with metastatic breast cancer?

We have seen quite a number of medications approved in the last few years. And we know that there are more medications being reviewed by the FDA for consideration of approval in the next few years, Henry says. Its an exciting time in oncology to have all these new treatments being developed.

I always stress to patients that I want to do everything I can to help them live as long as they can, while still maintaining quality of life, allowing them to do the things they want to do. We do our best to make sure that we adjust treatment schedules to allow people to attend graduations or family reunions, or a trip they want to be able to take, explains Henry.

We want to help them look forward.

Continue reading here:
Metastatic Breast Cancer: What You Should Know - University of Michigan Health System News

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Stem cell therapy, which All Blacks prop Owen Franks used to help fix a damaged shoulder, is raising hopes of a whole range of medical breakthroughs.

But there's a way to go before the medical establishment is convinced.

In late 2017, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner ScottGottliebhad this to say:"We're at the beginning of a paradigm change in medicine with the promise of being able to facilitate regeneration of parts of the human body, where cells and tissues can be engineered to grow healthy, functional organs to replace diseased ones; new genes can be introduced into the body to combat disease; and adult stem cells can generate replacements for cells that are lost to injury or disease."

REGEN CELLULAR

Dr Hassan Mubark takes blood from All Blacks prop Owen Franks.

Yet, as an indication of how far there is still to go, the FDA has also warnedpeople in the USagainst "unscrupulous providers" offering stem cell products that were unapproved and unproven.

READ MORE:*Rugby World Cup 2019: All Black Owen Franks thrown a stem cell lifeline*Owen Franks hits back at critics following omission from Rugby World Cup squad*Stem cell therapy for All Black Israel Dagg as he hits comeback trail with Crusaders*Experimental stem cell treatment shows results for Waikato woman with MSA Cerebella*Stem cell clinics accused of taking advantage of patients*Reported stem cell treatment could give hope to Michael Schumacher

"Researchers hope stem cells will one day be effective in the treatment of many medical conditions and diseases," it said, thenadded: "Stem cells have been called everything from cure-alls to miracle treatments. But don't believe the hype."

Looking at just the area of deteriorating joints, it's easy to see how stem cell therapies, if they deliver on the promise,could make life much better for many people with osteoarthritis who are in pain and have restricted movement.

Last week, Otago University researchers predictedthe number of knee replacement surgeries needed for osteoarthritis would increase from around 5000 a year in 2013 to abut9000 in 2038.

AP

Former Formula One champion Michael Schumacher received devastating head injuries in a ski accident six years ago. Last month it was reported he has undergone stem cell treatment in Paris.

Osteoarthritis is the area where ReGen Cellular,the clinic where Franks had the therapy, has done most of its work in the past two to three years, although ithas recently expanded its services to include a range of diagnosed auto-immune conditions, among them rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and type 1 diabetes.

ReGensaid 55 per cent of its patients were aged over 60, 35 per cent were 40-60 and 10 per cent were sports-based.

Theclinic usesPure Expanded Stem Cell (PESC) therapy, which involves taking 40 grams - about a teaspoon - of fat from around a patient's stomach. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)in that sample are then multiplied in the clinic's Queenstown laboratory for about eight weeks. At the end of that process 100 million to 200 million cells have been produced.

Otago University

Otago University, Christchurch regenerative medicine research team have invented a bio-ink - a gel-like substance mixed with human stem cells - to be used with a bio-printer to make human body parts. Video shows the printer using bio-ink to make a body part.

For the treatment of osteoarthritis, between 50m and 100m stem cells are injected into larger joints, with 25m to 50m into smaller joints. ReGen said the therapy provided immediate pain reduction and increased mobility. MRI scans showed cartilage could and did regenerate.

ReGendescribedMSCs as the cells that "wake up damaged or lazy cells". Slightly more technically, Nature.com said MSCs wereadult stem cells present in multiple tissues, including the umbilical cord, bone marrow and fat.MSCscan self-renew by dividing and can differentiate into multiple tissues including bone, cartilage, muscle and fat cells, and connective tissue.

ReGen director of patient care Marcelle Noble said the clinic believed its treatments, if offered early enough, would save the public health system hundreds of millions of dollars through lessened replacement surgeries, and would save ACC millions of dollars in lengthy rehabilitation programmes.

The treatment for two knees was half the price of one knee replacement surgery within the public health system, she said. ReGen advertises osteoarthritis treatment for a single joint at $12,500 and for two joints at $15,000.

GETTY IMAGES

Former All Black Israel Dagg had stem cell therapy for an injured knee, but in the end had to give the game away because of the injury.

So far mainstream funding hadnot been offered for the therapy, Noble said. But the clinic had a "big breakthrough" earlier this year when two insurers in New Zealand accepted patients'PESC therapy claims. In July, ACC accepted consultation by ReGen's chief medical officer Dr Hassan Mubark.

ReGen only had data for the past five years on the success of its therapy, but the fact patients were returning to have other areas of their body treated was an indication of how people feltthe therapy was improving their quality of life, Noble said.

Globally, "massive" R&D spending was going into stem cell research. More therapies would become available and stem cell treatment would become "commonplace".

At any one time ReGen had 50-75 patients' cells growing in its incubators, Noble said. Of the patients treated, 40 per cent hadailments in therknees, 30 per cent in their hips, 20 per cent in their shoulders. The final 10 per cent were for sports and other issues, including problems with tendons, muscles, cartilage tears, fingers, elbows, ankles and hands.

SUPPLIED

Dr Ron Lopert undergoing part of the PESC treatment.

The first patient to undertake ReGen's PESC therapy was retired GP Dr Ron Lopert, who lives in Tauranga.

For five to 10 years, he had beengetting aches and pains in his hips after playing sport, and the problem was becoming more noticeable, he said. In 2013 he had an x-ray that showed he had moderate to severe osteoarthritis in both hips,more severein his right hip.

He stopped playing all sports and started researching different forms of treatment. Ideally, he wanted to be able to get some of his own cartilage back and reverse the osteoarthritis. It seemedPESCshould do that.

In 2015, aged 61, he had the therapy, with stem cells being injected into each hip joint.Within weeks henoticed an improvement in the range of motion and a decrease in pain, Lopert said.Some of that was just the anti-inflammatory component of stem cell injection, but he thought he also received a longer term benefit from cartilage regeneration.

SUPPLIED

Dr Lopert on his recent travels. He says he has much less hip pain.

He put the success of the procedure at75 per centin terms of symptoms and function, and100 per cent when it came to avoiding invasive surgery."I opted for a much more natural treatment where my own tissue is regenerating, instead of a metal prosthesis," Lopert said.

He was not sure all the improvement came from the stem cell treatment. As well as avoiding overuse of the joints, which meant he hadn't returned to playing sport, he had also switched to an anti-inflammatory diet.

His left hip continued to have hardly any symptomsbut he had started noticing the "odd twinge now and then" in his right hip.

"The vast majority of days it's fine provided I'm just walking and doing ordinary things. On the odd occasion I might carry something heavy, then I would notice it the next day and it (right hip) would stay painfulintermittentlyfor the next couple of days," Lopert said.

Sean Gallup

In this picture from February, German Chancellor Angela Merkel looks through a microscope at brain organoids grown from stem cells.

Some of his stem cells had been retained after the treatment, and he was booked in for a follow-up injection for his right hip at the end of October.

He expected the therapy would become a "go to" treatment, and would become an early intervention for osteoarthritis. But more independent research was needed to confirm the success of the treatment. "The evidence is slowly building up but there needs to be more before the Government will accept it," Lopert said.

In his case, he thought there had been cartilage regeneration in his hips, but that was based on his symptoms. "It would have been nice had I had MRI scans before and after the injection for objective evidence," he said.

From the perspective of the medical establishment, the New Zealand Orthopaedic Association said it supported a position statement on stem cell therapy produced by the Royal Australian College of Surgeons.

That paper, approved in mid-2018,noted stem cell therapy was a "rapidly advancing" area, but many proposed stem cell therapies were experimental and not yet proven. It did not support surgeons administering stem cell therapy outside of an ethically approved registered clinical trial.

"Whilst there may be scope for innovative treatment in the future, currently, the clinical effectiveness and safety of stem cell therapies remain scientifically unproven," RACS said.

In this country, an ACC spokesperson said ACC did not have an official position on stem cell therapy for the treatment of injuries. An internationally standardised evidence-based healthcare approach was used to help ACC decide how it covered injuries and funded treatments.

Dr HassanMubark, ReGen's chief medical officer, was a healthcare provider contracted to ACC in the specialty of rheumatology, and ACC had funded consultation fees with Mubark, the spokesperson said. Those consultations were for diagnostic and treatment planning purposes and did not need prior approval from ACC.

ACC had to consider legislative criteria when deciding whether to fund any particular treatment. There would be many reasons why ACC might decide to fund a client to see a rheumatologist for an opinion on the diagnosis and possible management of their condition. That would not commit ACC to funding any proposed treatment but would provide the client and ACC with information to help decision-making.

Follow this link:
Stem cell therapy helped Owen Franks but there's still plenty to prove - Stuff.co.nz

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Cell Therapy - Technologies, Markets and Companies" report from Jain PharmaBiotech has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report describes and evaluates cell therapy technologies and methods, which have already started to play an important role in the practice of medicine. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is replacing the old fashioned bone marrow transplants. The role of cells in drug discovery is also described. Cell therapy is bound to become a part of medical practice.

Stem cells are discussed in detail in one chapter. Some light is thrown on the current controversy of embryonic sources of stem cells and comparison with adult sources. Other sources of stem cells such as the placenta, cord blood and fat removed by liposuction are also discussed. Stem cells can also be genetically modified prior to transplantation.

Cell therapy technologies overlap with those of gene therapy, cancer vaccines, drug delivery, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Pharmaceutical applications of stem cells including those in drug discovery are also described. Various types of cells used, methods of preparation and culture, encapsulation and genetic engineering of cells are discussed. Sources of cells, both human and animal (xenotransplantation) are discussed. Methods of delivery of cell therapy range from injections to surgical implantation using special devices.

Cell therapy has applications in a large number of disorders. The most important are diseases of the nervous system and cancer which are the topics for separate chapters. Other applications include cardiac disorders (myocardial infarction and heart failure), diabetes mellitus, diseases of bones and joints, genetic disorders, and wounds of the skin and soft tissues.

Regulatory and ethical issues involving cell therapy are important and are discussed. The current political debate on the use of stem cells from embryonic sources (hESCs) is also presented. Safety is an essential consideration of any new therapy and regulations for cell therapy are those for biological preparations.

The cell-based markets was analyzed for 2018 and projected to 2028. The markets are analyzed according to therapeutic categories, technologies, and geographical areas. The largest expansion will be in diseases of the central nervous system, cancer, and cardiovascular disorders. Skin and soft tissue repair, as well as diabetes mellitus, will be other major markets.

The report contains information on the following:

Key Topics Covered:

Part I: Technologies, Ethics & Regulations

Executive Summary

1. Introduction to Cell Therapy

2. Cell Therapy Technologies

3. Stem Cells

4. Clinical Applications of Cell Therapy

5. Cell Therapy for Cardiovascular Disorders

6. Cell Therapy for Cancer.

7. Cell Therapy for Neurological Disorders

8. Ethical, Legal and Political Aspects of Cell therapy

9. Safety and Regulatory Aspects of Cell Therapy

Part II: Markets, Companies & Academic Institutions

10. Markets and Future Prospects for Cell Therapy

11. Companies Involved in Cell Therapy

12. Academic Institutions

13. References

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/9q5tz1

See more here:
Global Cell Therapy Technologies, Companies & Markets During the Forecast Period, 2018-2028 - ResearchAndMarkets.com - Business Wire

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

PENSACOLA, Fla. (WKRG) Osteoarthritis affects millions of people in the US. Symptoms range from minor pain to crippling pain that compromises quality of life. A groundbreaking study is underway at four prestigious research facilities in the United States. One of those is right here on the Gulf Coast. Tonight, Drexel Gilbert is on the road in Gulf Breeze.

Lori Jamison is a Pensacola native who, as a teenager, played basketball at Pine Forest High School. Today, she suffers from osteoarthritis in her knee. She believes its a result of basketball injuries.

I get stiffness, it interferes with my mobility. Sometimes its like a sharp needle going down your leg. When I go to the movie theater, I have to sit on the back row so I can stretch it out, Jamison said. She is participating in a clinical trial at Andrews Research and Education Foundation in Gulf Breeze.

The research is studying stem cell treatment for osteoarthritis in the knee. AREF is one of only four facilities in the country participating in the study. The others are Emory Orthopedics & Spine Center, Duke University and Sanford Health. Researchers hope it leads to FDA approval for the treatment. If that happens, it could be life-changing for patients.

Hopefully reduce their pain if not actually get rid of their pain. That is our goal. We want to delay, if not prevent, total knee replacement, said Dr. Josh Hackel, who is the primary investigator for the Andrews phase of the study. Were comparing three different stem cell sources. Bone marrow from their pelvis, adipose- thats tissue from their belly fat- and the third is umbilical cord tissue donated from pregnant mothers.

The bone marrow and belly fat stem cells are harvested from the study participants, under local anesthesia. The stem cells are later implanted into the knee joint using ultrasound guidance to implant the cells into the knee joint.

Jamison has already undergone stem cell harvesting.

It was very easy, very convenient, no downtime after the procedure was done, Jamison said

This $13 million clinical trial is being funded entirely by a grant from Bernie Marcus, founder of the Marcus Foundation and co-founder of Home Depot. Osteoarthritis is an issue that is close to the philanthropists heart because his mother was left disabled by the illness at a young age.

There will be around 120 participants at each of the four sites. There are plenty of openings. If youd like to be considered for the study, call AREF at 850-916-8591.

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Drexel on the Road: Stem cell study for osteoarthritis - WKRG News 5

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

This article, written byKatharine Sedivy-Haley, University of British Columbia, originally appeared on The Conversation and is republished here with permission:

When I was applying to graduate school in 2012, it felt like stem cells were about to revolutionize medicine.

Stem cells have the ability to renew themselves, and mature into specialized cells like heart or brain cells. This allows them to multiply and repair damage.

If stem cell genes are edited to fix defects causing diseases like anemia or immune deficiency, healthy cells can theoretically be reintroduced into a patient, thereby eliminating or preventing a disease. If these stem cells are taken or made from the patient themselves, they are a perfect genetic match for that individual, which means their body will not reject the tissue transplant.

Because of this potential, I was excited that my PhD project at the University of British Columbia gave me the opportunity to work with stem cells.

However, stem cell hype has led some to pay thousands of dollars on advertised stem cell treatments that promise to cure ailments from arthritis to Parkinsons disease. These treatments often dont help and may harm patients.

Despite the potential for stem cells to improve medicine, there are many challenges as they move from lab to clinic. In general, stem cell treatment requires we have a good understanding of stem cell types and how they mature. We also need stem cell culturing methods that will reliably produce large quantities of pure cells. And we need to figure out the correct cell dose and deliver it to the right part of the body.

Embryonic, 'induced and pluripotent

Stem cells come in multiple types. Embryonic stem cells come from embryos which makes them controversial to obtain.

A newly discovered stem cell type is the induced pluripotent stem cell. These cells are created by collecting adult cells, such as skin cells, and reprogramming them by inserting control genes which activate or induce a state similar to embryonic stem cells. This embryo-like state of having the versatile potential to turn into any adult cell type, is called being pluripotent.

However, induced pluripotent and embryonic stem cells can form tumours. Induced pluripotent stem cells carry a particularly high risk of harmful mutation and cancer because of their genetic instability and changes introduced during reprogramming.

Genetic damage could be avoided by using younger tissues such as umbilical cord blood, avoiding tissues that might contain pre-existing mutations (like sun-damaged skin cells), and using better methods for reprogramming.

Stem cells used to test drugs

For now, safety concerns mean pluripotent cells have barely made it to the clinic, but they have been used to test drugs.

For drug research, it is valuable yet often difficult to get research samples with specific disease-causing mutations; for example, brain cells from people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Researchers can, however, take a skin cell sample from a patient, create an induced pluripotent stem-cell line with their mutation and then make neurons out of those stem cells. This provides a renewable source of cells affected by the disease.

This approach could also be used for personalized medicine, testing how a particular patient will respond to different drugs for conditions like heart disease.

Vision loss from fat stem cells

Stem cells can also be found in adults. While embryonic stem cells can turn into any cell in the body, aside from rare newly discovered exceptions, adult stem cells mostly turn into a subset of mature adult cells.

For example, hematopoietic stem cells in blood and bone marrow can turn into any blood cell and are widely used in treating certain cancers and blood disorders.

A major challenge with adult stem cells is getting the right kind of stem cell in useful quantities. This is particularly difficult with eye and nerve cells. Most research is done with accessible stem cell types, like stem cells from fat.

Fat stem cells are also used in stem cell clinics without proper oversight or safety testing. Three patients experienced severe vision loss after having these cells injected into their eyes. There is little evidence that fat stem cells can turn into retinal cells.

Clinical complications

Currently, stem cell based treatments are still mostly experimental, and while some results are encouraging, several clinical trials have failed.

In the brain, despite progress in developing treatment for genetic disorders and spinal cord injury, treatments for stroke have been unsuccessful. Results might depend on method of stem cell delivery, timing of treatment and age and health of the patient. Frustratingly, older and sicker tissues may be more resistant to treatment.

For eye conditions, a treatment using adult stem cells to treat corneal injuries has recently been approved. A treatment for macular degeneration using cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells is in progress, though it had to be redesigned due to concerns about cancer-causing mutations.

A path of cautious optimism

While scientists have good reason to be interested in stem cells, miracle cures are not right around the corner. There are many questions about how to implement treatments to provide benefit safely.

In some cases, advertised stem cell treatments may not actually use stem cells. Recent research suggests mesenchymal stem cells, which are commonly isolated from fat, are really a mixture of cells. These cells have regenerative properties, but may or may not include actual stem cells. Calling something a stem cell treatment is great marketing, but without regulation patients dont know what theyre getting.

Members of the public (and grad students) are advised to moderate their excitement in favour of cautious optimism.

Katharine Sedivy-Haley, PhD Candidate in Microbiology and Immunology, University of British Columbia

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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BEYOND LOCAL: Expert recommends 'path of cautious optimism' about the future of stem cell treatment - ElliotLakeToday.com

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Jennifer Adair, a senior scientist at Fred Hutch, speaks at the 2019 GeekWire Summit. (GeekWire Photo / Kevin Lisota)

Genetically editing cells using CRISPR could be the answer to curing genetic disorders such as sickle cell anemia. But in order for the technology to be available for people in countries like Nigeria where around a quarter of the population carries the sickle cell trait the technology will need to become substantially cheaper and less invasive.

Thats where gold nanoparticles come in.

Scientists at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center are devising an approach that vastly simplifies how CRISPR is applied. Their goal is to create a safe process for gene editing that takes place entirely within the body of a patient.

In order to edit human stem cells using CRISPR today, scientists have to follow a process that involves removing the cells from a patients bone marrow, electrocuting those cells, and modifying them with engineered virus particles.

The process gets even more invasive from there. We actually have to treat these patients with chemotherapy, radiation or other agents in order for these cells that were genetically manipulated to be taken up, Jennifer Adair, a senior scientist at Fred Hutch, said during a talk at the 2019 GeekWire Summit.

The researchers think theyve figured out the first step, which is delivering CRISPR to blood stem cells inside the body. Theyre doing that using gold nanoparticles that are about a billionth the size of a grain of table salt and able to smuggle in RNA, DNA and a protein.

Weve been able to show that not only can we make these, but they passively deliver all of those components to blood stem cells, then we do get genetic editing. And weve been able to go on to show that we can correct the sickle cell defect using this approach, said Adair.

The nanoparticles are big enough to carry the CRISPR payload but small enough to infiltrate cell membranes. Gold is a useful medium since it isnt harmful to humans.

The Fred Hutch team published their work with gold nanoparticles earlier this year in the journal Nature Materials. The system safely edited 10 to 20 percent of the target cells, which the researchers hope will increase as the method is refined.

In an ideal world, clinicians would be able to deliver gene therapy through a syringe, a process that might be accomplished in a single office visit. Adair previously published research on agene therapy in a box concept, a table-top device that could provide gene therapy treatments without the need for expensive medical infrastructure.

We need to develop technologies that make gene editing simpler, more affordable and more accessible to patients around the world, Adair said.

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Fred Hutch scientist on how gold nanoparticles could bring CRISPR to the developing world - GeekWire

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Stem Cell Therapy Market is expected to reach 202.77 billion by 2026 from 12.25 billion in 2017 at CAGR of 42.02%.(Detailed analysis of the market CAGR is provided in the report) stands for use of stem cells to treat or prevent disease or condition.

Bone marrow transplant and some therapies derived from umbilical cord blood are mainly used in stem cell therapy. Advancement, in order to establish new sources for stem cells, and to apply stem-cell treatments for neurodegenerative diseases and conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and other conditions, are increased in recent years. Stem Cell Therapy Market Researchers are making efforts to discover novel methods to create human stem cells. This will increase the demand as well as supply for stem cell production and potential investigation in disease management. Increasing investment & research grants for developing safe and effective stem cell therapy products, the growing patient base for target diseases, concentrated product pipelines, increasing approval of the new clinical trials, rapid technological advancement in genomics, and the rising awareness about the stem cell are expected to drive the growth of the Stem Cell Therapy solutions market during the forecast period.

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However, improper infrastructure, insufficient storage systems, nascent technology in underdeveloped economies, Ethical issues related to an embryonic stem cell, low patient acceptance rate, Difficulty in the preservation of stem cell are expected to restrain the market growth. North America is expected to be the largest growing region by 2026; the reason behind that is extensive funding by Government. However, Emerging countries like India, china, Korea have low growth rate as compared to Developed regions in 2017 but increase in awareness about stem cell therapy will lead the Asia Pacific to generate a significant level of revenue by 2026.Key Highlights of Stem Cell Therapy Market report

Detailed quantitative analysis of the current and future trends from 2017 to 2026, which helps to identify the prevailing market opportunities.Comprehensive analysis of factors instrumental in changing the market scenario, rising prospective opportunities, market shares, core competencies in terms of market development, growth strategies and identification of key companies that can influence this market on a global and regional scale.Assessment of Market definition along with the identification of key drivers, restraints opportunities and challenges for this market during the forecast period.Complete analysis of micro-markets with respect to individual growth trends, prospects, and contributions to the overall Stem Cell Therapy Solutions market.Stem Cell Therapy market analysis and comprehensive segmentation with respect to the Application, End users, Treatment, and geography to assist in strategic business planning.Stem Cell Therapy market analysis and forecast for five major geographies-North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, Latin America, and their key regions.For company profiles, 2017 has been considered as the base year. In cases, wherein information was unavailable for the base year, the years prior to it have been considered.

Research Methodology:

The market is estimated by triangulation of data points obtained from various sources and feeding them into a simulation model created individually for each market. The data points are obtained from paid and unpaid sources along with paid primary interviews with key opinion leaders (KOLs) in the market. KOLs from both, demand and supply side were considered while conducting interviews to get an unbiased idea of the market. This exercise was done at a country level to get a fair idea of the market in countries considered for this study. Later this country-specific data was accumulated to come up with regional numbers and then arrive at a global market value for the stem cell therapy market.

Key Players in the Stem Cell Therapy Market are:

Chiesi Farmaceutici S.P.A Are:Gamida CellReNeuron Group, plcOsiris Therapeutics, Inc.Stem Cells, Inc.Vericel Corporation.Mesoblast, Ltd.

Key Target Audience:

Stem Cell Associations and OrganizationsGovernment Research Boards and OrganizationsResearch and consulting firmsStem Cell Therapy Market InvestorsHealthcare Service Providers (including Hospitals and Diagnostic Centers)Stem Cell Therapeutic Product Manufacturing OrganizationsResearch LabsClinical research organizations (CROs)Stem Cell Therapy Marketing PlayersPharmaceutical Product Manufacturing Companies

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Scope of the Stem Cell Therapy Market Report:

Stem Cell Therapy market research report categorizes the Stem Cell Therapy market based on Application, End users, Treatment, and geography (region wise). Market size by value is estimated and forecasted with the revenues of leading companies operating in the Stem Cell Therapy market with key developments in companies and market trends.Stem Cell Therapy Market, By Treatments:

Allogeneic Stem Cell TherapyAutologous Stem Cell Therapy

Stem Cell Therapy Market, By End Users:HospitalsAmbulatory Surgical CentersStem Cell Therapy Market, By Application:OncologyCentral Nervous System DiseasesEye DiseasesMusculoskeletal DiseasesWound & InjuriesMetabolic DisordersCardiovascular DisordersImmune System DisordersStem Cell Therapy Market, By Geography:

North AmericaEuropeAsia PacificMiddle East & AfricaLatin America

Available Customization:

With the given market data, Maximize Market Research offers customization of report and scope of the report as per the requirement

Regional Analysis:

Breakdown of the North America stem cell therapy marketBreakdown of the Europe stem cell therapy marketBreakdown of the Asia Pacific stem cell therapy marketBreakdown of the Middle East & Africa stem cell therapy marketBreakdown of the Latin America stem cell therapy market

MAJOR TOC OF THE REPORT

Chapter One: Stem Cell Therapy Market Overview

Chapter Two: Manufacturers Profiles

Chapter Three: Global Stem Cell Therapy Market Competition, by Players

Chapter Four: Global Stem Cell Therapy Market Size by Regions

Chapter Five: North America Stem Cell Therapy Revenue by Countries

Chapter Six: Europe Stem Cell Therapy Revenue by Countries

Chapter Seven: Asia-Pacific Stem Cell Therapy Revenue by Countries

Chapter Eight: South America Stem Cell Therapy Revenue by Countries

Chapter Nine: Middle East and Africa Revenue Stem Cell Therapy by Countries

Chapter Ten: Global Stem Cell Therapy Market Segment by Type

Chapter Eleven: Global Stem Cell Therapy Market Segment by Application

Chapter Twelve: Global Stem Cell Therapy Market Size Forecast (2019-2026)

Browse Full Report with Facts and Figures of Stem Cell Therapy Market Report at: https://www.maximizemarketresearch.com/market-report/stem-cell-therapy-market/522/

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Stem Cell Therapy Market by Treatment,Application,End Users and Geography Forecast To 2026 - Weekly Spy

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

By JLNJ Staff | October 10, 2019

(Courtesy of Ezer Mizion) Flying 35,000 feet above the Atlantic Ocean is not an easy job! But Ofer had already spent 17 years as a fighter pilot in the IDF defending the State of Israel. In 2003 he left the reserves and joined El-Al full time. Most people dont realize that being a pilot is a very dangerous profession. When you know it is dangerous you are safe but when you think it is easy, when youre a cowboy, you are unsafe! A pilots job is to always be alert in case something happens. Ofer always remained alert with hundreds of travelers under his wing, quite literally!

But after 16 years of flying for El-Al, Ofer started to feel fatigued. It became difficult for me to walk up with steps to the plane from the tarmac. I thought I was starting to get old or out of shape. But the truth was far more devastating: after routine blood tests, Ofer was diagnosed with leukemia!

I was immediately rushed to the hospital. When I arrived they couldnt even find bone marrow inside my body for a biopsy. I had very little bone marrow left in my body.

Ofer started to think about his future. He thought, Will I ever be able to fly again? Will I be able to see my children again? Will I get to meet my grandchildren?

It was a very difficult time in my life. I was very lucky to have the best doctors in Israel. Shortly after Jan 1, 2017, Ofer was told that Ezer Mizion had a perfect bone marrow match for him! He was thrilled, but still very hesitant. I knew I was not yet out of the woods. I was on a new medication and I was starting to feel better. I did not know if I wanted to risk a transplant with possible complications. Ofer decided to take a vacation to Moscow. He had always traveled the world and Moscow was one place he had never visited but had always wanted to see. The doctors told me if I get even a small virus I can forget about the whole transplant. I put my faith in God and said, if it is meant to be, then I will return and have the transplant.

On Feb. 28, Ofer landed back in Tel Aviv, and March 1 started his preparations for a transplant.

Pushing through all the negative thoughts, Ofer decided to fight. He was absolutely determined to overcome this illness and would go to any lengths to get better.

A short six weeks later Ofer was released from the hospital and returned to his family.

David Bugoslavski was in the middle of his military service on Mt. Hermon when he received a call from Ezer Mizion that he is a perfect match for a cancer patient. Ironically, David wasnt supposed to have his phone on him while he was in the middle of active duty. Yet, as he explains, fate thought otherwise. He knew that Ezer Mizion needed him, and while he did not know Ofer personally, he jumped at the opportunity to save the pilots life.

Thanks to Davids transplant, Ofer is alive today. While the recovery process is slow and there has been some turbulence along the way, Ofer has his life back. One of Ofers dreams had always been to fly a Boeing Dreamliner. Unfortunately, due to his medical history, this dream will never come to fruition in his capacity as a pilot but he still loves to travel the world, even if hes sitting in the back of the plane.

David was able to jump on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to save a life. Ofer was able to be the recipient of a special and unique kindness, having his life literally saved by someone else. As Ofer explained so beautifully, David: without you, I wouldnt be here... For me, you are part of the family.

Ezer Mizions bone marrow registry has close to 1 million registrants, with over 550,000 of them IDF soldiers. At Ezer Mizion, no matter who you are or where you come from, your life matters. Ofer and David are just one example of the lifesaving mission of Ezer Mizion taking flight. At Ezer Mizion, unconditional love is not just a term thrown around, but a philosophy that is in the very DNA of the organization. As Dr. Bracha Zisser, director and founder of Ezer Mizions National Bone Marrow Registry says, We have created a true connection of blood between two people who did not know each other at all up to that point. A connection that would not have happened without the unconditional immediate enlistment of David or, as Ofer called him, my angel.

Join Ezer Mizion on November 9 at Congregation Keter Torah in Teaneck at 7:30 p.m. for an Evening of Heroes: a beautiful musical Havdalah by Shulem Lemmer, meet real IDF heroes who have saved lives by donating their stem cells, and a fireside chat with Bret Stephens and Nachum Segal. Learn more about Ezer Mizion and RSVP for the Evening of Hereos by going to http://www.eveningofheroes.com, or contact Ryan Hyman, national director of development, at [emailprotected] or 718-853-8400 ext.109.

Read more from the original source:
The Connection Deeper Than Blood - Jewish Link of New Jersey

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

The 2019 Nobel Prize in Medicine awarded for research in cellular responses to oxygen By Benjamin Mateus 10 October 2019

In the course of a lifetime, the human heart will beat more than three billion times. We will have taken more than 670 million breaths before we reach the end of our lives. Yet, these critical events remain unconscious and imperceptible in everyday life, unless we exert ourselves, such as running up several flights of stairs. We quickly tire, stop to take deep breaths and become flushed.

With the deepening comprehension by medical science of how our bodies work, we have come to better understand the fundamental importance of oxygen to life. Every living organism relies on it in one form or another. However, how cells and tissues can monitor and respond to oxygen levels remained difficult to elucidate. It has only been late in the 20th century with advances in cellular biology and scientific instrumentation that these processes have finally been explained.

On Monday, the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded jointly to three individuals: William G. Kaelin, Jr., Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe, and Gregg L. Semenza. Specifically, their discoveries helped elucidate the mechanisms for lifes most basic physiologic processes.

They were able to discover how oxygen levels directly affect cellular metabolism, which ultimately controls physiological functions. More importantly, their findings have significant implications for the treatments of conditions as varied as chronic low blood counts, kidney disease, patients with heart attacks or stroke and cancers. One of the hallmarks of cancer is its ability to generate new blood vessels to help sustain its growth. It also uses these oxygen cellular mechanisms to survive in low oxygen environments.

Dr. William G. Kaelin Jr. is a professor of medicine at Harvard University and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The main focus of his work is on studying how mutations in what are called tumor suppressor genes lead to cancer development. Tumor suppressor genes are special segments of the DNA whose function is to check the integrity of the DNA before allowing a copy of itself to be made and undergo cell division, which prevents cells from propagating errors. Cellular mechanisms are then recruited to fix these errors or drive the cell to destroy itself if the damage is too severe or irreparable.

His interest in a rare genetic disorder called Von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL) led him to discover that cancer cells that lacked the VHL gene expressed abnormally high levels of hypoxia-regulated genes. The protein called the Hypoxia-Inducible Factor (HIF) complex was first discovered in 1995 by Gregg L. Semenza, a co-recipient of the Nobel Prize. This complex is nearly ubiquitous to all oxygen-breathing species.

The function of the HIF complex in a condition of low oxygen concentration is to keep cells from dividing and growing, placing them in a state of rest. However, it also signals the formation of blood vessels, which is important in wound healing as well as promoting the growth of blood vessels in developing embryos. In cancer cells, the HIF complex helps stimulate a process called angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels, which allows the cancer cells to access nutrition and process their metabolic waste, aiding in their growth. When the VHL gene is reintroduced back into the cancer cells, the activity of the hypoxia-regulated genes returns to normal.

Dr. Gregg L. Semenza is the founding director of the vascular program at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Cell Engineering. He completed his residency in pediatrics at Duke University Hospital and followed this with a postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins. His research in biologic adaptations to low oxygen levels led him to study how the production of erythropoietin (EPO) was controlled by oxygen. EPO is a hormone secreted by our kidneys in response to anemia. The secretion of EPO signals our bone marrow to produce more red blood cells.

His cellular and mouse model studies identified a specific DNA segment located next to the EPO gene that seemed to mediate the production of EPO under conditions of low oxygen concentration. He called this DNA segment HIF.

Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe, a physician and scientist, trained as a nephrologist, was head of the Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine at the University of Oxford until 2016, when he became Clinical Research Director at the Francis Crick Institute. Through his research on the cellular mechanisms of EPO and its interaction between the kidneys and red cell production, he found that these mechanisms for cellular detection of hypoxia, a state of low oxygen concentration, were also present in several other organs such as the spleen and brain. Virtually all tissues could sense oxygen in their micro-environment, and they could be modified to give them oxygen-sensing capabilities.

Dr. Kaelins findings had shown that the protein made by the VHL gene was somehow involved in controlling the response to low oxygen concentrations. Dr. Ratcliffe and his group made the connection through their discovery that the protein made by the VHL gene physically interacts with HIF complex, marking it for degradation at normal oxygen levels.

In 2001, both groups published similar findings that demonstrated cells under normal oxygen levels will attach a small molecular tag to the HIF complex that allows the VHL protein to recognize and bind HIF, marking it for degradation by enzymes. If the oxygen concentration is low, the HIF complex is protected from destruction. It begins to accumulate in the nucleus where it binds to a specific section of the DNA called hypoxia-regulating genes, which sets into motion the necessary mechanisms to respond to the low oxygen concentration.

The ability to sense oxygen plays a vital role in health and various disease states. Patients who suffer from chronic kidney failure also suffer from severe anemia because their ability to produce EPO is limited. This hormone is necessary for the stem cells in our bone marrow to produce red blood cells. Understanding how cancer cells utilize oxygen-sensing mechanisms has led to a variety of treatments that targets these pathways. The ability to elucidate these mechanisms offers insight into directions scientists and researchers can take to design or create novel treatments.

The WSWS recently published its 75,000th article. Become a monthly donor today and keep up this vital work. It only takes a minute. Thank you.

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The 2019 Nobel Prize in Medicine awarded for research in cellular responses to oxygen - World Socialist Web Site

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DORVAL, QC, Oct. 9, 2019 /CNW/ - Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. is pleased to announce that sites in Quebec have been certified in accordance with applicable requirements to treat eligible patients with Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel), the first chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy that received regulatory approval in Canada. Patients with relapsed/refractory (r/r) pediatric and young adult B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and adult r/r diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) may be eligible to be treated with Kymriah at one of the initially certified Canadian treatment sites. This news coincides with the Quebec government announcement that Kymriah is now reimbursed for eligible patients under the Rgie de l'assurance maladie du Qubec (RAMQ)ii.

Eligible patients in Quebec are now able to access Kymriah from the Centre hospitalier universitaire (CHU) Sainte-Justine and Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital (HMR) in Montreal.

"Novartis feels it is important to acknowledge the collaborative effort by all stakeholders involved to ensure Canadians have access to the first approved CAR-T therapy for patients with B-cell ALL and DLBCL who historically have poor outcomes. With treatment centers certified in Quebec, this allows patients with these two life-threatening cancers the opportunity to be treated with CAR-T therapy," said Daniel Hbert, Medical Director, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. "Novartis is committed to bringing additional qualified treatment centers from other parts of the country into the network to give Canadians the opportunity to be treated closer to home."

Due to the sophisticated and individualized nature of Kymriah, treatment sites that are part of the network are required to be FACT-accredited (Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy), qualified to perform intravenous infusion of stem cells collected from the bone marrow of a donor, also referred to as allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) and have experience with cell therapies, leukemia and lymphoma to facilitate safe and seamless delivery of Kymriah to eligible patients.

"We are thrilled with this news because we will now be able to treat patients at our institution with the knowledge that their therapy will be publicly funded. We see this as a significant step forward. The young patients we see who have refractory or relapsed B-cell ALL are desperately in need of a new treatment option. Kymriah brings hope to patients who are literally in a fight for their life." said Dr. Henrique Bittencourt, hematologist at the CHU Sainte-Justine in Montreal and Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Universit de Montral.

"The expertise at HMR has raised the profile of our organization, which is a major Quebec, Canadian and worldwide pole for health innovation. Thanks to the dedicated work of our care, research and teaching teams, patients can now access this new treatment with demonstrated effectiveness and impact on quality of life," said Sylvain Lemieux, President and CEO, Centre intgr universitaire de sant et de services sociaux (CIUSSS) de l'Est-de-l'le-de-Montral.

About Kymriah Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel), a CD19-directed genetically modified autologous T-cell immunocellular therapy, is approved to treat two life-threatening cancers that have limited treatment options and historically poor outcomes, demonstrating the critical need for new therapies for these patients.

Kymriah is approved by Health Canada for use in pediatric and young adult patients 3 to 25 years of age with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who are refractory, have relapsed after allogenic stem cell transplant (SCT) or are otherwise ineligible for SCT, or have experienced second or later relapse; and for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory (r/r) large B-cell lymphoma after two or more lines of systemic therapy including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) not otherwise specified, high grade B-cell lymphoma and DLBCL arising from follicular lymphomai.

Kymriah is a one-time treatment that uses a patient's own T cells to fight and kill cancer cells. Bringing this innovative therapy to Canadian patients requires collaboration among many health system stakeholders.

Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel) Important Safety InformationThe full prescribing information for Kymriah can be found at: http://www.novartis.ca

Novartis Leadership in Cell and Gene TherapyNovartis is at the forefront of investigational immunocellular therapy and was the first pharmaceutical company to significantly invest in CAR-T research, work with pioneers in CAR-T and initiate global CAR-T trials. Kymriah, the first approved CAR-T cell therapy in Canada, is the cornerstone of this strategy. Active research programs are underway targeting other hematologic malignancies and solid tumors, and include efforts focused on next generation CAR-Ts that involve simplified manufacturing schemes and gene edited cells.

About Novartis in CanadaNovartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc., a leader in the healthcare field, is committed to the discovery, development and marketing of innovative products to improve the well-being of all Canadians. In 2018, the company invested $52 million in research and development in Canada. Located in Dorval, Quebec, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. employs approximately 1,000 people in Canada and is an affiliate of Novartis AG, which provides innovative healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. For further information, please consult http://www.novartis.ca.

About NovartisNovartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend people's lives. As a leading global medicines company, we use innovative science and digital technologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medical need. In our quest to find new medicines, we consistently rank among the world's top companies investing in research and development. Novartis products reach more than 750 million people globally and we are finding innovative ways to expand access to our latest treatments. About 108,000 people of more than 140 nationalities work at Novartis around the world. Find out more at http://www.novartis.com.

Kymriah is a registered trademark.

References_____________________________________________i Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc., Kymriah Product Monograph. January 7, 2019.ii Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services press release. October 8, 2019. Available at: https://www.newswire.ca/fr/news-releases/la-therapie-car-t-cell-maintenant-disponible-au-quebec-821953237.html

SOURCE Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc.

For further information: Novartis Media Relations, Daphne Weatherby, Novartis Corporate Communications, +1 514 633 7873, E-mail: camlph.communications@novartis.com

http://www.novartis.ca

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Novartis completes certification of initial sites in Quebec for first approved Canadian CAR-T therapy, Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel)(i) - Canada NewsWire

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith