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Re-Growing Organs Becoming Reality

Medicine's next big thing:  re-growing organs.

Easily Overlooked Lesions Tied to Colon Cancer

This is important medical news: Easily Overlooked Lesions Tied to Colon Cancer

Blind Man Regains Sight After Doctors Implant Son's Tooth in His Eye

This is strange and wonderful.

The Utopia of Nationalized Healthcare in Britain

More fun, fun, fun in Britain's nationalized health care system -- you know, the same kind of system that Democrats want to bring to America.

Incredible as it may seem, many patients in Brtain are denied life-saving treatments because the nationalized health care system just can't afford it.  For patients who are denied treatment, what options are left?  They can try to pay for some treatment themselves, but the government health care system may also slap them down for it.  From the New York Times:

Government Healthcare: Wait in the Ambulance 5 Hours

Britons are waiting in ambulances outside emergency rooms for up to FIVE hours, just to help emergency rooms meet their goal of treating patients within FOUR hours.  "Figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats show that last year 43,576 patients waited longer than one hour before being let into emergency units. "

Of course, that means the ambulances are unavailable to answer other emergency calls.

What could possibly go wrong?

(Via Don Surber)

Remote Control Contraception

By DemocracyRules

From the Daily Telegraph

"VASECTOMIES could be a thing of the past thanks to a remote-controlled implant that can stop the flow of sperm... Scientists who invented the implant say it could be used as a form of male contraception...The procedure is carried out with a local anaesthetic and the dissolvable stitches usually disappear within a week." 

The device functions like a valve that can open and shut.  A radio signal passes through the skin to the device, which has a tiny antenna. The antenna then activates the device to open or close the valve. 

This device is still in the early stages of testing in Holland, and as Edison said, invention is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.  The device has no volume control, and sperm may be somewhat impaired (confused?) after the procedure.

It is not clear to me how one changes the batteries.  Perhaps the man can plug himself in at night to recharge them.   At least initially, the remote will look a bit like a remote-locking device on a car.  The man would press the 'open' button before having sex if he and his partner wanted to conceive.  If the woman begins to call out someone else's name in the middle of the act, I suppose the man could press the 'close' button.

A 'one button remote' may not be enough.  Other 'electronic marital aids' are also available in remote control versions, so I suppose multi-function remotes are inevitable.  Also, I'm sure someone is trying to develop controls for these things via cell phones, Blackberries, or the Internet.

Scientists Grow New Jaw Bone From Adult Stem Cells

Wowza, this is big news!  Finnish patient gets new jaw from own stem cells:

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Scientists in Finland said they had replaced a 65-year-old patient's upper jaw with a bone transplant cultivated from stem cells isolated from his own fatty tissue and grown inside his abdomen.

Researchers said on Friday the breakthrough opened up new ways to treat severe tissue damage and made the prospect of custom-made living spares parts for humans a step closer to reality.

"There have been a couple of similar-sounding procedures before, but these didn't use the patient's own stem cells that were first cultured and expanded in laboratory and differentiated into bone tissue," said Riitta Suuronen of the Regea Institute of Regenerative Medicine, part of the University of Tampere.

She told a news conference the patient was recovering more quickly than he would have if he had received a bone graft from his leg.

"From the outside nobody would be able to tell he has been through such a procedure," she said.

She added, the team used no materials from animals -- preventing the risk of transmitting viruses than can be hidden in an animal's DNA, and followed European Union guidelines.

Stem cells are the body's master cells and they can be found throughout the blood and tissues. Researchers have recently found that fat contains stem cells which can be directed to form a variety of different tissues.

Using a patient's own stem cells provides a tailor-made transplant that the body should not reject.

Suuronen and her colleagues -- the project was run jointly with the Helsinki University Central Hospital -- isolated stem cells from the patient's fat and grew them for two weeks in a specially formulated nutritious soup that included the patient's own blood serum.

In this case they identified and pulled out cells called mesenchymal stem cells -- immature cells than can give rise to bone, muscle or blood vessels.

When they had enough cells to work with, they attached them to a scaffold made out of a calcium phosphate biomaterial and then put it inside the patient's abdomen to grow for nine months. The cells turned into a variety of tissues and even produced blood vessels, the researchers said.

The block was later transplanted into the patient's head and connected to the skull bone using screws and microsurgery to connect arteries and veins to the vessels of the neck.

The patient's upper jaw had previously been removed due to a benign tumor and he was unable to eat or speak without the use of a removable prosthesis.

Some of the most exciting, life-changing news these days is in medicine.  We are seeing astonishing breakthroughs that will make a major difference to humankind in longevity and quality of life.

Does Your Brain Need More Memory? It Can Be Arranged

Adding memory to your computer is nice -- but what could you accomplish if you could add  memory to your brain?

Scientists performing experimental brain surgery on a man aged 50 have stumbled across a mechanism that could unlock how memory works.

The accidental breakthrough came during an experiment originally intended to suppress the obese man's appetite, using the increasingly successful technique of deep-brain stimulation. Electrodes were pushed into the man's brain and stimulated with an electric current. Instead of losing appetite, the patient instead had an intense experience of déjà vu. He recalled, in intricate detail, a scene from 30 years earlier. More tests showed his ability to learn was dramatically improved when the current was switched on and his brain stimulated.

Scientists are now applying the technique in the first trial of the treatment in patients with Alzheimer's disease. If successful, it could offer hope to sufferers from the degenerative condition, which affects 450,000 people in Britain alone, by providing a "pacemaker" for the brain.

Three patients have been treated and initial results are promising, according to Andres Lozano, a professor of neurosurgery at the Toronto Western Hospital, Ontario, who is leading the research.

Professor Lozano said: "This is the first time that anyone has had electrodes implanted in the brain which have been shown to improve memory. We are driving the activity of the brain by increasing its sensitivity – turning up the volume of the memory circuits. Any event that involves the memory circuits is more likely to be stored and retained."

The discovery had caught him and his team "completely by surprise", Professor Lozano said. They had been operating on the man, who weighed 190kg (30st), to treat his obesity by locating the point in his brain that controls appetite. All other attempts to curb his eating had failed and brain surgery was the last resort.

The treatment for obesity was unsuccessful. But, while the researchers were identifying potential appetite suppressant points in the hypothalamus, the part of the brain associated with hunger, the man suddenly began to say that memory was flooding back.

"He reported the experience of being in a park with friends from when he was around 20 years old and, as the intensity of stimulation increased, the details became more vivid. He recognised his girlfriend [from the time] ... The scene was in colour. People were wearing identifiable clothes and were talking, but he could not decipher what they were saying," the researchers write in Annals of Neurology, published today.

The man, who has not been identified, was also tested on his ability to learn lists of paired objects. After three weeks of continuous hypothalamic stimulation, his performance on two learning tests was significantly improved. He was also much more likely to remember a list of unrelated paired objects with the electrodes turned on than when turned off.  . . . .

The researchers are testing the approach in six Alzheimer's patients in a Phase 1 safety study. Three have so far had electrodes surgically implanted. The electrodes are attached via a cable that runs below the skull and down the neck to a battery pack stitched under the skin of the chest. The "pacemaker" delivers a constant low-level current that stimulates the brain but cannot be perceived by the patient.

Professor Lozano said: . . . .  "It is a very effective treatment for the motor problems associated with Parkinson's disease and it has been used on 40,000 people. We are in the early stages of using it with Alzheimer's patients and we don't know if it will work. We want to assess if we can reach the memory circuits and drive improvement. It is a novel approach to dealing with this problem."

Good News for Transplant Patients

In today's news, a major step toward freeing transplant patients from having to take anti-rejection drugs for the rest of their lives.

Canada's Nationalized Health Care Continues Jeopardizing Patients' Lives

Yet another near disaster in Canada's socialized health care system, as a man desperately searched for a hospital to give him an emergency appendectomy:

. . . the 21-year-old Gatineau [Quebec] student went to bed, thinking he'd feel better by the morning. But when he woke up the next day, the pain was still there, and it was getting worse.

He headed to Gatineau Memorial Hospital, thinking that doctors would soon figure out what was ailing him and take care of it.

He never imagined the ordeal that would follow: The young man was turned away from five hospitals, got lost in an ambulance and, 28 hours after he was diagnosed, he had a burst appendix removed -- in Montreal.

More here, including commentary from Mick Stockinger.

Tiny Ultrasound Scanners to Help Detect Heart Disease

Another cool medical advance is on its way:  pocked-sized ultrasound scanners that doctors can use to check for heart disease almost as easily as they use a stethoscope.

Age of Wonder, Age of Hope. Age of Robot Suits

We'll get to wonder and hope.  But first, robot suits.

Imagine an invention that can:

• Allow a small woman to lift weights of 50 to 100 pounds (22 to 45 kilograms) without difficulty or strain
• Allow a caregiver to lift a person who weighs 220 pounds (100 kilograms) as if they were lifting half that weight
• Help men, women and children with walking disabilities safely walk wherever they wish

It's not here yet, but it's rapidly on its way to becoming a reality.  In Japan, robo-suits like this one are already being developed:

. . . [O]n display at a trade fair this week in Tokyo was a power assist suit that makes it easier to lift an elderly person out of a wheelchair or bed.

The suit looks clunky, takes 10 minutes to put on, weighs thirty kilos (66 pounds) and has blinking lights and wires reminiscent of a robot in a sci-fi movie.

But it allows the wearer to lift a person as heavy as 100 kilos as if they were carrying only half that weight.

"I don't feel heavy at all. Because of air pumped in the suit, I just feel like I'm carrying a normal backpack," said Hiroi Tsukui, a participant in the project as she carried a young man onto a table to demonstrate to onlookers.

For now the suit, developed by Kanagawa Institute of Technology, is only made to order and generally targeted at nursing homes and hospitals.

But Tsukui hopes it will be used in ordinary homes in the future.  . . . .

Researchers are also looking to improve "robot suits" for the elderly to wear themselves for more autonomy, instead of relying on caregivers or their children.

A "muscle suit" developed by Tokyo University of Science also allows the wearer to lift heavy objects.

The half-body suit incorporates artificial muscles made of elastic rubber and nylon and air pumps for the arms.

Hiroshi Kobayashi, an associate professor at the university that spearheaded the project, admitted that hurdles remain before it could be easily used.

The suit, which weighs four kilos, presents "some safety concerns for elderly people," he said.

"So for now we have limited the suit to caretakers or even construction workers whom I think would benefit greatly from this. But we hope in the future this will give old people more mobility with their arms," he added.

Another product designed to give elderly greater mobility is auto giant Honda Motor's "Walking Assist" product which can help the elderly walk independently without the help of a cane, walking frame or arm of a carer.

The long-term possibilities are mind-boggling. 

Ordinary humans will be able to acquire superhuman strength simply by putting on the right "suit." 

Victims of spinal cord injuries will be able to "walk" again, whether they ever regain voluntary movement in their limbs or not. 

A soldier in a body-armored robot suit will be badly shot and will surprise everyone by continuing to walk or run forward a bit longer, thanks to a robot suit with a delayed reaction time.

Someone will dress their dog in a human robot suit and give us all a laugh when the dog "walks" on two feet.

Now and then, a robot suit will malfunction.  Someday, a robot suit might take a few steps by itself, startling someone.

Someone will incorporate robot suits into ballet.  The dance will be more graceful and more beautiful than you can imagine.

Someone will be caught secretly using robot technology in a sport.

Entirely new sports that incorporate robot suits will be invented.

~ ~ ~

It's a reminder that we live in an incredibly exciting era in human history.  Consider all that humans have invented, discovered, and achieved in a little more than a century:

• Mankind took to the skies with airplanes.  We can now circle the globe with amazing speed.
• Radio and television were invented. 
• Antibiotics were developed, saving millions of lives.
• Humans reached outer space and walked on the moon.  Probes landed on Mars and are venturing into the solar system and beyond.  Satellites have become commonplace.
• The first open heart surgery was performed.
• Organ transplantation became routine.
• The first artificial heart was invented.
• Scientists discovered how to use adult stem cells to repair and replace organs.
• Scientists discovered how to restore hearing to the deaf.
• Computers were invented and, quickly changed just about everything else.   They're in our banks.  They' re in our cars.  They're in our toys.  You learn not to jump when the toys you're putting away say something.

It's an amazing time to be alive.

There is plenty of room for worry and concern in this age -- there is in every age -- but as we observe the forward rush of science, medicine, travel, and technology, we can also draw incredible hope. 

It is no longer possible to look someone in the face and say, without fear of being proven wrong, "You'll never see again."  "You'll never walk again."  "That thing will never fly."

Now you can turn to your friend and say sincerely, in almost every situation, "I know it looks hopeless now.  But someone, somewhere, is working on a solution right now.  There's always hope."

There is always hope.

It's exciting to see what people can achieve.  The possibilities are limitless because the intelligence and creativity that flows through us comes from a Source much more awesome than we can fathom. 

When you're a kid, the days before Christmas count down so slowly.  If you're lucky, along the way you find wonder. 

Now that you're an adult, you don't have to wait for Christmas anymore.  The magic is all around you, every day.  Just lift up your eyes.  While you're at it, lift up your heart.

More From Stossel on Improving Health Care

John Stossel continues looking at health care and how to improve it with today's column, Control Your Own Health Care.

Some earlier columns in the series:

• Our Crazy Health-Insurance System

• Nationalized Health Care is Broken

• Cuba Has Better Health Care Than U.S.?

Progress in Cancer Research: New Drug Destroys Skin Cancer Cells

An interesting development in skin cancer treatment:  A drug that causes cancer cells to self-destruct:

BARCELONA, Spain - Doctors are hopeful about a new drug to treat skin cancer by causing tumor cells to self-destruct by overloading them with oxygen.

Unlike regular cells, which naturally cannot have their oxidant levels raised beyond a certain threshold, cancer cells cannot balance the amount of free radicals inside them.

With the new drug STA-4783, doctors may be able to overload the cancer cells with oxygen-containing chemicals to the point where the cells cannot cope and simply die off, according to research presented Wednesday at a meeting of the European Cancer Organization in Barcelona.  . . . .

STA-4783, which has no effect on normal cells, is the first of several such drugs planned for study, though no other companies have yet to release results from their research.

A similar treatement might have future application to other kinds of cancer as well:

It could also be used against other cancers, such as pancreatic or ovarian, as they have been shown to naturally contain higher levels of oxygen. Because cancerous tumor cells already have high oxygen levels, they are easier to overload.

Another Look at Canada's Troubled Health Care System

John Stossel takes a look at nationalized health care in Canada.  As you may already know, it's not all sweetness and light in Canada.  Sometimes the delays are death-defying.  Or perhaps death-ensuring.

Even a Canadian Member of Parliament came to the U.S. recently for breast cancer surgery (probably for breast reconstruction, although the details are not yet known).  She claimed that her actions in leaving her own country for surgery were not an indictment of Canada's health care system but "said the decision was made because the U.S. hospital was the best place to have it done due to the type of surgery required."

No kidding.

Her actions speak louder than her words.

What will Canadians do if Hillary Clinton gets her way and America's health care system becomes as delay-prone and overburdened as Canada's?  Where will Canadians flee for health care then?  Cuba?  Mexico?

Update:  More conformation of ridiculously long surgical wait times:

Joyce Manz's blood boils when she sees government health-care ads depicting shorter waits for surgery in Saskatchewan.

"When the commercials come on TV, anything to do with health care, I could take my chair and throw it at the television," Manz said Monday. "I feel very helpless and now I'm very frightened because I'm on morphine."

Manz was put on a wait list for back surgery in August 2006. When she called the Saskatchewan Surgical Care Network last week she was told her surgery won't happen until February, but she wasn't given a reason for the delay.

"Honestly, I don't know how I'll wait until February," she tearfully told reporters on Monday morning.

It's tragic but simple from an economic standpoint.  "Free" goods and services are almost always overused.  If ordinary economic factors like price and willingness to pay can't be used to focus medical care on those who need and want it the most at a price they are willing to pay, other factors like discouragingly long wait times will be used as a way of rationing medical care resources.  In addition, doctors are less willing and available to provide medical services in a timely way if they are heavily regulated and tightly limited as to the potential profit they will receive.

The problems Canada is experiencing are not a temporary, correctible blip.  They are inherent in socialized medicine.  They are direct consequences of heavy-handed attempts to overrride the laws of supply and demand. 

Ignoring the laws of supply and demand won't work because those laws are based on human nature.  The free market is the most efficient mechanism yet known to humankind for allocating scarce resources efficiently in a way that maximizes the benefit to all concerned.  When we override the free market, somebody always loses.  Often, everyone loses.

Great News for Diabetes Control: Implantable Insulin Sensors

A nifty new advance in diabetes care:  implantable insulin sensors:

WASHINGTON - Diabetes care is undergoing a transformation: Thousands of patients are switching from a few finger-pricks a day to track their disease to new sensors that keep guard around the clock.

The last six months brought boosts to the technology, as federal health officials approved children's use of a sensor that works for three days in a row — and cleared the longest-lasting version yet, a seven-day model, for adults.

The ultimate goal is to create an "artificial pancreas," pairing such sensors with implanted pumps that would automatically dispense insulin to make a diabetic's blood sugar better resemble a healthy person's.

That's still years away. For now, the hope is that these under-the-skin sensors will empower the most vulnerable patients — those who require insulin injections — to make changes that better control their disease. Perhaps more important, they come with alarms that can sound in time to avoid dangerously high or low blood-sugar levels.

"It really catches problems before they're problems," says Katie Clark of Grandville, Mich. She bought a sensor for her 7-year-old daughter, and no longer has to wake up in the middle of the night to spot-check whether Ellie's OK.

But these "continuous glucose monitors" cost up to $1,000, plus at least $350 a month for supplies. Insurance coverage is hit-or-miss: Some do pay but many refuse pending proof that the sensors live up to their promise of better health.

The price doesn't concern me.  It will come down as the technology is refined.

It's a great reason for anyone with diabetes to feel more hopeful.  The technology will eventually make daily life a lot easier, and many of of the serious complications of diabetes will be prevented:

Some 21 million Americans have diabetes, meaning their bodies cannot properly regulate blood sugar, or glucose. About 5 million inject insulin, a hormone that converts glucose into energy, to treat their diabetes — including the roughly 2 million with Type 1 diabetes who require those shots to live.

High glucose levels damage blood vessels and nerves, leading to blindness, kidney failure, amputations and heart disease. Frequent glucose testing — pricking a finger for a blood test four to eight times a day — helps patients maintain tighter glucose control, thus lowering risk of those complications.

But few diabetics test that often, and even frequent testers cannot know if glucose soars or plummets between tests or during sleep.

With the new technology, diabetics use a needle to insert a sensor just under the skin of the side or abdomen every three or seven days. The sensors wirelessly beam glucose readings to a pager-like device every 5 minutes.

Available now are Medtronic Inc.'s three-day Real-Time monitor — sold by itself, for adults or children, or together with a manually adjustable insulin pump — and DexCom Inc.'s STS-7 seven-day monitor for adults. A five-day competitor from Abbott Laboratories is in development.

Users require training. For example, it takes up to 15 minutes for a glucose change in blood to be reflected in the cell fluid that these sensors measure. Doctors warn to always double-check with a blood test when a sensor signals trouble.

But many learn to tell at a glance if they need a snack to head off a coming low, or an insulin dose to block a coming spike.

When Ellie Clark's sensor showed her morning oatmeal made her glucose soar to a level of 300, her mother started giving her entire morning insulin booster before breakfast. Now the 7-year-old's morning jump is to a moderate 200.

More Medical News:

• Woman Has Pencil Removed From Head
• Surgeons Transplant Right Hand to Left Arm
• A Happy Man With No Heart
• Blind Mice See After Scientists Transplant Retina Cells
• Scientists Grow First Artificial Liver!
• Blood Vessels Grown From Patient's Own Skin