HALO received national attention The Doctors TV show with a segment on HALO. “One Life to Live” soap star Crystal Hunt (“Stacy”) was shown having the HALO procedure and was presented her results in front of the live audience. Show host Dr. Lisa Masterson gives an enthusiastic overview of what HALO is all about.

Breast health is important to everyone! Do you know that 75% of breast cancer occurs in women with no risk factors? This means they have no family history, or have not had a biopsy with atypical cells. Their only identifiable risk factor is having breasts! But all is not lost. Knowing these facts you can take proactive steps to reduce your risks.

…To learn the Top 5 Things Every Woman Should Know About Breast Cancer, visit http://knowyourbreastcancerrisk.com/the-top-5-things-every-woman-should-know-about-breast-cancer/

Know your breast cancer risk! So many women don’t know the facts, here are some resources to keep you in tune with breast cancer. The first step to prevention is education…

Know Your Breast Cancer Risk is a blog maintained by a breast cancer medical device company with articles by doctors, so you know you’re reading pertainent information. Learn from a doctor for free from this great community blog sponsored by Neomatrix, LLC.

This Facebook fan page is constantly updated with breast cancer facts and figures, along with breakthroughs in the industry. Become and fan and keep up to date with breast cancer information.

Tamoxifen is a widely-used breast cancer drug which 500,000 women in the United States are taking to prevent their estrogen-dependent breast cancer from recurring. The FDA plans to warn doctors about a recent breakthrough in which evidence has been gathered about the interaction between tamoxifen and antidepressants. Certain anti-depressants, when taken with tamoxifen can actually increase a women’s risk of breast cancer recurrence by two-fold.

The study used to discover these findings involved 1300 women over a one year period of time. All the women were monitored, their breast cancer recurrence rates were compared in different groups of women taking no antidepressants, Zoloft, Paxil, and Prozac all along with tamoxifen. The results yielded a 7.5% recurrence rate for women not taking antidepressants and a recurrence rate of 16% for women taking any of the 3 mentioned types of antidepressants. Other antidepressants studied that did not significantly affect breast cancer recurrence rate were Luvox, Celexa, and Lexapro.

Now that the FDA has proof through clinical outcomes that this drug interaction can actually increase a women’s risk of recurring cancer, the FDA is opting to add information to tamoxifen’s label.  Although placing information on FDA-approved labels is a start to informing health care providers and patients about this drug interaction, further vehicles will be needed to educate the breast cancer survivor community on this issue.

Medco’s cheif medical officer, Robert Epstein, explained that over 500,000 U.S. women are taking tamoxifen, of which 30% are simultaniously perscribed antidepressants.  This indicates that many health care providers are not aware of this dangerous interaction, so patient awareness is key, especially for patients treated by multiple doctors.

This article was written by Amy Shah, however facts were obtained from an article by Jennifer Corbett Dooren.

There are times when it boggles the mind to just think of the advances we have made in the fields of medicine and technology. The pacemaker is a pretty simple device, but it makes a world of difference to many people who depend on it for their lives. If you have been fitted with one of these medical devices, there are certain basic precautions that you must follow if you want them to function properly and safely.

•    Carry a pacemaker ID, preferably on a bracelet or necklace, to inform those around you

•    Inform medical personnel at your workplace that you have a pacemaker

•    Tell doctors about your device before you undergo any invasive surgical procedure

•    Be careful around machines that have large magnetic fields, like MRI scan units

•    Stay away from machinery that uses high voltage or radar

•    There’s no need to worry about the effects of common household appliances like refrigerators, televisions, washing machines and cell phones, however you do need to keep your cell phones and other gadgets away from your pacemaker area, it’s preferable not to keep them in your shirt pocket

•    MP3 headphones have been known to cause a certain amount of interference, so it’s best not to use them at all

•    If there is any thought that an external device is causing the pacemaker to function erratically, move away from the device and wait for your heartbeat to return to normal

•    Talk to your doctor about exercising moderately, but be cautious of injuries that directly injure your chest, especially blows to the area that houses the pacemaker, this may affect the way your device functions, so if you are hit in your thoracic region, consult your doctor immediately

•    Get regular check-ups on your pacemaker by a doctor to ensure that it is working as it should

•    Ensure that the battery, lead wire and other aspects of the device are in good condition

•    The pacemaker’s battery generally lasts for around 7 or 8 years

•    Get the pacemaker replaced once in 10 years or so

•    The pacemaker may contain either a chemical or nuclear power source and for nuclear power sources,  dispose of the battery with care once the pacemaker has reached the end of its life

•    If you’re unsure or worried about any aspect of your pacemaker, contact your cardiologist immediately

This article is contributed by Sarah Scrafford, who regularly writes on the topic of ultrasound technician school. She invites your questions, comments and freelancing job inquiries at her email address: sarah.scrafford25@gmail.com

Image via http://mykentuckyheart.com/

Natural Genetics just published the discovery of a mutation responsible for the progression of cancer.  This finding has the potential to help treat against numerous types of cancers since the mutation can be linked to various types of malignancies, rather than just in one type of cancer like many previous discoveries.

This mutation was discovered through the study of MicroRNAs (miRNAs).  Normally, the data stored in DNA is translated into RNA and the RNA is then translated into proteins, which then regulates gene expression.  In this study, the small pieces of RNA, miRNAs, were found to be blocking their translation into corresponding proteins.  Some of the miRNAs are hypothesized to suppress tumor formation and it was found that unusual levels of these molecules were present in all cancers studied.  This implies that this type of mutation could be responsible for cancer growth and progression in all types of cancers.  Following this hypothesis, continued research could possibly lead to a therapy that could reverse abnormal miRNA levels to treat multiple types of cancer.  The scientists working on this project believe that they could lead to an incredible discovery in cancer treatment.

Moving forward with the research, Sonia Melo is planning to analyze 12 different types of cancer in search of mutations in the pathway of miRNA formation.  In preliminary studies, she and her team found a protein called TARP2 that caused mutations in the pathway of miRNA formation, leading to low amounts of miRNA.  Upon the discovery of this protein and its pathway, the team later found that when functional TARBP2 was introduced to those cancerous cells, the miRNA returned to its normal levels.  In turn, those normal levels of miRNA that were reintroduced into the cancerous cells suggested to initiate tumor suppression functions.  This was found by comparing the levels of several known oncoproteins that promote tumorous functions when activated.

In vivo studies were performed by Melo and her team to verify their findings in SCID mice.  The team injected SCID some mice with new TARBP2 cells and other SCID mice with old TARBP2 from mutated cancer cells and compared the two groups.  The first group of mice with new TARBP2 cells either didn’t form tumors or formed a negligible amount of cancerous cells, while the second group of mice with old TARBP2 cells formed tumors relatively quickly.  This result confirmed the group’s theory that aberrant TARBP2 promotes tumor growth by reducing the amount of miRNA in cells.

A TARBP2 mutation in human cancer impairs microRNA processing and DICER1 function

Heart failure (HF) is a condition in which the heart’s ability to fill or pump a adequate amount of blood is impaired. It can be caused by a number of factors including hypertension (high blood pressure), valve failure, coronary artery disease, and many more things. In the figure below, heart failure is shown to be caused by thickened myocardium (myocarditis), which may be a direct result of a viral infection that can cause the muscle to become inflamed. Almost 2% of the American population has heart failure and even with the best therapy, HF still has an annual mortality of 10%.

Treatment of HF depends on the stage of the disease’s progression and is rated on a scale from case I to case IV. The five year survival rate of patients in stage IV is only 20%, therefore this is considered severe heart failure. There are several minimally invasive devices used in HF treatment. The most common treatment device is an artificial pacemaker (shown below), which successfully prevents about 50% of all heart failures from re-occurring. Another treatment option for HF that is extreme is a heart transplant. This is called the “Gold Standard” treatment because it is the best to use, however the availability of donors is slowly declining while the number of patients who need a transplant is steadily rising. Only about 2200 heart transplants are preformed every year.

The ideal solution would be an artificial heart…In 1985, at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), the first artificial heart was implanted. Five years later, UPMC was the first medical institution to release a patient with a ventricular-assist device (VAD) (shown below). Today, VADs called positive displacement pumps are the leading treatment therapy for HF patients. Dr. Marc Simon presented the idea of positive displacement pumps at the BMES Conference and spoke of future improvement for these devices. He announced that second and third generation prototypes are currently underway in many institutions and will be ready for release soon. Dr. Simon discussed that there is an ideal period during HF in which it is ideal to implant there devices into the patient in order to maximize recovery success. There is a certain point in HF in which an acute, catastrophic event leads to sudden progression of the disease, eventually leading the patient to death. The closer researchers are able to pinpoint the time immediately prior to this turn of events to implant the device, the greater the patient’s chances are for survival.

-Amy

Chemotherapy is any treatment that utilizes the use of chemicals to stop cancer cells from continuing to flourish.  This type of treatment is used on 50% of all people diagnosed with cancer.  It can eliminate cancer cells that have been metastasized as well. Chemotherapy has saved millions of peoples lives, but it doesn’t save every cancer patient.

Chemotherapy works wonders for some people and not at all for others.  The cause of this was not known until recently when the Center for Environmental Health Sciences (CEHS) and Departments of Biological Engineering and Biology from MIT discovered a group of 48 genes.  Several of these 48 genes have been linked to cancer, but what they all have in common is that they can all show how susceptible a patient is to MNNG, which is a DNA-damaging agent present in chemotherapeutic agents.

MNNG induces unstoppable DNA damage by creating lesions in the DNA, thereby killing the cells.  Everyone’s DNA reacts to MNNG by attempting to repair itself, however some people’s DNA reacts more strongly while others’ reaction can be more passive.  Everyone’s DNA is so different that two seemingly equally healthy individuals were tested by MIT researchers and it was found that they could have completely different responses to the same chemotherapy treatment.

The MIT team continued with this research by measuring the expression of each of the 48 genes in every cell line.  They measured the sensitivity of each gene to MNNG several times and found they were 94% accutrate in their results.  They followed by measuring responses to other common chemotherapeutic toxic agents that are typically used to treat cancer patients.  They have discovered how and why different patients react differently to the same chemotherapy treatments.  This means that chemotherapy may not be the right cancer treatment for every patient, it depends on their genetic reactions to MNNG and other toxic agents.

Laser is an acronym for “light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation”. A laser is a device that creates and amplifies a narrow, intense beam of coherent light. Atoms release radiation by absorbing photons when “excited” electrons emit light, then the atoms radiate their light in random directions. This results in incoherent light, which is a jumble of photons going in all directions. Lasers create coherent light from this by identifying the right atoms with the optimal internal storage mechanisms. Lasers create an environment in which those atoms can cooperate to give up their light at a coordinated time and direction (Bell Labs).

The basic unit of light from which this entire process begins is called a photon. A photon contains energy that can be calculated via the following equation:

Energy = h · c/λ

The energy of any type of light can be calculated by just knowing its wavelength because h is Plank’s constant (4.14×10-15 eV/s), c is the speed of light (3×1010 cm/s) and λ is the wavelength in centimeters. The wavelength of light can determine its color and affects the laser’s energy. Figure 1 below shows the light spectrum and how it relates to the types of light humans use for different medical applications (Dr. Michael Berns, Beckman Laser Institute, 2007).

Figure 1: The figure above describes the different types of light and their associated wavelengths. Lasers generally exist in the infrared, visible, and ultraviolet wavelengths.

The use of lasers has revolutionized medicine because lasers are accurate, quick, and minimally invasive. Many different types of lasers exist and are FDA approved for various medical uses. There are six different types of laser-tissue interaction illustrated in figure 2. The accuracy of the laser assures that only the desired portion of a specimen is affected by the laser. The strength of the laser provides any medical treatment with adequate power to ablate the plaque, no matter how large the obstruction may be. The efficiency of the laser provides a better medical treatment because it takes less repetitions of the treatment to complete the procedure. There are many different types of lasers used in medicine today and they have diverse applications depending on their wavelength, absorption, strength, and accuracy (Dr. Michael Berns, Beckman Laser Institute, 2007).

Figure 2: Of the six types of laser-tissue interaction illustrated above, each has a different function an medical application. For example, photoablation can be used to break apart hard particles while heat can be used to grow tissue and increase cell division (Dr. Michael Berns, Beckman Laser Institute, 2004).

February 17-23, 2008 is National Engineers Week, or E-week. This is a week in which people all over the nation hold events to strengthen the community’s understanding and awareness of engineering. It is also designed to encourage students to pursue careers in engineering and related technological fields to help advance the country.

E-week is celebrated everywhere and locations can be found at the National Engineers Week website.

I would like to promote E-week in California, USA. The Henry Samueli School of Engineering at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) is holding a giant celebration for E-week. Many events and competitions will be hosted by Engineering Student Council (ESC), which is an undergraduate organization that helps spread and promote engineering throughout the local community and mainly on the UCI campus. This year’s motto is “The Future is Not Written, it is Engineered”, and that couldn’t be more true. Everyone and anyone is welcome to al the events of E-week held on UC Irvine campus:

Tuesday, February 19

Dean’s Breakfast
Time: 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM
Location: Engineering Gateway (EG) Plaza

Wednesday, February 20

EngiTECH Career Fair
Time: 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Location: Engineering Tower / Computer Science Plaza

Pub Night
Time: 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Location: AntHill Pub

Thursday, February 21

High School Shadow Day
Time: 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM

E-Week BBQ
Time: 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Location: Engineering Gateway (EG) Plaza

Friday, February 22

E-Week Awards Banquet
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
Location: University Club

Broomball!
Time: 12:00 AM - 2:00 AM (Friday night / early Saturday morning)
Location: Westminister Ice Arena

There are many more competitions that have prizes! If you enter and win, you can get up to $500!!

To find your way around the UCI campus, here is a Campus Map.

There will be hundreds of people at the e-week events include UCI faculty, undergraduates, and graduate students as well as many company representatives and hiring managers from over 50 different technical companies both local and international. Please come out and enjoy the events, free food, and networking opportunities!