Photobiomodulation: A new and promising way to enhance brain function
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As is increasingly evident, there are multiple methods aimed at enhancing brain function.
Brain training and mindfulness practices are commonly used. Substance-based methods are popular too, including hallucinogens in the form of plant extracts, and drugs. Same as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS): All of these are promising but have been challenged — for example, the reproducibility of electrical-based stimulation results is increasingly questioned.
— Fig. 1: Vielight Neuro Alpha/Gamma in use
Within this context, photobiomodulation (PBM)–low level light th...
Source: SharpBrains - December 4, 2017 Category: Neuroscience Authors: Dr. Lew Lim Tags: Cognitive Neuroscience Education & Lifelong Learning Health & Wellness Technology brain-enhancement brain-function Brain-Training enhance brain function low level light therapy mindfulness Neurodevelopmental neurological Photobiomo Source Type: blogs
Positron emission tomography (PET) for assessing myocardial viability
PET is usually taken as the gold standard for assessment of myocardial viability. PET scan with 13NH3 (ammonia) gives the perfusion while 18FDG (fluorodeoxyglucose) shows the metabolic activity of the myocardium. A mismatch between perfusion and metabolism whereby underperfused region of myocardium is shown to have active metabolism, is an indicator of myocardial viability.
The most important limitation of PET is its high cost and limited availability. It has some radiation risk when compared to echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging.
Important advantages of PET are that the validity is well establ...
Source: Cardiophile MD - November 21, 2017 Category: Cardiology Authors: Johnson Francis Tags: Positron emission tomography Source Type: blogs
Balanced myocardial ischaemia
If all three major coronary branches have similar degree of stenosis, the radionuclide used for perfusion study will have equal uptake in all regions of the myocardium. Thus a balanced three vessel coronary artery disease can produce a false negative myocardial perfusion scan. This situation is called balanced myocardial ischemia. In most cases this is picked up by the treadmill ECG usually done along with stress myocardial perfusion imaging. Since the ECG findings of myocardial ischemia does not depend on the relative perfusion in the coronary tree, ischemic changes will be noted in treadmill ECG even when nuclear perf...
Source: Cardiophile MD - November 20, 2017 Category: Cardiology Authors: Johnson Francis Tags: Nuclear Cardiology Source Type: blogs
Thallium 201 single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)
Thallium 201 SPECT imaging is one of the oldest methods of assessing myocardial viability, though of late it is seldom used because of short half life of Thallium 201 and the free availability of Technetium 99, the alternate tracer. Initial uptake of Thallium 201 into the myocardium is proportional to the blood flow of the region. But the washout is dependent on the difference in the concentration in blood and myocardium cell as well as the integrity of the sodium potassium adenosine triphosphatase (Na/K ATPase) pump. This is because Thallium 201 is a potassium analogue. Hence in regions of lower uptake (reduced blood su...
Source: Cardiophile MD - November 20, 2017 Category: Cardiology Authors: Johnson Francis Tags: Nuclear Cardiology Source Type: blogs
Advantages and disadvantages of echocardiographic assessment of myocardial viability
Echo based techniques for assessment of myocardial viability has certain advantages as well as limitations. Echocardiagraphic techniques are safe and do not have the risk of ionizing radiation like nuclear perfusion studies and positron emission tomography. Due to portability of echocardiographic equipment even bedside evaluation is possible and the equipments are widely available. Cost of procedure is much less compared to nuclear imaging studies. Unlike cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging, presence of pacemakers and defibrillators are not a problem. Other coexisting cardiac pathology can also be assessed by echocar...
Source: Cardiophile MD - November 18, 2017 Category: Cardiology Authors: Johnson Francis Tags: General Cardiology Source Type: blogs
Myocardial contrast echocardiography
Myocardial contrast echocardiography has been used in the assessment of myocardial viability. Downside of myocardial contrast echocardiography is the cost of ultrasound contrast agent (UCA). Intravenous administration of UCA improves the visualisation of myocardial segments and enables the assessment of perfusion. Myocardial segments with normal perfusion and those with patchy perfusion are considered to be viable. Those segments which have no perfusion are taken as non viable myocardial segments. UCA consists of ultrasonic microbubbles. A recent study compared myocardial contrast echocardiography with gated single photon...
Source: Cardiophile MD - November 17, 2017 Category: Cardiology Authors: Johnson Francis Tags: General Cardiology Source Type: blogs
Echocardiographic assessment of myocardial viability
Diastolic wall thickness will give an idea regarding the myocardial viability. Thin and hyperdense myocardium is likely to be scarred and non viable. Dobutamine stress echocardiography documents the contractile reserve of the myocardium and hence indicate viability. Myocardial perfusion is assessed by myocardial contrast echocardiography. Strain and strain rate imaging is done by tissue Doppler and speckle tracking. There are various methods of assessing diastolic dysfunction using Doppler and tissue Doppler echocardiography.
End diastolic wall thickness (EDWT)
End diastolic wall thickness (EDWT) is one of the simplest me...
Source: Cardiophile MD - November 17, 2017 Category: Cardiology Authors: Johnson Francis Tags: General Cardiology Source Type: blogs
12 Seconds of Placebo – An Outsider’s View of ORBITA
By, SAURABH JHA MD
The reactions of physicians to ORBITA, a blinded, randomized controlled trial (RCT) from Britain, with a sham arm, comparing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) to placebo, in patients with stable angina, are as fascinating as the cardiac cycle. There were murmurs, kicks, and pulsating jugulars. Though many claimed to be surprised, and many unsurprised, by the null results of the trial, the responses were predictably predictable. Some basked in playful schadenfreude, and some became defensive and bisferious.
No shame in sham
The coverage of the trial in the NY Times was predictably jejune and...
Source: The Health Care Blog - November 7, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: at RogueRad Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Reprogrammed Patient-Specific Pig Organs for Human Transplants: Interview with Dr. Jeff Ross, CEO of Miromatrix
The waiting lists for organ transplants are long, and people die daily waiting for transplants that never become available. For those that get a transplant, there is a risk that their immune system could reject it. Using organs from pigs is an alternative to human organs since many are a similar size. However, there is a major risk of rejection, so pig organs aren’t suitable for transplantation into humans in an unmodified state. Miromatrix, a company based in Minnesota, is working hard to find ways to make pig organs more suited to individual human patients. They have developed a “reprogramming” process, in which mi...
Source: Medgadget - October 30, 2017 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Exclusive Genetics Materials Surgery Source Type: blogs
Cardiology MCQ Test 5
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Source: Cardiophile MD - October 22, 2017 Category: Cardiology Authors: Johnson Francis Tags: General Cardiology Source Type: blogs
Cardiology MCQ Test 4
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Source: Cardiophile MD - October 21, 2017 Category: Cardiology Authors: Johnson Francis Tags: General Cardiology Source Type: blogs
30-something with chest pain, a fragmented QRS, and ST Elevation.
A young man presented with acute chest pain. He had no cardiac history. He had no medical history at all. His vital signs were normal.Here was his first ED ECG:What do you think?Here is an old one, from 2 months prior:What do you think?Here I will show them again, with comment:This is very abnormal.There are deep QS-waves in V1-V3. QR-waves in V4 and I, aVLThere is a fragmented QRS in V3, which is all but diagnostic of old infarctionThere is ST depression in II, III, aVF.This looks like a very large old MI, butit also looks acute, as the T-waves are tall, too tall to assume this is LV...
Source: Dr. Smith's ECG Blog - October 21, 2017 Category: Cardiology Authors: Steve Smith Source Type: blogs
Pharmaco-invasive strategy not a bad option – EARLY-MYO trial
(Representative image)
Pharmaco-invasive strategy means early thrombolysis for followed by early percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). In case where the delay in getting PCI is likely to be longer than what is recommended, there is a role for pharmaco-invasive strategy. EARLY-MYO trial (Early Routine Catheterization After Alteplase Fibrinolysis Versus Primary PCI in Acute ST-Segment–Elevation Myocardial Infarction) [1] randomized patients with ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) presenting within 6 hours, but with expected delay in getting primary PCI (PPCI) into pharmaco-invasive strategy with initial half d...
Source: Cardiophile MD - October 18, 2017 Category: Cardiology Authors: Johnson Francis Tags: Coronary Interventions Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, October 16th 2017
In this study, we have shown that the lipid chaperones FABP4/FABP5 are critical intermediate factors in the deterioration of metabolic systems during aging. Consistent with their roles in chronic inflammation and insulin resistance in young prediabetic mice, we found that FABPs promote the deterioration of glucose homeostasis; metabolic tissue pathologies, particularly in white and brown adipose tissue and liver; and local and systemic inflammation associated with aging. A systematic approach, including lipidomics and pathway-focused transcript analysis, revealed that calorie restriction (CR) and Fabp4/5 deficiency result ...
Source: Fight Aging! - October 15, 2017 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Researchers Generate Decellularized Livers, Ready for New Cells and Transplantation
In this study, we report successful decellularization of human livers to obtain transplantable whole organ scaffolds. We show proof of concept that these scaffolds can serve as feasible resources for future tissue-engineering purposes. Using a controlled perfusion system, a complete 3D acellular human liver scaffold was generated on a clinically relevant scale and free of allo-antigens. We present the feasibility of systematically upscaling the decellularization process to discarded human livers. Eleven human livers were efficiently decellularized by nonionic detergents by machine perfusion. A careful choice of the decellu...
Source: Fight Aging! - October 13, 2017 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs
