StemCell Therapy

Repligen says it will continue to expand capacity to feed demand for its OPUS range of prepacked chromatography columns.

For the full year 2019, revenues at bioprocess vendor Repligen Corporation came in at $270 million (250 million), up from $194 million in 2018. Revenues grew across all the firms divisions, with organic growth of 20%, 30% and 40% for Repligens proteins, filtration and chromatography franchises, respectively.

And within the chromatography franchise, the firms OPUS range of prepacked chromatography columns stood out.

Image: iStock/Oakozhan

Our OPUS business finished up over 30% for the quarter and 50% for the year. The story in the quarter was the continued adoption of our prepacked column technology in CDMOs and gene therapy accounts, which now account for 20% of our OPUS revenue, said CEO Tony Hunt in a conference call discussing results.

We delivered approximately 1,400 columns to our customer base in 2019, up from 700 columns in 2018.

Part of this was the demand driven by a robust biologics market. In the US alone, 10 new mAbs [monoclonal antibodies] and two gene therapy drugs were approved in 2019, said Hunt. With a rich pipeline of over 1,000 biological drug candidates, the expectations are high for strong growth in the years ahead.

And increased capacity allowed Repligen to feed the demand. We were able to improve our lead times significantly by bringing five new production suites online in December, said Hunt.

Last year, the firm announced investment plans to add two OPUS manufacturing suites at its Ravensburg, Germany site and six suites at its Waltham, Massachusetts. Those were expected to come online during the first three to nine months of 2020, so its not clear whether the five suites which began production in December formed part of that investment.

We expect continued momentum for OPUS in 2020 as our customers scale and expand. We expect our OPUS franchise to grow at or above 20% in overall chromatography at 15% in 2020.

Repligen also spoke about the growing demand for its products from the gene therapy sector, something Hunt was vocal about at last months JP Morgan Healthcare conference.

Talking last week, Hunt said Repligen has more than 50 significant customers in the gene therapy space, and the sector now represents around 15% of the firms total business.

We havent seen any slowdown in gene therapy, and were expecting gene therapy will grow about 30% for us in 2020.

Gene therapy was cited as chief among the many tailwinds that underpinned Repligens accelerated growth in 2019 by Jefferies analyst Brandon Couillard.

By our math, this surge in gene therapy demand accounted for two-thirds of Repligens accelerated core growth of +33% in 19 (from +17% in 18), he wrote in a note.

Looking ahead, with the cell/gene therapy market expected to grow 2-3x faster than the broader ~$10 billion bioprocessing market over the next three to five years, the mix shift should continue to be accretive to its overall growth profile over time.

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Repligen up on OPUS and gene therapy demand - Bioprocess Insider - BioProcess Insider

If you ever end up in an emergency room, the first thing that happens is a doctor or nurse will check your critical vitals: your temperature, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and pulse. If those indicate your life is at risk, your care is prioritized over others who have already been waiting or who have been seen by a doctor but require additional testing (e.g. an x-ray or blood test) or a specialist to review their symptoms. This process, called triaging, is the global standard for allocating resources in emergency care.

Triaging is a marvel of modern healthcare if it is abundantly clear that you are on deaths door. But if theres no textbook description of your condition, it can leave you needlessly suffering while the experts try to figure it out. Thats often the case for those with rare diseases, a group of conditions that are not individually common, but combined, affect an estimated 10% of the global population, some 475 million people. An estimated 80% of the 7,000 identified rare diseases are caused by DNA mutations that occur during pregnancy, meaning most of those with this category of illness are born with it. In many cases, these babies emerge from the womb with life-threatening conditions that doctorsworking the triage systemwill immediately address. However, this also tends to lead doctors to then ignore the underlying rare diseasean unnecessary medical expenditure, in the triage system framework.

I am one of the people living with a rare disease.

I was born with a number of symptoms and signs that put my life at risk a collapsed lung, a premature exit from my mothers body after only six months, and malnutrition from a hole in my amniotic sac. These problems were all treated and resolved over a multiple month stay in the hospital dictated by the triage system. I was allocated hospital resources for my life-threatening conditions until I was deemed stable enough to go home: the point at which I wouldnt die if I left the care of the hospital.

But there was another problem that was overlooked, and which wasnt diagnosed until I was five years old.

Every bone in my body was bent and every muscle atrophied or non-existent. I couldnt move my neck away from shoulder; I couldnt straighten my legs, knees, arms, wrists, ankles, toes, hands, or fingers beyond fixed, fully bent positions.

The triage system worked at saving my life, but never addressed how I would live day to day or even physically move from a single location by myself. It never addressed the underlying issue and root of the problem: a rare orthopedic genetic disease.

The life or death triage standard is one of the primary reasons that it takes, on average, seven years for people with a rare disease to get a diagnosis in the U.S.and

I am one of the lucky ones. Serendipitously, a Because of these surgeries, and additional ones Ive had since, I could feed myself, live free from a wheelchair, go to school through the post-graduate level, and hold a full-time job.

The orthopedic surgeries I neededover 29 of them in less than 30 yearshave cost millions of dollars. And these costs grow each year as I undergo additional exploratory surgery in the absence of any cure. However, these costs are still lower than what I would have incurred had I been left as the triage system deemed stable as an infant. I would have required 24-hour in-home care my entire life. I would never have been able to use the bathroom alone, to get dressed alone or to even leave the house alone. The lifetime value of a working individual according to the US Office of Management and Budget is on average $7 million to $9 million. The cost of a full-time caregiver is on average $40,320 a year; if a rare-disease patient reaches the average US life expectancy of 78 years old, the lifetime cost of full-time care is at least $3 million.

Our healthcare system needs to weigh the long-term costs of leaving behind people with rare disease, and, more specifically, evaluate the economic consequences that follow at a global scale.

Even more so, we need to weigh the costs of creating a pipeline to fill the treatment gap facing people with rare disease., Using genomic sequencing, clinicians can holistically understand the genetic roots of rare disease and even potentially cure rare disease through gene therapy, which modifies and permanently fixes abnormal genes that cause a specific rare disease at birth.

Nonetheless, identifying the root genetic cause of rare disease is the only way to begin to cure a rare disease rather than just treating the symptoms in an ad hoc fashion. While certain pharmaceutical drugs can be developed from the findings in a genomic sequence to help mitigate or lessen symptoms, the science suggests the only way to cure a rare disease is to administer an even newer science called gene therapywhich modifies and permanently fixes genes that are abnormal. Considered to be the most expensive option, a However, this nascent science is costly: gene therapy costs around $2 million for current US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved options.

Insurance plans in the US rarely pay for clinical-grade whole-genomic sequencing (which can carry a price tag of up to $9,000)let alone gene therapies. Yet if the most expensive cost to cure a rare disease is $2 million, thats still far less than $3 million for a lifetime of full-time care (which excludes additional expenses). And new studies, like one the World Economic Forum released in the lead up to this years International Rare Disease Day, show that we can ultimately save money in the long term by funding more treatments and, as an added benefit, potentially develop more cures by learning when treatments work and when treatments dont work.

We cant create clinical pathways for the more than 7,000 rare diseases overnight, but we need a standard of care that goes beyond using death as the primary barometer of focus, over-simplifies the complexity of what it means to be healthy, and only considers short term costs. An economically effective, new model could center on allocating resources with the end goal to allow people to reach a level of health that provides basic mobility or basic independencea level of health allowing economic productivity. We are living in a time of unprecedented medical innovation, and our system of coverage needs to catch up. We can do better than just keeping people alive.

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The Bad Economics of the U.S. Health Care System Shows Up Starkly in its Approach to Rare Diseases - TIME

The IPO market is feeling the effects of the coronavirus outbreak with a surge in the VIX volatility index weighing on IPO activity. Since 2015, a week in which VIX volatility has surpassed 35 has been followed by a week averaging two US IPO pricings. Our observational trend continues through 2020, as one biotech entered the public market this past week. Six IPOs and three SPACs submitted initial filings with the SEC.

Passage Bio (PASG), a preclinical biotech developing gene therapies, priced at the high end of the range to raise $216 million at a $840 million market cap. The deal raised 72% more in proceeds than Passage Bio originally filed for. The company is furthering the research from UPenn's Gene Therapy Program, which is headed by co-founder James Wilson. Bolstered by the recent performances of other large early stage biotech IPOs, Passage Bio finished up 23%, another sign that biotechs are pushing back against the effects of the coronavirus.

Chinese medical information platform Zhongchao (NASDAQ:ZCMD) began trading on Monday after raising $12 million in an IPO on Friday 2/21. The company was flat after its first day on the Nasdaq and is currently down 2%.

1 IPO During the Week of February 24th, 2020

IssuerBusiness

DealSize

Market Capat IPO

Price vs.Midpoint

First DayReturn

Returnat 02/28

Passage Bio

$216M

$840M

6%

+23%

+23%

Preclinical biotech developing gene therapies for rare CNS disorders.

Healthcare benefit management platform Accolade (ACCD) filed to raise $100 million, biotechs NLS Pharmaceutics (NLSP) and ORIC Pharmaceutics (ORIC) filed for $40 million and $86 million, respectively. Construction software Procore Technologies (PCOR) filed for an estimated $400 million. Medical device maker Pulmonx (LUNG) filed for $86 million, and marketing data platform ZoomInfo (ZI) filed for $500 million. SPACS, Social Hedosophia II (IPOB.U), Social Hedosophia III (IPOC.U), and GigCaptial3 (GIK.U) filed for $300 million, $600 million, and $200 million.

9 Filings During the Week of February 24th, 2020

IssuerBusiness

DealSize

Sector

LeadUnderwriter

Accolade

$100M

Health Care

Goldman

Provides a platform that helps employees manage their healthcare benefits.

NLS Pharmaceutics

$40M

Health Care

Maxim

Biotech focusing on therapies for CNS and sleep disorders.

ORIC Pharmaceuticals

$86M

Health Care

JP Morgan

Phase 1 biotech developing small molecule therapies for cancer.

Procore Technologies

$400M

Technology

Goldman

Provides cloud-based construction management and collaboration software.

Pulmonx

$86M

Health Care

BofA

Makes minimally invasive medical devices for emphysema.

Social Hedosophia II

$300M

SPAC

Credit Suisse

Second blank check company formed by Social Capital and Hedosophia targeting US tech.

Social Hedosophia III

$600M

SPAC

Credit Suisse

Second blank check company formed by Social Capital and Hedosophia targeting ex-US tech.

ZoomInfo

$500M

Technology

JP Morgan

Provides a data platform for sales, marketing, and recruiting professionals.

GigCapital3

$200M

SPAC

Nomura

Third blank check company led by semiconductor veteran Avi Katz.

The Renaissance IPO Indices are market cap weighted baskets of newly public companies. As of 2/27/20, the Renaissance IPO Index was up 1.4% year-to-date, while the S&P 500 was down 7.8%. Renaissance Capital's IPO ETF (NYSE: IPO) tracks the index, and top ETF holdings include Uber (NYSE:UBER) and Spotify (NYSE:SPOT). The Renaissance International IPO Index was up 2.2% year-to-date, while the ACWX was down 9.3%. Renaissance Capital's International IPO ETF (NYSE: IPOS) tracks the index, and top ETF holdings include Adyen and Meituan-Dianping.

Original Post

Editor's Note: The summary bullets for this article were chosen by Seeking Alpha editors.

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IPO Weekly Recap: Yes, The IPO Market Has Caught The Coronavirus - Seeking Alpha

Rare Disease Day is celebrated across the globe to raise awareness amongst the general public and policymakers about rare diseases and how they impact patients lives. The first Rare Disease Day was celebrated in 2008 on February 29 because of its rare date and since then, occurs on the last day in February each year, a month with a rare number of days.

Although rare suggests not many people are affected with a condition, collectively, 300 million people around the world live with a rare disease and they face similar challenges. The barrier to an accurate diagnosis means patients may doctor hop and spend years getting a host of tests done because no one is familiar with the condition and can diagnose it. Theres often frustration due to this lack of understanding from health care professionals, and living in the unknown.

Even with a diagnosis, more than 90% of rare diseases are still without an FDA approved treatment, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders.

Some rare diseases may cause a multitude of different health problems that keep children from going to school or being able to socialize with others in the same way their peers can. Similarly, rare diseases may affect physical appearance and make children self-conscious or have low self-esteem.

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Michigan Medicine researchers are constantly working to better understand the mechanisms behind rare diseases. Education helps health care professionals make accurate diagnoses, create treatment methods and improve the quality of life for those that live with these conditions.

Heres a sampling of their research from the last year.

Systemic Scleroderma Treatments: Where Are We Now?A new and novel outcome measure is being used to determine effectiveness of new scleroderma treatments.

Gene Therapy Treatment Targets Rare Mutation Tied to BlindnessAdvances in gene therapy are yielding new options for treating inherited retinal degenerations, giving specialists new tools and new hope for patients and families.

A Mission to Improve Cystic Fibrosis Treatment Across the GlobeTo reach patients in need, one doctor has developed atraining program to improve testingand care available for those with thegenetic disease, starting intheMiddle East.

Accelerating Childrens Access to New Treatments for High Risk Brain TumorsMichigan Medicine joins an exclusive, global network that helps speed up the process of linking children with incurable brain cancer to promising clinical trials.

A New Clue in the Mystery of ALS, Frontotemporal DementiaMichigan Medicine researchers identify a potential therapeutic target for neurodegenerative conditions using animal models.

Drug Trial Seeking First Ever Treatment for Dangerous Side Effect of Prader-Willi SyndromeA worldwide research effort is underway for finding a treatment option for hyperphagia, the most common genetic cause of life threatening childhood obesity.

Arthritis Treatment Could Provide Relief for Lichen Planus Skin RashIts often difficult to manage patients with this skin inflammation, but new research identifies a target that existing medications may be able to address.

Approach Could Help in Treating Glioblastoma, Other Rare CancersMichigan led research presents a new way of uncovering predictive biomarkers when data from large randomized trials arent available.

Sickle Cell Disease Could Be Treated by Turning Back the ClockReactivating genes normally active before birth could prevent the harmful effects of this blood disorder with few treatment options.

Registry Helps Move Aortic Dissection Care Forward Diagnosis, treatments and outcomes for acute aortic dissection have evolved, with an international registry revealing trends and the power of using data.

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To learn more about Rare Disease Day, visit the National Organization for Rare Disorders website.

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10 Studies That Highlight the Importance of Rare Disease Research - Michigan Medicine

DUBLIN, Feb. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Stem Cell Banking - Market Analysis, Trends, and Forecasts" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The growing interest in regenerative medicine which involves replacing, engineering or regenerating human cells, tissues or organs, will drive market growth of stem cells. Developments in stem cells bioprocessing are important and will be a key factor that will influence and help regenerative medicine research move into real-world clinical use. The impact of regenerative medicine on healthcare will be comparable to the impact of antibiotics, vaccines, and monoclonal antibodies in current clinical care. With the global regenerative medicine market poised to reach over US$45 billion by 2025, demand for stem cells will witness robust growth.

Another emerging application area for stem cells is in drug testing in the pharmaceutical field. New drugs in development can be safely, accurately, and effectively be tested on stem cells before commencing tests on animal and human models. Among the various types of stem cells, umbilical cord stem cells are growing in popularity as they are easy and safe to extract. After birth blood from the umbilical cord is extracted without posing risk either to the mother or the child. As compared to embryonic and fetal stem cells which are saddled with safety and ethical issues, umbilical cord is recovered postnatally and is today an inexpensive and valuable source of multipotent stem cells. Until now discarded as waste material, umbilical cord blood is today acknowledged as a valuable source of blood stem cells. The huge gap between newborns and available cord blood banks reveals huge untapped opportunity for developing and establishing a more effective banking system for making this type of stem cells viable for commercial scale production and supply. Umbilical cord and placenta contain haematopoietic blood stem cells (HSCs). These are the only cells capable of producing immune system cells (red cells, white cells and platelet).

HSCs are valuable in the treatment of blood diseases and successful bone marrow transplants. Also, unlike bone marrow stem cells, umbilical cord blood has the advantage of having 'off-the-shelf' uses as it requires no human leukocyte antigen (HLA) tissue matching. Developments in stem cell preservation will remain crucial for successful stem cell banking. Among the preservation technologies, cryopreservation remains popular. Development of additives for protecting cells from the stresses of freezing and thawing will also be important for the future of the market. The United States and Europe represent large markets worldwide with a combined share of 60.5% of the market. China ranks as the fastest growing market with a CAGR of 10.8% over the analysis period supported by the large and growing network of umbilical cord blood banks in the country. The Chinese government has, over the years, systematically nurtured the growth of umbilical cord blood (UCB) banks under the 'Developmental and Reproductive Research Initiation' program launched in 2008. Several hybrid public-private partnerships and favorable governmental licensing policies today are responsible for the current growth in this market.

Competitors identified in this market include:

Companies Mentioned

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/vgxw4q

About ResearchAndMarkets.comResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

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Global Stem Cell Market Poised for Strong Growth as Global Regenerative Medicine Market Poised to Reach US$45 billion by 2025 - PRNewswire

SINGAPORE, Feb. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Tessa Therapeutics (Tessa), a clinical-stage cell therapy company developing next-generation cancer treatments, today announced that the Company's investigational CD30-directed autologous chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CD30 CAR-T) therapy has been granted Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory CD30-positive classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). Tessa expects to initiate its pivotal Phase II multi-site trial in the fourth quarter of 2020.

"The RMAT designation speaks to the strength of the data in two independent Phase I/II trials, which show promising efficacy and a strong safety profile of the therapy in Hodgkin lymphoma patients whose disease had failed to respond to other available therapies," said Ivan D. Horak, M.D., President of Research and Development at Tessa Therapeutics. "We look forward to working closely with the FDA as we advance our trial at multiple sites in North America and work to bring this potentially transformative treatment option to patients."

The RMAT designation is supported by clinical data from two independent CD30 CAR-T Phase I/II studies in patients with relapsed or refractory CD30-positive classical Hodgkin lymphoma conducted by Baylor College of Medicine (NCT02917083) and University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center (NCT02690545). Both studies demonstrated objective response rates of more than 70%, with 18 patients achieving complete response out of 27 patients treated with CD 30 CAR-T with lymphodepleting chemotherapy as of November 2019.

Dr Horak added: "As part of our longer-term R&D program, we are also developing an allogeneic CD30-CAR Epstein-Bar Virus-Specific T cell (CD30-CAR EBVST) therapy product that combines the unique properties of VSTs and CD30 CARs, in an effort to develop off-the-shelf cell therapies intended to treat a range of hematologic malignancies and solid tumors."

RMAT designation is designed to facilitate development and expedite review of cell therapies and other qualifying regenerative medicines intended to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition; and preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the drug has the potential to address unmet medical needs for such disease or condition. Advantages include all the benefits of the FDA's Fast Track and Breakthrough Therapy Designation programs, such as early interactions with the FDA that may be used to discuss potential surrogate or intermediate endpoints to support accelerated approval and satisfy post-approval requirements.

More information on Tessa's CD30 CAR-T therapy pivotal Phase II clinical trial is available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04268706.

-End -

About Tessa Therapeutics

Tessa Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of cell therapies for a broad range of cancers.

Tessa's fast-growing clinical pipeline includes two investigational autologous cell therapies in late-stage clinical development for nasopharyngeal cancer and classical Hodgkin lymphoma. Combining the unique properties of Virus-Specific T cells (VSTs) and CD-30 Chimeric Antigen Receptors (CD30-CARs), Tessa is also emerging with a new approach to cancer cell therapy through the development of a novel, allogeneic platform technology. The platform holds potential for the creation of off-the-shelf cell therapies against a variety of hematologic malignancies and solid tumors.

Tessa's strategic partnerships with leading US academic centers and manufacturing and supply chain capabilities across Asia and the United States, have enabled the company to successfully deliver cell therapies on a global scale, creating a fully integrated approach to the treatment of cancer.

For more information on Tessa, please visit http://www.tessatherapeutics.com.

SOURCE Tessa Therapeutics

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Tessa Therapeutics Announces US FDA Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) Designation Granted to its CD30 CAR-T Cell Therapy for the Treatment...

St. Paul, MN, February 27, 2020 --(PR.com)-- Recombinetics (RCI) today announced a collaborative research project with University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) to identify key factors that improve the efficiency of generating interspecies chimera between pigs and humans. This near-term goal will benefit the long-term objective of advancing regenerative medicine through the reliable production of therapeutic human cells, tissues and organs using blastocyst complementation. This would create a more reliable supply of live-saving transplantable organs on demand that is not reliant on human donors.

This collaboration will leverage the expertise of RCI in producing inter-species chimeras, specifically using the blastocyst complementation method, where the host species is mutated to ablate a crucial organ or lineage, and the human donor cells are populating the missing niche. Our plan is to understand the relationship between human and pig cells through development and utilize gene editing to improve the survival, engraftment and differentiation of the donor human cells in the specific niche. These technologies could very well hold the crucial step that move us towards producing human components in bio-incubators.

Project efforts will be led by Ohad Gafni, Ph.D., RCIs Director of Stem Cell Technologies and Jun Wu, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

Scientists have struggled to produce inter species chimera due to poor survival and engraftment of the injected donor cells in the host environment. In this collaboration, we will combine in vitro and in vivo studies to enhance the efficiency of producing pig: human chimeras as a foundation for producing therapeutic human cells, tissues, and organs, says Dr. Gafni.

About RecombineticsFounded in 2008, Recombinetics (RCI) is producing gene-edited animals for biomedical and food production purposes and is generating commercial and collaborative revenues. RCIs technology platform supports three business lines: Acceligen (precision breeding to enhance health, well-being and productivity in food animals and aquaculture); Surrogen (gene-edited swine models of human diseases for biomedical research and pre-clinical trials by pharmaceutical and medical device companies); and Regenevida (development of human regenerative products including cells, tissues and organ products in swine models for exotransplantation to humans). Learn more at Recombinetics.com.

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Recombinetics Announces Collaboration with University of Texas Southwestern to Advance Regenerative Medicine Through Therapeutic Cell, Tissue, and...

Aspire Regenerative

SAN DIEGO (PRWEB) February 27, 2020

Dr. Ryan McNally, the medical director of Aspire Regenerative, is the featured guest on Dr. Hanisha Patels natural health podcast, Mahan Health. The episode, New Year, Younger You?, focuses on the latest developments in medicine and technology that promote aging well and gracefully. It is currently available on all major podcast platforms.

During the lively and informative episode, Dr. McNally shares his expertise in the field of regenerative medicine and how it can help rejuvenate healthy tissues. The ultimate goal of these therapies is to slow down the progression of aging and prolong overall wellness. Subjects that Dr. McNally explores during the podcast include stem cell therapy, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy, and products derived from fetal tissue found in cord blood, placental tissue, and perinatal fluid. One of the most promising new areas of regenerative medicine that Dr. McNally discusses is stem cell derived-exosome therapy, which uses the part of a cell that is rich in growth factors.

Dr. McNally is responsible for guiding the vision of Aspire Regenerative, a state-of-the-art facility in San Diego that delivers integrative and technologically advanced medical care. He also oversees the development and implementation of science, research, and technology at Aspire. Dr. McNally is a licensed naturopathic doctor with multiple certifications in regenerative medicine, aesthetics, and injection therapies. In addition, he is a faculty member at the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine and an adjunct faculty member at Bastyr University California, where he formerly served as chief medical officer. A sought-after speaker at conferences and universities, Dr. McNally also publishes articles in peer-reviewed professional journals and frequently serves as a guest expert for podcasts, magazines, and newspapers.

About Aspire Regenerative: Aspire Regenerative is a state-of-the-art medical practice offering personalized regenerative treatments and integrative therapies to help patients reach their goals and achieve the best possible results. We have reinvented medical care by incorporating the principle of cell and tissue regeneration, which translates to youthful and vibrant function. Our in-depth expertise and collaboration with researchers allow us to integrate innovative technology into individualized patient care with therapies that are safe and effective. For more information, visit https://aspireregenerativehealth.com/.

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Aspire Regenerative Medical Director Featured on New Podcast - PR Web

One in 14 Ontarians can expect to be diagnosed with colorectal cancer in their lifetime. COURTESY OF ED UTHMAN/FLICKR

University of Toronto scientists have identified a key protein as a common factor in the growth of many different types of colorectal cancer tumours, according to research published in the Journal of Cell Biology. Colorectal cancer develops in the colon or rectum. In Ontario, it is also the second most fatal cancer, and one in 14 Ontarians can expect to be diagnosed with this form of cancer in their lifetime.

In past research, scientists have linked the excessive accumulation of beta-catenin, a protein with crucial functions in cell development, to the expression of genes that drive tumour proliferation. Research has associated 80 per cent of colorectal cancers with gene mutations that greatly increase the production of beta-catenin.

The co-authors of the study have identified another protein, Importin-11, as the compound that enables beta-catenin transportation to the nucleus of the human cell. Cancer therapies that inhibit this transport could be a promising way to treat colorectal cancer.

Fundamental research provides new knowledge for cancer therapies

The Varsity spoke to Dr. Stephane Angers, a co-author of the study and an associate professor at U of Ts Department of Biochemistry. Angers lab has spent a considerable amount of time studying biological pathways the series of chemical changes during cellular development that give cells their final functions.

Angers noted that Monika Mis, the lead author of the study and a PhD student, uncovered the role of Importin-11 in colorectal cancer in Angers lab. Mis used the gene-editing CRISPR-Cas9 technology to screen genes in colorectal cancer calls to identify a novel gene, IPO11, which encodes for the protein Importin-11.

Current treatment options for colorectal cancer include surgery, chemotherapy, and other radiation therapy. Although this discovery is still in its fundamental stages, blocking the transport of beta-catenin holds great promise for developing new therapies.

As Angers put it, It provides new ammunition, new possibilities, and new knowledge that could lead in the future to new therapies, but it is very much at the discovery level at this point.

More research required to develop therapies

Further research could involve drug discovery and widen the scope of Importin-11 function in various cells. Researchers may also find it valuable to analyze existing data about colorectal cancer. The goal is to understand how the mutations affect tumour formation and develop therapies that harness this knowledge.

Angers lab is also investigating other potential applications of the Wnt pathway, a specific biological pathway associated with beta-catenin. A particularly interesting aspect is its role in regenerative medicine, which is the study of restoring human cells, tissues, and organs.

We think that with new molecules that we have developed we can now activate the pathway in order to promote the regenerative abilities of tissues, noted Angers.

Tags: biology, cancer, medicine, oncology

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New ammunition uncovered by U of T researchers to develop colorectal cancer treatment - Varsity

For many people, the concept of a shorter workweek is enticing. After all, it can be difficult to find enough time for the things we love.

Is it reasonable then, in our quest for happiness, to begin working less? Advocates of a shorter workweek would agree, but these policies have yet to be widely-adopted.

Todays chart plots data from the World Happiness Report 2019 and the OECD to determine if theres any correlation between a countrys happiness and average hours worked per person.

The unhealthy side effects of working long hours are well established. In extreme cases, however, symptoms can extend beyond the usual stress and fatigue.

For example, the American Heart Association found that people under the age of 50 had a higher risk of stroke when working over 10 hours a day for a decade or more. Another study, conducted across 14 countries, concluded that people who worked long hours were 12% more likely to become excessive drinkers.

If working longer days is so harmful to our well-being, what happens if we work fewer hours instead?

The tables below list the happiest countries as well as the unhappiest countries in the OECD; happiness scores range from 0 to 10, with a 10 representing the best life possible.

Based on the data, there appears to be some degree of correlation between a persons happiness and the amount of hours they work.

Heres how the five happiest countries stack up:

The five happiest countries each work over 100 hours less than the OECD average. Compare this to the five least happiest countries:

Coincidentally, all five of the least happiest countries work more hours than the OECD average, up to over 264 hours in the case of Greece.

Happiness is multifaceted, though, and we should avoid drawing conclusions from a single variable. For instance, the World Happiness Report 2019 calculates happiness scores based on eight distinct metrics:

With these in mind, we can make a few additional observations.

Four of the five happiest OECD countries are located in the Nordics, a region known for low corruption rates and robust social safety nets. On the other end of the scale, economic hardship is a recurring theme among the OECDs least happiest countries. The falling Turkish lira and Greeces debt crisis are two significant examples.

To properly measure the happiness-boosting potential of a shortened workweek, it seems we need to isolate its effects.

Employers are now experimenting with shorter work schedules to see if happier employees are in fact better employees.

Perpetual Guardian, a New Zealand-based estate planning firm, trialed a four-day workweek for two months with no changes to compensation.

The trial was hailed as a success. Employee stress levels fell by 7 percentage points while overall life satisfaction rose by 5 percentage points. Perhaps most impressive is the fact that productivity remained the same.

Employees designed a number of innovations and initiatives to work in a more productive and efficient manner.

Helen Delaney, University of Auckland

Following the trial, the firms founder expressed interest in implementing the four-day workweek on a permanent basis.

Filimundus, a Sweden-based software studio, trialed a six-hour workday in 2014. Staff reception was positive, and the company has since adopted it permanently.

There were trade-offs, however. While staff enjoyed more time for their private lives, productivity across different departments saw mixed results.

We did see some decrease in production for some staff, mostly our artists, but an increase in production for our programmers. So money-wise, in costs, it evened out.

Linus Feldt, CEO

Interestingly, the studio also trialed a seven-hour workday, and saw no positive effects.

Public healthcare workers in Gothenburg, Sweden, trialed a six-hour workday for two years. Similar to the first case, compensation was unchanged.

While the trial achieved good resultsstaff experienced lower stress levels and patients received a higher level of carethe policy was unsustainable.

Its far too expensive to carry out a general shortening of working hours within a reasonable time frame.

Daniel Bernmar

17 additional staff were hired to compensate for the shorter workdays, increasing the local governments payroll by $738,000. The city council did note, however, that lower unemployment costs offset this increase by approximately 10%.

These experiments are garnering attention from around the world.

Even Japan, a country known for its overtime culture, is getting in on the action. Microsoft offices in the East Asian country tested a four-day workweek in August 2019, and reported happier staff, as well as an impressive 40% boost in productivity.

While the results of these early experiments are indeed promising, theyve exposed the nuances that exist between industries and job types, and the need for further trials. One thing is certain thoughshorter workweek policies should not be interpreted as a one size fits all solution for happier lives.

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Ranked: The Most Innovative Economies in the World - Visual Capitalist

The National Institutes of Health is coordinating panel discussions on Friday, February 28 in Bethesda, MD to improve diagnosis and treatment, expand clinical trial resources, and increase awareness of rare diseases.

In all, NORD lists over 400 events in 106 countries marking Rare Disease Day, including conferences, research presentations, exhibits, walks, rallies and a variety of fundraisers.

Rare Disease Day started in 2008 with the first events held in Canada and Europe. The date February 29 was chosen because it is rare (Rare Disease Day is on February 28 in non-leap years).

Rare diseases and disorders often go undiagnosed and untreated. Due to their rarity, expertise, treatment and resources are limited for people living with a rare disease, who can also face discrimination at work and school.

Research on rare diseases can actually help improve understanding of more common disorders and lead to new treatments. For instance, Yale neuroscientist Dr. Stephen Waxman discovered the gene SCN9A and its role in two painful hereditary neuropathies. Treatments for these disorders may help people with many other forms of peripheral neuropathy, as Waxman explains in his book, Chasing Men on Fire.

Moreover, rare diseases are often misunderstood. They do not look like typical illness and may require unusual forms of medical care. So Rare Disease Day also represents a chance to raise awareness about the importance of research, specialist centers, and healthcare professionals who work on such disorders.

Although most rare diseases do not have a cure, they can all be managed and patient lives improved. Rare Disease Day is an opportunity to focus on promising research, improving patients lives, and promoting action.

Roger Chriss lives with Ehlers Danlos syndrome and is a proud member of the Ehlers-Danlos Society. Roger is a technical consultant in Washington state, where he specializes in mathematics and research.

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Be Strong and Proud on Rare Disease Day - Pain News Network

Study by UC San Diego Health Sciences finds difference in breast milk concentrations impacts growth up to age 5

San Diego Community News Group

Breastfeeding affects infant growth and, researchers have found, helps prevent obesity, both in childhood and later in life. However, the components of breast milk responsible for these beneficial effects remain mostly a mystery.

Human milk is an elaborate blend of proteins, fats, minerals, and vitamins, plus complex sugar molecules called human milk oligosaccharides or HMOs. There are approximately 150 types of HMOs. Like thumb and tongue prints, the combination and concentration of HMOs is unique to each nursing mother.

In a new study, published in the Feb. 18, 2020, online issue of "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine confirmed the findings of previous pilot studies that found an association between HMO concentrations and infant weight and body composition.

The earlier pilot studies looked at a smaller, combined cohort of approximately 30 infants who were exclusively breastfed and who displayed excessive weight gain over a period of six months. The UC San Diego study examined a much larger cohort of 802 mothers and their children, part of the longitudinal Steps to Healthy Development of Children (STEPS) study, led by researchers at the University of Turku in Finland. The children were examined from birth to age 5.

The researchers found that high concentrations of one HMO called 2-Fucosyllactose (2FL) and low concentrations of another HMO known as Lacto-N-neotetraose (LNnT) were associated with growth in infancy and early childhood. Depending upon concentrations of HMOs in mothers milk, but independent of the mothers pre-pregnancy body mass index or duration of breastfeeding, infant height and weight can vary by half a standard deviation. Standard deviation is a measure of how spread out numbers are.

We were surprised by the magnitude of the association, said senior author Lars Bode, Ph.D., professor of pediatrics at UC San Diego School of Medicine and director of the Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation Mother-Milk-Infant Center of Research Excellence. The impact persisted long after actual exposure to HMOs during breastfeeding. Our analytical platform allows us to measure and associate individual HMOs with specific health and development outcomes.

HMOs are natural prebiotics that contribute to the shaping of the infant gut microbiome, which may affect health and disease risk. But they also act independently of the microbiome, protecting the infant from diseases, such as infectious diarrhea or necrotizing enterocolitis, a serious condition that impacts the intestine of premature infants. HMOs potentially also reduce the risk for non-communicable diseases, such as asthma, allergies, and obesity later in life.

Our goal is to generate a deep mechanistic understanding of how HMOs in a moms milk can contribute to infant health and development. Although we are only at the very beginning, the generated knowledge provides fascinating new opportunities, said Bode. Some HMOs could help infants who are behind the growth curve; other HMOs could do the opposite and help lower the risk of childhood obesity. We could even imagine applying HMOs as novel therapeutics for adults who either need to gain weight or suffer from overweight and obesity.

Bode said the study is also an example of how data can help guide the development of HMO blends for different products promoting health. We could tailor HMO composition in products based on actual scientific evidence and desired outcomes. Much like personalized medicine.

The association results from cohort studies are an impactful way to generate new hypotheses, said the researchers, especially if several different cohorts show very similar associations. However, association studies do not prove causality. Bode said his teams next steps include bringing the data back to the lab to test whether or not HMOs, either alone or in combination, affect growth and to pinpoint the underlying mechanisms.

Co-authors include: Chloe Yonemitsu and Julia Gupta, UC San Diego; Hanna Lagstrm, Samuli Rautava, Helena Ollila, Anne Kaljonen and Olli Turta, University of Turku; and Johanna Mkel, Tampere University Hospital.

Full study:https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqaa010

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Study by UC San Diego Health Sciences finds difference in breast milk concentrations impacts growth up to age 5 - Breastfeeding affects infant growth...

Prime Healthcare utilizes the latest in diagnostic testing, state-of-the-art surgical and non-surgical treatments, the most advanced technology, research, residency programs and a compassionate staff to create five award-winning hospitals that provide comprehensive care for residents of Essex, Morris, Passaic, Sussex and Warren counties.

Prime Healthcare hospitals include:

Services available at all Prime Healthcare campuses include but are not limited to:

Saint Clares Health

Their multidisciplinary team of physicians, staff and volunteers at Saint Clares Denville Hospital, Saint Clares Dover Hospital and Saint Clares Behavioral Health are committed to providing the most advanced treatments and technology in a patient-centered environment. Saint Clares Health has been recognized for its award-winning care, receiving Pathway to Excellence designation, achieving Five Star Rating one of only two hospitals in New Jersey from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, achieving Leapfrog A Rating for patient safety, and being accredited as a Comprehensive Center by the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program. Saint Clares Behavioral Health provides a comprehensive range of emergency services, inpatient and outpatient programs, a substance abuse walk-in program, and one of the areas only psychiatric medical care units located at Saint Clares Dover Hospital. The psychiatric medical care unit allows patients to stay in one unit to receive their psychiatric and medical care. Saint Clares Center for Cancer Care offers the latest in radiation treatment close to home. TrueBeam Radiotherapy System gives patients treatment that is powerful and precise, minimizing damage to surrounding tissue and in some cases, less than five visits. Emergency services are available at two convenient locations Denville and Dover and have the shortest wait times in the area. Outpatient services include rehabilitation services, cardiac rehabilitation, breast services, laboratory, and radiology. For more information about Saint Clares services, visit saintclares.com.

Saint Marys General Hospital

St. Marys General Hospital is a community-based tertiary medical center that emphasizes quality, compassionate care. Fully accredited by The Joint Commission, St. Marys General is an award winning acute care hospital offering a broad range of cardiovascular services as well as a comprehensive program for cancer care. St. Marys General also is a center of excellence for maternal-child health and outpatient behavioral health services. It is the recipient of various Healthgrades awards, including the Excellence Award for Gynecologic Surgery. St. Marys General is a State Designated Heart Center, Certified Stroke Center and is The Joint Commission Top Performer on Key Quality Measures for three consecutive years. It is the only hospital in Passaic County with over 550 physicians and 1,200 employees one of the largest employers in the county. Every member of the St. Marys General team is committed to providing respectful, personalized, high-quality care. The hospitals goal is to satisfy patients needs and exceed their expectations. St. Marys General Hospital is a member of the Prime Healthcare System family, which has been lauded as a Top 15 Healthcare System by Truven Health Analytics. To learn more about St. Marys General Hospital, visit http://www.smh-nj.com.

Saint Michaels Medical Center

Saint Michaels Medical Center is a 358-bed regional tertiary-care, teaching and research hospital located in the heart of Newarks thriving business and university community. For more than 150 years, the hospital has served the health care needs of Newark residents as well as the surrounding community. Saint Michaels is a major teaching hospital affiliated with New York Medical College, offering an internal medicine residency as well as fellowships in cardiology, interventional cardiology, gastroenterology, oncology, infectious disease, pulmonary and critical care. The hospital has recently invested millions of dollars in new telemetry equipment throughout the hospital, a top-of-the-line Varian TrueBeam Radiotherapy System in its Cancer Center, and two advanced, state-of-the-art catheterization laboratories that allow the hospital to offer Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR), a minimally invasive cardiac procedure for patients suffering from a faulty heart valve condition known as cardiac stenosis. Saint Michaels is one of Americas 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care for two consecutive years (2018 and 2019). The hospital is ranked among the top 10% in the nation for cardiac surgery by Healthgrades and is a recipient of Healthgrades 2019 Cardiac Surgery Excellence Award and Cardiac Care Excellence Award. Healthgrades also named Saint Michaels a Five Star Recipient for coronary bypass surgery, treatment of heart attack, treatment of heart failure and for pacemaker procedures. Saint Michaels is a leader in the treatment of womens health issues. The hospitals highly skilled team of obstetrician/gynecologists and primary care physicians provide patient-focused, compassionate quality care using state-of-the-art technology in line with Saint Michaels mission to heal with dignity and respect. Saint Michaels Emergency Department has among the shortest wait times in the Greater Newark area and provides a FastTrack option for patients with less serious ailments. Saint Michaels has received a grade of A for patient safety for the last three periods from Leapfrog as well as the Patient Safety Excellence Award from Healthgrades.

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Award-winning Prime Healthcare provides exceptional, personalized care for patients - Jersey's Best

The world is surrounded by technology technology that makes our jobs easy, the technology that makes our commute easy, the technology that makes out communication easy and so on. Hence, such advancements have turned into a boon to our lives while easing out numerous works that would conventionally take a long time to complete. Now that we look back we see so many new technologies have taken over the world that its nearly impossible to enlist them at once. And how further advancements will impact our lives in new ways we cannot even imagine.

MIT has drafted a list of top 10 strategic technology breakthroughs that will revolutionize our lives in the coming years.

An internet based on quantum physics will soon enable inherently secure communication. A team led by Stephanie Wehner, at Delft University of Technology, is building a network connecting four cities in the Netherlands entirely by means of quantum technology. Messages sent over this network will be unhackable.

The Delft network will be the first to transmit information between cities using quantum techniques from end to end.The technology relies on a quantum behavior of atomic particles called entanglement. Entangled photons cant be covertly read without disrupting their content.

Heres a definition of a hopeless case: a child with a fatal disease so exceedingly rare that not only is there no treatment, theres not even anyone in a lab coat studying it. Too rare to care, goes the saying.

Thats about to change, thanks to new classes of drugs that can be tailored to a persons genes. If an extremely rare disease is caused by a specific DNA mistakeas several thousand aretheres now at least a fighting chance for a genetic fix through hyper-personalized medicine. One such case is that of Mila Makovec, a little girl suffering from a devastating illness caused by a unique genetic mutation, who got a drug manufactured just for her. Her case made the New England Journal of Medicine in October after doctors moved from a readout of her genetic error to treatment in just a year. They called the drug milasen, after her. The treatment hasnt cured Mila. But it seems to have stabilized her condition: it has reduced her seizures, and she has begun to stand and walk with assistance.

Milas treatment was possible because creating a gene medicine has never been faster or had a better chance of working. The new medicines might take the form of gene replacement, gene editing, or antisense (the type Mila received), a sort of molecular eraser, which erases or fixes erroneous genetic messages. What the treatments have in common is that they can be programmed, in digital fashion and with digital speed, to correct or compensate for inherited diseases, letter for DNA letter.

Last June Facebook unveiled a global digital currency called Libra. The idea triggered a backlash and Libra may never launch, at least not in the way it was originally envisioned. But its still made a difference: just days after Facebooks announcement, an official from the Peoples Bank of China implied that it would speed the development of its own digital currency in response. Now China is poised to become the first major economy to issue a digital version of its money, which it intends as a replacement for physical cash.

The first wave of a new class of anti-aging drugs has begun human testing. These drugs wont let you live longer (yet) but aim to treat specific ailments by slowing or reversing a fundamental process of aging.

The drugs are called senolyticsthey work by removing certain cells that accumulate as we age. Known as senescent cells, they can create low-level inflammation that suppresses normal mechanisms of cellular repair and creates a toxic environment for neighboring cells.

The universe of molecules that could be turned into potentially life-saving drugs is mind-boggling in size: researchers estimate the number at around 1060. Thats more than all the atoms in the solar system, offering virtually unlimited chemical possibilitiesif only chemists could find the worthwhile ones.

Now machine-learning tools can explore large databases of existing molecules and their properties, using the information to generate new possibilities. This AI enabled technology could make it faster and cheaper to discover new drug candidates.

Satellites that can beam a broadband connection to internet terminals. As long as these terminals have a clear view of the sky, they can deliver the internet to any nearby devices. SpaceX alone wants to send more than 4.5 times more satellites into orbit this decade than humans have ever launched since Sputnik.

These mega-constellations are feasible because we have learned how to build smaller satellites and launch them more cheaply. During the space shuttle era, launching a satellite into space cost roughly US$24,800 per pound. A small communications satellite that weighed four tons cost nearly $200 million to fly up.

Quantum computers store and process data in a way completely different from the ones were all used to. In theory, they could tackle certain classes of problems that even the most powerful classical supercomputer imaginable would take millennia to solve, like breaking todays cryptographic codes or simulating the precise behavior of molecules to help discover new drugs and materials.

There have been working quantum computers for several years, but its only under certain conditions that they outperform classical ones, and in October Google claimed the first such demonstration of quantum supremacy. A computer with 53 qubitsthe basic unit of quantum computationdid a calculation in a little over three minutes that, by Googles reckoning, would have taken the worlds biggest supercomputer 10,000 years, or 1.5 billion times as long. IBM challenged Googles claim, saying the speedup would be a thousandfold at best; even so, it was a milestone, and each additional qubit will make the computer twice as fast.

AI has a problem: in the quest to build more powerful algorithms, researchers are using ever greater amounts of data and computing power and relying on centralized cloud services. This not only generates alarming amounts of carbon emissions but also limits the speed and privacy of AI applications.

But a countertrend of tiny AI is changing that. Tech giants and academic researchers are working on new algorithms to shrink existing deep-learning models without losing their capabilities. Meanwhile, an emerging generation of specialized AI chips promises to pack more computational power into tighter physical spaces, and train and run AI on far less energy.

In 2020, the US government has a big task: collect data on the countrys 330 million residents while keeping their identities private. The data is released in statistical tables that policymakers and academics analyze when writing legislation or conducting research. By law, the Census Bureau must make sure that it cant lead back to any individuals.

But there are tricks to de-anonymize individuals, especially if the census data is combined with other public statistics.

So the Census Bureau injects inaccuracies, or noise, into the data. It might make some people younger and others older, or label some white people as black and vice versa while keeping the totals of each age or ethnic group the same. The more noise you inject, the harder the de-anonymization becomes.

Differential privacy is a mathematical technique that makes this process rigorous by measuring how much privacy increases when noise is added. The method is already used by Apple and Facebook to collect aggregate data without identifying particular users.

Ten days after Tropical Storm Imelda began flooding neighborhoods across the Houston area last September, a rapid-response research team announced that climate change almost certainly played a role.

The group, World Weather Attribution, had compared high-resolution computer simulations of worlds where climate change did and didnt occur. In the former, the world we live in, the severe storm was as much as 2.6 times more likelyand up to 28% more intense.

Earlier this decade, scientists were reluctant to link any specific event to climate change. But many more extreme-weather attribution studies have been done in the last few years, and rapidly improving tools and techniques have made them more reliable and convincing.

This has been made possible by a combination of advances. For one, the lengthening record of detailed satellite data is helping us understand natural systems. Also, increased computing power means scientists can create higher-resolution simulations and conduct many more virtual experiments.

These and other improvements have allowed scientists to state with increasing statistical certainty that yes, global warming is often fueling more dangerous weather events.

By disentangling the role of climate change from other factors, the studies are telling us what kinds of risks we need to prepare for, including how much flooding to expect and how severe heatwaves will get as global warming becomes worse. If we choose to listen, they can help us understand how to rebuild our cities and infrastructure for a climate-changed world.

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Top 10 Strategic Technology Breakthroughs That Will Transform Our Lives - Analytics Insight

Optomeds handheld fundus cameras are sold in over 60 countries around the world and used by major public hospitals, primary care centres and private clinics Image Credit: Supplied Highlights

Our eyes are considered the most important sense. Even though most of us recognise the importance of our sight, many of us are not aware of the importance of systematic eye checks and we are not protecting this valuable sense well enough

Sight is our most precious sense. Most of what we learn is through our eyes and we fear to lose our vision more than any other sense.(1)

Studies have shown that vision impairment is often associated with various negative health outcomes and poor quality of life.(2) Still, approximately 1.3 billion people globally live with some form of vision impairment.(3) Over 80 per cent of all vision impairment could be avoided by early detection and appropriate treatment. Therefore, offering effective and accessible eye care services is key for controlling visual impairment including blindness.(4)

Need for better access to eye examinations

Optomed Plc was founded in 2005 to meet the challenge of more accessible and affordable eye screening devices. Seppo Kopsala, the CEO and founder of Optomed states: In the time when Optomed was established, retinal examinations and eye screenings were performed mainly on the hospital level. The service was not available in rural areas, low-income countries or with patient groups that are not able to travel and sit in front of a tabletop fundus camera. This poor access to eye examinations was the reason why we started developing a portable, handheld fundus camera so that the service would be available to all individuals worldwide and we could help healthcare professionals to prevent blinding eye diseases by early detection.

Today, Optomed is a world-leading manufacturer of handheld fundus cameras and screening management software with integrated Artificial Intelligence for diagnosing the images. Our cameras are sold in over 60 countries globally and we also make handheld fundus cameras to other major medical technology companies. Optomed cameras are being used by major public hospitals, primary care centres, private clinics, non-government and charity organisations around the world and, they have medical device approvals in all key markets, e.g. CE approval, FDA approval, and Chinese CFDA approval. Our mission at Optomed is to provide innovative and affordable eye-screening solutions to prevent blindness and make eye-screening available for all.

Eyes are a gateway to examining blood vessels

Blood vessels can be observed non-invasively in eyes, so they serve as a window to examine signs of several diseases. Today, fundus imaging is routinely used to screen for eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy, and to seek signs of age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma. With the rise of artificial intelligence, new ways to exploit retinal images have been found especially within neurology and cardiology to study diseases like dementia, stroke and cardiovascular diseases. (5-8)

It is easy to claim that the importance of regular eye check-ups and fundus imaging will increase in the future, thanks to its simplicity, non-invasive characteristics, and the increasing use of Artificial Intelligence for image analysis. Optomed has the right products and know-how to help healthcare providers globally to organise effective and affordable eye-screening programs and together we can aim to stop the growth of preventable blindness.

For more information contact:

Niina Huikuri,Vice President Marketing |+358 40 535 0998 |niina.huikuri@optomed.com

Laura Piila,Vice President Devices | +358 40 588 1187 | laura.piila@optomed.com

Yrttipellontie 1,90230 Oulu, Finland |www.optomed.com

1. J.Zaba. Journal of Behavioral Optometry, Volume 22, 2011

2. Making Eye Health a Population Health Imperative: Vision for Tomorrow. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. National Academies Press (US); 2016 Sep 15

3. Seth R Flaxman et al., Global causes of blindness and distance vision impairment 1990-2020: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Glob Health, October 2017.

4. WHO. Vision impairment and blindness. Media centre, Fact sheet, October 2017, http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets

WHO. Prevention of blindness from diabetes mellitus. Report of a WHO consultation

5. Cheung CY, Chen C, Wong TY (2015) Ocular fundus photography as a tool to study stroke and dementia. Semin Neurol. 35(5): 481-490.

6. McGrory S, Cameron JR, Pellegrini E, Warren C, Doubal FN, Deary IJ, Dhillon B, Wardlaw JM, Trucco E, MacGillivray TJ (2016) The application of retinal fundus camera imaging in dementia:

A systematic review. Alzheimers Dement (Amst). 6:91-107.

7. Ting DSW, Pasquale LR, Peng L, Campbell JP, Lee AY, Raman R, Tan GSW, Schmetterer L, Keane PA, Wong TY (2018) Artificial intelligence and deep learning in ophthalmology.

Br J Ophthalmol Epub ahead of print: 08/11/2018.

8. Poplin R, Varadarajan AV, Blumer K, Liu Y, McConnell MV, Corrado GS, Peng L, Webster DR (2018) Prediction of cardiovascular risk factors from retinal fundus photographs via deep learning.

Nat Biomed Eng 2, 158-164.

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Majority of blindness could be avoided with regular eye check-ups - Gulf News

(PRESS RELEASE) CHICAGO In observance of Rare Disease Day on Feb. 29, 2020, Prevent Blindness, the nations oldest volunteer eye health organization, is offering educational resources on uveitis, an inflammatory eye disease. Uveitis is a general term describing a group of inflammatory diseases that produces swelling and destroys eye tissues in the uvea (the middle layer of the eye that contains most blood vessels), according to the National Eye Institute. Uveitis is caused by an eye injury or surgery, an infection, autoimmune diseases or systemic inflammatory disorders that affect the whole body, or the cause can be unknown.

In addition, Prevent Blindness offers a new patient education resource dedicated to keratitis, an inflammation of the cornea. The cornea is the clear, protective outer layer of the eye.

Prevent Blindness offers dedicated web pages at http://www.preventblindness.org/uveitis and http://www.PreventBlindness.org/keratitis, as well as a new educational video. Downloadable fact sheets are also available, including, Uveitis Causes, Uveitis Facts, Uveitis Patient Guide, and Keratitis. Development of these new resources was supported by a grant from Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals.

Without early detection and treatment, inflammatory eye diseases can lead to permanent vision loss. The prevalence of inflammatory eye diseases can vary based on the type and cause of the condition. Uveitis causes about 30,000 new cases of legal blindness annually in the United States and accounts for about 1015 percent of all cases of total blindness in the country.

Uveitis symptoms may occur quickly in an acute form (lasts less than six weeks) or slowly in a chronic form (lasts longer than six weeks). Symptoms may affect one or both eyes.

Uveitis can affect anyone at any age, but it is most commonly seen in working age adults, and has a higher prevalence in women. In addition, smoking may increase the risk of getting uveitis.

General eye inflammation occurs in response to infection, allergies, autoimmune disorders, irritation, injury, or trauma to the eyes, eyelids, or surrounding tissues. Most cases of eye inflammation can be successfully treated. However, in some cases there can be an eye disease present, which can pose a threat to eyesight.

According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 930,000 doctors office and outpatient clinic visits and 58,000 emergency department visits for keratitis or contact lens disorders occur annually. And, episodes of keratitis and contact lens disorders cost an estimated $175 million in direct health care expenditures.

Wearing contact lenses, especially sleeping in the lenses, increases the risk of both infectious and noninfectious keratitis. The risk increases from wearing them longer than prescribed, improper cleaning and disinfection, and wearing contact lenses while exposed to water (such as in swimming pools or hot tubs).

Inflammatory eye diseases are very serious and can lead to significant vision loss and even blindness, said Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness. It is very important to have regular, comprehensive eye exams, to help catch vision issues early on. We encourage everyone to make an appointment with an eye doctor immediately if you experience any sudden vision changes to help save your sight in the future.

For more information on uveitis, please call Prevent Blindness at (800) 331-2020 or visit https://www.preventblindness.org/uveitis. For more information on keratitis, visit https://www.preventblindness.org/keratitis. For a listing of vision care financial assistance programs in English or Spanish, visit https://www.preventblindness.org/vision-care-financial-assistance-information.

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Prevent Blindness Offers New Educational Resources on Uveitis and Keratitis for Rare Disease Day - InvisionMag

In this file photo taken on March 11, 2015, French founder of the Communaut de l'Arche (Arch community) Jean Vanier speaks during a press conference in central London. JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP via Getty Images

The news about Jean Vanier sexually abusing at least six women was delivered to me Saturday morning in an email containing two words: Aw sh .

Its devastating news for women. We all knew instantly that this one was different. This is not some arrogant Harvey Weinstein we can enjoy being taken down. This one forces us to wrestle with the problem at a much deeper level. I spent the day on the phone with friends.

For women, living in a patriarchy requires constant vigilance. We try to steer clear of the obvious misogynists. We try to avoid being beaten or murdered by the Jekyll and Hydes who reveal their true selves only after marriage and children. We dodge harassment in the workplace and on the street; fend off unwanted sex in our dating lives. We try to pretend the world is not awash in violent pornography that dehumanizes and degrades us as a class; try not to know that some of the men we love are turned on by our subordination.

We have our guard up all the time. So when a great humanitarian, champion of the marginalized and dispossessed, friend of the poorest of the poor, is revealed to have sexually abused women, it feels completely hopeless. Like there is no safe place for us anywhere on the planet. How do we reconcile Vaniers magnificent humanity and vision of the common good with his abuse of women? Put very simply, his vision of justice did not include women.

I go to the basement and rummage through boxes until I find the two letters I received from Jean Vanier. I wrote to Vanier in 1999 after hearing a broadcast of his Massey Lecture, On Being Human. He spoke inspiringly about forgiveness as the path to peace. About how we are all wounded, hurting, trapped behind walls and needing to reach out for each other. It made me want to go out and forgive the whole world.

A letter from Jean Vanier to Donna F. Johnsonjpg

But I was bothered by something. At that time, I had been working for more than a decade in a shelter for abused women. I was skeptical about moving too quickly to forgiveness. For me, forgiveness was part of a process of reconciliation; a two-way street involving responsibility-taking and reparation for harms done; the active making of amends. Rarely had I seen a man take responsibility for hurting a woman. What Id seen was justification and more abuse.

Heres an excerpt from my letter:

Dear M. Vanier, I have a question for you. How are we to be with people who not only deny responsibility for harm done but seem actively engaged in becoming less human, more oppressive towards the victim? I am thinking about the relations between men and women. I have worked for 13 years with battered women, women who are controlled, beaten and sexually abused by their intimate partners. There is no official war declared on women but our world is dominated by patriarchal thought and ways and women are considered less than human in this system. How are women to be in the presence of men who take no responsibility for their abusive, violent, degrading and oppressive behaviour? Men who not only act reprehensibly but turn the tables on their victims, making them out to be the abusive ones, the crazy ones in court? Id be interested in your thoughts.

Vanier wrote back from Trosly-Breuil in his microscopic handwriting.

Dear Donna, Love to you. Thank you for your letter. Not easy to answer It is the same question as for these men killing people in Kosovo. They are convinced they are right, the other, evil. The Nazis in the concentration camps. These people are closed up behind cement walls protecting their vulnerability, unable to admit their guilt. How can we work with these walls, help break them down. It is easier if they fall sick, have a serious accident. Sometimes the child in them rises up. If they commit a recognized crime and are put in jail where they can find a good therapist. If I were you, I would work out this question with prison psychologists they might have some answers. The difficulty is that we are all frightened of being seen as bad, guilty so we accuse the other. It is their fault. This is what we call projection. Sorry not to be clear, not to have clear answers. Your question is a vital one but I suppose I must begin by accepting that in some ways, in some situations I am guilty I need to admit it. To seek forgiveness. Tell me your ideas Peace to you. Love Jean

It was a thoughtful answer, but it sidestepped the fundamental issue Id raised of mens violence against women. Vaniers lens was psycho-spiritual. He seemed to have no notion of power or systems of oppression.

A few years later, I heard him in person at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Ottawa. Again he spoke eloquently to the deepest longings of the human heart. Vaniers work on the inclusion of outsiders, people marginalized by virtue of disability or difference, is outstanding. But like most thoughtful men, he neglects to consider women. I wrote to him again, asking him why he does not talk about the oppression of women and why he does not use his considerable power and influence to call out mens abuse of women.

Vanier responded.

My dear Donna,

You are quite right. I should talk more of the oppression of women, I have been wondering why I do not mention it more. I have no easy explanation except in my community here in Trosly there is a beautiful harmony amongst us all. There can also be some masculine blindness in me. Thank you for this. Thank you for asking the question. I liked your reflection about masculine sexuality and feminine sexuality I have still work to do. Peace, love to you. Jean

Spiritual leaders, most of whom are men, talk endlessly about peace and love. The more progressive among them may even speak about social justice and human rights. The problem is that their thinking and practice does not include women in any meaningful way. Their human rights do not extend to women.

Another letter from Jean Vanier to Donna F. Johnson.jpg

Is there a religious leader on Earth calling out mens abuse of womens bodies for their own pleasure and power? It is no accident that they are silent on this. Like 19th-century slave-holders, some men are safeguarding a way of life. They want power over women. They need women to hate ourselves in order to ensure our silence and cooperation.

A great moral leader like Jean Vanier could have made a massive difference for the worlds women through the simple act of calling out men on their misogyny. Alas, he too was invested in the power structure. Vanier colluded with other men through his silence, his actions and his denial.

This weekend, the last vestige of hope that good men will stand up for women was shattered. Masculine blindness is killing women. It is a reality that must be confronted. Let us not move too quickly to forgiveness.

Donna F. Johnson worked in an Ontario shelter for battered women from 1986 to 2002. She remains active in the struggle to end violence against women.

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Johnson: Moral blindness and the fall of Jean Vanier - Ottawa Citizen

(PRESS RELEASE) Prevent Blindness,the nations oldest eye health and safety nonprofit organization, has declared March as Workplace Eye Wellness Month. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 2000 U.S. workers sustain a job-related eye injury that requires medical treatment a day. About one third of the injuries are treated in hospital emergency departments, and more than 100 of these injuries result in one or more days away from work.

For those who work outside an office setting, Prevent Blindness warns of common causes for eye injuries and urges everyone to wear the proper eye protection for risks that include:

The type of safety eye protection that Prevent Blindness recommends depends on the hazards in the workplace. For areas that have particles, flying objects, or dust, safety glasses with side protection (side shields) should be worn. Goggles should be worn for anyone working with chemicals. And, for those working near hazardous radiation (welding, lasers, or fiber optics) special-purpose safety glasses, goggles, face shields, or helmets designed for that task should be worn.

Those who work within an office setting (working with computers and other digital devices) are at higher risk for digital eye strain. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), eye strain symptoms include dry eyes, blurry vision, tearing or watery eyes, and headache. The cause of digital eye strain is that people blink less when they stare at digital devices. The AAO adds that normally, humans blink around 15 times per minutebut this blink rate can be cut in half when staring at screens or doing other near work activities (like reading).

Prevent Blindness recommends placing a digital screen 20 to 26 inches away from the eyes and slightly below eye level. Also, adjust lighting to lower glare and harsh reflections. More tips may be found at here.

Recognizing your eye health and safety needs within the workplace, and taking all the necessary steps to protect vision, can help us all to continue to protect healthy eyesight for years to come, said Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness.

For more information about workplace eye health topics, please call Prevent Blindness at (800) 331-2020 or visit here.

Continued here:
March Declared as Workplace Eye Wellness Month by Prevent Blindness - InvisionMag

WINNETKA, Ill. Nearly 27 million American adults have low vision or blindness. As baby boomers age, experts expect a major one in three will experience vision loss, a condition linked to depression. Its a tough transition leaving many in despair.

In recent years, Illinois resident Richard Englunds vision began fading.

It's a whole new world. You know that you're dealing with something you've never dealt with before, said Englund.

Diagnosed with macular degeneration at 47, the world he knew lost focus. He is now legally blind.

The worst thing that you've finally come to terms with is you can't drive anymore, said Englund.

For Angie, a retired nurse, a third failed corneal transplant meant losing her sight but not her sense of humor.

Not being able to see faces. I mean right now all you guys look like Brad Pitt, said Angie.

But it took time for her to come to terms with it.

I felt like I was walking dead, said Angie. Somebody hit me in the stomach and it just was wrong.

Loss of mobility and independence is difficult and statistically, people with visual impairment or blindness have a 200 percent increase in the risk of clinical depression.

As baby boomers age, the number of Americans with low vision is expected to skyrocket from 2.9 million in 2010 to 5 million in 2030.

The key, say public health officials, is to reach out for help early.

For the last century, Hadley, a non-profit organization has assisted with the scary transition of losing sight.

We basically teach people how to continue to live their lives, said Julie Tye, Hadleys executive director.

Hadley is providing online resources, support and in-person consultation. All of it is free of cost.

Maybe it's something as simple as contrast, maybe it's something as simple as using their smartphone to magnify what they're reading, said Tye.

Englund says relearning independence is tough at any age, but not impossible.

I am not going to let the fact that I can't see keep me from doing anything. I can do anything as long as I put my mind to it, he said.

Angie insists its just another phase of life.

You realize that you go on, you know, it's another journey you're on. You're going to do better, because you have to.

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Living with visual impairment is a growing issue as baby boomers age - The Denver Channel

The Ironton Lions Club was organized by Fred T. Davis, receiving its charter on Dec. 19, 1923.

The Ironton Lions Club was the 18th club chartered in the State of Ohio, and its first president was Howard E. Unrue. The Ironton club now consists of 30 members and the club motto is WE SERVE.

Over the years, the Ironton Lions Club has raised funds through various activities such as a minstrel show, war bond drives, a beauty pageant, haunted houses, haunted tunnel, golf tournaments and the sale of light bulbs and other items.

The funds raised by these efforts were used to support the Lions contributions to the local community, as well as the Lions activities at the district, state and international levels. The Ironton Lions Club annually distributes approximately $10,000 in aid and charity.

Locally, the Ironton Lions have provided monetary support to the Ironton City Mission, the Briggs Lawrence County Library Vision Impaired Center, Open Door School, scholarships, Project LifeSaver, local food banks, Pilot Dogs of Ohio, Ironton Little League, annual Halloween, Christmas and Memorial Day parades, Community Hospice, eye tests and funding for childrens eyeglasses and other worthwhile projects.

The Ironton Lions Club is active in a wide range of blindness and diabetes prevention endeavors at the local, state and international levels.

The Ironton Lions Club also supports The Lions Quest Program, in partnership with the Symmes Valley Multi-Level School, to teach age appropriate positive youth civic development programs.

STORY, BRENT PYLES | PHOTOS, HEATH HARRISON, SUBMITTED

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PROFILE 2020 - Mission to Serve: Ironton Lions Club has been serving community for nearly a century - The Tribune - Ironton Tribune