StemCell Therapy

SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS) -- -- In a deployed environment, adequate medical care is crucial to ensuring that people can execute the mission. Airmen need to be physically and mentally healthy or the mission could suffer. The 386th Expeditionary Medical Group boasts a medical clinic, physical therapist, mental health team and dental clinic as just some of the available services paramount to keeping Airmen mission ready and in the fight.

But what do you do when an Airman needs medical attention and isnt a person?

This was a riddle that Army Capt. Margot Boucher, the 358th Medical Detachment officer in charge and veterinary doctor at the base Veterinary Treatment Facility, had to solve recently when Arthur, a military working dog valued at almost $200,000, was brought to her clinic with a fractured tooth.

Arthur was doing bite training, bit the wrong way and tore part of his canine tooth off, so he had a fracture to the gum line on one of his strong biting teeth, explained Boucher. The big concern with that, in addition to being a painful condition, is that they can become infected if bacteria were to travel down the tooth canal.

Boucher, a reservist deployed from the 993rd Medical Detachment of Fitzsimons Army Reserve Center in Aroura, Colorado, is employed as an emergency room veterinarian as a civilian. While she is well-versed in the medical side of veterinary medicine, she knew she wasnt an expert in veterinary dentistry. In order to get Arthur the care he needed, Boucher reached out to her Air Force counterparts here at the 386th Expeditionary Medical Group for help.

In this environment, Im kind of all theyve got, said Air Force Lt. Col. Brent Waldman, the 386th Medical Operations flight commander and dentist. Ive done four or five of these on dogs, but I dont do these often. I felt very comfortable doing it, because dentistry on a human tooth versus a dog tooth is kind of the same, if you know the internal anatomy of the tooth.

Waldman performed a root canal on Arthur, a Belgian Malinois. This procedure involved drilling into the tooth and removing soft tissues, such as nerves and blood vessels, to hollow the tooth out, according to Waldman. After the tooth was hollowed out, and a canal was created, it was filled and sealed with a silver filling. The procedure for Arthur was the same that Waldman would do on a human patient.

The reason why you do a root canal is because the likelihood of there being an infection or other issue with that tooth is significantly decreased, said Waldman, who is deployed from the 21st Medical Squadron at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. This is crucial for a military working dog because without his teeth, Arthur may be removed from duty.

MWDs are trained to detect and perform patrol missions. The patrol missions can involve biting a suspect to detain them or protect their handler. This is why dental health is crucial to a MWD.

Those canine teeth are their main defensive and offensive tools, said Waldman. A dog with bad teethits like a sniper having a broken trigger finger.

While Waldman had experience doing dental procedures on MWDs, he still needed the expertise Boucher had in veterinary medicine.

Typically when we collaborate with human providers, well still manage the anesthesia and the medical side of the procedure, said Boucher. Usually if they are unfamiliar with the anatomical differences well talk them through that and familiarize them with the differences between animal and human anatomy, but in terms of dentistry, its very similar. The procedure is the same, but the tooth is shaped a little differently.

Prior to the procedure, Boucher conducted pre-anesthetic blood tests to make sure 6-year-old Arthur didnt have any pre-existing conditions that anesthesia would complicate. During the root canal, Boucher watched Arthur closely, and monitored his heart rate, and blood oxygen saturation while making minor adjustments to his sedation as needed.

The procedure was successful, and Arthur returned to his deployed location with his handler a few days after. Were it not for the inter-service and inter-discipline teamwork of Boucher and Waldman, Arthur and his handler may have had to travel back to the U.S. to get the medical care needed.

Its a great service to be able to do, said Waldman. If we couldnt do this, Arthur and his handler would have probably had to be taken out of theater, to a location where they had the capability to do this procedure. It saved a ton of time to be able to do this here, and get Arthur back to protecting our war fighters.

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AF dentist, Army veterinarian team up for K-9 root canal in AOR ... - Robins Rev Up

OAKLANDA new book to help dog and cat owners navigate the world of holistic pet care has been published by Montclair vet Gary Richter.

Richter practices at the Montclair Veterinary Hospital and was awarded Americas Favorite Veterinarian in 2015 by the American Veterinary Medical Foundation.

As a certified vet who is also trained in veterinary acupuncture and veterinary chiropractics, Richter uses both to give pets all-encompassing care. His book, The Ultimate Pet Health Guide: Breakthrough Nutrition and Integrative Care for Dogs and Cats, is available now online and in major bookstores.

I take western medicine and holistic care and weave those two things together to get better results and to keep my patients healthier, Richter said. However, over the years, he found that his approach was rare, and that for pet owners seeking a blend of approaches, there wasnt much information out there.

I would routinely get calls and emails from people all around the world asking questions about holistic things that they can do for their pet, Richter said. And it really just struck me that there really are not a lot of resources out there for people who arent lucky enough to live somewhere to talk to an integrative or holistic vet.

Richter has been the owner and medical director of Montclair Veterinary Hospital since 2002, and has been providing holistic pet care since graduating from veterinary school. He said he had been exposed to it while getting his formal training and education, but that it was never stressed as a practice until he went looking.

Thats not to say there was anything wrong with my education. Its just that western medicine has things it can do and things it cant do, Richter said. It was a search for more answers, a quest for how can I help my patients live better and longer.

In particular, he and his family had a dog named Charlie with a heart condition. They brought him to a cardiologist and provided all the western medical care available to him, but Richter also employed some more holistic techniques, such as a change in diet and providing herbal therapy in support. Neither made his dog fully recover, but his holistic strategies did help the dog live comfortably.

I think he had a really excellent quality of life for as long as his heart could make it, Richter said.

His book is a guide for holistic pet treatment for both sick and healthy pets. It includes special recipes for specific conditions, and also recipes for healthy pets, such as suggestions for owners considering raw diets.

If you have a pet with a medical condition, realize that western medicine is great but it cant always fix everything, Richter said.

The book has made the bestseller list in a number of countries, such as Germany and Australia, and his wife, Lee Richter, said shes glad he was able to share some of his knowledge with others.

Its definitely changing our world a little because were getting questions and connecting with people all around the world, whereas before it was just people in our neighborhood in Montclair, she said.

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Montclair vet publishes new book on holistic pet care - East Bay Times

STARTING secondary school is a milestone for every child, so tomorrow is going to be super special for an inspirational Barrow girl who has battled cancer and overcome complications following a stem cell transplant.

Aimee Robinson is incredibly excited to be starting Furness Academy in the morning, to join friends and make lots of new ones.

The 11-year-old was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia in January 2016. Aimee spent months at The Royal Manchester Children's Hospital having intensive chemotherapy to fight the cancer.

After a relapse in October last year, she went on to have a stem cell transplant using umbilical cord blood in January. Initially she responded well after spending time in isolation, but she developed graft versus host disease and had to have treatment to overcome that.

"I'd like to be a nurse or a doctor. Because I've been in hospital so much I want to help other people because the nurses and doctors helped me" - inspirational Barrow girl Aimee Robinson, 11.

In June she was well enough to return to St James's CE Junior School to complete primary school with her friends, after last being there for three weeks in September 2016.

Now after a summer of play, a bit of bike riding and family breaks, Aimee is all set to go to secondary school looking smart in her new uniform.

"I'm looking forward to starting secondary school loads, I really love school," she said.

She will be joined by her friends, including Abbie Gelling, Kian Woodburn and Sophie Miles, and said: "I want to make lots of new friends too, I've already met new people through the transition days. I'm so excited, it's a nice school."

Throughout her treatment Aimee kept up with her education through her primary school liaising with hospital tutors.

Aimee, who is a big sister to five-year-old Tilly, said: "I've always loved school, my teachers have been really nice and I just love learning.

"I really love art, music and drama, I love acting."

Asked about her ambitions, Aimee said: "I'd like to be a nurse or a doctor. Because I've been in hospital so much I want to help other people because the nurses and doctors helped me. I'm also interested in drama, because I love acting and I've been in school plays, and I like art because people say I'm good at drawing."

Happy Aimee remained upbeat in hospital, she said: "I just thought there could be people much worse than me and there is no point in moaning about it, I can still do stuff. The play leaders helped by giving me loads to do, I pretty much did all the stuff that was in the cupboard. I liked helping other young people."

Her treatment has now stopped, but she has clinic appointments at hospital to take blood counts.

Aimee family are incredibly proud of her, mum Joanne Robinson, 39, said: "I'm extremely proud of Aimee, she is a super star.

"I'm happy, we are home now and Aimee can get back into normal things.

"Furness Academy is a lovely school and I think Aimee will thrive there."

Aimee also has some charity challenges in her sights, she said: "When I get stronger I really want to do the Coniston to Barrow with Aimee's Army and raise money for The Royal Manchester Children's Hospital and The Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group."

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Barrow's inspirational Aimee can't wait to start secondary school - NW Evening Mail

The Potential Dangers of Treating Chronic Lyme Disease

Chronic Lyme disease is sometimes a catchall diagnosis for patients with a wide spectrum of musculoskeletal and neuropsychiatric symptoms, fatigue, and generalized pain. And that, in turn, has led to a variety of treatments: courses of antibiotics lasting for months to years, intravenous (IV) infusions of hydrogen peroxide, immunoglobulin therapy, and even stem cell transplants. Those treatments, though, may not lead to substantial long-term improvementin fact, they can be downright harmful.

Clinicians, health departments, and patients have all contacted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with reports of life-threatening complications resulting from treatment for chronic Lyme disease, including metastatic bacterial infections, septic shock, Clostridium difficile colitis, and abscesses. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) describes five cases that highlight the severity and scope of adverse effects caused by the use of unproven treatments for chronic Lyme disease.

One patient with fatigue and joint pain, for instance, was diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease, babesiosis, and Bartonella infection. When her symptoms worsened despite multiple courses of oral antibiotics, she was switched to IV ceftriaxone and cefotaxime. However, the pain did not lessen; she became hypotensive and tachycardic, and was placed in intensive care. Her condition continued to worsen, and she died. Her death was attributed to septic shock related to central venous catheter-associated bacteremia.

In another case, a woman was first diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), then, as a second opinion, with chronic Lyme disease. After seven months of intensive antimicrobial treatment, the pain improved, but she got weaker. She also developed intractable C. difficile infection that required prolonged treatment. However, she died of complications of ALSan example, the researchers say, of a missed opportunity for appropriate treatment due to misdiagnosis.

Antibiotics and immunoglobulin therapies are effective and necessary treatments for many conditions, MMWR emphasizeshowever, unnecessary antibiotic and immunoglobulin use provides no benefit to patients while putting them at risk for adverse events.

Source: MMWR, June 2017

Current treatments for Parkinsons disease are only effective in improving motor deficits, but the loss of cognitive abilities is just as devastating. Approximately 25% of patients also experience cognitive deficits that impair function. One problem in developing treatments, however, is that patients with cognitive effects vary widely. Being able to predict the chance that someone with Parkinsons will develop cognitive deficits could be a useful tool, researchers from Brigham and Womens Hospital say. And they think they might have created just the thing: a computer-based risk calculator.

The researchers combined data from 3,200 patients with Parkinsons disease, representing more than 25,000 individual clinical assessments. They evaluated seven known clinical and genetic risk factors associated with developing dementia, and then used the information to build the risk calculator.

By allowing clinical researchers to identify and select only patients at high risk for developing dementia, this tool could help in the design of smarter trials that require a manageable number of participating patients, says Clemens Scherzer, MD, the lead investigator.

By improving clinical trial design, the risk calculator could help in the discovery of new treatments, the researchers say, and then help determine which patients would most benefit from those treatments.

Source: National Institutes of Health, June 2017

Some patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) may have trouble with immunotherapy after chemotherapy, researchers say, and they think theyve found one reason why.

The team wanted to perform a deep assessment of the state of the adaptive immune system in AML patients in remission after chemotherapy. They used the response to seasonal influenza vaccination as a surrogate for the robustness of the immune system. They say their approach was unique in that they established a comprehensive picture of the adaptive immunome by simultaneously examining the genetic, phenotypic, and functional consequences of chemotherapy.

Their assessment revealed a dramatic impact in the B-cell compartment, which appeared slower to recover than the T-cell compartment. Of 10 patients in the study, only two generated protective titers in response to vaccination. Most had abnormal frequencies of transitional and memory B cells. The researchers say the inability of AML patients to produce protective antibody titers in response to influenza vaccination is likely due to multiple B-cell abnormalities. They found similar patterns across all of the patients. When they ranked patients based on time elapsed since chemotherapy, the degree of dysfunction was lesser in patients who were farther away from chemotherapy.

The consistent finding of a reduction of memory B cells in all the AML patients suggests that humoral immunity reconstitution is a very long process. The researchers say that a better understanding of the changes in adaptive immune cell subsets after chemotherapy will be useful in designing immunotherapies that can work with existing immune capacity.

Source: Journal of Translational Medicine, July 2017

Investigation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of 27 outbreaks of Legionnaires disease between 2000 and 2014 found health-careassociated Legionnaires disease accounted for 33% of the outbreaks, 57% of outbreak-associated cases, and 85% of outbreakassociated deaths. Nearly all were attributed to water system exposures that could have been prevented by effective water management programs.

CDC researchers analyzed 2015 surveillance data from 20 states and the New York City metropolitan area that reported more than 90% of confirmed legionellosis cases to the Supplemental Legionnaires Disease Surveillance System. Of 2,809 cases, 553 were health-careassociated. Definite cases accounted for 3%, and possible cases accounted for 17% of all of the cases reported. Although only a small percentage was definitely related to health care settings, the fatality rate was high at 12%.

Of the 85 definite health-careassociated Legionnaires disease cases, 80% were associated with long-term-care facilities. Of the 468 possible cases, 13% were possibly associated with long-term-care facilities, 49% with hospitals, and 26% with clinics.

The CDC says the number of definite cases and facilities reported is likely an underestimate, in part because of a lack of Legionella-specific testing. Another explanation is that hospital stays are typically shorter than the 10-day period used in the analysis.

One-fourth of patients with definite health-careassociated Legionnaires disease die. Health care providers play a critical role in prevention and response, the CDC says, by rapidly identifying and reporting cases. Legionnaires disease is clinically indistinguishable from other causes of pneumonia, the researchers note. The preferred diagnostic method is to concurrently obtain a lower respiratory sputum sample for culture on selective media and a Legionella urinary antigen test.

In health care facilities, the researchers say, prevention of the first case of Legionnaires disease is the ultimate goal. The best way to do that, they advise, is to have an effective water management program.

Source: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, June 2017

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is common among patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and highly prevalent in those with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). But are all elements of MetS equally good predictors of clinical severity and prognosis?

To find out, researchers from Sestre Milosrdnice University Hospital Center in Zagreb, Croatia, prospectively analyzed data from 250 patients with acute STEMI treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention. MetS was defined according to the revised National Cholesterol Education ProgramAdult Treatment Panel III (NCEPATP III) and International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria. Of the 250 patients, 231 survived for inclusion in the 12-month follow-up.

Patients with and without MetS were analyzed according to obesity indices: body mass index (BMI), central-body adiposity index (BAI), conicity index (Cindex), visceral adiposity index (VAI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR).

Patients with acute STEMI had high rates of central obesity, increased VAI, WHtR, and very high BAI, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. However, they had lower rates of overall obesity and hyperglycemia.

The NCEPATP III and several other obesity indices were superior to overall obesity (BMI) in predicting acute STEMI severityclinical presentation, in-hospital complications, and severity of CAD. WC and MetS as defined by IDF criteria had no influence on it. Moreover, MetS as defined by NCEP-ATP III or IDF and obesity indices had no influence on prognosis of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE).

Cindex greater than 1.25/1.18, very high BAI, and WHtR of 63/58 or greater increased the risk of total in-hospital complications, dyspnea, and heart failure, respectively. The number of significantly stenosed coronary arteries increased the risk of total MACE. WHR independently increased the risk of significant stenosis of coronary segment 1 and proximal/middle coronary artery segments.

Source: Archives of Medical Science, June 2017

A handheld detector that offers noninvasive real-time imaging can help dermatologic surgeons get a better idea of skin cancer dimensions before committing to surgery, according to a recent study.

Current imaging technologies can lead to excessive or incomplete removal of the cancer, the researchers say. However, multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT) allows the user to differentiate tissue chromophoresthe part of the molecule responsible for its colorand exogenous contrast agents based on their spectral signatures.

The researchers performed MSOT imaging with handheld scanners on 21 patients with nonmelanoma skin cancers. All of the lesions had recognizable images on the MSOT devices, visualizing the shape and thickness of the lesions and providing images with well-resolved tissue chromophores.

Aggressive types of skin cancers can involve deeper structures, the researchers noteanother reason the MSOT detector could be useful. In one case, the depth of the basal cell carcinoma, which included its underlying vasculature, reached beyond 3 mm, which might have gone undetected by other imaging modalities, they say.

Source: Photoacoustics, June 2017

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Research Briefs September 2017 - P&T Community

Published: Wednesday, August 30, 2017byInterim HealthCare

A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Ophthalmologyhas revealed a link betweenvisual impairmentand a higher risk of cognitive problems, as well asdementia. Researchersobserved the relationshipin older adults. The study was conductedby scientists based at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Details of the studyResearchers examined data from two samples:the 1999National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and theNational Health and Aging Trends Study, which was conducted between 2011 and 2015. The latter study collected data from nationwideparticipantswho received Medicare. The former was a general population survey - the participants were not members of any institutions.

Participants from both studies were all 60 or older, with subjects studied in the NHATS survey at least 65. Study authors examined results from vision testsandas self-reported eye sight information. Participants in theNHANES study had completed a cognitive performance test, while the NHATSparticipants had undergone assessment for dementia.

The investigation revealed a notable correlation between poor eyesight and both cognitive decline and dementia. Those with visual impairment experienced anywhere from a 1.8 to 2.0 fold higher chance of experiencing some form of cognitive problem. The connection was most apparent among those who self-reported eyesight problemsand those who had undergone distance eyesight impairment testing.

The study authors conceded, however, that further investigation is needed to determine a potential causative relationship between the two conditions. The analysis, in its current state, reveals an observational relationship.

The link between cognition problems and poor eyesight was found in older adults over 60.

Eyesight problems predicted to increaseAccording to a recent report from the National Institutes of Health, vision problems are alsopredicted to increase across the U.S. populationin the coming decades. By 2050, the rate of blindnesswill likely have doubled from levels observed in 2016, National Eye Institute studies indicated. The trend can be attributed to the aging population.NEI Director Dr.Paul A. Sieving elaborated on the significance of the findings in a press release.

"These findings are an important forewarning of the magnitude of vision loss to come," he said. "They suggest that there is a huge opportunity for screening efforts to identify people with correctable vision problems and early signs of eye diseases. Early detection and intervention possibly as simple as prescribing corrective lenses could go a long way toward preventing a significant proportion of avoidable vision loss."

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Poor sight linked with cognitive decline in older adults, new study finds - KRDO

This article is sponsored by VSP

People with great eyesight tend to take it for granted. The percentage of the U.S. population with vision problems is 50 percent and growing, according to data gathered by theNational Institutes of Health.

In recent years, scientists and doctors have made miraculous headway in combatting eye problems. From improved contacts and glasses to corrective eye surgeries, a wide range of eye maladies are now correctible and curable. If you have eye issues, there have never been better treatment options, reportsVSP Direct, a national family and individual vision insurance provider.

Among human organs, eyes are second only to brains in complexity. Here are facts about some of the amazing attributes of human eyesight.

Every human eye has a blind spot

Each of your eyes has a small blind spot where the optic nerve passes through the retina. People rarely notice this lack of visual information. Some experts believe our brains fill in the blind spot based on surrounding detail and information from the other eye, explains theAmerican Academy of Opthamology. Others theorize that our brains simply ignore the blind spot.

Upside down and backwards

Human retinas see everything upside down and backwards. Your brain reorients the image. Because you have two eyes, your brain is also combining two separate images,Physics and Astronomy Onlineexplains. Visual processing is a complex task which takes up a relatively large part of the brain compared to other senses.

This is because your brain performs several tasks to make images easier to see. One, of course, is combining the two images, which is helped by the corpus callosum, the tiny part of your brain which joins the two big hemispheres. The other part is handled in the optic part of your brain itself and part of its job is to make images right-side-up. It does this because your brain is so used to seeing things upside-down that it eventually adjusts to it.

Understanding red eye

No doubt youve used a flash to take photos of your family or friends only to have them appear with fiery red eyes when you looked at the images. This red-eye phenomenon occurs in photos because in the dark, our pupils open wide to allow extra light to help us see, notesyalescientific.org. When a flash fires, your eyes are unprepared for the burst of light and it bounces off the back of the eye. Behind the retina is a part of the eye called the choroid. It is loaded with blood vessels, which make it glow red in images taken with flash photography.

It takes seconds for our pupils to dilate in darkness, but our night vision continues to improve for several hours, according toChristopher Baird, assistant professor of physics at West Texas A&M University.

Peripheral vision is weak

Compared to our central vision, peripheral vision is weaker, especially when distinguishing color and shape, according tosciencedaily.com. This is because the density of receptor cells on the retina is greatest at the center and lowest at the edges. An area near the center of the retina, called the macula, has the highest concentration of cone cells and it produces the sharpest, clearest vision. Peripheral vision is good at detecting motion.

Eye security

Youve probably seen movies where access to secure areas requires an eye scan. You might even work someplace where this technology is in place. Security checkpoints use two types of eye scans: iris scans and retinal scans. While a fingerprint has 40 unique characteristics, a human iris has 256 and an iris scan compares those unique features against a known database. Similarly, a retina scan compares the complex features of an individuals network of retinal blood vessels.

Even though the technology is available and eye scans are almost impossible to fake, eye scanning is uncommon because of difficulties associated with image acquisition and false rejections, explainsFleming Companies.

No eye transplants yet

While doctors can transplant hearts, livers, kidneys and even corneas, because of the complexity of human eyes, so far no eye transplant has been attempted. The biggest challenge is figuring out how to regenerate and regrow delicate optical nerves.

When you switch out an eyeball you have to completely cut all connections between the optic nerve and the eye. So then you need to reconnect the donor eyes nerve fibers back to the recipients brain in order to achieve vision restoration, explains Dr. Jeffrey Goldberg, director of research at the Shiley Eye Center at University of California, San Diego, inan articlefor WebMD.com.

Many people fear losing their eyesight above any other health problem, according to a WebMD report about a survey published in JAMA Ophthalmology in 2016. Protecting your eyesight and that of your family should be high on the list of healthcare priorities. One way to do that is by having vision insurance like that available throughVSP Direct.

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6 incredible facts about your eyes - WTOP

The News Minute

How one doctor couple in Coimbatore helped give the gift of sight to 1.5 million people The News Minute Today, the baby steps they took then into uncharted territory have yielded the gift of vision for over 1.5 million people. Beginning with high quality primary health care for the poor at the two-room Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Medical Centre in RS Puram in ...

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How one doctor couple in Coimbatore helped give the gift of sight to 1.5 million people - The News Minute

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

What if all you really knew was fighting a battle so many have lost, a daily grind of what's nextthat overwhelms everything every day? What would life be?

Let me introduce you, everyone, to life.

Big, bold, beautiful life.

Jake Olson was born with a rare form of cancer of the retina, retinoblastoma,which destroys the ability to see. When he was 10 months old, it took the sight from his left eye. Then when he was 12 years old, he lost sight in his right eye.

But what happened along the road to blindness isn't what you might expect. A strange realization came to Olson. There is vision in it, Olson will tell you. A clear, simple, honest vision.

"You have a choice with cancer," Olson says. "You can let it change who you are, or you can go out and attack life."

Long before he captured the worldyes, the worldthis weekend on social media by becoming the sport's first blind long snapper during USC's victory over Western Michigan, and long before Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll called to congratulate him and sobbed on the phone, and long before a crush of media attention came to make him the feel-good story of 2017, Jake Olson was doing things that make snapping a football in a college seem, well, routine.

Like becoming a scratch golfer.

Like traveling the country as a motivational speaker, delivering his first speech when he was 12, mere months after losing his sight.

Like setting up a business with his college roommate, Daniel Hennes, that received special dispensation from the NCAA and allowed Olson to make money as a motivational speaker and play college football.

The NCAA calls it the Double Life clause: If you were famous before your life as an NCAA athleteand that life is not connected to the sport in which you participateyou can make money doing it.

How fitting. The Double Life clause for the student, the football playerthe survivorwho is crushing life. Double time.

"I learned at an early age how to confront adversity and fight," Olson says. "There are a lot of people around me that love me, and I could tell they were hurt seeing their son, their brother, their friend, fighting cancer. It would make it so much worse for them if I were depressed and let cancer beat me. I wanted to prove to them, and everyone in the world, that cancer isn't going to stop me."

It didn't stop him from accepting that first motivational speaking gig when he was 12, telling his story to employees at a Wells Fargo in Thousand Oaks, California. Hell yes, he was nervousas he has been each of the more than 500 times since.

But when you're telling your storywhen you're explaining life and how you've seized control of it and haven't let it dictate terms to youit eventually becomes second nature. And bonus: It's just as therapeutic for Jake as it is for those listening.

The more he speaks, the more demand there is. He's delivered his message in more than 20 states, to everyone from professional sports teams to mega-churches, from global companies to small businesses.

Everyone wants a piece of Jake Olson.

So you really think snapping a footballsomething he has done since he began long-snapping while playing high school football in L.A.'s famed Trinity Leagueis going to shake the senses?

"Nothing bothers him. Absolutely nothing," Hennes says.

Hennes knew as much from the day he and Olson met.

When they arrived at USC, both were given background information about their dorm suitematesinformation that each student fills out to explain themselves.

"I'm a huge sports fanI follow sports religiouslybut I never heard [Olson's] story," Hennes says. "I was reading through his profile, and I'm like, Cool, I'm rooming with a football player. Then it said, 'I'm blind, and I have a guide dog named Quebec.' So I'm thinking, This kid is sickwhat a sense of humor."

Soon after, Hennes received a call from another suitemate, who asked if Olson should have to pay for his share of a television in the room.

"I was like, 'Why wouldn't he?'" Hennes remembers. "And he said, 'Have you seen his profile? He's blind.' I was floored. I showed his profile to my parents, and from that day, they completely forgot about me. It was all about Jake."

It didn't take long for Olson and Hennes to form a unique bond, and to begin to bust each other's chops. Like the first time they played poker (with Braille cards), and Hennes was laying down ground rules to everyone at the table, and insisted on, "No blind bets."

"I remember thinking, 'You idiot. Did you really just say that?'" Hennes says. "Jake just played right off it, started giving it right back to me.

"It's just who he is. He sees things differently than everyone else."

Remember, there is vision in blindness. Clear, simple, honest vision.

That's how you beat cancer eight times, from the moment they take your left eye before your first birthday, to all that toxic medicine flowing through your body and all those nights and months and years of uncertainty.

When cancer showed up for the ninth time, the doctors finally admitted to Olson the right eye had to go.

"After it happened, Jake's parents were having a hard time with it," says Brandon Towers, Jake's friend since kindergarten. "It was amazing to see a 12-year-old kid with the strength to get his parents through it. Jake's dad told me something I'll never forget. He said, 'If the Jake train is moving, you gotta get on.'"

Like the time two years ago Olson asked Hennes to be his business manager, and their first speaking engagement together was in San Diego. Allergan, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, asked Olson to come speak to 900 employees.

"Wasn't a dry eye in the place," Hennes says. "I was crying, too."

Like the time last year Olson was in Tempe, Arizona, watching spring training games and his dad called and said the Angels wanted him to speak to the team. It had to be that day, and he had to get over to the stadium right now.

"Everyone in the room was blown away," Hennes says. "You see professional baseball playersthese guys you think are strong and powerfuland every one of them was in tears."

Like the time last weekend when Olson stood on the ladder overlooking the USC band and directed "Fight On" after the Western Michigan win. That spot, high above all that is sports on the famed campus, has been reserved for royalty since Carroll arrived at USC in 2001.

Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, Matt Barkley, Sam Darnold.

And now Jake Olson.

"I really hope it's a light for people who are going through adversity," Olson says. "People like to point fingers and say, 'X, Y and Z is why I can't do this.' Whether it's fair or not, maybe it should be, 'Here's why I can do this.'"

Last fall, in the middle of USC's thrilling second half of the season that led to a Rose Bowl victory over Penn State, Hennes and Olson watched the Chicago Cubs' postseason run together.

Hennes was born outside of Chicago, and his father and his father's father are longtime, insufferable Cubs fans. When the unthinkable happened, when the Cubs won the World Series, there was no way it would be surpassed by anything ever again.

Until it was.

"After the [Western Michigan] game, I told Jake I thought the Cubs win would be the happiest moment in my life," Hennes said. "Then he snapped that ball."

Big, bold and beautiful.

That's how you do life. No matter the obstacles.

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Football Is Only the Latest Triumph for Blind USC Long Snapper Jake Olson - Bleacher Report

GvHD is a transplant associated disease representing an outcome of two immune systems crashing into each other. In many transplantations from donors, and especially in Bone Marrow Transplantations (BMT), the transplanted immune mature cells (as opposed to stem cells) attack the host (patient receiving the transplant) and create severe morbidity and in many cases even death.

This disease happens as a result of current practices being unable to separate the GvHD causing cells from the much needed stem cells.Cellect's ApoGraft was designed to eliminate immune responses in any transplantation of foreign cells and tissues.

Cellect's AppoGraft technology can be utilized already today to help thousands of development and research centers globally engaged in adult stem cells based therapeutics by providing them with a simplified and cost efficient enriched stem cells for use as a raw material for a wide range of stem cells based therapeutics R&D. Before Cellect's ApoGraft, such procedures were extremely complex, inefficient and required substantial resources in both cost, time and infrastructure requirements. ApoGraft can now be used to significantly advance the use of stem cells across multiple therapeutics indications as well as research and biobanking purposes.

The FDA Orphan Drug Act provides incentives for companies to develop products for rare diseases affecting fewer than 200,000 people inthe United States. Incentives may include tax credits related to clinical trial expenses, an exemption from theFDAuser fee, FDAassistance in clinical trial design and potential market exclusivity for seven years following approval.

About Cellect Biotechnology Ltd.

Cellect Biotechnology (NASDAQ: "APOP", "APOPW") has developed a breakthrough technology for the selection of stem cells from any given tissue that aims to improve a variety of stem cell applications.

The Company's technology is expected to provide pharma companies, medical research centers and hospitals with the tools to rapidly isolate stem cells in quantity and quality that will allow stem cell related treatments and procedures. Cellect's technology is applicable to a wide variety of stem cell related treatments in regenerative medicine and that current clinical trials are aimed at the cancer treatment of bone marrow transplantations.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements about the Company's expectations, beliefs and intentions. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "believe", "expect", "intend", "plan", "may", "should", "could", "might", "seek", "target", "will", "project", "forecast", "continue" or "anticipate" or their negatives or variations of these words or other comparable words or by the fact that these statements do not relate strictly to historical matters. For example, forward-looking statements are used in this press release when we discuss the Company's pathway for commercialization of its technology. These forward-looking statements and their implications are based on the current expectations of the management of the Company only, and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. In addition, historical results or conclusions from scientific research and clinical studies do not guarantee that future results would suggest similar conclusions or that historical results referred to herein would be interpreted similarly in light of additional research or otherwise. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements: changes in technology and market requirements; we may encounter delays or obstacles in launching and/or successfully completing our clinical trials; our products may not be approved by regulatory agencies, our technology may not be validated as we progress further and our methods may not be accepted by the scientific community; we may be unable to retain or attract key employees whose knowledge is essential to the development of our products; unforeseen scientific difficulties may develop with our process; our products may wind up being more expensive than we anticipate; results in the laboratory may not translate to equally good results in real clinical settings; results of preclinical studies may not correlate with the results of human clinical trials; our patents may not be sufficient; our products may harm recipients; changes in legislation; inability to timely develop and introduce new technologies, products and applications, which could cause the actual results or performance of the Company to differ materially from those contemplated in such forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement in this press release speaks only as of the date of this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by any applicable securities laws. More detailed information about the risks and uncertainties affecting the Company is contained under the heading "Risk Factors" in Cellect Biotechnology Ltd.'s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, which is available on the SEC's website, http://www.sec.gov. and in the Company's period filings with the SEC and the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange.

ContactCellect Biotechnology Ltd. Eyal Leibovitz, Chief Financial Officerwww.cellect.co +972-9-974-1444

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fda-grants-orphan-drug-status-to-cellects-apograft-for-acute-gvhd-and-chronic-gvhd-300513675.html

SOURCE Cellect Biotechnology Ltd.

http://www.cellect.co

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FDA Grants Orphan Drug Status to Cellect's ApoGraft for Acute GvHD and Chronic GvHD - PR Newswire (press release)

In developing fetuses, infection by the Zika virus can result in devastating neurological damage, most notably microcephaly and other brain malformations. In a new study, published today in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report the virus specifically targets and kills brain cancer stem cells.

The findings suggest the lethal power of the virus notorious for causing infected babies to be born with under-sized, misshapen heads could be directed at malignant cells in adult brains. Doing so might potentially improve survival rates for patients diagnosed with glioblastomas, the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer, with a median survival rate of just over 14 months after diagnosis.

The Zika virus specifically targets neuroprogenitor cells in fetal and adult brains. Our research shows it also selectively targets and kills cancer stem cells, which tend to be resistant to standard treatments and a big reason why glioblastomas recur after surgery and result in shorter patient survival rates, said Jeremy Rich, MD, professor of medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine. Rich is co-senior author of the study with Michael S. Diamond, MD, PhD, professor, and Milan G. Chheda, MD, assistant professor, both at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Transmission electron microscope image of negative-stained, Fortaleza-strain Zika virus (red), isolated from a microcephaly case in Brazil. Image courtesy of NIAID.

This year, more than 12,000 Americans will be diagnosed with glioblastomas, according to the American Brain Tumor Association. Among them: U.S. Senator John McCain, who announced his diagnosis in July. They are highly malignant. The two-year survival rate is 30 percent.

Standard treatment is aggressive: surgery, followed by chemotherapy and radiation. Yet most tumors recur within six months, fueled by a small population of glioblastoma stem cells that resist and survive treatment, continuing to divide and produce new tumor cells to replace those killed by cancer drugs.

For Zhe Zhu, MD, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in Richs lab and first author of the study, the hyper-reproductive capabilities of glioblastoma stem cells reminded him of neuroprogenitor cells, which fuel the explosive growth of developing brains. Zika virus specifically targets and kills neuroprogenitor cells.

So Zhu, with Rich, Diamond, Chheda and other collaborators, investigated whether the Zika virus might also target and kill cultured glioblastoma stem cells derived from patients being treated for the disease. They infected cultured tumors with one of two strains of the virus. Both strains spread through the tumors, infecting and killing stem cells while largely avoiding other tumor cells.

The findings, the authors said, suggest that chemotherapy-radiation treatment and a Zika infection appear to produce complementary results. Standard treatment kills most tumor cells but typically leaves stem cells intact. The Zika virus attacks stem cells but bypasses ordinary tumor cells.

We see Zika one day being used in combination with current therapies to eradicate the whole tumor, said Chheda, an assistant professor of medicine and of neurology at Washington University School of Medicine.

To find out whether the virus could boost treatment efficacy in a live animal, researchers injected either the Zika virus or a saltwater placebo directly into glioblastoma tumors in 18 and 15 mice, respectively. Two weeks after injection, tumors were significantly smaller in the Zika-treated mice, who survived significantly longer than those given the placebo.

The scientists note that the idea of injecting a virus notorious for causing brain damage into patients brains seems alarming, but they say Zika may prove a safe therapy with further testing because its primary target neuroprogenitor cells are rare in adult brains. The opposite is true of fetal brains, which is part of the reason why a Zika infection before birth produces widespread and severe brain damage while a normal Zika infection in adults typically causes mild symptoms or none at all.

The researchers also conducted studies of the virus using brain tissue from epilepsy patients that showed the virus does not infect non-cancerous brain cells.

As an additional safety feature, the research team introduced two mutations that weakened the viruss ability to combat natural cellular defenses against infection, reasoning that while the mutated virus would still be able to grow in tumor cells, which have a poor anti-viral defense system, it would be quickly eliminated in healthy cells with a robust anti-viral response.

When they tested the mutated viral strain and the original parental strain in glioblastoma stem cells, they found that the original strain was more potent, but that the mutant strain also succeeded in killing the cancerous cells.

Were going to introduce additional mutations to sensitize the virus even more to the innate immune response and prevent the infection from spreading, said Diamond, a professor of molecular microbiology, pathology and immunology. Once we add a couple more, I think its going to be impossible for the virus to overcome them and cause disease.

Co-authors of the study include: Matthew Gorman, Estefania Fernandez, Lisa McKenzie, Jiani Chai, Justin M. Richner, and Rong Zhang, Washington University, St. Louis; Christopher Hubert, and Briana Prager, Cleveland Clinic; Chao Shan, and Pei-Yong Shi, University of Texas Medical Branch; and Xiuxing Wang, UC San Diego.

Funding for this research came, in part, from the National Institutes of Health (R01 AI073755, R01 AI104972, CA197718, CA154130, CA169117, CA171652, NS087913, NS089272), the Pardee Foundation, the Concern Foundation, the Cancer Research Foundation and the McDonnell Center for Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology of Washington University.

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Zika Virus Targets and Kills Brain Cancer Stem Cells - UC San Diego Health

Brit + Co

5 Shockingly Easy Ways to Boost Your Immune System Brit + Co Turns out being not-so-serious can have serious benefits for your immune system. Laughter reduces stress levels within the body and stimulates white blood cells into fighting infection. So keep watching those reruns of The Office or listening to ...

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5 Shockingly Easy Ways to Boost Your Immune System - Brit + Co

What most of us know about the canine immune system can fit into this paragraph. Their immune system protects them from infection and disease; when it fails, disease or an allergic reaction occur, pet food companies tell us their ingredients support the immune system.

If only it were that simple. There are two parts to the immune system. The default setting, if you will, is called the innate immune system. It consists of the skin, mucous, specialized cells in the saliva, stomach acid and certain cells in the body called phagocytes.

You might remember from your Conversational Greek classes that phago refers to eating. Phagocytes engulf foreign matter, and they arent too particular about what they engulf. Together, these elements make up the innate immune system; the bodys first line of defense.

As it often happens, repeated exposure to a substance will allow your body to build up a resistance to that substance. The innate immune system has nothing to do with that. But it does do a pretty good job at what it was designed for, which is defense.

The other half of this duo called the immune system is known as the adaptive immune system. Now thats a system. It defends against specific foreign invaders and, in its tool box, has a variety of tools that enable it to do battle.

If the invader simply needs a whack on the head to disable it, the adaptive immune system whips out its hammer. If it needs to cut off a germs legs to disable it, the system whips out its saw.

Not only does it recognize specific invaders and adapt to disable them, but it remembers them, too, so if they try to pull a fast one and attempt to get in again, the adaptive system responds with a swifter, more powerful tool.

The body can build up immunity to diseases in two ways. Active immunity is when the body is exposed to a substance either by natural means or by vaccination, and develops its own antibodies.

Passive immunity is achieved by receiving another animals antibodies. Examples of this would be the immunity received by the fetus from the placenta, from the colostrum consumed in the hours immediately following birth, or from bone marrow transplants.

But, alas, nothings perfect. Sometimes the immune system has a brain cramp, mistakenly recognizes a part of the body as the enemy, and goes on the attack. This is known as autoimmunity. The system can also overreact or it can fail to react at all.

If the immune system fails, it could mean that, just as in the old Wonder Ball song and game: The game for you is past, my friend, and you are out. Note to GenXers and subsequent generations: you might need to consult Prof. Google on that one, or ask Grammy or Grampy.

While the human and animal immune systems basically function in the same manner, theres still a lot that they dont know, especially with regards to animals.

Thats probably because funding for research in animal science is a lot harder to come by.

This lack of complete knowledge, though, has been cited as a major factor in the veterinary science communitys inability, thus far, to establish uniform immunization protocols. Vets, based on training and experience, still differ on the value and frequency of some immunizations.

Bob Bamberg has been selling pet products and writing about pets, livestock and wildlife for three decades. He can be reached at petsap@comcast.net.

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BAMBERG: The canine immune system - The Sun Chronicle

Reprinted with the kind permission of Cort Johnson and Health RisingMost people with chronic fatigues syndrome (ME/CFS) and fibromyalgia (FM) know the consequences of poor sleep the fatigue and pain, the difficulty concentrating, the irritability and more. Sleep is when our body rejuvenates itself; no sleep no rejuvenation. Given how important sleep is to our health, its no surprise that poor sleep is the first symptom many ME/CFS and FM doctors focus on.The effects of poor sleep go beyond just feeling bad, though. It turns out that poor sleep can have significant effects on our immune system effects, interestingly, which are similar to whats been found in the immune systems of people with ME/CFS and FM. Theres no evidence yet that ME/CFS and FM are sleep disorders that the problems ME/CFS and FM patients face are caused by poor sleep but depriving the body of sleep can cause one immunologically, at least, look like someone with these diseases.Why Sleep Is Important for Health: A Psychoneuroimmunology Perspective-Michael R. Irwin. Annu Rev Psychol. 2015 January 3; 66: 143172. doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-010213-115205.Irwin begins his review on sleep and immunology by noting the explosion in our understanding of the role sleep plays in health over the past decade. First, Irwin demolishes the idea that sleep studies are effective in diagnosing insomnia or sleep disturbances other than sleep apnea. Far more effective than a one or two-night sleep study is a home based sleep actigraph study which estimates sleep patterns and circadian rhythms over time and is coupled with a sleep diary.In fact, Irwin points out that the diagnosis of insomnia in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) is based solely on patient reports of difficulties going to sleep, maintaining sleep, having non-restorative sleep (common in ME/CFS) and problems with daytime functioning (fatigue, falling asleep, need to nap). (Problems with daytime functioning are actually required for an insomnia diagnosis.)Several effective sleep questionnaires exist including the Insomnia Severity Index, which assesses sleep quality, fatigue, psychological symptoms, and quality of life and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, a 19-item self-report questionnaire that evaluates seven clinically derived domains of sleep difficulties (i.e., quality, latency, duration, habitual efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleeping medications, and daytime dysfunction).Assess Your Sleep QualityThe Immune System and SleepThe immune system is vast and incredibly complex and has its own extensive set of regulatory factors, but is itself regulated by two other systems, the HPA axis and the sympathetic nervous system. Both are involved in the stress response and both are affected in ME/CFS and FM. One the HPA axis is blunted in ME/CFS, while the other the sympathetic nervous system is over-activated.Poor sleep, it turns out activates both system. The HPA axis is generally thought to be blunted, not activated, in the morning in ME/CFS patients, but the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), on the other hand, is whirring away at night (when it should be relaxing) in both FM and ME/CFS. (Having our fight or flight system acting up at night is probably not the best recipe for sleep.)Sympathetic nervous system activation, in fact, was the only factor in one Australian study which explained the poor sleep in ME/CFS. The authors of a recent FM/autonomic nervous system study went so far as to suggest that going to sleep with FM was equivalent to undergoing a stress test (!). Heart rates, muscle sympathetic nervous activation, and other evidence of an activated sympathetic nervous system response made sleep anything but restful for FM patients. In fact, the authors proposed sleep problems could be a heart of fibromyalgia.

Many questions have involved the roles pathogens play in ME/CFS and FM. Thats intriguing given the almost universally poor sleep found in the disorders and role recent studies indicate that sleep plays priming the immune systems pump to fight off invaders. During sleep, pathogen-fighting immune cells move to the lymph nodes where they search for evidence of pathogens. If pathogens are present, those immune cells mount a furious (and metabolically expensive) immune response.

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Is Poor Sleep Pummeling the Immune System in ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia? A Vicious Circle Examined - ProHealth

RURAL REPORTER

Last updated12:12, September 4 2017

LIC

A good looker, and the best performing bull at LIC is Sierra, a kiwicross bull. The 7-year-old bull might have 100,000 daughters in the next few years.

Father's Day was on Sunday, and many families got together,but there wasone super dad who foundit a struggle meeting all his offspring.

Sierra, one of LIC's top bulls, has fathered 1700 daughters (milking dairy cows).

"We expect that he will have 12,000 more daughters entering the national herd this year, and predict a further 100,000 over the next few years," said Simon Worth, LIC's livestock selection manager.

Farmers needed top quality genetics to get their cows producing top quality heifers in New Zealand and internationally.He said LIC owned24 of the top 30 artificial breeding (AB) bulls in the country, including Sierra - its top kiwicross bull.

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"Bulls like Sierra are shaping the future of dairying in New Zealand. Our bulls provide three out of every four cows in the country, contributing $300 million towards the economy each year," said Dave Hale, LIC's national artificial breeding manager.

During the peak dairy cow mating season in spring LIC collectedsemen from its 73 elite bulls seven days a week, at itsNewstead farm near Hamilton.

Up to five million semen straws will be processed between now and Christmas, with the co-op's exclusive long last liquid semen diluent (LIC proprietary technology) enabling one bull ejaculate to average 7000 fresh semen straws for insemination.

Straws are sentfresh to a team of 775 AB technicians all over the country, for insemination into cows as early as that same afternoon. Top AB technicians inseminate up to 10,000 cows a year, or200-300 a day.

On the peak day in spring 120,000 semen straws are dispatched nationally, internationally the co-op exports one million frozen straws worldwide year-round.

"While only seven years old, Sierra is definitely one of our super dad bulls. Without them Kiwis probably wouldn't have their morning lattes," said Hale.

-Stuff

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Artificial breeding bulls in demand as farmers improve genetics - Stuff.co.nz

Maryland Heights, MO September 1, 2017 (STL.NEWS)Mercy Clinic Primary Care has opened a new practice with three doctors, Jason Hand, MD, Fred Balch, DO and Justin Starke, MD and family nurse practitioner Jill Aberdeen Kolchinsky, FNP. The office is temporarily located in Maryland Heights at 12445 Dorsett Road and will move to its permanent location on the Mercy Hospital St. Louis campus later this fall.

Drs. Balch and Starke are new to Mercy Clinic but familiar with St. Louis area as they both grew up in the area and completed internal medicine residencies at Mercy Hospital St. Louis.

Dr. Balch was raised in St. Charles, Missouri, and graduated from Francis Howell High School.

Did you always know you wanted to be a doctor?Interestingly, I actually went into college with the intent of studying to be a veternarian. It was after my first or second year of undergrad that I realized human medicine was actually more of a true calling. In reality though, I was exposed to the medical field even at a very young age as my mom was an emergency room nurse.

What drew you to internal medicine?For me, there are very few medical specialties that require the depth of knowledge and experience to diagnose and manage such a vast array of acute and chronic medical conditions. It is this Jack-of- all-trades aspect of internal medicine that drew me to it. I chose primary care because of the patient-physician relationship. I get the humbling experience of meeting and forming long-lasting relationships with people from all walks of life, different backgrounds and experiences, as well as different personalities.

What made you want to join Mercy?Having the privilege of doing my internal medicine training at Mercy Hospital St. Louis, I was able to witness first hand the top-notch care that Mercy provides. The specialists, nursing staff and administration are fantastic and truly go above and beyond to assure that patient care is a number one priority.

Dr. Starke was born and raised in the St. Louis area and graduated from St. Louis Priory School. Outside of the office, Starke enjoys cooking and spending time with his wife, son and is excited to soon welcome a baby girl.

Did you always know you wanted to be a doctor?I knew I wanted to be a doctor the moment I realized I would never become a professional athlete, which was probably around age 7.

What drew you to the internal medicine?I was drawn to internal medicine and primary care, in particular, because I love managing a broad scope of medical problems, but also welcome the chance to excel in preventative medicine, working to keep patients out of the hospital and doctors office as much as possible.

What made you want to join Mercy?I was drawn to Mercy by the incredible team-work mentality that recognizes and encourages all employees to work toward the ultimate goal of delivery excellent patient care. Having worked in the residency program for three years I got to witness and be a part of this first-hand.

source; Mercy Clinic Primary Care, published on STL.NEWS by St Louis Media, LLC

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Mercy Clinic Primary Care has opened a new practice - STL News - STL.News

Light, fat, and commensals

The gut microbiota facilitates energy harvest from food and transfers it into fat storage. Working in mice, Wang et al. found that an epithelial cell circadian transcription factor, NFIL3, is involved in regulating body composition through lipid uptake. Flagellin and lipopolysaccharide produced by certain microbes tuned the amplitude of oscillation of NFIL3 through innate lymphoid cell (ILC3) signaling, STAT3, and the epithelial cell clock. Such interactions may help to explain why circadian clock disruptions in humans, arising from shift work or international travel, frequently track with metabolic diseases, including obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

Science, this issue p. 912

The intestinal microbiota has been identified as an environmental factor that markedly affects energy storage and body-fat accumulation in mammals, yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here we show that the microbiota regulates body composition through the circadian transcription factor NFIL3. Nfil3 transcription oscillates diurnally in intestinal epithelial cells, and the amplitude of the circadian oscillation is controlled by the microbiota through group 3 innate lymphoid cells, STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3), and the epithelial cell circadian clock. NFIL3 controls expression of a circadian lipid metabolic program and regulates lipid absorption and export in intestinal epithelial cells. These findings provide mechanistic insight into how the intestinal microbiota regulates body composition and establish NFIL3 as an essential molecular link among the microbiota, the circadian clock, and host metabolism.

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The intestinal microbiota regulates body composition through NFIL3 and the circadian clock - Science Magazine

Myriad Genetics (NASDAQ: MYGN) and Varex Imaging (NASDAQ:VREX) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk and profitability.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Myriad Genetics and Varex Imagings revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Varex Imaging has higher revenue, but lower earnings than Myriad Genetics.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Myriad Genetics and Varex Imaging, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Myriad Genetics presently has a consensus target price of $20.38, suggesting a potential downside of 32.64%. Varex Imaging has a consensus target price of $33.50, suggesting a potential upside of 7.48%. Given Varex Imagings stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Varex Imaging is more favorable than Myriad Genetics.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

91.8% of Varex Imaging shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.2% of Myriad Genetics shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Myriad Genetics and Varex Imagings net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Summary

Myriad Genetics beats Varex Imaging on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

Myriad Genetics Company Profile

Myriad Genetics, Inc. is a molecular diagnostic company. The Company is engaged in the discovery, development and marketing of transformative molecular diagnostic tests. The Company operates through two segments: diagnostics and other. The diagnostics segment provides testing and collaborative development of testing that is designed to assess an individuals risk for developing disease later in life, identify a patients likelihood of responding to drug therapy and guide a patients dosing to enable optimal treatment, or assess a patients risk of disease progression and disease recurrence. The other segment provides testing products and services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical research industries, research and development, and clinical services for patients, and also includes corporate services, such as finance, human resources, legal and information technology. Its molecular diagnostic tests include myRisk Hereditary Cancer, BRACAnalysis CDx and COLARIS.

Varex Imaging Company Profile

Varex Imaging Corporation is a supplier of medical X-ray tubes and image processing solutions. The Companys segments include Medical and Industrial. The X-ray imaging system manufacturers use the Companys components for medical imaging, cargo screening and border security, to detect, diagnose and protect. The Medical business segment designs, manufactures, sells and services X-ray imaging components for use in a range of applications, including radiographic or fluoroscopic imaging, mammography, special procedures, computed tomography, radiation therapy and computer-aided detection. The Industrial business segment designs, manufactures, sells and services products for use in security and industrial inspection applications, such as cargo screening at ports and borders and non-destructive examination in a range of applications.

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Myriad Genetics (MYGN) and Varex Imaging (VREX) Financial Survey - The Ledger Gazette

A recent Duke University study sheds new light on intestinal health and disease.

The study, called Genomic Dissection of Conserved Transcriptional Regulation in Intestinal Epithelial Cells, published Tuesday in PLOS Biology journal.

Scientists identified an ancient network of genes shared between humans and other vertebrates that make up the intestine.

These results indicate that the intestines of humans and fishes share more in common than once presumed, making it possible to look into the guts of fish and other related animals to learn about the origins of human intestinal conditions, said Dr. John Rawls, the senior author of the study.

Some of the shared genes have previously been linked to diabetes, inflammatory bowel diseases and obesity. Rawls, associate professor of molecular genetics and microbiology at Dukes School of Medicine, said the researchers believe they discovered what may turn those genes on and off.

Our research has uncovered aspects of intestinal biology that have been well-conserved during vertebrate evolution, suggesting they are of central importance to intestinal health, Rawls said in a news release from Duke. By doing so, we have built a foundation for mechanistic studies of intestinal biology in non-human model systems like fish and mice that would be impossible to perform in humans alone.

The use of animals in human intestinal research is nothing new. But genome-wide data generated from zebrafish, stickleback fish, mice and humans identified the extent the genes were shared among the species.

Dr. Colin Lickwar, a co-author of the study, mapped out each species activity level for all of the genes and the location of specific genetic sequences or regulatory elements that flipped those genes on and off, the university reported.

The project was supported by Duke University and the National Institutes of Health.

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Human, fish intestine gene study may show what turns illnesses on ... - News & Observer

A new Duke study suggests that typhoid fever invades human cells with the help of cholesterol.

After analyzing the genomes of cells that were particularly susceptible to typhoid infection, the team centered their research around the protein VAC14. They ultimately found that cells producing less VAC14 had more cholesterol in their cell membranes and were also more likely to become infected by invading bacteria.

This genetic difference affects the level of VAC14 in your cell, said Dennis Ko, assistant professor of molecular genetics and microbiology and senior author of the paper. VAC14 is involved in lipid signaling, but we didnt know how that connected to salmonella [bacteria] invasion.

He explained that the first part of the experiment was dedicated to pinpointing which genes were associated with an increase in infection of Salmonella typhi, the bacteria that causes typhoid fever.

By exposing cells taken from hundreds of volunteers to the bacteria, the group determined which genes may make cells more conducive to bacterial invasion. Ko compared this work to a needle-in-the-haystack scenario, since there are many possible genes that could play a role in the infection process.

After isolating VAC14 as a significant gene for Salmonella infection, Monica Alvarez, a graduate student and lead author of the study, identified that cells producing less VAC14 had more bacteria attached to their membranes.

In other words, the team's findings showed that VAC14 was affecting the first step of bacterial invasion, as salmonella must first attach to the cell membrane and use a molecular needle to inject the viral molecules into the cell, Ko explained.

That was important, because it told us that the initial binding was the step involved, he said. Thats when we remembered that salmonella had been previously shown to bind directly to cholesterol as part of this initial attachment process.

To further test this theory, the researchers turned to Sarah Dunstan, who studies typhoid fever susceptibility in Vietnam. Compiling the DNA information for about 1,000 Vietnamese patients, Ko and the team again found that the VAC14 gene was tied to the risk of Salmonella infection.

After confirming VAC14's importance, the team next looked at how this process played out in a zebrafish model. They centered their tests around the hypothesis that decreasing the levels of cholesterol would lead to less Salmonella invasion.

Zebrafish are a phenomenal animal model system because they are optically transparent making them ideal for imaging studies, Alvarez wrote in an email.

The zebrafish were first treated with ezetimibea drug that lowers cholesterol levelsand then exposed to the typhoid fever bacteria. Alvarez found that the fish treated with the cholesterol-lowering drug had improved survival rates and also cleared the bacteria from their system with more efficiency.

Both Ko and Alvarez noted that their success in zebrafish may not be entirely predictive for humans but were optimistic about the initial results. They said they hoped to move to a different animal to show that the treatment may be more broadly useful.

The reason we still have to be cautious is because its a zebrafishnot a person, not a mouse, its a zebrafish, Ko said. And we were delivering the bacteria through an injection, so people usually get salmonella infection because they eat something thats taintedso the route of delivery isnt quite the same.

He explained that the exact mechanism behind VAC14s ability to affect the amount of cholesterol in the cell is still unknown. There is also a potential to apply these findings to other diseases and examine whether other pathogens are similarly affected by cholesterol.

The ultimate goal in terms of a utility standpoint would be to be able to say, yeah, we started these initial observations based on cell biology, and we were able to take it to animal models and then eventually, we wanted to see whether or not they had any usefulness in people, Ko said.

Originally posted here:
Cholesterol is linked to increased risk of typhoid fever, Duke study shows - Duke Chronicle

Researchers say that certain variations of the TOMM40 gene, located on the 19th chromosome outlined above, are heavily associated with developing Alzheimer's disease. Credit: National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine

The notorious genetic marker of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, ApoE4, may not be a lone wolf.

Researchers from USC and The University of Manchester have found that another gene, TOMM40, complicates the picture. Although ApoE4 plays a greater role in some types of aging-related memory ability, the researchers believe that TOMM40 may pose an even greater risk for other types.

TOMM40 and APOE genes are neighbors, adjacent to each other on chromosome 19, and they are sometimes used as proxies for one another in genetic studies. At times, scientific research has focused chiefly on one APOE variant, ApoE4, as the No. 1 suspect behind Alzheimer's and dementia-related memory decline. The literature also considers the more common variant of APOE, ApoE3, neutral in risk for Alzheimer's.

USC researchers believe their new findings raise a significant research question: Has TOMM40 been misunderstood as a sidekick to ApoE4 when it is really a mastermind, particularly when ApoE3 is present?

"Typically, ApoE4 has been considered the strongest known genetic risk factor for cognitive decline, memory decline, Alzheimer's disease or dementia-related onset," said T. Em Arpawong, the study's lead author and a postdoctoral fellow in the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences' Department of Psychology.

"Although prior studies have found some variants of this other gene TOMM40 may heighten the risk for Alzheimer's disease, our study found that a TOMM40 variant was actually more influential than ApoE4 on the decline in immediate memorythe ability to hold onto new information," Arpawong explained.

Studies have shown that the influence of genes associated with memory and cognitive decline intensifies with age. That is why the scientists chose to examine immediate and delayed verbal test results over time in conjunction with genetic markers.

"An example of immediate recall is someone tells you a series of directions to get somewhere and you're able to repeat them back," said Carol A. Prescott, the paper's senior author and professor of psychology at USC Dornsife and professor of gerontology at the USC Davis School of Gerontology. "Delayed recall is being able to remember those directions a few minutes later, as you're on your way."

The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE on Aug. 11.

Tracking memory loss

The team of researchers from USC and The University of Manchester used data from two surveys: the U.S. Health and Retirement Study and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Both data sets are nationally representative samples and include results of verbal memory testing and genetic testing.

The research team used verbal test results from the U.S. Health and Retirement Survey, collected from 1996 to 2012, which interviewed participants via phone every two years. The researchers utilized the verbal memory test scores of 20,650 participants, aged 50 and older who were tested repeatedly to study how their memory changed over time.

To test immediate recall, an interviewer read a list of 10 nouns and then asked the participant to repeat the words back immediately. For delayed recall, the interviewer waited five minutes and then asked the participant to recall the list. Test scores ranged from 0 to 10.

The average score for immediate recall was 5.7 words out of 10, and the delayed recall scoring average was 4.5 words out of 10. A large gap between the two sets of scores can signal the development of Alzheimer's or some other form of dementia.

"There is usually a drop-off in scores between the immediate and the delayed recall tests," Prescott said. "In evaluating memory decline, it is important to look at both types of memory and the difference between them. You would be more worried about a person who has scores of 10 and 5 than a person with scores of 6 and 4."

The first person is worrisome because five minutes after reciting the 10 words perfectly, he or she can recall only half of them, Prescott said. The other person wasn't perfect on the immediate recall test, but five minutes later, was able to remember a greater proportion of words.

To prevent bias in the study's results, the researchers excluded participants who reported that they had received a likely diagnosis of dementia or a dementia-like condition, such as Alzheimer's. They also focused on participants identified as primarily European in heritage to minimize population bias. Results were adjusted for age and sex.

One key innovation of the study is that the researchers used statistical methods to create scores that represent level and decline in delayed recall, separate from level and decline in immediate recall from the repeated assessments of memory. Most of the prior studies have used a total sum score for the two, a score from a single time-point or combined recall scores with other measures of cognition to investigate overall cognitive decline. By separating these components of recall, researchers had a better chance of detecting and explaining how genes affect each of these abilities differently.

The researchers compared the U.S. data to the results of an independent replication sample of participants, age 50 and up, in the English Longitudinal Study of Aging from 2002 to 2012. Interviews and tests were conducted every two years.

Genetic markers for memory

To investigate whether genes associated with immediate and delayed recall abilities, researchers used genetic data from 7,486 participants in the U.S. Health and Retirement Study and 6,898 participants in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

The researchers examined the association between the immediate and delayed recall results with 1.2 million gene variations across the human genome. Only one, TOMM40, had a strong link to declines in immediate recall and level of delayed recall. ApoE4 also was linked but not as strongly.

"Our findings indicate that TOMM40 plays a larger role, specifically, in the decline of verbal learning after age 60," the scientists wrote. "Further, our analyses showed that there are unique effects of TOMM40 beyond ApoE4 effects on both the level of delayed recall prior to age 60 and decline in immediate recall after 60."

Unlike ApoE4, the ApoE3 variant is generally thought to have no influence on Alzheimer's disease or memory decline. However, the team of scientists found that adults who had ApoE3 and a risk variant of TOMM40 were more likely to have lower memory scores. The finding suggests that TOMM40 affects memoryeven when ApoE4 is not a factor.

The team suggested that scientists should further examine the association between ApoE3 and TOMM40 variants and their combined influence on decline in different types of learning and memory.

"Other studies may not have detected the effects of TOMM40," Prescott said. "The results from this study provide more evidence that the causes of memory decline are even more complicated than we thought before, and they raise the question of how many findings in other studies have been attributed to ApoE4 that may be due to TOMM40 or a combination of TOMM40 and ApoE4."

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