Category Archives: Research

Biotechnology, Health, Medical, Research, Science

Cell transplant gives hope for treating blindness…

A MAJOR ADVANCE

Scientists in Britain have made a major leap forward in efforts to treat blindness.

They have grown part of an eye in the laboratory and have extracted the light-sensitive cells which are the key to vision.

These cells were injected into mice, where they seemed to grow normally and formed the crucial connections between the eye and brain.

Such developments could pave the way for a treatment which could eventually give millions back their sight. It is hoped the first human patients could be treated in as little as five years. Transplanting just a small number of cells could have a big impact on quality of life.

Those who could benefit include men and women with age-related macular degeneration – the most common cause of blindness in the elderly. This condition affects more than 600,000 Britons and the number is expected to triple in the next 25 years as the elderly population swells.

There are few treatments for the condition – and no cure.

The research and experimentation is being carried out at University College London in which scientists are trying to replace damaged cells in the retina, the light sensitive ‘film’ at the back of the eye.

Last year, researchers used healthy cells from young mice to restore vision in adult animals. The results were said to be ‘dramatic’, with the treated animals able to quickly find their way out of a miniature swimming pool in dim light, while untreated ones swam around in circles.

Stem Cell Therapy for Blindness

The project’s lead-scientist, Professor Robin Ali, said the results amount to a ‘major advance’. His team took embryonic stem cells – ‘master cells’ capable of turning into other cell types and widely touted as a repair kit for the body – and used a cocktail of nutrients to coax them into turning into a retina.

They then raided the laboratory-grown retina for rods (key cells which pick up light and send it to the brain for conversion into images). The rods were then transplanted into the eyes of mice.

A retina has been grown in a dish before but Professor Ali’s team are the first to transplant cells from one successfully.

The journal Nature Biotechnology was the first to report the findings and has said that the lab-grown cells integrated into the existing eye was successful in forming the nerve connections needed to send information to the brain.

Professor Ali said:

… We are getting closer and closer to carrying out a trial.

However, the need to be highly confident that the treatment is safe and effective means that widespread use is at least 10-15 years away.

The Medical Research Council, which funded the team’s work, said in a statement:

… This study is an important milestone on the road to developing a widely available cell therapy for blindness.

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Health, Medical, Research, Science

A glass of water can help the brain to work up to 14 per cent faster…

RESEARCH

Researchers suggest that drinking a glass of water can make your brain work faster and could be freeing up parts of the brain.

Scientists say that drinking water can sharpen your mind. If you’re struggling to come up with answers to everyday problems, then a glass of water could be the best solution. The effect is particularly marked if a person is thirsty.

According to new research delivered by scientists at the University of East London, the original energy drink – quenching your thirst with a glass of water – could help your brain work by as much as 14 per cent faster. Scientists believe that once thirst is relieved, the brain is left to focus on the task in hand.

Researchers first carried out an experiment on 34 men and women who completed a number of mental tests twice – once after a breakfast of just a cereal bar and again after a cereal bar was washed down with a bottle of water.

None of those who had taken the tests had eaten or drunk anything overnight and all were asked how thirsty they were at the start of the experiment.

The participants who said they weren’t thirsty were equally quick at the test of reaction time with or without water.

But those who said they were thirsty sped up after having consumed water, making them up to 14 per cent quicker than before.

The findings have been reported in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

The researchers suggest the water helped by freeing up the parts of the brain that were busy ‘telling’ the body it was thirsty. They said:

… These results are consistent with water consumption freeing up ‘attentional resources’ that were otherwise occupied with processing the sensations of thirst.

Dr Caroline Edmonds, one of the researchers at the University of East London, said it is not going to hurt you to have a drink of water when you are working hard. She points out that tea and coffee will also help to hydrate you.

Dr Edmonds has previously shown that children who have a drink of water ahead of sitting tests fare up to a third better.

But the effects of drinking water are not always positive. In Dr Edmonds’ latest study, the volunteers to the experiments did worse at a particularly complex mental manipulation test after drinking the water. The reasons for this remain unclear.

Separate studies have found that failing to drink enough water can make the brain’s grey matter shrink, making it harder to concentrate and think.

Scientists in Britain scanned the brains of teenagers after an hour-and-a-half of cycling.

Some exercised in three layers of sweat-induced clothing including a bin liner worn next to the skin, a hooded chemical warfare suit and a track suit. Others observed were much more lightly clad in shorts and T-shirts.

Those who were heavily wrapped up lost around 2lb in sweat – and their brain tissue had shrunk away from their skulls. Just 90-minutes of steady sweating can shrink the brain as much as a year of ageing.

But after a glass of water or two the brain quickly returns to normal.

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Health, Medical, Research, Science

Obesity and the risk of having brittle bones…

RESEARCH AT HARVARD OVERTURNS TRADITIONAL THINKING

According to recent research, being very overweight could put you at risk of brittle bones.

Up until now scientists had thought that carrying a few extra pounds helped to protect bones and prevent fractures.

The researchers believe that instead of protecting bones, the extra fat triggers the formation of cells called osteoclasts which gradually wear them down. They also suspect that if large amounts of fat are stored within the bone it inhibits the production of new bone tissue.

Scientists had assumed that being obese protected bones as fat cells release the hormone oestrogen. This is known to encourage bones to absorb the mineral calcium from the diet, which makes them stronger.

But in the past few years a growing number of studies have dispelled this theory by showing that very overweight adults tend to have thinner bones and a lower bone density.

This latest study by academics at Harvard University in Boston has suggested a cause by claiming that high levels of fat in the bones gradually wear them down.

The research-lead on this study at Harvard Medical School, associate professor Miriam Bredella, said:

… Obesity was once thought to be protective against bone loss. We have found that this is not true. Bone marrow fat makes bones weak. If you have a spine that’s filled with fat, it’s not going to be as strong.

Her study – first published in the journal Radiology – looked at the bones and fat deposits of 106 obese men and women. The researchers used a type of scan called proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy to measure fat in the bone marrow, muscles and liver.

They found that adults with the most fat in their liver and muscles also had the highest levels of fat in their bone marrow, which increases the risk of osteoporosis.

More than three million people in Britain suffer from the disease for which there is no cure.

And in further developments, children as young as eight are showing signs of high blood pressure due to obesity.

Campaigners say these children are putting themselves at high risk of strokes, heart attacks and liver disease in adulthood and should watch their weight and salt intake.

Harvard academics looked at blood pressure readings, weights and diets of 8,300 children aged eight to 17 surveyed between 1999 and 2008. They compared their average results with those of a group of 3,200 similar-aged children who were studied from 1988 to 1994.

Girls in the most recent group were 53 per cent more likely to have higher than normal blood pressure. Some 12.6 per cent had higher than normal readings compared to 8.2 per cent of those surveyed earlier.

The proportion of boys with higher blood pressure rose from 15.8 per cent to 19.2 per cent, an increase of 21 per cent.

British scientists expect the US results would prove to be similar here as so many children are now obese.

A statement issued by the British Heart Foundation, said:

… It’s a real concern to see raised levels at such a young age. Unhealthy habits formed in childhood can be hard to shake off.

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