Medical Portal

An experimental drug is the first which may substantially and safely improve shortness of breath and other symptoms of severe heart attack, a growing epidemic, according to doctors report.
However, many were really upset that this medicine did not help people live longer or stay out of the hospital.
Heart attack occurs when the heart muscle weakens over time and can no longer pump the blood effectively. Fluid can back up into the lungs and people stay panicked and gasping for breath.
About 5 million Americans have this disease. It kills more than 300,000 and nearly one million hospitalizations each year. Current treatments either do not cause needed effect or lead to kidney damage or loss of essential body salts called electrolytes.
The new drug, tolvaptan, is a first-of-its-kind medication that blocks a hormone responsible for fluid retention. It was tested on 4,133 severely ill patients throughout North and South America and Europe. Ten months later it significantly improved breathing and reduced swelling and weight because it promoted so much fluid loss.
Tolvaptan’s maker is Japan Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. The company plans to ask the federal Food and Drug Administration to approve the drug sometime this year.

It was considered till now, that danger of the radiation consists in damaging of DNA. The group of scientists under the direction of professor Michael Deylees from US Army Medical University asserts that viability of the cells, undergone irradiation, in the greater degree depends on a degree of proteins destruction.
In steady to the radiation cells proteins continue to function effectively after an irradiation while they are protected by the special chemical mechanism with participation of bivalent manganese ions.
Analyzing the obtained data, scientists came to a conclusion, that introduction of the cleared radio-protective complexes on the manganese basis in sensitive cells can temporarily increase their stability to radiation.
Basing of this principle new methods of radiation protection can be elaborated. These methods can be applied, for example, to radiotherapy of tumors or for protection of cosmonauts against space radiation.

Ricin, one of the most strong poisons in the world, is used for transplantation of marrow to children ill with leukemia, - dangerous treatment which call the last hope of leukemic patients, informs gzt.ru.
Lack of donors in the Great Britain means, that more than 20 % of children with leukemia and other dangerous diseases cannot take advantage of transplantation. However the research carried out in London Great Ormond Street Hospital, confirms, that lethiferous poison ricin allows injecting “half corresponding” transplants as it kills the cells, which may be harmful for the patients.
Transplantation of “half corresponding” marrow is a surgery during which the marrow is taken from one of the parents. Only one of three such transplantations is successful, but according to the last research by mixing ricin with a part of donor marrow and blood of the patient chances of the child survival rise.
In Great Ormond Street Hospital marrow transplantation surgeries are carried out since 1979.

According to a new British study, alcohol and tobacco are more dangerous than some illegal drugs.
Professor David Nutt of Britain’s Bristol University and colleagues proposed a new framework for the classification of harmful substances, based on the actual risks to society. Among the top 10 most dangerous substances are alcohol and tobacco.
Nutt and his colleagues used three factors to determine the harm associated with any drug: the physical harm to the user, the potential of drug addiction, and the impact on society. Nutt and his colleagues then calculated the drugs’ overall rankings. In the end, the experts agreed with each other — but not with the existing British classification of dangerous substances.
Heroin and cocaine appeared to be the most dangerous, followed by barbiturates and street methadone. Alcohol was the fifth-most harmful drug and tobacco the ninth most harmful. Cannabis came in 11th, and near the bottom of the list was Ecstasy.
According to existing British and U.S. law alcohol and tobacco are legal, when cannabis and Ecstasy are both illegal.
Tobacco causes 40 percent of all illnesses, while alcohol is blamed for more than half of all visits to doctors. The substances also harm society in other ways, damaging families and occupying police services.
Nutt hopes that the research will cause debate within the community about how drugs — including socially acceptable drugs such as alcohol — should be regulated.
While experts agreed that wide use of alcohol and tobacco would be challenging, they said that governments should review the penalties imposed for drug.

Scientists from the Californian universities of Santa Barbara and Berkeley and employees of the Californian firm StrataGent Life Sciences have developed a new system for hypodermic injections, instead of a usual syringe. This device works without needles, does not leave appreciable damages on skin and does not cause painful feelings.
Alternative systems of medicines injection have been invented more than 50 years ago. However, they also were not effective because of arising feeling of a pain. The reason is that the preparation at such injection penetrated deeply into a skin, irritating nociceptors.
The new syringe is also created for injections with the help of microjets, however this disadvantage is eliminated: developers suggest to make the speed of a jet very high - more than 100 meters per second.
To minimize mechanical influence on receptors it was decided to reduce diameter of a jet and volume of the liquid. Due to this the stream of substance, punching the skin, gets only to superficial layers (on the depth approximately 200 micrometers).
The experiments carried out on laboratory rats and on human tissue samples have shown appreciable efficiency of the invention at insulin injections. But for the time being nothing is informed about the prospects of application of the new device in the medical practice.

Bay leaf flying aromatic substances suppress development of tubercle bacillus and raise immunity as a whole. To get rid of a stomatitis, it is enough to chew a bay leaf sometimes. The laurel keeps its properties completely when dried up and this gives him advantage over many plants.
Some experts recommend taking laurels in preventive purposes. You will feel better and stronger, you will breathe easier, be less tired of.
0,1764 ounce bay leaf (approximately 15 leaves) put in 10,5822 ounce of water and boil for five minutes. This drink is necessary to draw in a thermos for 3-4 hours, to filter and take in small portions during the day, having drunk all 300. The second and third day do the same. After a two-weeks break repeat a course of treatment. The only exception with taking this decoction - susceptibility to constipation, writes http://www.neboley.com.ua.
It is informed, that the laurel helps at rheumatic gout and even at diabetes. It can be used as untihyperhidrosis preparation. Besides, the laurels are useful in the house as it frightens away moth and cockroaches (it concerns only to quite fresh leaves, indeed).

The Japanese scientists managed to create a human eye from the stem cell taken from edge of a cornea which carries out regenerative function.
As informs the New Region, the stem cell has been placed in a nutrient medium. After a week it has developed into a group of cells, and on the fourth week had transformed into a cornea in two centimeters diameter. In such a way was also created thin protective layer which covers the cornea from outside, informs http://e-news.com.ua.
As a nutrient medium the Japanese scientists used artificial chemical compounds, instead of traditional mouse cells or the veal whey. Thus, the new way of transplantation eliminates risk of infections from animals.
As soon as safety of new technology will be proved, the Japanese scientists will start clinical tests.

Fractures, muscle strain, injuries and bruises are common attributes of childhood, however few parents know the most effective means of anaesthetizing which will help quickly and reliably relieve pain.
The group of the Canadian scientists hold comparative research of anesthetics for children writes http://www.neboley.com.ua.
For comparison two anesthetics were taken: ibuprofen and paratsetamol. In addition, for the estimation of efficiency the third medication - narcotic analgesics codeine - was used.
Ibuprofen appeared to be the most effective. In addition to its safety for children, it showed twice as better level of anaesthetizing, than of other medications.
Ibuprofen’s mechanism of action is in blocking of inflammatory substances, which are excreted in the moment of tissue damage. Reducing concentration of this substances, it relieves pain.

One more time about cocoa benefit
One ingredient of cocoa has so striking benefits on health that it “may contest penicillin and anesthesia from the viewpoint of importance to public health”.
Norman Hollenberg, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School explained in the interview to journal Chemistry & Industry, that ingredient - epicatechin - can reduce the risk of such diseases as stroke and heart failure,.
Professor Hollenberg has spent years in researches of the benefits of cocoa drinking on the Kuna people on the San Blas islands off the coast of Panama. They drink up to 40 cups of cocoa a week. Among the Kuna, he found that the risk of stroke, heart failure and cancer was considerably less.
“Epicatechin could potentially get rid of four of the five most common diseases in the western world,” he told the journal.
The cocoa that the Kuna drink is homemade and very rich in chemicals called -flavanols, notably epicatechin, which is known to have cardio-vascular benefits.
Flavanols are removed from commercial cocoas because they strengthen a bitter taste of drink.

“Calmness and calmness”, - would tell well-known fairy-tale hero. Now the American scientists joined his opinion. According to their discovery anger and irritation, particularly among men of mean age, results in the rapid wear of lungs.
Specialists from Harvard found out, that anger leads to impairment of hormonal processes, influences immunity and, in the end, becomes reason of internal damage. Research is based on the test, in which 670 men age 45 to 86 years participated.
8 years-long researches showed that furious men suffer from wear of lungs much more often then benevolent and quiet. Scientists underline that experimental group included, mainly, former military, and representatives of poor layers of population.
Possibly, nervousness and lungs wear were caused by certain unknown factors.
At the same time, results of previous researches said, that spite results in heart troubles, asthma, high blood pressure and other ailments.