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Mars Base

Drug's 'double hit' overcomes leukaemia resistance - 0 views

medicalxpress.com/...drug-leukaemia-resistance.html

Cancer GrabBag

shared by Mars Base on 13 Jul 12 - No Cached
  • drug that uses a unique ‘double hit’ to kill leukaemia cells could be a potential new treatment for patients with acute myeloid leukaemia
  • 30 per cent of patients with AML have faults in the FLT3 gene
  • linked to more aggressive leukaemias and poor survival
  • ...16 more annotations...
  • drugs that target these faults are available, the disease eventually builds resistance, leaving treatments ineffective.
  • researchers at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London
  • developed a unique drug that targets AML cells in a “double hit”.
  • blocks the protein made by the faulty FLT3 gene along with another key protein – called Aurora kinase – which are both involved in driving cancer growth
  • healthy blood cells, FLT3 sends a signal to the cells telling them when to proliferate, while Aurora kinase plays a role in cell division
  • Leukaemia cells with faulty FLT3 can proliferate out of control
  • many cancer cells have higher levels of Aurora kinase, causing errors during cell division
  • drug is also unique because it can destroy cells even if they develop new faults in the FLT3 genes that would make them resistant to other inhibitors
  • There has been great interest in using FLT3 drugs to treat AML
  • effectiveness has been limited because leukaemia cells gain new mistakes in the FLT3 gene, causing resistance.
  • new drug has the potential to overcome this and has a range of possible uses in AML
  • those over 60 who don’t tolerate chemotherapy well, and also to treat  leukaemia patients who have relapsed
  • We’re excited about the potential of our new ‘double hit’ drug and are now planning to take it into clinical trials to see if it is effective in patients
  • faults that occur in the FLT3 gene cause rapid cell division
  • Each year around 2,380 people are diagnosed with AML in the UK
  • creating cells in the lab that mimic how drug resistance develops in AML the researchers were able to show that their new drug delivers a ‘double hit’ to halt cancer cells in their tracks
Mars Base

Saliva, pupil size differences in autism show system in overdrive - 0 views

medicalxpress.com/...l-size-differences-autism.html

Autism GrabBag

shared by Mars Base on 13 Jul 12 - No Cached
  • researchers have found larger resting pupil size and lower levels of a salivary enzyme associated with the neurotransmitter norepinephrine in children with autism spectrum disorder
  • autonomic system of children with ASD is always on the same level
  • in overdrive
  • ...11 more annotations...
  • levels of the enzyme, salivary alpha-amylase (sAA), were lower than those of typically developing children in samples taken in the afternoon in
  • samples taken at home throughout the day showed that sAA levels were higher in general across the day and much less variable for children with ASD
  • sAA levels of typically developing children gradually rise and fall over the day
  • Norepinephrine (NE) has been found in the blood plasma levels of individuals with ASD, but some researchers have questioned whether these levels were just related to the stress from blood draws
  • collecting salivary measures by simply placing a highly absorbent sponge swab under the child’s tongue and confirmed that this method of collection did not stress the children by assessing their stress levels through cortisol, another hormone
  • potential for physicians to screen children for ASD much earlier, noninvasively and relatively inexpensively
  • also see pupil size and sAA levels as biomarkers
  • Many theories of autism propose that the disorder is due to deficits in higher-order brain areas
  • Our findings, however, suggest that the core deficits may lie in areas of the brain typically associated with more fundamental, vital functions
  • study, published online in the May 29, 2012
  • compared children between the ages of 20 and 72 months of age diagnosed with ASD to a group of typically developing children and a third group of children with Down syndrome
Mars Base

Veteran Space Station Crew to Launch Into Orbit Tonight | Space.com - 0 views

www.space.com/launch-into-orbit-tonight.html

scibyte54 iss

shared by Mars Base on 14 Jul 12 - No Cached
  • July 14
  • NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency spaceflyer Akihiko Hoshide 
  • part of the space station's Expedition 32 mission, and is due to stay for about four months.
  • ...10 more annotations...
  • Three veteran space travelers from three different countries are gearing up to launch toward the International Space Station
  • will join the three spaceflyers already living on the space station: commander Gennady Padalka of Russia, his cosmonaut colleague Sergei Revin, and NASA astronaut Joe Acaba, who have all been in space since May.
  • Malenchenko: Malenchenko, 50, is a colonel in the Russian Air Force and will command the Soyuz spacecraft for Russia's Federal Space Agency. He is making his third trip
  • first long-duration spaceflight aboard Russia's Mir space station.
  • Sunita Williams: Williams, 46, hails from Needham, Mass., and is a U.S. Navy captain making her second long-duration spaceflight
  • Williams currently holds the world record for most spacewalks by a woman (four) and the most time in space by a female astronaut (195 days
  • Akhiko Hoshide: Hoshide, 44, is an astronaut with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and is making his second spaceflight
  • Hoshide first flew to the space station in 2008
  • to deliver Japan's huge Kibo laboratory module to the International Space Station.
  • Through the remainder of this year, 200 experiments will be performed
Mars Base

Private Manned Space Capsule Passes Big Review | Space.com - 0 views

www.space.com/ace-capsule-design-review.html

scibyte54 SpaceX

shared by Mars Base on 14 Jul 12 - No Cached
  • The crewed version of SpaceX's Dragon space capsule has passed a key design review, moving one step closer to carrying astronauts into orbit, NASA officials announced
  • July 12).
  • company officials gave NASA details about every phase of a potential crewed Dragon mission to the International Space Station
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • outlined how it plans to modify its launch pads to support such a mission
  • discussed the Dragon capsule's docking capabilities, living arrangements, weight and power requirements and potential ground landing sites
  • designed to carry seven astronauts
  • also presented studies that showed how its launch abort system, which is known as SuperDraco, would perform if an emergency occurred shortly after liftoff
  • company told NASA how it would attempt to safeguard astronauts if something unexpected occurred on the way to orbit, in space or during the trip home
  • ready to move on to the next phase and on target to fly people into space aboard Dragon by the middle of the decade
  • SpaceX is one of four companies — along with Blue Origin, Boeing and Sierra Nevada Corp. — to receive funding over the last two years from NASA's Commercial Crew Program. CCP
  • NASA hopes at least two of these firms can have vehicles up and running by 2017
Mars Base

Personalized medicine closer to reality: Study uses stem cells to study variants of Par... - 0 views

medicalxpress.com/...icine-closer-reality-stem.html

GrabBag Parkinson's

shared by Mars Base on 16 Jul 12 - No Cached
  • A nationwide consortium of scientists at 20 institutions, led by a principal faculty member at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI), has used stem cells to take a major step toward developing personalized medicine to treat Parkinson’s disease
  • scientists created induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) from the skin cells of patients and at-risk individuals carrying genetic mutations implicated in Parkinson’s disease
  • used those cells to derive neural cells
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • researchers report that although approximately 15 genetic mutations are linked to forms of Parkinson
  • researchers determined that certain compounds or drugs could reverse some signs of disease in the cultured cells with specific genetic mutations
  • suggest new opportunities for clinical trials of Parkinson’s disease, wherein cell reprogramming technology could be used to identify the patients most likely to respond to a particular intervention
  • this study points the way to screening patients with Parkinson’s for their particular variation of the disease
  • drugs shown effective to work on that variation
Mars Base

Company offers first true smartphone for the blind (w/ Video) - 0 views

phys.org/...any-true-smartphone-video.html

ScreenReader GrabBag

shared by Mars Base on 16 Jul 12 - No Cached
  • a suite of apps that turn a conventional phone running Android into a new way to use the phone
  • Instead of the usual mass of icons, the Georgie, as the company calls it, comes with a simple menu that offers auditory feedback and features that are important and useful to those who cannot see.
  • real world useful applications such as telling the user which direction they are facing, or where the nearest bus stop is
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • menus can be easily traversed by simply running the fingers across them, a voice calls out their function
  • Georgie can be purchased as a set of apps for those that already have a phone, or as a complete system, i.e. phones with preinstalled apps
  • comes with a single basic app that allows for performing functions such as dialing and voice dictation and has useful features such as “Places” that announce direction and can be loaded with known hazards such as low hanging tree branches or potholes
  • three different apps packages to choose from
  • “Travelers” app that features “Near Me,” which calls out place names such as restaurants, bus stops, stores, etc. along with weather reports
  • “Lifestyle” offers an ability to listen to newspaper and magazine articles or even whole books
  • “Communicate” helps users connect socially by helping them record, translate to text and then send twitter or text messages
  • basic app costs $230 and each add-on adds an additional $39. Most would consider this quite cheap however, as other systems total in the thousands and aren’t nearly as mobile.
Mars Base

DARPA puts out fires with sound and science | Geek.com - 0 views

www.geek.com/...ith-sound-and-science-20120716

Scibyte55 SoundFireExtinguisher

shared by Mars Base on 17 Jul 12 - No Cached
  • first video shows fire being extinguished with two speakers blasting out sounds at a specific frequency
  • sound creates an acoustic field that increases air velocity and fuel vaporization, disrupting the flame by spreading its heat over a larger area
  • both demonstrations are only at the proof-of-concept stage
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • isn’t sure whether either can be scaled up to work inside a military vehicle
Mars Base

Researchers find evidence of link between immune irregularities and autism - 0 views

medicalxpress.com/...une-irregularities-autism.html

GrabBag Autism

shared by Mars Base on 18 Jul 12 - No Cached
  • new Caltech study suggests that specific changes in an overactive immune system can contribute to autism-like behaviors in mice
  • remained unanswered
  • whether the immune changes play a causative role in the development of the disease or are merely a side effect
  • ...11 more annotations...
  • new Caltech study suggests that specific changes in an overactive immune system can indeed contribute to autism-like behaviors in mice
  • have long suspected that the immune system plays a role in the development of autism spectrum disorder
  • Several large epidemiological studies—including one that involved tracking the medical history of every person born in Denmark between 1980 and 2005—have found a correlation between viral infection during the first trimester of a mother's pregnancy and a higher risk for autism spectrum disorder in her child
  • researchers characterized the immune system of the offspring of mothers that had been infected and found that the offspring display a number of immune changes
  • Some of those changes parallel those seen in people with autism,
  • alterations add up to an immune system in overdrive—one that promotes inflammation
  • researchers were able to correct many of the autism-like behaviors in the offspring of immune-activated mothers by giving the offspring a bone-marrow transplant from typical mice
  • because the work was conducted in mice, the results cannot be readily extrapolated to humans
  • bone-marrow transplants should be considered as a treatment for autism
  • In future studies, the researchers plan to examine the effects of highly targeted anti-inflammatory treatments on mice that display autism-related behaviors and immune changes
  • also interested in considering the gastrointestinal (GI) bacteria
Mars Base

Eye implants make vision-restoring progress - 0 views

medicalxpress.com/...implants-vision-restoring.html

Scibyte55 RestoringVision

shared by Mars Base on 18 Jul 12 - No Cached
  • Second Sight’s Argus II, a retinal prosthesis already on the market in Europe
  • Bio-Retina from NanoRetina, which is to start clinical trials next year
  • Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System was developed to provide electrical stimulation of the retina to induce visual perception
  • ...17 more annotations...
  • system includes an antenna, an electronics case, and electrode array
  • designed to bypass damaged photoreceptors altogether
  • video camera in the glasses captures a scene
  • video is sent to a small patient-worn computer VPU where it is processed and transformed into instructions sent back to the glasses via a cable
  • transmitted wirelessly to the antenna in the implant
  • signals are sent to the electrode array, which emits small pulses of electricity. The pulses bypass the damaged photoreceptors and stimulate the retina’s remaining
  • Users of the Argus II bionic eye say that they can see rough shapes and track the movement of objects; they can slowly read large writing.
  • Anticipation is high, meanwhile, for a bionic retina that has been designed to restore sight at less cost and with a different technique
  • Bio-Retina developed by Nano Retina does not make use of an external camera
  • vision-restoring sensor is placed inside the eye, on top of the damaged retina
  • 24×24-resolution (576-pixel) sensor atop the damaged retina. The device generates a grayscale image
  • implant is inserted through an incision in the eye
  • procedure takes 30 minutes and requires only local anesthesia
  • transforms naturally received light into an electrical signal that stimulates the neurons, which send the pictures received by Bio-Retina to the brain
  • rechargeable, battery-powered mini-laser on a pair of eyeglasses powers the implant wirelessly
  • anticipated recover time is up to one week
  • patients able to distinguish faces and to be able to look from side to side with their eyes rather than needing to turn their heads
Mars Base

Bio-Retina Implant Could Give Laser-Powered Sight to the Blind | Popular Science - 0 views

www.popsci.com/...d-give-sight-blind-laser-power

Scibyte55 RestoringVision

shared by Mars Base on 18 Jul 12 - No Cached
  • The near-infrared laser beam, gentle enough to shine harmlessly through the eye onto the implant, provides up to three milliwatts of power to a photovoltaic cell on the eye implant
  • Six hundred needle electrodes (wrapped in biocompatible silicon and sapphire to prevent the formation of scar tissue) penetrate the retina
Mars Base

Bionic retina runs on laser power - 0 views

optics.org/1

Scibyte55 RestoringVision

shared by Mars Base on 18 Jul 12 - No Cached
  • tiny implant that is inserted into the eye and attached to the retina in a minimally invasive procedure no more complicated than conventional cataract surgery
  • consists of photodetectors, microelectrodes and electronic circuitry that act together to replace the eye’s natural photoreceptors that have been damaged by AMD and feed visual information to the brain
  • photoreceptors in a healthy retina convert light into a series of electrical signals which are transmitted to the brain via complex neural pathways
  • ...14 more annotations...
  • AMD, the photoreceptors do not function, which prevents the brain from receiving these signals from the eyes
  • bio-retina implant is essentially a combined imaging circuit and neural interface which is glued rather than sutured to a patient’s macula
  • area of the retina responsible for high-resolution central vision
  • Measuring 3 x 4 mm and 1 mm thick, the implant is designed to capture light through the normal optical track of the eyeball and stimulate neurons to transmit information to the brain, essentially restoring the function of the damaged photoreceptors
  • Light incident on the implant is collected by an array of CMOS pixels
  • first-generation bio-retina will use an array of 600 pixels, although the aim is to increase this to 5000 pixels in future generations
  • Nano Retina has dedicated a substantial amount of time developing a proprietary algorithm that translates the received visual information and image into the neuron language
  • translating circuitry that discriminates 100 gray-scale levels and responds to varying light levels. It is a sophisticated process
  • implant uses an array of micro-electrodes that first penetrate into the retina, then connect closely to the neurons and thereafter transmit the information. The goal is that every pixel will connect to a neuron, so that every pixel in the array would use a micro-electrode
  • neurons must be stimulated electrically
  • the bio-retina implant also requires a source of electrical power
  • Patients who undergo surgery to implant a bio-retina will need to wear a special set of glasses
  • glasses feature a built-in battery and an infrared diode laser. “The infrared laser light is transmitted into the eye and captured by a miniature photovoltaic cell on the bio-retina
  • harvests the energy, which in turn powers the electronic circuitry. Our goal is for the imager and the electronics to consume no more than 1mW
Mars Base

Mission Highlights: SpaceX's Dragon Makes History - YouTube - 0 views

www.youtube.com/watch

GrabBag SpaceX

shared by Mars Base on 18 Jul 12 - No Cached
  • video features highlights from the mission
Mars Base

Spitzer Finds Possible Exoplanet Smaller than Earth - NASA Spitzer Space Telescope - 0 views

www.spitzer.caltech.edu/...e-Exoplanet-Smaller-than-Earth

scibyte55 exoplanet

shared by Mars Base on 18 Jul 12 - No Cached
  • Astronomers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have detected what they believe is a planet two-thirds the size of Earth. The exoplanet candidate, called UCF-1.01, is located a mere 33 light-years away, making it possibly the nearest world to our solar system that is smaller than our home planet. 
  • strong evidence for a very small, very hot and very near planet
  • new-planet candidate was found unexpectedly
  • ...16 more annotations...
  • studying the Neptune-sized exoplanet GJ 436b, already known to exist around the red-dwarf star GJ 436
  • In the Spitzer data, the astronomers noticed slight dips in the amount of infrared light streaming from the star, separate from the dips caused by GJ 436b
  • review of Spitzer archival data showed the dips were periodic, suggesting a second planet might be orbiting the star and blocking out a small fraction of the star's light. 
  • diameter would be approximately 5,200 miles (8,400 kilometers), or two-thirds that of Earth
  • revolve
  • about seven times the distance of Earth from the moon, with its "year" lasting only 1.4 Earth days
  • the exoplanet's surface temperature would be more than 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit (almost 600 degrees Celsius
  • might therefore resemble a cratered, mostly geologically dead world like Mercury
  • another possibility; that the extreme heat of orbiting so close to GJ 436 has melted the exoplanet's surface
  • colleagues noticed hints of a third planet
  • Spitzer has observed evidence of the two new planets several times each
  • even the most sensitive instruments are unable to measure exoplanet masses as small
  • mass is required for confirming a discovery
  • cautiously calling both bodies exoplanet candidates for now.
  • 1,800 stars identified by NASA' Kepler space telescope as candidates for having planetary systems, just three are verified to contain sub-Earth-sized exoplanets
  • only one exoplanet is thought to be smaller than the Spitzer candidates
Mars Base

Daytime Lightning on Saturn Spotted by Cassini Spacecraft | Space.com - 0 views

www.space.com/lightning-cassini-picture.html

scibyte55 SaturnLightning cassini

shared by Mars Base on 18 Jul 12 - No Cached
  • Cassini orbiter captured the daytime lightning on Saturn as bright blue spots inside a giant storm that raged on the planet last year
  • NASA unveiled the new Saturn lightning photos Wednesday (July 18), adding that the images came as a big surprise
  • The fact that Cassini was able to detect the lightning means that it was very intense."
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • blue filter on the spacecraft's main camera recorded the lightning flashes
  • scientists then exaggerated the blue tint in order to pin down the lightning's location and size
  • analysis of the new images revealed that the energy from the visible lightning flashes alone could have spiked up to 3 billion watts over one second
  • on par with some of the strongest lightning flashes on Earth.  
  • the lightning on Saturn was spotted across a region 100 miles (160 kilometers
  • Cassini spotted eight daytime lightning flashes on Saturn, five in one part of the storm and three in an another
  • storm wrapped completely around Saturn at its peak and is the longest-lived storm ever seen on the ringed planet. It began in December 2010 and lasted about 200 days, finally sputtering out in late June 2011
  • mystery that remains is why the daytime Saturn lightning only turned up in Cassini's blue imaging filter
  • Scientists aren't sure if that means the lightning is actually blue in color, or if it's due to a short exposure time of the camera that helps the camera filter detect the lightning
Mars Base

Alien Planet Smaller Than Earth Covered in Lava | Space.com - 0 views

www.space.com/-lava-world-smaller-earth.html

scibyte55 exoplanet

shared by Mars Base on 18 Jul 12 - No Cached
  • Spitzer may be able to discover exoplanets as small as Mars
  • Even after almost nine years in space, Spitzer's observations continue to take us in new and important scientific directions
Mars Base

Storm Scents: It's True, You Can Smell Oncoming Summer Rain: Scientific American - 0 views

www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm

scibyte55 SmellStorm

shared by Mars Base on 19 Jul 12 - No Cached
  • When people say they can smell a storm coming, they're right
  • Weather patterns produce distinctive odors that sensitive noses sniff out.
  • Before the rain begins, one of the first odors you may notice
  • ...13 more annotations...
  • is a sweet, pungent zing in your nostrils
  • fresh aroma of ozone
  • Petrichor
  • occurs when airborne molecules from decomposing plant or animal matter become attached to mineral or clay surfaces
  • when the rains came, the redolent combination of fatty acids, alcohols and hydrocarbons is released
  • Petrichor potpourri
  • Falling water disturbs and displaces odoriferous molecules on surfaces, particularly on dry ones, and carry them into the
  • happen to be near vegetation, these molecules may come from plants and trees
  • rise up from concrete and asphalt
  • Damp earth
  • After a storm has moved through
  • aroma of geosmin, a metabolic by-product of bacteria or blue-green algae
  • Microbiologist Keith Chater at the John Innes Center in England has proposed that geosmin's fragrance may be a beacon, helping camels find their way to desert oases
Mars Base

Victoria's Secret Designer is Giving Private Spaceflight a Makeover | Popular Science - 0 views

www.popsci.com/...g-private-spaceflight-makeover

GrabBag PrivateSpaceTravel

shared by Mars Base on 19 Jul 12 - No Cached
  • employee
  • former Roscosmos
  • designer famous for crafting the Victoria’s Secret angel wings are teaming to create next-generation space suits for the commercial spaceflight industry in Brooklyn
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • cleared its funding goal on Kickstarter by more than $7,000, and is on its way to developing a new breed of intra-vehicular space suit.
  • designed with the space tourism market in mind
  • Kickstarter pitch, FFD is trying to construct their suit and put it on the way toward NASA certification by the end of the
  • 3G suit could be skirting the heavens aboard commercial space vehicles within the next few years
  • Building on earlier iterations of spacesuits they’ve designed
  • focusing on extending the operating pressure envelope, reducing weight, and--perhaps most importantly--trimming the per suit price
  • trying to bring a suit to market for $50,000
Mars Base

Cassini spots daytime lightning on Saturn - 0 views

phys.org/...-daytime-lightning-saturn.html

GrabBag SaturnLightning

shared by Mars Base on 19 Jul 12 - No Cached
  • mark the first time scientists have detected lightning in visible wavelengths on the side of Saturn illuminated by the sun
  • appear brightest in the blue filter of Cassini's imaging camera on March 6, 2011
  • intensity of the flash is comparable to the strongest flashes on Earth
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • approximately 100 miles (200 kilometers) in diameter when it exits the tops of the clouds
  • scientists deduce that the lightning bolts originate in the clouds deeper down in Saturn's atmosphere where water droplets freeze
  • analogous to where lightning is created in Earth's atmosphere.
  • In one composite image, they recorded five flashes, and in another, three flashes
Mars Base

Egg In Tiny Doses Curbs Allergy - Science News - 0 views

www.sciencenews.org/...gg_in_tiny_doses_curbs_allergy

scibyte55 AllergyTreatment

shared by Mars Base on 19 Jul 12 - No Cached
  • Exposure to increasing amounts of egg every day over two years can seemingly rid some children of an egg allergy
  • gradual introduction into the diet appears to re-train the immune system
  • Many other children in the study developed an ability to cope with small amounts of egg without a serious reaction — but only while being treated
  • ...17 more annotations...
  • interest in providing protection from an accidental reaction” than in having the child gain a new food group
  • 55 children ages 5 to 11 with egg allergies, confirmed by skin-prick tests, medical history and the presence of antibodies to egg protein
  • All of them got an unmarked powder added to their food daily
  • Forty kids were randomly assigned to receive the egg treatment and 15 got cornstarch as a control
  • treatment amounted to a few grains of powdered egg white on the first day and gradually grew to the equivalent of one-third of an egg
  • After 22 months, 30 of the 40 children getting the treatment were able to consume 10 grams of powdered egg white without having a visible reaction
  • Five of the 40 did have a reaction to the egg test, as did all children in the placebo group
  • Another five children who had allergic reactions to the initial treatment dropped out of the study early on
  • Four to six weeks after stopping treatment, the children who didn’t react to the egg test got tested again
  • with 10 grams of egg white powder plus a cooked egg
  • Eleven passed that test. A year later, 10 of them were eating eggs at will
  • remaining challenges will be to identify beforehand which children are the most likely to benefit from the treatment
  • predictions may emerge from tests of their immune cells and proteins
  • blood tests of kids whose treatment succeeded showed an accumulation of positive immune changes during treatment
  • reaction. Whether those changes are permanent is unknown
  • about 10 percent of children given this type of oral treatment for egg, peanut or milk allergies — including roughly that fraction in this study — have reactions early and drop out, Burks says. “For a small group of kids, this isn’t the right therapy
  • Don’t try this at home. The Food and Drug Administration would need to approve an oral treatment for clinical use.
Mars Base

Alzheimer's: A Ray of Hope? Just Perhaps Maybe | Talking back, Scientific American Blog... - 0 views

blogs.scientificamerican.com/...ray-of-hope-just-perhaps-maybe

scibyte55 Alzheimer

shared by Mars Base on 19 Jul 12 - No Cached
  • pharmaceutical company Baxter International reported
  • a drug that, if it works in larger clinical trials now under way, might actually stabilize patients and stop disease progression
  • Gammagard, or intravenous immunoglobulin, a soup of antibodies extracted from blood donors and already approved for some immune disorders, halted for three years  any decline in cognition and in the ability to perform everyday tasks for four patients who received  the highest dose
  • ...13 more annotations...
  • Four patients
  • may be nothing
  • for sure
  • the drug may falter and go by the wayside as it makes its way through the clinical trials pipeline
  • results still intrigued some in the research community
  • Results from late-stage clinical trials next year will show whether these four were patients who just happened to have plateaued for a while during their inevitable decline
  • initial findings are encouraging, they are extremely preliminary
  • Until the results of the larger double-blind Phase 3 results demonstrate a significant benefit, intravenous immunoglobulin’s role in the treatment of AD is unproven
  • If later trials succeed, the results would give credence to the idea that Alzheimer’s usual suspect—a toxic peptide called amyloid-beta—is, in fact, the major heavy in the neurodegeneration
  • positive Phase III trial next year will mean, though, that the real work lies ahead
  • The drug, not covered by insurers, is already used off-label to treat Alzheimer’s by some rich patients who can afford to shell out $50,000 a year from their own pockets
  • If one day insurers were to cover Gammagard, not enough supply would exist for the donor-based drug—and shortages would make life difficult for  patients already using it for immune conditions
  • promising outcome for the drug trial may serve more as a proof of principle
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