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CellSight Contributes Light-Sensitive Retinal Organoids and RPE Cells to New AMD Study

  Department of Ophthalmology Written by  Kara Mason  | December 06, 2023 A partnership between ophthalmology researchers at the  University of Colorado School of Medicine  and Johns Hopkins University expands the understanding of how oxidative stress contributes to the development of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). To study the roles oxidative stress, a condition in which the body lacks antioxidants, and hypoxia play in the progression of AMD, Johns Hopkins University researchers turned to  CellSight , the ocular stem cell and regeneration research program in the  CU Department of Ophthalmology,  for tools that allow researchers to explore specific conditions relevant to AMD. Using human-induced pluripotent stem cells, a type of stem cells that are generated or induced-from cells obtained from an adult person's skin or blood,  CellSight  investigators can recreate human retinal tissue in the lab. “We generate retinal orga

Artificial pancreas ... an option

Coming Soon: 'Artificial Pancreas' Options for Diabetes Miriam E Tucker June 20, 2016   NEW ORLEANS — Nearly closed-loop systems (also referred to as an "artificial pancreas") for improving glycemic control and minimizing hypoglycemia in type 1 diabetes are advancing rapidly, including iterations that deliver insulin alone, insulin with glucagon, or glucagon alone. Findings for several of the products in development demonstrating improvements in glycemic control and reductions in hypoglycemia were presented here at the  American Diabetes Association (ADA) 2016 Scientific Sessions . "Some people may do well on insulin only, while others may need glucagon," Vincent Crabtree, PhD, director of the artificial pancreas program at JDRF, in New York, told  Medscape Medical News , adding, "JDRF would like people to have choice, and we'd like all to be covered [by payers]." The insulin-only hybrid closed-loop 670G system (Medtronic MiniMed) is the

Erythropoietin as a Retinal Angiogenic Factor in Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy

Although vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a primary mediator of retinal angiogenesis, VEGF inhibition alone is insufficient to prevent retinal neovascularization. Hence, it is postulated that there are other potent ischemia-induced angiogenic factors. Erythropoietin possesses angiogenic activity, but its potential role in ocular angiogenesis is not established. METHODS We measured both erythropoietin and VEGF levels in the vitreous fluid of 144 patients with the use of radioimmunoassay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Vitreous proliferative potential was measured according to the growth of retinal endothelial cells in vitro and with soluble erythropoietin receptor. In addition, a murine model of ischemia-induced retinal neovascularization was used to evaluate erythropoietin expression and regulation in vivo. RESULTS The median vitreous erythropoietin level in 73 patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy was significantly higher than that in 71 patients with

New Aspirin Guide Mobile app helping clinicians and patients... both

New Aspirin-Guide mobile app helps clinicians and patients make informed decisions about aspirin use Posted in:  Device / Technology News  |  Medical Research News  |  Medical Condition News  |  Pharmaceutical News Published on June 21, 2016 at 12:15 PM Low dose aspirin is recommended by clinicians as a preventive measure for patients who have already had a heart attack or stroke, but the risk of taking low-dose aspirin to prevent or delay a first heart attack or stroke is less clear, as the benefit for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) must be balanced with the increased risk of gastrointestinal or other bleeding. To help clinicians and patients make informed decisions about aspirin use, researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital have developed a new, free, mobile app, "Aspirin-Guide" that calculates both the CVD risk score and the bleeding risk score for the individual patient, and helps clinicians decide which patients are appropriate candidates for

Penicillin redux: Rearming proven warriors for the 21st century

Penicillin, one of the scientific marvels of the 20 th century, is currently losing a lot of battles it once won against bacterial infections. But scientists at the University of South Carolina have just reported a new approach to restoring its combat effectiveness, even against so-called "superbugs." Bacteria have been chipping away at the power of the penicillin family of drugs since their first wide-scale use as antibiotics in the 1940s. For example, the staph infection, brought about by the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, was once readily treated with penicillin and its molecular cousins. But that bug has changed. In the 1960s, a new strain arrived, termed MRSA for methicillin- (or sometimes multidrug-) resistant S. aureus. It has become a serious public health problem because the earliest deployed antibiotics are often useless against the new strain, and its prevalence has only increased since it was first observed. MRSA (pronounced mer-suh) is sometimes cal