New pill can deliver insulin

Oral Doses of Insulin

A drug capsule has been established by an MIT headed research group which could be utilised to supply oral doses of insulin. This could possibly be a replacing injection that patients with type 1 diabetes are administered daily.

The capsule which is the size of a blueberry comprises of a miniature needle of compressed insulin that is injected when the capsule is said to reach the stomach. Researchers on conducting test on animals have portrayed that they can deliver adequate insulin to lower blood sugar levels in comparison to the product created through injections on skin.

Moreover they have also verified that the device could be adjusted to delivery other protein drugs also. A member of MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and one of the senior authors of the study, Robert Langer, the David H. Koch Institute Professor, had commented that `they are hopeful that this new kind of capsule could someday help diabetic patients and anyone needing therapies could now be given through injection or infusion.

Innovative Capsule 

An assistant professor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School and a visiting scientist in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, where he is beginning as a faculty member in 2019, is Giovanni Traverso. Treverso is also a senior author of the research. The first author of the paper which had appeared in the issue of Science on Feb 7 is said to be a MIT graduate student, Alex Abramson.

The research team comprises of scientists from the pharmaceutical company – Novo Nordisk. Traverso Langer together with his colleagues had developed a pill with several tiny needles, some years ago.

These could be utilised to inject drugs in the lining of the stomach or the small intestine. The researchers had altered the design in the case of the innovative capsule, by having a single needle enabling them to avoid injecting drugs in the stomach. Here they could be fragmented down by the acids in the stomach prior to any effect.

Compressed Freeze-Dried Insulin

The tip of the needle is said to be made of almost 100% compressed freeze-dried insulin, utilising the same procedure to form tablets of medicine. The shaft of the needle that does not enter the stomach is said to be made from biodegradable substance. The needle within the capsule is linked to a compressed spring which is held in position by a sugary disc.

When the capsule is consumed, water in the stomach tends to dissolve the sugar disk releasing the spring, thereby injecting the needle in the wall of the stomach. The researchers are of the belief that since the stomach wall does not tend to have pain receptors, the patients would be incapable of feeling the injection.

To warrant that the drug is injected in the stomach, they designed this system ensuring that however the capsule reaches the stomach, it could orient itself and enable the needle to remain in contact with the stomach’s lining. . Traveso had commented that `as soon as the patient takes it, he would want the system to self-right so that he could ensure contact with the tissue’.

Traverso has also mentioned that his motivation is to ensure to make it easy for the patients in taking medication, especially those which would need an injection. The classic one being insulin, though there are several others on the list.

Mosquito Repellent that comes from Bacteria?

Anyone who’s been bitten by a mosquito knows how irritating they can be. The itch can last for days and can really disturb you from your sleep. So you decide to get rid of them using various methods including spraying your room full of mosquito repellent or applying generous amounts of a cream to prevent mosquito bites. Most of the time these don’t work or raise health concerns, so the alternative? A mosquito repellent made from Bacteria. Yes you read right.Bacteria.

A Mosquito Repellent made form Bacteria:

The mosquito repellent is in the form of a compound extracted from a particular form of bacteria. This so called new type of mosquito repellent is capable of preventing a mosquito bite at low doses as compared to other effective brands such as DEET and picaridin. This mosquito repellent extracted from bacteria is found to protect an individual from mosquitos that are known to carry the Zika virus, West Nile, Chikungunya, malaria and other diseases that effects millions of people across the globe.

The natural chemical so extracted form bacteria is called fabclavines and is still not tested suitable for humans. But according to researchers just knowing that there is a compound out there that could repel mosquitoes is enough to merit further exploration into the idea.

The Experiment to Find a New Kind of Mosquito Repellent: 

Researchers found out that these extracts from the bacteria did not kill mosquitos. But when sprayed on their food, they refused to eat it. A new experiment was thought of to test the bacteria compound’s potential.

Researchers used a skin like membrane that contained something to mimic blood as well as a number of cloth coverings to sit atop the skin like membrane. These cloth coverings would be coated with the repellents being tested out.

Researchers used DEET, picardin and plain water to test the efficacy of each in preventing a mosquito bite. Researchers then allowed the mosquitoes to feed for 30 mins by which time they would then freeze them and check for red substance that was used to mimic blood and those mosquitoes that remained unfed. The results showed that those mosquitoes that were around a repellent coated cloth did not eat anything. Proving DEET and picardin to be effective in warding off mosquito bites.
Researchers then tested the compound from bacteria and found that mosquitoes too did not feed when the cloth was covered with the bacteria compound. Then researchers compared the efficacy of DEET and picardin with the compound from bacteria in keeping away mosquitoes and found that the compound from the bacteria required 8 times and three times less compound than DEET and picardin in protecting one from a mosquito bite. Using less doses in the mosquito repellent means that the repellent will be much cheaper to make and consequently cheaper to buy.

Researchers are still not sure how this bacteria is a successful mosquito repellent. It may be just that the bacteria compound makes the food taste bad for mosquitoes.

Alternative medicine -1

Traditional medicine is largely mechanistic treating the body as a machine with separate parts to be treated separately. Alternative, or complementary, medicine treats the body holistically, dealing with the whole body in its environment.  In the past alternative methods, many of them ancient have been ignored by physicians. Today, however certain types of alternative medicine are used increasingly to complement traditional methods.

Acupressure: ancient Chinese and Japanese healing massage using fingertips pressure on pain relieving points around the body.  These pressure points lie along the meridians used in Acupuncture. Acupressure balances the flow of Qi or Chi, the energy flowing through the meridians.

Acupuncture: Treatment of illness by sticking special needles into one or more of 2000 specific points that lie along invisible channels called meridians. This ancient Chinese therapy is believed to control the flow of Qi, the energy flowing along the meridians. Used in the treatment of arthritis, allergy, back pain and many other disorders.

Alexander technique: A method used to retain the body’s movements, positions and posture during all activities including sitting or reading. The method, which must be learned from qualified teachers, is believed to encourage good mental and physical health, and resistance to stress, by promoting harmony between mind and body.

Aromatherapy:  Use of concentrated plant oils such as bergamot, eucalyptus or rosemary to treat conditions including stress, headaches and arthritis. Extracts, or essential oils, are massaged into the skin by aroma therapists; they can also be inhaled or added to baths.

Art therapy: Use of drawing and painting to encourage patients to explore and resolve deep seated fears and emotions that they find difficult to express in words. Used to treat addiction, alcoholism, anorexia and other conditions.

Immunization

While immunity is being acquired a person develops symptoms of the disease. But some infections can be prevented b allowing the body to acquire active immunity artificially. This is achieved by the introduction into the body of a vaccine made from dead or weakened micro organisms that are no longer capable of causing the disease itself. When injected into the skin or blood stream9 Or, as in the case of polio vaccine, swallowed) they stimulate B-lymphocytes to produce antibodies but no significant disease symptoms. And if, or when, the body encounters the real disease causing micro organism, it is already protected against infection because the memory cells immediately produce antibodies. Booster shots may be needed at later dates to ensure the active immunity is still effective. Vaccines are available against many formerly dangerous diseases including polio, measles and diphtheria. Immunization programmes for children have virtually eliminated most common childhood diseases, and confer immunity into adult life. But vaccination is advisable for travelers to countries where they may contract potentially fatal diseases not previously encountered.


Sometimes antibodies themselves, from external sources, are injected into the body to provide protection without stimulating the immune system. This is called artificial passive immunity and is useful in providing instant protection where a disease might kill the person before their active immune system has time to come into operation. Examples include gamma globulin, given against hepatitis A infection; am antitoxin to treat tetanus; and anti rabies injection.

Master of health administration online

The economy that is connected with health is actually increasing instead of decreasing like many other business sectors. With the huge Baby Boomer populace hitting senior citizen status, there are plenty of opportunities for people who need quality work with a good paycheck. Also, the health system is the only job in which you increase your own quality of life by directly increasing the quality of life of others, which is highly satisfying to many people.

Everybody is constantly in search of a great position to create a little more income as well as a better lifestyle for themselves and for their families. However, opportunities are scarce in an economy that is still being rocked by the aftermath of the dual banking and housing scandals of 2008. Most people are stuck at a living wage that is certainly decreasing all the time thanks to inflation.

On the other hand, this is not the life that you have to accept. Together with your hard work and the Master of Health Administration online Web programs which could give you your health government diploma, you have a chance to increase your lifestyle without spending hundreds of thousands of dollars. With your expanded set of skills and a few hours spent on a computer daily, you now have an employment resume and educational background that many medical facilities around the world are looking for in a very active way.

On the Web programs tend to be convenient in that they do not require the students to expend gas going to a classroom. There is also no fighting for the attention of the teacher. Classes online additionally usually do not restrict the standard lifestyle of today's modern working individual. In case you have a day job that you have to hold on in order to keep the car note and the mortgage paid in full, then you can definitely accomplish your goal of a higher education without losing money through an online program. You can complete the class assignments on your own time and allow yourself all of the time that you need in order to truly understand the material.

Allergies and Cancer

Allergies

Sometimes the immune system overreacts to a particular substance called an allergen, producing an allergy. This may result from eating certain foods, inhaling particles or exposure of the skin to chemicals. Common allergies include asthma, hay fever, urticaria, farmer’s lung, food allergies and contact dermatitis. Treatments include avoiding allergens and antihistamine drugs. In some cases anaphylactic shock the body reacts so violently to an allergen, such as a wasp sting, that without treatment the patient may die.

Cancer

The body’s tissue cells constantly divide and replace themselves. Some times “rouge” cells divide out of control to produce an abnormal tissue growth or malignant tumor. Diseases involving these tumors are called cancers. If untreated, cancer cells spread from the tumour via the blood stream to other parts of the body where they produce secondary tumours. Eventually, cancer cells overwhelm the body and the patient dies. The risk of developing a cancer may be inherited, or it may be increased by smoking, drinking alcohol or exposure to chemicals. Cancer affects around 25 percent of people in the western world at some point in their lives and is the second most common cause of death after heart disease. Different types of cancers do not occur with the same frequency worldwide. This uneven distribution points to the involvement of environmental factors- such as food intake, smoking or exposure to ultra violet light- as causes of cancer. For example, stomach cancer in Japan and Chile is believed to be related to diets high in salted and pickled food.

Infectious And Non Infectious Diseases

 
Infectious Diseases

 Infections arise when disease causing micro organisms penetrate the body’s physical defenses such as the skin and entire bloodstream and tissues near their route of entry can be by infection of infected droplets, ingestion of contaminated food or water, entry through broken skin, skin to skin contact, injection by needle or other sharp object, sexual contact, insect bites, or by transmission from mother to fetus. In most of the case the body immune system acts to destroy the invading micro organism before it can do harm. Most disease signs and symptoms such as spots in measles- are indicators of the battle between the micro organism and the body’s immune system. In rare cases, the infection may be so virulent that kills the patient before the immune system has time to fight back. Before the 20th century infectious diseases were a major cause of deaths in the world. In developed countries today, deaths from infectious disease have been dramatically reduced, and non infectious diseases such as cancers and heart disease have taken over as major killers. This reduction has been achieved by better public health and sanitation; the use of antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs; and the use of vaccines.

However there is no room for complacency since old diseases such as TB, malaria are again on the increase, some bacteria are now resistant to drugs; many viral conditions are untreatable and new diseases such as AIDS are appearing. Disease causing organisms include viruses, with are non living infectious agents; single celled organisms including bacteria, chlamydiae, rickettsiae, fungi and protists, and multicellular organisms such as parasitic worms. Viruses consist of genetic material surrounded by a protein coat, and cause diseases such as measles, mumps and rabies. Viruses have to invade host cells to reproduce. They lose their outer protein coat and use the host cell’s DNA to replicate their genetic materials. A protein coat is constructed around the rebuilt genetic material and newly formed viruses burst out of the host cell or exit in an envelope and invade other host cells to multiply further.

Non Infectious Diseases 

Non infectious diseases are now the major cause of death in the developed world. The reason for this is that many infectious diseases are now treatable with drugs. Also the incidence of non infectious diseases increases with age, and averaged life expectancy is increasing. Non infectious diseases include circulatory diseases including heart attacks and strokes, in which the blood vessels to the heart or brain becomes blocked; cancers diabetes mellitus, which is the body’s inability to control blood sugar levels; nervous system diseases such as motor neuron disease; respiratory system diseases digestive system diseases ; kidney diseases and allergies. On average, infectious diseases are responsible for just five deaths per 100000 of the population per year in the developed world, as compared with nearly 1000 deaths per 100000 caused by major non infectious diseases.