Hacking the brain of the veterinarian.

Dr. Jane Smith owns a large companion animal practice in Nirvana Corners, USA. She’s a high producer. She’s beloved by clients. Staff members call her brilliant. She is also called her “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” behind her back. They say she’s dismissive. She throws frequent tantrums. She’ll cut you to the bone with insensitive comments. Turnover in her clinic is high. New hires are cautioned by those who stay to be careful. The psychology of change in veterinary profession ,continue

LASUTH performs another successful Kidney transplants .

The Chief Medical Director of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, Professor Wale Oke, yesterday announced the 2nd successful kidney transplants performed by a team of indigenous medical experts in the hospital. Oke who explained that the feat was the second successful kidney transplant by the hospital said the institution has perfected plans to make the it a routine. According to him, “60 percent of patients seen on wheel chair at international airport here in Lagos have to do with kidney issues, and most of them are going to India or the US for transplant. A lot of foreign exchange are also involved. “One thing unique about this exercise is that the experts were all Nigerians and from LASUTH apart from one” The elated Chief Medical Director who explained that a total of two successful transplants were carried out at an affordable cost. The elated Chief Medical Director who explained that a total of two successful transplants were carried out at an affordable cost. He disclosed that the surgery was not free but at minimal cost of about N4.5 million compare to N8 million charged elsewhere. Warning that LASUTH would not accept commercial donors for organ transplant, said right now the cost of the surgery covers cost of drugs for a period of six months. The leader of the team, an Associate Professor of Medicine and Consultant Nephrologist, Dr Olugbenga. Awobusuyi said the team is not limiting services to kidney transplant but expanding to heart and other organ transplants. He said the two transplants which involved four patients lasted for about seven hours. Awobusuyi said the patients are recuperating in the ward and would be discharge by next week.He

Cannabis Tampons .

Women who suffer from painful menstrual cramps sympathize with the debilitating discomfort that arrives monthly like clockwork. Motrin, Midol and Advil can take a back seat, however, because there’s apparently a new remedy for cramps: Cannabis tampons. The company Foria, makers of marijuana-infused personal lubricant, created “relief suppositories” made out of cannabis. According to Foria’s site, these suppositories “maximize the muscle relaxing and pain relieving properties of cannabis without inducing a psychotropic ‘high.'” Foria’s tampons, which cost $44 for a 4-pack, are made with only three ingredients: cocoa butter, distilled THC Oil and CBD Isolate (99.99%) from organically-grown hemp. CBD Isolate is one of “two key active cannabinoid compounds found in cannabis,” the other being THC, Foria explains on its website. One reviewer of the suppositories claims that the pill “smells like cookie dough and cocoa butter.” Foria says their primary focus is on relieving pain, with an intention to “share the powerful medicinal properties of this plant while utilizing modern extraction techniques to standardize purity and potency.” Creating a tampon, rather than a pill per se, helps “deliver the medicine directly to where it is needed most.” continue

Malaria vaccine.

3.2 billion people are currently at risk of contracting malaria, thus scientists have experimentally developed a live, genetically attenuated vaccine for Plasmodium. The vaccine made from plasmodium responsible for the disease by identifying and deleting one of the parasite's genes, the scientists enabled it to induce an effective, long-lasting immune response in a mouse model. An effective vaccine is needed to combat this disease, but the complex biological make-up of Plasmodium and the many strategies the parasite has evolved to outmaneuver the host immune response mean that developing a malaria vaccine is a difficult task. One notable feature of patients infected by the malaria parasite is the difficulty in mounting a long-lasting protective immune response. Premunition, or relative immunity, is only acquired after several years of exposure. An important feature during malaria infection is that the parasite prevents the establishment of immunological memory. continue

Surgeons in India Embrace 3D Technology.

22 surgeries have been conducted in the the Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital in Jaipur, India . The country have relied upon advanced 3D technology to aid in precision medical interventions. Each of these cases involved a patient with cholelithiasis disease, the medical term for the presence of stones in the gallbladder. However, recently surgeons also relied upon a 3D printed model to provide valuable information for an operation to be performed on the craniovertebral junction – the first such neurosurgical application of the technology in the country. While gallbladder surgery may be less glamorous than, say, neurosurgery, it is still no casual undertaking. A botched gallbladder surgery can lead to a significant number of complications, including death, and surgeons are eager to utilize technology to its fullest advantage to minimize any difficulties. Technologies such as the CT scan and the insertion of miniature cameras have helped advance the positive outcomes of such surgeries and it is predicted the integration of 3D technologies can only further improve that performance. As explained by Dr. Jeevan Kankaria, Associate Professor of General and Laparoscopy Surgery at SMS. The 3D image that guides surgeons during the performance of the surgery is achieved by inserting two cameras into the area receiving the intervention, thereby creating a 3D image on the screen viewed by the surgeons during performance. Not only is it predicted that the use of these 3D technologies will help reduce the complications and other negative side effects of having this type of surgery, it is also believed that they will lower the overall cost for medical treatment as well as reduce the amount of time required to perform the surgery.Continue

New strategies against mosquitoes and other pests.

South America is fighting a battle against tiger mosquitoes that transmit yellow fever, dengue fever and the Zika virus. In Central Europe, wine and fruit growers fear another year of massive crop failures due to a type of vinegar fly known as the spotted-wing drosophila. Since the success rate of conventional methods continues to fall, researchers are developing new species-specific strategies that keep pests under control without resorting to environmental toxins. Fraunhofer researchers in Gießen are developing new species-specific strategies that keep pests under control without resorting to environmental toxins. Schetelig is an expert on the sterile insect technique, or SIT, in which the mass release of sterile males decimates the population of insect pests. With his team of researchers at the LOEWE Center for Insect Biotechnology & Bioresources, which is sponsored by the German state of Hesse, Schetelig is developing methods that increase the effectiveness of the sterile insect technique and allow it to be transferred to other insect pests. continue

GSK and Google just created a £540m bioelectronic health firm.

Google’s parent company and pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline have created a new company to research, develop and commercialise bioelectronic medicines. Galvani Bioelectronics will be based in Stevenage and receive investment of up to £540 million over the next seven years from Alphabet-owned Verily Life Sciences (formerly Google Life Sciences) and GSK. The two companies will take 55 per cent and 45 per cent equity in the new firm. Galvani will develop miniaturised, implantable devices that can monitor nerve signals in the body. These devices could tackle irregular or altered impulses that occur in many chronic illnesses such as arthritis, diabetes and asthma. The system works by using electrical impulses to alter nerve system signals triggered by chronic illnesses. Once developed, the bioelectronic devices are likely to be similar in size of a medical pill and would be implanted using keyhole surgery. The one-off treatment could potentially last decades, doing away with the need for regular medication. Major hurdles for Galvani include powering the devices and ensuring that can function for years inside the body. Continue