Medicine Medical Science Thread

[Snake_Baker]

Partial recovery of visual function in a blind patient after optogenetic therapy - Nature Medicine

Combined intraocular injection of an adeno-associated viral vector, encoding an optogenetic sensor, with light stimulation via engineered goggles enables partial recovery of visual function in a blind patient.

www.nature.com

 

[CaptchaProofBot]

been inside a few of these...but haven't seen any of these shenanigans

 

[Werewolf]

Interesting approach and hopefully one day this terrible disease can be prevented:

IBM algorithm can tell who's going to get Alzheimer's by reading their writing

"Given a large volume of spoken or written speech, can you tease out a signal?"

futurism.com

 

[Werewolf]

First woman reported cured of HIV after stem cell transplant

Scientists are a step closer to finding a cure for HIV after a woman receives stem cells from an umbilical cord and goes into remission for 14 months.

www.abc.net.au

A US patient with leukaemia has become the first woman, and the third person to date, to be cured of HIV after receiving a stem cell transplant from a donor who was naturally resistant to the virus that causes AIDS.

 

[CD Xbow]

been inside a few of these...but haven't seen any of these shenanigans

All the fun you can have with an MRI, but don't do it if you have a pacemaker!
The magnetic field strength is out of this world. I've seen one of the techs lob a O2 cylinder into the donut and it just gets captured and hangs in space. At a hospital I worked in many, many years ago, a cleaner ignored the warnings and took one of those large floor buffers into the scan room. He was quite surprised when the buffer levitated itself of the floor and stuck in the donut. We had an image of it which became a popular screen saver in the hospital. I will endeavour to find it.

 

[CaptchaProofBot]

All the fun you can have with an MRI, but don't do it if you have a pacemaker!
The magnetic field strength is out of this world. I've seen one of the techs lob a O2 cylinder into the donut and it just gets captured and hangs in space. At a hospital I worked in many, many years ago, a cleaner ignored the warnings and took one of those large floor buffers into the scan room. He was quite surprised when the buffer levitated itself of the floor and stuck in the donut. We had an image of it which became a popular screen saver in the hospital. I will endeavour to find it.

I had my latest MRI last week, been thinking about getting tattoo(s)...then some reading about heavy metals, carcinogen, carbon black, metallic car paint in the ink...why would you want to inject these into your system...then the show stopper....MRI...I would need regular MRI check ups for the rest of my natural life...so metallic paint into the MRI beast...mmm maybe not.

So I made sure to ask the nurse about tatts and MRI, she told me they rarely have problems now, it's quite safe...they may have slight problems with older people possibly coz of older dodgy inks when nothing was regulated (probably still not now).

Do you have anything to add here ? or anyone else ?

TIA

(my tatts would be more of a peaceful nature...Horticulture, ie. tree roots up the arms...and maybe Dura Mater across the chest, it is an actual anatomical term where my meningioma originates...it means Tough Mother, which I thought is the attitude I should take on to defeat this meningioma, still gotta weigh up the heavy metals aspect of the ink tho).

 

[CD Xbow]

I had my latest MRI last week, been thinking about getting tattoo(s)...then some reading about heavy metals, carcinogen, carbon black, metallic car paint in the ink...why would you want to inject these into your system...then the show stopper....MRI...I would need regular MRI check ups for the rest of my natural life...so metallic paint into the MRI beast...mmm maybe not.

So I made sure to ask the nurse about tatts and MRI, she told me they rarely have problems now, it's quite safe...they may have slight problems with older people possibly coz of older dodgy inks when nothing was regulated (probably still not now).

Do you have anything to add here ? or anyone else ?

TIA

(my tatts would be more of a peaceful nature...Horticulture, ie. tree roots up the arms...and maybe Dura Mater across the chest, it is an actual anatomical term where my meningioma originates...it means Tough Mother, which I thought is the attitude I should take on to defeat this meningioma, still gotta weigh up the heavy metals aspect of the ink tho).

I'm sorry I have no idea about tatts being a problem, though I must say they never appeared on the pre MRI checklist, so my guess would be they are not so much of a problem. Most are organic azo pigments and thus non metallic.

But don't blame me when you skin gets ripped off in the scanner and starts oscillating in time with the flux of the magnetic field.

 

[CaptchaProofBot]

I'm sorry I have no idea about tatts being a problem, though I must say they never appeared on the pre MRI checklist, so my guess would be they are not so much of a problem. Most are organic azo pigments and thus non metallic.

But don't blame me when you skin gets ripped off in the scanner and starts oscillating in time with the flux of the magnetic field.

on the blue form now, there is a question...do you have any tattoo ? (beside the more obvious question of do you have any metallic things in your body...like a pacemaker/cockring for example)

it never crossed my mind filling out that form before an MRI...until i read up on tatts and MRI...light bulb went off...aha...that's why they asked.

(silly me used to think they use your tatts as a guide on your body to aim the radiation gun !!!)

 

[CD Xbow]

on the blue form now, there is a question...do you have any tattoo ? (beside the more obvious question of do you have any metallic things in your body...like a pacemaker/cockring for example)

it never crossed my mind filling out that form before an MRI...until i read up on tatts and MRI...light bulb went off...aha...that's why they asked.

(silly me used to think they use your tatts as a guide on your body to aim the radiation gun !!!)

You got me intrigued by this so I've done a bit of a literature search. There are reports of burning/pulling sensation sometimes and very, very rarely minor burns with tatts.. This seems uncommon and probably relates to specific pigments or contaminates. You will find a few articles suggesting it's dangerous but they are 'speculative' and based on 'opinion' without evidence. Millions of people with tattoos have had MRI without problems. The best paper I found regarding measurement of risk was this one Safety of Tattoos in Persons Undergoing MRI | NEJM

They scanned 330 volunteers with at least one tattoo each in an MRI machine, and analysed each tattoo immediately before and afterwards. In all, the study included 932 tattoos, obtained around the world.

"We found that the majority of the participants did not notice any side effects with tattoos," said physicist Nikolaus Weiskopf of the Max Planck Institute.

"There was one specific case where the study doctor found that side effects - a tingling sensation on the skin - were related to scanning. However, this unpleasant feeling disappeared within 24 hours without the affected person having required medical treatment."

In all the researchers estimated that the probability of an adverse reaction was between 0.17 and 0.3 percent - or 1.7 and 3 in 1,000. That's not a huge risk. There are reports of burns with ferrous pigments but they are very rare. Large tattos and circular designs are thought to increase the potential current and hence risk of burning. That may explain why some folks get burns whilemost don't. It may also have to do with positioning and type/strength of MRI. This paper describes a burn case Tattoo-Induced Skin “Burn” During Magnetic Resonance Imaging in a Professional Football Player

Confusingly, another paper tried to measure heating effects but found none.

Here is a useful patient information sheet that covers the issues well Getting An MRI with Tattoos

Ferrous inks can affect the quality of an MRI.

 

[CaptchaProofBot]

You got me intrigued by this so I've done a bit of a literature search. There are reports of burning/pulling sensation sometimes and very, very rarely minor burns with tatts.. This seems uncommon and probably relates to specific pigments or contaminates. You will find a few articles suggesting it's dangerous but they are 'speculative' and based on 'opinion' without evidence. Millions of people with tattoos have had MRI without problems. The best paper I found regarding measurement of risk was this one Safety of Tattoos in Persons Undergoing MRI | NEJM

They scanned 330 volunteers with at least one tattoo each in an MRI machine, and analysed each tattoo immediately before and afterwards. In all, the study included 932 tattoos, obtained around the world.

"We found that the majority of the participants did not notice any side effects with tattoos," said physicist Nikolaus Weiskopf of the Max Planck Institute.

"There was one specific case where the study doctor found that side effects - a tingling sensation on the skin - were related to scanning. However, this unpleasant feeling disappeared within 24 hours without the affected person having required medical treatment."

In all the researchers estimated that the probability of an adverse reaction was between 0.17 and 0.3 percent - or 1.7 and 3 in 1,000. That's not a huge risk. There are reports of burns with ferrous pigments but they are very rare. Large tattos and circular designs are thought to increase the potential current and hence risk of burning. That may explain why some folks get burns whilemost don't. It may also have to do with positioning and type/strength of MRI. This paper describes a burn case Tattoo-Induced Skin “Burn” During Magnetic Resonance Imaging in a Professional Football Player

Confusingly, another paper tried to measure heating effects but found none.

Here is a useful patient information sheet that covers the issues well Getting An MRI with Tattoos

Ferrous inks can affect the quality of an MRI.

yes I've come across that study from Max Planck Inst...

somewhere on the internet it says you can control the burning sensation with a wet towel...okay, that's too technical for me...

I'm now reading up more on...over time...the pigment makes its way to your lymph nodes...is it worth it...YOLO

(found the blue form)


and they also trash your covid mask with the metal strip, they give you one with no metal strip which I much prefer.

 

[BruceFromBalnarring]

I think this is the right forum for this question. Chief please correct me if not so.

Is it true that Ivermectin is now approved for use as a treatment for Covid in Australia?

 

[Chief]

I think this is the right forum for this question. Chief please correct me if not so.

Is it true that Ivermectin is now approved for use as a treatment for Covid in Australia?

Where did you hear this?

 

[BruceFromBalnarring]

Where did you hear this?

There's vision from A Current Affair (yes, I know) showing "Stromectol" as an approved treatment in Australia floating around. In a report about the Queen.

Perhaps they were trolling but it was pretty clear.

 

[Chief]

I don't think this is the right thread for this at all.

 

[BruceFromBalnarring]

I don't think this is the right thread for this at all.

Strange. Why?

 

[Chief]

Strange. Why?

Because this is some sort of dicky attempt by you to troll.

 

[CD Xbow]

Because this is some sort of dicky attempt by you to troll.

Yes, I think Bruce is trolling.
Ivermectin is still listed as not recommended for C19
An article by Channel 9 was responsible for the rumour the Queen took it. Nine Network apologises for ‘error’ suggesting Queen may have used ivermectin to treat Covid

 

[CD Xbow]

A small trial of 14 patients with difficult to treat rectal tumours were apparently all cured using dostarlimab, a monoclonal antibody previously used as for the treatment of some forms of endometrial cancer. Dostarlimab is a programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) drug which treats tumours caused by a mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) problem, this impedes the body’s normal function to repair DNA abnormalities. About 11% of rectal cancers have this defect, I'm not sure how many endometrial cancers do. I'm am sure oncologists are going to be looking at the presence of this genetic defect in all cancers.

It's not a cure all, hopefully some previously incurable cancers become treatable. It shows the power of PCR and proves, as usual, technology changes the rules. Fairfax have a long, human interest type article about it - ‘Hope for all cancers’: Small trial makes 100% of tumours disappear The headline is a bit misleading with the 'hope for all' bit, 'hope for many' would be more accurate.

 

[CaptchaProofBot]

this photo got me...1875

Why did people start eating Egyptian mummies? The weird and wild ways mummy fever swept through Europe

From unwrapping parties to grinding-up mummies to make medicine, Europe has a long and strange relationship with Ancient Egyptian remains.

theconversation.com

 

[CD Xbow]

A few months ago 21 young people died in a nightclub in SA. There was a generator in the building, but the authorities ruled out Carbon Monoxide poisoning early on. This article suggests it was likely methanol poisoning South African teens may have been poisoned with methanol in nightclub tragedy. Methanol is a very nasty poison, it kills in 2 ways, first as a CNS depressant and secondarily the formic acid it degrades to inhibits cytochrome oxidase in the mitochondria. Poisoning is actually pretty common world wide, especially in places where people make there own alcohol, wiki's got a list. During the pandemic, nearly 300 people died in Iran and over a thousand became ill from drinking methanol because they believed it killed the virus. Lies are dangerous.

Interestingly Methanol is found in the interstellar medium.

 

[CD Xbow]

Shazza gets lucky! $250 mil from a foreigner.

How a chat over a glass of wine turned into a $250 million research fund for Melbourne

The inside story of how a Canadian businessman donated $250 million to fund a pandemic research centre in Melbourne.

www.theage.com.au

This really adds to Melbourne's already world class medical research facilities.

 

[CD Xbow]

The mRNA vaccine technology can be used to make personalized vaccines against tumours, here is an article looking at a successful trial of mRNA vaccine in melanoma. Isn't science clever.

World-first melanoma vaccine may be 'the penicillin moment' in cancer treatment, researchers say

A world-first melanoma vaccine which personalises treatments for patients may put an end to melanoma as a "death sentence", according to Australian experts.

www.abc.net.au

This is a general technique that can potentially be applied to all cancers. I wonder how the anti-vaxxers will respond?

 

[CD Xbow]

With the recent cases of Irukandji syndrome in swimmers at Fraser Island, I thought it was time to revisit the amazing story of how Jack Barnes, a Cairns GP (and ex commando) discovered the first jellyfish responsible for the syndrome.

Jack Barnes and the Irukandji Enigma

In 1961, Jack Handyside Barnes, his nine year-old son, and a local surf lifesaver were rushed to Cairns Base Hospital after developing Irukandji syndrome.

litfl.com

 

[CD Xbow]

Anti-aging therapies have been disappointing, partly because we don't really have a good understanding of the process. There have been some breakthroughs in the past couple of years, due to a greater understanding of epigenetics. Scintists were able to restore vision to old mice by injecting their eyes with a benign virus carrying three of the four Yamanaka factors (OSK). Yamanaka factors are known to clear the changes of aging and reset the cell to an embryonic state.

Scientists have tried to reverse ageing for decades. Have they finally cracked it?

Researchers have partially reversed the ageing process in mice, and next they’ll try it on primates in a bid for eternal youth.

www.smh.com.au

Amazing really. It's the first time I've seen any anti-aging therapy that could make a substantial difference. The biological and medical advances through the rest of this century are going to be amazing.

 

[CaptchaProofBot]

All the fun you can have with an MRI, but don't do it if you have a pacemaker!
The magnetic field strength is out of this world. I've seen one of the techs lob a O2 cylinder into the donut and it just gets captured and hangs in space. At a hospital I worked in many, many years ago, a cleaner ignored the warnings and took one of those large floor buffers into the scan room. He was quite surprised when the buffer levitated itself of the floor and stuck in the donut. We had an image of it which became a popular screen saver in the hospital. I will endeavour to find it.

Lawyer dies after his hidden gun goes off during MRI scan

Leandro Mathias de Novaes’ gun went off due to magnetic field in the MRI scanning room

www.independent.co.uk

also, i've been gardener for a few years now and have tatts of treeroots/branches on both arms, no prob whatsoever with MRI, albeit the scan is on my head for brain tumour. Talked to nurses about possible problems before getting inked oc and they said they rarely get any probs with tatts now, if any then it's with oldtimers that have really old ink (possibly dodgy?), otherwise pretty safe.

will anything get into the lymph nodes later? only time will tell i guess.