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Diseñó:
Esteban Delisio
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GELS FOR MEDICAL DEVICES
Scientists at Purdue University are developing a biological sensor for
glucose. They say the research may one day lead to the design of intelligent drug delivery
devices that could be implanted in the body to administer medications such as insulin. The
team created a mesh-like "biomimetic" gel that contains glucose molecules. They
removed the glucose, leaving the empty space behind. If placed in a liquid such as blood,
glucose diffuses into the gel and binds to the empty spaces. The gel then becomes
"imprinted" for glucose molecules. Similar materials might be used in future
medical devices to sense the presence of glucose. It may then release insulin or other
medications for diabetics, said study author Mark Byrne. "I'd be the first one to say
that we have a lot of work to do, but our findings so far are very encouraging,"
Byrne said. He presented the findings at the American Chemical Society's national meeting
in Chicago.
ESTROGEN PATCHES FOR MEMORY
Doctors have discovered that estrogen patches may help improve memory
in women with Alzheimer's disease. The results of the study of 20 women with mild to
moderate Alzheimer's were published in the journal Neurology. "These results are
hopeful, but they need to be confirmed with larger studies with more participants and
longer treatment times," said study author Dr. Sanjay Asthana, who conducted the
study at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Tacoma, Wash., and is now at the
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine in Madison. Previously, some studies suggested
estrogen may help relieve memory loss and other symptoms of Alzheimer's. But several large
studies disproved those findings. Asthana's study used estradiol, a type of estrogen shown
to have an effect on the brain. Other studies used a compound that contains low doses of
estradiol along with other forms of estrogen that have not been proven to have an effect
on the brain, he said.
GENERIC DRUGS MAY CAUSE PROBLEMS
Generic drugs may cause problems for patients with epilepsy, a study
indicates. To save costs, many states and health plans have required pharmacists to fill
prescriptions with the least expensive available drug, often a generic one. "In many
cases, the drugs are interchangeable," said study author and neurologist Dr. B.J.
Wilder, professor emeritus of the University of Florida in Gainesville. "But for some
epilepsy medications, switching products can result in toxic side effects or loss of
seizure control." His study analyzed the effects of generic and brand-name versions
of the drug phenytoin on a full stomach. The results were published in the journal
Neurology. Phenytoin is the most widely used epilepsy drug in the United States. The
drug's unique properties make it more likely that changes in the formulation can alter the
amount of the drug absorbed into the bloodstream, Wilder said. "Unlike many other
drugs, phenytoin does not respond in the body i! n a linear fashion," Wilder said.
FOLIC ACID GOOD FOR THE HEART
Folic acid and vitamin B12 may be good for the heart and reduce the
risk of deaths from heart disease, researchers say. "The evidence for the beneficial
effects of vitamins B12 and folic acid is much stronger than for garlic, vitamin E and
other dietary supplements promoted for heart disease prevention," said Dr. Jeffrey
Tice, principal investigator of the study reported in the Journal of the American Medical
Association and University of California, San Francisco, assistant adjunct professor of
medicine. Researchers studied data on the U.S population's homocysteine levels. These
indicate heart disease risk and associated death. Past studies have shown people with
modestly elevated homocysteine levels have higher rates of stroke, heart attack and death
from heart disease. Assuming the U.S. population consumes its daily dose of grains
enriched with folic acid over a 10-year period, the authors estimate that heart disease
rates and deaths will decrease by 8 ! percent in women and 13 percent in men.
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