Friday, June 15, 2012

北極星 肝癌藥ADI-PEG..2014上市許可 2015新竹廠通過美國FDA審核


北極星砸5千萬美元新竹設廠   2012-06-14 【時報-台北電】研發治療肝癌標靶藥物ADI-PEG 20的美國北極星集團,確定取得 新竹 生醫園區4,000土地,將投入5,000萬美元資金設廠,預計3年內完成設廠,新廠啟用後,研發生產的藥物將行銷全球市場。  北極星集團總裁吳伯文昨(13)日再度拜訪新竹縣長邱鏡淳,同時說明目前新藥開發進度,吳伯文指出,肝癌標靶藥物ADI-PEG 20目前已進入3期臨床,臨床實驗對象預計600餘人,而目前已分別在英、美、義、台、中國及韓國地進行100預計2014年拿到全球上市許可。至於設廠進度,吳伯文表示,計劃明年初動工,3年內建廠完成,2015年通過美國FDA審核。吳伯文指出,北極星集團早已在北美已建立先導型廠房,為因應2014年新藥上市後的市場需求,集團已著手規劃投入數百萬美元經費擴充北美廠房。吳伯文也再次強調,北極星集團的資金幾乎都來自台灣,雖然已有不少國際藥廠洽談肝癌標靶藥物的授權,但為了讓台灣、大陸兩地病患享受較便宜的藥價,將保有大中華地區的銷售權。(新聞來源:工商時報記者王志煌/新竹報導)

小心 ! 你有泡沫尿或長期腰痛?? creatinine 超高 !


疲倦勿輕忽 小心慢性腎臟病   2012-06-14 新聞速報 中央社民眾長期疲倦勿輕忽,小心是慢性腎臟病。台北市立聯合醫院忠孝院區腎臟內科主任陳達隆表示,長期異常疲倦伴隨高血壓、水腫、泡沫尿或腰痛症狀,一定要就醫檢查。陳達隆指出,數年前他的國中同學因全身倦怠不舒服合併高血壓就醫,經抽血檢驗「肌酸酐(creatinine)」已達每百毫升30毫克,已是尿毒症。他提醒,若有疲倦狀況或長期異常疲倦伴隨高血壓、水腫、泡沫尿或腰痛症狀,務必就醫檢查。腎臟病的惡化進展通常相當緩慢,陳達隆表示,慢性腎臟病分為5期,早期沒有症狀,病人容易輕忽,但等到症狀出現時,通常是第45期,為時已晚。故需靠尿液檢查,血液檢驗和超音波掃描,才能早期發現、早期治療。陳達隆說,每隔36個月,就有門診病人因倦怠就醫,經抽血檢驗發現腎功能指標「肌酸酐」已經非常高,約達尿毒洗腎或接近洗腎的程度。他提醒,慢性腎臟病已成世界流行疾病之一,通常不會有明顯症狀,近80%90%的病人未被診斷。台灣慢性腎臟病盛行率為9.8%11.9%,台灣慢性腎臟病病患有170萬至200萬人,但認知率僅3.5%造成疲倦原因很多,陳達隆表示,壓力等心理因素會讓人感到疲倦;睡不好、感染、內分泌失調等生理問題也可能造成疲倦;身體各器官功能失常也會疲倦。所以不明原因異常疲倦,也要注意有無慢性腎臟病。陳達隆呼籲,腎臟病病患除定時追蹤腎功能檢驗及其他生化數值外,也應謹記控制血壓、適度減低蛋白質攝取量。另外,衛生署也已推動慢性腎臟病整體照護多年,若發現慢性腎臟病者,即可進入整體照護網接受治療。  

凌華科技: 行動護理站 !!


凌華科技以雲終端新品拓展零售與醫療領域 上網時間: 20120525凌華科技(ADLINK Technology)將於2012台北國際電腦展(Computex),展出雲終端產品線的高亮度智慧顯示器系列新品及其於零售與醫療產業之應用。凌華科技發表可作為零售端 POS 工作機台使用的高亮度智慧螢幕新品 BFS-15W02 ,與針對醫療領域的行動護理站,推出結合高亮度智慧螢幕與無風扇嵌入式電腦的高節能行動運算解決方案。 凌華科技高亮度智慧顯示器 BFS-15W02 針對零售端多種 POS 應用所設計,支援最新的作業系統,包含 Windows 7 Windows Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 、以及未來的 Windows 8 ,並搭載5線電阻式觸控面板以及 LED 背光,提供更好的可視能力。配置豐富之I/O模組,透過內建的 VGA 連接埠,可將影像輸出至第二部顯示器,而藉由無線通訊功能(Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n及藍牙2.1)則可提升零售環境的作業彈性。  在醫療領域方面,凌華科技結合高亮度智慧顯示器 BFH-1902與無風扇嵌入式電腦 MXE-5300 ,提出高節能行動護理站之行動運算解決方案。高亮度智慧顯示器 BFH-1902 為醫療院所之行動護理站設計使用,搭載的19吋觸控螢幕,提供醫療產業所需之大面積清晰資料輸入區域,電容器式觸控技術則提供使用彈性及人體工學優點。  此外,該產品頂端與正面採用防水防塵設計,適合在不利電子設備作業的區域使用;在結構設計方面,具有容易清潔的優點。除了多種整合配件(包括無線通訊及130萬像素網路攝影機),高亮度智慧顯示器 BFH-1902 更符合醫療認證要求。  兼具高效能、強固耐震設計無風扇嵌入式電腦 MXE-5300 ,可作為醫療行動護理站之系統使用。搭載第二代 Intel Core i7 四核心處理器及 QM67 晶片組,提供卓越的運算能力,並導入創新的無線通訊最佳化技術,可支援3G/WiFi/BT/GPSIntel AMT 7.0主動式管理技術,提供遠端管理及修復的功能,全新概念的強固設計,與業界同級產品相較,擁有最佳寬溫表現。除了適合醫療環境使用之外,亦適用於智慧交通、車載多媒體及安全監測等應用領域。

規律洗牙/牙周健科 降低中風& 心肌梗塞 !!!


Tooth scaling reduces CV disease risk   Published on June 14, 2012  By Sarah Guy  Taiwanese study results show that undergoing tooth scaling significantly reduces the risk for future myocardial infarction, stroke, and total cardiovascular (CV) events.  The findings also reveal that increasing the frequency of tooth scaling could further reduce the risk for these CV disease-related events.  "Poor oral hygiene is the major cause of periodontal disease," say the researchers in the American Journal of Medicine, "...periodontal disease has been reported to be associated with an increased risk for CV disease, peripheral vascular disease, and stroke."  They add that their data "support tooth scaling in addition to daily tooth brushing to improve oral hygiene and reduce the risk of CV disease."  Hsin-Bang Leu (Taipei Veterans General Hospital) and colleagues selected study participants aged at least 50 years from the Taiwanese National Health Insurance (NHI) program to investigate the impact of tooth scaling on CV disease and stroke risk. 
All NHI participants are eligible for yearly tooth scaling, note the researchers.  In the current study, Leu and co-workers included 21,876 NHI participants, of whom 10,887 had received full-mouth or localized tooth scaling during the period 1995 to 2007. This exposed group was propensity-score matched to a nonexposed group (n=10,989) that had not undergone any scaling.  After an average 7-year follow up, the nonexposed group had a significantly higher incidence of acute myocardial infarction than the exposed group, at 2.2% versus 1.8%, and the same trend was found for incidence of stroke, at 10.0% versus 9.4%.  In multivariate analysis, adjusted for factors including age, gender, hypertension, and Type 2 diabetes, tooth scaling was significantly independently associated with a 31% reduced risk for myocardial infarction, a 15% reduced risk for stroke, and a 16% reduced risk for composite CV events, report Leu et al.  Furthermore, they write, the hazard ratio for experiencing a myocardial infarction during the follow-up period was 0.61 for participants who had undergone tooth scaling more than once every 2 years compared with those in the nonexposed group. 
Frequency of scaling also had the same association for stroke and total CV risk.  There are "many proposed mechanisms" to explain the relationship between periodontal disease and CV disease, remark Leu and team. The increase in inflammation and subsequent effect on circulating cytokines as a result of the infection would increase atherosclerosis, for example.

醫療服務雲端戰略夥伴 : Mayo Clinic and DoApp Inc


Patient engagement tech firm acquires Mayo Clinic-linked mobile app firm   6.14.12 | Arundhati Parmar    North Carolina health IT firm Axial Exchange is acquiring mRemedy, which was formed as a joint venture between Mayo Clinic and DoApp Inc. in order to provide hospitals a mobile platform with which to stay connected to their patients.  The terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but as a result of the deal, four Mayo Clinic doctors will become members of an advisory board at Axial Exchange. The doctors will provide clinical expertise to help in the ongoing development of Axial’s products.  Both Mayo Clinic and Canaan Partners, which has an investment in Axial, also invested in the company to help it acquire mRemedy.  Axial Exchange, which designs software by which patients can transition from the hospital to their homes, will fold mRemedy’s myTality suite to its care transition business.
ADVERTISEMENT  “We are on a mission to make great software that changes things,” said CEO Joanne Rodhe, a former Red Hat executive, in an interview. “To have Mayo represent us on the healthcare side of things is huge.” And Axial appears to know a thing or two about great software. Last year, the Office of the National Coordinator which is managing the application of Meaningful Use to the use of electronic health records, and other technology-driven changes under healthcare reform , chose Axial’s software as the top winner in the category – Developer Challenge on ’Ensuring Safe Transitions From Hospital to Home.  Just as DoApp licensed Mayo’s medical library, so will Axial, Rohde said, adding that the relationship underscores Mayo’s interest in seeing the myTality suite of apps succeed by having it be a part of a healthcare company.  By contrast DoApp focuses on building its successful platform model for newspapers, TV stations and radio stations to deliver content on mobile devices.  “Mayo is doubling down on a firm that is all in healthcare and not 90 percent in media,” Rohde said.  DoApp founder and CEO Wade Beavers welcomed the acquisition of mRemedy saying that Axial Exchange has expertise in EMRs and patient engagement that DoApp and mRemedy do not.  “For Axial, acquiring mRemedy is a way to get into mobile,” Beavers said. “We liked the leadership of Axial especially Joanne.  For her part,Rohde added that mRemedy is a natural fit with Axial Exchange because now with Axial’s tools each patient that uses the myTality tools to track his/her health issuse or search a disease condition, can be offered a personalized care plan. Axial has 10 hospital clients – one it could name is Wake Med in Raliegh, North Carolina.  Axial’s newly forged relationship with Mayo is part of a broader trend where large hospitals are looking for ways to keep their patient population healthy and prevent readmissions, specifically in certain disease categories like diabetes and heart health. Making sure that patients transition well from the hospital to the home or to a nursing home is part and parcel of that. “Mayo is going full tilt with care transitions,” said Dr Paul Takahashi, a geriatrician at Mayo who will be one of the four doctors advising Axial.  North Carolina health IT firmAxial Exchangeis acquiring mRemedy, which was formed as a joint venture between Mayo Clinic and DoApps Inc. in order to provide hospitals a mobile platform with which to stay connected to their patients.  The terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but as a result of the deal, four Mayo Clinic doctors will become members of an advisory board at Axial Exchange. The doctors will provide clinical expertise to help in the ongoing development of Axial’s products.  Both Mayo Clinic and Canaan Partners, which has an investment in Axial, also invested in the company to help it acquire mRemedy.  Axial Exchange, which designs software by which patients can transition from the hospital to their homes, will fold mRemedy’s myTality suite to its care transition business.  “We are on a mission to make great software that changes things,” said CEO Joanne Rodhe, a former Red Hat executive, in an interview. “To have Mayo represent us on the healthcare side of things is huge.”  And Axial appears to know a thing or two about great software. Last year, the Office of the National Coordinator which is managing the application of Meaningful Use to the use of electronic health records, and other technology-driven changes under healthcare reform , chose Axial’s software as thetop winnerin the category -Developer Challenge on ’Ensuring Safe Transitions From Hospital to Home.  Just as DoApps licensed Mayo’s medical library, so will Axial, Rohde said, adding that the relationship underscores Mayo’s interest in seeing the myTality suite of apps succeed by having it be a part of a healthcare company.  By contrast DoApps focuses on building its successful platform model for newspapers, TV stations and radio stations to deliver content on mobile devices.  “Mayo is doubling down on a firm that is all in healthcare and not 90 percent in media,” Rohde said.  A call to a a DoApps executive was not returned.  Rohde added that mRemedy is a natural fit with Axial Exchange because now with Axial’s tools each patient that uses the myTality tools to track his/her health issuse or search a disease condition, can be offered a personalized care plan. Axial has 10 hospital clients – one it could name is Wake Med in Raliegh, North Carolina.  Axial’s newly forged relationship with Mayo is part of a broader trend where large hospitals are looking for ways to keep their patient population healthy and prevent readmissions, specifically in certain disease categories like diabetes and heart health. Making sure that patients transition well from the hospital to the home or to a nursing home is part and parcel of that.  “Mayo is going full tilt with care transitions,” said Dr Paul Takahashi, a geriatrician at Mayo who will be one of the four doctors advising Axial. 

糖尿病藥(metformin) 能對抗乳癌??!!


More hints, still no proof metformin fights cancer   Wednesday, June 13, 2012 By Frederik Joelving  NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study is fueling hopes that metformin, a cheap and relatively safe diabetes drug, might have cancer-fighting properties.  Researchers found that women with diabetes who took the medication had a 25-percent lower risk of developing breast cancer over more than a decade of follow-up.  But like all previous studies of metformin's suspected anti-cancer effects, the new findings fall short of proving the compound can stave off the big C.  "This is an area of great excitement," said Dr. Pamela Goodwin, who wrote an editorial about the study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.  "The evidence is coming together that metformin may actually have a clinically relevant effect, but none of this is good enough to change clinical practice just yet," added Goodwin, a breast cancer expert at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Canada.  Metformin (also sold under the brand name Glucophage) has been on the market for many years and is generally considered safe, although five to 10 percent of patients experience side effects like nausea and bloating. Because its original patent has expired, a month's worth of pills can be bought for less than $10.  It is used by millions of type 2 diabetics every day to help control their blood sugar. Intriguingly, metformin also shrinks lung and breast tumors in mice, and several reports show people taking it for diabetes appear to develop cancer less often.  That's why scientists are hopeful it might someday be used to prevent cancer in smokers and others at high risk of the disease.  The new study used data from about 68,000 postmenopausal women who took part in the U.S. government-funded Women's Health Initiative clinical trials.  Over nearly 12 years of observation, there were more than 3,200 new cases of breast cancer among the women.  Every year, 0.42 percent of women without diabetes developed breast cancer, compared to 0.40 percent of diabetics on metformin and 0.47 percent of diabetics taking other drugs.  After taking into account risk factors for breast cancer, the gap between women without diabetes and diabetics on drugs other than metformin vanished. But diabetics on metformin turned out to have a 25-percent lower cancer risk than their diabetes-free peers.  Goodwin said the new study is the best of its kind so far, but nonetheless relies on observations instead of an actual experiment in which women are randomly selected to take metformin or not.  "All of these observational studies, what they do is they generate hypotheses," she told Reuters Health. "I think we need to be cautious about taking these observations and applying them to people without diabetes."  Dr. Rowan Chlebowski, who led the study, said his results don't necessarily mean diabetics should switch to metformin if they are not already taking it.  "The significance is identifying potential other uses for drugs we have great safety information on, as opposed to new drugs," Chlebowski, of the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, told Reuters Health. "You should have whatever treatment is best for your diabetes," she said. "Most diabetics are already on metformin, but the key is they should get good blood sugar control."  Goodwin and her colleagues are currently running a $25 million trial to test whether metformin can help ward off new tumors in women getting breast cancer treatment. The results are expected in three to four years.  Goodwin said nobody has yet begun a study to see if the drug can prevent healthy people from getting cancer in the first place.  "At a societal level, we have to develop mechanisms to take the inexpensive generic drugs that seem to have anti-cancer effects and study them," she added.  According to the American Cancer Society, one in eight women will develop breast cancer at some point, although less than three percent of all women will die of the disease.  SOURCE: http://bit.ly/L86p7l Journal of Clinical Oncology, online June 11, 2012.  Reuters Health  

Nutrivise tells you how/what to eat...!!


A Pocket Nutritionist To Tell You What To Eat   Finding it hard to stick to your diet? Nutrivise is an app that will give you recipes with the exact right nutritional profile, or tell you what to get at a local restaurant. There is no shortage of smartphone apps designed to help people calorie count and lose weight. But there’s a problem: These apps only help users stay in a certain calorie range--they don’t generally take into account how healthy your foods actually are (though some try). That means you could binge on potato chips all day and still meet your target. Most people at least attempt to eat better than that, but in a supermarket or restaurant filled with the caloric, fatty foods that we love so much, how can you make good choices without a pricey personal nutritionist? Soon, there will be an app for that.  Nutrivise, a nutrition platform designed by a handful of programmers and nutrition buffs, is essentially a pocket nutritionist--give it information on your age, weight, lifestyle, and location, and it spits out meal plans based on your specific nutrient needs (low-carb diet, vegetarian, etc.) Don’t like the food items that Nutrivise suggests? You can always swap them out for others. The app goes into serious detail, taking into account the prepared foods you like, the types of cuisines you enjoy, and what restaurants you go to."There’s obviously a huge demand for weight loss products and weight management systems, but there are not a lot of things to not only tell people what to eat but give them diet suggestions," explains Nutrivise CEO Laura Borel. "Most diets today are one size fits all. [For example] Weight Watchers is just points and not personalized to needs. It doesn’t go deeper into body type, age, and activity level."  I recently signed up for the Nutrivise beta to see what it would recommend based on my meat-free diet, penchant for a variety of world cuisines (including Thai, Indian, and Japanese), favorite local restaurants (the app is limited at the moment to national chains and local restaurants in the Bay Area), weight, sleep habits, body type, and more. Nutrivise’s recommendation for today: french yogurt cake for breakfast, dilled spinach crepes with avgolemono sauce for lunch, and a salad from Baja Fresh Mexican Grill. If I planned on eating at home the whole day, I could swap out that salad for a prepackaged food or a recipe (in this case, roasted salmon with lentils).All of the meals are chosen based their nutritional makeup--carbohydrates, protein, calories, and fat--and what your body specifically needs. If you don’t trust Nutrivise, detailed nutritional information is available for each food item. According to Borel, all the recipes (sourced from Yummly) can be prepared in under 30 minutes.  The beta version is just the beginning for Nutrivise, which recently raised $750,000 in funding. There are already over 1 million food items in the database, but the startup is working with Stanford nutritionists and professors to reverse engineer the calories in various restaurant dishes--eventually, the app will be able to recommend foods at the local spot on the corner that would never bother to release its nutritional data. It wouldn’t be hard for Nutrivise to quickly expand their restaurant listings; they would just need the menus. "We’re talking now with menu aggregators," says Borel.  Soon, Nutrivise will also be able to offer location-based information about where and what to eat. Data about snacks and beverages won’t be far behind.  Initially, the startup will stick to the Bay Area, but Borel expects to grow rapidly. "One of our biggest focuses is scalability of product. It’s already scalable if you don’t take into account local restaurants," she says.

BMS-936558 (antibody for PD-1): new mechanism for clinical cancer treatment !!


Antibody that blocks programmed cell death benefits cancer patients    Published on June 14, 2012  A national research collaboration of senior researchers, including a researcher from Moffitt Cancer Center, has found that 20 to 25 percent of "heavily pre-treated" patients with a variety of cancers who enrolled in a clinical trial had "objective and durable" responses to a treatment with BMS-936558, an antibody that specifically blocks programmed cell death 1 (PD-1). PD-1 is a key immune "checkpoint" receptor expressed by activated immune cells (T-cells) and is involved in the suppression of immunity.  The clinical trial, designed to assess the anti-tumor activity and safety of the treatment, was conducted with the help of 296 patients with a variety of cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer, melanoma and renal cell cancer, among others. Study results were published in a recent article in The New England Journal of Medicine.  According to study co-author Scott J. Antonia, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Thoracic Oncology Program and co-chair of the Immunology Program at Moffitt, tumors can develop multiple resistance mechanisms to evade natural destruction by the body's immune system. Tumors may do this by exploiting a variety of biochemical pathways that lead to "immune checkpoints" where immune responses that might get through the checkpoints and otherwise help destroy tumor cells are, instead, terminated.  "There have been recent intensive efforts to develop immunotherapeutic approaches to treat cancer, including efforts to develop immune-checkpoint-pathway inhibitors," Antonia said. "A particular challenge in cancer immunotherapy has been to find the mechanism-based biomarkers that could be used to identify patients whose tumors are candidates for immune treatment."

Hormones Matter: social tool for health...trend !!


Quest for data leads women’s hormone health startup to social, mobile platforms 6.14.12 | Deanna Pogorelc  Women’s health startup Lucine Biotechnology has a long-term goal of developing and commercializing affordable salivary diagnostics for hormone-related OB/GYN conditions that would be integrated into routine clinical care.  But in order to do that, it needs to fill the data gap that exists in the area of women’s hormone health. So it’s turning to social media and mobile technology.  “There’s a dearth of data in women’s health because the presumption is that we’ve been there, done that,” said CEO Chandler Marrs. “In OB/GYN care, only 30 percent of clinical practice guidelines are based on evidence.”  Researchers and physicians need more insight into how OB/GYN disorders and medications fit against the backdrop of cycling hormones, and that includes improved reference ranges for women’s  “When you get hormones measured, reference ranges are so enormously huge,” Marrs said. “They’re not stratified by age, medications, you’re taking, or race.” Lucine is hoping to be able to collect some of this data with an online and mobile platform it’s rolling out in October.  The platform will enable women with hormone disorders to track their health symptoms, medications and hormones, and plot them against variables such as menstrual cycles, stages of pregnancy or menopause, and sleep cycles. Collection and analysis of these kinds of data could help women and their doctors make better treatment decisions while also enabling Lucine to discover macrotrends, see which medications work best in certain conditions and guide the development of better diagnostics.  Already the company is building its network of users through a Facebook community and a blog called Hormones Matter, which encourages women to submit their stories about hormone-related health conditions.  Marrs said the company is actively raising money. Once it’s funded, Lucine will be able to focus on the other half of its “double-bottom line” strategy with a lab devoted to establishing clear reference ranges for women’s hormone testing and the development of noninvasive diagnostics.  Salivary tests have been available in the physicians office and in clinical research for years, but Lucine hopes to standardize them to clinical conditions including PCOS, menopausal symptoms and pregnancy/postpartum complications to allow better prediction, diagnosis and monitoring of these conditions.  

幹細胞培育血管 首度移植成功


自由時報-20120615 上午05:00自體血管移植 避排斥風險 〔國際新聞中心/綜合報導〕瑞典醫療團隊上個月以一名十歲女孩的幹細胞首度培養出人工血管,並成功將之移植到女孩體內取代嚴重阻塞的血管。原本因連結肝臟的血管嚴重阻塞而須換肝的女孩因此免受移植之苦,也因接受自體血管移植,避免了可能排斥的風險。醫師表示,該突破性發展大幅提高細胞工程的前景,也為製造人工器官帶來希望。「刺胳針(Lancet)」醫學期刊十四日刊登的研究指出,瑞典哥特堡大學移植生物學教授蘇米特蘭霍格森表示,團隊上月決定要為女孩製造可越過阻塞血管的新血管,解決血管阻塞問題。  過去遇到血管阻塞的病患,醫師通常是從他們的大腿取得血管、或透過捐贈方式,取得血管來移植,或是一勞永逸換肝;不過因為此案例的女孩才十歲,以一般方法治療比較危險,如果使用捐贈血管或肝臟,也可能終生都需服用抗排斥藥。  團隊先從已過世的捐贈者體內取出一段九公分長的血管,移除血管上所有細胞之後,留下中空的血管,之後團隊再從女孩的骨髓取出幹細胞,並在實驗室培養數百萬個細胞,覆蓋捐贈者的血管,即可培養出新的血管,整個過程耗費約兩週,之後團隊再將培養好的新血管植入女孩體內。  人工血管容易有凝塊或堵塞,若將他人血管移植到體內,餘生都必須服用免疫抑制劑以防排斥,不過女孩移植的血管是自體細胞製造,沒有服用抗排斥藥的必要,且她術後並未出現併發症,也立即恢復正常血液流動。  蘇米特蘭霍格森表示,這是細胞工程的未來,為洗腎或心臟繞道手術病患帶來希望。醫療團隊表示正致力與企業合作,將移植過程商業化,團隊也已簡化取得幹細胞的過程,從血液中即可取得,預定團隊今年稍晚將以動脈測試這項技術。

Cold virus hitches a ride to kill cancer: study

 Wednesday, June 13, 2012 Related MedlinePlus Pages Cancer Chemotherapy Common Cold By Kate Kelland  LONDON (Reuters) - In a significant step forward for the development of a potential new cancer treatment, scientists have found how a common cold virus can kill tumors and trigger an immune response, like a vaccine, when injected into the blood stream.  Researchers from Britain's Leeds University and the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) said by hitching a ride on blood cells, the virus was protected from antibodies in the blood stream that might otherwise neutralize its cancer-fighting abilities.  The findings suggest viral therapies like this, called reovirus, could be injected into the blood stream at routine outpatient appointments - like standard chemotherapy - making them potentially suitable for treating a range of cancers.  The study, part-funded by the charity Cancer Research UK and conducted on 10 patients with advanced bowel cancer, confirmed that reovirus attacks on two fronts - killing cancer cells directly and triggering an immune response that helps eliminate leftover cancer cells.  "Viral treatments like reovirus are showing real promise in patient trials. This study gives us the very good news that it should be possible to deliver these treatments with a simple injection into the blood stream," said Kevin Harrington from ICR, who co-led the study and published it in the journal Science Translational Medicine on Wednesday.  Harrington said if viral treatments had been found only to work when injected directly into tumors, that would have been a significant barrier to their widespread use.  "But the finding that they can hitch a ride on blood cells will potentially make them relevant to a broad range of cancers," he said.  Reovirus is being investigated by several research teams around the world - including scientists at Canada's Oncolytics Biotech Inc - because it has shown an ability to infect and kill cancer cells without affecting normal tissue.  "We also confirmed that reovirus was specifically targeting cancer cells and leaving normal cells alone, which we hope should mean fewer side-effects for patients," Harrington said.  Cancer killed 7.6 million people worldwide in 2008, the most recent year for which the World Health Organisation has full data. The number of cancer cases is expected to surge by more than 75 percent across the world by 2030.  The 10 patients in the study were all due to have surgery on tumors that had spread to their livers. During outpatient appointments in the weeks before their surgery, they were given up to five doses of the experimental reovirus treatment.  When researchers looked at pieces of tissue removed during surgery up to four weeks later, they found what they described as "viral factories" of active virus in the tumor - but not in the normal liver tissue.  This confirmed the reovirus had been delivered specifically to the cancer cells after being injected into the blood stream.  "It seems that reovirus is even cleverer than we had thought," said University of Leeds' researcher Alan Melcher.  "By piggybacking on blood cells, the virus is managing to hide from the body's natural immune response and reach its target intact. This could be hugely significant for the uptake of viral therapies like this in clinical practice."  (Editing by Janet Lawrence)  Reuters Health  

Des cellules souches qui « reviennent à la vie

 » Mise à jour le mardi 12 juin 2012 à 11 h 57 HAE Certaines cellules souches sont viables jusqu'à 17 jours après la mort d'une personne, ont découvert des chercheurs français de l'Institut Pasteur.  En fait, ils ont montré que certaines cellules souches qui se trouvent dans les muscles squelettiques survivent en état de dormance à la mort d'un individu et, une fois remises en culture, redeviennent parfaitement fonctionnelles.  Chez la souris, la période critique est de 16 jours. Les auteurs de ces travaux publiés dans la revue Nature Communications ont aussi démontré que les cellules souches de la moelle osseuse à l'origine des cellules sanguines restent viables quatre jours chez le rongeur. Elles sont également capables, après greffe, de repeupler la moelle.  D'autres travaux avaient déjà identifié de telles cellules 32 heures après la mort dans le cerveau d'un foetus.  L'équipe du Pr Fabrice Chrétien montre aujourd'hui comment ces cellules adultes agissent. Elles se servent du manque d'oxygène pour atteindre cet état de dormance qui leur permet de survivre et de résister à un environnement difficile.  Cette nouvelle découverte permettra d'augmenter l'intervalle de temps au cours duquel une équipe médicale peut récupérer des cellules sur une personne morte, ce qui procurera de nouvelles sources de ces cellules souches.  « Ce réservoir de cellules souches viables dans l'organisme humain après la mort pourrait servir à faire des greffes de moelle osseuse (leucémies, maladies sanguines...) très utilisées dans les hôpitaux et pour lesquelles on manque de donneurs. » — Pr Fabrice Chrétien Par exemple, le professeur et ses collègues ont prélevé des cellules dormantes chez une dame morte à 95 ans pour obtenir des millions de cellules souches, qui ont ensuite été différenciées en fibres musculaires.  De plus, cette découverte permet d'envisager de nouveaux moyens simples de conservation (au réfrigérateur et dans un mélange gazeux sans oxygène) de cellules souches à usage thérapeutique. 

如何抗壓?心理師教導減壓五妙方

 鉅亨網新聞中心 (來源:中廣新聞網) 2012-06-06  「如何抗壓?心理師教導減壓五妙方」 (林麗玉報導在面對壓力、困境時,怎麼樣找出心理的出口?衛生署公布的自殺死亡統計,全國的自殺死亡人數當中,男性居了七成,三成為女性,台北市男性的自殺死亡率則為女性的一點八倍,聯合心理諮商所院長邱永林說,許多男性朋友抒解壓力方法靠喝酒,多是不健康的方法,如果發現有壓力過大等徵兆,是可以透過改變部分生活方式,過減壓生活,而減壓生活方式,可以從睡眠、飲食、態度思考、放鬆及鍛鍊體能,來學習生活減壓,遠離憂鬱自殺。院長邱永林說,「當一個人感覺到壓力,是指壓力大於活力源,不過往往壓力源不能操之在己,能做的就是增加生活的活利源,只要睡得好、吃得對,想得開,放得鬆、練得勤。」  例如日常生活中,在家裡的臥室盡可能不要工作,臥室內只做兩件事,就是SleepSex,尤其越接近睡眠時間,就要注意活動量要慢慢減緩,如果在床上躺三十分鐘還睡不著,就建議起身做做輕鬆舒緩的事,放鬆情緒;至於飲食,可以多吃一點增加大腦血清素、也就是快樂賀爾蒙的食物,例如奶類、香蕉、燕麥、堅果類、澱粉類等。  另外生活的態度思考,可以多與樂觀的朋友相處,鼓勵每天花個三十分鐘以上時間,作自己覺得重要、或會開心的事,讓生活的希望感提高;另外還有許多人想放鬆,卻不知道該怎麼放鬆,其實放鬆的方法很多,可以找自己喜歡做的事,例如就有民眾,儘管週一到週五上班已經很疲累,不過週末還是堅持上陽明山當當假日農夫,就由當農夫放鬆心情,也是很好的方法,假日一定要多到戶外走走,放鬆心情。而要生活減壓,固定規律的運動也很重要,除了運動三三三原則,如果實在沒有時間運動,也可以採一一一原則,也就是每天運動一次,每次十分鐘就好,心跳達到一百一十就好,只要公車提前一站下車、或多爬樓梯,就可以做到。  至於壓力過大其實有徵兆,尤其許多男性朋友多不願傾吐壓力過大的困擾,而壓力過大的徵兆,會從很多面向表現,例如經常失眠、偏頭痛、突然掉髮多、臉上黑眼圈越來越重,經常抱怨胸腔不舒服等,家人可以多注意,是否有因為壓力過大,影響到生理,另外如果壓力過大,也可以導致記憶力減退,早餐吃過就忘了吃什麼?還有創意力變差,容易生氣、焦慮,多負面思考,如果生理上同時出現一個至兩個的壓力症狀,就是輕度壓力;如果出現三個到四個就是中度壓力;同時出現五個以上,就是重度壓力了。而如果發現親友有情緒及生理行為的異狀,也可以建議陪同尋求諮商或醫療協助。  

美日科學家獲芬蘭2012千年技術獎

 20120614 02:33:37  新華社赫爾辛基6月13日電芬蘭2012千年技術獎頒獎儀式13日在首都赫爾辛基舉行。Linux操作系統創始人、美國軟件工程師利努斯·托爾瓦茲和誘導多功能幹細胞培養技術開發者、日本京都大學教授山中伸彌獲獎,並分別獲得60萬歐元獎金。 芬蘭總統紹利·尼尼斯特出席頒獎儀式,並親自為獲獎人頒獎,將名為"頂峰"的獎盃授予兩位獲獎者。 利努斯·托爾瓦茲1969年出生於赫爾辛基,是美國籍芬蘭人,現就職於美國硅谷。他是Linux操作系統的創始人。Linux是一套具有Unix全部功能的免費共享操作系統,是業界最重要、應用最廣泛的電腦操作系統之一。如今,無論是智能手機和平板電腦,還是數字視頻錄影機及超級計算機,許多都以Linux操作系統為基礎。 利努斯·托爾瓦茲對共享軟件的開發、網絡構建及網絡的開放性產生了極大的影響。千年技術獎評委會在評價他的成就時說,如今世界各地數以百萬計的人使用以Linux為內核的產品。在工作和社交生活中,Linux的出現使人們的生活變得簡單而富有樂趣。 山中伸彌博士1962年出生於日本大阪府,現任京都大學教授。他是誘導多功能幹細胞(iPS細胞)培養技術的發明者之一。誘導多功能幹細胞是動物體細胞經過誘導因子處理後轉化而成的幹細胞。它具有和胚胎幹細胞類似的功能,可以發育成組織和器官,同時規避了胚胎幹細胞研究面臨的倫理和法律障礙,在醫療領域具有非常廣闊的應用前景。 千年技術獎評委會認為,世界各地的科學家正在應用山中伸彌博士開發的誘導多功能幹細胞培養方法,在藥物測試及生物技術方面不斷取得進展。展望未來,人類必將在臨床手術的細胞組織植入方面獲得成功,從而攻克癌症、糖尿病及老年癡呆症等頑疾。 芬蘭政府於2004年設立千年技術獎,每兩年頒發一次,以表彰在科研或發明領域取得重大成就的個人或團體。千年技術獎的評獎標準是,獲獎的研究和發明創造應能直接改善和提高人類生活品質,並對經濟的可持續發展產生積極作用。 今年是芬蘭技術學會第5次頒發千年技術獎,也是第一次將大獎同時頒發給兩位技術創新者。  

啟動雲端健康 全方位自主健康管理

 優活健康資訊網 (2012-06-14 16:55)  (優活健康網記者談雍雍/綜合報導)新竹雲端健康城市推動聯盟為了推廣民眾自主健康管理的觀念,偕同台北醫學大學和台灣雲康資訊於「台灣國際銀髮族暨健康照護產業展」設置攤位;以樂活健康為宗旨,針對醫院健檢中心、遠距醫療單位、企業人資單位及業務行銷組織提供全方位健康管理服務方案。  隨著自主健康管理的觀念逐漸普及,照顧自己的健康不再只是老年人要關心的話題,如何從企業機關、醫院、健檢中心以及企業行銷組織出發,將平日即要管理自己健康的觀念普及到每個人心中;並以高科技雲端健康管理平台、專業醫療器材與軟體、專家顧問團隊,透過生理、心理相關的生醫檢測醫材及功能性生化檢測,整合全套的身心健康促進方案,提供全人健康促進的服務,也是本次新竹雲端健康城市推動聯盟參展推廣的目標。  大力支持並推動新竹雲端健康城市的邱鏡淳縣長表示,「健康是社會事務,而非只是醫療事務,單憑衛生、醫療單位力量無法達成,需要全縣民眾共同營造;尤其健康是社區居民參與及公私部門合作的表現,因此促成了新竹雲端健康城市計畫。」  其中,參與此次新竹雲端健康城市推廣設展的台灣雲康資訊公司執行長郭景桓表示,將自我量測和健康管理平台以及預防醫學作完美結合,以科技化無線藍芽上傳的方式,透過社區健康站定點或智慧手機及電子書平板的專業醫療器材檢測,輔以北醫、師大、陽明、台中教大等健康顧問團隊分析,真的能夠讓民眾自我健康的管理變得輕鬆簡單。  

Breast milk kills HIV and blocks its oral transmission in humanized mouse

 June 14, 2012  The humanized "BLT" mouse is created by introducing human bone marrow, liver and thymus tissues into animals without an immune system of their own. The BLT mouse has a fully functioning human immune system. Credit: University of North Carolina School of Medicine More than 15 percent of new HIV infections occur in children. Without treatment, only 65 percent of HIV-infected children will live until their first birthday, and fewer than half will make it to the age of two. Although breastfeeding is attributed to a significant number of these infections, most breastfed infants are not infected with HIV, despite prolonged and repeated exposure.

HIV researchers have been left with a conundrum: does breast milk transmit the virus or protect against it? New research from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine explores this paradox in a humanized mouse model, demonstrating that breast milk has a strong virus killing effect and protects against oral transmission of HIV. "This study provides significant insight into the amazing ability of breast milk to destroy HIV and prevent its transmission," said J. Victor Garcia, PhD, senior author on the study and professor of medicine in the UNC Center for Infectious Diseases and the UNC Center for AIDS Research. "It also provides new leads for the isolation of natural products that could be used to combat the virus." Garcia and colleagues pioneered the humanized "BLT" mouse model, which is created by introducing human bone marrow, liver and thymus tissues into animals without an immune system of their own. Humanized BLT mice have a fully functioning human immune system and can be infected with HIV in the same manner as humans. In the study, the researchers first determined that the oral cavity and upper digestive tract of BLT mice have the same cells that affect oral transmission of HIV in humans and then successfully transmitted the virus to the mice through these pathways. When the mice were given virus in whole breast milk from HIV-negative women, however, the virus could not be transmitted. "These results are highly significant because they show that breast milk can completely block oral transmission of both forms of HIV that are found in the breast milk of HIV-infected mothers: virus particles and virus-infected cells," said Angela Wahl, PhD, a post-doctoral researcher in Garcia's lab and lead author on the paper. "This refutes the 'Trojan horse' hypothesis which says that HIV in cells is more stubborn against the body's own innate defenses than HIV in virus particles." Finally, the researchers studied the effectiveness of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with antiretroviral medication for oral transmission of HIV. Garcia and his team have previously shown that PrEP is effective against intravenous, vaginal and rectal transmission of HIV in humanized BLT mice. In this study, they gave the mice antiretroviral drugs for seven days (3 days before and 4 days after exposing them to the virus) and found 100 percent protection against virus transmission. These latest findings provide important leads to alternative treatments that could be used to prevent transmission. "No child should ever be infected with HIV because it is breastfed. Breastfeeding provides critical nutrition and protection from other infections, especially where clean water for infant formula is scarce," Garcia said. "Understanding how HIV is transmitted to infants and children despite the protective effects of milk will help us close this important door to the spread of AIDS." The study appears in the June 14, 2012 issue of the online journal PLoS Pathogens. Journal reference: PLoS Pathogens  

何不全面叫停亞硝酸鹽作食品添加劑

 鉅亨網新聞中心 (來源:財匯資訊,摘自:中國化工網) 2012-06-14 12日,衛生部、國家食品藥品監督管理局聯合發布公告,禁止酒店、大排檔、小吃店等餐飲服務單位使用亞硝酸鹽(俗稱工業用鹽)作為食品添加劑,但不包括食品加工廠等食品生產部門。  既然亞硝酸鹽毒性那么強,只須食入少量即可引起中毒甚至死亡,為何不來個全面叫停呢?難以理解,餐飲服務單位即時制作的添加了亞硝酸鹽的食品不能吃,食品生產部門生產的含亞硝酸鹽的食品則可放心吃。衛生部食品安全部門有關負責人說,如果嚴格按照目前國家有關食品添加劑標準的要求,在八類肉制品中使用亞硝酸鹽作為添加劑是安全的,并且國家有關部門有完整的監管體系進行監管。注意,用了"如果"一詞,也就是說,所謂安全只是假設,實際情形可能完全不是這么回事。  衛生部確實制定有《腌臘肉制品衛生標準》,其中規定,腌臘肉制品中亞硝酸鹽的最大使用量是0.15/千克,殘留量30毫克/千克。但這些都是紙面上的,并沒被嚴格執行。  有例為證。20103月,重慶市工商局忠縣分局對8家腌臘肉制品經營戶進行檢查,結果表明,腌臘肉制品普遍存在亞硝酸鹽、水分等指標不合格問題。而此前,原重慶市副市長謝小軍在2009625召開的"食品藥品安全大排查大執法大整治工作部署會"上透露,僅該年5月以來,全市有7個區縣發生群體性食物中毒,總共334人中毒,多數為亞硝酸鹽中毒。原因即在眾多家庭式、作坊式企業根本不理睬衛生部制定的《標準》,隨心所欲添加亞硝酸鹽。  鑒於當前食品安全形勢異常嚴峻,從維護國人健康這一大局出發,應該全面叫停亞硝酸鹽作為食品添加劑使用。  

幹細胞治療眼盲 日本科學家大突破

 台灣醒報  實際入稿日期: 2012-06-14  【台灣醒報記者劉運綜合報導】科學家對於治療眼盲有了重大突破!日本研究人員研發出以幹細胞治療眼盲的方法。新的研究發現,人類的幹細胞可以發展成為讓眼球看到東西的組織。研究人員說,植入此組織後可以讓視覺病人看得更清楚。此研究結果發表在《幹細胞》期刊(Stem Cell)。  日本再生科學總合研究中心的Yoshiki Sasai博士在新的研究裡,將人類幹細胞發展為「視覺杯」構造。Sasai博士的研究團隊指出,視覺杯構造可以發展成對光敏感的視網膜。  在實驗中,幹細胞會形成正確的3D形狀,及2層的視覺杯,其中一層含有大量名為「光感受體」的感光細胞。由於視網膜退化大多是光感受體細胞損害所引起,研究人員說,由幹細胞長出的組織可能是最理想的移植材料。  Sasai博士說:「這是新世代再生醫療的重要里程碑。我們的新方法,是以人體幹細胞發展出的組織來治療,並用來研究其它醫療及藥物。這開啟了一個新的研究方向。」  此研究方法有爭議性,因為幹細胞的製造需要摧毀一個人類胚胎,受到人權團體的反對。但Sasai博士說:「這個研究開啟了一扇門,讓我們了解人類眼睛發展的一些層面,這些是研究人員之前無法調查的。」

FDA greenlights GSK vaccine for infants against bacteria linked to meningitis

6.14.12 | Stephanie Baum  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved British drug developer GlaxoSmithKline's (NYSE: GSK) vaccine against two bacteria associated with meningitis for infants and toddlers. The MenhHibrix vaccine is the first of its kind that can be given to infants as young as six weeks old, according to Dr. Karen Midthun, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.  The FDA had twice declined to approve the vaccine, requiring the drug maker to produce additional data.  MenHibrix will be used against Neisseria meningitidis or Meningococcal disease and Haemophilus influenzae, or Hib, type b bacterial diseases, which can cause life threatening complications like sepsis if they infect the bloodstream and meningitis if they infect the lining of the brain, according to a statement from the regulator. It will be administered as a four-dose series every other month from two to six months and sometime between 12-18 months of age.  European regulators approved a different vaccine against meningococcal bacteria from GSK earlier this year under the name Nimenrix. It is for 12 years olds and older.

ADVERTISEMENT  One of the dangers of these bacterial diseases is that the early symptoms mirror other common childhood illnesses, making them to tough to distinguish. Without vaccination, children younger than two years are susceptible to these serious illnesses. Meningococcal and Hib diseases are particularly dangerous because both diseases often progress rapidly and can cause death or have devastating consequences like blindness, mental retardation, or amputations.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that between 1,000 and 3,000 cases of meningococcal disease are reported each year in the United States. The vaccine is aimed at the age group which has the most cases of the bacterial disease.  The safety of the MenHibrix vaccine was evaluated in 7,500 infants and toddlers in the U.S., Mexico and Australia. Adverse reactions included pain, redness and swelling at the injection site, irritability and fever, according to the FDA statement.  The company, which has its U.S. headquarters in North Carolina, resubmitted the biologics license application for approval in December last year. It had received complete response letters in 2011 and 2010.  

亞力山大 跌倒後在大陸重生

 中央社  2012-05-16(中央社記者康世人重慶16日電)在台灣跌倒的亞利山大國際集團,藉著大陸龐大市場再度重生,並透過與地產商結合的新模式,已在華北、華東站穩腳跟;現在深入西部,盼3年內在大陸創年收新台幣近30億元業績。 在台灣以連鎖健身中心知名的亞力山大集團,過去因為財務危機在台灣跌倒,但品牌在賣給台灣的新經營團隊後,於2002年首先進入上海新天地進軍大陸市場發展。  亞力山大國際健康集團總經理廖燕琳表示,亞力山大進軍大陸市場後,將營業模式改為養生健身會館,更與大陸及台灣的地產開發商合作,走量身訂做的經營模式,現在在上海、寧波、蘇州、北京、大連、瀋陽、長春等地都有直營店,現在更進軍大西部,在重慶和成都展店。  廖燕琳說,目前亞力山大集團在華東、華北站穩腳跟後,已經擁有15家直營店面、年營收人民幣1.3億元的成績,最近又進軍大陸西部,並在重慶和成都與開發商合作,將會陸續展店。  她表示,由於重慶、成都的人口密度、消費能力都已達到當年亞力山大進軍上海、北京的規模,且重慶居民很容易接受新事物,加上大陸政府開發大西部的政策,亞力山大目前將以重慶、成都等新市場為發展重心,希望在3年內於大陸市場展店達30家,年營收翻倍。  亞力山大健身中心2007年在台灣無預警倒閉,但在倒閉前夕仍以優惠價格不停對外招收會員,得手新台幣3.2億元,受害民眾高達6000多人;在發生問題後,亞力山大負責人唐雅君把亞力山大品牌賣給克緹國際集團,克緹現在把亞力山大的業務重心全放在大陸市場。

雲端平台 管理健康不間斷

2012.06.14 優活健康網新聞部 現代人工作繁忙、生活壓力大,常常身體出了毛病卻沒有自覺,到了極不舒服的狀況才到醫院診治。因此新竹縣政府的「新竹雲端健康城市推動聯盟」為了推廣民眾自主健康管理的觀念,偕同台北醫學大學和台灣雲康資訊於「台灣國際銀髮族暨健康照護產業展」設置攤位;以樂活健康為宗旨,針對醫院健檢中心、遠距醫療單位、企業人資單位及業務行銷組織提供全方位健康管理服務方案。  台灣雲康結合高科技雲端健康管理平台、專業醫療器材與軟體、專家顧問團隊,透過生理、心理相關的生醫檢測醫材及功能性生化檢測,整合全套的健康促進方案,提供全人健康促進服務;將自我量測和健康管理平台以及預防醫學作完美結合,以科技化無線藍芽上傳的方式,透過社區健康站定點或智慧手機及電子書平板的專業醫療器材檢測,輔以北醫、師大、陽明、台中教大等健康顧問團隊分析,讓民眾管理自我健康變得輕鬆簡單。

日專家用人類胚胎幹細胞培育出立體視網膜組織

20120614 06:48:12 作者:  新華社東京6月14日電(記者藍建中)日本一研究團隊在14日出版的美國《細胞·幹細胞》雜誌上報告說,他們利用人類胚胎幹細胞,成功培育出了立體的視網膜組織。 日本理化學研究所的研究人員此前曾開發出使細胞團塊漂浮在培養液中,進而自發地生成複雜結構的培養技術。2011年,以該所研究人員為中心的團隊利用小鼠的胚胎幹細胞,成功培育出了擁有杯狀結構、能發育成視網膜的視杯以及立體視網膜組織。 不過,由於人類胚胎幹細胞的培養條件與小鼠不同,此次理化學研究所發育生物學研究中心和住友化學公司的聯合研究小組通過多次實驗,調整了培養液的成分,使視網膜神經組織和色素上皮組織能同等程度發育。最終利用約4個月時間,成功培育出與人類胎兒的視網膜組織尺寸相同的直徑約5毫米的視網膜組織。 研究小組還開發出了通過添加藥劑,阻礙會延緩細胞發育的蛋白質發揮作用,從而縮短視網膜培養時間,並能大量培育視網膜組織的技術。此外,研究小組還開發出了冷凍保存視網膜組織的技術。由此,對培養出的視網膜組織進行高品質管理成為可能,遠距離的醫院也能利用培育出的組織。 人類胚胎幹細胞能發育成各種組織,不過研究小組指出,培育出擁有多層結構的立體視網膜組織還是世界首次。今後,可導致失明的視網膜色素變性症等目前無法治療和預防的眼科疾病,有望通過移植視網膜組織進行治療。

掃描檢測倍增 罹癌風險也提高

 路透社 – 2012613星期三下午3:42 (路透芝加哥12日電)研究人員今天表示,美國影像診斷使用自1990年代中期以來成長1倍,電腦斷層掃描等技術導致的輻射暴露可能增加終生癌症風險的疑慮也隨之提高。 先前研究顯示,在政府為老人提供的聯邦醫療保險(Medicare)計畫下,病患使用影像診斷的案例增加。這項新報告則指出,私營的健康照護組織(HMO)使用影像診斷技術的次數也大約增加1倍,凸顯對輻射暴露的疑慮。 影像診斷讓醫師不用透過開刀就能一窺患者體內,降低探查性手術需求。電腦斷層掃描可用來確定腫瘤和內部傷勢位置,和其他許多病因。 這篇發表於「美國醫學會期刊」(JAMA)的新報告指出,健康照護組織1996年至2010年間的影像診斷使用也成長1倍。一般健康照護組織內的醫師僅領取薪水或固定費用,極少有安排影像檢測的額外動機。 加州大學聖地牙哥分校醫師史密斯-賓德曼(Rebecca Smith-Bindman)說:「增加的幅度完全一樣。」意指投保聯邦醫療保險和私人保險的病患使用影像診斷的次數。 報告執筆人之一史密斯-賓德曼透過電話表示,這或許意味著,其他的因素造成影像診斷使用增加,如缺乏統一的影像診斷原則、擔心誤診招致醫療糾紛官司和相信影像診斷為萬靈丹。中央社(翻譯)  

Prochymal, premier médicament aux cellules souches autorisé au Canada

  Par Janlou Chaput, Futura-Sciences Les autorités sanitaires canadiennes viennent d'autoriser la mise sur le marché du Prochymal, le premier traitement au monde à base de cellules souches à être mis en vente. Son efficacité reste cependant discutée, le laboratoire pharmaceutique va tenter de convaincre la FDA, l'agence américaine du médicament, d'imiter ses voisins canadiens dans l'année qui vient.  La médecine régénérative n'en est encore qu'à ses balbutiements. Si les thérapies à base de cellules souches commencent à se faire une place dans les essais cliniques, elles ne sont pas encore banalisées dans la population. Mais leur heure sonnera peut-être bientôt, car Santé Canada, ministère en charge des affaires sanitaires dans le pays, vient d'accepter, sous conditions, la mise sur le marché du premier médicament à base de cellules souches.  Le Prochymal, produit par le laboratoire américain Osiris Therapeutics, sera administré aux enfants atteints d'une maladie rare, nommée réaction aiguë du greffon contre l'hôte (GVHD en anglais), chez qui les autres traitements, à base de stéroïdes notamment, auront été inefficaces. Elle se produit lorsque le receveur d'une greffe de moelle osseuse est victime d'agression par les lymphocytes d'un donneur incompatible. Les symptômes sont variés et se manifestent par des douleurs abdominales, la chute de cheveux, des troubles digestifs et pulmonaires, entre autres, et s'avère mortelle chez 80 % des enfants. Jusque-là, on ne pouvait proposer aucune alternative à ces malades. 

Prochymal, un médicament sous conditions  Cependant, les autorités sanitaires canadiennes ont exigé du laboratoire qu'il poursuive les tests sur son médicament durant quelques années après sa mise en circulation. En effet, deux essais cliniques menés en 2009 avaient démontré qu'il n'était pas plus efficace qu'un placébo pour traiter les patients atteints de GVHD. À l'exception d'une sous-population de malades, affectés par les formes sévères.Les globules blancs, dont font partie les lymphocytes, sont des cellules du système immunitaire fabriquées dans la moelle osseuse. Dans le cas d'une greffe de cet organe, elles peuvent agresser le corps du receveur, puisqu'il est étranger à ces cellules. C'est la cause de la réaction aiguë du greffon contre l'hôte. © Anne Weston, Wellcome Image, Flickr, cc by nc nd 2.0 En amassant et en regroupant toutes les données émanant des différents essais menés depuis, Osiris Therapeutics a démontré à Santé Canada que le Prochymal fournissait des résultats cliniques significatifs chez 61 à 64 % des personnes atteintes de GVHD qui ne répondaient pas aux autres traitements, après 28 jours de thérapie. De plus, le médicament augmente le taux de survie de ces enfants.  Désormais, le laboratoire veut conquérir le marché américain, il a prévu de s'entretenir avec la Food and Drug Administration (FDA), l'agence américaine du médicament, dans les douze mois à venir. En règle générale, la FDA n'approuve pas un médicament lorsque celui-ci ne montre des effets que pour une sous-population de malades. L'absence de thérapies équivalentes la poussera-t-elle à faire une exception ? 

Les médicaments avec cellules souches prêts à conquérir le marché  Le Prochymal se compose de cellules souches de moelle osseuse récupérées chez des donneurs adultes en bonne santé. Après mise en culture, un seul donneur suffit à fournir 10.000 doses. Le médicament est conçu pour contrôler les réactions inflammatoires, promouvoir la régénération tissulaire mais aussi prévenir la formation de cicatrices. Les mécanismes d'action ne sont pourtant pas encore bien maîtrisés.  S'il est le premier à recevoir la précieuse AMM (autorisation de mise sur le marché), la concurrence n'est pas absente pour autant. Le laboratoire Althersys Inc reconnaît avoir rencontré la FDA le mois dernier pour évoquer les résultats d'essais cliniques tout juste terminés, qui portaient sur un médicament appelé MultiStem. Également à base de cellules souches, il vise à soigner les malades du GVHD traités pour des leucémies ou d'autres conditions de la moelle osseuse, qui rendent ces patients à risque de complications.  En tout, des dizaines de thérapies basées sur les cellules souches sont en cours d'essais cliniques. Cette annonce devrait sûrement inciter de nouveaux laboratoires à tester leurs produits. Au fur et à mesure, ces médicaments pourraient bien se faire une place dans les rayons des pharmacies ! 

“酷云”戰略升級 打造全球最長產品線

 北京新浪網 (2012-06-15 03:13)分享|  泡泡網手機頻道615 日前,宇龍酷派在廣州舉行主題為"雙待世家 大觀視界"為主題的新品發布會,發布7CDMA智能新機,涵蓋大觀、商務雙待、千元智能三大系列,這預示著酷派在CDMA智能機的研發方面取得全球性的技術優勢。同時,酷派加速對云計算平台"酷云"的戰略升級,作為酷派發力移動互聯網的重要舉措。據悉,此次酷派發布的酷云3.0版本,比苹果iCloud更具本土化特徵。易觀資訊分析師路禮彬表示,智能機在互聯網企業的"攪局下"價格戰趨勢愈發明顯,產品同質化嚴重,終端厂家必須打造產品的核心競爭力,差異化產品加上云計算將提高競爭的門檻,建立競爭的"區隔"地帶。

酷云3.02.0同步速度提升10云計算作為核心技術平台,目前衹有少數國際和國內品牌應用於智能終端,智能手機的快速發展推動了云計算服務在手機上的應用。酷派酷云平台是基於酷派終端的無線數據一體化(終端和後台的一體化)的解決方案和應用平台服務,內容包括日曆、通訊錄、通話記錄、短信、備忘錄、照片、文件、瀏覽器書簽等應用的即時同步與分享,為用戶提供提供隨時隨地無縫訪問各種內容和應用程序,是酷派對無線數據一體化在云計算時代的最新理解,也是酷派無線數據一體化終端戰略的成熟平台。據透露,酷派此次發布的酷云3.0版本相比2.0功能提升幅度很大,酷云3.0比酷云2.0同步速度提升10倍,同步1000條聯繫人衹要1分鐘左右﹔酷云3.0的流量消耗為酷云2.01/3,同時,酷云3.0版本采取多重加密:賬戶加密、數據傳輸過程加密、云端數據存儲加密,更加安全。酷云3.0版本與苹果最新發布的icloud云計算平台相比,酷云的本土化特色更加明顯,酷派的短信、通話記錄等都可以同步備份,而苹果的icloud卻不行。酷派副總裁蘇峰表示,2012年酷派加速在智能終端市場的布局,將推出近30款不同定位的Android智能手機,智能機出貨量高達千萬級,同時,酷派的移動互聯網戰略酷云+聚云計划,打造酷派移動互聯網的核心戰略平台,形成酷派的核心競爭力。蘇峰進一步透露,到目前為止,酷派酷云平台的註冊用戶已經達到500萬,是目前中國手機厂家最大的云計算平台之一。酷云平台負責人表示,酷派酷云3.0版本,此次升級最大的特色,就是基於遠程的控制和管理功能的提升,酷派是當前唯一提供實時手機云服務的中國手機公司,登陸酷派酷云賬號或手機賬號,用戶即使將手機遺忘在家裡,也可以通過酷派酷云平台,看到自己的未接電話和短信,並可以實現呼叫轉移﹔同時,通過酷云,云端銷毀設備數據/鎖定設備,還能通過發布短信指令,遠程銷毀數據信息。

酷派打造全球最長產品線發布7CDMA智能新機市場調研機構賽諾提供的數據顯示,作為CDMA產業的老牌強勢品牌,酷派在EVDO市場份額穩居產業前三名。據中國電信統計最新的5月份數據顯示,酷派已經超越三星,居于CDMA產業的第二名。2012年酷派秉承一貫的高端商務路線,繼續推行"明星產品精品策略",打造高端市場的明星產品,建立品牌勢能。據悉,酷派此次推出大觀、商務雙待和千元智能三大產品系列,重點布局云計算、四核、超薄、超大屏等技術領域,打造極具市場競爭力的核心產品。酷派此次在EVDO制式全面發力,第二季度同步推出7CDMA智能手機,將會在業界再次掀起智能手機風暴。酷派在EVDO領域推出7Android產品,其中以明星產品大觀系列為代表,其中大觀S這款產品是全球最薄的雙待機,厚度大約7mm,成為全球雙待機的新標桿﹔同時發布的另一款大觀NOTE產品,5.3英寸屏幕,硬件配置和體驗比三星GALAXY NOTE更加出眾﹔商務雙待系列和千元智能機系列以588058705860+等產品為代表,打造具備強大競爭力的產品線梯隊。對於酷派在CDMA領域的目標和策略,宇龍酷派副總裁蘇峰表示,酷派要繼續保持在EVDO領域前二名的市場地位,搶占智能機市場份額第一,以精品化、差異化作為產品規划方向,發揮酷派雙待機技術的優勢,加上酷云戰略的持續推進,酷派在移動互聯網的戰爭中將贏得更大的市場。■ 

台灣外科醫師 被起訴比例全球最高 !!

 鉅亨網新聞中心 (來源:財匯資訊,摘自:中國新聞網) 2012-06-06中新網66電據台灣今日新聞網報導,台灣新北市立聯合醫院板橋院區在四月底后沒有任何外科醫師,無法進行任何外科手術,有車禍傷者到急診室才發現沒有外科醫師,立即轉院,直批"太離譜"  據了解,板橋與花蓮已有醫院出現醫師荒,現在有159個鄉鎮無婦產科醫師,132個鄉鎮無小兒科醫師。且婦產科醫師平均年齡是53歲,表示婦產科目前無新血加入,更可怕的是,台灣已進入"內、外、婦產科、小兒科"等科別醫師皆無人駐診的狀況。台灣政論節目《2100全民開講》討論該議題,多數人認為,台灣外科醫師被法院起訴的比例,高居全球之冠。督保盟發言人滕西華表示,台灣醫師目前面臨五項困境:薪資少、醫療科技進步腳步快、疾病變種愈來愈多、病人不再將醫師視為唯一可依賴的對象,反而會通過網絡詳查自己的治療方式,比醫師還精明。  他們長時間呼吁將醫師納入勞基保障,卻受到醫界大佬反彈,他們的原因是:第一,醫療自主性不容剝奪,如將醫師納入勞基法保障,等同於醫師要聽老板的話。但滕西華認為他們沒有搞清楚狀況,因為"勞基法"與自主性無關。第二,醫師的時間是病人的,如遇上時間長的手術,難道到一半要換人?但這也是可協調的。  張孟源表示,醫師一旦上了兩次法院,他對救命的熱情早已消磨殆盡。且正如臺大醫院的洪浩云醫師所言,醫師需要生活質量,而24小時on call的工作密度導致許多醫師的小孩忘記自己的父親是誰。而台灣醫師被起訴的比例遠高於其他地區,且被判業務過失致死的案例非常多,在醫界早已出現寒蟬效應。  代表網絡組織醫勞盟上節目的萬芳醫院醫師李紹榕分享自己的經驗表示,他最喜歡動的手術是"動脈剝離",因其風險相當高,病患家屬也相當清楚,因此如成功會受到敬重,病患死亡也不會受太多責難,也不易被告。

人對愛滋抗病力 成研發疫苗關鍵

 [2012-06-12] 本報記者報道 卑詩省西門菲沙大學(SFU)科學家對愛滋病毒(HIV)研究取得新進展,研究員發現人們對愛滋病(AIDS)的天然抗病力,是研發防病疫苗的要素。 科研人員發現,少數人對引致愛滋病的病毒有天然抗病能力。SFU的研究員布洛克曼(Mark Brockman)及布姆(Zabrina Brumme),與在美國、日本及德國的研究員發現,這個抗病秘密並不在於人們體內有多少的抗病細胞,而在於這些細胞如何發揮功能。 這些抗病細胞稱為細胞毒T淋細胞(cytotoxic T lymphocyteCTL),可以偵出及殺死受愛滋病毒感染的白血球細胞。 發病速度 有快有慢 人們知道感染愛滋病毒的人,體內有很多這種能殺死病毒的細胞,卻一直不明為何人們仍會染病。後來研究員發現,有一些特質令到少數的細胞有更強殺傷力。 布洛克曼說﹕「我們知道感染病毒的人在不同時間內會形成愛滋病,有人很快,有人卻很慢,我們對這群惡化速度最慢的人,感到興趣。」而每300個病人當中,有一個人可以毋須藥物去控制病情發展。他說,如果解開了這個謎團,就能開發疫苗並展開治療。

 

骨鬆致死率 男性比女性高2倍

 新頭殼/新頭殼newtalk-20120613 下午19:00新頭殼newtalk 2012.06.13 謝莉慧/台北報導  據中華民國骨質疏鬆症學會研究顯示,骨鬆併發症中最嚴重的是髖部骨折,65歲以上的男性發生後1年內的死亡率為22%,是女性的2倍,但以往罹患骨鬆的男性常因忘記或藥物造成腸胃不適,而自行中斷服藥,無法達成預期的治療效果,上個月健保局已通過給付11年只須施打1次的骨鬆藥物給付,經臨床證實,治療第1年顯著降低脊椎骨折達7成,該學會理事長暨台大醫院骨科部主治醫師楊榮森今(13)日呼籲,50歲以上具高骨折風險或70歲以上男性要進行骨密度檢測,以免陷自己於致命危機中。  楊榮森表示,女性多半是因為停經而造成骨鬆,男性除了因為老化外,還有許多次發性原因包括性腺功能低下、長期使用類固醇的氣喘或慢性肺病患者、飲酒、抽菸等,光是生活習慣,就顯示接近一半的男性都處於骨鬆的威脅下。楊榮森還說,男性在面對骨質疏鬆症時,有「假硬漢沒骨氣,治療三『不』曲」,那就是不信邪、不能吃藥、不認真治療。  台大醫院老年醫學部主任詹鼎正說,男性以前只有2種藥物獲健保給付,女性卻有8種,最近除了原先口服用藥外,還有獲得健保給付的針劑藥物,可以治療男性骨鬆,幫男性遠離骨鬆致命危機。  台北慈濟醫院神經外科主治醫師黃國烽表示,根據自身臨床經驗,因手麻腳麻、四肢無力、全身痠軟、或腰痠背痛而求診的病患中,高達8成有骨質疏鬆,甚至有一照X光檢查,全身好幾處都出現壓迫性骨折的案例出現,是無聲無息的健康殺手,不可不慎。

骨鬆新藥: 健保給付一年只需施打一次雙磷酸鹽 !!

中年男性防骨鬆新藥 健保納入給付 記者吳典叡/臺北報導 此新聞見報日:2012/6/14中華民國骨質疏鬆症學會昨日指出,骨質疏鬆並不是婦女才會發生的病症,研究已發現,「抽菸、喝酒、體形偏瘦、睪固酮偏低」等,都會提高男性罹患骨鬆的風險。對此,除戒除菸酒,飲食補充鈣質、多運動外,目前健保局已核准雙磷酸鹽類藥物注射液,可用於治療男性骨鬆症,一年只需施打一次,由健保給付。中華民國骨質疏鬆症學會表示,傳統認為更年期女性為骨鬆高危險群,必須多補鈣、多曬太陽,定期接受骨密度檢測;男性卻疏於預防骨鬆。其中,體重過輕、BMI(身體質量指數)低於18,就會加速骨質流失速度,過了50歲恐將罹患骨鬆。

Hunan governor touts traditional medicine industry

 2012/06/13 18:26:31  Taipei, June 13 (CNA) The governor of China's Hunan Province promoted Chinese traditional medicine in Taipei Wednesday and expressed hope of working with Taiwan to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the industry.Hunan Governor Xu Shousheng said Taiwan's success in quality management and market development could help promote the Chinese medicine industry, which he described as prosperous.He made the remark at a Taiwanese alumni reception of the Hunan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.The Chinese medicine industry in the province has been growing rapidly, and over 70,000 students have graduated with degrees in Chinese medicine in the province, he said. The industry there generates about 17 billion Chinese yuan (US$2.67 billion) per year.He called for cross-Taiwan Strait cooperation in modernizing the traditional Chinese medicine industry.Meanwhile, Xu also visited Chang Hung-fang, a woman from Hunan who lives in New Taipei, and noted that 34,000 Chinese people from Hunan are married to Taiwanese and live in Taiwan.He said that he is happy to see Hunan women leading happy lives in Taiwan.

未来五年 无线医疗设备用户量将超5千万

 发布时间:2012/6/15 9:30:00 来源:药品资讯网信息中心  根据IP多媒体系统(IMS)研究所的报告,在未来五年内,无线医疗设备的用户量将超过5千万。同时IMS还预计在2016年这些面向消费者的无线医疗设备的80%将由消费者自行购买。 远程医疗的实施步伐越来越满足不了人们对自我监测的需求,IMS研究所的报告如是说。尽管只有少数的医疗保健系统设备能充分支持自我监测,但消费者对此还是充满兴趣并设法实现他们自己的家庭护理。根据该报告,用于运行远程医疗服务的无线设备比例也将从2011年的5%增长到2016年的20%左右。 IMS 研究所的资深分析师Lisa Arrowsmith在一份声明中说:"远程医疗系统的建设和落实相对来说比较缓慢,其部分原因是受到了医疗服务提供者不愿改变过去的试验计划、赔偿款问题以及与医疗数据使用和储存相关的严格规定等等的阻碍。这导致了消费者用来单独监测自身健康的医疗设备将成为未来五年内消费者用医疗设备市场中无线通讯技术投入最大的的市场。" "消费者所熟悉的移动应用程序以及他们对监测健康水平重要性认识的增加正推动相关医疗设备市场的发展"Arrowsmith说:"许多消费者已经使用智能手机应用程序以及活动监控程序、心率监视器等设备来跟踪自己的健康情况。现在,有越来越多可用的血压计等健康相关的外围设备来跟踪健康情况并通过与智能手机和平板电脑等设备的有线或无线连接来实时上传信息。"

Researchers use sensor technologies to remotely monitor aging adults' health

 June 14, 2012 in Health Many adults wish to maintain their independence as they age, but health problems often require them to live in assisted-care facilities where they can be observed by medical professionals. Now, technologies developed by University of Missouri researchers could help aging adults stay in their own homes longer while still being monitored by health care providers. Marjorie Skubic, a professor of electrical and computer engineering in the MU College of Engineering, and Marilyn Rantz, a Curator's Professor of Nursing in the MU Sinclair School of Nursing, have used motion-sensing technology to monitor changes in residents' health for several years at TigerPlace, an eldercare facility in Columbia. Now, they have received a grant from the National Science Foundation to expand their work to a facility in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Fiber networking in Columbia and Cedar Falls will provide the infrastructure necessary for health care providers in Missouri to remotely monitor the health of elderly residents in Iowa. High-speed video conferencing capabilities will allow communication between staff and residents at the two locations. "Using what we're already doing at TigerPlace and deploying it at the facility in Cedar Falls will allow us to further test the concept of remote health care," Rantz said. "Monitoring individuals with in-home sensors allows us to unobtrusively monitor their health changes based on their individual activity patterns and baseline health conditions." Rantz says the in-home monitoring systems use proactive, rather than reactive, ways of monitoring seniors' health. The systems provide automated data that alert health providers when patients need assistance or medical interventions. The sensors will include video gaming technology for measuring residents' movements in the home, and the researchers will integrate new hydraulic bed sensors that will monitor an individual's pulse, respiration and restlessness. "We're using high-speed networks to solve real-world problems," Skubic said. "Implementing the health alert system in Cedar Falls will tell us how the approach we use at TigerPlace compares to other settings. It will be an important step toward facilitating independent housing, which is where most seniors want to be." Skubic and Rantz said in-home sensors, such as the ones in their study, can help identify early changes in health. Identifying issues early is the key to maintaining health, independence and function for older adults, the researchers said. "The sensors help identify the small problems—before they become big problems," Rantz said. "Based on the data collected by the sensors, health providers can offer timely interventions designed to change the trajectory in individuals' functional decline." Provided by University of Missouri-Columbia

全球私人頂級醫療健康峰會在京舉行

2012/06/11 11:13  -- 醫療旅行,讓生命優美飛翔  北京2012611 /美通社亞洲/ -- 201269,來自世界各國的優秀醫療專家、醫療旅行( http://www.lavion.com.cn )專業人士在北京麗思卡爾頓酒店參加了由北京名仕優翔國際旅行社有限公司( http://www.lavion.com.cn )主辦的"讓生命優美飛翔 -- 全球私人頂級醫療健康峰會",共同就世界醫療旅行的發展現狀及世界前沿醫療健康科技進行了交流和探討。  在世界旅游組織的定義中,醫療旅行(Medical Tourism)是以疾病治療、醫療護理、康復與療養為主題的旅游服務。簡單來說就是為健康而旅行,通過旅行獲得健康。全世界已有70多個國家開展這項新興產業,但醫療旅行尚未被國內消費者所全面了解,目前國內只有少數專業機構正在努力開拓這一藍海市場。據統計,2012年世界醫療旅行產業將達到1000億美元的市場規模。  據優翔總經理周凱文介紹:"世界醫療旅行主要滿足兩類人群的需求,一方面是美國、英國等醫療費用昂貴國家的病人前往墨西哥、巴西、新加坡、台灣、馬來西亞、泰國等尋求價格低廉而技朮可靠的醫療服務,而另外一類人群,則是如中國、俄羅斯、中東等發展中國家的富裕人士前往歐美、日本、韓國、澳洲等醫療水平較高的國家尋找更加先進的醫療服務。"除前往世界優秀醫療機構滿足健康需求之外,旅行過程中還配備有私人旅行顧問、私密行程設計、后續健康管理,這樣一趟旅程的花費大約在几萬到几十萬不等,目前國內選擇海外醫療旅行的消費者大多為跨國公司高層、私營企業主等社會精英。以優翔統計數據為例,自2006年開創中國醫療旅行行業起,共計接待上千位客人,其中不乏福布斯上榜人物。  根據優翔六年來的醫療旅行數據顯示,自2009年開展日本早期防癌檢查項目起,三年內共計接待逾三百位客人,其中有9%的客人檢測出早期癌症,超過90%的客人存在高血壓、高血脂、高血糖等重大疾病風險,100%的客人患有疲憊、抑郁、失眠等亞健康狀態。針對這樣的問題,優翔隨此次峰會推出了"私人生命管理"服務,依托全球醫療資源,借鑒國際先進健康管理體系,提供包含健康理念、疾病預防、疾病篩查與治療、健康檔案管理等服務。  此次參會的多位國際專家都是首次到訪中國,如瑞士靜港中心醫院的抗衰老專家哈扎·塔瓦索利,歐洲醫療旅行公司的創始人Tim Vicknair先生,韓國EHS醫療旅行公司、峨山醫院及抗衰老與美容整形權威機構組成的機構代表團等,會議中各位嘉賓共同就國際醫療旅行、疾病防治、抗衰老等領域的全球發展狀況進行了主題演講,并針對中國消費者所關心的問題進行了解答。  醫療旅行是現代旅游業中的高度細分產業,將疾病治療、療養、健康管理與旅行相融合,一方面滿足消費者多樣化的健康旅行需求,另外也為一個國家的經濟、服務、旅游、醫療等產業的發展帶來了機遇。中國也正在制定關于醫療旅行的國家戰略,對其中涉及到的醫療、高端旅行、私人定制等跨領域服務能力的建設、從業機構的規范和管理提出行業發展指導。優翔也希望籍由此次國際醫療旅行論壇,探索和完善更適合中國消費者的專業服務。 

優翔簡介  優翔是中國第一家醫療旅行服務專家,倡導"為健康而旅行,從旅行中收獲健康",致力于匯聚全球頂級醫療資源,為中國貴賓提供疾病預防、調養、診治、抗衰老治療等服務。自成立伊始,優翔便建立了服務中國頂級客戶的國際醫療旅行體系,并制定了行業服務標准,首創"私人健康管理師""私人旅行管家""私人旅行規划師"等職業。創建以來已為上千位中國貴賓提供境外健康旅行服務,是中國第一例醫療旅行簽証的獲得機構,擁有几十家全球頂級醫療資源合作伙伴。2011年成立國內首個醫療專家理事會,并在2012年首次發布"生命管理體系",搭建全球醫療資源平台,為中國精英的生命健康提供全方位的保駕護航。  網址:http://www.lavion.com.cn  消息來源 北京名仕優翔國際旅行社有限公司  

中国自主研发口腔锥束CT (CBCT; Cone beam CT)

我国自主研发口腔锥束CT(CBCT)上市 发布时间:2012/6/14 9:08:00 来源:药品资讯网信息中心  我国首款自主研发的具有完全自主知识产权的口腔锥束CTCBCT)日前获得了医疗器械注册证,这标志着国产高端医疗器械正式进入市场销售。 据北京朗视仪器有限公司相关专家介绍,目前,国内口腔医疗界使用的口腔CBCT产品全部为进口产品。我国自主研发的首款HiRes3D口腔CBCT与国外同类产品相比,最大优势在于具有金属伪影处理技术,可以显著减少口腔内部金属物(如金属冠、金属填充物)对影像的影响,从而获得更清晰准确的图像。


Cone beam(锥形束)CT——21世纪口腔医师的影像诊断利器  随着全球患者对医疗射线越来越敏感的趋势,除去很多没有传统CT设备的口腔医院和部分耳鼻喉专科医院已购买之外,相当多已经装备多排螺旋CT的综合医院口腔科也着手引进CBCT  Cone beam(锥形束)CT是当今口腔头颅影像设备中最有前途和实用性的设备。Cone beam (锥形束)CT的应用给口腔及头颅部临床领域中的诊断和治疗带来了革命性的变化。美国ADA预计在今后五年内全球至少有10万台以上的市场。  Cone beam CT,顾名思义是锥形束投照计算机重组断层影像设备(见下图A),其原理是X线发生器以较低的射线量(通常球管电流在10毫安左右)围绕投照体做环形DR(数字式投照)。然后将围绕投照体多次(180-360次,依产品不同而异)数字投照后"交集"中所获得的数据在计算机中"重组,reconstruction"后进而获得三维图像。CBCT获取数据的投照原理和传统扇形扫描CT(见下图B)是完全不同的,而后期计算机重组的算法原理有类似之处。    CBCT与体层CT(螺旋CT)的最大区别在于体层CT的投影数据是一维的,重建后的图像数据是二维的,重组的三维图像是连续多个二维切片堆积而成的,其图像金属伪影较重。而CBCT的投影数据是二维的,重建后直接得到三维图像。从他们的成像结构看,CBCT用三维锥形束X线扫描代替体层CT的二维扇形束扫描(如图);与此相对应,CBCT采用一种二维面状探测器来代替体层CT的线状探测器(如图)。显然,CBCT采用锥形束X线扫描可以显著提高X线的利用率,只需旋转360度即可获取重建所需的全部原始数据,而且用面状探测器采集投影数据可以加速数据的采集速度;CBCT所具有的另一个优势就是很高的各向同性空间分辨力。  传统螺旋CT存在:1.X线辐射量大,对于口腔正畸,种植等需多次投照重复进行检查的病例,不符合"医疗照射正当化"原则;2.CT图像质量及准确性易受例如螺距(螺旋CT),层厚等多种因素影响;3.图像重建操作相对复杂,须由经过专业影像培训的人员实施,在一定程度上造成医学影像与口腔临床诊断脱节;4.经济成本高,患者花费增加。  

Cone beam (锥形束)CT与传统扇形扫CT相比,具有如下优点:  

1. 射线量极低 相比传统多排螺旋CTNewTom锥形束CT一次投照只相当于传统CT1/30-1/40放射量, 仅相当于4次数字化曲面断层投照放射量。—— 一份美国的研究报告指出,一张CBCT的剂量(36.9uSv)仅相当于一套全口根尖片的剂量(大约13-100uSv)。口腔正畸科的患者多为儿童,而儿童射线吸收能力是成人的10倍。在患者多为儿童的正畸治疗领域,辐射极低的CBCT相比于传统CT无疑具有极大的优势。同时,口腔科利用本科所拥有的CBCT对儿童气道通气障碍的早期诊断可使大部分儿童咬合畸形得到及时救治。  

2. 应用范围极其广泛 NewTom 12英寸锥形束CT可广泛应用于口腔颌面外科,正畸科,正颌外科,种植科,牙体科,颞下颌关节科及耳鼻喉科等。传统CT虽然有一些口腔软件可选择,但费用高而且不及CBCT专用口腔软件更加人性化。口腔专科医院和装备了大视野锥形束CT的综合医院口腔科,可以在较短的时间内,使种植,根管(牙体),正畸,正颌,外科,牙周等领域有一个较快的发展。  3. 口腔科应用更加方便 CBCT以往客户(如北京301医院)的经验来看,传统CT虽然可以获得口腔科所需的大部分头颅3D图像,但在视野选择,图像合成等口腔专业所需个性化图像生成方面,口腔科本身所拥有的CBCT有着无法比拟的优势。——许多研究机构对比了CBCT和全身CT(包括螺旋CT和多层CT)对口腔颌面部结构的成像效果,结果表明,CBCT的空间分辨率高,CBCT对于高分辨率区域,如下颌骨,下颌神经管,颞下颌关节解剖结构的成像质量更好。CBCT的三维成像和多方向层面成像特点也有助于对口腔颌面部疾病诊断。和传统CT相比,CBCT不仅大大减少了曝光辐射剂量,其数据更可在初次重建获得的轴位图像上进行多向、多层面重建及曲面体层重建或三维重建。CBCT的序列纵断面重建,可以清楚地显示上、下颌弓呈正交垂直关系的纵断面影像,是口腔颌面部CT(口腔CBCT)不同于其他通用CT的特色重建序列。另外,三维重建图像还允许任意角度旋转观察,任意选择重建范围。在三维重建图像上通过调节窗可将部分骨组织去除,只留下密度较高的牙齿图像。再辅以轴位和其他层面图像可以精确地了解埋伏牙的形态、位置、与邻牙的关系以及邻牙有无位移或根吸收等。因此,CBCT检查可为临床医生做进一步治疗设计或术前入路选择提供准确的信息。所以说,CBCT的使用可以大大提高口腔科的科研和临床水平。  另外,由于低端螺旋CT扫描时间较长,曝光时间相对较高,对于不危及生命而应根据临床需要多次投照的正畸和种植治疗的口腔患者来说,在矫治及种植前或治疗中对他们进行多次螺旋CT检查也有悖于医学伦理,而且其相对昂贵的价格也使患者难以接受。而放射量极低使用方便的口腔锥形束CT可使口腔科特有的,在种植,牙体,正畸治疗时往往需多次投照的三维影像诊断大为方便和安全。  

4. 在轴向位有更清晰的图像 锥形束CT的成像原理决定了其在矢状位投照时获得的图像信息相比扇扫多排螺旋CT更多,因而能获得更准确地矢状位断层图像,特别是口腔领域中常用的硬组织图像。最常用的传统螺旋CT技术,是通过多层扫描后对所获得的一系列轴向断层图像进行三维叠加重建,相对而言,其所获得图像的纵向分辨率较低,比较容易产生阶梯状伪影,图像质量不够细腻。因此,传统螺旋CT技术在病变集中于头颅中下部,组织结构测量多以毫米计量的口腔正畸、种植及牙体学领域的应用受到一定限制。CBCT由于可以一次扫描多层组织,因而大大提高了获取数据的速度和X线的利用率,其一般扫描投照时间为20秒左右,放射剂量比传统CT降低约15-20倍;同时也使重建出的容积图像的轴向分辨率得到很大提高,其物理层厚可低至0.1毫米;这也大大降低了CBCT扫描的成本。因此,空间分辨率高(0.1mm),数据采集时间短(10多秒),曝光剂量小(降低至20-30倍),拍摄成本低等优点的CBCT系统的出现,为颅面部三维重建影像在口腔正畸领域的广泛应用提供了新的可能。NewTom CBCT能获得最低0.1毫米的真实数据断层图像(而非计算模拟处理数据图像),并且图像重建层厚在扫描之后可根据临床需要任意设定。而传统多排CT一般最低扫描断层厚度只能达到0.5-0.6毫米造价近2000万的64排螺旋CT扫描层厚可达到0.325毫米),而且必须在操作扫描前提前设定扫描层厚。  

5. 可作为口腔常规检查手段 CBCT因其相对的低费用,低放射量(NewTom 产品射线量只及传统CT放射量的1/30-40),已经具备了其作为口腔常规影像检查的条件。其更短的扫描时间,更低的辐射量,更高的空间分辨率及更低的扫描成本,也第一次使正畸医生将三维颅颌面影像作为常规检查诊断设计资料成为可能。这也从深度及广度上大大拓展了正畸领域的科学研究内容。在北美及欧洲的一些国家,口腔医生为规避日益增加的患者法律诉讼,已经要求患者在接受治疗前进行上下颌(大视野机型可一次完成扫描)的CBCT投照以获取病人三维影像信息作为今后患者治疗后的原始档案。而这对于费用高昂,辐射量大,主要服务于全身检查的传统螺旋CT显然不适用。

6. 使用操作简单 通常说来,锥形束CT口腔技术人员或普通放射人员都可操作,而不像传统CT操作需要专业人员持有上岗证。头颅锥形束CT软件的特殊设计也使口腔专业人员使用起来更加方便,口腔专业人员完全可以按自己的意愿随意获取自己想要的口腔3D图像。

7. 购买费用相对低廉 NewTom 12英寸锥形束CT(可投照全头颅,重组20cm直径*22cm高的3D图像)为例,购买价格为人民币三百多万,可扫描重建层厚薄至0.1毫米的三维图像。成像高度能涵盖大部分国人面颊正畸所需长度的九英寸NewTom锥形束CT售价仅二百多万。而扫描重建能达到0.325毫米层厚的64排螺旋CT需要两千万左右。

8. 维护费用低廉 仍以NewTom 12英寸锥形束CT(可投照全头颅)为例,全年所有项目保修合同费用为九万人民币(优质保修合同)。而传统16排螺旋CT不含球管保修一年要三十万左右。二者相差极大。

Cone beam (锥形束)CT的局限:  1. 投照重组图像中低密度分辨率不够,对部分软组织解剖结构特别是软组织病变显像不如多排螺旋CT清晰。  2. 全身锥形束CT的技术应用未突破。  注:本文参考了北京大学口腔医院张祖燕教授,姜若萍教授及张万林主任及山东省立医院方冬主管技师的文章,特此表示感谢。

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