Friday’s COPD Newsletter From COPD Support, Inc.

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Volume 10, Issue 05
January 1, 2010
Joan Costello, Editor

THE TOP TEN MEDICAL ADVANCES OF THE DECADE

By Peggy Peck and Lauren Cox. The first decade of the 21st century brought a number of discoveries, mistakes and medical advances that influenced medicine from the patient’s bedside to the medicine cabinet. In some cases, these advances changed deeply rooted beliefs in medicine. In others, they opened up possibilities beyond what doctors thought was possible years ago.

1. Human Genome Discoveries Reach the Bedside:

In 2000, scientists with the International Human Genome Project released a rough draft of the human genome to the public on the Internet. For the first time, the world could download and read the complete set of human genetic information and begin to discover what our roughly 20,000 genes do. Mapping the human genome was a race involving time and money in the 1990s, with two competitors at the lead. Starting first in 1990 was the government-funded Human Genome Project. At the end of the decade the human Genome Project had a competitor — a private company, Celera Genomics, which used a different “shot gun” sequencing technique and spent $100 million on mapping the human genome, according to Dr. Craig Venter, the chief scientist behind Celera Genomics. Both groups announced drafts of the human genome at a June 26, 2000.

Dr Margit Burmeister, professor of psychiatry and human genetics at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, said our genes, for example, already have changed the way we treat lung cancer by tailoring medicine to the individual. “Drugs like Iressa [a lung cancer drug] should only be given to people with certain mutations,” Burmeister said.

2. Doctors and Patients Harness Information Technology:

Patients may not even think of it as they sign in with a pad and pen, then sit in the waiting room while the nurse pulls their file. But doctors say the internet and information technology has actually changed the way they practice medicine for the better. Even doctors need to look things up from time to time. “Early in practice,” said Dr. John Messmer, associate professor at the Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, “if I had a clinical question to research, I had to go to the library, pull out multiple years of the Index Medicus, look up the topic, write down the references, go to the stacks and pull the volumes of journals, find the article, read the article, go to the copy machine and make a copy. … If I were lucky, I would have my answer in about four hours.”

3. Anti-Smoking Laws and Campaigns Reduce Public Smoking.

4. Heart Disease Deaths Drop by 40 Percent:

Those looking for dramatic improvements in public health need look no further than the world of heart disease. A mere 25 years ago, when a patient came to a hospital with a heart attack, the best that could be done was to put the patient in a darkened room, give him or her morphine for pain and lidocaine, which doctors believed would prevent dangerous irregular heartbeats, and hope for the best. Heart attacks, called infarcts, were “big” and the damage to the heart muscle often was catastrophic…By contrast, treating a heart attack now is all about speed: Speed the patient to the hospital so that a clot line that blocks the life-saving flow of blood can be “busted” with drugs.

5. Stem Cell Research:

Laboratory Breakthroughs and Some Clinical Advances Probably no area of research has fired the public imagination and ignited the fires of public controversy as much as stem cell research. In reality, this area has generated more political action than reproducible clinical advances — But the clinical advances — even when they have come from pilot studies –have been tantalizing. “Cases like those fuel the promise of stem cell research. As the population ages, the opportunity for ‘replacement parts’ becomes more and more inviting. “This seems likely to be the future of regenerative medicine.” Stem cell researcher Dr. George Daley of Children’s Hospital Boston, called the progress in both adult and embryonic stem cell research this decade “breathtaking.”

6. Targeted Therapies for Cancer Expand With New Drugs:

Two blockbuster targeted therapies burst on the cancer scene in late 1990s, and arguably changed forever the concept of cancer treatment, converting what often was a fatal disease into a chronic illness. The two breakthrough agents opened the door to a number of cancer drugs that targeted specific molecules that control not only cell growth, but also the blood supply that feeds tumors.

7. Combination Drug Therapy Extends HIV Survival

8. Minimally Invasive Techniques Revolutionize Surgery:

Ten years ago someone would expect to see a six inch scar after a doctor removed an organ, but new techniques in minimally invasive surgery have virtually eliminated scars from some procedures. In the late 2000s, doctors at the Cleveland Clinic started using a technique that removed the kidney-through the naval, leaving patients examining their belly buttons in search of a scar after donating their kidney.

9. Study Finds Heart, Cancer Risk With Hormone Replacement Therapy:

Until July 2002, most doctors treating middle-aged women believed that giving their patients hormones — either estrogen alone or estrogen combined with progestin — would protect their hearts from the ravages of age that seemed to attack women after menopause. Hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, also was thought to be good for the bones, the brain, the skin, the figure and the libido, and was considered the best treatment to control the annoying and sometimes disabling symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes, depression and sleep disturbances. And then the world changed.

10. Scientists Peer Into Mind With Functional MRI:

Mind-reading has moved from carnival attraction to the halls of medicine with what is known as a functional MRI. The medical mind-readers are not trying to identify a card randomly selected from a deck. They are using sophisticated imaging techniques to map the way the mind works. The process, often called fMRI, traces the working of neurons — brain cells by tracking changes in the oxygen levels and blood flow in the brain. The more brain activity in one area, the more oxygen will be used resulting in more blood flow to that area.
http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/news-449114-98.html?ic=6001

TWO MORE MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

GP’s stethoscopes have not changed much in the last few decades but now 3M has invented the Littmann Electronic Stethoscope Model 3200, the first electronic stethoscope that uses Blue tooth technology to transfer information to a computer. The stethoscope transfers heart, lung and other body sounds to a software which can perform further in-depth analysis. The stethoscope was named “Invention of the Year” by Popular Science.

Until recently, organs waiting to be transplanted were rushed to the patient in a freezer. But after five hours in the freezer, the heart or lung or liver organ has usually deteriorated so much, it becomes useless. This time frame puts incredible pressure on doctor and patient to be ready as soon as the organ is. Now a machine that keeps the organ warm instead of cold, and constantly pumps it with blood, oxygen and nutrients, has stretched this time period to nearly 12 hours. The Organ Care System, developed by TransMedics, has even made cross-country transplantations possible, such as one case this year when a heart was rushed from Germany to Greece. The system is currently on the market in Europe for heart transplants and in 2009 TransMedics has developed a similar system for lungs.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/12/14/top.health.innovations.2009/index.html

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

-IF NOTHING ELSE RESOLVE TO DO THESE HEALTHY THINGS
-HOW CAN ‘Wii’ ENHANCE PULMONARY REHABILITATION?
-RESPIRATORY THERAPY PREDICTIONS FOR 2010 AND BEYOND
-GENE THERAPY HOLDS PROMISE FOR EMPHYSEMA
-ENTEST BIOMEDICAL FILES GRANT APPLICATION WITH NHLBI
-PAINTING A SAFE WORLD
-INVISIBLE BRACELET FOR EMERGENCY HEALTH ALERTS?
-FDA CAUTIONS AGAINST AGENCY IMPOSTORS
-MISCELLANEOUS

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SOURCES: News items summarized in The COPD-NEWS are taken from secondary sources believed to be reliable. However, the COPD Family of Services does not verify their accuracy.
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IF NOTHING ELSE RESOLVE TO DO THESE HEALTHY THINGS

Dr. Bill Elliott: I’m not sure about the whole concept of New Year’s resolutions. If I haven’t done something all year, then I’m sure as heck not going to start during the worst month of the year - January. Most people try to survive January - the cold weather and dark mornings, all you want to do is sleep and eat. It’s a terrible time to make life changes. But this column appears right before New Year’s, and there is an unwritten rule that it has to be about New Year’s resolutions - but it is OK if you wait until February or March to jump into these. So if you must make a resolution, here are three in order of importance:

Quit smoking:

This is always the No. 1 resolution because if you smoke, nothing else really matters. Smoking causes lung cancer at a rate almost 20 times higher than nonsmokers, it also causes oral, throat, esophageal, pancreatic and bladder cancer and about 20 other cancers of just about every organ system in the body.

Smokers are two to four times more likely to develop heart disease and stroke than nonsmokers. Smoking causes peripheral vascular disease and aortic aneurysms, not to mention emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Everybody knows this, but what is less known is that nicotine is one of the most addictive substances on earth, on a par with cocaine and crystal meth. Quitting is hard. There are cravings, many people will gain a bit of weight, and irritability or depression may occur while quitting. But quitting smoking is worth the effort.

Walk daily:

Now that you are a nonsmoker, the second most important thing you can do for yourself is walk every day for at least 30 minutes. Fifteen minutes out the front door and 15 minutes back is all it takes to affect some remarkable changes. Exercise will improve your mood by stimulating beneficial brain hormones. It also will combat chronic diseases such as heart disease and osteoporosis as well as type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer. Daily activity also boosts energy levels and will improve your lung function and cardiovascular function.

Have more fun:

This is an easy resolution on the surface, but the reality is that many 21st-century adults are severely lacking in free time and fun in their lives. Many of us remember our parents and grandparents having scheduled leisure time such as vacations, social events, social clubs, church groups and other activities. Ironically as the world has become more connected, many individuals have become more isolated. Fun and leisure time is important and in fact is essential for a healthy balanced life. Pursue hobbies, join groups…volunteer, seek out old friends and most important stay connected…That is after you quit smoking and go for that 30-minute walk.
http://www.marinij.com/lifestyles/ci_14079633

HOW CAN ‘Wii’ ENHANCE PULMONARY REHABILITATION?

Janelle York, lecturer and researcher in nursing, looks at using the Nintendo Wii as a form of for pulmonary rehabilitation. Pulmonary rehabilitation is an effective strategy for managing COPD. Yet, up-take by patients is low and attrition high. There are multiple factors associated with this including a lack of resources, travel issues and patient motivation. For patients who do attend and complete a rehabilitation programme the gains decline after its termination with data suggesting a return to pre-programme levels of quality of life and exercise capacity within 6 to 12 months. Many programmes often fail after rehabilitation because regular exercise at home and healthy lifestyle options are not maintained. So what more can ‘Wii’ do for patients to improve the experience of rehabilitation and maintain its positive effects in the long term?

The use of Wii technology could provide pulmonary rehabilitation programmes with the extra factor needed keep patients motivated in the long term. Being asked to follow an exercise programme using Wii is no doubt more enticing than following exercise instructions provided on paper. Plus exercising with Wii can get the whole family involved in the process and make exercise more fun and less of a chore. However, the use of Wii in the rehabilitation of patients following a stroke and in children with cerebral palsy is gaining momentum. So, perhaps for some patients ‘Wii’ can enhance their experience of pulmonary rehabilitation.
http://www.nursingtimes.net/whats-new-in-nursing/specialists/respiratory/how-can-wii-enhance-the-effects-of-pulmonary-rehabilitation/5009912.article

Editor’s note: Santa dropped a Wii off at my daughter’s house this year. I managed to avoid any exertion, but several folks “bowled” and “jogged” and did all sorts of exercise. It worked because a day or so later, they were all nursing the aches and pains that come from little or no use of certain muscles. Perhaps some RT can help develop a program for Wii suited specifically for COPD patients. Joan

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MEDICAL DECISIONS. Your physician should be consulted on all medical decisions. New procedures or drugs should not be started or stopped without such consultation. While we believe that our accumulated experience has value, and a unique perspective, you must accept it for what it is…the work of COPD patients. We vigorously encourage individuals with COPD to take an active part in the management of their disease. They do this through education and by sharing information and thoughts with their primary physician and pulmonologist. However, medical decisions are based on complex medical principles and should be left to the medical practitioner who has been trained to diagnose and advise.
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RESPIRATORY THERAPY PREDICTIONS FOR 2010 AND BEYOND

By Roger Berg. “Chitchat with the Old Respiratory Codger.” New improved aerosol delivery devices are already here. More will be coming that will improve the efficiency and delivery of medications to the lung parenchyma, increasing effectiveness and reducing costs. It was also predicted in a lecture that in the near future physicians would be prescribing medications based on the patient’s genetic profile. The future looks absolutely brilliant for RT’s that are willing to make the sacrifices that will be required to keep up with the myriad of medical advances that are taking place right before our eyes today.

There will be new advances in aerosolized or inhaled medications that will enable them to be used for a much broader group of diseases, e.g. heparin for fibrosis and asthma, furosomide and opioids for dyspnea, insulin for diabetes, calcitonin for osteoporosis, luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone for infertility, human growth hormone for growth and interferons for hepatitis. There is also research going on for developing an inhaled gene-replacement agent for genetic diseases such as alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and cystic fibrosis.

The RT of the near future will need to understand the scientific evidence and to be able to analyze various studies to determine if the findings are appropriate for their practice. These new aerosol therapies will require a broader knowledge of physiology, general medicine and pharmacology. Unless the predicted shortage of physicians is resolved there will be an increasing need for RT’s to lead out in the management of pulmonary diseases. The RT’s scope of knowledge and skills will need to expand and RT’s will need to refine their critical thinking and communication skills, and increase their ability to analyze the medical literature. http://community.advanceweb.com/blogs/mr_4/archive/2009/12/23/respiratory-therapy-predictions-for-2010-and-beyond.aspx

GENE THERAPY HOLDS PROMISE FOR EMPHYSEMA

A single treatment with a new method of gene therapy may offer lifetime protection against the progression of the lung disease emphysema, according to the results of a study in mice. The most common form of emphysema in young people is Alpha-1 Anti-trypsin Deficiency, caused by a mutation in the alpha-1 anti-trypsin gene. In experiments on mice, researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine developed a system that can deliver genes selectively to as many as 70 percent of the lung’s alveolar macrophages, which play an important role in emphysema. Using this new approach, the researchers achieved sustained expression of normal human alpha-1 anti-trypsin (hAAT) protein at levels that improved emphysema in mice. “The lung macrophages carrying the therapeutic gene survived in the lungs’ air sacs for the two-year lifetime of the treated mice following a single intra-tracheal injection of the lentiviral vector we had engineered.” The study was published online Dec. 21 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
http://health.discovery.com/news/healthscout/article.html?article=634250&category=6&year=2009&emcampaigns=DH-NL-12282009-WN

ENTEST BIOMEDICAL FILES GRANT APPLICATION WITH NHLBI

…for development of the Company’s ENT-576 Laser Device for Treatment of COPD. Entest Biomedical Inc. announced that it has filed a grant application with \line the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) for the development of the Company’s ENT-576 Laser Device to be used in treating COPD. Should the Company’s application be approved, the NHLBI could provide grant funding of approximately $500,000. Grant funding will accelerate the process of developing the Company’s patent pending laser-based therapeutic platform to enhance efficacy levels in stem cell therapy among patients with COPD. Entest’s patent-pending approach revolves around the use of the patient’s own stem cells in combination with specific laser wavelengths in repairing damaged lung tissue of patients with COPD.

David Koos, Chairman & CEO of Entest Biomedical, stated: “The Entest approach involves administration of an FDA-approved drug that releases stem cells from the bone marrow followed by administration of optimized laser energy into lung tissue. We believe this treatment to be relatively non-invasive compared to other stem cell therapies involving cell extraction and manipulation.” Both components of the ENT-576 product have previously been clinically used for other indications. The Company believes it can get this technology to market quickly — making regenerative therapy finally available to COPD patients.
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/0572859.htm

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COMMERCIAL FREE: We do not accept any paid advertising. Any corporations, products, medicines (prescription or non) mentioned in this newsletter are for informational purposes only and not to be construed as an endorsement or condemnation of same.
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PAINTING A SAFE WORLD

Editor’s note: Comes word of a paint that fights air pollution. I’m not sure if this should be featured on April 1st, however, it sounds pausible and is worth a head’s up! Joan.

By Rizal Raoul Reyes / Correspondent. The Philippines is one of the heaviest polluted countries in the world, adversely affecting the health of people. Every effort in the fight against air pollution counts. Johnson Ongking, vice president of Pacific Paint (Boysen) Philippines Inc., said the company decided to do its part by introducing KNOxOUT in the Philippines. “KNOxOUT not only provides every Filipino with a way to help protect themselves from the harmful effects of air pollution.”

To determine if KNOxOUT is effective, Boysen has been conducting at the Guadalupe MRT Station the world’s largest air-cleaning paint trial. The whole station was painted with Boysen KNOxOUT, the world’s first air-cleaning paint, and data from the trial indicates that the paint on the walls is cleaning the emissions of over 30,000 vehicles that pass by the area daily. As a result, the station has earned a most unlikely distinction. “In effect, the Guadalupe MRT Station is now the biggest air filter in the world,” says Ongking. “The trial shows that KNOxOUT transforms an ordinary wall into an air purifier that helps protect people from the ill effects of air pollutants such as NOx.”

For a long time paint has developed a negative reputation of fouling up the air. With advances in science technology, KNOxOUT has a special ingredient-air cleaning titanium dioxide (TiO2), often referred to as a photocatalyst. When activated by light, it speeds up a chemical reaction that turns ordinary water vapor into free radicals that attack NOx and VOCs, the two components of smog; and transform them into harmless substances. Ongking says the technology has been verified in several trials in Europe, but the Guadalupe MRT trial was the first in which an actual commercial paint was used. “KNOxOUT really changes the way you think of paint,” says Ongking. “Up to now, we’ve always painted to protect surfaces-a concrete wall, a metal roof, a wooden door. KNOxOUT goes beyond that to actually protect people from the ill effects of air pollution.”
http://businessmirror.com.ph/component/content/article/47-properties/20091-painting-a-safe-world.html

And while we are on the subject of paint: Your wall paint could protect you from dangerous bacteria, according to scientists at the University of South Dakota. They have invented a germ-killing molecule that can be added to paint and cloth to give it antimicrobial properties. The bleach-like substance called an N-halamine CI-TMPM would be able to fight hospitals’ “superbugs.” The antimicrobial substance would last over one year, but would need to be cleaned approximately every one to two weeks. The lead researcher, Dr. Yuyu San, is now in talks with commercial paint brands for partnerships.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE53M56S20090423

INVISIBLE BRACELET FOR EMERGENCY HEALTH ALERTS?

“Emergency health alerts for the Facebook generation? The nation’s ambulance crews are pushing a virtual medical ID system to rapidly learn a patient’s health history during a crisis and which can immediately text-message loved ones that the person is headed for a hospital. The Web-based registry, invisibleBracelet.org, started in Oklahoma and got a boost this fall when the state’s government made the program an optional health benefit for its own employees. Now the Invisible Bracelet attempts to go nationwide as the American Ambulance Association next month begins training its medics, who in turn will urge people in their communities to sign up. For $5 a year, basic health information and up to 10 emergency contacts are stored under a computer-assigned PIN number that’s kept on a wallet card with your driver’s license, a key fob or a sticker on an insurance card. It’s a complement to the medical alert jewelry that people with…a host of other conditions have used for decades to signal their needs in an emergency. And it comes as the American College of Emergency Physicians is trying to determine just what information is the most critical for medics and ER doctors to find when you’re too ill or injured to answer questions, so that competing emergency-alert technologies don’t miss any of the essentials.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091222/ap_on_he_me/us_med_healthbeat_invisible_bracelet_3

FDA CAUTIONS AGAINST AGENCY IMPOSTORS

By Cole Petrochko, Staff Writer, MedPage Today. The FDA has warned patients, especially those using the Internet to purchase medication, of a scam committed by individuals posing as FDA and other law enforcement officials. The scammers contact patients via phone or the Internet, claim the consumer illegally purchased drugs over the phone or online, and attempt to extort fines ranging from $100 to $250,000.

The fines are to be sent by wire transfer to a specific location, usually in the Dominican Republic, and threaten property search, arrest, deportation, physical harm, or incarceration for non-compliance, the FDA said in a release. Victims of the scam have also reported fraudulent purchases made against their credit cards, according to the release. Impersonating an FDA or other law enforcement official is a federal offense. The FDA will never contact a patient by phone demanding money or other payment. Nor can the FDA or other government law enforcement agents impose or collect fines. The criminals have also posed as officials from the DEA, FBI, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Customs Service, and U.S. and Dominican prosecutors and judges. The FDA is working with various government agencies to pursue criminal charges against the scammers.

The FDA asked anyone who receives or has received contact from anyone claiming to represent an FDA or other law enforcement official regarding illegal medication purchases to contact the agency’s Office of Criminal Investigations Metro Washington Field Office at 800-521-5783. http://www.medpagetoday.com/PublicHealthPolicy/PublicHealth/17738?

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JOIN US? Subscription to this Newsletter is free and we hope that it serves your needs. For more Newsletter information, go to:
http://copd-support.com/signup-news.html

The Newsletter, like all other endeavors of the Family of COPD Support Programs, is provided to you by COPD-Support, Inc. a non-profit member organization with IRS designation 501(c)(3). If you would like to be involved and help us provide these programs to the individuals who benefit from them, please consider joining us as a member. Further information is available at:
http://copd-support.com/membership.html
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MISCELLANEOUS

New Years Smooch
http://www.mamarocks.com/new_years_smooch.htm

I-play offers free trials of their games, or games to play online.
http://www.iplay.com/index.aspx?GEO=US

Cold Storage
http://www.miniclip.com/games/cold-storage/en/

Dictionary Look-up, Word of the Day and Match-Up.
http://www.speedyadverts.com/SAEntertainment/html/dictionary.html

Until next Friday,
Joan Costello, Editor

Web version of the News: http://copd-support.com/news.html

Archives at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/copd-news.html

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