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Market Research
Photo courtesy of Siemens Healthineers
Siemens Healthineers Introduced Medical Imaging Innovations Siemens Healthineers (Erlangen, Germany) demonstrated its pioneering spirit and engineering expertise at Arab Health 2017 by showcasing its advanced products, which provide increased outcomes and reduce costs for healthcare providers. Siemens Healthineers (formerly Siemens Healthcare, Siemens Medical Solutions, Siemens Medical Systems) is a medical technology company and is headquartered in Erlangen, Germany. The company dates its early beginnings in 1847 to a small family business in Berlin, co-founded by Ernst Werner von Siemens. Siemens Healthineers is connected to the larger corporation, Siemens AG. The name Siemens Medical Solutions was adopted in 2001, and the change to Siemens Healthcare was made in 2008. In 2015, Siemens named Bernd Montag as its new global CEO. In May 2016, Siemens Healthcare was renamed "Siemens Healthineers. At the Arab Health Exhibition and Congress held January 29 through February 1 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, UAE, Siemens showcased various models in its CT portfolio, which included the SOMATOM Edge Plus, SOMATOM go.All and SOMATOM go.Top. These CT scanners offer features such as personalized scanning, automated workflows, patient-centric technologies and advanced imaging. Also on display at the exhibition was the company’s SOMATOM Confidence RT Pro for radiation therapy, the nexaris therapy suite for image-guided therapy, the nexaris Angio-MR-CT therapy suite for image guided minimally invasive therapy and the nexaris Angio-CT solution dedicated to interventional
Siemens also displayed the MAGNETOM Vida MRI scanner with unparalleled magnet and gradient power, the MAMMOMAT Revelation mammography system with the highest depth resolution and personalized soft compression, and the Mobilett Mira Max fully digital mobile X-ray machine that helps to speed up the examination workflow. Siemens also displayed the MAGNETOM Vida MRI scanner with unparalleled magnet and gradient power, the MAMMOMAT Revelation mammography system with the highest depth resolution and personalized soft compression, and the Mobilett Mira Max fully digital mobile X-ray machine that helps to speed up the examination workflow. The company also exhibited the Biograph Vision and Symbia Intevo Bold SPECT/CT systems alongside the Cios Spin CArm Multitom Rax robotic X-ray, and the ACUSON S3000 and NX3 Series ultrasound systems. Story Credit/ Sources: Hospimedica.com and Siemens Healthineers
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Research News
Elevated dopamine levels can cause hallucinations New York [U.S.A.], Feb. 17 (ANI): Links between hallucinations and dopamine, an organic chemical which acts as a neurotransmitter, have been made clear in a new research. In the study, led by at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) and New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI), researchers found that people with schizophrenia, who experience auditory hallucinations, tend to hear what they expect, an exaggerated version of a perceptual distortion that is common among other people without hallucinations. The researchers found that elevated dopamine could make some patients rely more on expectations, which could then result in hallucinations. Those with hallucinations and other psychotic symptoms are known to have elevated dopamine, the main area of focus for available treatments for psychosis, but it was unclear how this could lead to hallucinations. The findings explained why treatments targeting the production of dopamine could help alleviate this condition. "Our brain uses prior experiences to generate sensory expectations that help fill in the gaps when sounds or images are distorted or unclear," said Guillermo Horga. "In individuals with schizophrenia, this process appears to be altered, leading to extreme perceptual distortions, such as hearing voices that are not there. Furthermore, while such hallucinations are often successfully treated by antipsychotic drugs that block the neurotransmitter dopamine in a brain structure known as the striatum, the reason for this has been a mystery since this neurotransmitter and brain region are not typically associated with sensory processing."
The researchers designed an experiment that induces an auditory illusion in both healthy participants and participants with schizophrenia. They examined how building up or breaking down sensory expectations can modify the strength of this illusion. They also measured dopamine release before and after administering a drug that stimulates the release of dopamine. Patients with hallucinations tended to perceive sounds in a way that was more similar to what they had been cued to expect, even when sensory expectations were less reliable and illusions weakened in healthy participants. This tendency to inflexibly hear what was expected was worsened after giving a dopamine-releasing drug and more pronounced in participants with elevated dopamine release, and more apparent in participants with a smaller dorsal anterior cingulate (a brain region that is previously shown to track reliability of environmental cues). "All people have some perceptual distortions, but these results suggest that excess dopamine can exacerbate our distorted perceptions," said Dr.Horga. "Novel therapies should aim to improve the processing of contextual information by targeting the dopamine system or downstream pathways associated with modulation of perceptual processing, which likely includes the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex." The study is published in the journal Current Biology under the title, 'A perceptual inference mechanism for hallucinations linked to striatal dopamine". Story Source/Credit: ANI
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Research News
Photo (c) Choreograph - Getty Images
Women beware! Cleaning chemicals can damage your lungs Washington D.C. [USA], Feb 17 (ANI): Women who clean at home or at work face increased lung function decline over time as compared to women who don't, according to a study. In "Cleaning at Home and at Work in Relation to Lung Function Decline and Airway Obstruction," researchers at the University of Bergen in Norway analyzed data from 6,235 participants in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey. The participants, whose average age was 34 when they enrolled, were followed for more than 20 years. "While the short-term effects of cleaning chemicals on asthma are becoming increasingly well documented, we lack knowledge of the longterm impact," said senior study author Cecile Svanes, MD, PhD, a professor at the university's Centre for International Health. "We feared that such chemicals, by steadily causing a little damage to the airways day after day, year after year, might accelerate the rate of lung function decline that occurs with age." The study found that compared to women not engaged in cleaning: -Forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), or the amount of air a person can forcibly exhale in one second, declined 3.6 milliliters (ml)/year faster in women who cleaned at home and 3.9 ml/year faster in women who worked as cleaners. -Forced vital capacity (FVC), or the total amount of air a person can forcibly exhale, declined 4.3 ml/year faster in women who cleaned at home and 7.1 ml/year faster in women who worked as cleaners.
The authors found that the accelerated lung function decline in the women working as cleaners was "comparable to smoking somewhat less than 20 pack- years." That level of lung impairment was surprising at first, said lead study author Ă˜isteinSvanes, a doctoral student also at the Department for Clinical Science. "However, when you think of inhaling small particles from cleaning agents that are meant for cleaning the floor and not your lungs, maybe it is not so surprising after all." The authors speculate that the decline in lung function is attributable to the irritation that most cleaning chemicals cause on the mucous membranes lining the airways, which over time results in persistent changes in the airways and airway remodeling. The study did not find that the ratio of FEV1 to FVC declined more rapidly in women who cleaned than in those who did not. The metric is used when diagnosing and monitoring patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. The study did find that asthma was more prevalent in women who cleaned at home (12.3 percent) or at work (13.7 percent) compared to those who did not clean (9.6 percent). The study also did not find that men who cleaned, either at home or at work, experienced greater decline in FEV1 or FVC than men who did not. The researchers took into account factors that might have biased the results, including smoking history, body mass index and education.
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Study limitations include the fact that the study population included very few women who did not clean at home or work. These women, the authors wrote, might "constitute a selected socioeconomic group." The number of men who worked as occupational cleaners was also small, and their exposure to cleaning agents was likely different from that of women working as cleaning professionals.
"The take home message of this study is that in the long run cleaningchemicals very likely cause rather substantial damage to your lungs," Ă˜isteinSvanes said. "These chemicals are usually unnecessary; microfiber cloths and water are more than enough for most purposes." He added that public health officials should strictly regulate cleaningproducts and encourage producers to develop cleaning agents that cannot be inhaled. The findings have been published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Story source : ANI
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Research News Research News
Study finds link between chronic pain and diet change Washington D.C. [USA], Feb 17 (ANI): A recent study suggests that dietary changes can cause major improvements in people with chronic pain. Preliminary research from a small pilot study carried out in Meru, in eastern Kenya, shows a link between chronic pain and consumption of glutamate, a common flavor enhancer found in Western and non-Western diets worldwide. Results demonstrated that when study participants cut monosodium glutamate from their diets, their symptoms improved. "This preliminary research in Kenya is consistent with what I am observing in my chronic pain research here in the United States," said Kathleen Holton, lead author of the study. "We don't know what exposure is leading to this susceptibility to dietary glutamate, but this pilot study suggests the need for a large-scale clinical trial, since dietary change could be an effective low-cost treatment option for developing countries." As researchers study glutamate, they're gaining insights into how the chemical works in the human brain and body. In the brain, glutamate is a common neurotransmitter. It also can act as an excitotoxin, over-stimulating and damaging or killing nerve cells. Some research has found that increased consumption of glutamate may enhance chronic pain symptoms, so there is biological cause for scientists to examine the chemical in relation to pain.
Glutamate is also a naturally occurring chemical in some foods, like soy sauce and parmesan cheese, but is more commonly found as a food additive. In the Kenya study, the goal was to test whether a dietary intervention could perform as well as or better than over-thecounter medication in relieving pain. With a sample size of 30 participants, the researchers tested the effects of removing MSG, increasing water intake, or a combination of both, relative to acetaminophen (the main treatment option available in Meru). Study participants experienced chronic pain for at least three months or more and in at least three quadrants of the body. Similar to what is seen with widespread chronic pain patients in the U.S., most also suffered from other neurological symptoms, including headaches or migraines, chronic fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, and sleep issues.
"This preliminary research in Kenya is
consistent with what I am observing in my chronic pain research here in the United States," said Kathleen Holton, lead author of the study.
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Research News Holton's collaborators in the research were University of Michigan Professor Dr. Daniel J. Clauw, M.D., and Dr. Peter K. Ndege, M.D., of Meru University of Science and Technology in Kenya. This research came about after Clauw learned about Meru villagers' plight with chronic pain. When the team initially surveyed residents in the area, an estimated 60 percent reported chronic pain, twice the amount typically observed. The participants were broken into four groups. Because dehydration is associated with headache pain, the researchers factored that into the study design.
Those with low water consumption who also consumed MSG were given water and the substitute spices. The control group had neither exposure and was given acetaminophen. The group that removed MSG from its diet and consumed more water reported significant improvements in their symptoms, as did the group receiving acetaminophen.
The groups consisted of the following: If subjects commonly consumed Mchuzi Mix, they were given a similar mixed seasoning substitute that contained no MSG. Those reporting low water intake and no MSG were given bottled water and instructed to increase water consumption to eight cups a day. Those with low water consumption who also consumed MSG were given water and the substitute spices. The control group had neither exposure and was given acetaminophen. The group that removed MSG from its diet and consumed more water reported significant improvements in their symptoms, as did the group receiving acetaminophen. "This would be incredible if we could impact chronic pain simply by making slight modifications to diet," said Clauw, a leading expert on chronic pain. The findings are published in the journal Nutrition. Story Source : ANI
Research News
Special cell signature predicts asthma susceptibility Washington D.C. [U.S.A.], Feb. 17 (ANI): It has come to light that a special type of cells and their frequency can help predict asthma susceptibility. According to a La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology research, a special subset of T cells have been identified, whose frequency serves as early childhood immune signature that predicts the risk of developing asthma later on.
"We found certain immune signatures such as having more MAITs that are protective," said Chandra. "In humans, MAIT cells are
"We found what I would consider very strong biomarkers for those children who are most likely to develop asthma as they get older," said senior author Mitchell Kronenberg.
unique in that they are borne to make gamma interferon, which could help skew the immune system toward an asthmaprotective Th1 immune response."
The team's findings indicated that the presence of house dust components that stimulate the innate immune system decreases asthma risk, increased microbial exposure in the first years of life is protective for asthma, going consistently with the "hygiene hypothesis".
Unlike conventional T cells, which belong to the adaptive arm of the immune response and take a few days before they are fully trained on a single, specific protein fragment or peptide antigen, MAIT and iNKT cells recognize molecular components common to many microbes.
Kronenberg added, "We are not advocating for dirt and we don't know enough about the microbiome to know which aspects are beneficial but as we learn more it is feasible that one day the protective components could even be taken in pill form". Initiated in 2005, the study follows 560 families from four disadvantaged urban areas that were at high risk for asthma to uncover potential risk factors that contribute to increased asthma rate in children growing up in impoverished neighborhoods.
The team analysed the frequency of different types of immune cells in blood collected from 110 one-year-old study participants, the presence of immune-stimulatory components in the subjects' house dust and asked whether any of the factors correlated with an increased of asthma at age seven.
Postdoctoral researcher and co-first author Shilpi Chandra and her colleagues were particularly interested in MAIT cells (short for mucosal-associated invariant T cells) and their brethren, invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells. Both cell types are an integral part of the innate immune response, which reacts almost immediately to foreign invaders. "Children who, at the age of one, had a higher frequency of so-called MAIT cells appear to be less likely to develop asthma by the age of seven", Kronenberg added.
"We found certain immune signatures such as having more MAITs that are protective," said Chandra. "In humans, MAIT cells are unique in that they are borne to make gamma interferon, which could help skew the immune system toward an asthma-protective Th1 immune response." And while the absolute numbers of iNKT cells had no bearing on asthma risk, the iNKT cell antigenic content in house dust from subjects' houses did. Chandra concluded, "iNKT activity reflects a home environment with increased microbe exposure and therefore protection from asthma". The study is published in the online edition of the Journal of Immunology. Story source: ANI
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Product Launches
Roche Releases Sample Collection Device for HIV Plasma Viral Load Testing Roche Diagnostics, Basel, Switzerland, has launched the Cobas plasma separation card, a sample collection device for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) plasma viral load testing. By collecting a small amount of a patient’s blood from a fingertip, the card is designed to simplify blood collection and sample transportation. Traditionally, plasma viral load results required blood samples to be cooled during transport to the lab. The new Cobas plasma separation card fundamentally changes the way plasma samples are taken and processed. The card allows for reliable quantitative testing of patients with HIV living in remote areas—even areas of extreme heat and humidity—while meeting requirements of the World Health Organization (WHO) for determining HIV viral load prior to setting treatment. “With the launch of the Cobas plasma separation card, we strengthen Roche’s ongoing commitment to providing life-saving diagnostics in the fight against HIV and AIDS,” says Roland Diggelmann, chief executive of Roche Diagnostics. “This card will improve access and increase HIV diagnostics, scaling up efforts to further the critical work of our many healthcare partners in eradicating the HIV/AIDS epidemic.”
The card is being launched in countries accepting CE-mark certification, for use with the Cobas AmpliPrep/Cobas TaqMan HIV-1, and Cobas 6800/8800 HIV-1 tests. The card meets the WHO sensitivity standard of <1000 cp/mL. It is stable under high heat and humid conditions, and provides results that correlate well to traditional plasma-based testing, which is considered the gold standard sample type for monitoring patients’ response to treatment.
“With the launch of the Cobas plasma
separation card, we strengthen Roche’s ongoing commitment to providing lifesaving diagnostics in the fight against HIV and AIDS,” says Roland Diggelmann, chief executive of Roche Diagnostics. References
The card will be added to the Roche global access program as a solution to help expand access to diagnostics in countries hardest hit by HIV. In partnership with the Clinton Health Access Initiative, the Global Fund, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, Unitaid, and the US Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, Roche has been working to increase access to HIV diagnostic solutions to achieve the UNAIDS 90-90-90 goal to improve people knowing their status, getting on HIV therapy, and suppressing the virus from replicating.1
1. 90-90-90 Treatment for All [online]. Geneva, Switzerland: UNAIDS, 2018. Available at: www.unaids.org/en/resources/909090. Accessed February 5, 2018.
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Product Launches
MR Solutions launches the most advanced Spectrometer for clinical MRI manufacturers
Image Credit :MR Solutions
MR Solutions’ latest EVO2+ spectrometer now offers the most advanced levels of functionality and user control for constructors of clinical MRI scanners.
This, the electronic brains of the scanner, provides superior imaging results using multi-channel transmission. The EVO2+ spectrometer, the tenth generation technology, has been designed with the latest digital technology for the widest range of features of any spectrometer on offer to MRI manufacturers and suppliers. Clinical and preclinical MRI systems can be upgraded simply by adding the EVO2+ to bring an outdated system back into current day use. EVO2+ is provided with comprehensive development software and an extensive sequence library optimized for multiple applications.
The EVO2+ spectrometer has an unlimited number of TX and RX channels and can operate MRI systems up to 11.7T. Dr David Taylor, Chairman, of MR Solutions based in Surrey, said: “Our latest spectrometer allows users superb functionality with an impressive array of features. It is a key component for all MRI imaging systems.” MR Solutions is the world’s largest independent manufacturer of preclinical MR technology and is the market leader for preclinical superconducting cryogen-free MRI systems, and spectrometers for clinical MR scanners. MR Solutions also manufactures PET inserts for clinical and preclinical MR systems to enable simultaneous dual modality imaging. MR Solutions has offices in the UK, North America and Asia as well as a network of agencies across the world. For more information visit www.mrsolutions.com
Randox Laboratories and Qnostics announce strategic partnership Randox Laboratories and Qnostics have today announced that they have entered into a strategic partnership. The partnership will provide Randox Laboratories with access to the Qnostics molecular range of products for sales and distribution purposes, complementing the established Randox Laboratories portfolio. Access to the Randox Laboratories commercial capabilities will enhance Qnostics’ market penetration, whilst also maintaining their presence as an independent provider of molecular quality controls and custom services.
MD of Randox Laboratories, Dr Peter FitzGerald said; “We are delighted to have agreed a strategic partnership with Qnostics, an arrangement we see as mutually beneficial. We look forward to working together to strengthen the molecular service we provide to our global markets whilst enhancing the Qnostic brand and market penetration.”
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Product Launches
“We are delighted to have agreed a strategic
partnership with Qnostics, an arrangement we see as mutually beneficial. We look forward to working together to strengthen the molecular service we provide to our global markets whilst enhancing the Qnostic brand and market penetration.”
Dr Frank Opdam, Head of Commercial of Qnostics said; “We believe this is an ideal partnership. We look forward to working with Randox Laboratories and the growth that will result from the global access this partnership will provide to Qnostics for its expanding range of molecular quality control products.” Contact Information For further details please contact: Qnostics Email ID: info@qnostics.com Randox Laboratories Ltd Email ID: randoxpr@randox.com
Product Launches
Seegene developed two multiplexed molecular diagnostics for treatment of meningitis and STDs Seegene Inc Seol Korea based company used newly created artificial intelligence (AI)-based assay development system to develop two multiplexed molecular diagnostics for meningitis and Sexually transmitted Diseases. The assays are based on Allplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) reagents designed to detect eight different DNA targets simultaneously.
The assays are based on Allplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) reagents designed to detect eight different DNA targets simultaneously.
The Seegene digitized development system automates real-time PCR assay development, driving down the cost of molecular diagnostic tests and enabling nonprofessionals to develop multiplexed assays. The companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pipeline of products includes assays that diagnose not only infectious diseases but also drug-resistant pathogens, genetic disorders, and various cancers, including breast, colon, and lung cancers. For more Information : Visit Seegene
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