Smartphone-based Cancer Detecting Application is Much More Effective Than Regular Methods Used in Hospitals

Scientists have developed a new mobile phone application that detects cancer - and is more precise than the methods regularly used in hospitals.

The smartphone-based application is up to 100 per cent accurate in detecting the difference between gentle tumours and their nasty counterparts, reports the Daily Mail.

As far as the time is concerned, it also consumes just an hour to make the diagnosis, meaning patients don't have to spend days or weeks desperately waiting for test results.

The U.S. researchers said the application could ''transform cancer care'' by also making it easier for doctors to track how well drugs are fighting the disease in a patient's body.

In initial tests, it was 88 per cent accurate in distinguishing cancerous stomach tumours from benign growths.

Refining the technique boosted accuracy to 100 per cent, say researchers.

This compares with an average accurate of 84 per cent for the gold standard technique, which involves using chemicals that stain cancerous cells and show up under a microscope.

In future, the smartphone system could be adapted to spot brain, skin and ovarian cancers quickly and accurately.

The tiny amount of tissue needed - one thousandth of a millilitre - would also spare patients the pain and risk of having repeatedly having pieces of their growth cut away for testing.

And with the most expensive piece of equipment costing just £60 or so, the system would be cheap to run.

The device, developed at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, consists of a smartphone connected to a miniature MRI machine.

In tests, patients with suspected stomach cancer had tiny samples of their growths removed using a fine needle.

The researchers then added in antibodies designed to bind to proteins found in stomach tumours and tiny magnetic particles designed to latch onto the antibodies.

They then used the magnet in the hand-held MRI machine to excite the molecules in the sample, making them vibrate. The more the molecules vibrate, the more likely the sample is cancerous.

An app - or application - on a smartphone computes the results and provides doctors with a read-out.

The World's First Dengue Fever Vaccine Developed by Thai Scientists: Reported by Thai News Agency (TNA)

BANGKOK, Feb 22 - According to the reports from Thai News Agency (TNA) on Tuesday; the world's first dengue hemorrhagic fever vaccine has been produced by Thai scientists.

The Thai researchers are now collaborating with the private sector to further develop the vaccine for its more successful treatment of patients with reduced infections.

A lecturer of Mahidol University, Dr. Suthee Yoksarn, together with his group and Chiang Mai University have mutually developed four stereotypes of the live attenuated vaccine by combining attenuated DNA with a protein structure that stimulates immunity against the dengue hemorrhagic fever--caused by the present strain of the dengue virus.

Virachai Virameteekul, Thai Science and Technology Minister, stated that the number of dengue hemorrhagic fever patients in Thailand has mounted, exceeding 100,000 last year and adding some 1,200 cases in January 2011.

The recently produced vaccine is believed to better protect people from the dengue hemorrhagic fever.

Daily Intake of Diet Soda May Led to Increased Risks of of Having a Stroke or Heart Attack

In an International Stroke Conference; a recent study was presented by the American Stroke Association establishing the possible link between ‘Diet Soda’ and an increased risk of having a stroke or heart attack.  

According to the study, which started in 2003, over 2,500 people were inquired about their soda intake and their health was examined over the years. Reportedly more than 550 cardiovascular events took placed during that period, and those who told drinking diet soda on daily routine had a 60% increased rate of these events including strokes and heart attacks.

After adjusting for other factors which may boost the probability of heart troubles – the researches still found that the threat was 48% higher for the diet soda drinkers.

What came from the study was a link, not necessarily a cause and effect.

After the bad rap that aspartame -- a main ingredient in many diet sodas -- has gotten, we are unsure as to how this is information is any more useful that what we've already heard. Diet soda is bad. So is regular soda and anything else we actually enjoy consuming, for that matter. Thanks, science!

The self-report based study fails to give us any real reason to stop drinking Diet Coke. How many of you have ever been less than truthful on health based survey? Hmm?

As the vice-chairman of the stroke-meeting conference committee put it, "You try to control for everything, but you can't." 

Turn Your iPhone into Skin Cancer Detecting Device Using Handyscope

With the help of Handyscope, a new product available on the market; your iPhone can be transformed into a skin cancer detection device. Amazing, isn’t it?

The amazing new device plugs into the Apple smartphone and by using an application converts it into a ‘Dermatascope’ - which doctors use when looking for tumour.

The device uses a polarising light to detect whether a mole is cancerous and then takes a photo and sends it to a doctor for inspection.

Images can even be uploaded to a second opinion service where world-renowned specialists can weigh in with their view.

The Handyscope, made by German-based firm FotoFinder, can be purchased online and the app can be bought from the Apple iTunes store.

Last but not the least its affordability, with a price tag of GBP 995, it's just out of range for an average mobile user.

Old is Gold: Being Old Doesn’t Mean Being Sick, Latest Research by the Canadian Institute for Health Information

There is much worry these days about the impact of the aging population on health-care utilization and spending.

But new research is adding a twist to the discussion, concluding that it is the rise in people living with chronic health conditions like hypertension, diabetes and depression that is driving up health costs, not aging per se.

 The data, published Thursday by the Canadian Institute for Health Information, show that patterns of health-care use are similar at age 45, 65 and 85 for people with no chronic health conditions.

And the more chronic illnesses a person suffers from – regardless of age – the more they use health services such as visiting a GP or specialist, consulting a pharmacist, going to emergency and being admitted to hospital.

“Once you get to three or more conditions, utilization really increases,” said Greg Webster, director of primary health-care information at CIHI. People with three or more chronic conditions make, on average, six times more health-care visits than those with no chronic conditions, the report shows.

Mr. Webster noted, however, that while aging is not the principal cost driver, the likelihood of a person having a chronic illness does increase with age. Three in four Canadians over the age of 65 suffer from at least one chronic health condition; by contrast, one in five people under the age of 24 live with a chronic illness.

Among seniors, one in four have no chronic health problems, and one in four have three or more; the balance have one to two persistent health issues. It is noteworthy that those proportions change very little between ages 45 and 85.

“We may erroneously expect that, as we get older, we will get sicker, but the data show that is not necessarily the case,” Mr. Webster said. “We maybe need to change the mindset that aging means illness.”

Mr. Webster said there is also an important message to be found between the lines of the data: One of the keys to controlling health utilization and spending is to prevent the onset of chronic illnesses. “We have a choice: Get on top of this today and prevent multiple chronic conditions, or leave things as they are and a lot of people are going to need a lot of health care,” he said.

The new study shows, however, that there are significant gaps in preventive care.

Only two in five people over the age of 45 reported having talked to a health professional about what they could do to improve their health or prevent illness (measures like quitting smoking, increasing exercise or limiting alcohol consumption).

The new data suggest that patients with multiple chronic conditions are not managed particularly well, either, especially when it comes to medications. Bill Hogg, research director at the University of Ottawa’s Élisabeth Bruyère Research Institute, noted that patients with three or more chronic conditions reported taking an average of six prescription drugs regularly, twice as many as those with only one chronic condition.

The big drug users were more than twice as likely to experience a side effect requiring medical attention. Yet less than half of seniors with chronic conditions reported that their doctor reviewed their medications and explained potential side effects at least some of the time. “Strategies to reduce the number of medications a senior is prescribed, when possible, can result in better compliance with medication regimens and lead to a better quality of life,” Dr. Hogg said.

The new study did not look specifically at spending, but earlier data from CIHI shows that per capita health spending increases steadily with age. It rises from $2,286 per capita for those age 15 to 64 to $5,828 for those age 65 to 69, then $8,078 for those 70 to 74, $10,898 for those 75 to 79 and $18,160 for those 80 and older.

Seniors, who make up 13 per cent of the population, account for about 44 per cent of health spending. But patients with chronic conditions account for about two-thirds of all health spending.

Kids' Addiction to Gaming Lead Them to Frustration, Depression and Anxiety Along With Poor Grades in Studies - - New Study at Singapore

Kids love their video games--but according to a new study of more than 3,000 kids in Singapore--kids who considered themselves as addicts and played about 20 hours a week were more likely to be depressed, anxious and have bad grades.

 

Michelle Keiffer has three young boys--including 12 year old Ashton.

Michelle said she can notice a difference when the kids play too much.

"When we have the rainy season or the cold spells and the boys do play more video games because they're indoors we see them get shorter fuses with one another--shorter fuses with the parents," Michelle said.

Psychologist Susan Fletcher isn't surprised by the study which found 1 in 10 kids to be addicts--she said it's not necessarily the video games--but rather the time spent playing them that causes social phobias.

"It kind of takes them out of the game socially so they are less likely to lean the kinds of skills to overcome things or deal with people in a social fashion," Dr. Fletcher said.

Ashton said he knows kids who play too much and have poor social skills--and even worse grades.

"You can tell actually because if it's some kind of game like Xbox 360 or something like that and you can talk online, they kind of get some kind of interaction talking to people but other than that they can't really speak well in public or stuff like that," Ashton said.

But there is good news--researchers also found that when kids stopped playing so much their depression, grades and anxieties got better.

"Well, think about it," Dr. Fletcher said. "You get outside you feel better, depression sometimes is influenced by being in a dark room and so getting outside, getting some fresh air, getting some sun, interacting with other people can really alleviate the symptoms."

As for Michelle--she'll continue to monitor how much time her boys play video games.

"If we didn't really watch them," Michelle said. "We would probably have 24-7 gaming going on at some level."

The study appears in the February edition of Pediatrics.

10,000 Steps a Day Keeps Diabetes Away - - Better Insulin Sensitivity, Lower BMI and Less Belly Fat Are The Result of 10,000 Steps a Day

Building up to 10,000 steps a day can help control weight and may reduce diabetes risk, suggests new research in the journal BMJ.

Of 592 middle-aged Australian adults, those who increased the number of steps they took during a five-year period and built up to 10,000 steps per day had a lower body mass index, less belly fat, and better insulin sensitivity than their counterparts who did not take as many steps daily during the same time period.

A hallmark of diabetes, insulin resistance occurs when the body's cells stop responding as well to the action of the hormone insulin, which helps the body use blood sugar (glucose) for energy. The pancreas tries to compensate by producing more insulin, but ultimately fails to keep pace. As a result, excess glucose builds up in the bloodstream, setting the stage for diabetes.

Weight loss is known to increase insulin sensitivity, so researchers suggest that increased walking led to weight loss and decreased body fat which, in turn, improved diabetes risk factors.

“These findings, confirming an independent beneficial role of higher daily step count on body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, and insulin sensitivity, provide further support to promote higher physical activity levels among middle-aged adults,” conclude researchers, who were led by Terry Dwyer, MD, director of Murdoch Children’s Research Institute of Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. “The use of a pedometer for measuring physical activity allows quantification of the magnitude of these effects.”

Participants answered questions about their diet and other lifestyle factors and had a full physical exam when the study began. They were also asked to wear pedometers to count the number of steps they took each day. Researchers followed up with the study participants five years later to see how many steps they were taking, and reassessed their diabetes risk factors.

Those who built up to 10,000 steps a day and kept at it showed a threefold improvement in their insulin sensitivity at five years, when compared with participants who only increased their daily steps to 3,000 per day, the study showed.