Day: 11/20/2015

Injectable Smart BioGel Destroys Cancer Where it Resides.

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For most, the term biogel conjures up images of a vaguely translucent, semi-solid gelatinous material that is applied to the body either topically or internally. Now, researchers at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM) have successfully developed an injectable biogel that is liquid at room temperature and solidifies at 37°C—human body temperature—that can deliver anti-cancer agents directly into cancerous tumors.

“The strength of this biogel is that it is compatible with anti-cancer immune cells,” explained Réjean Lapointe, Ph.D., director of the laboratory of immuno-oncology at CRCHUM and associate professor in the department of medicine at the University of Montréal. “It is used to encapsulate these cells and eventually administer them using a syringe or catheter into the tumour or directly beside it. Instead of injecting these cells or anti-cancer drugs throughout the entire body via the bloodstream, we can treat cancer locally. We hope that this targeted approach will improve current immunotherapies.”

A current and reasonably successful form of immunotherapy involves treating cancer patients with anti-cancer immune cells (CD8+ T cells) taken from their bodies and grown in the laboratory to amplify the total number of cells. The immune cells are then reinjected back into the patient’s bloodstream, which allows them help control the growth and spread of the cancer.

The biogel developed by the CRCHUM team will allow physicians to administer the patient-derived T cells directly into tumors, as well as provide a nutrient growth media for immune cells to continually grow and attack the cancer.

“With our technique, we only need to administer a few dozen million T cells, instead of the billions currently required,” noted Dr. Lapointe. “We can also administer compounds that ‘awaken’ the immune system to fight against cancer.”

The findings from this study were published recently in Biomaterials through an article entitled “Chitosan thermogels for local expansion and delivery of tumor-specific T lymphocytes towards enhanced cancer immunotherapies.”

The investigators went through several years of trial and error, trying to balance the physiochemical properties such as pH, osmolality, macroporosity, and gelation rates before developing the current biogel formulation.

“The compound is made from chitosan, a biodegradable material extracted from the shells of crustaceans, to which gelling agents are added,” remarked Sophie Lerouge, Ph.D., principal scientist at the CRCHUM and professor in the department of mechanical engineering at the École de technologie supérieure in Montréal. “The formulation is liquid at room temperature, which facilitates its injection, but quickly takes on a cohesive and resistant structure at 37 degrees. We also needed a hydrogel that was non-toxic for the body and provided excellent survival and growth of the encapsulated cells.”

The researchers tested the biogel on several in vitro models including melanoma and kidney cancer, where the encapsulated T cells thrived and were able to maintain their anti-cancer functions for several weeks. “The T lymphocytes in the gel are functional and can grow for two to three weeks, be released from the gel, and kill the cancerous cells,” stated Dr. Lapointe.

The team’s next step is to demonstrate the effectiveness of the biogel in animals and humans, where if successful, this novel approach could be added to current cancer therapies within a few years.

Watch the video. URL:https://youtu.be/CaYhl2AQef0

Supersonic jet to be a reality by 2021

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The world’s first supersonic jet could be a reality in a mere six years. The AS2 plane could reach speeds as fast as 1,217mph, enabling passengers to travel from London to New York in as little as three hours.

Airbus, an aerospace company that manufactures civil aircraft, hopes to debut the world’s first supersonic jet by 2021 and provide commercial flights for businesses by 2023. The AS2 plane, dubbed the Son of Concorde, has the potential to reach speeds almost as fast as the Concorde, which clocked in at a staggering 1,350 mph.[1]

Despite an ambitious timeline, the AS2 plane is still in its preliminary stages. Airbus has partnered with Aerion and plans to choose a manufacturing site based in the U.S. for the jet sometime in the first half of next year.

BIG PROJECT WITH LITTLE TIME

For the production site, Aerion will require 100s acres near a U.S. airport coupled with a runway which stretches 9,000 feet long. The company hopes to break ground on the factory in 2018. The project actually began in 2002 but was put on hold as a consequence of the 2008 financial crisis. The project is expected to cost $100 million in its entirety.[1,2]

Airbus will be responsible for the jet’s major components and Aerion will be responsible for the final assembly. Thus far, initial designs for a carbon-fiber wing structure, fuselage, landing gear and a fuel system have been made.[1]

According to Allan McArtor, chairman and CEO of Airbus Group, “The collaboration between Aerion and Airbus Group has been extremely beneficial and productive. The further we proceed along the development path with Aerion, the greater our enthusiasm for this program and the deeper our commitment.”[3]

“Under our new agreement, our two companies are working as one to bring Aerion’s supersonic AS2 to the business jet market,” he added. “This undertaking is completely in line with Airbus Group’s legacy of developing innovations in flight.”[3]

The AS2 plane will have wings which reduce total drag by approximately 20 percent. This will allow the jet to use less fuel and soar at greater distances. It will include a luxurious 30-foot cabin capable of seating up to 12 passengers.

“We see clear and achievable technical solutions to the design of a supersonic jet, and a realistic road map for helping Aerion proceed toward construction and flight,” said Airbus senior vice president Ken McKenzie.[2]

BREAKING THE SOUND BARRIER AND BEYOND

The U.S. prohibits planes from traveling at the speed of sound, which is about 750 mph. Traveling overland while reaching the sound barrier can produce super sonic booms. Over Europe, however, the AS2 could fly at supersonic speeds under the radar.

British Airways put an end to Airbus’ Concorde airliner after 27 years of service. The airliner traveled at twice the speed of sound in October 2003, which brought an end to the supersonic passenger jet. Contemporary commercial jets tend to travel at speeds ranging from 480 mph to 560 mph.[1]

“We will proceed with an engine that allows us to meet our performance goals with the minimum changes required,” CEO Doug Nichols said in a statement. “Solutions are in sight with today’s engine technology.”[2]

Why Is No One Buying Female Viagra?

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It was supposed to usher in a new era of female sexual freedom, but Addyi has not turned out to be the wonder drug its makers hoped.

Meg Ryan in "When Harry Met Sally."
Pharmaceutical companies have long searched for a libido-enhancing pill for women, preferably one that delivered the same financial and clinical success as Viagra did for Pfizer.

Addyi, the first FDA-approved drug to boost women’s sexual desire, would ostensibly be the answer—except that the little pink pill has foundered in comparison to the little blue one since hitting shelves a month ago.

Doctors have written roughly 227 Addyi prescriptions since the drug became available, according to Bloomberg, a figure dwarfed by the 600,000 Viagra scripts filled in the first month after it hit the market.
While both drugs promise to boost libido, Addyi was never poised to take off in the same way that Viagra did.

Known generically as flibanserin, Addyi had an inauspicious relationship with the FDA, which rejected it twice—first in 2010 and again in 2013—until finally approving it in August.

The FDA’s green light divided doctors and advocates: Some hailed it as a long-overdue victory for women’s sexual health, while others thought it was scientifically irresponsible.

Critics attributed the drug’s eventual FDA approval to gender politics. In the months leading up to the FDA hearing, Sprout Pharmaceuticals, Addyi’s manufacturer, launched a “sexual health equity” campaign and accompanying website, Even the Score.

The website drew attention to the “26 drugs marketed for the treatment of male sexual dysfunctions” that have been approved by the FDA, “compared to zero to address the most common form of female sexual dysfunction,” among other politicized “facts.”

But its approval was frowned upon by many women’s health advocates.

“They were critical of flibanserin/Addyi for several reasons, including the marginal benefit and considerable side effects,” Debby Herbenick, associate professor of health and sexuality at Indiana University and author of Sex Made Easy, told The Daily Beast.

Addyi’s 10 percent efficacy rate comes with side effects like sudden drops in blood pressure, fainting, and sleepiness—all guaranteed mood-killers. Women who take the daily pill are also instructed to abstain from drinking alcohol, or face higher risk of side effects. (By contrast, Viagra has a 50 percent efficacy rate and is not meant to be consumed with large quantities of alcohol.)

“For many women, a little alcohol may be more helpful for their sexual desire or arousal than this medication,” Herbenick said of Addyi, noting that women’s health advocates also disapproved of the fact that very few women were involved in the drug’s alcohol-use trials.

“For many women, a little alcohol may be more helpful for their sexual desire or arousal than this medication.”
Its sedative effect led one FDA committee member to ask at the trial whether the drug will “work,” according to Herbenick, since sleepiness is conducive to, well, sleep.

Addyi has long been dubbed “Viagra for women,” a misleading nickname given that the two drugs work in completely different ways.

While Viagra treats erectile dysfunction, increasing blood flow to the genitals, Addyi targets the brain, flooding it with dopamine, which controls the brain’s pleasure and reward circuits, and norepinephrine, the hormone that mediates stress. (The drug was first developed as an antidepressant.)

 

As the first libido-boosting drug for women, Addyi’s relative flop since entering the market is proof that a remedy for women with desiccated sexual appetites remains elusive.

“Many sexual health professionals feel that one day, there may very well be a safe and effective medication that helps to enhance women’s sexual desire or arousal, but that Addyi isn’t it,” said Herbenick.

The drug may see a boost in sales once Sprout launches direct-to-consumer advertising, but Herbenick hopes educated consumers will not be seduced by ads that suggest “a glossy, rosy picture of sex-while-medicated, and then leave the fine print and warnings at the end.”

In a statement to The Daily Beast, Sprout Pharmaceuticals stressed that the company’s “priority has been to educate healthcare providers and pharmacists about the safe use of this first-of-its-kind treatment for women.

“We are proud that Sprout has been able to launch Addyi just two months after FDA approval and we are confident in where we stand just a few short weeks after coming to the market.”

Uterus transplant for infertile women in US.

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The procedure could help women without a uterus to have a baby.

Surgeons in the US have announced that they will begin trialling uterus transplants in the coming months in order to help women who no longer have a uterus fall pregnant. This is the first time the procedure will be performed in the US.

The procedure will match women who have had their uterus removed due to illness or damage, or who were born without one, with a donated organ. After the recipient has had one or two children, the uterus will be removed again, to prevent her from having to remain on anti-rejection drugs the rest of her life.

While organ transplants have been going on for decades, uterus transplants are relatively new on the scene. Because a uterus isn’t essential for survival, it wasn’t considered an equally high priority by most medical researchers as organs like livers and hearts.

But with tens of thousands of women in the US alone unable to have children due to not having a womb, there’s been strong interest in the procedure.

Back in 2014, a woman in Sweden became the first to give birth with a transplanted womb after receiving the donation from an unrelated 61-year-old, and at the end of September the UK announced that it would perform the procedure on 10 women as part of a trial.

This is similar to what will happen in the US Surgeons at The Cleveland Clinic will offer 10 women transplanted uteruses in the coming months. It’s already starting screening potential candidates aged between 21 and 30. All candidates need to have their ovaries still intact, and need to be mentally and financially stable.

The procedure works by first retrieving eggs from the women’s ovaries, fertilising them and freezing them until they’re ready for transplantation.

“One year after transplant, the frozen embryos are then thawed and implanted, one at a time, into the patient until she becomes pregnant,” the hospital told the press.

After birth the woman will be able to keep the uterus to try for another baby, or can have it removed.

“If she does not want to have surgery to have it removed, doctors said it may be possible to quit the drugs and let the immune system reject the uterus, which should then gradually wither away,” as Denise Grady explains over at The New York Times.

The experiment procedure has so far has a mixed success rate. The Swedish team has since performed nine uterus transplants, and have produced five pregnancies and four live births. But attempts at the procedure in Saudi Arabia and Turkey have been unsuccessful.

The main challenge is that the recipient’s immune system wants to reject the uterus, which doctors try to avoid through various medications that suppress the body’s. These drugs need to continue being taken during pregnancy.

Removing the uterus itself is also challenging. The uterus can be taken from a live or deceased donor, but due to the amount of delicate blood vessels in the area, it’s delicate work, as Grady explains:

“The surgeons have to remove part of the donor’s vagina and other tissue needed to attach the uterus to the recipient. And they must tease away tiny blood vessels without harming the donor.”

There are also the standard challenges of IVF when it comes to fertilising the recipients eggs and re-implanting them.

But the hospital explains that women involved will be aware of all the risks, and for many of them it’s their only chance to have a child. They’ve already had many women interested in the trial.

“The exciting work from the investigators in Sweden demonstrated that uterine transplantation can result in the successful delivery of healthy infants,” Andreas Tzakis, Cleveland Clinic’s lead investigator told The Telegraph.