Breakthrough in sight for Type 1 Diabetes
In what could prove to be a very promising breakthrough in medicine, researchers at MIT and Harvard have designed a material that can be used to encapsulate human islet cells before transplantation. This would greatly help patients suffering from Type 1 Diabetes, also known as Juvenile Diabetes which is usually diagnosed in children and young adults where the immune system attacks the pancreas, eventually leaving patients without the ability to naturally control blood sugar. They need to be injected with insulin regularly to keep their blood sugar levels within a healthy range. The precise control, however, is difficult to obtain with large swings in blood sugar levels and the technique also involves painful injections which often results in swelling, redness, and itching where one injects. This new advance is set to change things. In preliminary tests on mice, these encapsulated human cells could cure diabetes for up to six months, without provoking adverse immune response.
Non-addictive painkiller developed
Scientists have developed a new peptide-based powerful painkiller that is as strong as morphine but has fewer side effects and is not addictive. Using rats, scientists compared several engineered variants of the neurochemical endomorphin — found naturally in the body — to morphine to measure their effectiveness and side effects. The peptide-based drugs target the same pain-relieving opioid receptor as morphine, according to scientists at Tulane University and Southeast louisiana Veterans Health Care System in US. Opium-based drugs are the leading treatments for severe and chronic pain, but they can be highly addictive. Their abuse results in thousands of overdose deaths in the US annually.
zika outbreak: who warns middle east
As the Zika virus outbreak continues to spread, reaching 24 countries in the Americas, the World Health Organization (WHO) has called on Governments in the Middle East to work together to keep the region protected. “No cases of the virus have been reported so far in this region, but this type of mosquito exists in several countries here, so it is essential that leaders take steps to prevent the virus from spreading if travellers returning from affected countries are infected with the virus,” WHO Regional Director Ala Alwan said. Because of current non-availability of specific treatment or vaccine, the best form of prevention is protection against mosquito bites. To protect people living in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, Alwan urged all countries to enhance surveillance for early detection of Zika virus infection, particularly among travellers returning from countries where the virus is circulating.