MEDIA CONTACT

Available for logged-in reporters only

Newswise Irvine, Calif. Oct. 24, 2019 A Cooperative Research Center (CRC) has been established by the National Institutes of Health at three institutions including the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), the University of California, Irvine (UCI) and the University of California, Davis, with a single goal to enhance and accelerate the development of vaccines for Chlamydia trachomatis genital infections.

The new center will be funded under a five-year, $10.1 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

Already underway, the CRC, officially known as the Cooperative Research Center for NanoScaffold-Based Chlamydia trachomatis Vaccines, began operations on Oct. 1, 2019. It is led by co-directors, Matt Coleman, an LLNL biomedical scientist, and Professor Luis M. de la Maza, a pathologist at UCIs School of Medicine and a worldwide leading expert in chlamydia vaccinology.

By establishing a CRC for the formulation of a chlamydia vaccine, the NIH has created a wonderful opportunity for a collaborative effort involving three very prestigious institutions, said de la Maza. Leveraging the expertise of these three partners significantly increases our chances of successfully developing a vaccine that can be given to young individuals preventing them from contracting chlamydia and protecting them from the negative consequences of an infection.

de la Mazas lab has been working on a chlamydia vaccine for almost four decades. As a part of the CRC, their work will focus primarily on using the chlamydia outer membrane protein (MOMP) as the vaccine antigen. Other researchers, including UCIs Ellena M. Peterson and Sukumar Pal, have also made significant contributions to this project.

Coleman, at LLNL, has developed methods to correctly fold membrane proteins in vitro. His team of scientists will build on a nanotechnology called nanolipoprotein particles (NLPs) for delivering the C. trachomatis vaccines.

At UC Davis, R. Holland Chengs lab will be using cryo-electron microscopy to characterize the structure of the native C. trachomatis MOMP. This structural characterization will help to inform the formulation of the MOMP in NLPs, effectively tying together the efforts of the three collaborative institutions.

C. trachomatis is the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection in the country. Attempts to control this pathogen, with screening programs and antibiotic therapy, have so far failed. The number of cases of C. trachomatis infections reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continuous to increase. In 2017, more than 1.7 million cases were reported. The long-term sequelae of a C. trachomatis infections in females include pelvic inflammatory disease, chronic abdominal pain, ectopic pregnancy and infertility. Babies born from infected mothers can develop conjunctivitis and pneumonia.

About the UCI School of Medicine: Each year, the UCI School of Medicine educates more than 400 medical students, as well as 200 doctoral and masters students. More than 600 residents and fellows are trained at UC Irvine Medical Center and affiliated institutions. The School of Medicine offers an MD; a dual MD/PhD medical scientist training program; and PhDs and masters degrees in anatomy and neurobiology, biomedical sciences, genetic counseling, epidemiology, environmental health sciences, pathology, pharmacology, physiology and biophysics, and translational sciences. Medical students also may pursue an MD/MBA, an MD/masters in public health, or an MD/masters degree through one of three mission-based programs: the Health Education to Advance Leaders in Integrative Medicine (HEAL-IM), the Leadership Education to Advance Diversity-African, Black and Caribbean (LEAD-ABC), and the Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community (PRIME-LC). The UCI School of Medicine is accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Accreditation and ranks among the top 50 nationwide for research. For more information, visit som.uci.edu.

###

See original here:
NIH establishes Cooperative Research Center with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and two University of California campuses, Irvine and Davis -...

TahoeLand: Bad News, Bears

In summer 2019, CapRadio examined the impact of climate change on one of Northern Californias geographical gems: Lake Tahoe. In the podcast TahoeLand, reporter Ezra David Romero explores how climate change will affect Tahoes color, snowpack, fire season and wildlife.

Episode 4 takes a look at how the changing climate will impact bears. Bears in Tahoe are also hibernating less if at all. Its not just black bears feeling the impact of climate change polar bears, grizzlies and other bears around the world are at risk.

This episode will also look at the ways humans do, or do not, keep bears out of our garbage. Peoples leftovers and waste lead to more human-bear interactions, which is ultimately bad news for bears.

When a few wild animals were injured in California wildfires, it was a chance for doctors to take an innovative approach to recovery and pain management. To help heal the paws of two bears and a mountain lion cub, veterinarians turned to another animal: tilapia.

Dr. Jamie Peyton is the associate director at the UC Davis Center for Advancing Pain Relief and Chief of Integrative Medicine Service at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. She and her team designed biologic bandages using fish skin, honey, oils and beeswax. She partnered with Dr. Deanna Clifford, a senior wildlife veterinarian for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Investigations Lab, to pioneer this technique and track its success.

Both veterinary doctors joined Insight in January 2018 to discuss this innovative therapy.

Engineering Eden is the title of a book by Northern California writer Jordan Fisher Smith that takes a deep dive into the United States history of attempting to manage nature.

The book centers on the story of Harry Walker, a man who was killed by a grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park as the park celebrated its centennial anniversary. That was in 1972 and, as Smith discovered in his research, a 1975 civil trial in Los Angeles followed. That trial became a proxy for the larger issue of wilderness management and the conflicting approaches at the time.

The author examines the process of people moving into the vast territory of wild animals, the new science that would be needed for the management of the land and the tragic details of Harry Walkers death.

Smith joined Insight in September 2016 to discuss and highlight parts of that book. Engineering Eden is now out in paperback.

See the original post here:
Bears of Tahoe / Bears with Bandages / Yellowstone Bears - Capital Public Radio News

Our body is over 60 percent water. The brain itself is 75 percent water. Water is essential for life, as much so, if not more than the water in our car battery. It is part of every cell. It helps to regulate temperature, moisten tissues and organs, lubricate joints, carry around minerals and oxygen and nutrients, and flush out waste products.

Dehydration is a major concern here in the desert. A person can last only about three days without water, though many factors may reduce that time, such as heat, physical activity, age and body type. The consistency of urine is a quick and effective way to monitor hydration. Typically, the darker it is the more dehydrated you are.

We lose water through breathing, sweating and digestion. Therefore, it is important to rehydrate by drinking fluids and eating foods that contain water. All drinkable fluids cannot be considered as healthy water sources. Many fluids such as flavored drinks and coffees, teas, energy drinks often contribute to dehydration rather than hydration.

Water as found in nature has the same biological advantage over processed water as do plants and air as found in nature, suggesting a synergistic imperative for optimal human function. By this is meant, the term water, as used in everyday language, is not simply the basic molecule of H2O (an oxygen atom with two hydrogen atoms attached to it). Natural water connotes a liquid consisting of H2O that has been cycled through evaporation from the earths surface to accumulation in the clouds which then rains back to the earth where it runs through streams to rivers to aquifers collecting a multitude of minerals that all work to keep the complexities of the human body functioning. This harmonious synergism found in water and plants and air, that was once established on this planet for optimal human function, has been thrown askew by the very byproducts of recent human advancement, most notably the industrial revolution. Along with the natural minerals collected on waters journey to our bodies there are a multitude of impurities with varying levels of toxicity. Fortunately for us, the human body has thus far shown enough resilience to adjust adequately to these relatively recent imbalances seen in the essential resources for life. With that in mind, we can do our best to recognize the essentiality of water and make choices about what we put into our bodies and how we preserve this essential element for our descendants.

Water covers our planet, of which less than 3 percent is drinkable. The optimal source of drinkable water would be spring water from a source near to ones primary habitat. Otherwise, spring water in general is a balanced source. Then one might consider mineral waters intended to compensate for other imbalances in our life resources. Distilled water has the advantage of being reduced to simple H2O, thus eliminating contaminants. However, it does also eliminate the essential minerals which then must be attained from food or off the shelf products at a market.

We tend to take water for granted. Water may soon become more valuable than gold as the environmental influences of modern times dramatically reduce the availability of drinkable sources.

Dr. Miles practices Naturopathic Medicine alongside other holistic practitioners at the Catalina Clinic of Integrative Medicine in Catalina, Arizona. http://www.catalinaclinic.com

Go here to see the original:
On the Topic of Water - Arizona Daily Star

Cancer coaches make the disease and survivorship more manageable with goal-oriented plans.

As she recovered and prepared for weeks of alternating radiation therapy and chemotherapy, Gendreau searched for online support groups and information about novel treatments. My medical care team was great, but I didnt feel like they had the time to sit with me, answer questions, explain alternative or complementary therapies or help me discern what my future might look like, Gendreau says. The hospital had a wall plastered with brochures, but I needed more one-on-one engagement and direction. Early on, it became clear that it was primarily my responsibility to research new studies, alternative therapies and potential clinical trials all while I was still recovering from brain surgery.

In her search for answers and resources, Gendreau stumbled onto the webpage for cancer coach Jeannine Walston. I didnt know that cancer coaches existed, Gendreau says. But when I read Walstons story and saw her credentials, I knew she was the person who could help me navigate this confusing new world I was now living in.

In 1998, at age 24, Walston learned she had a rare type of cancerous brain tumor, oligoastrocytoma. Over the past two decades, she has undergone three brain surgeries, radiation, chemotherapy, clinical trials and integrative cancer therapies, even venturing overseas for treatments. Walstons diagnosis changed the trajectory of her life. She embarked on a cancer-focused career path, working as a patient advocate, educator and researcher for nonprofit organizations, the National Cancer Institute, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Healths National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (now the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health). She is also a CURE contributor.

Walston, who lives in Los Angeles, started offering her services as a cancer coach in 2007. At that point, I had provided information to support groups, attended brain tumor and cancer conferences, and worked in the cancer field for 10 years, she says. Many people kept coming to me for advice and information. I wanted to help, and I knew my personal and professional experiences coaching cancer patients and caregivers addressed essential needs.

EMPOWERING PATIENTS TO MEET CHALLENGESThe popularity of professional coaching has grown significantly since the 1990s. There are coaches to help discern purpose in life, improve health and wellness, navigate divorce and break into a new career. Whatever the problem, theres a coach who can offer help. In many ways, cancer coaches are a natural extension of health and wellness coaching, helping clients mainly patients but also caregivers and other loved ones improve quality of life throughout the cancer journey.

Cancer coaches provide a valuable service by helping patients create goal-oriented plans that help them manage particular challenges, says Dawn Wiatrek, interim senior vice president of patient and caregiver support for the American Cancer Society (ACS). As soon as you receive a cancer diagnosis, so many factors are out of your control. Coaches provide needed support and guidance that help patients break down barriers and instill a feeling of confidence. They empower the patient to feel more in charge of an uncertain health situation. Wiatrek notes that the ACS has been coaching people for years through its tobacco cessation program. Cancer coaching is a similar idea, she says. You are giving someone the tools to help them navigate what seems like an insurmountable task.

Talaya Dendy, founder of On the Other Side cancer coaching in St. Paul, Minnesota, says her services save clients from putting time, effort and energy into treatment planning that would be better focused on physical and emotional healing. I research treatments, cancer centers, specialists and available resources and condense that information into easy-to-understand terms that spare the client the gloomy statistics, Dendy says. In addition to helping clients manage the emotional side of cancer, she helps them maximize time with care teams. Patients are often shocked at how little time they actually have with their oncologist or medical team, Dendy says. I make sure my clients are prepared for these appointments so they can advocate for themselves, get the answers they need and make informed decisions.

The ACS sees so many patient benefits to cancer coaching that the organization is using a grant to provide coach training to ACS patient navigators employed at approximately 70 cancer or medical centers nationwide, Wiatrek says. Historically, the role of a navigator has been to provide patients, caregivers and loved ones with resources for things like paying medical expenses, getting to and from treatments and connecting patients to community organizations that can offer assistance, she says. Increasingly, our navigators have found more patients relying on them to counsel them through what questions to ask their care team or asking for more personal guidance.

As employees of hospitals or cancer centers, patient navigators and oncology social workers can help schedule appointments and medical tests, as well as work with billing departments and health insurers, something cancer coaches dont do. Navigators and social workers may steer a patient toward general information about treatments and social support networks, whereas coaches can spend more time researching and gathering information specific to a patients needs.

Preliminary results from the six ACS sites that piloted the patient navigator coach training are positive. Patients said that they felt more confident after being coached on how to improve communication with their care team, Wiatrek says. Patients also understood their treatment plans better, and doctors noted improved compliance. By offering not only in-person sessions but also services via phone, Skype and email, cancer coaches may bridge a gap in care for patients who lack easy access to hospital or cancer center resources.

Because cancer coaching is a relatively new field, few studies address its specific benefits and effectiveness. Findings from a 2017 study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham showed that pairing older cancer patients with nonmedical professionals who received coach-type training reduced patients need for other health care resources, which in turn lowered costs. Other studies on health coaching suggest that these services bolster patient engagement, leading to improved quality of life, reduced hospital readmission rates and lowered medical expenses. Health coaching appears to be especially helpful for people dealing with chronic illnesses like cancer.

A COMPLEMENTARY APPROACH TO CARECancer coaches arent meant to replace patient navigators, oncology social workers or case managers, and they are quick to emphasize that they are not medical experts. I share what I know from my unique patient perspective and decades of experience working in cancer and health care arenas. I do not give medical advice, Walston says.

Gendreau first turned to Walston for help gathering information about possible treatments so that she could consider them, speak to her care team and make informed decisions. My job for a software company required doing a good bit of research, so I felt confident in my researching skills, Gendreau says. Still, I was overwhelmed when I started exploring my condition and treatment options. I felt like I was being buried in a landslide of information.

Walston helped Gendreau create an action plan, breaking down her to-do list into achievable steps. This approach eased some of Gendreaus anxiety and uncertainty. Walston also researched and shared information about integrative therapies, such as yoga, acupuncture and art, something Gendreaus care team didnt seem to have the time or expertise to address.

Most recently, Gendreau asked Walston for help deciphering the vast number of clinical trial opportunities. I could ask my husband or daughter to do some of this research, but that exposes them to all of the scary statistics and information. They are as shocked and frightened as I am, says Gendreau, who emphasizes that Walston serves strictly as her coach and not her therapist. I have a terrific therapist who is helping me cope with my emotions, she says. The coaching aspect gives me a sounding board, a place to discuss ideas and next steps. Having Jeannine to turn to has greatly lifted a burden off of me and my loved ones.

Some medical centers and nonprofit organizations pair patients and mentors who have a similar diagnosis. Cancer coaches go beyond this type of peer-to-peer service. A mentor or peer provides emotional support. They can tell you about their experiences, but their role isnt to give advice or offer suggestions on what you should do, says licensed social worker Angelique Caba, senior director of social work administration for CancerCare, a national nonprofit organization that provides free, professional support services for anyone affected by cancer. A coach provides practical guidance and helps you anticipate barriersto care and troubleshoot for problems.

Donita Wheeler, founder of Donita Mama Bear, a cancer coaching company, believes her services complement those of other specialists. I feel each of us has something unique to offer to the cancer community. We must lean on each other to get through the most difficult times, she says.

That is exactly what Gendreau is doing with her coach. I now know that it was naive of me to expect to get much hand-holding from my oncologist, she says. I appreciate that there are cancer coaches who have taken the worst evil you can imagine and turned it into a passion to help others.

Read the original post:
Putting the Ball In Your Court With Cancer Coaches - Curetoday.com

Nearly half the U.S. population is projected to have one or more chronic conditions by 2030 and the need to better manage both care delivery and costs has never been greater.

At the same time, Baby Boomers are entering their Golden Years and seeking out preventative and lifestyle medicine to ensure that they live longer and with more personal freedom. And they want to do all of this while aging in place and not being relegated to the decrepit and outdated nursing homes of their own parents generation. After all, we live in a new era of instant song selection, streaming movies, and Amazon home delivery.

In the world of convenience andhealthcare is no exceptionpatients have a desire to be serviced more at home and have providers meet them where they are. This is evidenced by the growth in virtual medical care, a $38 billion industry in 2019, expected to surge to $130 billion in 2025. Thats good news for small and medium-sized cities across America looking to grow their economies, like Midland, Texas where population growth is expected to command an additional 1,300 healthcare workers by 2030.

These trends are also a great signal for Baby Boomers who are already using their mobile and personal devices to educate themselves, interact with communities, and shop online. Healthcare, then, is a natural extension of this behavior.

A late 2017 survey by the American Association of Retired People (AARP) found over 90% of adults over 50 own a computer or laptop, 70% have a smartphone, and over 40% own a tablet. These findings are backed by a 2018 consumer survey on digital health from Accenture that found seniors are interested in using digital technology to help facilitate healthcare reminders, follow-ups, and support.

With increasing Boomer inclination towards developing healthy lifestyles, using things like preventative and alternative medicine have become the major trend. According to a 2017 study out of Michigan, Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine among Older Adults: Differences between Baby Boomers and Pre-Boomers, among identified [complementary and alternative medicines] CAM users, a higher proportion of baby boomers reported using most individual CAM modalities.

The use of integrative fitness and dietary regimens, vitamin injections and supplements, alternative medicine like acupuncture, and with Boomers talking about the latter on social media at a rate of 47% in comparison to 17% for Gen Xers. Virtual care services provide a digital solution to access information and recommendations on these products.

The first step on this journey is to use virtual tools to deliver better care where it matters: at home. Myia Health, an intelligent health monitoring platform, augments the ability of clinicians to better care for patients living at home with chronic conditions like heart failure, COPD, diabetes and hypertension.

Unlike scattered and unreliable data that can come from a single wearable health monitoring device, Myia uses a specially selected set of sensors and data sources (including patient approved smartphone activity and location information) to bring context insight into a patients overall condition. With the companys sensor kit, clinicians are able to capture critical information about a patients health and behaviors that can be used to do things like adjust medications remotely and prioritize and help schedule clinic visits.

Myia Health is now partnering with Mercy Virtual, known as the countrys first hospital without beds, to scale a service offering to patients who have a rising risk of developing chronic conditions like heart failure and COPD and stage interventions to reverse course before a condition may take hold. . For Boomers who want to live longer, stay out of the hospital, and remain independent, virtual care solutions seem like the natural next step.

Patient-generated health data (PGHD) from the real-world, in its modern form, will be an unlock that drives the prevention evolution, Simon MacGibbon, CEO & Co-Founder, Myia Labs, said. Myia and Mercy both plan to start scaling their service offering to over 5,000 patients as Mercy works with over 40 leading healthcare providers around the United States.

For Mercy, this is a culmination of efforts begun in October of 2015, when the St. Louis, Missouri based non-profit opened a $54 million, four-story hospital in 2015 that instead of holding patients, became the home to 330 staffers. To date, the system has seen significant success to date with its focus on a home-based care reducing hospital admissions and ER visits by more than 50%. Mercy has led a $10 Million investment in Myia because it believes it can make these results even better.

Large health systems like Kaiser and Geisinger are making strong in-roads to moving care of their aging populations online, as well. Kaiser is a primary example where 52% of all visits have moved to a virtual setting as new mobile applications and wellness tools are regularly used by Boomers seeking a proactive approach to preventative self-management.

Similarly, Geisinger Health System, which is based in Danville, Pennsylvania, launched a farm fresh food bank to provide low sugar and low sodium foods to patients with chronic conditions like Type 2 Diabetes. What Geisinger did that was different here is launch the food bank in conjunction with mobile applications, home monitoring, and other virtual care tools that ensured dieting and nutrition programs were adhered to. Again, using virtual tools as the enabler of treatments that work.

Similarly, virtual care can enhance the potential effectiveness of integrative alternative treatments aimed at longevity, wellness, and overall health. Given boomers preference for wellness-based therapies, we should only expect to see this space grow over the next few years.

NextHealth, a retail longevity clinic offering optimization treatments ranging from IV and vitamin therapy to food sensitivity testing, is a great example of this in action. NextHealth provides retails a variety of longitudinal sensors directly to their patients to enable a full-feedback loop and adjust treatments. According to Dr. Darshan Shah, the NextHealths founder, such tools are key in moving the system from the current orientation of disease care towards health care.

In an interview earlier this year, Ateev Mehrotra, MD, MPH, associate professor of healthcare policy at Harvard Medical School predicted, Were seeing very rapid growth of these technologies and with the growth rates Im observing, in three, five, or ten years, telehealth will be ubiquitous. With large institutions producing exceptional results in virtual health management, and pioneering technology companies developing more sophisticated and comprehensive products, its hard to argue against his prediction and newly emerging products.

With that said, would you put your parents in a nursing home? Comment below.

Go here to read the rest:
Health and Wellness Providers Are Banking On Virtual Care To Better Serve America's Aging Boomers - Grit Daily

TORONTO, Oct. 23, 2019 /CNW/ -Acorn Biolabs, a pioneer in non-invasive stem cell collection, today announced a strategic partnership with Toronto-based Executive Health Centre, a medical wellness centre and leader in precision and personalized medicine. Under the agreement, Executive Health Centre will become the first clinic in North America to offer its patients the ability to have their stem cells banked through a method that involves simply plucking a few hair follicles from a person's head.

Acorn's innovative method allows for full genome collection without the need for surgery or other painful and invasive procedures, making stem cell collection significantly more affordable and accessible for everyone.

"Our partnership with Acorn is tremendously exciting for the future of healthcare," says Dr. Elaine Chin, founder of Executive Health Centre. "Stem cells play a critical role in predictive analytics and will allow us to identify and prevent diseases before they happen, in addition to creating the possibility for an array of personalized regenerative treatments in the future."

Once stem cells are collected, Acorn uses a proprietary method of keeping cells viable during transport and storage, turning collected hair follicles into a highly valuable and accessible resource for regenerative medicine and genetics. Not only are these stem cells securely stored for future use, but the company's scientists can also extract critical genetic information that will unlock valuable data about a person's health that has never been available before.With this partnership, Executive Health Centre patients will also have access to Acorn's genetic age reports that provide insights into a person's aging process.

"Dr. Chin has been a trailblazer in using biometric and monitoring technology with her patients, and has established herself as an eminent thought leader in this space. For Acorn to combine our technology with her clinic's expertise is a major win not just for patients, but also for the broader industry as a whole," says Dr. Drew Taylor, co-founder and CEO of Acorn. "Both Executive Health Centre and Acorn strongly believe that our cells are the future of healthcare, and we're thrilled to be working together in making regenerative medicine accessible to more and more people."

Media AvailabilityTime: 4:00 p.m.Location: Executive Health Centre, 4120 Yonge Street, Toronto, ONDr. Drew Taylor and Dr. Elaine Chin are available for interviews.

About Acorn Biolabs, Inc.Founded in 2017 by Steven ten Holder, Patrick Pumputis and Dr. Drew Taylor and borne out of years of research, Acorn is a healthcare technology company. Based at Johnson & Johnson INNOVATION JLABS in Toronto, Acorn is focused on giving every human being the best chance to experience more healthy years with its easy, affordable and non-invasive live-cell collection, analysis and cryopreservation service. Acorn helps you live a longer, healthier tomorrow by freezing the clock on your cells today.Visit http://www.acorn.me.

About Executive Health CentreThe Executive Health Centre is recognized for its visionary work in personalized, preventative healthcare. Dr. Elaine Chin, founder of the Executive Health Centre, established North America's first physician and naturopathic doctor-integrated health clinic in 1997 at the Mississauga Hospital (now Trillium Health Partners). Today, the combined expertise of this innovative model is unmatched in North America and provides its patients the best in seamless integrative medicine and rejuvenation therapies. Dr. Chin is also the author of "Lifelines Unlocking the Secrets of Your Telomeres for a Longer, Healthier Life," on The Globe and Mail's Top 10 Bestseller List. Visit: http://www.executivehealthcentre.com.

SOURCE Acorn Biolabs

For further information: Morgan McLellan, E: morgan@providentcomms.com, C: 647-802-4825

Read more here:
Acorn Biolabs partners with Executive Health Centre to become first clinic in North America to offer non-invasive stem cell collection - Canada...

Many drugs, especially those made of proteins, cannot be taken orally because they are broken down in the gastrointestinal tract before they can take effect. One example is insulin, which patients with diabetes have to inject daily or even more frequently.

In hopes of coming up with an alternative to those injections, MIT engineers, working with scientists from Novo Nordisk, have designed a new drug capsule that can carry insulin or other protein drugs and protect them from the harsh environment of the gastrointestinal tract. When the capsule reaches the small intestine, it breaks down to reveal dissolvable microneedles that attach to the intestinal wall and release drug for uptake into the bloodstream.

"We are really pleased with the latest results of the new oral delivery device our lab members have developed with our collaborators, and we look forward to hopefully seeing it help people with diabetes and others in the future," says Robert Langer, the David H. Koch Institute Professor at MIT and a member of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.

In tests in pigs, the researchers showed that this capsule could load a comparable amount of insulin to that of an injection, enabling fast uptake into the bloodstream after the microneedles were released.

Langer and Giovanni Traverso, an assistant professor in MIT's Department of Mechanical Engineering and a gastroenterologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital, are the senior authors of the study, which appears today in Nature Medicine. The lead authors of the paper are recent MIT PhD recipient Alex Abramson and former MIT postdoc Ester Caffarel-Salvador.

Langer and Traverso have previously developed several novel strategies for oral delivery of drugs that usually have to be injected. Those efforts include a pill coated with many tiny needles, as well as star-shaped structures that unfold and can remain in the stomach from days to weeks while releasing drugs.

"A lot of this work is motivated by the recognition that both patients and health care providers prefer the oral route of administration over the injectable one," Traverso says.

Earlier this year, they developed a blueberry-sized capsule containing a small needle made of compressed insulin. Upon reaching the stomach, the needle injects the drug into the stomach lining. In the new study, the researchers set out to develop a capsule that could inject its contents into the wall of the small intestine.

Most drugs are absorbed through the small intestine, Traverso says, in part because of its extremely large surface area --- 250 square meters, or about the size of a tennis court. Also, Traverso noted that pain receptors are lacking in this part of the body, potentially enabling pain-free micro-injections in the small intestine for delivery of drugs like insulin.

To allow their capsule to reach the small intestine and perform these micro-injections, the researchers coated it with a polymer that can survive the acidic environment of the stomach, which has a pH of 1.5 to 3.5. When the capsule reaches the small intestine, the higher pH (around 6) triggers it to break open, and three folded arms inside the capsule spring open.

Each arm contains patches of 1-millimeter-long microneedles that can carry insulin or other drugs. When the arms unfold open, the force of their release allows the tiny microneedles to just penetrate the topmost layer of the small intestine tissue. After insertion, the needles dissolve and release the drug.

"We performed numerous safety tests on animal and human tissue to ensure that the penetration event allowed for drug delivery without causing a full thickness perforation or any other serious adverse events," Abramson says.

To reduce the risk of blockage in the intestine, the researchers designed the arms so that they would break apart after the microneedle patches are applied.

The new capsule represents an important step toward achieving oral delivery of protein drugs, which has been very difficult to do, says David Putnam, a professor of biomedical engineering and chemical and biomolecular engineering at Cornell University.

"It's a compelling paper," says Putnam, who was not involved in the study. "Delivering proteins is the holy grail of drug delivery. People have been trying to do it for decades."

In tests in pigs, the researchers showed that the 30-millimeter-long capsules could deliver doses of insulin effectively and generate an immediate blood-glucose-lowering response. They also showed that no blockages formed in the intestine and the arms were excreted safely after applying the microneedle patches.

"We designed the arms such that they maintained sufficient strength to deliver the insulin microneedles to the small intestine wall, while still dissolving within several hours to prevent obstruction of the gastrointestinal tract," Caffarel-Salvador says.

Although the researchers used insulin to demonstrate the new system, they believe it could also be used to deliver other protein drugs such as hormones, enzymes, or antibodies, as well as RNA-based drugs.

"We can deliver insulin, but we see applications for many other therapeutics and possibly vaccines," Traverso says. "We're working very closely with our collaborators to identify the next steps and applications where we can have the greatest impact."

The research was funded by Novo Nordisk and the National Institutes of Health. Other authors of the paper include Vance Soares, Daniel Minahan, Ryan Yu Tian, Xiaoya Lu, David Dellal, Yuan Gao, Soyoung Kim, Jacob Wainer, Joy Collins, Siddartha Tamang, Alison Hayward, Tadayuki Yoshitake, Hsiang-Chieh Lee, James Fujimoto, Johannes Fels, Morten Revsgaard Frederiksen, Ulrik Rahbek, and Niclas Roxhed.

Reprinted with permission of MIT News. Read the original article.

View original post here:
New capsule can orally deliver drugs that usually have to be injected - Big Think

Its a fact that as a womans age increases, fertility decreases. (This is why pregnancy at the age of 35 or later is often referred to as a geriatric pregnancy.) While there is no specific age recommendation for when to discuss your fertility with your doctorthough it does start its marked decline at the age of 30the recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is to see a doctor after six months of unsuccessfully trying to conceive.

While your doctor is an invaluable resource, many people are now turning to fertility coaches to help boost their chances of conceiving. How is that different from what youll get from your visits with your obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN)? The level of support, for one, as well as a deep dive into more than just what is going on inside your body that may be affecting your fertility.

Related: Should You Freeze Your Eggs to Preserve Your Future Fertility?

During my first introduction to sexual education, I believed that if you had vaginal intercourse it would result in pregnancy. While that is the case for some people, there are a lot of things that need to occur perfectly and simultaneously for conception. In fact, I lamented with friends how I wish we had been told that getting pregnant can take time (though that would have undermined the priority of sex ed teachings of a religious private school). Kate Potvin, ERYT-500, CiPP, fertility coach and creator of Flourish Fertility admits that this myth is perpetuated at a young age and that it is common for it to take several months to get pregnant. Why is this? Overall fertility does play a part, but it isnt as simple as that.

The fertile window of a womans cycle is only six days maximum, for some couples, adds Lindsay Meisel, chief science editor and head of content at Ava. Depending on sperm health, cervical mucus quality, age, and other factors, the effective fertile window may be even shorter than that.

The optimal menstrual cycle is actually affected by your overall health and fertility and can actually serve as a barometer for your lifestyle choices, saysKirsten Karchmer, CEO of Brazen, founder and clinical director of The Texas Center for Reproductive Acupuncture and author of Seeing Red.You want to be eating high quality nutrients (for high quality hormones and blood for good lining and implantation), limit alcohol and cannabis (occasional consumption is often fine) and avoid over-exercising (to keep from depleting your energy reserves).

What youre looking for is to have a lifestyle to help produce an optimal menstrual cycle (or as close as possible), Karchmner notes. You want to look for a 28-day cycle, oscillating on cycle day 14 with good cervical stretchy discharge, no PMS whatsoever, no cramping or clotting, and having enough blood to soak a tampon or pad or fill a Diva Cup or menstrual cup about every four hours without cramping or clotting. When you have thatplus having basal temperatures that are averaging around 97 to 98.2at the luteal phase, youre in your optimal state.

Of course, even if you are eating a clean diet, avoiding alcohol, trying to steer clear of environmental toxins (as much as possible) and exercising, fertility isnt that simple. Elizabeth Bechard, RYT, NBC-HWC, an integrative fertility coach, reminds us that there are underlying conditions that may come into play, such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, eating disorders and even a history of cancer.

All of that said, infertility is also often caused by factors that may be out of an individuals control; unexplained infertility is painfully common across genders, Bechard stresses. Unexplained infertility and/or pregnancy loss can be especially difficult to navigate.

Related: Top Chef Host Padma Lakshmi Opens Up About Endometriosis

As you can see, it can be difficult to navigate fertility in general. This is where a fertility coach comes in (as early or as far along in the process as needed). Often their goal will be to help you achieve as close to that optimal menstrual cycle as possible, which is what you would probably assume from a fertility coach, but Bechard adds they can even counsel you through assisted reproductive techniques and adoption, as well.

While there are lots of different styles of health coaching and fertility coaching, in general, a fertility coach is someone who supports an individual on their journey to become a parent (whether parenthood occurs through unassisted conception, assisted reproductive technology, or in some cases, adoption), Bechard explains. Some fertility coaches offer detailed nutritional and lifestyle advice, whereas others primarily support clients in the process of creating lifestyles that support an environment of optimal fertility. The style of coaching generally depends on the coachs training and background.

It may seem counterintuitive to be working with someone else besides your OB-GYN to conceive, but Potvin notes that they often just look at your hormone levels and make sure your uterus and ovaries are healthy. Because there is more to fertilityincluding the lifestyle factorsa fertility coach actually helps you put it all into practice in everyday life. The other benefit is the one-on-one relationship that is built between coach and patient; your coach gains intimate knowledge of your specific situation and lifestyle, including documenting what has and hasnt been tried to improve chances of conception.

Celebrity interviews, recipes and health tips delivered to yourinbox.

Fertility coaches general spend significantly more time with their patients than OB-GYNs, as they largely set their own hours, reveals Bechard. In many medical offices, doctors rotate and a patient may see a different doctor every time, whereas fertility coaches usually have the chance to develop deeper relationships with their clients.

She adds that fertility coaches can work with a patients OB-GYN if requested, as coaches often cant order lab tests or prescribe medications. Patients who are undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) and choose to have a fertility coach may want the added layer of communication between their fertility coach and fertility doctor or reproductive endocrinologist.

When it comes to choosing a fertility coach, it is important to know what type of support you need because, as Karchmer stresses, a fertility coach can mean a lot of different things. She notes that there are a wide range of credentialsthey could have taken a weekend workshop, be a certified nutritionist, have a Ph.D. in traditional Chinese medicine or more. This is where the distinction can help you determine which coach is right for you.

One thing thats really important is that you determine exactly what kind of support that you need, whether thats on an emotional level on a physical level, and a nutrition level, or on a lifestyle level, Karchmer advises. As we know, the data are really clear that all of the lifestyle factorsincluding diet, stress, sleep mindsetall can make a significant impact on your menstrual cycle and your overall fertility.

This distinction between needing emotional or physical supportor bothis important. The physical part can be a bit easier to navigate as you rework your routine; emotionally, however, it can be lonely. There are a lot of ups and downs when it comes to trying to conceive; a fertility coach can act as a crucial form of support during those times (especially when youd rather not talk to family or friends about what youre going through).

The biggest thing I see with my clients is the emotional toll it can take on women and couples, says Potvin. One in eight couples will struggle to conceive, so I think its important for everyone to be sensitive around baby talk. If your friend isnt that excited about your pregnancy announcement, she might be struggling herself. And I think its time we dropped the, So when are you guys starting a family? question from small talk conversationsyou never know whos been struggling.

Thanks to technological advances, an in-person coach isnt your only option (of physical and emotional support). Products like Avaa fertility tracking bracelettrack physiological signals to tell you when you are fertile. Not only will their app give you guidance on boosting your chances of getting pregnant, it will also give you access to an online global network of other users who are going through similar stages of the process.

Women can join specific groups based on where they are in their fertility journeys and meet women from around the world who are going through the same thing, shares Meisel. We have women who have formed friendships while trying to get pregnant who now have babies the same age and fly across the country to visit each other!

You may even choose to use a wearable fertility tracker such as Ava to identify any physiological barriers making it difficult to conceive before you decide to get additional one-on-one support from a fertility coach.

A fertility coach doesnt just support a woman, however; men can benefit from seeing one, too. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) notes that a mans fertility declines with age as a womans doesbut not as predictably. And just as a womans fertility can benefit from healthy lifestyle changes, the same can be said for men. Bechard stresses that while we often think of fertility as a womans problem, research shows otherwise.

Research shows that only one-third of infertility cases are the result of female-only factors, Bechard notes. Another one-third of cases are the result of male-only factors and one-third are the result of factors from both parties. So two-thirds of the time, fertility challenges involve some issue with sperm!

Should sperm not be the issue after testing, it is still beneficial for both parties to see the fertility coach together. As stated above, trying to conceiveespecially if unsuccessfullycan take a huge emotional toll (and can feel like work, at times). Having both members of a couple present and involved can only add to the emotional support available (and lets face it, men may need that support, too).

We want to recognize that fertility and conception arent just limited to men and women. This is an important point fertility coaches acknowledge: Not everyone trying to conceive will fit neatly into a gender binary.

Many of my clients are queer-identified, and its absolutely possible for individuals who do not identify as women (such as transmen or nonbinary individuals) to conceive if they have a uterus, Bechard concludes. As fertility coaches support individuals in cultivating lifestyles and making changes that support optimal fertility, anyone who is trying to conceivemale, female, transgender, or nonbinarycould benefit from the support of a coach, particularly if there have been challenges already.

Read our exclusive interview with Fox and Friends Weekend co-host Jedediah Bila on her infertility journey.

Follow this link:
What Is a Fertility Coach?: What a Fertility Coach Does and Who Needs One - Parade