News
Era of healthcare big data analytics poised for rapid growth; Clinical pathology laboratory test data will have important role
For the average patient, more than 70% of their permanent medical record consists of clinical laboratory test data. The medical laboratory profession is poised to have a great stake in the evolving and growing world of big-data analytics, which is a core component of the personalized medicine movement as stated by DarkDaily. This article provides a summary overview of the main players in health information software such as Tableau founded in 2003 by Stanford University affiliates. In addition, the article discusses the collaborations that are forming between healthcare and industries and involvement of medical laboratories within this. The importance of this topic can be identified within a report by Forbes that recognizes such partnerships are “...draw[ing] a comprehensive picture of the patient as an individual, in order to offer a tailored healthcare package.”
Related Article: A Cure for Medical Researchers’ Big Data Headache
18 must-follow Twitter accounts about health and medicine
Ever feel like you are out of the social media loop? Need more insight into health, medicine and science from some of the greatest and unique minds across the world? STAT has compiled a list of Twitter accounts that you can follow and keep up to date on the conventional and non-conventional trending news. Here are some of the highlight minds:
- Tara Smith studies zoonotic infections (disease transmission from animals to humans) and sits on the advisory board for the Zombie Research Society
- Dr. Victor Montori specializes in diabetes at the Mayo Clinic
- Marc Abrahams is the editor and cofounder of the Annals of Improbable Research
- Karen James researches the identification of species via DNA
New age microscope inventions
Read the discussion on the future of microscopes - there are many opinions and new fascinating possibilities. Bringing the lab world to your personal cell phone or creating a field safe paper version dramatically advances access of professional microscopes for curiosity sake as well as professional and academic purposes.
- The µPeek can be combined with a smartphone, offering magnification of approximately 35x – 350x (cost $176). It charges with a micro-USB (4 hours of life), weighs two ounces and has up to 1.4 µm resolution. Read about it here.
Video: Watch the µPeek in action!
- Read this interview about a biophysicist named Manu Prakashhas who is best known for having invented a microscope made out of a single sheet of paper - Foldscope. It has the capabilities of a high school microscope.
Microbiology
Antibiotic-Resistant Superbugs Found In Canada, Scientist Blames Agricultural Practices
Quote: "Once they start moving around, then it becomes very, very challenging to contain. And so the question we have to ask ourselves is where's it going to end up next."
Did you know that the gene that turns some bacteria into antibiotic-resistant superbugs has been in Canada for at least five years? The MCR-1 gene has heightened awareness of the potential dangers of this phenomenon as it is what makes E.coli and other bacteria resistant. The gene is found on a plasmid which can easily be swapped between bacteria which allows for more microorganisms to fend off the killing effects of antibiotics. Dr. Matthew Gilmour states that there is an investigation into determining how long ago MCR-1 first presented in Canada. The lab has also designed a test to detect the gene which can be disseminated to other labs for local rapid detection. He further discusses the implications of the ‘nightmare scenario’ where MCR-1 connects with NDM-1 gene.
Drug resistant TB rose from under 5% in 2000 to nearly 20% in 2012
A retrospective analysis of approximately 15,000 patients cared for at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital demonstrated a 12% increase in the incidence of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). According to Dr. Chand Wattal, multi drug-resistance in TB patient increased to 19.8% in 2012 from 4.7% in 2000. "MDR-TB was more in case of pulmonary (28.2%) than extra-pulmonary (11.6%) TB," he was quoted as saying. This represents a staggering 1 in 5 TB patients in India suffering from this drug resistance which should signal an alarm. Dr. S.K. Sharma, Professor and Head of the Medicine Department at AIIMS, noted importance of this finding in that the survival rate in TB patients who are sensitive to drugs at least 90%; however, patients who are MDR-TB have a less than 60% survival. The researchers supported government action to stop over-the-counter sales of anti-TB drugs suggesting, "…the drugs should be prescribed only at public hospitals or by doctors working under public-private partnership to ensure accountability."
Related Article: Drug-resistant TB cases up
Research
Researchers make progress on identifying people who will experience adverse responses to vaccinations
Published online in Nature Immunology, an international research team completed a combination of blood gene expression and immune cell profiling on 178 healthy adults who had received an adjuvant vaccine for swine flu (H1N1 influenza). Approximately 20% of those vaccinated experienced an adverse response to some degree. In their findings, subtle differences were identified in early immune response, as well as the presence of a B cell-related expression signature prior and after vaccination that was associated with adverse events. Age was reviewed and determined not to be a factor creating adverse responses. Adrian Hayday , an immunobiology researcher affiliated with King's College London and the Francis Crick Institute, states that these results may contribute to understanding human immune variation and vaccine response, potentially predicting vaccine response more reliably in the future.
New Strains Intended for the Production of Inactivated Polio Vaccine at Low-Containment After Eradication
Quote: "We have developed new strains for IPV production with negligible risk to the human population should they escape," the researchers conclude, and add that the attributes of the new strains "allow for safe vaccine production in the post-eradication world."
It is possible that the eradication of the polio virus is near and thus, prompting discussions regarding concern for post-eradication manufacturing and stockpiling of vaccine stores containing live virus. Given the possibility of reintroduction to society through live virus escape, the World Health Organization (WHO) plans to stop the use of live-attenuated polio vaccines. WHO strongly recommends that new manufacturers to discontinue use of inactivated virus from virulent wild-type strains and to move towards an attenuated strain (Sabin). However, arguments against this have risen. Philip Minor, from the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control in Potters Bar, UK, and colleagues present data on alternative attenuated strains which they propose as a safer alternative source for inactivated vaccine. For further details, read the article published in PLOS.
Related Article: Creating safer polio vaccine strains for the post-eradication era
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