Yearly Archives: 2016
Side effects of radiation therapy: Why me?
Most lung cancers are treated with radiation therapy, often in high doses. Although these treatments are absolutely required to prolong life (by killing the tumor or slowing its growth), radiation treatment can have negative side effects that
Extended VATS lobectomy
A lobectomy is the standard operation for removal of a lung cancer. Traditionally, it is performed through a large incision (approximately 15 cm or 6 inches) at the side of the chest. This incision, termed a thoracotomy,
Bleeding and thrombosis in a patient with primary antiphospholipid syndrome using norethisterone
Antiphospholipid syndrome is an autoimmune hypercoagulable state caused by specific antibodies, and it is known to be associated with the occurrence of blood clots, or thrombosis, in the veins and/or arteries. However bleeding is rarely associated with the syndrome. Only a few cases
Evaluating methods for detecting deadly skin cancers
Melanoma is a rare, but potentially deadly, type of skin cancer that develops in skin cells called melanocytes, which are responsible for producing the pigment in your skin. According to the American Cancer Society, the probability of
Disguising insulin as an antibody: a Trojan horse for type 1 diabetes prevention
Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is an auto-immune disease. These diseases appear when our own immune system, which normally protects us from foreign pathogens (viruses, bacteria,…), attacks our own cells. In the case of T1D, T lymphocytes, which
Trends in expected lifetime without and with activity limitations in Denmark
In Denmark life expectancy has increased since the mid-1990s after many years of stagnation. Moreover, during the past more than 20 years expected lifetime in good health among older Danes increased more than life expectancy. The multiplicity
My research history – from molecular structure to surface science
Investigation of the molecular structure of SiCl4 using gas electron diffraction (GED) was the topic of my research I picked up when I started my graduate study at Department of Chemistry, the University of Tokyo. However, initial
Informational analysis to assess diagnostic accuracy of a medical test
Suppose one has a new diagnostic system (a computed tomography or ultrasound scanner, …), or a new diagnostic test for detecting a disease (diabetes, prostate cancer, …). Obviously we need to compare the performance of the new
Africa’s roads to ruin?
Africa’s natural environments and spectacular wildlife are about to face their biggest challenge ever. In a recent paper, my colleagues and I assessed an infrastructure-expansion scheme for Africa so sweeping in scope, it is dwarfing anything the
Medicare at 50: a long political struggle
Medicare came into being 50 years ago. In the context of the long history of struggles to obtain national health insurance in the USA, this was a momentous act. Organized efforts to attain national health insurance in
How magnetic interaction between two distant paramagnetic metals is influenced by central diamagnetic cyanidometal?
Magnetism is an ancient and classic physical phenomenon and will be forever interesting topics. Molecule-based magnetic materials, in which the structural building blocks are molecular in nature, are of increasing interest because they provide fundamental insight into
Skin versus nerve as a source of cells for the treatment of spinal cord injury
Following injury to the adult human spinal cord spontaneous repair processes fail resulting in life-long functional deficits below the level of injury, which can include paralysis, absent or abnormal sensory perception, chronic pain, and diminished cardiovascular, respiratory,
Artificial vision by Direct Optic Nerve Electrode (AV-DONE)
There are many blind people in the world. Major causes of blindness are cataract and refractive error according to WHO’s report. But those disease have solutions like surgeries, glasses and contact lens. In spite of recent medical development,
Wait a minute, how come heavier reacts faster?! Quantum effects in biochemistry and medicine
Physics is often thought to be quite irrelevant to Biochemistry and Medicine. But, the very first Physics Nobel Prize in 1901, for the discovery of X-rays, is highly related to Medicine nowadays. This clearly shows that a
Imaging tumor development using next generation raster scan optoacoustic mesoscopy
Cancer is one of the major diseases in the 21st century. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent on cancer research in the last half century, but still, our understanding of the disease mechanisms is limited.
A brain haemorrhage during anticoagulant therapy: what therapy next?
We read with interest the articles by Ntaios and by Ricci et al. concerning pros and cons of restarting oral anticoagulants (drugs that work to prevent the coagulation (clotting) of blood) after intracerebral hemorrhage. While we appreciate
A treatment option for laparoscopically-resected uterine leiomyosarcoma with morcellation
A new and frequently utilized treatment option for symptomatic uterine leiomyoma is laparoscopic resection with morcellation so the specimen can be extracted through a small abdominal incision or through the vagina. Despite meticulous preoperative evaluation , some
The genetic secrets of Uveal Melanoma
Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common primary cancer occurring in the eyes of adults, with 1/100,000 new cases per year in the Western world. Most patients are between 60 and 65 years old. Although it is a
HDL cholesterol: sometimes more is not necessarily better
Lipoproteins are complex particles that are responsible for transporting the water insoluble molecule, cholesterol, through the blood stream. Cholesterol is transported from the liver to peripheral tissues. Excess cholesterol in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is deposited in the
A synaptic receptor with a dual personality
Learning and storage of information in the brain at the cellular level involves dynamic modification of synapses, the place where information passes from a neuron to another. The efficacy of this transmission of information changes and depends
