MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS : HOPE WITH AUTOLOGOUS STEM CELLS

Multiple Sclerosis : Hope With Autologous Stem Cell
A U.S. team has achieved encouraging results in the fight against multiple sclerosis (MS) using a new technique of autotransplantation of stem cells extracted from bone marrow of the patient. The results of this clinical trial was conducted on 21 patients in the first phase of the disease have been published in the online version of Lancet Neurology.

This technique of transplantation of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant is the patient's own bone marrow cells. The cells are harvested from bone marrow and the patient receives a cocktail of immunosuppressive drugs' anti-rejection". The infusion of these stem cells is then performed intravenously. The latter will somehow "reset" the immune system.

In this study, 37 months after transplantation, 21 patients have experienced no worsening of their condition, and 17 of them have seen a significant reduction in their handicaps.

Approximately 80,000 people in France suffer from multiple sclerosis whose forms and trends vary greatly from one patient to another. Multiple sclerosis is characterized by destruction of myelin, the protective layer around nerve fibers that carries nerve impulses (see illustration below). Problems with coordination, vision problems, dizziness, motor problems are some of the symptoms of the disease.


It is an autoimmune disease, ie an immune attack via cell become aggressive, which attack the body itself (in this case myelin). Therefore, researchers try to "reset" the immune system by transplanting hematopoietic stem cells, derived from bone marrow precursors of red blood cells and white blood cells (which include the lymphocytes).

DAILY SEX "HELPS IMPROVE SPERM QUALITY"

Daily Sex "Helps Improve Sperm Quality"

Australian study - Having sex daily increase sperm quality and thus assist men who have fertility problems.

The study was conducted on 118 Australians whose semen showed alterations, the researchers found that daily ejaculation for a week increased significantly reduce the number of DNA damage sperm of patients.

Dr David Greening and colleagues at the private clinic Sydney IVF (Australia), specializes in fertility problems, participants were asked to have sex every day for a week. After seven days, doctors have observed in 81% of subjects a decrease of 12% of the amount of damaged sperm. Sperm quality can also be improved if men do not smoke, do not abuse alcohol, do exercise and ingest more antioxidants.

Although the sperm count has dropped to 180 million per ml to 70 million per ml, men were still in the "range of fertility."

Since he led the study, Dr Greening said now recommend to all couples seeking advice to improve their fertility to begin to love more. One suggestion that seems to contradict the older men but delight the youngest, said the doctor.

Sex frequent help to improve sperm quality by preventing it from staying too long in the body. The sperm DNA was indeed more likely to be damaged when staying long in the body. Also heat can also make sperm less mobile.

Some experts welcomed the study but added that it does not prove that sex daily allows men with fertility problems to have a better chance of producing babies. Dr Greening and colleagues are still analyzing the results of the study to determine how many companions of participants became pregnant.

If confirmed, the discovery could have implications for in vitro fertilization (IVF) as was previously recommended for couples to abstain for two days just to increase sperm count.

"Studying the DNA of sperm is only part of the puzzle" said his side Bill Ledger, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Sheffield, Great Britain, who has not participated in the study.

"This may improve pregnancy rates, but we still need to study further" Mr. Ledger also believes that apply to couples with fertility problems to have greater love could harm their relationship.

"This could add to the anxiety and do more harm than good." Couples should not feel obliged to change their sexual life to have a baby, he said.
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This work was presented Tuesday, June 30, 2009 in Amsterdam at the Congress of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. (Website: http://www.eshre.com)
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Sources: BBC News, AP

MOTHER'S CANCER CAN PASS TO FETUS

A Mother Sends Cancer To Her Baby During Pregnancy
England - A mother of 28 years, died of leukemia, a cancer cell transmitted to her daughter, while it was still in her uterus.

This event is rare and researchers proves that cancer can be passed from mother to child. Seventeen cases were identified earlier when the mother and baby share the same cancer often leukemia or melanoma. However, scientists now have evidence of genetic transmission of cancer.

Normally, the immune system of a baby recognizes and destroys any cancer cell from the mother. But this time, the leukemic cells have avoided the baby's natural defenses.

The scientists began their research in 2006 when a Japanese father brought his baby to 11 months in the hospital in Tokyo. He then explained that the mother had died three months ago. Samples taken from the infant compared to those of the mother showed that they contained the same cancer cells. These cases are still extremely rare according to scientists.

THE INCREDIBLE PHOTOS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FETUS OVER THE MONTHS

The Incredible Photos Of The Development Of A Fetus Over The Months
These photos also touching surprising that we can dive into the intimacy of a fetus, his fifth to twentieth week of development in utero.



Credits: Lennart Nilsson, A Child is Born, published by Jonathan Cape