Hello again! ... 

I haven’t posted a blog in a while so I thought I would update you all. I have recently sent off my UCAS form for university for Diagnostic Radiography, which I am very excited about! The course looks very interesting and fascinating and I am waiting in anticipation for my chosen Universities to respond!  I have always known that I have wanted to peruse a career in the medical field and I have finally found a course that I feel I will thoroughly enjoy! Medical imaging technology is always advancing and developing to help diagnose complex illnesses, and I can’t wait to be a part of it!  

 No ordinary scan…

fMRI scan or Functional magnetic resonance scan is a relatively new scan that produces not just advanced 3D Images of organs and tissues but also has the capability to provide doctors with thought identification- “reading the mind”.

It functions in a similar way to the MRI scan in that it uses a powerful magnetic field as well as radio waves, to produce sophisticated images. But fMRI scan differs from the MRI scan because it ingeniously detects the active areas of the brain by the oxygenated blood resonance, which differs from deoxygenated blood resonance by around 20%. Scientists already know that active parts of the brain receive more oxygenated blood; the fMRI measures the blood flow of the active areas in the brain this is called blood-oxygen level- dependent-signal (BOLD Signal).

The uses of fMRI:

•      Brain mapping
•     Planning surgery
•    Analysing emotions
•    Market research

Brain mapping- refers to which specific parts of the brain carry out or relate to a specific function. Some researchers are investigating which areas of the brain manage pain, so that they can design and create more effective pain relieving drugs and therapies. Also other research includes time perception- and where specifically time is perceived.

Planning surgery- fMRI scans are very useful for diagnosing complex illnesses and conditions for example strokes and brain tumors. This has a great impact on the patient’s treatment as advanced scans like this one allows quick diagnosis and treatment. Doctors can then use the scan to establish precisely where they need to operate without damaging healthy areas of the brain.

Analysing emotions- fMRI scans are also useful for analysing emotions such as grief or happiness. Also fMRI scans could potentially be used as a lie detector by reading someone’s intentions. Also they can be used to discover is someone has seen a particular memory before, such as a specific room; this could be very useful in police investigations or government purposes in the future. It may be a long time yet however, before we do start to use fMRI scans for these purposes as they provoke lots of ethical and legal issues. 

Market research- questionnaires are carried to establish consumer’s opinions on marketing and product ideas. The fMRI scan could be used to look into consumers brains, getting an in-depth insight into their opinions and responses.

 

In the news...

fMRI scanners are making the homepage of The New Scientist this issue. Recently an fMRI scanner was used to explore brain activity of eight bilingual volunteers as they listened to the names of four animals: bull, horse, shark and duck, spoken in English. 

They wanted to identify activity related to meaning, they picked words that were as similar as possible- all four contain one syllable and belong to the theme of animals. 

They wanted to test to see if brain activity was related to the sound of the word of the meaning; by testing the system could determine the correct animal while participants listened to the Dutch version of the word. 

The system cleverly could identify which animal had been named, despite the system being set or 'trained' with patterns generated for English words. The word "horse" and the Dutch translation "paard" produced by the same pattern, this suggests that activity represented the words meaning. 

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21628914.500-mindreading-scan-locates-site-of-meaning-in-the-brain.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jc8URRxPIg

Stem cells and their prospects for the future 

I thought I would reverse back to the 'heart' of the human body....the fundamental organ that allows us to pump oxygen and blood around our body non stop! I find the heart totally fascinating; and I thought I would share with you some amazing information about stem cell development research related with our incredible organ- the heart!    

Stem cells are found in a person’s blood, muscles, bone marrow, as well as organs like the brain and liver and also the umbilical cord and menstrual blood.  Stem cells maintain and repair the tissue in which it is found they are also undifferientaed which means they have the potential to differentiate into any type of cell.

this is a good video that shows simple animation about stem cells! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JTw2RpDo9o

In the heart, there is a particular important cell the cardiomyocyte, these contracts to eject the blood out of the heart's ventricle. Also the vascular endothelial cell is very important, this forms the inner lining of blood vessels, and the smooth muscle cell, which forms the wall of blood vessels. They are both important for developing a network of arteries, which carry oxygen and nutrients to the cardiomyocytes after a heart has been damaged. Scientists are interested in developing this ability to provide replacement tissue for a damaged heart.

10 years ago, scientists tested the effectiveness of stem cells in the heart tissue by simulating heart attacks in mice and rats and then repairing the damage with heart cells grown from stem cells. Then in 2001, doctors reported that when they injected adult bone marrow into the damaged wall of the ventricle, the cells formed new cardiomyocytes, vascular endothelium, and smooth muscle cells, the newly formed arteries, arterioles and capillaries replaced the dead tissue with living, functioning tissue. The researchers found that mice that received the transplanted cells survived in greater numbers than mice with heart attacks that did not receive the mouse stem cells.

Then another amazing contribution to medicine occurred in, 2003, sixteen-year-old Dimitri Bonnville became the first human to receive experimental stem cell therapy to his damaged heart tissue. He was accidentally shot in the heart with a nail gun while doing home repair, undergone open-heart surgery and suffered a massive heart attack. He then opted for stem cell therapy to repair his damaged heart.  Doctors at the William Beaumont Hospital in Michigan harvested stem cells from Bonnville’s blood. Using a heart catheter, they transplanted the stem cells into the artery that supplies blood to the front of the heart.  Following the procedure, Bonnville experienced significant improvement in heart function.

Now, Scientists are growing human hearts in laboratories, The experiment is a major step towards the first ‘grow-your-own’ heart. The organs were created by :
1)  First removing muscle cells from donor organs, leaving behind the collagen and connective tissue structure  
2)  Researchers then injected stem cells which thrived dramatically, multiplying and growing around the structure, eventually turning into healthy heart cells.

There is great hope for the future and growing entire organs for transplants.

The Patients will have to take drugs to suppress their immune systems for the rest of their lives; as well as dealing with the increased high risk of blood pressure, kidney failure and diabeties.  But the major advantage is that the patient will less likely reject the heart.
The prospect for the future seems hopefull considering that; in 2007, British doctors grew a human heart valve using stem cells taken from a patient’s bone marrow. However, the race to create a working heart faces many obstacles. But if the experimental heart starts beating, it will be one of the most incredible contributions to modern medicine saving millions upon millions of people’s lives; reinventing 21st medicine.   

                                                   
This video shows the grown stem cell heart in action!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9hEFUpTVPA

Double Hand Transplant Surgery

When the programme ‘Inside The Human Body’ was on last year around the summer time, I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. I followed the whole series of the programme as it showed some very interesting topics, such as a double hand transplant, which is an amazing innovation to Medicine. The first operation was performed on March 2011.

The hand

http://dla-by411.blogspot.com/2011/02/upper-limb-journal-post-1.html

The hand is an essential part of the body it is made up ok skin, muscle, bone, tendons, nerves and vessels. The hand has precisely 27 bones, 28 muscles, 3 main nerves, 2 main arteries, tendons, veins and soft tissue. The skeleton of the hand consists of bones divided into three groups: the carpus, the metacarpal bones, and the phalanges. T It includes three main nerves - median, ulnar, and radial. All three nerves are involved in control of the wrist, finger and thumb. They supply the hand with blood.

Patient

Donor selection is similar to selection in organ donations: a patient should be between the age of 18 and 65 and other primary criteria. They need to have an amputated part of their arm below the elbow. And they must be aware of the risks involved. The goal: is to restore functional recovery to the patient with a transplanted hand. The patient will undergo clinical evaluations which will include a history and physical, x-ray evaluation, psychosocial evaluation, nerve conduction studies, tissue studies and laboratory studies.

The Surgery

Hand transplantation is an extremely complex procedure. The surgery will undergo in this order: bone fixation, tendon repair, artery repair, nerve repair, and then vein repair. The surgery can take from 12-16 hours long!

The surgeon must attach them to the blood supply before they deteriorate. The patient must have the same blood type and bone structure to help the operation be successful. They prepare the patients damaged hands for amputation first.  A dissection is carried out to detect the radius and ulnar bone. They connect the radius bone together by a metal t plate, then a second plate for the ulnar bones. Then they begin attaching the tendons, they pull the tendons to flex the fingers they do this on both sides. After the tendons and bones are attached the begin to work on the nerves using a powerful microscope. Each end of the nerves are attached with individual stitches, they do a similar procedure for the arteries and veins. The surgeons then wait for the hand to turn pink, indicating the flow and return of circulation, the skin is then closed.

The recovery for the patient will take a good deal of time until they can fully use their hands. But the surgical procedure is well worth the risk and patients as they can now carry out normal everyday tasks like they used to. It allows them have a normal life. This kind of surgery completely changes a patient way of life also their families too. This reminds me and probably most of the people, who are interested in Medicine or even science; why we study it, and why we want to be a part of it; because we want to witness and experience some of the most revolutionary developments of 21^st Century Medicine and Science!       

  A Link to the surgery being carried out!http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00h3tfw

The animation of the surgery and what it involves
http://www.handtransplant.com/TheProcedure/HandTransplantAnimation/tabid/150/Default.aspx

Hello! .....

Hello everyone!

My name is Francesca and my aspiration is to have a career in the Medical Field. 

In this blog I will be posting about articles, television programs and things that I hear in the news about; Medicine and Science that are controversial and intriguing.  I will also include work experience that I have done, to work towards which path I want to take, in hopefully a successful Medical career.

I have always had a great interest and enthusiasm for science and have always been intrigued about Medicine.  I am currently a sixth form student at my secondary school studying AS Biology, Chemistry and also English Literature.  I am eager to do well in my studies this year at school so that I can attend University. 

 I hope you enjoy reading my blog!

Francesca