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Miniature glucose sensor may eliminate the need for needlesticks. |
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Fraunhofer Institute: The principle of measurement involves an electrochemical reaction that is activated with the aid of an enzyme. Glucose oxidase converts glucose into hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and other chemicals whose concentration can be measured with a potentiostat. This measurement is used for calculating the glucose level. The special feature of this biosensor: the chip, measuring just 0.5 x 2.0 millimeters, can fit more than just the nanopotentiostat itself. Indeed, Fraunhofer researchers have attached the entire diagnostic system to it. “It even has an integrated analog digital converter that converts the electrochemical signals into digital data,” explains Tom Zimmermann, business unit manager at IMS. The biosensor transmits the data via a wireless interface, for example to a mobile receiver. Thus, the patient can keep a steady eye on his or her glucose level. “In the past, you used to need a circuit board the size of a half-sheet of paper,” says Zimmermann. “And you also had to have a driver. But even these things are no longer necessary with our new sensor.”
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Nonalcoholic red wine reduced blood pressure better than regular red wine. |
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EurekAlert: The red wine and nonalcoholic wine contained equal amounts of polyphenols, an antioxidant that decreases blood pressure. During the red wine phase, the men had very little reduction in blood pressure and there was no change while drinking gin. However, after drinking non-alcoholic red wine, blood pressure decreased by about 6mmHg in systolic and 2mmHg in diastolic blood pressure — possibly reducing the risk of heart disease by 14 percent and stroke by as much as 20 percent. Researchers concluded that the alcohol in red wine weakens its ability to lower blood pressure. But polyphenols — still present after alcohol is removed from wine — are likely the beneficial element in wine.
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CKD patients have reduced ability to prevent vascular calcification. |
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EurekAlert (JASN): Now Andreas Pasch, MD (University Hospital and University of Bern, Inselspital, in Switzerland) and his colleagues have developed the first test capable of measuring the propensity for calcification to occur in blood. Using their new assay, the investigators found that both the blood of mice deficient in a protein that inhibits calcification and the blood of CKD patients on dialysis had a reduced ability to inhibit calcification. Blood from healthy volunteers did not.
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Anti-PLA2R antibodies detected in 70% of patients with idiopathic membranous GN |
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EurekAlert (JASN): Among the major findings: .... 74% of patients tested positive for antiPLA2R antibodies by IIFT and 72% tested positive by ELISA. .... Concordance between both tests was excellent, with 94% agreement. .... Antibody levels significantly correlated with the severity of patients' disease. .... Spontaneous remissions occurred much less frequently among patients with high antibody levels (38% versus 4% in the lowest and highest groups, respectively).
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ESRD program being examined as a model for cost-cutting in the Medicare system. |
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Brown University: Amid a presidential campaign and facing the “fiscal cliff,” Americans hear a lot about federal spending, particularly for Medicare. But few probably know of either the history or the present watershed moment in the program’s 40-year struggle to contain costs and finance quality treatment for Americans with end-stage renal disease. In a timely new paper in the September edition of the journal Health Affairs, researchers chronicle the history of how Medicare has provided one of its most costly services, and point out that a new strategy, if successful, could become a fiscal model for the entire program.
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