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Showing posts with label Research. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Research. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Epilepsy, what is going on in the Epilepsy Research and is there any Advancement?. Nature Journals Special Issue..

http://www.nature.com/nature/outlook/epilepsy/images/cover_large.jpgNature Publishing Group (the owner and publisher of worlds popular "Nature") has just published a special issue, featuring the story of Epilepsy covering aspects why this disease is still not well understood and what do the worlds govt's and funding agencies must do, meaning why there is not much funding is allocated to Epilepsy research considering more than 50Million people world wide are affected by more than a dozen types of Epilepsy?. Yes, that is certainly a valid question and reasonable expectation from various govts and funding agencies. That is just the beginning of this special issue, named under the category "Outlook". To run this special issue and program, Nature has been awarded a special "Independent Education Grant by Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc.
There is also another recent Special issue on Neuroscience published somewhere in late 2013, about which I will write later. This Editorial is to provide some idea to researchers, clinicians and people who are working in the field of Epilepsy that this might be the best issue to update yourself about the field and the recent developments in Epilepsy. Ofcourse, those patients and relatives who can understand the science behind Epilepsy, who are wondering what is really going on and what are the possible treatments available, might be a good place to check.

Mike May, the contributing Editor has given a brief summary of the entire issue, a good place to start reading this issue: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v511/n7508_supp/full/511S1a.html

Note: This special is issue is only open to public or non subscribers upto October, so better read before it will be taken of the shelf or go get a copy of it.

Interesting research reports presented by the field's top scientists/researchers, clinicians and more.  I will go through the entire issue pretty much cover to cover, but before I spend time, I thought to share this for those who may not have heard about this special issue. The first Chapter or section begins with the background information about the basics of Epilepsy the origin of Excitation or Excitement, and there are sections on genetic basis, drug treatment modalities as well as technologies that can detect the types and details of the epilepsy. Other sections regarding the Epidemiology and types of this disease, management and social issues including the misunderstanding and  tabo's of epilepsy, sociology of it, and the issue ends with what is food got to do with Epilepsy or what food intake might be the best for people with seizure or epileptic episodes. Overall, seems like a great issue with a comprehensive knowledge about the disease, complexities and its future. I hope I can write a real Editorial with scientific temperament when I am done reading the whole issue.......
From Nature's Cover Image Content:
  • Epilepsy is a common neurological condition that affects 50 million people worldwide. For many patients, medication helps reduce seizure frequency; for drug-resistant epilepsy, treatments include diet therapy and neurosurgery. Although discussed and feared for millennia, progress towards understanding epilepsy has been slow — even with help from modern genetic and neurological analysis. Stigmatization of people with epilepsy continues in certain parts of the world and though lack of funding limits epilepsy research, new ways to treat and manage seizures are on the horizon.
    Free full access
    Cover Art: Nik Spencer

Friday, June 15, 2007

STEM CELL Research & White House?

Funding for scientific research is the lowest ever, hope there is no argument on this, but yet, no groundbreaking changes, neither there is any rethinking happens in the white house nor there is any progress among the scientific lobbying forces.
The debate on stem cell research fund is continuing, where is it going is just nobody's guess?.

WASHINGTON, June 7 — The House gave final Congressional approval on Thursday to legislation aimed at easing restrictions on federal financing of embryonic stem cell research, but Democratic leaders in both chambers conceded they were short of the votes needed to override a veto threatened by President Bush.
To Read full article, click the title underlined.
Congress Passes Stem Cell Legislation
American Academy of Neurology
June 11, 2007
On June 7, the U.S. House of Representatives passed
the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (S.5) by a vote of 247 to 176.
Though the House already passed similar legislation in January, S. 5 is the version approved by the Senate.
The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act would allow federal funding for research using stem cells derived from human embryos originally created for fertility treatments and willingly donated by patients. S. 5 differs from previous versions of this bill because it also includes language that requires the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to research and fund methods for creating embryonic stem cell lines without destroying embryos.
Only five percent of existing stem-cell lines (21 out of over 400) may currently be used in federally funded research, limiting the ability of American researchers to pursue pioneering stem-cell research.Now that S. 5 has been passed by both the House and Senate, it will be sent to the President, who has again threatened to veto this bill.
In April, the AAN sent a letter to President Bush urging him to sign S. 5 into law. In addition, nearly 300 AAN members have contacted Congress in support of this legislation. To learn more and to send your own letters of support on this issue, visit the AAN's page on ESCR advocacy.
Published online: 14 June 2007 doi:10.1038/stemcells.2007.35

California awards $50 million for labs culturing human embryonic stem cells
Monya Baker
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has approved grants totaling over $50 million to fund dedicated laboratory space for culturing human embryonic stem cells.
The grants will go to design, build, and renovate core laboratories to be used by multiple investigators and multiple institutions. This brings the total award value of grants awarded by CIRM to just over $208 million.