What is a Prion?

Q: Can anyone explain me what is a prion? Thanks

A: A prion is a nonliving, self-replicating infectious agent made of protein. It can reproduce with the aid of its host's biological machinery, like a virus. "Prion" is short for "proteinaceous infectious particle." The idea of an infectious agent lacking nucleic acids for reproduction was initially met with skepticism when the idea was proposed in the 60s, because such a phenomenon had never been observed before.

While self-replicating nucleic acid-based entities are well-understood, the mechanism of self-replication among prions is still a mystery. Prions found in animals exclusively infect the brain, are fatal and untreatable. Prions have been discovered in fungi, but rather than damaging them, it is theorized that they may play a symbiotic role in the fungi's immune system.

Prions are responsible for the outbreak of Mad Cow Disease in Britain during the early 00s, which led to the destruction of thousands of livestock, and international fear about the possibility of the disease spreading from bovines to humans. The prion protein was not isolated until 1982, when Stanley B. Prusiner discovered it and coined the term.

He was awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine in 1997 for his discovery. One of the first instances of prion-based disease to be investigated was that of scrapie, a disease occurring among sheep and goats. This disease was known since the 18th century, but it was not until the 60s that scientists began to suspect that scrapie was not a typical disease, self-replicating outside of the usual means of nucleic acids.

Scrapie, like most prion-based diseases, is fatal to the animal it infects, causing horrible symptoms before death. The name of the disease comes from the disturbing behavior of infected sheep, to scrape off their fleece against rocks. The prion also causes an inability to walk, convulsive collapse, and excessive lip-smacking.

more information:
http://dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5475
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-prion.htm

Live Blood Analysis course this October 2007?

Do you have a Live Blood Analysis / Darkfield blood course this October/November 2007 for non medical students without medical background?

We have this month a Live Blood Analysis 3 Day Course for non-medical students without medical bakground at November 23rd to 25th 2007; and January 07th 2008;

and we have this month a Live Blood Analysis 3 Day Course for medical students, doctors with medical background at October 28th to 30th 2007;

You can download the application form and apply here: http://www.dreddyclinic.com/education/live_blood_3days.htm and visit our Forum for FAQ at http://dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=6

Blood Test Catches Secret Smokers

(HealthDay News) -- If you're sneaking smokes when no one's looking, beware: One lung doctor says a common device can determine whether someone is a smoker.

The blood carbon monoxide detector could be used to ferret out people who hide a cigarette habit, said pulmonologist Dr. Sridhar Reddy. It could also help show patients what smoking is doing to their bodies, he added.

"It starts a conversation to make people more and more aware of what smoking can do to them and to give them more information about why they should quit, instead of a boring sermon every time," said Reddy, who works in St. Clair, Mich.

There are already ways to detect whether someone is a smoker, according to Reddy. Doctors can test a person's breath, blood or saliva.

But none of the methods is very convenient, Reddy said, so he decided to take a look at another device.

Anyone who has been in a hospital recently is probably familiar with the pulse oximeter, a device that's placed over the fingertip and measures oxygen levels in the blood by passing light waves into the skin.

Reddy tested an oximeter that also measures carbon monoxide levels in the blood. It's typically used on firefighters and others who have been exposed to smoke.

With the help of his 16-year-old son, Ashray, who assisted as part of a science project, Reddy tested the device on 476 patients to see how well it did at picking up smokers, who develop high levels of carbon monoxide in their blood.

The device, which Reddy said costs $4,000-$5,000, measures the level of carbon monoxide in hemoglobin. It accurately spotted up 95 percent of all smokers when Reddy looked only at those who had a 6 percent or higher level of carbon monoxide.

The device doesn't detect every smoker, nor is it perfect when it does suggest that someone smokes. Still, Reddy said the device can be calibrated to detect light or heavy smokers.

In his office, he sometimes sets the device to sound an alarm if the carbon monoxide level is higher than 10 percent, meaning that only the heaviest smokers should set it off. Patients wonder why the alarm goes off, and "we can tell them that 10 percent of their blood is poisoned with carbon monoxide. That gets them in a conversation about preventing lung disease even if they don't have it," he said.

Dr. Joseph DiFranza, a professor of family medicine at the University of Massachusetts, Worcester, who's familiar with Reddy's research, said the device could have potential as a smoker-detector, but "I would not recommend that doctors embrace it until it has been demonstrated to be effective in a randomized controlled trial."

Joel Killen of the Stanford Prevention Research Center said the study is interesting, but he added that another device, called a "smokerlyzer," also measures carbon monoxide in the breath and is "non-invasive, easy and inexpensive."

Reddy was slated to discuss the device Monday at the annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians in Chicago.

Also scheduled for the meeting was a study by researchers at the North Shore-LIJ Health System in Great Neck, N.Y., who report that smokers have different motivations for quitting depending in their age. According to their study, people over 65 are more influenced by their doctors and by stress from a health problem, while young people are influenced by the cost of cigarettes and a perception that smoking makes them stink.

Another smoking study scheduled for meeting, this time by a team at North Shore Medical Center in Salem, Mass., found that hypnosis was a better smoking-cessation technique than either nicotine replacement therapy or quitting "cold turkey."

More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advice for smokers who are ready to quit.

Eye on Safety Makes Halloween Less Scary

(HealthDay News) -- Some simple safety measures can help ensure that Halloween is a treat for both children and adults, according to experts at Prevent Blindness America, a nonprofit organization based in Chicago.

"We can keep Halloween safe for everyone by taking a few easy precautions," Daniel D. Garrett, the group's senior vice president, said in a prepared statement. "Our vision can be compromised by costume accessories, make-up, or simply by being out at night without proper lighting."

Prevent Blindness America offers the following tips:

• Never wear costumes or accessories such as masks, wigs, hats or eye patches that block vision.
• Use only hypoallergenic or non-toxic makeup. Adults should apply it to children and remove it with cold cream or eye makeup remover instead of soap.
• False eyelashes and costume make up can also irritate eyes. Follow directions on how to apply and remove them safely.
• Make sure that shoes fit well and that costumes are short enough to prevent tripping and falling.
• Select costumes made of flame-retardant material and do not use any props or accessories that have sharp or pointed edges, such as pitchforks, knives, swords, spears or wands.
• Remove tripping hazards (such as hoses and potted plants ) from your porch and walkway. Place jack-o-lanterns well out of the way of trick-or-treaters.
• Trick-or-treaters should wear bright, reflective clothing or reflective tape/patches should be added to their costumes. They should carry a bright flashlight to improve visibility.
  Adults should accompany children. Only go to homes you know and that have the porch light on.
• Check all trick-or-treat items for signs of tampering before you allow your children to eat them. Toys or novelty items should be inspected to determine whether they pose a choking hazard to young children.

More information
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has more Halloween safety tips.

Study Reveals E.Coli's Grip on Gut U.S

(HealthDay News) -- U.S. scientists have discovered how a potentially deadly form of E. coli bacteria adheres to and colonizes the gut.

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7A, or E. coli, is a common cause of food poisoning.
The authors of the study hope the breakthrough will one day help with disease prevention strategies. But others say breakthroughs like that are still far off.

"The study was conducted in vitro, not in an animal model, human or otherwise," noted Dr. Pascal James Imperato, distinguished service professor and chair of the department of preventive medicine and community health at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in New York City. "Whether this in vitro result is reflective of what happens in vivo [in the gut] remains to be demonstrated."

There are several strains of E. coli and one in particular, E. Coli 0157:H7, can be deadly.
Human infections most often result from eating uncooked ground beef, because cattle carry the pathogen in their intestines without getting sick. E. coli can also be acquired from consuming contaminated dairy products, vegetables, unpasteurized juice, through person-to-person contact and through either swimming in or drinking water contaminated with sewage.

Infection with E. coli 0157:H7 can result in abdominal cramps and bloody diarrhea and, less commonly, a condition called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which is characterized by anemia and kidney failure and can end in death.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 73,000 infections and 61 deaths are attributable to E. coli 0157:H7 each year. The very young and the very old are particularly prone to developing life-threatening HUS.

For this study, the researchers at the University of Arizona, Tucson, found that several proteins bind together to form a structure known as an adhesive type IV pilus, that they call hemorrhagic coli pilus (HCP). This HCP bundle allows the bacteria to attach to human intestinal epithelial cells, the researchers said.

The authors also found that individuals with HUS had an immune response to one component of HCP.

The research group is now looking to start experiments in animals and/or humans. "In our lab, we did in vitro experiments, but we are trying some collaboration with other universities to do some in vivo [in animals/humans] experiments," said Partha Samadder, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Jorge A. Giron, the study's lead author.

"Overall, it all has to be corroborated by others," Imperato said. "All that said, meaningful therapeutic interventions to prevent this cascade of molecular biological events will be years off. Meanwhile, the key is to prevent these infections in the first place."

There are ways to help prevent foodborne illness. They include:

• Make sure ground beef and other meats as well as eggs are well cooked before you eat them.
• Wash raw fruits and vegetables with soap. Pay particular attention to leafy greens as there are lots of crevasses and cracks where E. coli can hide.
• Don't chop vegetables on the same block where you just made beef hamburgers or prepared other meat. Keep raw meat separate from ready-to-eat foods.
• Keep raw and ready-to-eat foods completely separate.
• Refrigerate leftovers promptly.
• Avoid bruised produce such as tomatoes.
• Make sure all cooking utensils including meat thermometers and cutting boards are thoroughly cleaned with soap and hot water after you've handled them.
• Wash your hands regularly with soap and hot water.
• Drink only pasteurized milk, juice or cider.
• Drink municipal water that has been treated with chlorine or another disinfectant.

More information
There's more on E. coli at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Blood Test Might Spot Alzheimer's Early

(HealthDay News) -- An international team of scientists has developed a blood test that could reveal which patients with mild cognitive impairment will go on to develop Alzheimer's disease.

If replicated and validated -- and assuming the development of effective treatments against Alzheimer's in the future -- such a test could open the door to medicating at-risk patients earlier and slowing or limiting neurological damage, explained Dr. Allan Levey, chair of neurology at Emory University, Atlanta.

"If it can be replicated, then we will find out how important [the study] really is," said Levey, who was not involved in the research.

The findings were published in the Oct. 14 online issue of Nature Medicine.

According to the Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's is a progressive, fatal brain disease that affects almost one in eight individuals over the age of 65.

Yet there currently exists no early diagnostic screen for Alzheimer's disease. Diagnosis today is based not on blood chemistry, but on a combination of psychological and imaging tests. Many of those who present with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), will ultimately develop Alzheimer's disease, but others never do.

"Currently, it's very difficult to know who will progress to Alzheimer's and who will progress to other diseases, or which won't progress at all," said Levey. "Ideally, one wants to be able to know at the stage of mild cognitive impairment, or even earlier, if someone is destined to get Alzheimer's disease."

In the new study, a group led by Tony Wyss-Coray, an associate professor of neurology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, analyzed 259 blood samples obtained from individuals with and without Alzheimer's disease. They focused on 120 proteins involved in cellular signaling and communication.

The team identified 18 proteins in particular whose abundance could distinguish those with Alzheimer's disease from those without it, for an overall accuracy of about 90 percent -- that is, it correctly classified individuals who had been clinically diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease 95 percent of the time and classified as negative those without the disease 83 percent of the time.

This panel of proteins was equally effective when applied to another, completely separate set of patient samples, the researchers noted.

But "the home run of the paper," said Levey, was the finding that, when applied to blood samples collected from patients who were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment -- a condition that often, but not always, precedes Alzheimer's -- the panel could predict who would ultimately develop Alzheimer's with 81 percent accuracy, 30 months before clinical diagnosis, on average.

Calling the study "very interesting," Levey nevertheless noted two caveats. The first was its relatively small sample size. The other was its use of proteins that have no obvious relationship to Alzheimer's.

"The blood has thousands of proteins, and they started with 120 proteins that they could measure," he said. "I don't think if one were to try to make a biomarker for Alzheimer's that you would necessarily choose these 120 proteins."

Wyss-Coray agreed that the team's decision to focus specifically on signaling proteins might seem like "a bit of a crazy idea." But given the disease's target organ, it makes sense, he said.

"Cells receive input through hundreds of different receptors, and it responds with some output, usually a signaling protein," Wyss-Coray explained. "So, by thinking in terms of this output, we decided to look specifically at signaling proteins and see if there are changes between patients who are healthy versus those with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias."

Others have also made progress in the development of early diagnostic tests for Alzheimer's. At the Alzheimer's Association's International Conference on Prevention of Dementia, in June, for instance, one group described a candidate test based on gene expression levels in blood.

"It's exciting to see this sort of work progress," said Dr. Sam Gandy, chair of the Alzheimer's Association's Medical and Scientific Advisory Council. "The important next step is to be sure that the report can be independently replicated."

Should that happen, Gandy said, patients would not be the only beneficiaries; the drug-development industry could use this assay to help select patient populations for trials of drugs to prevent -- as opposed to treat -- Alzheimer's disease.

"Because we don't have a marker that predicts [Alzheimer's] right now, such a trial is almost prohibitively expensive," he said -- "easily 10 times" the estimated $50 million required for standard clinical trials.

More information
For more on Alzheimer's Disease, visit the Alzheimer's Association.

Immune Proteins Warn of Early Lung Cancer

HealthDay News) -- British researchers say they've spotted key immune system proteins that could give doctors early warning of lung cancer.

A team at Nottingham City Hospital analyzed blood samples from 104 people with different types of lung cancer and 50 others who were cancer-free.

The samples were tested for autoantibodies -- immune system proteins that are directed at the body's own tissues in response to specific chemical signals. The researchers focused their search on a panel of seven autoantibodies associated with solid tumors. The autoantibodies are triggered when cancerous changes are taking place.

The team detected all seven autoantibodies, and very high levels of at least one of them, in almost 80 percent of the blood samples from the lung cancer patients. The autoantibodies were also found in eight out of the nine cancer patients whose cancer had not infiltrated the lymph nodes, indicating the cancer had not yet spread elsewhere, and the patients still had an 80 percent chance of being cured.

Only one healthy participant had more than one of the seven autoantibodies, the researchers reported Oct. 11 in the online edition of the journal Thorax.

Previous research suggests that these autoantibodies can be detected as early as five years before the clinical symptoms of cancer appear.

The researchers believe a blood test for the seven autoantibodies could be used for smokers and others at high risk for lung cancer. If there's a positive result, patients could be referred for further tests, such as CT or MRI scanning.

More information
The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about lung cancer screening.

Key Viral Change Could Help Bird Flu Spread

(HealthDay News) -- U.S. scientists say they've spotted a crucial step the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus must take in order to spread easily in humans.

Since H5N1 first appeared in 1997, there have been more than 250 human infections. Of those, 150 were fatal. Most of the human infections were the result of close contact with infected birds.

So far, the virus has not developed the ability to spread easily among humans.

Now, researchers led by University of Wisconsin-Madison virologist Yoshihiro Kawaoka have pinpointed a single change in a viral protein that helps H5N1 infect the cells of the upper respiratory system in mammals. The adaptation could enable the virus to infect a wider range of cell types and spread more easily among humans, the scientists said.

Being able to establish itself in the upper respiratory system enables easy transmission of the virus through coughing and sneezing, Kawaoka noted. However, other yet-to-be identified changes would have to occur before the H5N1 virus could potentially trigger a flu pandemic.

The finding appears in the journal PLoS Pathogens.

"The viruses that are in circulation now are much more mammalian-like than the ones circulating in 1997," Kawoka said in a prepared statement. "The viruses that are circulating in Africa and Europe are the ones closest to becoming a human virus."

More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about bird flu.

Daytime, Nighttime Blood Pressure Both Important

(HealthDay News) -- A major study challenges the idea that high nighttime blood pressure readings are better indicators of health risk than measurements taken in the daytime.

"Our findings support recording the ambulatory blood pressure during the whole day," meaning 24 hours, concluded the report in the Oct. 6 issue of The Lancet.

The study, led by physicians at the University of Leuven in Belgium, followed almost 7,500 participants on three continents for an average of nearly 10 years.

It found that persons with higher nighttime than daytime readings did have a higher death rate, but that was because they tended to be older and sicker.

"Some people have said that blood pressure at night is the best predictor of risk," said Dr. Thomas G. Pickering, director of the Center for Cardiovascular and Behavioral Health at Columbia University. "This study says that is not actually the case, that pressure over the whole 24-hour period is [best]," said Pickering, who was not involved in the research.

Pickering chaired an American Heart Association committee that in 2005 recommended that physicians and patients move toward 24-hour blood pressure monitoring.

"We are going to make new recommendations about home blood pressure monitoring to say that it should be used much more widely than it is at the moment," he said.

High blood pressure, defined as two consecutive readings over 140/90, increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and kidney disease. An estimated 50 million Americans have high blood pressure. Many take medications for the condition and follow current guidelines for monitoring.

According to the new study, previous reports linking higher nighttime blood pressure readings with adverse outcomes needed confirmation due to major gaps in their findings. The new trial was designed to close those gaps, the researchers said.

In his accompanying editorial, Dr. Stephane Laurent, of the Universite Paris -Decartes, Paris, contends that the new findings should "significantly affect the next guidelines for ambulatory blood pressure measurement."

Changes already have begun, Pickering said.

"One of the trends is less reliance on blood pressure monitoring in the doctor's office," he said. That trend is being held back, because many health insurance plans do not reimburse for out-of-office monitoring, and because the do-it-yourself technology is lagging somewhat, he said.

Newer home monitors are coming along, Pickering said. "What is going to happen in the future is the availability of monitors that will allow you to take your blood pressure readings at night," he said.

The recommendations that the heart association committee is about to make will principally cover daytime home blood pressure monitoring, Pickering said. "Reading blood pressure at night is a bit in the future," he said.

The new report is valuable, because it puts the issue in perspective, said Dr. George Bakris, director of the hypertensive disorders unit at the University of Chicago.

"There has been tremendous focus on early a.m. readings as giving the highest risk for stroke and so on, so the conclusion some people have made is that the rest of the day is not important," Bakris said. "The beauty of this thing is that it shows that nighttime pressure tells us about certain things, while daytime pressure tells us about other things. It's clear that the night/day ratio is important."

More information
There's more on high blood pressure at the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Almost a Third of U.S. Kids Use Supplements

(HealthDay News) -- More than 30 percent of American children take some kind of dietary supplement, mostly multivitamins and multiminerals, a U.S. National Institutes of Health study finds.

The study analyzed data on more than 10,000 youngsters from the 1999 to 2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

The study found that 31.8 percent of children 18 and younger had used dietary supplements in the previous 30 days. This included 11.9 percent of those younger than 1 year, 38.4 percent of those ages 1-3, 40.6 percent of those ages 4-8, 28.9 percent of those ages 9-13, and 25.7 percent of those ages 14-18.

Among American adults, 57 percent of women and 47 percent of men take dietary supplements.
Among the other study findings:

• Supplements were used by 38.3 percent of non-Hispanic white children, 22.4 percent of Mexican Americans, and 18.8 percent of non-Hispanic blacks
• Multivitamins and multiminerals (18.3 percent) were the most commonly used supplements, followed by single vitamins (4.2 percent), single minerals (2.4 percent), and botanical supplements (0.8 percent)
• 83.9 percent of children who took any supplements took only one, 11.8 percent took two, and 4.3 percent took three or more
• Supplement use in children was associated with higher family income, a smoke-free environment, lower body mass index, and less daily television, video game or computer time
• Underweight children or those at risk for being underweight were most likely to take supplements.

The study is published the October issue of the journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

The researchers in the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements said their findings show that "dietary supplements provide a consistent daily source of nutrients for nearly one-third of U.S. children, yet individual and national-level estimates of nutrient intake rarely account for them."

"Dietary Reference Intakes and Dietary Guidelines for Americans provide recommended nutrient intakes and advice on food choices that promote health and reduce the risk of disease.

To truly assess the nutrient status and estimate the potential health risks of U.S. children, we must include nutrient intakes from dietary supplements as well as from food," the study authors concluded.

More information
To learn more, go to the Office of Dietary Supplements.