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Does Adding Simehicone To Sodium Phosphate Bowel Preparation Benefit Colonscopy
Bowel preparation has been reported inadequate in 10%-75% of colonoscopic examinations. None of the preparations reached all the requirements of safety, acceptance to patients with negligible discomfort, and rapid cleansing. Polyethyleneglycol is considered as the gold standard for colonoscopic bowel preparation (Grade IA), and aqueous sodium phosphate was an alternative regimen to PEG solution (Grade IA). This consensus also stated that adjunctive therapy, such as bisacodyl, metoclopramide, and simethicone, was shown to improve the quality of bowel preparation. Simethicone works as an adjunct to bowel preparationwith the purpose of diminishing foam formation and improving visualization during colonoscopy. However, the benefit of simethicone in improving colonic bowel preparation, however, was not explored in previous studies.
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The H1N1 (swine flu) virus has reached the sub-Saharan African countries of Cape Verde, Ethiopia and Ivory Coast, according to the WHO, the AP/Boston Herald reports. Last week, South Africa became the first country in the region to confirm a 12-year-old, who had returned from the U.S., tested positive for the H1N1 virus.
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Medical Acoustics Highlights Of The 157th ASA Meeting, May 18-22 In Portland

than expected since the first clinical trials in 1990. One of the biggest challenges for this technology is finding ways to safely and effectively deliver genes only to the specific parts of the body that they are meant to treat. Cardiologist Jonathan Lindner of Oregon Health & Science University will discuss his latest experiments in gene therapy that use microscopic bubbles chemically modified to stick to the cells that line blood vessels. This technique, ultrasound-mediated gene delivery (UMGD), exploits the properties of contrast agents, microparticles that are normally injected into the body to improve the quality of ultrasound images. In UMGD, the tiny particles are microbubbles composed of pockets of gas encapsulated by thin membranes that are coated with DNA before injection. A targeted pulse of ultrasound energy "rings" the bubbles like a bell, popping them in a specific location and releasing the DNA into the surrounding tissue. To improve the specificity of this targeting, Lindner grafts long arm-like molecules to the outside of the bubbles. These arms, which do not interfere with the DNA attached to surface, are designed recognize and bind to molecules on the outside of specific cells in the body, allowing the bubbles to first attach to tissue before being popped. In theory, this should improve both the specificity and efficiency of the gene therapy. Lindner created an arm designed to attach to endothelial cells lining blood vessels. He will present data evaluating the behavior of these "targeted" bubbles in living tissue. The ability to stick these gene-laden microbubbles to the lining of blood vessels increased the amount of gene transfection. This strategy may be particularly important for delivering therapeutic DNA to the walls of blood vessels. For example, Lindner and collaborators have successfully stimulated the growth of new blood vessels using UMGD with microbubbles carrying a gene for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). This therapeutic use could be important for treating people who have heart attacks, peripheral artery disease, or stroke. The team is also investigating using the bubbles to transport small doses of drugs. "If you"re trying to deliver a nasty drug to part of the body, this may be a way to improve safety," says Lindner. The talk "Targeted microbubble technology and ultrasound-mediated gene delivery" (4aBB2) by Jonathan Lindner is at 8:20 a.m. on Thursday, May 21, 2009. Abstract: http://asa.aip.org/web2/asa/abstracts/search.may09/asa791.html 6) HOMING BUBBLES SPOT BIOFILMS Some kinds of bacteria can join forces to form protective communities called biofilms. These thin layers of bacteria, which grow on the surfaces of medical implants or directly on tissue in the body, can be difficult to treat because they are more resistant to drugs than the bacteria on their own. Currently there is no established way to image biofilms in or out of the body. Pavlos Anastasiadis and colleagues at the University of Hawaii at Manoa have developed a method to watch and measure growing biofilms with ultrasound. The researchers used contrast agents, microparticles that are normally injected into the body to improve the quality of ultrasound images. They modified the surface of bubbles in the agents to stick to two kinds of infectious bacteria that form biofilms. Acoustic pulses of ultrasound cause the bubbles to "ring" like a bell, revealing their location and the attached biofilm. The research was done on isolated biofilms. The next step will be to test it in living tissue. Anastasiadis hopes to develop the technique to diagnose infective endocarditis, a disease in which bacterial biofilms form on the inner walls of damaged heart valves. The talk "Targeted ultrasound contrast agents for the imaging of biofilm infections" (2aBB10) by Pavlos Anastasiadis is at 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday, May 19, 2009. Abstract: http://asa.aip.org/web2/asa/abstracts/search.may09/asa323.html Jason Bardi American Institute of Physics

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