New polymer patch can repair heart damage

A new flexible polymer patch can improve the conduction of electrical impulses across damaged heart tissue without the need for stitches, scientists say.
The patch, which has been shown to work in animal models, is long lasting and has the significant advantage that it can be stuck onto the heart without the need for stitches.
"Heart attacks create a scar which slows and disrupts the conduction of electrical impulses across the heart," said Professor Sian Harding from Imperial College London.
"This leads to potentially fatal disturbances of the heart rhythm. Our electrically conducting polymer patch is designed to address this serious problem," said Harding.
The patch is made from three components: a film of chitosan, a polysaccharide found in crab shells that is often used as a food additive; polyaniline, a conducting polymer that is grown on top; and phytic acid, a substance found in plants which is added to the polyaniline to switch it to its conducting state.
"Conducting polymers work when they are dry, but most become non-conducting in a very short time when placed in bodily fluids," said Dr Damia Mawad from University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia.
"Our suture-less patch represents a big advance. We have shown it is stable and retains it conductivity in physiological conditions for more than two weeks, compared with the usual one day of other designs," said Mawad.
"No stitches are required to attach it, so it is minimally invasive and less damaging to the heart, and it moves more closely with the heart's motion," Mawad said.
The patch is made to adhere to the heart tissue by shining a green laser on it. 

 The researchers tested the patch by implanting it into rats. They found it improved the conduction of electrical impulses across the heart scar tissue.

"We envisage heart attack patients eventually having patches attached as a bridge between the healthy and the scar tissue, to help prevent cardiac arrhythmia.

"However, our patch is at the very early stages of this research. This technology can now be used for basic research to gain insights into the interface between the material and tissue," said Mawad.

"The patch can help us better understand how conductive materials interact with heart tissue and influence the electrical conduction in the heart, as well as better understand the physiological changes associated with heart attacks," said Professor Molly Stevens at Imperial College London. 

 this is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.

https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations

https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes

https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement

Superfoods which improve memory

1)Dark chocolate increases memory power and even lowers cholesterol. It contains anti-ageing and anti-inflammatory properties, which help to increase proper blood flow.

2) Blueberries- memory enhancing snack. It boosts many cognitive functions and contains high levels of flavonoids, which protects from developing Parkinson's disease and dementia.

3) Walnuts known to improve memory and thinking abilities, as it contains high levels of Omega-3 fatty acids, which provide nutrients and proper oxygen blood flow in the brain.

4) Turmeric contains high levels of curcumin which prevents Alzheimer's disease and other serious illnesses. It is commonly used for toothaches, stomach disorders and clogged arteries.

5) Spinach has high amounts of potassium, which helps promote the electrical conductivity going on in the brain.

6) Tomatoes help destroy free radical damage to cells. They also have a high amount of the anti-oxidant, lycopene, which protects from memory loss.

7) Broccoli is a great source of Vitamin C, and contains the memory boosting compound Choline. It also improves poor cholesterol levels, bone density and protects you from cancer.

8) Acorn squash provides a rich source of folic acid, which allows for quick transmission of information through nerve cells. It also contains Vitamin B 12, which offers defense against nerve damage.

9) Green Tea contains immune strengthening antioxidants, which help you concentrate better and stay healthy overall.


this is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.

https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations
https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes

https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement

Physically-fit kids have more robust brains

Children who are physically fit have faster and more robust neuro-electrical brain responses during reading than their less-fit peers, a new study has found.
 
These differences correspond with better language skills in the children who are more fit, and occur whether they’re reading straightforward sentences or sentences that contain errors of grammar or syntax.

The findings do not prove that higher fitness directly influences the changes seen in the electrical activity of the brain, the researchers say, but offer a potential mechanism to explain why fitness correlates so closely with better cognitive performance on a variety of tasks.

“All we know is there is something different about higher and lower fit kids,” said University of Illinois kinesiology and community health professor Charles Hillman who led the research.

“Now whether that difference is caused by fitness or maybe some third variable that (affects) both fitness and language processing, we don’t know yet,” said Hillman.

The researchers used electroencephalography (EEG), placing an electrode cap on the scalp to capture some of the electrical impulses associated with brain activity.

The readouts from the electrodes look like seismic readings captured during an earthquake, and characteristic wave patterns are associated with different tasks.

These patterns are called “event-related potentials” (ERPs), and vary according to the person being evaluated and the nature of the stimulus, graduate student Mark Scudder said.

For example, if you hear or read a word in a sentence that makes sense, the component of the brain waveform known as the N400 is less pronounced than if you read a sentence in which the word no longer makes sense, Scudder said.

The researchers found that children who were more fit (as measured by oxygen uptake during exercise) had higher amplitude N400 and P600 waves than their less-fit peers when reading normal or nonsensical sentences.

The N400 also had shorter latency in children who were more fit, suggesting that they processed the same information more quickly than their peers.

Most importantly, the researchers said, these differences in brain activity corresponded to better reading performance and language comprehension in the children who were more fit.

“Previous reports have shown that greater N400 amplitude is seen in higher-ability readers,” Scudder said.

“Our study shows that the brain function of higher fit kids is different, in the sense that they appear to be able to better allocate resources in the brain towards aspects of cognition that support reading comprehension,” Hillman said.

The study was published in the journal Brain and Cognition.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.

PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO VIEW MY BLOG-

HTTP:GSEASYRECIPES.BLOGSPOT.COM/

FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-

HTTP://KNEE REPLACEMENT-STICK CLUB.BLOGSPOT.COM/

FOR CROCHET DESIGNS

HTTP://MY CROCHET CREATIONS.BLOGSPOT.COM

CHOLESTEROL IS IMPORTANT FOR BRAIN !

Axons, the long fibres projecting from your nerve and brain cells are covered with a cholesterol containing substance called myelin. The myelin sheath insulates the nerve, speeding up the flow of electrical impulses, if we don't get enough cholesterol in our diet, our brain health may be compromised.

ps- this is only for information, always consult you physician before having any particular food/ medication/exercise/other remedies.

ps- those interested in recipes are free to view my blog-

http://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/

for info about knee replacement, you can view my blog-

http://Knee replacement-stick club.blogspot.com/

for crochet designs

http://My Crochet Creations.blogspot.com