Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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Category: biotech/medical

Reanimalogo

Bioquark, Inc., (http://www.bioquark.com) a company focused on the development of novel biologics for complex regeneration and disease reversion, and Revita Life Sciences, (http://revitalife.co.in) a biotechnology company focused on translational therapeutic applications of autologous stem cells, have announced that they have received IRB approval for a study focusing on a novel combinatorial approach to clinical intervention in the state of brain death in humans.

This first trial, within the portfolio of Bioquark’s Reanima Project (http://www.reanima.tech) is entitled “Non-randomized, Open-labeled, Interventional, Single Group, Proof of Concept Study With Multi-modality Approach in Cases of Brain Death Due to Traumatic Brain Injury Having Diffuse Axonal Injury” (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02742857?term=bioquark&rank=1), will enroll an initial 20 subjects, and be conducted at Anupam Hospital in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand India.

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“We are very excited about the approval of our protocol,” said Ira S. Pastor, CEO, Bioquark Inc. “With the convergence of the disciplines of regenerative biology, cognitive neuroscience, and clinical resuscitation, we are poised to delve into an area of scientific understanding previously inaccessible with existing technologies.”

Death is defined as the termination of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Brain death, the complete and irreversible loss of brain function (including involuntary activity necessary to sustain life) as defined in the 1968 report of the Ad Hoc Committee of the Harvard Medical School, is the legal definition of human death in most countries around the world. Either directly through trauma, or indirectly through secondary disease indications, brain death is the final pathological state that over 60 million people globally transfer through each year.

While human beings lack substantial regenerative capabilities in the CNS, many non-human species, such as amphibians, planarians, and certain fish, can repair, regenerate and remodel substantial portions of their brain and brain stem even after critical life-threatening trauma.

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Additionally, recent studies on complex brain regeneration in these organisms, have highlighted unique findings in relation to the storage of memories following destruction of the entire brain, which may have wide ranging implications for our understanding of consciousness and the stability of memory persistence.

“Through our study, we will gain unique insights into the state of human brain death, which will have important connections to future therapeutic development for other severe disorders of consciousness, such as coma, and the vegetative and minimally conscious states, as well as a range of degenerative CNS conditions, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease,” said Dr. Sergei Paylian, Founder, President, and Chief Science Officer of Bioquark Inc.

Over the years, clinical science has focused heavily on preventing such life and death transitions and made some initial progress with suspended animation technologies, such as therapeutic hypothermia. However, once humans transition through the brain death window, currently defined by the medical establishment as “irreversible”, they are technically no longer alive, despite the fact that human bodies can still circulate blood, digest food, excrete waste, balance hormones, grow, sexually mature, heal wounds, spike a fever, and gestate and deliver a baby. It is even acknowledged by thought leaders that recently brain dead humans still may have residual blood flow and electrical nests of activity in their brains, just not enough to allow for an integrated functioning of the organism as a whole.

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“We look forward to working closely with Bioquark Inc. on this cutting edge clinical initiative,” said Dr. Himanshu Bansal, Managing Director of Revita Life Sciences.

About Bioquark, Inc.

Bioquark Inc. is focused on the development of natural biologic based products, services, and technologies, with the goal of curing a wide range of diseases, as well as effecting complex regeneration. Bioquark is developing both biological pharmaceutical candidates, as well as products for the global consumer health and wellness market segments.

About Revita Life Sciences

Revita Life Sciences is a biotechnology company focused on the development of stem cell therapies that target areas of significant unmet medical need. Revita is led by Dr. Himanshu Bansal MD, PhD. who has spent over two decades developing novel MRI based classifications of spinal cord injuries as well as comprehensive treatment protocols with autologous tissues including bone marrow stem cells, dural nerve grafts, nasal olfactory tissues, and omental transposition.

Ugh — this is not good at all.

The study found lower metabolism and smaller brain sizes amoung the group of study participants taking anticholinergic drugs.

Medication with anticholinergic effects include certain over-the-counter antihistamines and nighttime cold medicines, and prescription drugs for sleep aid and many chronic diseases such as hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

Previous research found a link between between the anticholinergic drugs and cognitive impairment and increased risk of dementia. The problem is, those pills often come with a lengthy list of potential side effects.

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Makes one assess their medicine cabinet especially those allergy meds, etc.

The new study is the first to examine the physical changes that serve as the catalyst for cognitive decline. Using brain imaging techniques, researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine found (PDF) lower metabolism and reduced brain sizes among study participants taking anticholinergic drugs.

“These findings provide us with a much better understanding of how this class of drugs may act upon the brain in ways that might raise the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia,” said Shannon Risacher, an assistant professor of radiology and imaging sciences.

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Given more recent news about over the counter drugs contributing to dementia; makes me wonder what Botox injects in Neuro/ head area will eventually reveal in the long run in relation to dementia, etc.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 18, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) has updated its 2008 guidelines on the use of botulinum toxin for spasticity, cervical dystonia, blepharospasm and migraine headache, based on recent research. The guideline is published in the April 18, 2016, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, and will be presented at the 68th AAN Annual Meeting in Vancouver, Canada, April 15 to 21, 2016.

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Like it — turning those old plastic into Graphene bags.

Summary: The project will also motivate people to collect used plastic bottles and other plastic waste, which is degrading to the environment, and help us in putting it to good use. Once the varsity is able to make graphene out of the plastic waste, it can eventually also be used as an alternate source of energy. We received an approval letter for the project proposal on April 16 and the initial grant of Rs 1,97,88,800 for a period of three years has been approved. “Dhami also said that much of the encouragement for research work in the varsity came from governor K K Paul, who has been motivating universities in the state to pursue research in nano science and nano technology. In fact, even wrappers and packets of chips are an environmental hazard.

DEHRADUN: A project proposed by Kumaun University in Nainital to synthesize graphene from plastic waste to use the material in energy and biomedical applications has received approval for a grant of nearly Rs 2 crore. Confirming that the grant has been approved, vice-chancellor of Kumaun University, H S Dhami, said, “It is a great achievement as the varsity aims at contributing to the society through research work. We received an approval letter for the project proposal on April 16 and the initial grant of Rs 1,97,88,800 for a period of three years has been approved.” The grant has been approved by The National Mission on Himalayan Studies (NMHS), G B Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development (GBPIHED), Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.

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BMI/ BCs are only going to improve over time and give new lives and chances again to people. Note: this version has limited use outside the medical lab; however, they are working on making one wireless and connected in order to be used anywhere.

Thanks to an experimental treatment that included implanting a chip in his brain, Ian Burkhart was able to regain control of his hand.

Burkhart broke his neck five years ago when he hit the ocean floor while diving off of the coast in North Carolina. The accident left him paralyzed from the chest down with limited movement in his arms and hands, but no feeling in them. On Wednesday, doctors announced Burkhart is able to control his hand using a computer that reads his thoughts and transmits the instructions to the nerves in his hand, bypassing the neck injury.

In 2014, doctors implanted a chip the size of an eraser head in Burkhart’s brain, after he told them he was willing to participate. Burkhart’s father was somewhat hesitant to see his son undergo open brain surgery unnecessarily, but eventually came around to the idea.

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All true and good points. Until the under pinning technology and net infrastructures are update; all things connected will mean all things hackable.

Medical devices like pacemakers and insulin pumps will save many lives, but they also represent an opportunity to computer hackers who would use the Internet to cause havoc. Former futurist-in-residence at the FBI, Marc Goodman says it is easy to take for granted how connected we’ve already become to the Internet. Most American adults keep their phones within arm’s reach all day, and keep their devices on their nightstand while they sleep — and forget about actually remembering people’s phone numbers. That is a job we have outsourced to machines.

In this sense, says Goodman, we are already cyborgs. But digital devices connected to the Internet will continue to move inside our bodies, just as pacemakers and insulin pumps have. In his interview, Goodman discusses cases of computer hackers taking advantage of these devices’ connectivity to show how vulnerable we could soon become to their potentially destructive wishes. In one case, a hacker demonstrated he could release several weeks of insulin into a diabetic’s body, certain to cause a diabetic coma and death. In another, hackers induced epileptic seizures by hacking the Epilepsy Foundation’s webpage.

At bottom is the Internet of Things, a increasingly connected web of devices that will make our lives simpler and more efficient, but this network will also make us vulnerable in ways that are difficult to detect, let alone prevent. Goodman’s message is not that we need to constantly fear a new world of better health and convenience, but that we need to be aware of technology’s pitfalls in life.

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Interesting and will be important in brain/ neuro replicating and enhancements.

Memories formed in one part of the brain are replayed and transferred to a different area of the brain during rest, according to a new UCL study in rats.

The finding suggests that replay of previous experiences during rest is important for , a process whereby the brain stabilises and preserves memories for quick recall in the future. Understanding the physiological mechanism of this is essential for tackling amnesiac conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, where memory consolidation is affected.

Lead researcher, Dr Freyja Ólafsdóttir (UCL Cell & Developmental Biology), said: “We want to understand how a healthy brain stores and accesses memories as this will give us a window into how conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease disrupt the process. We know people with Alzheimer’s have difficulty recalling the recent past but can often readily remember childhood memories, which seem more resilient. The parts of the brain we studied are some of the first regions affected in Alzheimer’s and now we know they are also involved in memory consolidation.”

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