Heart decellularisation

The heart of rock and roll is still beating.. (Huey Lewis & the News)

What if I told you that scientists have found a way to bring to life an animal cadaver heart so that it can beat - giving the possibility of a new source of donor hearts for humans. You'd probably tell me that I'm crazy.

Well, I would agree with that statement (that I'm crazy), but reseachers at the University of Minnesota have proven that they can bring an animal heart to life - through the process of decellularisation. (AFP)

In this process, all the cells from an organ -- in this case the heart of a dead rat -- are stripped away using powerful detergents, leaving only a bleached-white scaffolding composed of proteins secreted by the cells.

In the experiments, this matrix was then injected with a mixture of cells taken from newborn rat hearts and placed in a sterile lab setting, where the scientists hoped it would grow.

After only four days, contractions started, and on the eighth day, the hearts were pumping, according to the study, published in the British journal Nature Medicine.

The thought of using animal hearts in humans kind of freaks me out a little bit. But, according to the article, 50 thousand Americans die each year waiting for a donor heart. Plus, 22 million people worldwide live with the threat of heart failure.

This experiment is just that - an experiment. I really doubt that any practical application will come of this. I know that we already use bio-artificial hearts - kind of. I mean, I have a handful of patients with bovine prosthetic heart valves. But, would people accept an entire animal heart, even if through decellularisation? Or, would people say "Be Still My Beating Heart?" (Sorry for the Sting reference)

Dr. A Show 19: Epilogue

Thanks so much to Nick Genes for coming onto the show. We had to beg someone to call in to talk to us. And, thankfully, Enrico called in. The funny part was that we talked for about another 45 minutes after that. The total length of the show was two hours - YEESH!

But, it was a very good time. We did talk about the Medgadget Weblog Awards. Nick talked about the qualities of a good medical blog. We even talked about some funny "gag" awards or parody awards. What do you think would be funny gag awards that would compliment the real awards? Leave a comment here.

We also talked about our predictions for the medical blogosphere for 2008. I agree with Nick that medical issues may have a significant impact on the US presidential race. Blogging for political campaigns and other intersections of the blogosphere and politics - this is an interesting prediction for 2008. Then, somewhere in there, I had my obligatory technical glitch (Thanks BlogTalkRadio!)

We also talked about sponsorship of blogs - particularly medical blogs. Does this affect the integrity of the blog? The chat room definitely had something to say about this. My personal opinion is that, at this point, I would feel uncomfortable putting advertisements on my blog. This will be a great topic to talk with Kevin next week. Probably the only thing I would consider at this point would be maybe receiving a free book from an author, possibly interview them for the show, and then give the book away as a prize to a caller or someone in the chat room. Even this, this is a maybe.

I don't even remember everything else that happened. I have to listen to the entire thing again to see what I actually said. But, this was definitely a good time and I'm glad that I'm back doing the show again. Thanks to all who listened and participated in the chat room. Oh yeah, I tried out a live ustream.tv feed and it worked! I'll probably be trying that more in the future. Have a great weekend, everybody!

Listen LIVE tonight!

Thursday, January 10th, 2008 at 9:00pm Eastern Time

What do you think are the best medical blogs out there (besides mine - HA!)? We'll be joined by Nick Genes from the 2007 Medgadget Medical Weblog Awards. We'll also be making our predictions for the medical blogosphere for 2008. See you tonight! (What do you think of my video promo piece above?)

For first time Blog Talk Radio listeners:

*Although it is not required to listen to the show, I encourage you to register on the BlogTalkRadio site prior to the show. I think it will make the process easier.

*To get to my show site, click here. As show time gets closer, keep hitting "refresh" on your browser until you see the "Click to Listen" button. Then, of course, press the "Click to Listen" button.

*You can also participate in the live chat room before, during, and after the show. Look for the "Chat Available" button in the upper right hand corner of my show site. If you are registered with the BTR site, your registered name and picture will appear in the chat room. (If not, you will be designated as "guest")

*You can also call into the show. The number is on my show site. Hope these tips are helpful!

Medgadget Polls Are Open!

In the United States, there has been a lot of press in the last seven days regarding the elections in Iowa and New Hampshire and how they are impacting the US Presidential Race. (I wonder who KevinMD voted for.) If you watch the news, in fact, this is all that they have been talking about (yeesh!)

Well, let's talk about an election that actually matters (hehe). What are the best medical blogs of 2007? You can help make that decision! The polls are open for the 2007 Medgadget Medical Weblogs sponsored by ScrubsGallery.com. There are seven categories and five finalists per category. The polls close on January 20th - but don't wait that long - Vote today and Good Luck to all the Finalists!

The Doctor Anonymous Show makes a triumphant return tomorrow night at 9pm Eastern Time. Our guest will be Dr. Nick Genes from Medgadget. In addition to the awards, we'll be talking about 2008 predictions for the medical blogsosphere. I figure, everyone else out there on the internet is making predictions - so, why not us?

What do you think will happen in the medical blogosphere this year? Which prolific blogger will quit blogging in 2008 (maybe me - HA!)? What will be the big controversies which will shock the medblog world this year? What are the trends that you see happening with medical bloggers? Call into the show tomorrow night and we'll talk about it. I may even give my predictions to the 2007 Medgadget award winners (aren't you curious?). See you tomorrow night!

Grand Rounds

Grand Rounds 4.16 is now up and running at a blog called PathTalk. It describes itself as a "community blog for all things pathology." No theme this week and a very simple and no nonsense layout. I encourage you to check it out. I was all ready to submit my post this week, but I forgot at the last minute. So, I don't have anything over there this week - bummer.

If you don't know what Grand Rounds is, it is a weekly compilation of the best posts from the medical blogosphere that moves to different sites each week. And, who doesn't like reading about medicine and science? Next week, Grand Rounds moves to the site called Sharp Brains.

Ohio State Wins National Championship!

Ok, I know I'm a few hours early, since the BCS title game is tonight. But, hey, I'm probably one of the few people in the country picking the Buckeyes to win this game. So, I wanted to go on record now. So, I'll either be the target of the naysayers. Or, I'll revel in the spoils - depending on tonight's result. BTW, Travis always has good thoughts on (pretty much) anything sports related (especially football). Good Luck to Jim Tressel and the boys tonight in New Orleans. Go Bucks!

Dr. A Show returns next week!

I'm happy to announce that just like David Letterman, I have reached an agreement with the writer's guild and we will be returning with all new shows beginning next week. hehe

I have to admit that I have missed doing my radio show for the past three weeks or so. But, now, I'm feeling recharged and refreshed. It's 2008 and I'm ready to hit the ground running with all new shows - all new antics - all new fun - and all new entertainment for you the Doctor Anonymous listener.

Our guest will be Dr. Nick Genes. You may remember him as he was on Show #13 back in November talking about the tremendously popular medical blog carnival called Grand Rounds.

Nick is also part of Medgadget and we will be talking about The 2007 Medical Weblog Awards sponsored by ScrubsGallery.com. The finalists have already been announced and voting will begin on Tuesday, January 8th.

Join us Thursday, January 10th, 2008 at 9pm Eastern Time for The Doctor Anonymous Show. Who knows what else we'll talk about? You'll have to tune in to find out....

As you can see, I'm really starting to embrace using video blogging again. Thanks so much for visiting my vblog site and leaving comments. Also, check out my video promo for the show below (say that three times fast). Have a great weekend everybody!

Most drug samples don't go to uninsured

Here's a study you'll find very interesting. The conventional wisdom (some would call pharmaceutical spin) is that free drug samples go to the poor and uninsured. Well, researchers at Harvard Medical School and the Cambridge Medical Alliance will publish a study in the February edition of the American Journal of Public Health which shows the contrary (Boston Globe).

Less than one-third of all people who received samples in a 32,000-person, nationally representative survey had low incomes, and less than one-fifth who got the free drugs were uninsured at any point in 2003.

Of course the pharmaceutical industry is calling this a flawed study - Duh! Now, don't get me wrong. The industry does some good things. There are some drug reps in my area who have gone out of their way to make sure some of my uninsured patients get the prescription meds that they require. I've also had many of my patients take part in pparx. I mean in 2004, approximately $16.4 Billion free samples were given out. However, the researchers also had these interesting findings...

Insured people with better access to medical care were more likely to see their doctors in offices, rather than hospital emergency rooms or hospital clinics. Patients who saw their doctors in offices were more likely to be given free drug samples.

"That finding suggests that the samples were a marketing tool and not a safety net because the poor and uninsured patients were not finding their way to where the samples were," [lead author, Dr. Sarah] Cutrona said.

To me, free drug samples are a two-edged sword. On the one hand, for my uninsured and economically disadvantaged patients, these samples are a kind of life line. And, in the economically troubled times of the community which I live, the young and healthy people are leaving to find work - which leave the older and sicker population. I know some offices around here who do not accept samples, and I understand their reasoning. But, that has to be tough on their patients.

On the other hand, when patients know we have samples of a particular medicine, their persistence on asking for samples can get frustrating at times - especially if I know they have insurance, a decent prescription plan, and know that they can afford to get the medication. It's not for me to judge, but it seems to me that samples for some people are a convenience rather than a necessity.

So, were/are samples a marketing tool? That's an interesting debate to have. I understand both sides of it, and I know people will leave comments probably on both sides of the issue. Our office continues to accept drug samples - along with its benefits and potential perils. What do you think? Are free drug samples a good thing or not?

USA: We're Number Two!

As Americans, we always pride ourselves in being Number One. Well, this time, it's probably better not to be the best. According to the Associated Press, a study was published today stating that the Brits are the biggest fans of fast food in the world - with the USA coming in second place.

"The results show there's a world of people who cannot deny themselves that hamburger or extra piece of pizza, but probably make themselves feel better by washing it down with a diet cola," [said Steve Garton of polling body Synovate, who produced the survey jointly with the BBC.]

In terms of fast food, 45 percent of Britons agreed with the statement "I like the taste of fast food too much to give it up" ahead of 44 percent for Americans and Canadians at 37 percent.

I am so disappointed in us as Americans. Did they poll high school and grade school students in this country? How about people who attend sporting events? I know that we can do better than 45 percent. Now, looking in the mirror, I admit I enjoy fast food every once in a while. And, I also admit that part of my New Year's "thing" is to try to cut back a little bit. So, I'm part of Fast Food Nation - but, I don't wanna be....

Cocaine vaccine

Ok, I'm no music pundit, but this is one of the best Clapton songs - EVER! After you finish watching the SIX and a half minute live version above (including what seems to be a five minute guitar solo), you may proceed with the rest of this post hehe....

So, a vaccine against cocaine. Hmmmm... It is currently in clinical trials right now and researchers have asked the Food and Drug Administration permission to perform a larger trial to continue its progress to possible clinical use. The theory is similar to other vaccines - researchers place an inactive cocaine molecule on a protein so that the body can form antibodies against cocaine. So, when cocaine is ingested, the antibodies gobble them up so they cannot reach the brain for their addictive effect. (AP)

[FDA] Approval would mark a breakthrough in the treatment of cocaine addiction, which now mostly involves psychiatric counseling and 12-step programs. It presumably would be the final clinical hurdle before the vaccine — more than a decade in the making — might be approved for treatment. But one expert warns against expecting too much.

"Addiction vaccines are a promising advance, but it's unlikely any treatment in this field will work for everyone," said Dr. David Gorelick, a senior investigator at the National Institute on Drug Abuse. "Still, if they prove successful, they will give those working in drug addiction an important option."

Who knows, this vaccine may not go anywhere. Certainly, it is years before there's even a possibility that it could be used as any kind of treatment in the real world. However, it is an intriguing possibility that one day, someone in a voluntary cocaine treatment program would be receiving a shot - and hopefully increase the change of sobriety. Fascinating....