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Is Endometriosis Causing Your Painful Periods?

The AHA! Team — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 05:11:17 +0000

Esther L Ellis via Duke Health – If you experience extremely painful periods, don’t ignore it. It’s important to seek care from an obstetrician-gynecologist as these symptoms may signal endometriosis. The painful condition affects an estimated 6.5 million women in the U.S., but is often undiagnosed. That is a concern because endometriosis can cause scarring and inflammation, which can lead to infertility if left untreated. Here, Duke Health minimally invasive gynecology surgeon Amy Broach, MD, answers frequently asked questions about endometriosis including its symptoms, testing, and treatment options. What is endometriosis and why is it painful? During endometriosis, the tissue lining the inside of the uterus — the endometrium — grows outside the uterus where it doesn’t belong. Menstruation occurs when the endometrium responds to hormonal signals, grows and sheds each month. The endometrium outside of the uterus also grows, which can cause painful irritation, inflammation, and scarring. What are the symptoms of endometriosis? The most common symptom is painful periods. “We’re referring to pain where a woman is unable to go to school or work effectively, or they’re taking more pain medications than is appropriate,” said Dr. Broach. Symptoms of endometriosis also include pain during sex, bloating, painful bowel movements, and pain during urination or with a full bladder. It is possible to have endometriosis without symptoms. Does endometriosis cause weight gain? Endometriosis does not directly cause weight gain. However, Dr. Broach said the symptoms of endometriosis can impact a person’s ability to maintain a healthy weight. “Sometimes people in pain seek emotional comfort in food, and do not feel up to physical activity so it’s a complex situation.” How is endometriosis diagnosed? Endometriosis can be investigated with a physical exam or an ultrasound, which may show scarring or an ovarian cyst due to endometriosis. However, mild and even severe endometriosis can have normal ultrasounds depending on where it’s located, which is why the condition is often misdiagnosed. “By the time I see someone, they’ve often seen multiple providers and have been told, ‘Oh, you just have painful periods,’” Dr. Broach said. “If you feel like something is not being addressed, advocate for yourself. Seek an expert in the field. “ If your imaging comes back normal and your doctor still suspects endometriosis, laparoscopy is the next step. What is laparoscopy for endometriosis? Laparoscopy is a minimally invasive surgery used to diagnose and treat endometriosis. It allows your doctor to get a complete view of your pelvic area. During the procedure, your surgeon makes a small incision in the belly button, inflates your abdomen with gas, and inserts a lighted camera through the incision to inspect the pelvic area and appendix. Your surgeon will have a clear view to identify, remove, or destroy endometriosis lesions, cysts, and scar tissue without harming the healthy tissue around it. What are the stages of endometriosis? There are four stages of endometriosis based on how deep the tissue has penetrated, how widespread it is, and where it is located. During stage one, spots of endometriosis are smaller and shallower. Stage four means spots are deeply rooted into the tissue and are usually on important organs like the ovaries, colon, or bladder. Pain is not a consideration when staging endometriosis and a higher stage doesn’t mean your symptoms are more severe. How is endometriosis treated? Birth control pills and over-the-counter anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen are usually tried first. If that doesn’t work, Dr. Broach said progesterone-only hormonal therapy given via pills, injections, or intrauterine devices (IUDs) is typically the next step. “A lot of people respond well to the intrauterine device,” she said. According to Dr. Broach, stronger medications are available for people with more severe endometriosis, which creates a “menopause-like scenario.” “The brain and the ovaries are still talking to each other but at a much lower volume,” she said. These medications are taken by mouth and lower hormone levels to reduce menstrual bleeding and pain. They are tried before the strongest medication used to treat endometriosis, leuprolide. Leuprolide is an injection that completely blocks the communication between the brain and the ovaries, temporarily stopping your periods. Your period will return once you stop taking the medication. Laparoscopic endometriosis surgery is usually preferred for women trying to get pregnant. “Doing surgery and resecting or treating some of the disease increases a woman’s ability to become pregnant for about six months after surgery,” said Dr. Broach. To read the original article click here.

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New Technique Bioprints Live Cells Inside the Body Using Ultrasonic Waves

The AHA! Team — Mon, 10 Jun 2024 08:57:53 +0000

Zachy Hennessey via Israel21c – Revolutionary acousto-printing method can be used to circumvent invasive surgery and has a wide array of potential applications. A new drug delivery and tissue implantation technique utilizing ultrasound waves as an alternative to surgery has been developed in the Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering Lab of Prof. Shulamit Levenberg at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. The technique allows for bioprinting live cells and tissues deep within the body using external soundwave irradiation. This approach eliminates the need for invasive procedures that come with risks such as infections, tissue damage and prolonged recovery times. Traditionally, delivering biocompatible materials for applications like localized drug release and tissue grafting has required invasive surgeries. The new method directly delivers cells or drugs within a fluid biological ink to the targeted area, either through injection or catheterization. Soundwaves from an external ultrasonic transducer trigger the printing of engineered tissue from that ink, enabling the creation of complex tissue structures without exposing the internal treatment site. Significantly, the mechanical properties of the generated grafts can be customized to match target tissues and desired drug-release rates, offering a more tailored approach to medical interventions. The method was developed by postdoctoral fellow Lior Debbi in Levenberg’s lab at the Technion with Majd Machour, a doctoral student in the MD/PhD program. They say this technology could be used in a variety of applications; according to the full study published in Small Methods. Demonstrated use cases include “viable and functional cell delivery, drug delivery with sustained release profiles, and 3D printing.” “This promising technology may shift the paradigm for local and noninvasive material delivery approach in many clinical applications,” the study authors state, noting that it also presents “a new printing method — ‘acousto-printing’ — for 3D printing and in situ bioprinting.” To read the original article click here.

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Kentucky Now to Offer Incisionless Procedure for Uterine Fibroid Relief

The AHA! Team — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 08:41:48 +0000

University of Kentucky via Newswise – UK HealthCare is the first in the state to offer the innovative Sonata® Treatment for women suffering from debilitating symptoms caused by uterine fibroids, including heavy periods.. Fibroids are benign growths in or around the uterus. They are very common in women of child-bearing age and can range in size from a grape to a grapefruit. Nearly 3 out of 4 women in the United States will have uterine fibroids before the age of 50. Not all fibroids require treatment, but symptoms often include heavy menstrual bleeding and painful periods that interfere with daily activities. These symptoms may worsen over time if left untreated. Nearly 3 out of 4 women in the United States will have uterine fibroids before the age of 50 “Fibroids are the most common solid pelvic tumor in women, up to two-thirds of women will have one or more fibroids before menopause, and many are symptomatic,” said Mark R. Hoffman, M.D., chief of the Division of Minimally-Invasive Gynecologic Surgery in the UK College of Medicine and an OB-GYN at UK HealthCare. “We see hundreds of patients with fibroids every year in our Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery clinic every year.” According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, more than 200,000 women each year are treated for uterine fibroids with the most common and surgical solution, a hysterectomy, which is a significant surgical procedure to remove the entire uterus. Traditionally, fibroids are treated with minimally invasive procedures such as hysterectomy or myomectomy, but a new, less invasive procedure may be an option for those seeking relief. Transcervical fibroid ablation (TFA) is a less invasive alternative to a hysterectomy or myomectomy. The fibroids are treated inside the uterus, so there are no incisions or scars. The Sonata® System, used in TFA, combines real-time ultrasound imaging with targeted radiofrequency ablation. One by one, the fibroids are targeted and reduced in size, preserving the healthy uterine tissue and providing quick, long-lasting relief. In a clinical trial, the Sonata Treatment was proven to reduce symptoms while getting half of the treated women back to their normal activities the next day. Average return to activity was two days. TFA can be used to treat almost all symptomatic uterine fibroids. This brief, outpatient procedure preserves the uterus and does not require an incision or anesthesia. Patients can return to work and activities in days, not weeks; much sooner than with traditional surgical procedures. More than 200,000 women each year are treated for uterine fibroids “This is a new, novel procedure that provides an alternative to hysterectomy, is outpatient with a same day discharge and has minimal recovery,” said Hoffman. “Patients can be back to full activity in a matter of a few days.” For more information about the Sonata® System and uterine fibroid relief, contact the UK HealthCare Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic and schedule an appointment with one of the following providers: UK HealthCare is the hospitals and clinics of the University of Kentucky. But it is so much more. It is more than 10,000 dedicated health care professionals committed to providing advanced subspecialty care for the most critically injured and ill patients from the Commonwealth and beyond. It also is the home of the state’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer center, a Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that cares for the tiniest and sickest newborns, the region’s only Level 1 trauma center and Kentucky’s top hospital ranked by U.S. News & World Report. As an academic research institution, we are continuously pursuing the next generation of cures, treatments, protocols and policies. Our discoveries have the potential to change what’s medically possible within our lifetimes. Our educators and thought leaders are transforming the health care landscape as our six health professions colleges teach the next generation of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals, spreading the highest standards of care. UK HealthCare is the power of advanced medicine committed to creating a healthier Kentucky, now and for generations to come. To read the original article click here.

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Researchers Developing New Cancer Treatments With High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound

AHA Publisher — Fri, 27 Aug 2021 07:00:27 +0000

University of Waterloo via Newswise – Researchers are bringing the use of acoustic waves to target and destroy cancerous tumours closer to reality. While doctors have used low-intensity ultrasound as a medical imaging tool since the 1950s, experts at the University of Waterloo are using and extending models that help capture how high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) can work on a cellular level. Led by Siv Sivaloganathan, an applied mathematician and researcher with the Centre for Math Medicine at the Fields Institute, the study found by running mathematical models in computer simulations that fundamental problems in the technology can be solved without any risk to actual patients. Sivaloganathan, together with his graduate students June Murley, Kevin Jiang and postdoctoral fellow Maryam Ghasemi, creates the mathematical models used by engineers and doctors to put HIFU into practice. He said his colleagues in other fields are interested in the same problems, “but we’re coming at this from different directions”. “My side of it is to use mathematics and computer simulations to develop a solid model that others can take and use in labs or clinical settings. And although the models are not nearly as complex as human organs and tissue, the simulations give a huge head start for clinical trials.” One of the obstacles that Sivaloganathan is currently working to overcome is that in targeting cancers, HIFU also poses risks to healthy tissue. When HIFU is being used to destroy tumours or cancerous lesions, the hope is that good tissue won’t be destroyed. The same applies when focusing the intense acoustic waves on a tumour on the bone where lots of heat energy gets released. Sivaloganathan and his colleagues are working to understand how the heat dissipates and if it damages the bone marrow. Other researchers working with Sivaloganathan include engineers, who are building the physical technology, and medical doctors, in particular, James Drake, chief surgeon at Hospital for Sick Children, looking at the practical application of HIFU in clinical settings. Sivaloganathan believes HIFU will make significant changes in cancer treatments and other medical procedures and treatments. HIFU is already finding practical application in the treatment of some prostate cancers. “It’s an area that I think is going to take center stage in clinical medicine,” he said. “It doesn’t have the negative side effects of radiation therapy or chemotherapy. There are no side effects other than the effect of heat, which we are working on right now. It also has applications as a new way to break up blood clots and even to administer drugs.” To read the original article click here.

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Seismic Imaging Technology Could Deliver Finely Detailed Images of the Human Brain

AHA Publisher — Fri, 13 Mar 2020 07:00:22 +0000

Imperial College London via EurekAlert – The Imperial College London and UCL researchers say their proof-of-concept study, published today in npj Digital Medicine, paves the way for the development of high-fidelity clinical imaging of the human brain that could be superior to existing technology. Unlike existing brain imaging methods like MRI, CT and PET scanning, the technology could be applied to imaging any patient, and could be suitable for the continuous monitoring of high-dependency patients. It could be delivered by a relatively small device, which would also potentially make it portable via ambulance and enable fast investigation in advance of arrival to hospital. The researchers are confident the technology will be safe as sound waves are already used for ultrasound scanning and this technology uses similar sound intensities. Ultrasound cannot easily penetrate through bone, whereas the new device, which is designed to be worn like a helmet, is able to overcome this barrier. The new approach is of special value in patients investigated for stroke – the second most common cause of death and most common cause of adult neurological disability – where rapid, universally applicable, high-fidelity imaging is essential. Lead author Dr Lluís Guasch, of Imperial’s Department of Earth Science and Engineering, said: “An imaging technique that has already revolutionised one field – seismic imaging – now has the potential to revolutionise another – brain imaging.” Professor Bryan Williams Director NIHR UCL Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre, which partly funded the research, said: “This is an extraordinary and novel development in brain imaging which has huge potential to provide accessible brain imaging in routine clinical practice to evaluate the brain in head trauma, stroke and a variety of brain diseases. “If this lives up to its promise it will be a major advance. It is also a fabulous illustration of how the collaboration between engineers and clinicians, using methods from another sphere of science, can bring ground-breaking innovation into medical care.” Transcending Disciplines Earth scientists use seismic data and a computational technique called full waveform inversion (FWI) to map the inside of the earth. Seismic data from earthquake detectors (seismometers) are plugged into FWI algorithms that extract 3D images of the Earth’s crust that can be used to predict earthquakes and search for reservoirs of oil and gas. Now Imperial researchers have adapted this approach to medical imaging, developing a method that uses sound waves with the ultimate aim of producing high-resolution images of the brain. They built a helmet lined with an array of acoustic transducers that each sends sound waves through the skull. The ultrasound energy that propagates through the head is recorded and fed via the helmet into a computer. FWI is then used to analyse the reverberations of the sound throughout the skull, constructing a 3D image of the interior. The researchers tested their helmet on a healthy volunteer and found that the quality of the recorded signals was sufficient for the algorithm to generate a detailed image, and they are confident the scattered energy from the brain will be interpretable. Using computer modelling, they also found they could obtain high-resolution images with sound frequencies low enough to penetrate the skull at safe intensities. They created detailed computer simulations based on the properties of different types of human brain tissue to establish that sound waves would be effective for composing high-resolution images of the brain. Dr Guasch said: “This is the first time FWI has been applied to the task of imaging inside a human skull. FWI is normally used in geophysics to map the structure of the Earth, but our collaborative, multidisciplinary team of earth scientists, bioengineers and neurologists are using it to create a safe, cheap and portable method of generating 3D ultrasound images of the human brain.” Potential Clinical Use Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is generally the best method for obtaining high-resolution images of the brain, and its use is currently essential to the investigation of many neurological disorders including stroke, brain cancer, and brain injury. Nonetheless, MRI requires large, complex, expensive, non-portable machines cooled to three degrees above absolute zero, and it cannot be used on patients for whom the presence of metallic implants or foreign bodies cannot be scrupulously ruled out. This makes emergency use in patients with potentially altered consciousness, such as those suspected of stroke, difficult or impossible. The researchers say that if it proves successful in human trials, their device will overcome these obstacles. Study co-author Professor Parashkev Nachev, of UCL, said: “This is a vivid illustration of the remarkable power of advanced computation in medicine. Combining algorithmic innovation with supercomputing could enable us to retrieve high-resolution images of the brain from safe, relatively simple, well-established physics: the transmission of soundwaves through human tissue. “The practicalities of MRI will always limit its applicability, especially in the acute setting, where timely intervention has the greatest impact. Neurology has been waiting for a new, universally applicable imaging modality for decades: full-waveform inversion could well be the answer.” Next, the researchers will build a new prototype for live imaging of normal human brains as the first step to a device that could be evaluated in clinical contexts. To read the original article click here.

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Ultrasound Selectively Damages Cancer Cells When Tuned to Correct Frequencies

AHA Publisher — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 08:00:08 +0000

American Institute of Physics (AIP) via Newswise – Low-intensity approach targets cancer cells by their mechanical properties and illustrates the promise of the emerging field of oncotripsy. Newswise — WASHINGTON, D.C., January 7, 2020 — Doctors have used focused ultrasound to destroy tumors in the body without invasive surgery for some time. However, the therapeutic ultrasound used in clinics today indiscriminately damages cancer and healthy cells alike. Most forms of ultrasound-based therapies either use high-intensity beams to heat and destroy cells or special contrast agents that are injected prior to ultrasound, which can shatter nearby cells. Heat can harm healthy cells as well as cancer cells, and contrast agents only work for a minority of tumors. Researchers at the California Institute of Technology and City of Hope Beckman Research Institute have developed a low-intensity ultrasound approach that exploits the unique physical and structural properties of tumor cells to target them and provide a more selective, safer option. By scaling down the intensity and carefully tuning the frequency to match the target cells, the group was able to break apart several types of cancer cells without harming healthy blood cells. Their findings, reported in Applied Physics Letters, from AIP Publishing, are a new step in the emerging field called oncotripsy, the singling out and killing of cancer cells based on their physical properties. “This project shows that ultrasound can be used to target cancer cells based on their mechanical properties,” said David Mittelstein, lead author on the paper. “This is an exciting proof of concept for a new kind of cancer therapy that doesn’t require the cancer to have unique molecular markers or to be located separately from healthy cells to be targeted.” A solid mechanics lab at Caltech first developed the theory of oncotripsy, based on the idea that cells are vulnerable to ultrasound at specific frequencies — like how a trained singer can shatter a wine glass by singing a specific note. The Caltech team found at certain frequencies, low-intensity ultrasound caused the cellular skeleton of cancer cells to break down, while nearby healthy cells were unscathed. “Just by tuning the frequency of stimulation, we saw a dramatic difference in how cancer and healthy cells responded,” Mittelstein said. “There are many questions left to investigate about the precise mechanism, but our findings are very encouraging.” The researchers hope their work will inspire others to explore oncotripsy as a treatment that could one day be used alongside chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation and surgery. They plan to gain a better understanding of what specifically occurs in a cell impacted by this form of ultrasound. To read the original article click here.

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