Studies Ignite Hope for Long-Acting Allergy Vaccines

Title: Studies Ignite Hope for Long-Acting Allergy Vaccines
Category: Health News
Created: 9/29/2008 2:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 9/29/2008

At least there was not such a system until this week. This week www.theoriginalmymedicalrecords.com announced the prototype release of Version 1.2, a portable medical record with change tracking, high-level encryption and password protection.

None of these systems however have one basic piece that is required for credibility in the medical world. It is called change tracking and it is the ability for the healthcare professional reading the portable medical record to look at what changes have been made in the portable medical record and what existed in the record before the change was made. Change tracking is an internal audit of the system and ensures that there has been no tampering that could threaten a patient's life.

It is amazing how once you notice something, you begin to pay attention and in paying attention you discover a whole new world.

For those of you who are not familiar with portable medical records allow me a moment to give some definitions. A portable medical record is a USB drive device such as a Thumb Drive, a USB wristband, a USB flash drive wristwatch, pendant, or other portable mass storage that can be worn on the body attached to a belt or keys and holds basic medical information in a database form. Almost all these devices now are password protected and offer varying levels of functionality.

But I envision a larger market. I envision a day when rather than receiving a flimsy paper wristband at the hospital or nursing home a patient has a portable medical record in a waterproof band around their wrist. When the nurse comes by with their wireless Tablet computer to chart she simply plugs the patient record band in and the records are immediately synchronized. The patient goes nowhere without their chart on their wrist.

Yes, they all have some form of password protection and an emergency screen where basic information can be seen without the use of the password. They hold information such as living wills, organ donor cards, healthcare surrogate contracts, past medical histories, allergies, medications and a few hold greater levels of data. Two of them integrate with online personal health records but only one can import and export to electronic medical records.

With that in mind let's turn now back to the portable medical records. This is a market that is exploding. A few short weeks ago I wrote an article, my second in this arena, that described nine products of this type. Two days ago I did a new Google search on this topic (okay, I was desperate for an article topic) and I found no fewer than 24 companies now offering these devices in the United States, Canada and England. Many of these devices are now being made in Taiwan and China and installed directly on the flash drives. They are coming in every shape, size and form but unfortunately with little or no functionality.

As the water resistant or splash resistant USB devices these units are already finding a home on the wrists of scuba divers, sky divers, mountain bikers and others who enjoy high fun/ high risk sports.

A personal health record is the online equivalent of the portable medical record. This software exists on the Internet with storage maintained at a third-party site. The information is again password protected and in an emergency can be accessed by the healthcare provider with an Internet connection and that password.

I envision a day when my disaster medical assistance team (MDMS/DMAT-FL3) provides care in a Katrina like event after a natural disaster with subsequent flooding and places a USB flash drive wristband around the wrist of every evacuee. Information on federal assistance, registration for finding lost family members, their own personal information as well as a health record will travel with them from the moment of rescue until their final destination. If they already had a personal medical record on their wrist or in their pocket or around their neck as an independent we in the MDMS/DMAT-FL3 would be able to plug their device into our computers and upload the important information to help them recover their lives and help us treat their injuries.

Where will this new medical device find a home?

An electronic medical record is a software package utilized by hospital healthcare facility physicians that replaces the paper patient chart. This is an official document and subject to significant government regulation. By 2008 every healthcare provider in the United States must be executing concrete plans to transition from paper to electronic records and by 2014 all paper must be gone.

The Race to a Paperless Society

This is truly something new and represents a second generation of portable medical record.

This second generation of flash drive device holds tremendous promise not only for the transfer of information but even the prevention of medical errors by ensuring that the most basic information is in the hands of those who are making the most important decisions.

In the event of an emergency the patient's band is on their wrist and it does not matter what emergency room they go into, what EMS service picks them up all the important information is at the fingertips of those there to save their life.

Several weeks ago I wrote an article on portable medical records and the possible uses of technology to bring part of the medical records from novelty status to a mainstream medical device. A few weeks later I was introduced to a new generation of portable medical records that were capable of synchronizing with the electronic medical records at a physician's office or at a hospital.

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Auctions Make Some Bid Adieu to Good Sense

Title: Auctions Make Some Bid Adieu to Good Sense
Category: Health News
Created: 9/29/2008
Last Editorial Review: 9/29/2008

INNATE IMMUNE SYSTEM COMPONENTS AND CELLS EXPLAINED:

THE INNATE IMMUNE SYSTEM AS A SECURITY SYSTEM:

The human immune defense system consists of two main components, the innate and adaptive. The innate component is so named because it is a general defense system. It is not specialized or specific but consists of basic defenses such as barriers, guard cells and an alarm system. The adaptive component is also aptly named because it develops or adapts over time as a more specialized and specific response.

Various immune cells of the innate response can release chemicals to contain or destroy invaders if they are near the area of an impaired barrier or they recognize that an invader is trying to get through just like a border patrol or roving security guard. Some of the tissue based immune cells destroy the invaders by actually eating them (phagocytes, eating cells and macrophages, large eating cells). They also are able to clean up left over debris and promote healing in a nonspecific manner.

SPECIAL FORCES OF ANTIBODIES CAN MAKE IDENTITY MISTAKES:

KILLER CELLS AND THEIR WEAPONS OF IMMUNE WARFARE:

HIGHLY SPECIALIZED IMMUNE FIGHTER'S MISTAKES RESULTS IN DANGEROUS FRIENDLY FIRE:

AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE RESULTS FROM WELL INTENTION DEFENSES GONE AWRY:

THE BERLIN WALL OF THE GUT:

The innate immune response is the automatic defense mechanism against potential foreign invaders such as bacteria, viruses, molds or parasites. It is analogous to defensive barriers, alarms and guards intended to protect or defend us personally or as a society. Such defensive barriers around our borders or sites of value to us may include protective walls, electric fences, locked doors, security guards and automatic alarm systems. Such systems may include automatic motion activated lighting and alarm systems, and low level security guards. This defense though highly effective for most threats, is not very specific, highly trained or lethal against serious threats. It also can be penetrated or breached easily though it may be linked to an alarm system that can signal for help. Therefore, we need the protection of more highly trained and specific defenses of the adaptive immune response.

THE TWO COMPONENTS OF THE HUMAN IMMUNE DEFENSE SYSTEM:

The intestinal lining is normally an intact barrier except when signaled to allow some bigger particles through such as certain proteins or other nutrients. The intestinal tract lining has a single layer of cells of the epithelial cell type. These cells are joined tightly, shoulder to shoulder, through a scaffolding of proteins, such as occludens. These tight junctions can open up on signal, from proteins such as zonulin. Certain normal signals permit the opening of the gaps between the lining cells, the paracellular spaces, or decrease the tight junctions resulting in increase intestinal permeability transiently. However, abnormal stimuli can trigger opening of the tight junctions resulting in abnormally increased intestinal permeability or leaky gut. When tight junctions open up wall of the gut may become abnormally permeable or leaky allowing it to be penetrated by foreign proteins including bacteria, viruses, molds, parasites and intact food proteins or lectins. Impairment of gut wall integrity or barrier function is an abnormal innate immune defense. It is like an insecure border, fence or wall.

The adaptive immune system also includes specialized activated lymphocytes: natural killer T cells, T helper lymphocyte cells, and gamma delta lymphocytes. The latter are also part of innate immune system. Tiny brief lived cell called the plasma cell are also part of the adaptive system. Because the adaptive system has a memory, and is highly trained for future anticipated attacks it can increase its response over time. That makes the adaptive system highly effective in defending us against foreign invaders such as serious infections but also highly dangerous to us if it becomes activated against our own cells or tissues.

The adaptive response includes the development of specific antibodies or immunoglobulin (IgE, IgM, IgG, IgD, IgA) to infectious agents and proteins the body recognizes as foreign (antigens). Sometimes the body misinterprets or mistakes self-proteins or tissues as foreign. When antibodies are made against self-proteins they are called autoantibodies. Examples include antinuclear antibodies (ANA) of lupus and rheumatoid factors or antibodies of rheumatoid arthritis. The result is these classic autoimmune disorders.

The adaptive response is one that is highly developed and specialized (trained) in humans. It has a memory. When combined with alarm systems from the innate immune system, a rapid, specific, and directed immune response that is also quite powerful can be activated or triggered. However, when such a system is activated, it can also lead to serious collateral damage to the surrounding tissues and cells. If the response bogs down and cannot deactivate itself an ongoing autoimmune condition without an exit strategy can result. This can result in chronic injury to the cells and tissues that is characteristic of what we know as autoimmune disease.

THE INNATE IMMUNE SYSTEM CALLS FOR HELP, THE SWAT TEAM, DELTA AND GREEN BERETS:

SPECIAL KILLER CELLS NECESSARY FOR DEFENSE AGAINST INVADERS:

The analogies used should help you better understand how our immune system works and how it can fail. It also helps explain how we can develop autoimmune diseases, new abnormal reactions to foreign proteins such as foods resulting in food allergies or sensitivities and how an abnormal gut barrier or leaky gut can be dangerous. Certain good bacteria residing in our gut actually help maintain our intestinal wall barrier function, act as antibiotics killing bad bacteria and inhibit other bacteria and yeast from taking over our system.

With the ability of the innate system to signal for help and the adaptive systems ability to develop over time highly trained and specialized cells and antibodies our body has a better protection against various infections and diseases. In out culture, our adaptive protective system includes specially trained police or military such as SWAT teams, green berets, and the delta force. These forces are mobilized when there is an alarm or request for highly specialized and trained protection or defense. Though they may simply arrest or contain a threat they have the ability to mobilize a lethal force when necessary. However, with this amount of power or force available, innocent bystanders can be injured or killed if there is poor communication or identification of threats or potential invaders. This is how the adaptive immune response works.

Our innate immune defense response is then automatic and a nonspecific system. It consists of the barriers such as the skin and the intact intestinal wall of the digestive tract. The intact intestinal wall is similar to a fence or wall. It is patrolled by certain immune cells that are like security guards or rent-a-cops, guarding the body. This includes white blood cells circulating in the blood or present in the intestinal lining. Circulating white blood cells typically include cells known as neutrophils, eosinophils, and natural killer T lymphocytes. Lining the intestinal wall (skin and respiratory tract) are other white blood cells and immune cells such as basophils, dendritic cells, phagocytes and macrophages. In the intestine white blood cells present in small numbers may be mobilized to the area for specific threats. These include eosinophils, mast cells and neutrophils.

Leaky Gut and Autoimmune Diseases Result From The Failing of Your Immune System

HOW YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM WORKS AND FAILS

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