NHS praised as being accessible, but it gets by with fewer staff, and elderly care is lacking.

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a way to print living skin with blood vessels, according to a news report.

The research was published in Tissue Engineering Part A and is a great step towards creating more realistic-looking skin grafts for patients who need it after injury or surgery.

Biologically relevant vascular structure

“Right now, whatever is available as a clinical product is more like a fancy Band-Aid,” said Pankaj Karande, an associate professor of chemical and biological engineering in a news report.

While skin grafts have been implemented in surgeries, the big drawback was the absence of a functioning vascular system, which means that circulation could suffer.

A skin graft is used to permanently replace damaged skin or to provide covering for a large wound. The skin is the biggest organ and protects the body from fluid loss and acts as a barrier against external bacteria.

Now, with key elements such as the endothelial cells, which are found on the inside of blood vessels, as well as human pericyte cells and animal collagen, the cells will start to communicate and form a biologically relevant vascular structure within a few weeks, according to the news report.

“As engineers working to recreate biology, we’ve always appreciated and been aware of the fact that biology is far more complex than the simple systems we make in the lab,” Karande stated . “We were pleasantly surprised to find that, once we start approaching that complexity, biology takes over and starts getting closer and closer to what exists in nature.”

Transfer of blood and nutrients

The Yale team, who undertook the research, grafted the 3D printed skin onto a special type of mouse. The vessels from the designed skin then started to communicate with the vessels of the mouse.

According to Karande, that was the most important aspect – an actual transfer of blood and nutrients, which would help keep the skin graft alive.

More research is needed before making this concept work in a clinical setting on actual humans. The cells of the donor skin will need to be edited with CRIPSR technology in order to be compatible and connect with the patient’s body.

More work is also needed to see how this will function in burn victims, where nerve and vascular endings are damaged. But, according to Karande, it’s already a step closer to improvement for people who need skin grafts for diabetic ulcers or pressure sores.

“For those patients, these would be perfect, because ulcers usually appear at distinct locations on the body and can be addressed with smaller pieces of skin,” Karande said. “Wound healing typically takes longer in diabetic patients, and this could also help to accelerate that process.”

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Compiled by Marelize Wilke

Some can smell normally despite missing the part of the brain which science says is crucial.

Mavis Eccleston, 80, was cleared of murder over the death of her terminally ill husband Dennis.

The problem is not just the numbers arriving but how ill those patients are, according to management.

Four-month-old Giovannino, who must be kept from direct sunlight, is being cared for by nurses.

With an app for almost anything, it should come as no surprise that teenagers cannot get enough of their smartphones.

However, there may be a cause for concern, because research has found a link between smartphone dependency and symptoms of depression and loneliness. It is unclear whether people start relying on their smartphones before the symptoms begin to show or whether depressed people are more likely to become dependent on their smartphone. 

A dangerous combination

The study, which will be published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, looked at 346 older adolescents, ages 18–20 and it was found that smartphone dependency can predict higher reports of loneliness and depressive symptoms. The study was conducted by Matthew Lapierre and collaborators.

“The main takeaway is that smartphone dependency directly predicts later depressive symptoms,” said Lapierre, who is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication in the college of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Arizona. “There is an issue where people are entirely too reliant on the device, in terms of feeling anxious if they don’t have it accessible, and they’re using it to the detriment of their day-to-day life.”

Research

In the study, Lapierre and his co-authors looked at smartphone dependency, which is a person’s psychological reliance on the device – rather than on general use of their smartphone, which could potentially provide a few health benefits.

“The research grows out of my concern that there is too much of a focus on general use of smartphones,” Lapierre said. “Smartphones can be useful. They help us connect with others. We’ve really been trying to focus this idea of dependency and problematic and problematic use of smartphones being the driver for these psychological outcomes.”

Researchers measured smartphone dependency by asking study participants to use a four-point scale to rate a series of statements, like “I panic when I cannot use my smartphone”. The participants were also required to answer questions which were designed to measure loneliness, depressive symptoms and daily smartphone use. They responded to the questions at the beginning of the study and then again four months later. 

The focus of the study focused on older adolescents, a population researchers believe could be significant because: 

• They grew up with smartphones.
• They are at an age and transitioning into a stage in life where they are vulnerable to poor mental health outcomes, like depression.

The way forward

Given the negative effects of smartphone dependency, it may be worthwhile for people to evaluate the relationship between themselves and their smartphones, so that they can self-impose boundaries if necessary, researchers said.

Communication master’s student, Pengfei Zhao, co-author of the study said, “When people feel stressed, they should use other healthy approaches to cope, like talking to a close friend to get support or doing some exercises or meditation.”

Lapierre concluded by saying, “The work we’re doing is answering some essential questions about the psychological effects of smartphone dependency. Then we can start asking, ‘OK, why is this the case?'”

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Deeanne Daniels

Does your mouth water at the idea of creamy avocado on a slice of toast? According to new research from Penn State, one avocado a day may help lower so-called “bad” cholesterol or low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.

What are good and bad cholesterol?

Cholesterol is an essential fatty substance in the body and forms part of the lining of every cell. It is produced by the liver, and we ingest it through food.

But while cholesterol plays a vital role in the body, there is a difference between “good and bad” cholesterol. The difference is in the composition – the more protein, the better, and the higher the density. Therefore:

High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol – these are lipoproteins with more protein than fat. This is the “good” cholesterol, and higher levels of HDL cholesterol indicate a lower risk of heart disease. 

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol – these are lipoproteins with more fat than protein. This is the “bad” cholesterol. This constitutes the bulk of the cholesterol in the blood. 

The goal for optimum heart health is to keep the level of fatty LDL cholesterol low, as this can clog the arteries and lead to heart problems.

What did the research entail?

The research team from Penn State did a randomised controlled feeding study, published in the Journal of Nutrition. The team recruited 45 overweight or obese adults. These participants followed a two-week initial diet that mimicked the average American diet to get them more or less on the same level before starting the study. 

In the next phase, all participants completed five weeks on three different diets – low-fat, moderate-fat without avocados and moderate-fat with one avocado per day. After five weeks on the avocado diet, the participants had lower levels of LDL cholesterol than at the start of the study.

According to Penny Kris-Etherton, professor of nutrition, the inclusion of avocado in the diets was significant. She stated the following in a news report:

“We were able to show that when people incorporated one avocado a day into their diet, they had fewer small, dense LDL particles than before the diet. Consequently, people should consider adding avocados to their diet in a healthy way, like on whole-wheat toast or as a veggie dip.”

“When you think about bad cholesterol, it comes packaged in LDL particles, which vary in size,” she also stated. “All LDL is bad, but small, dense LDL is particularly bad. A key finding was that people on the avocado diet had fewer oxidised LDL particles. They also had more lutein, which may be the bioactive that’s protecting the LDL from being oxidised.”

Why avocado?

Besides the fact that the moderate-fat diet without avocados included the same amount of monounsaturated fat, the results were more significant on the avocado-diet.

The reason for this could be that the fruit has additional bioactives contributing to the result.

A bioactive called lutein could be the explanation – it prevents the LDL cholesterol particles from becoming oxidised. Oxidisation is the process that causes cholesterol to start building up in the arteries and may lead to heart disease.

Kris-Etherton said in the news report that the nutritional benefits of avocados is still a relatively new area of study and that there may be many more untapped health benefits.

Our own nutritionists at Nutritional Solutions agree that avocados benefit far more than just the heart.

“The fibre in avocados is a unique combination of insoluble fibre and soluble fibre. Soluble fibre acts like a mop and helps absorb fluid in the gut, forming a soft, gel-like substance to combat constipation. Insoluble fibre works like a broom, roughly sweeping through the length of the gut to remove waste. But fibre does far more than just keep us regular: it may play a role in preventing colon cancer, and even help with weight loss,” according to Monique Piderit in a previous Health24 article.

What are you waiting for? Whether you are enjoying your avo on toast or chopped up in a salad, it will certainly give your health a boost.

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Compiled by Marelize Wilke

Teen girls who play several sports have a lower injury risk than those who focus on just one, a new study finds.

It included more than 1 100 girls who play basketball, soccer and volleyball. Most were middle and high school students; some were in college.

Improved coordination

Girls who specialise too early in sports such as basketball, soccer and volleyball could find that a single-minded focus “may hinder motor development and lead to compromised hip and knee coordination during dynamic landing and jumping activities, which can lead to increased chance of potentially life-altering injuries”, said lead author Christopher DiCesare. He’s a biomechanist in the Division of Sports Medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Ohio.

The study also found that girls who focused on a single sport had a higher rate of hip and knee injuries and an increased risk of knee pain.

Researchers said playing multiple sports may improve girls’ coordination, and that those who specialise may not fully develop neuromuscular coordination patterns that can reduce the risk of injury.

Increasing emphasis on success

Due to uneven growth in bone mineral and muscular and connective tissue strength before and during puberty, young athletes may be less able than older ones to handle the physical stresses associated with focusing on one sport, the study published in the Journal of Athletic Training concluded.

“By understanding the influence that sport specialisation has on coordination and the potential for injuries, there is the potential to make better decisions of when it may be appropriate to safely specialise in a sport,” DiCesare said in a journal news release.

More than 30 million young people participate in individual or team sports, and an increasing emphasis on the success has pushed many to specialise.

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HealthDay

Psychiatrists call for more hospital beds to end the practice of sending patients miles away for care.