Slowing Cell Death – Saving Lives
Normal Cell Death or ‘Apoptosis’ Apoptosis is a form of cell death that is fundamental to both normal function and malfunction of organs in the body. It is a form of cell death in which single cells die in the midst of living tissue and normally, the above helps in the normal process of cell turnover.Apoptosis appears to be genetically regulated however, apoptosis can be induced by exposing cells to radiation, heat, cytotoxic agents, and abnormal changes in cellular biology. Too little cell death can result in proliferative disorders, such as neoplastic disorders or autoimmune disease...
Read MoreStaggering Costs of Strokes & Heart Attacks
Acquired Brain Injury – Cerebrovascular Accident (‘Stroke’) ‘Stroke’ refers to a group of conditions caused by the occlusion (blockage) or haemorrhage from blood vessels that supply the brain. Occlusion of the artery produces cerebral ischemia or brain cell death. Many stroke patients can either be left permanently disabled or instead die as a result of their stroke. A majority of strokes involve the occlusion of an artery (conservatively assessed at 70% of all strokes) and the treatment-of-choice targets the reopening of an occluded artery using thrombolytics agents....
Read MoreImagine: Stopping Cell Death – Impact on Medicine
Overview Accelerated cell death or ‘apoptosis’ contributes to about half of all major medical illnesses for which adequate therapy or prevention is currently lacking. This has created an important opportunity for medical science and is creating an emerging multi-billion dollar market. Against this background of a rapidly emerging new market, a number of companies are developing several new drug classes which directly addresses apoptosis either by slowing down the process of cell death (eg. heart attacks, strokes, brain trauma, etc.) or instead, accelerating the rate of cell...
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