Surgeon Wearing Google Glass Live Streams Operation to Colleagues and Medical Students !!!

Dr. Christopher Kaeding, an orthopedic surgeon at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center is shown wearing Google Glass while performing surgery.

Dr. Christopher Kaeding, a surgeon at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, is the first in the U.S  to consult with a distant colleague using live, point-of-view video from the operating room via Google Glass, a head-mounted computer and camera device.


Google Glass has a frame similar to traditional glasses, but instead of lenses, there is a small glass block that sits above the right eye.  On that glass is a computer screen that, with a simple voice command, allows users to pull up information as they would on any other computer.  Attached to the front of the device is a camera that offers a point-of-view image and the ability to take both photos and videos while the device is worn.

Dr. Christopher Kaeding, a surgeon at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, was performing a surgery on a 47-year-old patient's injured knee ligament, during this milestone event

During this procedure at the medical center�s University East facility, Kaeding wore the device as he performed ACL surgery on Paula Kobalka, 47, from Westerville, Ohio, who hurt her knee playing softball. As he performed her operation at a facility on the east side of Columbus, Google Glass showed his vantage point via the internet to audiences miles away.

Across town, one of Kaeding�s Ohio State colleagues, Dr. Robert Magnussen, watched the surgery his office, while on the main campus, several students at The Ohio State University College of Medicine watched on their laptops.

�It�s a privilege to be a part of this project as we explore how this exciting new technology might be incorporated into the everyday care of our patients,� said Dr. Christopher Kaeding, the physician who performed the surgery and director of sports medicine at Ohio State.  �To be honest, once we got into the surgery, I often forgot the device was there. It just seemed very intuitive and fit seamlessly.�

Experts have theorized that during surgery doctors could use voice commands to instantly call up x-ray or MRI images of their patient, pathology reports or reference materials.  They could collaborate live and face-to-face with colleagues via the internet, anywhere in the world.

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Read Original Article Point-of-View Surgery Shown Via Google Glass

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The Man Who Believes He is Dead !!!

The British man, identified only as Graham, woke up nine years ago utterly convinced that he was no longer alive even though he was still breathing.

Doctors diagnosed him with Cotard�s Syndrome, which is also known as �Walking Corpse Syndrome� because it makes people think they have turned into zombies.

Graham did not believe them, however, and insisted that his brain was dead.

The unusual condition emerged after Graham, who suffered from severe depression, tried to commit suicide by taking an electrical appliance with him into the bath.

Eight months later he told doctors that his brain had died or was, at best, missing.

He lost interest in smoking, stopped speaking and refused to eat as there was "no point because I was dead"

He was in the grip of Cotard's syndrome. People with this rare condition believe that they, or parts of their body, no longer exist.

For Graham, it was his brain that was dead, and he believed that he had killed it.

In a new study  in Cortex  neuroscientists conducted sophisticated brain imaging (PET) studies on Graham, and discovered that large areas of his brain showed severely reduced activity usually seen only in patients who are anaesthetised or asleep. Graham�s �asleep� brain areas encompassed a network of neurons in parts of the frontal, parietal and temporal lobes on both sides of the brain that have previously been associated in the healthy brain with conscious awareness, or the ability to think about ourselves, and �know� ourselves as an independent being who has control over our own actions. The researchers, who included neurologists, did not believe Graham�s reduced brain function could be accounted for by his depression or by the medications he was taking, although these may have been factors.

Eventually, with psychotherapy and drugs, Graham recovered. Although he says he isn't yet entirely back to normal, he can now live independently. "I'm just lucky to be alive now," he says.

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What is Cotard's syndrome??


The Cotard delusion, Cotard's syndrome, or Walking Corpse Syndrome is a rare mental disorder in which people hold a delusional belief that they are dead (either figuratively or literally), do not exist, are putrefying, or have lost their blood or internal organs. In rare instances, it can include delusions of immortality.


Signs and symptoms

The central symptom in Cotard's syndrome is the delusion of negation. Those who suffer from this illness often deny that they exist or that a certain portion of their body exists. Cotard's syndrome has been found to have three distinct stages. In the first stage � Germination � patients exhibit psychotic depression and hypochondriacal symptoms. The second stage � Blooming � is characterized by the full blown development of the syndrome and the delusions of negation. The third stage � Chronic � is characterized by severe delusions and chronic depression.
People with the Cotard Delusion often become withdrawn from others and they tend to neglect their own hygiene and well-being. The delusion makes it impossible for patients to make sense of reality, which results in an extremely distorted view of the world. This delusion is often found in psychotic patients suffering from schizophrenia. While Cotard's Syndrome doesn't necessitate hallucinations, the strong delusions are comparable to those found in schizophrenic patients.

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Teen With Progeria, Is The Last Of 6 Siblings Afflicted With Rare Disease .

Ali Hussain Khan from Bihar, India, is only 14 years old, but the condition, called progeria, has given him the body of a 110-year-old.


His parents, who are first cousins, have eight children. Four born with progeria died between ages 12 and 24. Another child, who died shortly after birth, is also thought to have had the disease. Two of their daughters do not have progeria.

There are only about 80 cases of progeria known in the world. According to the Progeria Research Foundation, a nonprofit that seeks to cure the condition and its aging-related disorders , the children with progeria "are born looking healthy... [but] begin to display many characteristics of accelerated aging at around 18-24 months of age."

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What is Progeria ?

Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) is an extremely rare hereditary disease that affects the skin, musculoskeletal system, and vasculature. HGPS is characterized by signs of premature aging. The term progeria is derived from the Greek word geras, meaning old age. Significant morbidity and mortality result from accelerated atherosclerosis of the carotid and coronary arteries, leading to premature death during the first or second decade of life. HGPS is considered a segmental aging syndrome, as affected patients do not manifest all of the typical features of aging, such as increased incidence of cancer and neurocognitive decline.

Clinical Presentation

Evidence of Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) begins within the first 2 years of life. At birth, infants usually appear healthy, although sclerodermatous skin changes have been noted in some patients. Typically, the onset of the disease occurs at age 6-12 months, when skin changes and alopecia are first noted and when the infant fails to gain weight. The following are other suggestive findings :

High-pitched voice
Short stature and low weight for height, with prenatal onset of growth failure
Incomplete sexual maturation
Generalized osteoporosis and pathologic fractures
Feeding difficulties
Delayed dentition, anodontia, hypodontia, or crowding of teeth
Low-frequency conductive hearing loss.
Hypertension
Prolonged prothrombin time, elevated platelet counts, and elevated serum phosphorus levels
Emotionally, patients with HGPS share the same feelings as age-matched healthy persons with regard to expressing proper mood and affect. Patients with HGPS are keenly aware of their different appearance and remain reserved in the company of strangers; in the presence of friends, they display affection and good social interaction.

Spontaneous Human Combustion ,myth or reality ???

Rahul has been virtually in flames four times since he was born two-and-a-half months ago. Doctors suspected  it's due to a rare condition called spontaneous human combustion (SHC).

Afflicted with the disorder, seen only in 200 people across the world in the past 300 years, the child undergone treatment at Kilpauk Medical College (KMC) Hospital, Chennai, India.


Rahul was nine days old when he first "caught fire" in the presence of his mother Rajeshwari who watched in disbelief as there was no source of fire in the vicinity. She took him to the Villupuram Medical College from where the baby was discharged three days later. After coming home, he suffered burns again. "Doctors say he is a healthy child and his organs are fine. The last time he caught fire was a fortnight ago, and this time it was head to toe," said Rajeshwari

J. Jagan Mohan, head of plastic surgery, who examined the baby, said there was very remote possibility of self-ignition.

�The injuries have healed and the scars are from an older accident that may have occurred less than three weeks ago. We need to explore the possibility of child abuse,� he said.

�How the child sustained burns is still not known. But the injury is due to contact with a hot object or scalding material. As burn injuries do not cause breakage of bones or the rupture of internal organs, the possibility of child abuse is still not ruled out.�

Since the baby does not have any injuries on his back, it is possible the child was hurt when he came in contact with a hot object, he said.


Ordinarily, a child of his age should weigh six kg but Rahul was just 4.5 kg, said doctors. R. Narayana Babu, head of paediatrics intensive care unit where Rahul is being treated, said the baby was being provided supplementary feed for nourishment besides being breastfed.

However all investigation results are  completely normal

Results of a skin biopsy and a test to check for errors in metabolism as well as for genetic karyotyping (to study the composition of cells)  were all normal.

At the time of discharge Hospital dean P. Ramakrishnan said, �We came to know that there is no evidence of spontaneous burns in the child. He has recovered completely.� The parents and Rahul�s maternal grandmother K. Tulasi, were given psychiatric counselling. �A clinical evaluation of the three family members does not reveal any significant psychiatric illness. The possibility of child abuse has to be investigated by the appropriate authority, especially police and child welfare agency,� said Dr. Ramakrishnan

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What is Spontaneous human combustion

Spontaneous human combustion (SHC) describes reported cases of the burning of a living (or very recently deceased) human body without an apparent external source of ignition. As of 1995, proponents claim that there have been about 200 cited cases worldwide over a period of around 300 years.
There are many hypotheses that attempt to explain human spontaneous combustion. 

Natural explanations include those:

1) Based on intestinal conversion of food into methane by methanogens which, when released through the pores of the skin, can catch fire when triggered by various sources (e.g., silk cloth generating static electricity).
2) Based on unknown or otherwise unobserved phenomena (e.g., that the production of abnormally concentrated gas or raised levels of blood alcohol might cause spontaneous ignition)

3) Relating to health and lifestyle factors (e.g. smoking, not consuming adequate levels of water, etc.)

4) That involve an external source of ignition (e.g., the victim was drunk and dropped a cigarette)




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The girl who cries tears of blood (Haemolacria)

A 20-year-old Chilean woman, Yaritza Oliva, cries tears of blood, and doctors aren't quite sure why.Since June, Oliva has been crying blood tears several times a day, a pain she called "indescribable." 

While doctors have not officially diagnosed the 20-year-old, it's likely that she is one of several people to develop haemolacria, a rare condition marked by bleeding from the eyes.

A simple eye infection and conjunctivitis were ruled out since Oliva continued to shed tears of blood several times per day.

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What is Haemolacria ???

Haemolacria is a physical condition that causes a person to produce tears that are partially composed of blood. It can manifest as tears that are anything from merely red-tinged to appearing to be entirely made of blood.

Haemolacria is a symptom of a number of diseases,and may also be indicative of a tumor in the lacrimal apparatus. It is most often provoked by local factors such as bacterial conjunctivitis, environmental damage or injuries.

Acute haemolacria can occur in fertile women and seems to be induced by hormones, similarly to what happens in endometriosis.

Though a sanguineous discharge is relatively frequent in conditions of acute conjunctival hyperaemia and inflammation, occurrence of bleeding from conjunctiva as an isolated phenomenon is exceptionally rare. 

Duke Elder  outlined the differential diagnosis of bloody tears; severe anaemia, jaundice, vascular tumours, Osler-Weber-Rendu disease (hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia) haemophilia and other coagulopathies.

Other causes reported are vicarious menstruation, conjunctival manipulation for follicle expression in trachoma, clinical treatment of conjunctiva with silver nitrate and epistaxis with retrograde blood stream into conjunctiva through puncta lacrimalia .

Recently Bona-volanta and Sammaritino  attributed orbital varix as a cause of bloody tears. In another interesting case Richard and Eifermam  blamed secondary giant papillary conjunctivitis for bloody tears.


Read more scientific journals about Haemolacria at Google Scholar

New HIV Vaccine Proves Safe In Phase 1 Trial !!!

Phase I Clinical Trial (SAV CT 01) of the first and only preventative HIV vaccine based on a genetically modified killed whole virus (SAV001-H) has been successfully completed with no adverse effects in all patients, Western and Sumagen Canada Inc. announced .

Developed by Dr. Chil-Yong Kang and his team at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, with the support of Sumagen Canada, the vaccine (SAV001-H) holds tremendous promise for success in the final phases of clinical testing now that the first hurdle has been accomplished. It is the only HIV vaccine developed in Canada currently in clinical trial, and one of only a few in the world.




This vaccine is the first genetically modified killed whole virus vaccine (SAV001-H) in human clinical trial to evaluate its safety, tolerability and immune responses. The human clinical trial was initiated in March 2012 and completed in August 2013. This trial was a randomized, observer-blinded, placebo-controlled study of killed whole HIV-1 vaccine (SAV001-H) following intramuscular (IM) administration. HIV-infected, asymptomatic men and women, 18-50 years of age, have been enrolled in this study and randomized into two treatment groups to administer killed whole HIV-1 vaccine (SAV001-H) or placebo.


The adverse effects after vaccination were recorded on a volunteer diary card by the volunteers seven days after vaccination. Thereafter, the volunteers visited the test sites on Weeks 4, 6, 12, 18, 26 and 52 after vaccination and were analyzed for hematology, clinical chemistry, urinalysis and physical examination by principal investigators. No serious adverse event was observed in any volunteer vaccines throughout the observation periods.


In addition to safety evaluation, HIV-1 specific antibody detections have been performed throughout the follow up period. The antibody against p24 capsid antigen increased as much as 64-fold in some vaccines and antibody against gp120 surface antigen increased up to eight-fold after vaccination. The increased antibody titers were maintained during the 52 week study period. The boost antibody production in HIV-positive volunteer vaccines is highly encouraging, since it forecasts a success of the Phase 2 human clinical trial, which will measure the immune responses.


In particular, the antibody against gp120 surface antigen is considered to be very important, since some of these antibodies may represent the broadly neutralizing antibodies, which seem to be the most important parameter of an effective HIV vaccine for prevention of HIV-infection.


SAV001-H is the first genetically modified killed whole virus vaccine (SAV001-H) in human clinical trial and proving its safety was the major concern for going forward for next steps. With these  encouraging results from the Phase I Clinical Trial, Sumagen is confident  in developing SAV001-H as the first preventative HIV vaccine for saving millions of lives and is now preparing for the next phases of trials to show the immunogenicity and efficacy.


�Even though Sumagen has struggled and spent a much longer time to overcome manufacturing difficulties and to meet the USFDA�s requirements, we have accomplished successfully Phase I Clinical Trial of SA001-H and proven that there is no safety concern of SAV001-H in human administration,� said Jung-Gee Cho, Sumagen CEO. �We are now prepared to take the next steps towards Phase II and Phase III clinical trials. We are opening the gate to pharmaceutical companies, government, and charity organization for collaboration to be one step closer to the first commercialized HIV vaccine.�

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Read More at  communications.uwo.ca


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