Overview of Vagus Nerve Stimulation

Overview of Vagus Nerve Stimulation The vagus nerve is one of 12 cranial nerves that pass information to and from the brain. The vagus nerve is the longest of the cranial nerves, with connections to the brain and many of the organs of the body. Intermittent electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve seems to reduce or prevent seizures. Vagus nerve stimulation involves a surgical procedure to implant an electrical pulse generator in the chest and attach electrodes to the vagus nerve in the neck. A pulse generator is similar to a pacemaker. It isabout the size of a pocket watch and weighs about 25 grams (g). How does vagus nerve stimulation work? The pulse generatoris surgically implanted in the chest just under the skin. This generator is programmed to intermittently transmit small electrical signals via a wire to the vagus nerve in the neck. We do not understand why electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve is effective at preventing seizures. It may be related to changes in the brainstem and thalamus, or the electrical stimulation may intercept the abnormal brain activity associated with seizures. The generator functions automatically 24 hours a day. An external programming wand and software are used by the doctor, to read and alter the stimulation strength and frequency. After the generator is first implanted, the usual starting settings are 30 seconds of stimulation every 5 minutes. The strength of the electrical signal usually starts at 0.25 or 0.5 milliamperes (mA) and is then increased every few months by 0.25 mA. The frequency of the stimulation can also be adjusted, to come on and off more frequently. Patients are also given a magnet, which acts as a switch for the generator. When a patient senses the beginning of a seizure, she can pass the magnet over the pulse generator to deliver extra stimulation. For some people, this extra stimulation can stop a seizure from progressing, shorten a seizure, or reduce the intensity of the seizure. The magnet can also be used to turn the stimulator off temporarily. The battery life of the generator is about six years, after which the device can be replaced. This will require another surgical procedure, similar to the first2. What and who is vagus nerve stimulation best used for? Vagus nerve stimulation has been used to treat partial and generalized seizures in both adults and children. It is considered in the following cases: Anti-epileptic medication does not control seizures effectively. The child is not a good candidate for brain surgery, either because of high risk or because he has various epileptogenic (seizure-generating) areas in his brain. The child is large enough to support the implant. This is usually decided by the neurologist and surgeon. Vagus nerve stimulation should not be used in children with certain cardiac, respiratory, or gastrointestinal problems. The vagus nerve serves the heart, lungs, and stomach, and some existing problems in these areas may lead to complications with vagus nerve stimulation. Vagus nerve stimulation usually reduces seizures but does not often eliminate them completely. Usually it is used together with medication. Use in the Pediatric Population A large group of patients with intractable epilepsy are younger than 12 years, including children with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, Dravet syndrome, and other difficult-to-treat epileptic conditions. Morris and colleagues[3]recently provided an evidence-based guideline for VNS in children that is based on a review of off-label use. In 13 class 3 studies involving 470 children with partial or generalized epilepsy, 55% had > 50% seizure reduction with VNS. Similarly, in 4 class III studies of 113 children with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, 55% had > 50% seizure reduction. Mood studies were not available for children. (In 2 class 3 studies of 31 adults with epilepsy, significant improvements in standard mood scales were observed.) Children were 3.4 times more likely than adults to develop an infection at the VNS implantation site. What is the procedure? A medical evaluation is necessary to determine if this is a case that may be successfully treated with vagus nerve stimulation. Once it has been decided that your child may be helped by vagus nerve stimulation, the surgeon, anaesthetist, and others on the medical team will explain the procedure to you in detail. Its important that you understand the procedure, its risks, and your childs future care; feel free to ask them any questions you may have. With the help of the treatment team, you should then explain the procedure to your child and help him understand what to expect after the implantation. Your child will need to be admitted into the hospital to install the device. Your child will probably need to be put to sleep under general anaesthetic, and therefore will need to stop eating eight hours before. The operation can be done with a local anaesthetic, but because it is hard for children to stay still, most require a general anaesthetic. The procedure itself takes about one hour. One cut about 5 cm long is made on the left chest wall to implant the pulse generator. Another cut about 5 cm long is made in the neck, through which flexible platinum electrodes are attached to the vagus nerve. Because the vagus nerve also goes to the heart, the generator will be turned on in the operating room so that the surgeon can make sure the device does not interfere with the heart. For the same reason, the electrodes are almost always placed on the left vagus nerve, which has less critical influence on the heart. Your child may be sent home on the same day or kept overnight for observation. You and your child will be taught how to care for the incisions before discharge1. Using vagus nerve stimulation After the pulse generator is implanted, the doctor will start the stimulation, using a wand attached to a laptop computer. The doctor will begin with a low dose of current, given for 30 seconds every five minutes. The strength and duration of the stimulation will be slowly increased, at subsequent doctor visits, to achieve optimum seizure control. The stimulation is delivered automatically, 24 hours a day. Your child will also be given a special magnet for use with the pulse generator. Children who experience auras (a feeling that signals the onset of a seizure) can use the magnet to give an extra burst of stimulation, which may reduce or eliminate an imminent seizure. You can also use the magnet if you see that your child is about to have a seizure. The magnet can also be used to turn off the pulse generator temporarily and to check its operation. The doctor will make sure that you and your child understand how to use the magnet before you leave the hospital. Your child will need to continue taking his medications. The dosage will be kept constant for several months while the generators output current is slowly increased. Once the current has been increased to its optimal level, your childs doctor will consider reducing medication and will discuss a new schedule with you. The benefits of VNS seem to increase over time. In one study:1 After 3 months, the number of seizures decreased by about one-third. After 12 months, the number of seizures decreased by about half. And in 2 out of 10 people, the number of seizures decreased by about three-fourths. For people who can sense when they are about to have a seizure, turning on the VNS using their hand-held magnet can sometimes prevent the seizure. It may also shorten a seizure already in progress. Studies show that VNS may also be effective in children. VNS improved independence, mood, and learning in some children3. What to Expect After Surgery The generator may be turned on the day following the surgery or at the first post-surgical visit. Your child will be reassessed in seven to 10 days for a wound check, and the generator may be turned on or adjusted.Parents will be shown how to use a magnet to control a seizure. Waving the magnet over the generator may stop or shorten a seizure. Children who are implanted with a VNS usually return home the same day following their surgery. Sometimes a hospital stay of one night is necessary2. Regular monitoring Regular monitoring is required to check the generator and battery and to make sure the treatment is working well and is not uncomfortable. The battery life of the generator is about six years, after which the device may be replaced. This will require another surgical procedure, similar to the first Risks The vagus nerve stimulator is considered safe. Mild side effects occur in some people when the device stimulates the nerve. The most common side effects include: Coughing. Throat pain. Hoarseness or slight voice changes. Shortness of breath. In children, vagus nerve stimulation may cause increased hyperactivity2. Conclusion For more than 15 years, VNS has proven a useful adjunct to pharmaceutical therapy in adults and children with intractable epilepsy. In an evidence-based guideline, Morris and colleaguesconcluded that VNS may be considered for treatment of seizures in children with epilepsy, including those with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (level C). Improvements in mood, as well as a sense of control over seizures provided by the magnet, may be added benefits. Adverse events, such as postimplant infection and lead fracture, may occur more often in children than in adults1. As with many pediatric therapies, VNS is not FDA-approved for children. Nonetheless, VNS represents a potentially effective and nonsedating treatment option and should be considered for children with intractable epilepsy. Referances Andrew N,Vagus nerve stimulation for children;Medscape neurology,November 2013.http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/813917_3 Buchhalter JR, Jarrar RG (2003). Therapeutics in pediatric epilepsy, part 2: Epilepsy surgery and vagus nerve stimulation.Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 78(3): 371–378 Schachter SC (2002). Vagus nerve stimulation therapy summary: Five years after FDA approval.Neurology, 59(6, Suppl 4): S15–S20.

Genetically Modified Food Speech Essay

Attention Material :How awesome would it be if your pet glowed in the dark? Or your family had a zebra-dog? How about a family dog that could take out the entire neighborhood in one lick? Now how about owning this dairy cow? Looks normal but its not. All these animals have been genetically modified and their genes have been altered. The cow is injected with a growth hormone rBGH to increase it’s milk production, only problem, that hormone has been found to cause different types of cancers as well as a number of other health hazards. This hormone has been banned in Canada and Europe but sadly in American this hormone linked to 3-4x higher cancer rates was approved by the FDA in 1993 after the consumer tested it for 90 days on 30 rats. Today, we are seeing the long-term affects of drinking this potent milk. Before the genetically modified food explosion only 1:11 individuals had cancer, today 1:2 men and 1:3 woman will develop cancer and nearly half of you can expect it in your lifetime. Today 2/3rds of all foods in your local grocery store are GM and in 2013 it will have raised to 90%. The problem here is that GM foods are hardly ever tested before consumed, they have a number of associated health problems and they are not labeled so you cant pick to not eat them or not. Credibility Material: I have always been interested in GM organisms but a few years ago my professor at IU intreguied me with the effects of GM foods. Today, I’ve done countless hours of research on the subject and wrote many papers about it. Thesis Statement: Today I want to inform about GM foods Preview: Today I want to inform you about GM foods, what they are and why we should push for labeling of GM foods in our grocery. Transition: To begin, allow me to inform you about GM foods. BODY I. GM foods are everywhere but what are they? Are they good, bad, or okay? Should I eat them or should I not? A. Genetically Modified (GM) foods are food items that have had their DNA changed or altered entirely through genetic engineering creating completely different variants. 1. GM products include medicines and vaccines, foods and food ingredients, feeds and fibers. B. GM foods first appeared on the marked in 1990 C. Between 1997-1999 GM food ingredients suddenly appeared in 2/3rds of all U. S. processed foods 1. If you consumed soy sauce with Chinese, popcorn at movie or occasional candy bar you’ve undoubtfully consumed this new food. a. Nearly every American has eaten GM foods but only 26% believe they have. b. No labeling and no regulation 2. â€Å"Potentially, GM could breed new animal and plant diseases, news sources of caner and novel epidemics in human health†, Dr. Wald, Prof of Biology at Harvard University. Transistion: Now that we know what GM foods are, lets discuss the health concerns associated with them. II. There are extensive health hazards that have been shown to be caused by modified foods. A. Study done in 1999 showed GM foods have decreased levels of vital nutrients- esp. those that protect us from heart disease and cancer. B. Modified proteins exist in GM foods, new proteins never before eaten by humanity. 1. Foreign GM ingredients produce allergies a. 25% of Americans have mild adverse RXNs to foods and at lease 4% have life threatening allergies to food. b. Soy allergies have doubled since GM soy introduced. â€Å"c. No labeling of GMO in foods and people experience allergies they were unaware of-Anaphylatic shock 2. In last decade, percent of children in U. S. affected by serious food allergies has significantly increased. a. Today 6-8% children under 3 yrs old affected. C. As we ingest transgenic human/animal products there is no real the impact of human evolution. 1. Research mice show increase in birth defects and shorter life spans when feed GM soy. a. Mothers feed GM soy- nearly all babies died (10% died in control) b. Males developed changed testicle color. c. Infertility when feed GM corn. 2. Other animal studies indicate serious health risk associated with GM foods; fertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, insulin regression, changes in major organs and gastroninteitinal region. a. There are more than casual associations between GM foods and adverse health affects b. Confirmed in animal studies-consitancy and association between GM foods and disease 3. Number of autoimmune diseases are enhanced by foreign DNA fragments not fully digested in stomach and intestines a. DNA fragments are abundant in bloodstream. b. Potentially mix with normal DNA. Transition: Considering these factors about GM foods, let me explain why I think it is so very important that these GM crops be labeled. III. In other countries, GM crops are almost always labeled but in the U. S. no GM foods are labeled. A. Unlabeled GM foods can cause serious health problems for those with allergens to it. 1. Most people by a tomato and aren’t worried about their soy allergy but with GM foods and ingredients, soy genes can easily be placed or accidently cross pollunant 2. Many unlabeled GMO’s in our food are causing people to experience allergies they were unaware of- a. It’s possible that they can go into anaphylactic shock. b. DEATH. B. There are no regulated health safety tests. 1. FDA only requests that firms conduct their own test of new GM products a. FDA makes no reviews of those tests. b. No long term effects of eating GM foods. 2. Louis Pribly, an FDA microbiologist explains, â€Å"Companies tailor tests to get the results they need. † C. Why labeling and what you can do. 1. Choose hormone-free beef and rBGH-free Dairy products a. Foods that carry â€Å"USDA-certified organic† label contain no artifical hormones. 2. Lack of labeling of GM foods violates the 1st Amendment of the Constitution, â€Å"Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act requires added substances to be labeled. † a. Without labels, our public health agencies are powerless to trace problems of any kind back to their original source b. Crisis? c. Why do you think labeling hasn’t occurred yet? Because, the manufacters of GM crops would lose buisness. Would you buy GM foods if you had a choice? Probably not. CONCLUSION Summary Statement:In conclusion, I hope that everyone gained some knowledge towards the effects of genetically modified foods and why it needs to be taken more seriously when involving peoples health. Concluding Statement:â€Å"Its like playing Russian roulette (referring to the lack of testing done on GM foods) with public health, We have became involuntarily guinea pigs in vast genetic experiences,† Louis Pribyl, FDA microbiologist. Be a Voice, Sign a petition for GMO’s labeled in our foods, get the knowledge & protect your future generations. Sign The World Science open letter to all governments calling for GMO’s to be properly labeled in our foods. Who wants to become sick from food they eat? We have the right as Americans to know what is put in our food. Don’t We? Work Cited Works Cited Admin. (2010, Apr 29). GM. org. Retrieved Feb 24, 2011, from Genetically Modified Foods: http://www. gm. org/category/gm-foods/ Batalion, N. (n. d. ). Genetically Modified Food. Retrieved Feb 22, 2011, from Raw-Wisdom. com: http://www. raw-wisdom. com/50harmful. Boston University College of Engineering. (2010, Feb. 12). Low Levels of Antibiotics Cause Multidrug Resistace in ‘Superbugs’. Retrieved Dec. 5, 2010, from Science Daily: http://www. sciencedaily. com/releases/2010/02/100211151647. htm GMO Dangers. (2010). Retrieved Feb 24, 2011, from Institute For Responsible Technology: http://www. responsibletechnology. org/ The National Agricultural Library. (n. d. ). (USDA) Retrieved Feb 22, 2011, from United States Department of Agriculture: http://www. nal. usda. gov/.

Science Lab Report Template - Fill in the Blanks

If you are preparing a lab report, it may help to have a template to work from. This science fair project lab report template allows you to fill in the blanks, making the write-up process easier. Use the template with the instructions for writing a science lab report to ensure success. The PDF version of this form  may be downloaded to save or to print. Lab Report Headings Generally, these are the headings youll use in a lab report, in this order: TitleDateLab PartnersPurposeIntroductionMaterialsProcedureDataResultsConclusionReferences Overview of the Parts of a Lab Report Heres a quick look at the types of information you should put in the parts of the lab report and a gauge of how long each section should be. Its a good idea to consult other lab reports, submitted by a different group that received a good grade or is well-respected. Read a sample report to know what a reviewer or grader is looking for. In a classroom setting, lab reports take a long time to grade. You dont want to keep repeating a mistake if you can avoid it from the start! Title: This should accurately describe the experiment. Dont try to be cute or funny.Date: This can be the date you did the experiment or the day you completed the report.Lab Partners: Who helped you with the experiment? List their full names. If they represent other schools or institutions, credit this too.Purpose: Sometimes this is called the objective. It is either a single sentence summary of why the experiment or product was performed or else a single paragraph.Introduction: Describe why the topic is of interest. The introduction is other one paragraph or a single page. Usually the last sentence is a statement of the hypothesis that was tested.Materials: List chemicals and special equipment used for this experiment. Ideally, you want this section to be sufficiently detailed another person could repeat the experiment.Procedure: Describe what you did. This can be a single paragraph or one or more pages.Data: List the data you obtained, before calculations. Tables and graphs are goo d.Results: If you performed calculations on the data, these are your results. An error analysis is usually here, although it may be its own section.Conclusion: State whether the hypothesis was accepted or the project was a success. Its a good idea to suggest avenues for further study.References: Cite any resources or publications you used. Did you consult a paper that somehow related to the project? Give credit. References are needed for all facts except those that are readily available to the intended audience of the report. Why Write a Lab Report? Lab reports are time-consuming for both students and graders, so why are they so important? There are two key reasons. First, a lab report is an orderly method of reporting the purpose, procedure, data, and outcome of an experiment. Essentially, it follows the scientific method. Second, lab reports are easily adapted to become papers for peer-reviewed publication. For students serious about pursuing a career in science, a lab report is a stepping-stone for submitting work for review. Even if results arent published, the report is a record of how an experiment was conducted, which can be valuable for follow-up research.

World War II And The Civil War - 1651 Words

Despite its tragic circumstances and appalling costs, wars have pushed forward the development of tools and knowledge. Genghis Khan and the Mongols introduced hamburger; the Civil War gave rise to standardized clothing sizes and canned food; World War I produced air traffic control and hydrophones (Carnivores; Top 10 Civil War 3, 5; Scully). As it was during the earlier wars, motivation to innovate and invent was strong during World War II. Shortages, rationing and doing without at home meant military personnel had a little more support and protection, and supplying materials and money for war production meant civilian resources were scarce. World War II met the challenge with many improvements and inventions that transitioned into†¦show more content†¦Plastic’s contribution was the substrate of the circuit board that triggered the detonation of the shell as it came within a specified proximity of its target (Eisler). The proximity fuse was so successful that testin g ended early when fewer than expected shells were needed to destroy all the test targets (Jennings). The vulnerability of surface ships to air attacks was reduced, and when the proximity fuse was introduced in Europe, airbursts kept German soldiers in their barracks and out of the field (Baldwin 279; Bush 27). Along with the atomic bomb and D-Day, the proximity fuse was a secret guarded with great care. These three developments were pivotal elements of the Allied victory (Jennings). Commander General of the Third Army, George S. Patton, a hard man to please, said, â€Å"The funny fuze won the Battle of the Bulge for us. I think that when all armies get this shell we will have to devise some new method of warfare.† (qtd. in Jennings). Soldiers received additional critical protection from the bubble canopies and nose cones of combat aircraft made with the new molded acrylic. Glazed acrylic, which replaced the glass in the windshields and nose cones of the bombers and fighters, was much more resistant to bullets and shrapnel, and it was permanently crystal clear (Rabin 1). Plastic canopies, along with â€Å"the greatest fighter of the war†, helped 281 pilots of North American P51-D Mustang fighters stay alive to earn