For Tuesday, November 4, WGN’s Dina Bair has the latest on new medical information, including:
MIT develops heart drug delivery patch
Massachusetts Institute of Technology engineers developed a drug-delivery patch—a band-aid of sorts — to help patients heal after a heart attack.
It delivers drugs to promote tissue healing and the regrowth of blood vessels.
Doctors can place it on the heart after a heart attack to spark cardiac tissue regeneration.
It carries several medications, released at different times on a pre-programmed schedule to improve cardiac function as patients heal.
Following a heart attack, damaged tissue can lead to permanent loss.
The patch would restore function and strength.
Freshman year weight gain
It happens every year as college students embark on their new life at school, they gain weight in the first year.
It’s so prevalent, it has a name: The freshman 15.
George Mason University researchers wanted to know why such dramatic weight gain occurs among new college students.
It’s all in the food hall.
People consume more calories when eating in groups of two or more in formal dining settings.
It happens at restaurants as well, but most people don’t eat out enough to trigger rapid weight gain.
The college group environment creates habits that increase food intake and weight gain.
Stomach bug treatments
Eliminating stomach bugs.
Researchers have identified the virus’s weak point, which causes stomach bugs.
Now they say they can target the deficiency to prevent people from getting sick.
University of California, Santa Cruz bio molecular engineers identified human astroviruses that bind to cells, leading to vomiting and other stomach flu symptoms.
With the knowledge, doctors say they can develop vaccines to block the viral interaction.
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