Some BIG Things Come in Small Packages

By Alex White, MD

When it comes to medical miracles, most people think of the big things like heart transplants, hip replacements or pacemakers.  What they don’t realize is that some of the biggest breakthroughs in medical technology come in small packages.

Image courtesy of Medical Device Online

Speaking of cardiac pacemakers, the biggest drawback to the devices is that the batteries need to be replaced.  This requires surgery.  Recently, scientists at the University of Michigan may have come up with the solution to this conundrum.  Dr. Amin Karami recently completed tests on a material that produces electricity when it changes shape.  This means that in the not too distant future, your heart could literally supply the power needed to operate a pacemaker just by beating.

If that wasn’t small enough, scientists in China have transformed waste cells found in urine into progenitor cells that the body uses to build brain cells.  The most obvious benefit is that it will give hope to patients with degenerative brain disease since neurons created from a patient’s own cells are unlikely to be rejected by the body.

If you hate needles, a process being developed at Texas Tech could soon make taking your medicine a lot less stressful.  Researchers there have pioneered the use of pollen as an immunization vector.  You heard me right.  The same thing that causes millions of people to sneeze their heads off is being retrofitted to deliver vaccines.  It turns out that pollen has evolved over millions of years to thwart the body’s defenses.  The outer casing of pollen is so tough that not even stomach acid slows it down.  Researchers have deduced that if they remove the allergen and replace it with vaccines, they will have a method of vaccinating people orally.

While all three of the above-mentioned technologies are still in the testing phase, there are a number of other cutting edge medical technologies that are beginning to be used in hospitals and ERs already.

One of these medical miracles is called Veti-Gel.  Developed Joe Landolina and Isaac Miller, this revolutionary topical agent is designed to seal a wound on contact and begin the clotting process.  The anti-bleeding gel mimics the extracellular matrix that cells use to grow together.  Imagine the number of lives that could be saved were paramedics and ER nurses issued a topical agent that stops bleeding on contact. http://www.medicaldaily.com/college-student-joe-landolina-creates-healing-gel-how-does-veti-gel-work-video-244683

The ultimate in tiny trauma technology involves nanomagnets that are being used to grow human tissue by levitation.  Where tissue grown in the lab today is created in petri dishes, the Nanotech process being developed by Glauco Souza permits more complex 3D patterns of cells to be grown in the lab.  Eventually, it will be common for entire organs to be grown outside the body, only to be transplanted at a later date.  Since the two most common causes of death for those in need of a transplant are rejection and the inadequate supply of donor organs, this process could save millions of lives.

Another promising technology that could soon be used to deliver made-to-order organs is 3D printing.  Scientists at Washington State University have been experimenting with a ProMetal 3D Printer, available off the shelf, to print material with the same strength and flexibility as bone.  The material is designed to be inserted at the site of a fracture.  This causes bone to grow into the material, acting like a scaffolding while the fracture heals.  Even better, the material literally disappears once the bone sets.  Soon, the days of having to wear a cast for weeks on end will come to an end.

We truly live in an age when complaints that have vexed mankind for tens of thousands of years can be treated or cured.  The availability of continuous glucose monitors and insulin pumps have revolutionized the complicated process of daily sugar management for millions of diabetics.  Now a company in Philadelphia, PA called Echo Therapeutics is developing a patch that delivers insulin through the skin without injection.  http://echotx.com/technology/

Image courtesy of Automonic Tech

Another company in Redwood City, California has developed an implantable device that will give migraine sufferers a whole new lease on life.  The system involves the implantation of a small nerve stimulating device in the mouth.  When a patient senses the onset of a migraine, all that it takes to speed relief is the press of a button on the unit’s external remote control.  The resulting impulse stimulates the nerves responsible for migraines, which in turn blocks the neurotransmitters that cause pain.

http://www.ati-spg.com/us/en/ati-neurostimulation-system/about-the-therapy/

What most people don’t realize is that many of the pharmaceuticals and supplements taken by millions are also another example of big things that come in small packages.  Everything from statins and beta blockers that help people treat heart disease, to bronchodilators and corticosteroids that help millions breathe easier, are just a few of the reasons why people live longer than they did 50 years ago.  

Your health is determined in large part by how the legion of microbes that call your body home get along with one another.  Called the microbiome, like everything else on this planet, the microscopic creatures that live within us are constantly competing.  As long as the microbiome remains balanced, life is good. 

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To keep your microbiome happy, you need to feed them.  Prebiotics are such as MicrobeFiber encourage the growth of beneficial bacteria and fungi.  Fiber nourishes the microbiota of the gastrointestinal tract. By including probiotics and prebiotics in your diet, your gut ecology will improve, providing many health benefits.

Speaking of good things coming in small packages, MicrobeFiber is now available in a single serving size.  This makes getting your daily requirement of fiber a snap since you can carry it in your pocket or purse, then add it to food or beverage.  It also gives you a chance to try MicrobeFiber for yourself.  See our offer at right.

Alex White, MD is the Clinical Research Director of MicrobeFiber™