Warfarin and Aspirin are Similar in Heart Failure Treatment

In the largest and longest head-to-head comparison of two anti-clotting medications, warfarin and aspirin were similar in preventing deaths and strokes in heart failure patients with normal heart rhythm, according to late-breaking research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2012.Source: http://biotechspectrum.blogspot.com/

"Although there was a warfarin benefit for patients treated for four or more years, overall, warfarin and aspirin were similar," said Shunichi Homma, M.D., lead author of the study and the Margaret Milliken Hatch Professor of Medicine at Columbia University in New York.

In the 11-country Warfarin versus Aspirin in Reduced Cardiac Ejection Fraction (WARCEF) trial, researchers followed 2,305 patients with heart failure and normal heart rhythm for up to six years (average 3.5 years). The patients were on average 61 years old, and the power of the heart's main pumping chamber, the left ventricle (left ventricular ejection fraction), was less than 35 percent (normal is 55 percent or higher).

Thirteen percent of the patients experienced a stroke or transient ischemic attack and were at heightened risk of recurrence. Patients with heart failure in general are at increased risk of death, blood clots and strokes.Source: http://biotechspectrum.blogspot.com/

Researchers randomly assigned patients to receive either 325 mg/day of aspirin or warfarin doses calibrated to a pre-specified level of blood thinning. Warfarin therapy requires frequent blood testing to monitor its dosage in order to achieve the desired level of blood thinning. In order to avoid bias, all patients had blood drawn on the same schedule and their pills adjusted so neither the patients nor their treating physicians knew which regimen they were taking.

Death, ischemic stroke (caused by blockage of an artery feeding the brain) or intracerebral hemorrhage (bleeding inside the brain), which combined were the study's primary endpoint, occurred at a rate of 7.47 percent for patients assigned to warfarin and 7.93 percent for patients assigned to aspirin. The difference was not statistically significant.

However, "in the group of patients followed for more than three years, those on warfarin did better in comparison to the aspirin patients," Homma said. Over the entire study period, patients receiving warfarin were just over half as likely to develop a stroke, a component of primary endpoint, as those taking aspirin. The rates of stroke were low with annual rates of 0.72 percent in patients assigned to warfarin and 1.36 percent for those on aspirin.

Researchers evaluated the safety of the anti-clotting medications by monitoring major bleeding events other than intracerebral hemorrhage (which was a component of the primary endpoint). Each year, major bleeds occurred in 1.8 percent of patients on warfarin and 0.9 percent of those on aspirin - a statistically significant difference.Source: http://biotechspectrum.blogspot.com/

"As expected, the overall bleeding rate was higher with warfarin," Homma said. "However, not all bleeds are equal, and the one that patients fear the most - bleeding within the brain (intracerebral hemorrhage) occurred rarely in both groups." It occurred in 0.12 percent per year in the warfarin group and 0.05 percent per year in the aspirin group.

"Given that there is no overall difference between the two treatments and that possible benefit of warfarin does not start until after 4 years of treatment, there is no compelling reason to use warfarin, especially considering the bleeding risk", Homma said. The investigators are analyzing whether certain subgroups of patients benefited more from each treatment.

The study's co-author is John L.P. Thompson, Ph.D. and the WARCEF Investigators.

The National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke funded the study.

Statements and conclusions of study authors that are presented at American Stroke Association scientific meetings are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect association policy or position. The association makes no representation or warranty as to their accuracy or reliability. The association receives funding primarily from individuals; foundations and corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations and fund specific association programs and events. The association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from influencing science content.

Source: http://biotechspectrum.blogspot.com/

New Technology to Tackle Treatment-Resistant Cancers

Free-flowing cancer cells have been mapped with unprecedented accuracy in the bloodstream of patients with prostate, breast and pancreatic cancer, using a brand new approach, in an attempt to assess and control the disease as it spreads in real time through the body, and solve the problem of predicting response and resistance to therapies.Source: http://biotechspectrum.blogspot.com/

In comparison to a previous generation of systems, the researchers state their test showed a significantly greater number of high-definition circulating tumour cells (HD-CTCs), in a higher proportion of patients, by using a computing-intensive method that enables them to look at millions of normal cells and find the rare cancer cells among them.

Their results published in IOP Publishing's journal Physical Biology, could help reveal the mechanisms behind the spread of solid tumours from one organ or tissue to another - mechanisms that have, until now, remained a mystery.Source: http://biotechspectrum.blogspot.com/

Dr Jorge Nieva, an oncologist at Billings Clinic leading the study, said: "This technology will allow scientists to move away from mouse and cell culture systems and speed the delivery of cures for cancer in people. This is the technology we have been waiting for to solve the problem of resistance to chemotherapy drugs."

Senior technology author of the study, Professor Peter Kuhn, said: "In the future, our fluid biopsy can effectively become the companion to the patient for life. If we can assess the disease in real time, we can make quantitative treatment decisions in real time. These decisions include predictive decisions about therapeutic response, diagnostic decisions and prognostic decisions about outcome."

The researchers, based at the Scripps Physics Oncology Center in La Jolla, California, were able to find five or more CTCs in each milliliter of blood in 80% of the 20 patients they tested with prostate cancer; 70% in the 30 patients with breast cancer; and 50% in the 18 patients with pancreatic cancer.

The authors also report that their test showed significantly better results when compared with the commercial test, CellSearch®, which uses a slightly less accurate approach which effectively reduces the sample from approximately 50 million cells to just 5,000 before conducting fluorescent imaging, meaning important cells you wish to study could be lost.Source: http://biotechspectrum.blogspot.com/

In 7.5 mL of blood, the CellSearch® test found two or more CTCs in 5 out of the 15 patients tested whereas the new test found two or more CTCs in a single milliliter of blood in 14 out of the 15 patients tested.

The dyes used in this new approach contain antibodies that target, and then attach to, specific proteins that are expressed by the CTCs. Once attached, they fluoresce and allow the researchers to observe them. The result is a set of high resolution digital images that retain the intricate details of the cells and allow the researchers to effectively analyse them in the laboratory. Also striking is the quality of the images.

"The high definition method gives a detailed portrait of these elusive cells that are caught in the act of spreading around the body. It's unprecedented – we've never been able to see them routinely and in high definition like this before," says diagnostic pathologist Kelly Bethel, MD, the senior clinical investigator on Kuhn's team.Source: http://biotechspectrum.blogspot.com/

"The science behind this approach, and the ability to obtain more detailed information about CTCs in a timely fashion, opens up opportunities to address some of the outstanding problems in cancer, such as drug-resistance. This is an example that bringing a physical sciences approach to a medical need has potential for profound consequences to greatly benefit cancer patients," said Dr Larry Nagahara of the National Cancer Institute.

This paper is one of five to be published in the journal Physical Biology by the research team at the Scripps Physics Oncology Center part of the signature initiative of the National Cancer Institute in Physical Sciences in Oncology. Participating clinics included the Billings Clinic, UCSD Moores Cancer Centre, USC and UCSF.

Important Exam Schedule

CSIR NET EXAM
Twice in a year, first in June and second is in December.

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GATE (Life Science)
Examination held on Second Sunday of February of every year and Forms come in September/October every year.
Part I: Compulsory Chemistry
This covers chemistry up to B.Sc. level and have fix pattern like some questions from Thermodynamics, Electrochemistry, Aromatic reaction mechanism etc.
Part II: Optional Paper
In Optionals you are to choose any two papers from the following: Biotechnology, Biochemistry, Botany, Microbiology, Zoology.

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DBT-JRF
This Examination held in April of every year and Forms comes in January-February.
Paper I: Consist 50 Questions which cover Basic Physics, Chemistry and General Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Immunology, Microbiology etc.
Paper II: Consist 200 questions of which 50 has to be attempted this paper is quite difficult as it contain questions from hardcore Biotechnology, Bioinformatics, Biochemistry and other advance topics.

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ICMR-JRF
This Examination held in July of every year and Forms come in March.
Section A: Comprise 50 questions from Scientific aptitude, General Science and general Knowledge.
Section B: Comprise 100 questions from Biochemistry, Microbiology, Immunology, Molecular Biology, Biophysics and Recombinant DNA etc.
Section C: This is Social Science Students.• The Life Science students have to score 55% marks 950% for SC/ST) for Top 100 ranks.• Every year 80 students from Life Science and 20 students from Social Sciences are awarded ICMR JRF.
• If somebody do not join any Institute within six months of awarding JRF this will be awarded to next student in the waiting list of 100 students.
Major PhD Entrances any Postgraduate must Appear & their Examination Patterns 

Centres for Internship / Training

Some of the centres where Biotechnology labs are equipped with advanced facilities :

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1. National Facility for Microbial Type Culture Collection (MTCC) at Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh.
2. National Facility for Collection of Blue Green Algae (BGA) Collection at IARI, New Delhi.
3. National Facility for Marine Cyanobacteria at Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirapalli.
4. National Facility for Plant Tissue Culture Repository at NBPGR, Pusa, New Delhi.
5. National Laboratory Animal House Facilities at Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI), Lucknow.
6. National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad.