Robotic Procedure Helps Treat Macular Degeneration

Dennis Thompson wrote . . . . . . . . .

Robot-guided radiation therapy can improve treatment for age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss and blindness among American seniors, a new study shows.

Precisely targeted radiation treatment reduced by a quarter the number of routine injections needed to treat wet-type age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most advanced and serious form of the disorder, researchers reported in The Lancet journal.

“With this purpose-built robotic system, we can be incredibly precise, using overlapping beams of radiation to treat a very small lesion in the back of the eye,” said lead researcher Timothy Jackson, a consultant ophthalmic surgeon at King’s College Hospital in London.

Wet AMD occurs when new, abnormal blood vessels grow under the retina. These vessels leak blood and other fluid, causing scarring of the macula — the center of the retina — and rapid vision loss.

Standard treatment for wet AMD involves injections of drugs that inhibit the growth of new blood vessels in the eye. Most patients require an injection every one to three months to keep fluid from building up, researchers said.

“Patients generally accept that they need to have eye injections to help preserve their vision, but frequent hospital attendance and repeated eye injections isn’t something they enjoy,” Jackson said in a King’s College news release.

In the new therapy, the eye is treated once using three beams of highly focused radiation that are aimed by a robot directly at the site of abnormal blood vessel growth.

More than 400 British patients with AMD who received the robotic radiation therapy wound up needing about a quarter fewer injections.

Globally, about 196 million people have AMD. Given their results, researchers said robotic radiation treatment could potentially save around 1.8 million injections per year worldwide.

The treatment also could save money within the health care system, researchers added.

“We found that the savings from giving fewer injections are larger than the cost of robot-controlled radiotherapy,” said researcher Helen Dakin, a research lecturer at the University of Oxford.

Source: HealthDay

 

 

 

 

A 25-year Study Reveals How Empathy Is Passed from Parents to Teens to Their Future Children

Jessica A. Stern wrote . . . . . . . . .

Our new research shows that parents who express empathy toward their teenagers may give teens a head start in developing the skill themselves. In addition, adolescents who show empathy and support toward their friends are more likely to become supportive parents, which may foster empathy in their own offspring.

How we did our work

The KLIFF/VIDA study at the University of Virginia has tracked 184 adolescents for more than 25 years: from age 13 well into their 30s.

Starting in 1998, teens came to the university every year with their parents and closest friend, and a team of researchers recorded videos of their conversations. Researchers observed how much empathy the mother showed to her 13-year-old when her teen needed help with a problem. We measured empathy by rating how present and engaged mothers were in the conversation, whether they had an accurate understanding of their teen’s problem, and how much help and emotional support they offered.

Then, each year until teens were 19 years old, we observed whether teens showed those same types of empathic behaviors toward their close friends.

A decade later, when some of those same teens were starting to have children of their own, we surveyed them about their own parenting. We also asked them about their young children’s empathy. For example, parents rated how often their child “tries to understand how others feel” and “tries to comfort others.”

We found that the more empathic a mother was toward her teenager at age 13, the more empathic the teen was toward their close friends across the adolescent years. Among teens who later had kids themselves, the ones who had shown more empathy for close friends as adolescents became more supportive parents as adults. In turn, these parents’ supportive responses to their children’s distress were associated with reports of their young children’s empathy.

Why it matters

The ability to empathize with other people in adolescence is a critical skill for maintaining good relationships, resolving conflict, preventing violent crime and having good communication skills and more satisfying relationships as an adult.

Adults want teens to develop good social skills and moral character, but simply telling them to be kind doesn’t always work. Our findings suggest that if parents hope to raise empathic teens, it may be helpful to give them firsthand experiences of being understood and supported.

But teens also need opportunities to practice and refine these skills with their peers. Adolescent friendships may be an essential “training ground” for teens to learn social skills such as empathy, how to respond effectively to other people’s suffering, and supportive caregiving abilities that they can put to use as parents. Our lab’s most recent paper presents some of the first evidence that having supportive teenage friendships matters for future parenting.

What’s next

We’re continuing to follow these participants to understand how their experiences with parents and peers during adolescence might play a role in how the next generation develops. We’re also curious to understand what factors might interrupt intergenerational cycles of low empathy, aggression and harsh parenting. For example, it’s possible that having supportive friends could compensate for a lack of empathy experienced from one’s family.

While it’s true that you can’t choose your family, you can choose your friends. Empowering teens to choose friendships characterized by mutual understanding and support could have long-term ripple effects for the next generation.

Source : The Conversation

 

 

 

Layered Chocolate Fudge Cake

Ingredients

2-1/2 oz butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 eggs
1-1/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 cup plain (all-purpose) flour

Fudge Filling

12 oz dark couverture chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup cream (single or pouring)
5 oz butter

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line the bases of two 8-inch round cake tins with non-stick baking paper.
2. Place the butter and vanilla in a saucepan over low heat and cook until the butter is melted. Set aside to cool slightly. Place the eggs and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 8 minutes or until the mixture is light and creamy and tripled in bulk.
3. Sift the cocoa and flour twice, then sift over the egg mixture and fold gently with the butter mixture until just combined. Divide the mixture between the cake tins. Bake for 25 minutes or until the cakes shrink away from the sides of their tins. Cool in the tins. Cut each cake into two layers.
4. To make the fudge filling, place the chocolate, cream and butter in a saucepan over low heat and stir until smooth. Remove from the heat and refrigerate until cool. Place the cooled fudge filling in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and fluffy.
5. To assemble, place one layer of cake on a serving plate and spread with the filling. Repeat with the remaining cake layers and the remaining fudge filling.

Makes 10 to 12 servings.

Source: Donna Hay

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