The use of tears diabetes monitor blood sugar levels

Instead of a cumbersome and sometimes painful routine drawing of blood, patients with diabetes may be able to use their tears, researchers from the University of Michigan reported in analytical chemistry. In animal studies, researchers found that the level of glucose from the tears of rabbits can accurately measure blood glucose (sugar) levels, using the electrochemical sensor device.
Leading researchers, Mark Meyerhoff and team explained that approximately 5% of people worldwide have diabetes. With increasing levels of obesity worldwide, the number of patients with type 2 diabetes, is set to increase significantly.
The researchers, whether they intend to develop a new, painless device that can detect the tear glucose, instead of having to draw blood.
Patients with diabetes may have to draw blood from two to ten times daily to check their blood glucose levels. A significant number of patients with diabetes, not to draw blood as often as they should, because of discomfort and pain it causes. This can lead to poor glycemic control. Long-term poor glycemic control increases in the number of risks and complications associated with the state, especially microvascular complications, which may lead to the development of neuropathy and foot ulcers, retinopathy and other diseases and conditions.Investigators say that in accordance with their findings, the tears can provide as accurate reading as the choice of the fingers and blood directly.
The authors wrote:

    ".... It may be possible to measure glucose levels tears several times a day to monitor changes in blood glucose without the pain of repeated potential invasive blood sampling. "
Their sensor is very sensitive and can reach very low detection limits of 1,5 ± 0,4 mmol of glucose (S / N = 3). This is sufficient to measure tear fluid glucose levels in glucose sensitivity of 0,032 ± 0,02 nA / micron. The capillary tube sensor requires only 4-5 ml of tears, when the needle is inserted into the capillary sensor.
As in the journal, the researchers wrote:

    "The strong correlation between tear and blood glucose levels was detected, suggesting that the measurement of tear glucose measurement of potential noninvasive substitute blood glucose, and a new configuration of sensor could help in further research in this direction."

Nasopharyngeal cancer patients survival benefits of combined chemoradiation

Phase III study showed that the combined radiation and chemotherapy significantly improved 5-year overall survival of patients with stage II nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC: cancer passageway between the nose and throat). The results are published on 4 November in the journal of the National Cancer Institute.
NPC is common in Southeast Asia and southern China, where radiotherapy (RT) was the primary method of treatments. Although the concurrent chemo-radiotherapy (CCRT) is recommended by the National Cancer Comprehensive Network (NCCN), there is insufficient evidence regarding its effectiveness, and it has not been defined as an endpoint in the initial phase of testing III.
Qui-Yan Chen, MD, Ph.D., Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center at the People's Republic of China, and colleagues conducted a phase III study in order to find out if the combination of chemotherapy and radiation therapy offers survival benefit of a person with stage II NPC . The researchers randomly assigned the participants into two groups, 114 patients received radiation therapy while 116 patients received combined chemotherapy and radiation.
After a mean follow-up of 60 months, the researchers found that 22.8% of participants in the group of radiation disease progression, compared with 11.2% in the combined chemotherapy and radiotherapy group. In addition, they found that the 5-year overall survival, distant metastasis-free survival and progression-free survival were statistically significantly higher in the combined chemotherapy and radiotherapy group than the radiation group.
Based on the results of this study that the authors believe this is the first phase III trial comparing RT and CCRT, they come to the conclusion that the NCCN guidelines is warranted. They suggest that at an early stage, perhaps, less distant tumors, and therefore simultaneous chemo-radiotherapy may be more effective in destroying micro-distant metastasis. Although participants who received combined chemotherapy and radiation experienced more toxic side effects than people in the group of radiation therapy was well tolerated in general, when the dose was reduced by chemotherapy.
Chen et al explain:

    "Overall, we believe that the best choice for early stage NPC cisplatin on a weekly dose of 30 mg/m2, both for the optimal effect of chemotherapy to eradicate small tumors and distant to ensure that the NPC patients."