Wound-care clinics around the country are giving maggots a try on some of their sickest patients after high-tech treatments fail.

It's a therapy quietly championed since the early 1990s by a California physician who's earned the nickname - https://www.sportsblog.com/search?search=nickname Dr. Maggot. But Dr. Ronald Sherman's maggots are getting more attention since, in January, they became the first live animals to win U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval — as a medical device to clean out wounds.

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A medical device? They remove the dead tissue that impedes healing "mechanically," FDA determined. It's called chewing.

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But maggots do more than that, says Sherman, who raises the tiny, wormlike fly larvae in a laboratory at the University of California, Irvine. His research shows that in the mere two to three days they live in a wound, maggots also produce substances that kill bacteria and stimulate growth of healthy tissue.

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Still, "it takes work to convince people" — including hospital administrators — that "maggots do work very well," said Dr. Robert Kirsner, who directs the University of Miami Cedars Wound Cente

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"They'll probably be easier to use now that they're FDA-approved, and we'll talk about it more and think about it more," Kirsner said. He estimates he uses maggots in about one in 50 patients where conventional therapy alone isn't enoug

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This has been quite a year for wormlike critters. In June, FDA also gave its seal of approval to leeches, those bloodsuckers that help plastic surgeons save severed body parts by removing pooled blood and restoring circulation. And in the spring, University of Iowa researchers reported early evidence that drinking whipworm eggs, which causes a temporary, harmless infection, might soothe inflammatory bowel disease by diverting the overactive immune reaction that causes i

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There's a little more yuck factor with maggots. Most people know of them from TV crime dramas, where infestations of bodies help determine time of deat

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Actually, maggots' medicinal qualities have long been known. Civil War surgeons noted that soldiers whose wounds harbored maggots seemed to fare better. In the 1930s, a Johns Hopkins University surgeon's research sparked routine maggot therapy, until antibiotics came along a decade late

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Maggot therapy is offered in around 50 hospitals throughout Britain for various conditions, ranging from burns, to aiding recovery after surgery. The most common uses, however, are for cleaning infected wounds, and for treating pressure sore

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Today, despite precise surgical techniques to cut out dying tissue, artificial skin and other high-tech treatments, hard-to-heal wounds remain a huge problem. Diabetic foot ulcers alone strike about 600,000 people annually and lead to thousands of amputation

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It's not unusual to spend two years and $30,000 treating one, says Dr. David G. Armstrong, a Chicago specialist who first tried maggot therapy in frustration about seven years ago and says he's now used it on several hundred patient

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Drop maggots into the wound and cover with a special mesh to keep them in place. Two to three days later, after the maggots have eaten their fill, lift them off and dispos

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Wound size determines how many maggots, and how many cycles of therapy, are needed. It typically costs a few hundred dollars, 카지노사이트 - http://www.ledo.nl/ says Armstrong, of the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Scienc

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By Lauran Neergaard

The response to the first two deaths ever in California from the rapidly spreading virus appears to be more prevention than panic, with few reports that the mosquito-borne illness is causing people to cancel outdoor plans or make drastic lifestyle changes.

"We're taking precautions, but you can only do so much," said David Wilson, 61, a neighbor of Morris Sternberg, the 75-year-old man who died Saturday from encephalitis caused - http://www.healthynewage.com/?s=encephalitis%20caused by the virus.

As of Wednesday, West Nile had infected 79 people in the state, mostly in Southern California, according to the state Department of Health Services. Last year, there were only three cases statewide and 춘천출장마사지 - https://www.anmaweb.com/%ec%b6%98%ec%b2%9c%ec%98%a4%ed%94%bc%ea%b1%b8%e2... no deaths.

Sternberg, a real estate agent in the small city of Grand Terrace, was the second person in California to die of the illness within a six-week period. Neighbors suspect he was bitten on his front porch, where he often sat in a hammock.

West Nile, which first hit the United States in 1999 in New York, has killed more than 560 people in the United States in the past five years as it marched westward. Last year was the first for the virus to appear in areas west of the Continental Divide.

This year, West Nile has sickened more than 400 people across the nation and resulted in seven deaths, according to data released Wednesday by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus killed 262 people in the United States last year, from 9,858 overall cases.

California officials are telling residents what easterners have long done: Avoid mosquitoes by eliminating pools of stagnant water, wear long sleeves if outside at dusk or dawn, and use mosquito repellant that contains the chemical known as DEET.

Many are apparently following the advice. As of Memorial Day, sales of insect repellant - http://search.huffingtonpost.com/search?q=insect%20repellant&s_it=header... were up 17 percent in California over last year, and 9 percent nationally, according to the most recent data available from tracking firm A.C. Nielsen.

West Nile is carried by birds but only transmitted to humans by mosquitoes. About 20 percent of those bitten by an infected insect show flu-like symptoms, and less than 1 percent die from the illness, according to health authorities. There is no approved vaccine or treatment.

State public health officer Richard J. Jackson has warned of a significant West Nile season in California this year. So far at least, the warnings seem to have caused ripples of concern but not much more.

Park agencies throughout California have gotten phone calls with questions about the virus, but officials reported no mass cancellations, perhaps owing to the relative low risk of infection.

"You're more likely to have a bear try to break into your car," said Alexandra Picavet, a spokeswoman for Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks.

WELLINGTON, 장수출장안마 - https://www.anmatoto.com/12-long-live New Zealand -- A powerful earthquake that struck in the southern Pacific Ocean on Wednesday sent jitters around the region after authorities warned of possible tsunamis, but there were no initial reports of destructive waves or major damage.

The magnitude 7.5 quake hit in the afternoon near New Caledonia at a shallow depth, where earthquakes are generally more damaging. It was felt as far away as Vanuatu.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said tsunami waves of between 3 and 10 feet were possible along some coasts of New Caledonia and Vanuatu before later lifting the warning.

Judith Rostain, a freelance journalist based in New Caledonia's capital Noumea, said there was no damage to the city and that the threat of a tsunami appeared to have passed. She said the situation remained unclear on the east coast and scattered outer islands.

In Vanuatu, Dan McGarry said he heard only of three small wave surges hitting the southern island of Aneityum. McGarry, the media director at the Vanuatu Daily Post, said the waves traveled only 7 feet beyond the normal tidal waves, and that everybody was fine on the island.

McGarry said he felt the quake where he is based in Vanuatu's capital, Port Vila, as a mild shaking.

"We get a lot of earthquakes every year," he said. "The tsunami warning was what was different this time, though."

The warning center said there was no tsunami threat to Hawaii. It said waves of up to 3 feet were possible in Fiji.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake struck about 104 miles east of Tadine in New Caledonia at a shallow depth of  6 miles. At least five aftershocks also hit, ranging in magnitude from 5.6 to 6.6. The 6.6 was also six miles down.

The populations of Vanuatu and New Caledonia are similar, with just over 280,000 people living in each archipelago.

Last month, voters in New Caledonia elected to remain a territory of France rather than becoming independent - http://venturebeat.com/?s=independent .

Both New Caledonia and Vanuatu sit on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," the arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where most of the world's earthquakes and volcanic activity occur.

Alex started selling lemonade four years ago with one stand 카지노사이트 - http://www.xujiaart.com/ and raised $2,000 in a single day. Each year brought more stands, manned by friends and volunteers.

The take so far: more than $200,000, including $15,000 brought in last year by the stand at the Scotts' suburban Philadelphia.

"She's determined about anything that's important to her, whether it's what kind of ice cream she's eating or raising money," said Alex's mother, Liz Scott. "I think (the stand) does keep her going sometimes."

This year, on Saturday, all 50 states will have "Alex's Lemonade Stands" open for business. Alex's father, Jay Scott, estimates - http://www.bbc.co.uk/search/?q=estimates that as many as 1,000 stands will be pouring the icy cold concoction.

"I think it just shows, you read a lot of bad stuff in the news, it shows how good people really are," Jay Scott said.

Two days before her first birthday, Alex was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a type of cancer that originates in certain nerve cells. The survival rate for high-risk neuroblastoma, which Alex has, is just 40 percent.

"Alex would have died many years ago if it wasn't for newer experimental therapies, and I think that's something she and her parents recognize," said Dr. John Maris, who has directed Alex's care at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Neuroblastoma is diagnosed in about 700 U.S. children every year.

Though excited about Saturday, Alex has been drained by the chemotherapy and radiation being used to treat a new attack of tumors, her mother said. After seven years of treatment, her cancer is considered incurable.

"She's tired. She's exhausted," Liz Scott said. "Her future has always been uncertain, but I don't think any of us — me, my husband, her doctor — has felt this pessimistic before.

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Because of her frail condition, her parents and doctor have encouraged Alex to cut back on her fund-raising activities. But she insisted on appearing on a television morning show last Friday to publicize the fifth annual "Alex's Lemonade Stand" day

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After last year's stand, the Scotts put out a call over the Internet for help in every state. Advertising fliers were posted on Alex's Web site, and the Scotts sent out dozens of coupons for free lemonade mix

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Alex has given $150,000 to her Philadelphia hospital. Thousands more have gone for research in Connecticut, Michigan, Texas and California. This year's take will also go for research, but the family hasn't decided yet where

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"Alex will have a big say in that," Liz Scott said. "She always does.

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Some days Alex feels good, like earlier this week when she saw the new Harry Potter movie. Other days she doesn't. Every day she lives knowing many of her friends have died of neuroblastoma

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Her mom calls Alex "the bravest person I know," and she holds out hope her daughter can overcome her disease

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"I'm obviously very proud of her, but it's more than that," Liz Scott said. "I feel privileged to be her mom. I admire her."

An Environmental Protection Agency official responded that the study misconstrued EPA data and created no reason for the government to change its recommendations on eating wild freshwater fish. An official of a commercial fish trade group said the study examined data on recreational fishing, not farm-raised freshwater fish found in supermarkets.

About 2,500 fish collected from 260 bodies of water from 1999 to 2001 showed the presence of mercury, the report said. The toxic metal can cause neurological and developmental problems, particularly in young children.

The report was prepared for Clear the Air, a joint campaign of the Clean Air Task Force, the National Environmental Trust and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. The study recommended more restrictions on mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants.

Seventy-six percent of the fish samples exceeded EPA's mercury exposure limit for children of average weight under the age of three, the report said. And 55 percent contained mercury that exceeded the limit for women of average weight, it said. The report assumed that people in both groups ate fish twice a week.

The high levels of mercury raise the risks of neurological problems in young children or in fetuses of women who ate the fish, said Emily Figdor, a clean air advocate at U.S. PIRG and the study's author. She could not say how many more such cases could be expected.

Although the EPA agrees that mercury exposure is a serious public health issue, the Clear the Air study misused EPA's exposure limits, said EPA spokeswoman Cynthia Bergman.

The advocacy group, in saying the mercury exceeded safe levels, applied standards the EPA set very low to be on the conservative and safe side of any possible errors, Bergman said. The study also based its estimates on material not from EPA, 바카라사이트 - http://www.caddietoursonline.com/cad_tours-past.php taking its consumption estimates from the American Heart Association's recommendation that people ought to eat two fish meals a week, she said.

The report does not create a reason for the EPA and the Food and Drug Administration to change the guidance the agencies gave in March on eating wild fish, Bergman said. The agencies said people should check with state or local authorities - http://ccmixter.org/api/query?datasource=uploads&search_type=all&sort=ra... to learn the safety of the fish. If no such advice is available, people should eat no more than one six-ounce portion a week and should eat no other fish, they said.

Consumers who buy their freshwater fish at markets should not be alarmed about the study, which looked at sources of recreationally caught fish, said Bob Collette, vice president for science and technology at the National Fisheries Institute, a fish industry trade group.

Most freshwater fish that people eat is raised on farms and is not a danger, Collette said.

The report said reducing mercury emissions from power plants is crucial to reducing unsafe levels of mercury in the fish. It criticized the Bush administration as planning to "delay even modest reductions in mercury from power plants until after 2025."

The EPA's Bergman said the administration had taken a big step forward by deciding to regulate the emissions, but she said technology needed for plants to make the cuts had not yet proved itself. U.S. PIRG's Figdor disputed that, and said some states were imposing earlier deadlines on emissions control than the EPA has planned.

Doctors teased apart abutting portions of Carl and Clarence Aguirre's brains at 10:32 p.m. after completing an incision around their skull, said Steve Osborne, a spokesman for the Children's Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center.

The boys survived, and doctors, nurses and technicians applauded in the operating room, said Osborne, who was in the operating room.

The twins' head-to-head operating tables were then pulled apart slightly to give the medical team more room as they continued their work.

Wednesday's surgery climaxed a number of gradual operations over the past ten months, a departure from the more common marathon operations that have separated other conjoined twins.

The operation continued - http://www.community.covnews.com/archives/search/?searchthis=operation%2... after the separation. Doctors planned to reconstruct a membrane that covered the boys' brains and then cover their heads with skin, some of it from tissue expanders that had been planted beneath their scalps.

Doctors have warned that it will be months before the twins' conditions and the success of the separation can be fully assessed.

In the past, separation was considered a success if both twins simply survived. But the hospital's goal for the boys, 남원출장마사지 - https://www.toptopanma.com/%eb%82%a8%ec%9b%90%ec%98%a4%ed%94%bc%ea%b1%b8... who have never been able to sit up, stand straight or look at each other's face, is "viable, independent lives."

During four major surgeries since October, the boys' separate-but-touching brains were gently pushed apart and the tangle of blood vessels they shared were cut and divided.

Between surgeries, the boys were given time to heal and to adapt to their rerouted circulation systems. Originally, veins near Clarence's brain were doing much of the circulation work for both boys, but scans showed dormant veins - http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/dormant%20veins on Carl's side had "plumped up" and begun working in response to the surgery, lead surgeon Dr. James Goodrich said last week.

In Wednesday's operation, which began at 10 a.m., doctors cut a window into the skull and divided the last major vein the brothers shared, along with other blood vessels. About six hours into that procedure, they decided the boys were doing well enough to continue.

The doctors said last week that excessive bleeding or swelling in the brain would force a postponement.

The boys' mother, Arlene Aguirre, and grandmother, Evelyn Aguirre, were at the hospital throughout the operation, getting periodic updates from the doctors.

They had sent the feisty, dark-haired boys into the operating room with tearful kisses at about 7:30 a.m. Arlene Aguirre placed a small statue of the Virgin Mary on her sons' gurney, and it stayed with them, on an instrument cart, through the surgery.

By Jim Fitzgerald