Avastin - Wet Macular Degeneration: by Donald Arson

Avastin is the brand name for Bevaciumab a monoclonal antibody or an antibody that is an identical clone of a single parent cell. It was approved in 2004 by the FDA for use in the treatment of some cancers and is used as a first or second line treatment for patients.
As the first clinically available angiogenesis inhibitor the United States it inhibits new cancer cells by blocking the growth of blood vessels in pre-existing tumors. A solid, non-liquid, tumor needs to grow additional blood vessels to be able to reach a certain size.
With an angiostatic agent such as Avastin the growth of new blood vessels is slowed stopping the cancer from growing indefinitely. It is usually given every 14 days intravenously in the arm and can be used with other drugs in combination and with intravenous 5-fluorouracilâ€"based chemotherapy.
Developed by Genentech (NYSE: DNA), a leading biotechnology corporation, it is marketed in the United States under the Genentech name and outside the US under Roche.
When it was originally available in 2004 it was only FDA approved for the treatment of many forms of small cell lung cancer and metastatic colon cancer. A metastatic cancer, in this case colon cancer, is a cancer that spreads from one part or organ to another non-adjacent part or organ.
In 2008 the FDA opened up the doors and allowed for the treatment of breast cancer. There are also clinical trials under way to use Avastin for the treatment of non-metastatic colon cancer, metastatic renal cell carcinoma, metastatic breast cancer, metastatic glioblastoma multiform, metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer, metastatic or unresectable locally advanced pancreatic cancer, and metastatic ovarian cancer.
Avastin is also currently being used off-label, the practice of prescribing drugs for a purpose outside the scope of the drug's approved label, for the treatment of wet macular degeneration by some retinal specialists.
Wet macular degeneration or AMD is a condition that causes loss of vision from the growth of abnormal blood vessel choriocapillaries, through Bruch's membrane. This eventually leads to blood and protein leaking below the macula, an oval spot near the middle of the retina in the human eye. With AMD rapid, often irreversible vision loss can occur through the leaking, bleeding and scaring of the blood vessels if left untreated.
Dr. Philip J Rosenfeld, MD, PhD of the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute conducted a study that showed positive results for the treatment of AMD with Avastin. According to Dr. Rosenfeld’s study Avastin improved vision in as little as one week for patients treated for AMD.
For AMD treatment Avastin is used in very low amounts by retinal specialists. They usually have a pharmacists transfer the drug from the original vile to a pre-filled needles containing single doses. The specialists will then usually treat the patient in their own office.
As with any drug it is always best to talk to your doctor or pharmacist before starting any treatment

Choosing Liposuction

Beauty of the face and an attractive sculpture of the body always go hand in hand. In the recent years there is a rapidly growing trend for looking young and attractive, especially the people who are working in social environments. There are a number of cosmetic procedures gaining interest in order to prettify ourselves, so is burning of the excess fat from the body. After puberty the fat cells remain constant in number. All that changes is its size that depends on the fat content present in them. A normal ratio of number of fat cells in different parts of the body gives a natural well built feature to the body, whereas deposition of fat cells in abnormal proportions modifies the shape of the body.
As people age, excess fat tends to crop up in the most unsightly places. For some, diet and exercise can help to improve one's overall appearance. Others, however, can diet and exercise unceasingly, while still having certain problem areas that refuse to become more attractive.
Here is where Liposuction enters the picture, and if you are frustrated with problem spots on your body, you may want to evaluate whether this advanced, minimally invasive surgery is right for you.
As the proverb says, beauty is only skin deep, the fat globules that spoil one's charm also lie skin deep. Fortunately, by latest advances in cosmetic procedures, it is possible to remove excess of fat in specific areas that does not respond to controlled diet and exercises. This process is called as Lipolysis. Liposuction is the surgical removal of fat cells through a cannula.
Liposuction was first performed in 1974 and was a great improvement over other surgical body contouring techniques. There have been many advances in liposuction procedures over the last few decades, making it one of the safest and most popular body contouring surgeries in the world.
There are different types of liposuction procedures available, all of which use the cannula to remove unwanted fat. Some of the procedures are: Tumescent liposuction that involves the injection if a large amount of anesthetic into the area being treated; the wet and super-wet techniques are variations of this type of liposuction.
The ultrasonic assisted liposuction (UAL), where sound waves are used to liquefy the fat before it is removed. The procedure LipoSelection that uses the same concept without disturbing the surrounding tissue. The Power assisted liposuction (PAL) that uses a motor-powered cannula, which allows the surgeon to use smaller movements and make the experience more comfortable for the patient.