Friday, 15 June 2012
Researchers at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Göteborg have
managed to implant a blood vessel made from a patient’s own stem cells
in a ten year old, sick girl. One year after surgery she now is doing
pretty fine making the researchers to hope that this could be a method
to assist patients who need bypass surgery.
The process involves approach, in making the vein perform better
took three to four weeks, according to Michael Olausson, a professor at
the Transplantation Center at the hospital. The vein for the girl was
obtained from a donation from a deceased person, reports radio Sweden. “Then we have
removed all cells and all the genetic material, and after that we have
brought stem cells from the patient who will receive the blood vessel
and then grow this vessel out again,” says Michael Olausson, Professor
and Director of the Transplant Center at the Sahlgrenska University
Hospital in Gothenburg to radio Sweden.
At the moment, Michael Olausson and his team believe that the approach
could be of great help to many people with plug formation in their
blood vessels and that they need to undergo a so-called "bypass
surgery".
Asked how important is it that the patient's own stem cells are
included in the vein? Michael Olausson replied that it has to do with
the immune system recognizing the tissue as its own and thus will not
reject it. For him and the patient, it's a big advantage. All the
medications that are normally given to avoid the body rejecting the new
cell is very powerful and can cause side effects, so it is desirable to
avoid them.
He adds that this new method is also very important so that “we’ll be
able to solve problem around such things as hearts or kidneys in the
future. The next big step for us is probably a work around to get
arteries to function well. This opens the door and then maybe, be able
to produce whole organs,” says Michael Olausson.
By Scancomark.se Team
Sweden’s crisis not only housing but also lost export market share
Wednesday, 15 February 2012
We reported yesterday that the EU Commission is worried about a Swedish
mortgage bubble as such Sweden is being placed under close observation
which can lead to demands on the government for urgent action.
The EU Commission has reviewed member countries’ economies in ten
areas, including exports, balance of payments, unemployment, wages,
debts and house prices.
Swedish household debt levels are among the five highest in the EU,
equivalent to 237 percent of gross domestic product. It also suggests
that property prices have risen sharply over the past fifteen years and
only recently have there been some declined…somewhat.
Finance Minister Anders Borg agrees with the Commission that household
debt is a problem, but he believes that the government has already
begun to respond.
“We have taken a wide range of measures to strengthen the robustness of
the banking sector and household sector,” Borg told reporters after a
parliamentary debate. He pointed to the tightening of capital adequacy
requirements for banks and the lending ceiling for house purchase to
households.
EU commission warns also that Swedish exports has lost market share and
property investments are at a low level. At the same time Sweden is
criticized for the large surpluses in the current account, which the
Commission believes is partly due to a low level of investment.
Anders Borg does not agree with that aspect of the criticism but says
that it is countries with high deficits that need to strengthen their
competitiveness.
The Commission will now make a detailed examination of the identified
countries with governments based on the latest developments. In May,
the Commission will decide which countries will received few direct
recommendations calling for action.
If the requirements are ignored, it can ultimately lead to decisions on hefty sanctions against designated euro area countries.
By Scancomark.se Team
