Umea Universitet

Nil Medical has developed a medical vest to help seriously ill children and adolescents with intravenous drip stands to regain their mobility. The company developed the ergonomic medical vest to conceal fluids, pumps and tubing within the garments, allowing children to play and move without restrictions. Nil Medical is currently conducting a national quality-of-life study in collaboration with Swedish healthcare to introduce it to the international market. “I learned about the challenge faced by children who are willing and able to play but are restricted in their movement due to being attached to an IV stand. After visiting the pediatric cancer ward, I felt inspired to address this issue using a user-centered design methodology,” said Martin Hanberger, an industrial design student at Norrlands Universitetssjukhus. ”It feels incredible to finally have a finished product after so many years of development – especially when we see how much the children appreciate it. Making things easier for them has always been our driving force”. The company developed an early prototype and tested it without being connected to any treatment or IV bags. After, a group of specialists in design, product development and CE marking of medical devices collaborated with experienced staff in the pediatric oncology department to develop the Nil Medical Vestpack. Researchers on the project established requirements and conducted risk analyses to ensure the vest was safe and user-friendly. Interviews with patients, families and healthcare providers were also integral to the development process. “One of the young users said, ‘I want it to be nothing,'” Hanberger said. “The name Nil (English for ‘zero’) was thus born from the freedom of movement that our medical vest provides. Those who use it no longer have to be confined to drip stands; instead, they can move freely, safely, and securely.” Quality of life study Nil Medical is conducting a quality of life study in Sweden for the Vestpack in collaboration with Region Jönköping, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, and Norrlands Universitetssjukhus. The goal is to introduce a CE-marked infusion vest to the international market, giving children new possibilities and greater freedom of movement. The company is developing the system and testing it in collaboration with the Umeå Biotech Incubator. “Umeå Biotech Incubator has extensive business development expertise, a solid reputation and track record, and a broad network of contacts,” Hanberger said. “We are really looking forward to start collaborating with UBI.”

A study provides new clues in the understanding of how antibiotic resistance spreads. The study shows how an enzyme breaks down the bacteria's protective outer layer, the cell wall, and thus facilitates the transfer of genes for resistance to antibiotics. A study at Umeå University, Sweden, provides new clues in the understanding of how antibiotic resistance spreads. The study shows how an enzyme breaks down the bacteria's protective outer layer, the cell wall, and thus facilitates the transfer of genes for resistance to antibiotics. "You could say that we are adding a piece of the puzzle to the understanding of how antibiotic resistance spreads between bacteria," says Ronnie Berntsson, Associate Professor at Umeå University and one of the authors behind the study. The Umeå researchers have studied Enterococcus faecalis, which is a bacterium that often causes hospital infections, where in many cases treatment with antibiotics no longer bites because the bacteria have developed resistance. These bacteria can also spread the resistance further via the type 4 secretion systems, T4SS. It is a kind of protein complex that acts as a copying device, allowing properties in the form of genetic material to be spread to other bacteria. Resistance to antibiotics is one such trait that can be moved between bacteria with the help of T4SS. An important part of T4SS is the enzyme PrgK, which breaks down the bacterial cell wall and thus facilitates the transfer of properties between bacteria. This enzyme has three parts or domains, LytM, SLT, and CHAP. PrgK works like scissors that cut into the bacterial cell wall. Contrary to what the researchers previously thought, it turned out that only the SLT domain was active, but in a different way than expected. The other two domains instead turned out to have an important role in the regulation of the enzyme. The researchers also identified that another T4SS protein, PrgL, binds to PrgK and ensures that it ends up in the right place in the protein machinery. "The findings are important for continued research into how to prevent T4SS from transferring properties such as resistance to antibiotics to other bacteria," says Josy ter Beek, Staff scientist at Umeå University. The study has been conducted through a combination of biochemical analyses of the protein linked to functional studies in vivo, and supplemented with structural studies of PrgK using both X-ray crystallography and AlphaFold modelling.

WEDNESDAY, June 19, 2024 -- Folks nearing retirement shouldn’t skip leg days at the gym, a new study advises. One year of heavy strength training preserves vital leg strength up to at least four years later, researchers found. “This study provides evidence that resistance training with heavy loads at retirement age can have long-term effects over several years,” concluded the research team led by Carl-Johan Boraxbekk , a professor of cognitive neuroscience of aging with Umea University in Sweden. For the study, researchers assigned 369 people at an average of 66 to one of three different groups. One-third lifted heavy weights three times a week for a year, while another third performed moderate intensity training with body weight or resistance bands thrice weekly. The remaining third were encouraged to maintain their usual level of physical activity. Bone, muscle strength and body fat were measured at the start of the clinical trial, then again after one, two and four years. Leg strength was preserved at the same level in the heavy weights group after four years, but not in the other two groups. Meanwhile, fat levels remained the same in the exercise groups but not in the control group, results show. All three groups experienced similar decreases in handgrip strength, lean leg mass and leg extensor power -- the ability to kick a pedal as hard and as fast as possible. The new study was published June 18 in the journal BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine . Doctors could use these results to encourage seniors to engage in heavy resistance training, as it will make it easier for them to retain their mobility and independence as they age, researchers said. “In well-functioning older adults at retirement age, one year of heavy resistance training may induce long-lasting beneficial effects by preserving muscle function,” they concluded. Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.