Post date: 09-mar-2015 18:52:06
Title: On the mice, lipoatrophy, nanoparticles and EM fields
Date: 09-Mar-2015
Aula 321-Aulario III
Speaker: Julio Ramiro (URJC)
Material:
Abstract:
Mice can be the main actors in the study of the electromagnetic radiation effects. Their contributions in the research of different pathologies as Semicircular lipoatrophy and medical treatments of cancer have been studied.
Semicircular lipoatrophy (SL) is a benign and reversible pathology characterized by subcutaneous tissue atrophy, which affects subcutaneous adipose tissue and related structures, and is located mainly in the thigh region. It was first described in 1974 and is characterized by the appearance of semicircular bands, unilateral or bilateral, depressed, usually located in the anterior and lateral region of the thigh. It affects women more frequently than men, having a ratio of 6:1. The etiology of the condition is poorly understood and is probably multifactorial being associated with exposure to electromagnetic fields in the work environment, and the accumulation of electrostatic charges. This is suggested to produce changes in intrinsic bioelectric properties of the skin, activating macrophages that produce lipophagia. The designs of new office buildings can be involved in this problem.
In order to create an animal model to find out a cause-effect relation between electrostatic energy and SL, some groups of mice where electrostatically treated and studied to know how the electrostatic energy affects the fat tissue at histological level.
Mice were also used to investigate the heating efficiency of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) under optical excitation within the first (808 nm) and second (1090 nm) biological windows as well as in the spectral region separating them (980 nm). It has been concluded that efficiency and selectivity of in vivo photothermal treatments based on MWCNTs are simultaneously optimized when laser irradiation lies within the first or second biological window.
In some cases this temperature increment aims to drive the malignant cells and tissues (constituting, for example, a cancer tumor) up to the cytotoxic level, i.e. 43–45º C. At these temperatures, “soft” effects such as protein denaturation take place and “non-aggressive” cell death is induced.