The world's first clinical application of 'bionic' miniature neuromuscular stimulators implanted into the muscles of the arm is being developed by a multidisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Southampton in Great Britian. This pioneering system will aim to control, and re-educate, through electrical stimulation, weak or paralyzed muscles to produce functional arm and hand movement in patients who have suffered damage to the central nervous system following a stroke.

The research is based on the BION®* microstimulators from Alfred Mann Foundation located in Valencia, California, that once implanted into a patient's arm act like 'bionic neurones' mimicking the messages from the brain to recreate useful function in paralyzed or weak arms. Each electrode measures less than 2.4 mm in diameter and about 16.5 mm long and is implanted within the muscle near to where the nerve attaches - this is called the motor point. There are no wires connecting the electrodes to the central control unit; power and control signals are transmitted through radio frequency signals via a small inductance coil worn on the arm. Because the BION electrodes are so small they can be implanted into many different muscles providing the potential to control fine, graded movement, essential for hand and arm function. Each electrode is 'individually addressed' so each BION stimulator can be controlled independently, to a maximum of 255 BION devices.

The project is led by Dr Jane Burridge, Senior Research Fellow of the University's School of Health Professions and Rehabilitation Sciences.

The University of Southampton is becoming a center of excellence in the study of movement disorders and the BION project is a superb example of this. The research itself is only possible through multidisciplinary collaboration between therapists, doctors, neuroscientists and engineers,' said Dr Burridge.

With increasing life expectancy the number of stroke victims is rising despite better control of the conditions that make people more likely to have a stroke, such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Improved acute care also means that more people survive a stroke, but are left with a disability. About two thirds of people who have a stroke regain the ability to walk, but less than 30 per cent regain useful arm function. Research has shown that it is poor arm and hand function that leaves people unable to live full and independent lives.

(Article information from cnn.com, BBC Online and Children's Medical Center website)

The two-year-old Egyptian twins who were separated during major surgery have reacted differently as doctors wean them off coma-inducing drugs.

Mohamed Ibrahim came off the drugs on Wednesday, and was said to have shown some movement on one side of his body and was breathing spontaneously over a mechanical respirator.

His brother Ahmed had minor seizures during the night prompting doctors to keep him in his coma for a while longer.

Doctors said both boys continue to do well following the 34-hour operation last weekend to separate them at the crown of their heads.

Both have been taken off blood pressure medications and antibiotics. Dr Jim Thomas, head of critical care at the Children's Medical Center in Dallas said their pulmonary function was excellent and head CT scans continued to look good. The boys also had several drains removed.

They had been kept in a coma following the operation to reduce the risk of brain swelling.

They had a slight fever on Wednesday, which soon abated and antibiotics were stopped as planned.

The goal on Thursday was to decrease Mohamed's ventilator support and to bring Ahmed's drug-induced coma to an end.

Dr Thomas said the twins' parents were also being encouraged to touch and talk to them.

It may take a number of days for the twins to become fully conscious.

Dr Thomas said tests on their brains and circulatory systems had not shown any problems, but it may be weeks before doctors can fully determine their levels of function.

The twins' family - from southern Egypt - decided to go ahead with the operation, knowing there was a risk of brain damage or death to one or both the boys.
They said it was the only chance they had of a normal life.

The boys had trouble closing their eyes, moving their necks and swallowing.
They could not stand on their own and would have faced progressive loss of functions had they remained as they were.

After they were separated, the boys' wounds were covered with skin and tissue created by skin expanders put in their thighs and heads about five months ago.

They face years of reconstructive surgery.

Representatives of Forest Laboratories, Inc. announced today that Namenda(TM) (memantine HCl), the first of a new class of drugs for Alzheimer's disease, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease. Forest expects Namenda to be available to physicians, patients, and pharmacies in January 2004. Namenda is the first NMDA receptor antagonist to be approved for Alzheimer's disease and is also the only therapy approved for the treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease.

Namenda will be available in pharmacies in January 2004.

Alzheimer's is a progressive disease of the brain and it is the most common type of dementia. The term dementia is used to describe the progressive loss of cognitive, intellectual, or functional abilities. Published reports project that by 2010 more than 5.1 million people in the United States will have Alzheimer's disease. Currently, all Alzheimer's medications approved in the United States belong to a class of agents called acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, which are indicated for patients with mild to moderate symptoms of the disease. Namenda is the only currently approved therapy in the United States for moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease.

Namenda's FDA approval is based on the Agency's review of safety and efficacy data from two U.S. placebo-controlled Phase III clinical trials and an earlier trial conducted among nursing home patients in Europe. Phase III data included a 28-week monotherapy study of 252 patients published earlier this year in the New England Journal of Medicine and a six-month, 401-patient study of Namenda when used together with an ongoing regimen of the commonly used Alzheimer's agent, donepezil. In trials, patients treated with Namenda scored higher on measures of cognition, daily function, and/or global performance. This development program for memantine was a joint effort between Forest and its licensor, Merz Pharmaceuticals, who obtained centralized approval for memantine in the European Union in 2002. Merz Pharmaceuticals is a specialty pharmaceutical company dedicated to research and development in the fields of neurology and psychiatry.

In clinical trials, Namenda has been safe and well tolerated. The most
common complaints were in clinical trials are dizziness, headache, constipation, and confusion.

The Council of The Chinese University of Hong Kong at a recent meeting appointed Professor Lawrence J. Lau as Vice-Chancellor of the University for a period of six years from July, 1 2004. The Council also extended the appointment of Professor Ambrose Yeo-chi King as Vice-Chancellor of the University and concurrently Professor of Sociology for a further period of six months from 1st January to June 30, 2004.

Members of the council expressed their pleasure that Professor Lau, a world famous and very distinguished economist and an educationalist with vision and tremendous experience, is willing to accept the appointment to lead the Chinese University into its fifth decade of development. Professor Lau is Kwoh-Ting Li Professor of Economic Development at Stanford University.

As the recommended final candidate for vice-chancellorship, Professor Lau met with undergraduate and postgraduate students in four open forums last week, and attended several discussion sessions to improve mutual understanding with representatives of Teachers' and Staff Associations, the alumni, the Senate, and the University's senior management team. On all those occasions, Professor Lau shared his visions and aspirations with all concerned in a frank and candid manner, and expressed his views on major issues affecting the University's development and the strategies that can be adopted.

Representatives of SAIC have announced that Kenneth C. Dahlberg has been named chief executive officer (CEO) effective November 3, 2003. He will replace Dr. J. Robert Beyster, SAIC's founder, CEO and chairman of the board. Dr. Beyster's current term on the Board expires in July 2004, and he will remain chairman until a new chairman is selected by the Board.

Prior to joining SAIC, Dahlberg served as executive vice president of General Dynamics' Information Systems and Technology group since 2001.

In April of this year, SAIC's Board of Directors approved Dr. Beyster's proposed succession process to provide for a smooth and orderly transition to a new chairman and CEO. The Board of Directors established a Search Committee which, with the assistance of two executive search firms (Savoy Partners, Washington, D.C., and Heidrick & Struggles, Menlo Park, Calif.), evaluated extensive lists of both internal and external candidates. Based on criteria set by the Board of Directors, with input from employee owners from within SAIC, Dahlberg was selected to lead the nation's largest employee-owned research and engineering company, by unanimous Board approval.

As the new CEO, Dahlberg will be based in San Diego, California.

Prior to joining General Dynamics, Dahlberg served as executive vice president for business development at Raytheon and president of Raytheon International, Inc., a subsidiary. Dahlberg was responsible for international and domestic business development and government relations. Prior to that, he was president and chief operating officer of Raytheon Systems Company, where he had operations oversight for all of Raytheon's defense business units.

Dahlberg served as a corporate vice president of Hughes Electronics Corp. and as a senior vice president of Hughes Aircraft Company prior to the 1997 merger of Raytheon and Hughes Aircraft Company. Dahlberg joined Hughes in 1967 and held various engineering, program-management and leadership positions.

Dahlberg received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Drexel University in 1967 and a master's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California in 1969. Dahlberg also attended the University of California, Los Angeles, business school for advanced education for executives.

A member of the National Defense Industrial Association Board of Directors, Dahlberg also is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the American Society of Naval Engineers and the Surface Navy Association, and is a lifetime member of the Navy League.

SAIC is among the nation's largest employee-owned research and engineering company, providing information technology, systems integration and eSolutions to commercial and government customers. SAIC engineers and scientists work to solve complex technical problems in national and homeland security, energy, the environment, space, telecommunications, health care, transportation and logistics.