Dr. Afsaneh Motamed-Khorasani

Dr. Afsaneh Motamed-Khorasani is a medical and scientific affairs specialist with a strong background in biomedical sciences, clinical trial/research and medical/regulatory writing/submission. She is the president and managing director of Neometrix Consulting Inc., which helps global pharmaceutical and medical device companies with their medical and regulatory writing and submissions as well as medical affairs.

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Articles by Dr. Afsaneh Motamed-Khorasani

• What we’ve learned from the epidemiology of Ebola

  Monday, May 18, 2015

  Ebola viruses are highly virulent zoonoses affecting both humans and nonhuman primates. The virus contains a single-strand linear RNA of 18-19 kb encoding seven genes (NP, VP35, VP40, VP30, VO24 and GP). Furthermore, five genetically distinct species are known for it, including: Zaire Ebola virus (ZEBOV), Sudan Ebola virus (SEBOV), Cote d'Ivoire Ebola virus, Bundibugyo Ebola virus (BEBOV) and Reston Ebola virus (REBOV) with different genomic sequence, genomic overlap number and location, and virulence. REBOV can only affect nonhuman primates, while the other four versions are responsible for Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) breakouts.

• Advances in wireless wearable brain‑computer interface systems

  Thursday, May 07, 2015

  We have witnessed the rapid growth of research in the field of brain-computer interface (BCI) in the last 15 years. This process now has the potential to further advance in terms of accuracy and speed through training and practice. EEG-based BCI systems basically decode the user's neurophysiological intention signals and produce commands that can control an external device, such as computer applications, home appliances and prosthetic devices.

• RFA therapy shows promise in treating pancreatic cancer

  Tuesday, May 05, 2015

  ​Pancreatic cancer has been ranked as the fourth-leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the West with 20 percent, 40 percent and 40 percent of the cases presented with a resectable lesion, unresectable locally advanced and metastatic disease, respectively.

• Recent advances in herbal bioenhancers

  Thursday, April 30, 2015

  Ayurveda is a 5,000-year-old system of Hindu traditional medicine native to India. ​One of the concepts often being mentioned in Ayurveda is Yogvahi (synergism), which is a technique to increase bioavailability, tissue distribution and efficiency of medications.

• Is cellphone usage causing unknown health problems?

  Tuesday, March 31, 2015

  There are two different types of radiations: ionizing and nonionizing. Ionizing radiation breaks the covalent binding in whatever it passes through, with X-rays and gamma rays being prime examples. Nonionizing radiation breaks van der Waals bindings and could cause a significant DNA strand breakage at a low exposure level (0.0024 W/kg). Some of the examples of instruments that generate nonionizing radiation include microwaves, cellphones, Walkie-Talkies, smart readers, iPads, laptops and wireless routers.

• The use of bed-side ultrasound is growing — but are ERs ready?

  Wednesday, March 11, 2015

  ​Ultrasonographic investigation, in its traditional approach, involves many steps and multiple professionals, including radiologists and certified sonographers. This approach might not be necessarily helpful for critically-ill patients and immediate patient management.

• Novel anticoagulants target cancer patients with CVC

  Thursday, March 05, 2015

  ​Anticoagulants have been traditionally used to treat venous thromboembolism (VTE), which is a major healthcare problem. For 25 percent of patients with pulmonary embolism, sudden death has been reported to be the initial clinical presentation. If death doesn't happen originally, the patients are treated with different anticoagulants in the emergency department.

• Most prefer to die at home, so why do so many die in nursing homes?

  Thursday, February 19, 2015

  ​In spite of the major therapeutic advances for all kinds of diseases, poor survival rates remain an obstacle. Therefore, a large portion of terminal patients are destined to eventually die from their diseases. It has been reported that more than half of the population ​prefer to be cared for and die at home if they have the choice. However, in the real world, less than one-third of the deaths occur at homes.

• The effects of thermoregulation on TBI recovery

  Thursday, February 12, 2015

  ​A major point of any traumatic brain injury (TBI) treatment is to inhibit a secondary brain injury due to space-occupying lesions or cerebral blood-flow abnormalities. Research has shown that these situations can be prevented during TBI through therapeutic hypothermia and temperature monitoring and management.

• Recent trends of inpatient vs. outpatient thyroidectomy in the US

  Thursday, January 29, 2015

  Thyroidectomy is the partial or complete removal of the thyroid gland in order to treat thyroid disorders, such as benign enlargement (goiter), overactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) or cancerous lesions.

• Empathy levels among healthcare professionals

  Thursday, January 22, 2015

  ​There is plenty of recent evidence suggesting that empathy could improve clinical outcomes. Empathy has been defined as the ability to stand in the shoes of another and look at the situation from someone else's view.

• Recent advances in the delivery of acne therapeutics

  Tuesday, January 20, 2015

  Acne is the most common skin disorder in adolescents with a prevalence of 80-85 percent. The problem starts when the hair follicles become clogged by androgen-induced increased sebum production, dirt and dead skin cells.

• Brain plasticity: Fact or fiction?

  Thursday, January 15, 2015

  Medical experts once believed that changes in the brain were only limited to infancy and childhood, after which its physical structure was permanent. However, we now know that new neural pathways are continuously being created and existing ones are altered as a part of our adaptation mechanism to new experiences, ongoing learning and the process of creating new memories.

• The course of action at the time of humanitarian challenges

  Tuesday, December 16, 2014

  ​Humanitarianism is a uniform act of kindness toward all human beings without any distinction based on nationality, tribe, gender, age, religion or any other similar factors. In this territory, all human beings are equal and are treated equally. Many countries have been involved in the evolution of this concept including Great Britain, USA, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Portugal, Brazil, Spain and France.

• RTL and its role in the treatment of stroke

  Friday, December 12, 2014

  Blood supply interruption in a part of the brain could cause oxygen deprivation, which will eventually lead to brain cell damage in minutes. This condition is called stroke, which is considered a medical emergency requiring appropriate and timely treatment in order to minimize brain damage and any potential complications.

• Current approach to treating feed intolerance during critical illness

  Wednesday, December 03, 2014

  ​Impaired gastric emptying as well as impaired antropyloro-duodonal and intestinal motilities are common observations during critical illness. The underlying mechanisms for gastrointestinal motility dysfunctions during critical illness are not quite clear, but there have been many contributing factors mentioned in the literature.

• Different routes of central venous catheterization and their relative risks

  Wednesday, October 22, 2014

  Central venous access catheters have been widely used in hospital setting, and ​more than 3.4 million of them are placed for patients per year. Some of the benefits of this technique as compared to peripheral access include: greater longevity without infection, avoidance of phlebitis, line security and a potential route for nutritional support as well as fluid administration.

• Stem cell treatment presents challenges in neurology

  Thursday, August 21, 2014

  In most neurologic conditions, injury to neural cells is followed by an immune response to the damage and consequential neurodegeneration. However, due to different genetic backgrounds, the disease manifestation could be different in each individual.

• Recent advances in periodontal tissue engineering

  Thursday, August 14, 2014

  ​Tissue engineering is a promising field in science with the purpose of ​regenerating damaged tissues and organs via three components: responsive cells (stem cells), scaffolds and morphogenes.

• Researchers examining new treatments for gastric cancer

  Monday, August 04, 2014

  ​Gastric cancer is the fourth-most common cancer in the world, but there has been a continuous fall in its incidence and mortality rates in developed countries in the past 50 years. This has been mainly due to dietary improvements and a decrease in chronic Helicobacter pylori infection.

• Research needed on long-term use of parenteral nutrition in LBW infants

  Tuesday, July 29, 2014

  Premature infants are highly susceptible to extra-uterine growth restriction. Due to limited nutrient stores, preterm infants are at risk of nutrient deficit, leading to a potential poor growth and neurodevelopment. Therefore, it is critical to provide adequate nutritional support early enough in order to avoid nutrition deficits of energy and protein.

• Advances in point-of-care ultrasound in emergency medicine

  Thursday, July 17, 2014

  ​Since ​the introduction of the bedside ultrasound to emergency medicine more than 20 years ago, many new applications have evolved for it. Meanwhile, the scope of bedside ultrasound continues to grow tremendously. As a result of continuous progress in this field, point-of-care ultrasound scanning is now a focused ultrasound scan that is mainly performed by nonimaging clinicians in the physical examination of the patients.

• New arenas in cell-based regenerative therapies for SCI

  Tuesday, July 08, 2014

  About 273,000 people with traumatic spinal cord injuries live in the U.S. today. SCI imposes enormous financial, emotional and psychological burdens on the patients, their families and the society in which they live.

• Cancer therapy: Targeting in the field of metabolic rewiring

  Monday, June 30, 2014

  Of more than 100,000 carcinogen point mutations, 350 are known to influence cancer phenotype. However, 30 years of intensive research on cancer biology and large amounts of grant money invested have translated into few novel treatments.

• Recent developments in transdermal delivery of therapeutics

  Tuesday, June 24, 2014

  Advances in recombinant DNA technology and protein-based therapeutics have affected several medical conditions, including diabetes, osteoporosis and cancer. There are multiple protein-drug products for these conditions that are often large polar complex macromolecules with side chains.

• The anti-cancer effects of the phyllanthus plant

  Thursday, June 12, 2014

  ​Phyllanthus is an herbal medicine that is widely used in China, India and South Africa for its various biological activities, including anti-hepatitis, antibacterial, and anti-cancer properties. The anti-cancer effect of this plant has been studied by different groups in different cancer types.

• An update on diagnostics for invasive pulmonary aspergillosis

  Monday, June 02, 2014

  ​Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis is a fatal lung disease accounting for more than 200,000 infections per year and a mortality rate of 30-90 percent. ​This disease has been traditionally observed in immunocompromised patients; however, patients with chronic lung disease are also prone to it.

• Recent advances in nanohybrid hydrogels for drug delivery

  Monday, May 19, 2014

  Hydrogels are preferred materials for drug delivery due to their soft, elastomeric nature as well as their high water-retaining capability. The only problem is they have poor mechanical strength, but that can be improved by the incorporation of nanoparticles.

• Studies show potential of FDG-PET imaging in mild TBI cases

  Tuesday, May 06, 2014

  FDG-PET imaging is a useful methodology to understand the glucose metabolism in the brain after mild TBI, where several factors could have significant effects on the final results.

• An update on management of necrotizing soft-tissue infections

  Wednesday, April 30, 2014

  Necrotizing soft-tissue infections affect the soft-tissue compartments and are involved in systemic toxicity and necrosis. The mortality rates for NSTI is high if the infection is not diagnosed and treated at early stage.

• Novel therapies for neuroprotection in stroke

  Monday, April 28, 2014

  ​Stroke is the second-leading cause of death worldwide, ​according to the World Health Organization. There is considerable interest in investigating novel treatments for neuroprotection during stroke, but at present no approved treatment is available for pathological processes occurring in the brain during stroke.

• New research showing promise in contraceptives for women

  Thursday, April 24, 2014

  ​Many contraceptive methods are available in the market. However, they are associated with the risk of side effects and with chances of drug failure. The cost of the contraceptives is also important, but many of the new contraceptives are not affordable for millions of women.

• How paper can help point-of-care diagnostics

  Wednesday, April 16, 2014

  ​Noncommunicable diseases or chronic diseases have been reported to be responsible for 36 million deaths per year. The majority of NCD deaths have been reported in low- and middle-income countries.

• A novel use of sulodexide for vascular diseases

  Tuesday, April 08, 2014

  ​Oral administration of sulodexide (SDX) has been recently considered as a novel treatment method for vascular diseases. SDX belongs to a class of glycosaminoglycans, which are natural anionic polycarbohydrates found in mammals.

• Application of nanoproteomics in neuroscience

  Tuesday, April 01, 2014

  ​Advances in proteomics and metabolomics have recently received attention due to their novel applications in biomedicine. This has led to further advances in nanoproteomics with multiple potentials in biological systems.

• Prostate cancer treatment strategies show promise

  Tuesday, March 18, 2014

  ​As the most predominant cause of ​cancer-related death for men in the U.S., prostate cancer has been the subject of extensive research that has led to a better understanding of the disease and metastasis mechanism.

• A link between blood and plasma trace metals in Alzheimer’s disease?

  Monday, March 10, 2014

  ​Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia in the elderly, with a ​rapidly increasing prevalence. In the past three decades, we have ​witnessed remarkable advances in our understanding of AD, both in terms of the disease course and its symptoms.

• A look at the latest therapeutic methods for migraine

  Tuesday, February 25, 2014

  ​Migraine is a common and devastating disorder, with chronic migraine characterized by headaches for more than or equal to 15 days per month. There are several treatment options for this condition, and here is a look at some of the latest developments.

• Liposome-bupivacaine showing promise in postoperative pain management

  Wednesday, February 05, 2014

  Postoperative pain management is necessary to prevent mortality and to improve general body function after surgery. Opioids are commonly used to reduce postsurgical pain. However, they are associated with many side effects.

• The role of P2X receptors in the treatment of status epilepticus

  Tuesday, February 04, 2014

  Status epilepticus is a neurological condition due to a state of prolonged seizures. Status epilepticus might result from metabolic disturbances, infection, drug toxicity or noncompliance with antiepileptic drug taking. Since the current treatments are not really successful in dealing with seizure suppression, novel targets must be identified for status epilepticus.

• The role of antimicrobial peptides in inflammatory skin diseases

  Wednesday, January 29, 2014

  Antimicrobial peptides play an important role in skin protection. The cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide (CAMP) is an important factor for skin's innate immune mechanism and plays a critical role in prevention of pathogen infection. Previous studies indicated that the production of CAMP was regulated by vitamin D3. But a new signaling mechanism, sphingosine 1-phosphate, could be useful in the development of new compounds or drugs that could be used to improve the innate immunity against the microbes.

• Rapid development in the use of robotics in urological surgery

  Wednesday, January 22, 2014

  Laparoscopic surgery has been a true breakthrough in the field of urology. It has the advantages of a decreased loss of blood during the surgery and a shorter duration of hospital stay. But it is not commonly practiced because a steep learning curve is required for a surgeon to achieve proficiency.

• Unreliability of blood pressure measurements with manual readers

  Tuesday, January 14, 2014

  ​There have been intensive universal efforts to promote appropriate techniques to measure blood pressure. However, the quality and accuracy of blood pressure measurement ​is under question in clinical settings. Several studies have been conducted on the routine, manual office blood pressure readings, where inconsistent readings were frequently observed. Some of the factors affecting these imprecise readings included: poor measurement techniques, conversation with patients during the readings and ​patient anxiety.

• Latest advances in the diagnosis of mild traumatic brain injury

  Tuesday, January 07, 2014

  ​In the United States alone, more than ​1.7 million individuals have been reported to have some sort of traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year. Of those, 80 percent could be categorized as ​mild TBI (mTBI) or concussion. It has been also reported that 15 percent of the patients with mTBI ​went to private clinics, while an additional 25 percent did not seek any medical attention. For this reason, TBI has been known as the silent epidemic.

• New advances in the hydrophilicity of carotenoids

  Monday, January 06, 2014

  ​Carotenoids have antioxidant properties and are mostly hydrophobic in nature. In recent years, attempts have been made to increase the hydrophilicity of carotenoids due to their potential applications in the medicine and food industries.

• Emergency dentistry: Neurophysiology of pulpal pain

  Monday, December 16, 2013

  The relief of oral pain is important for urgent care and emergency physicians. Dental pain is multifactorial, which involves factors like sensory, conceptual, emotional and motivational aspects. Pulpal pain and periapical pains are two important aspects of dental care. Identification of the right source of pain is important for developing therapeutic strategies, and understanding the neurophysiology of pulpal pain makes the treatment easy.

• The role of nanomaterials in the treatment of cerebral palsy

  Tuesday, December 10, 2013

  ​Cerebral palsy is a chronic childhood disability that may be a result of injury to the developing brain either in uterus or immediately after birth. The injury to the brain can lead to defects in motor, sensory and cognitive functions. The child develops rigidity and distortion of limbs later in life. Although there are different causes for the development of cerebral palsy, neuroinflammation plays a major role in brain injury.

• Proximity ligation assays: Advancing the study of proteins

  Monday, December 09, 2013

  Proximity ligation assay is a new method added to the proteomics toolbox and will play a key role in future diagnostics. PLA makes it possible to study the presence of the less abundant proteins, and thus it is easy to identify relevant diseases. Multiplex assays could be designed in which many proteins in the same sample are detected using PLA. It would be also possible to determine multiple protein interactions in individual cells, which enables us to understand the signaling cascades. This method is better for determining coherent cellular responses than measuring the expression levels of individual proteins. PLA could be also used to study the influence of the drugs in multiple pathways.

• The role of Interleukin 1 in treatment of acute cerebrovascular disease

  Monday, November 25, 2013

  ​Acute cerebrovascular disease can have many serious consequences, such as periventricular hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage, ischemic, hemorrhagic stroke and vascular dementia. It affects people at different stages of life and is responsible for many deaths all over the world with an urgent need for the development of treatment methods.

• Novel oral anticoagulants for thromboembolic disease

  Friday, November 22, 2013

  Vitamin K antagonists are commonly used for the treatment of thromboembolic disease. However, the slow onset of action for these medications limits their use. Therefore, a bridging therapy with the use of low molecular weight heparin is advantageous for the treatment.

• Steady progress in chemotherapy treatment for biliary tract cancer

  Friday, November 15, 2013

  Chemotherapy is widely used for the treatment of advanced biliary tract cancer, but the treatment methods are not fully developed in comparison with other types of cancers such as lung and colorectal cancers. Combination therapy, including cytotoxic agents and molecular-targeted agents, has been widely evaluated for advanced BTC for first-line settings. Second-line chemotherapy is found to be more effective for advanced BTC. However, more clinical trials are required to understand the effectiveness of the second-line chemotherapy.

• Understanding integration inhibitors for the treatment of HIV

  Monday, November 11, 2013

  Integration of the retroviral genome into the host cell chromatin is the key step in the development of HIV disease. Blocking the integration of viral genome by integrase inhibitors is an attractive therapeutic strategy. Many integrase inhibitors were developed by rational drug design strategies. Many of these compounds proceeded for preclinical trials, but further clinical development was halted due to in vivo toxicity and nonspecificity of the drugs towards the target.

• The role of manganese and astrocytes in brain toxicity

  Tuesday, October 29, 2013

  The interactions between the astrocytes and neurons play a central role in brain functioning via neurotransmitter recycling, and disruption of this recycling is associated with several neuropathological conditions. Manganese-mediated toxicity helps in better understanding about cycling between the neurons and astrocytes, and this knowledge about the brain function might highlight potential molecular tools for neurotoxicity.

• The use of biomarkers for renal carcinoma treatment

  Monday, October 28, 2013

  Renal cell carcinoma is the most common form of cancer, and it is responsible for more than 100,000 deaths per year all over the world. In recent years, significant advances have been achieved in understanding the renal carcinoma biology. This in-depth knowledge has led to the development of new therapeutic strategies. However, there has been no significant development in renal carcinoma detection tools in the past decade.

• Latest automation techniques in immunohematology testing

  Monday, October 28, 2013

  Automated analyzers have been used in many clinical laboratories since their discovery in mid-1950s. They have many advantages that include improved quality of preanalytical steps, reduced error rates and reduced individual exposure to biohazardous materials. Newer techniques such as column agglutination, solid-phase red cell adherence assay and erythrocyte-magnetized technology are being adapted in immunohematology.

• Targeting mitochondrial ROS: A novel therapy for a number of diseases

  Monday, October 21, 2013

  ​Reactive oxygen species are generated in a number of physiological reactions in our body. They are responsible for a number of diseases, such as cancer, inflammatory, autoimmune and neurodegenerative disorders. Currently, an effective antioxidant therapy is not available. Therefore, an in-depth knowledge of the mechanisms responsible for the production of ROS and their role in the inflammation pathways is critical for the development of new drugs.

• The role of aquaporin-4 in cerebral edema and neuroinflammation

  Tuesday, September 17, 2013

  Aquaporin-4 plays a significant role in potassium homeostasis and facilitates the water diffusion through potassium gradient for brain activity. AQP4 might also be involved in cell adhesion, migration and neuroinflammation. The neuroinflammation is an acute phase after brain injury, along with edema, and brain diseases like multiple sclerosis.

• Microfluidic systems for screening of aptamers

  Monday, September 16, 2013

  ​Systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) is a method to screen the nucleotide ligands from a large library of nucleotide sequences. Aptamers are the nucleotide ligands selected by SELEX method and can be easily and inexpensively produced. Chemical modification and integration into different analytical methods is also easy with aptamers.