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ACS Applied Bio Materials Jan 2021The recent advent of biodegradable materials has offered huge opportunity to transform healthcare technologies by enabling sensors that degrade naturally after use. The... (Review)
Review
The recent advent of biodegradable materials has offered huge opportunity to transform healthcare technologies by enabling sensors that degrade naturally after use. The implantable electronic systems made from such materials eliminate the need for extraction or reoperation, minimize chronic inflammatory responses, and hence offer attractive propositions for future biomedical technology. The eco-friendly sensor systems developed from degradable materials could also help mitigate some of the major environmental issues by reducing the volume of electronic or medical waste produced and, in turn, the carbon footprint. With this background, herein we present a comprehensive overview of the structural and functional biodegradable materials that have been used for various biodegradable or bioresorbable electronic devices. The discussion focuses on the dissolution rates and degradation mechanisms of materials such as natural and synthetic polymers, organic or inorganic semiconductors, and hydrolyzable metals. The recent trend and examples of biodegradable or bioresorbable materials-based sensors for body monitoring, diagnostic, and medical therapeutic applications are also presented. Lastly, key technological challenges are discussed for clinical application of biodegradable sensors, particularly for implantable devices with wireless data and power transfer. Promising perspectives for the advancement of future generation of biodegradable sensor systems are also presented.
Topics: Biocompatible Materials; Biopolymers; Body Temperature; Breath Tests; Electrodes, Implanted; Humans; Monitoring, Physiologic; Pressure; Semiconductors; Sweat
PubMed: 33842859
DOI: 10.1021/acsabm.0c01139 -
Maturitas Dec 2023The huge impact of climate change on humankind is multidimensional, and includes direct and indirect challenges to the physical, psychological and socio-cultural... (Review)
Review
The huge impact of climate change on humankind is multidimensional, and includes direct and indirect challenges to the physical, psychological and socio-cultural wellbeing. Women may be more vulnerable to climate-sensitive diseases, but little attention has been paid to specific needs and challenges associated with the menopause transition. The increase in average and extreme temperatures may modulate the manifestation of vasomotor symptoms; in particular, environmental temperature and seasonality may affect hot flushes and night sweats. However, more research is needed to define the impact of climate-related factors among the determinants influencing the individual experience of menopause. In addition, increased exposure to environmental pollution and toxins may also have a role in the modulation of ovarian aging mechanisms, possibly influencing timing of menopause. Finally, both air pollution and menopause transition are associated with unfavorable modifications of cardio-metabolic, bone and cognitive health, and account should be taken of these in the evaluation of the individual woman's health vulnerabilities. Overall, the evidence reported in this narrative review supports the need for specific strategies aimed at reducing the burden of climate and environmental change on menopausal women. Healthcare providers should promote behavioral measures that reduce anthropogenic climate change and at the same time have a beneficial role on several domains of physical and psychological wellbeing. From this perspective, menopause represents a golden moment to implement virtuous behaviors that will benefit at the same time women's longevity and the planet.
Topics: Female; Humans; Menopause; Hot Flashes; Women's Health; Sweating
PubMed: 37634295
DOI: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2023.107825 -
The Indian Journal of Medical Research Nov 2020
Topics: Humans; Hypohidrosis; Sweating
PubMed: 35345113
DOI: 10.4103/ijmr.IJMR_1768_19 -
Biosensors Nov 2022Wearable devices are being developed faster and applied more widely. Wearables have been used to monitor movement-related physiological indices, including heartbeat,...
Wearable devices are being developed faster and applied more widely. Wearables have been used to monitor movement-related physiological indices, including heartbeat, movement, and other exercise metrics, for health purposes. People are also paying more attention to mental health issues, such as stress management. Wearable devices can be used to monitor emotional status and provide preliminary diagnoses and guided training functions. The nervous system responds to stress, which directly affects eye movements and sweat secretion. Therefore, the changes in brain potential, eye potential, and cortisol content in sweat could be used to interpret emotional changes, fatigue levels, and physiological and psychological stress. To better assess users, stress-sensing devices can be integrated with applications to improve cognitive function, attention, sports performance, learning ability, and stress release. These application-related wearables can be used in medical diagnosis and treatment, such as for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), traumatic stress syndrome, and insomnia, thus facilitating precision medicine. However, many factors contribute to data errors and incorrect assessments, including the various wearable devices, sensor types, data reception methods, data processing accuracy and algorithms, application reliability and validity, and actual user actions. Therefore, in the future, medical platforms for wearable devices and applications should be developed, and product implementations should be evaluated clinically to confirm product accuracy and perform reliable research.
Topics: Humans; Reproducibility of Results; Wearable Electronic Devices; Biosensing Techniques; Athletic Performance; Sweat; Monitoring, Physiologic
PubMed: 36551064
DOI: 10.3390/bios12121097 -
Nature Reviews. Chemistry Dec 2022Biomarkers are crucial biological indicators in medical diagnostics and therapy. However, the process of biomarker discovery and validation is hindered by a lack of... (Review)
Review
Biomarkers are crucial biological indicators in medical diagnostics and therapy. However, the process of biomarker discovery and validation is hindered by a lack of standardized protocols for analytical studies, storage and sample collection. Wearable chemical sensors provide a real-time, non-invasive alternative to typical laboratory blood analysis, and are an effective tool for exploring novel biomarkers in alternative body fluids, such as sweat, saliva, tears and interstitial fluid. These devices may enable remote at-home personalized health monitoring and substantially reduce the healthcare costs. This Review introduces criteria, strategies and technologies involved in biomarker discovery using wearable chemical sensors. Electrochemical and optical detection techniques are discussed, along with the materials and system-level considerations for wearable chemical sensors. Lastly, this Review describes how the large sets of temporal data collected by wearable sensors, coupled with modern data analysis approaches, would open the door for discovering new biomarkers towards precision medicine.
Topics: Wearable Electronic Devices; Biosensing Techniques; Body Fluids; Sweat; Biomarkers
PubMed: 37117704
DOI: 10.1038/s41570-022-00439-w -
The Journal of Thoracic and... Nov 2019
Topics: Humans; Hyperhidrosis; Sweating; Sympathectomy; Thoracic Surgical Procedures
PubMed: 31623815
DOI: 10.1016/j.jtcvs.2019.07.064 -
The Journal of Thoracic and... Nov 2019
Topics: Humans; Hyperhidrosis; Sweat; Sweating; Sympathectomy; Thoracic Surgical Procedures
PubMed: 31623816
DOI: 10.1016/j.jtcvs.2019.08.035 -
Allergology International : Official... Jul 2022Tingling dermal pain triggered by sweating impairs the lives of patients with cholinergic urticaria and generalized anhidrosis. However, dermal pain evoked by sweating...
BACKGROUND
Tingling dermal pain triggered by sweating impairs the lives of patients with cholinergic urticaria and generalized anhidrosis. However, dermal pain evoked by sweating stimuli has been under investigated.
METHODS
To clarify characteristics of tingling dermal pain on sweating, we retrospectively evaluated clinical and histopathological manifestations in 30 patients having the main problem of dermal pain on sweating, and the efficacy of treatments.
RESULTS
Dermal pain upon sweating affected mostly young males. It accompanied eruptions upon sweating and/or hypohidrosis in 24 patients, while 6 patients had dermal pain independently of hypohidrosis or eruptions. Dermal pain appeared immediately upon exposure to sweating stimuli, and disappeared within mostly 30 or 10 min. Hypohidrosis was not necessarily generalized but localized or absent. Histological analysis revealed that dermal pain could occur even without morphological changes and inflammation of sweat glands. Hypersensitivity to sweat contents was found only in 26% of patients. Sweat histamine and increase of plasma histamine after thermal induction in patients were significantly higher than those in healthy subjects. Effectiveness of steroid pulse therapy was demonstrated for dermal pain with hypohidrosis. Medications acting on nervous systems and regular sweat-inducing activities for promoting perspiration were also effective.
CONCLUSIONS
Short-lasting tingling dermal pain appears immediately upon exposure to sweating stimuli, regardless of developing eruptions and/or presence of hypohidrosis, but possibly in association with sweat and plasma histamine.
Topics: Histamine; Humans; Hypohidrosis; Male; Pain; Retrospective Studies; Sweating; Urticaria
PubMed: 35272957
DOI: 10.1016/j.alit.2022.01.003 -
Advanced Science (Weinheim,... Mar 2022Human health and performance monitoring (HHPM) is imperative to provide information necessary for protecting, sustaining, evaluating, and improving personnel in various... (Review)
Review
Human health and performance monitoring (HHPM) is imperative to provide information necessary for protecting, sustaining, evaluating, and improving personnel in various occupational sectors, such as industry, academy, sports, recreation, and military. While various commercially wearable sensors are on the market with their capability of "quantitative assessments" on human health, physical, and psychological states, their sensing is mostly based on physical traits, and thus lacks precision in HHPM. Minimally or noninvasive biomarkers detectable from the human body, such as body fluid (e.g., sweat, tear, urine, and interstitial fluid), exhaled breath, and skin surface, can provide abundant additional information to the HHPM. Detecting these biomarkers with novel or existing sensor technologies is emerging as critical human monitoring research. This review provides a broad perspective on the state of the art biosensor technologies for HHPM, including the list of biomarkers and their physiochemical/physical characteristics, fundamental sensing principles, and high-performance sensing transducers. Further, this paper expands to the additional scope on the key technical challenges in applying the current HHPM system to the real field.
Topics: Biomarkers; Biosensing Techniques; Humans; Monitoring, Physiologic; Sweat; Wearable Electronic Devices
PubMed: 35023321
DOI: 10.1002/advs.202104426 -
Journal of Physiological Anthropology Jul 2022This review mainly aimed to introduce the findings of research projects comparing the responses of tropical and temperate indigenes to heat. From a questionnaire survey... (Review)
Review
This review mainly aimed to introduce the findings of research projects comparing the responses of tropical and temperate indigenes to heat. From a questionnaire survey on thermal sensation and comfort of Indonesians and Japanese, we found that the thermal descriptor "cool" in tropical indigenes connotes a thermally comfortable feeling, suggesting that linguistic heat acclimatization exists on a cognitive level. Ten male students born and raised in Malaysia were invited to Fukuoka, Japan, and compared their responses with 10 Japanese male students with matched physical fitness and morphological characteristics. Cutaneous thermal sensitivity: The sensitivities were measured at 28 °C. The forehead warm sensitivity was significantly blunted in Malaysians. The less sensitivity to the warmth of tropical indigenes is advantageous in respect to withstanding heat stress with less discomfort and a greater ability to work in hot climates. Passive heat stress: Thermoregulatory responses, especially sweating, were investigated, during the lower leg hot bathing (42 °C for 60 min). The rectal temperature at rest was higher in Malaysians and increased smaller during immersion. There was no significant difference in the total amount of sweating between the two groups, while the local sweating on the forehead and thighs was lesser in Malaysians, suggesting distribution of sweating was different from Japanese. Exercise: Malaysian showed a significantly smaller increase in their rectal temperature during 55% maximal exercise for 60 min in heat (32 °C 70% relative humidity), even with a similar sweating and skin blood flow response in Japanese. The better heat tolerance in Malaysians could be explained by the greater convective heat transfer from the body core to the skin due to the greater core-to-skin temperature gradient. In addition, when they were hydrated, Malaysian participants showed better body fluid regulation with smaller reduction in plasma volume at the end of the exercise compared to the non-hydrated condition, whereas Japanese showed no difference between hydration conditions. We further investigated the de-acclimatization of heat adaptation by longitudinal observation on the heat tolerance of international students who had moved from tropical areas to Fukuoka for several years.
Topics: Acclimatization; Body Temperature; Body Temperature Regulation; Climate; Hot Temperature; Humans; Male; Sweating
PubMed: 35836266
DOI: 10.1186/s40101-022-00302-3