When it comes to women’s health, don’t forget that many types of primary care doctors can provide women’s health services.
Service
UBN Medical Care internists:
- Deliver excellent, patient-centered general internal medical care
- Provide access to general internists and specialist teams to treat your chronic or acute conditions
- Assure you have access to the right physician to address your specific health care needs
- Serve as your consultant in diagnosing and treating difficult, undifferentiated problems
The new technique
The new technique starts with a lysate – a tumor puree made up of ruptured melanoma cells. The lysate is used to fill an array of microneedles, embedded in a polymeric transdermal patch. By itself, the lysate is inactive and harmless. But when the patch is applied to the skin, the largest immune organ of the body, the immune system knows that, whatever the lysate is, it shouldn’t be there. This triggers an immune response, which allows the immune system to “remember” the melanoma lysate, improving its response time and efficiency should it encounter melanoma again.
Because melanoma contains high levels of the pigment melanin, the lysate-filled microneedles are fairly dark in color. They absorb light. The researchers take advantage of that in their new technique, shining near infrared light onto the transdermal patch. The light is then largely absorbed by the melanin in the microneedles, which quickly raises the temperature of the skin where the patch is applied.
The local heat causes a fever-like environment in the skin and promotes the release of lysate from the microneedles, effectively attracting and activating immune cells. The increased temperature also contributes to the locally increased blood and lymphatic flow that facilitates the migration of immune cells. This increased immune response amplifies the ability of the body to remember – and respond to – the lysate, better protecting against incursions of melanoma.
To test the patch’s potential as a vaccine, the researchers used three groups of mice: one group got the patch and was exposed to infrared light; one group got the patch, but was not exposed to light; and one group got an empty patch. The mice had the patch on for five days. Ten days after the patch was applied, mice were injected with active melanoma cells.
Within one month, all of the mice that received the empty patch had died from melanoma. The lysate patch by itself, without exposure to near IR light, provided little protection: only 13 percent of the mice survived. Meanwhile, 100 percent of the mice that got the lysate patch and infrared light survived after two months and 87 percent of them had no tumors.
What Is a Primary Care Doctor?
You probably know that primary care doctors treat aches, pains, and colds and give regular check-ups and physicals. But did you know that primary care doctors treat all diseases except for the most uncommon or unusual ones?
Primary care doctors—or general practitioners (GPs)—play an important role in keeping you healthy throughout your life. Your primary care doctor is a champion for your health. They should be your first point of contact when you need services. They can also provide much of the health care you need.
What Kind of Doctors Offer Primary Care?
Different doctors provide primary care for you and your family. Primary care doctors include:
- family medicine doctors (family medicine),
- internal medicine doctors (internal medicine), and
- pediatricians (pediatrics).
Which kind of doctor is best for you will depend on your needs and goals.
- Family medicine doctors care for you and your family. They treat people of all ages and genders—from newborns to the elderly. For these reasons, family medicine doctors are a good option for people who’d like to have one doctor care for their entire family.
- Internal medicine doctors care for adults.
- Pediatricians have special training and expertise in caring for infants, children, and adolescents.
- Geriatricians have special training in caring for older adults by connecting them with services and resources as they age.
Obstetrics & Gynecology
When it comes to women’s health, don’t forget that many types of primary care doctors can provide women’s health services, including:
- Pap smears and pelvic exams,
- mammograms, and
- family planning and contraception.
But if you’d like to see a doctor who has specialized training in women’s health issues, an OB/GYN is a better choice for you.
Geriatrics
Some primary care doctors focus on caring for older adults. If you’re older, you may benefit from seeing a geriatrician, a type of primary care doctor. Geriatricians can help you prevent and treat health problems and disabilities as you age.
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