Swathi Rao PA-C, an Indianapolis Clinician, Graduates to Become a Part of the Elite Group of Certified Practitioners by the Institute for Functional Medicine Swathi has chosen to focus her expertise in Functional medicine for many timely reasons. According to Federal Way, WA; February 10, 2014: "Of total healthcare costs in the United States, more than 75% is due to chronic conditions." Functional medicine incorporates the latest in genetic science and systems biology, and also enables health care practitioners to practice proactive, predictive, and personalized medicine while empowering patients to take an active role in their own health. As a graduate of The Institute for Functional Medicines Certification Program (IFMCP), Swathi Rao is uniquely trained in the functional medicine model to identify and treat the root causes of chronic disease. In order to achieve the designation of IFM Certified Practitioner, Swathi has completed 7 onsite training seminars and passed stringent written and case study evaluations. Swathi joins an elite group of 124 practitioners who are among the first graduates of IFMs Certification Program. About Swathi Rao PA-C Swathi is a Physician Assistant who works at Excell for Life Family Care & Pediatrics. She obtained her Physician Assistant Degree at Buter … Continue reading →

Platelets, whose primary function is to prevent bleeding, are vital for treating various forms of trauma and blood diseases. However, they can only be obtained through blood donations at present. Researchers reporting online February 13 in the Cell Press journal Cell Stem Cell recently found a way to create platelets without the need for donated blood, an advance that could possibly erase supply shortages and ensure platelet treatments for all who need them. The supply of donated platelets, which have a short shelf life and must be kept at room temperature, is often insufficient to meet clinical needs. In addition, while transfused platelets do not typically need to be immune-matched to patients, repeated transfusion of unmatched platelets leads to an immune reaction that eventually renders patients unresponsive to platelet transfusion therapy. To address these limitations, investigators from Japan developed a strategy to derive functional platelets from human induced pluripotent stem cells. Induced pluripotent stem cells can be generated from various types of cells in the body, and they can in turn be coaxed to develop into nearly any other cell type. In the current study, the approach involved genetically manipulating such stem cells to become stable immortalized lines of platelet-producing … Continue reading →