- - European weblog on food, health and environment
News - Week 9 - 2009
Arab-American women need supplement
to boost dangerously low vitamin D levels
Arab-American women living in southeast Detroit whose conservative dress limits their
exposure to sun should be taking a vitamin D supplement to boost their dangerously low
serum levels, according to a study published by Henry Ford Hospital researchers.
Researchers found that all 87 women involved in a small study showed vitamin D levels
averaging 8.5 ng/mL (nanograms per milliliter) for those who wore western dress to 4 ng/mL
for those who wore the hijab, modest dress with a headscarf. A healthy vitamin D level is
30 ng/mL or higher. Also, the women consumed little dietary sources of vitamin D.
Forty-seven women reported drinking any milk on a weekly basis, but the amount they
consume isn't significant enough to boost their vitamin D levels, researchers say. The
study is published in the January/February issue of Endocrine Practice. It is believed to
be the largest study on the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in one of the largest
concentrations of Arab Americans in southeast Michigan. Raymond Hobbs, M.D., a Henry Ford
Internal Medicine physician and lead author of the study, described the vitamin D
deficiency in the women as "much greater than we would have thought." "When
people live where the weather is colder and they are more covered with clothing, they
depend on their diet for their vitamin D," Dr. Hobbs says. "Unfortunately, most
food with the exception of oily fish and vitamin D fortified milk has very little vitamin
D. The women in our study drank very little milk, fortified orange juice and had decreased
sun exposure because of their dress." Low levels of vitamin D are linked to increased
risk of cancer, diabetes and Crohn's disease, Dr. Hobbs says. Vitamin D is needed to
maintain normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus. It also helps in the absorption of
calcium, helping to form and maintain strong bones.
Thank You For Smoking Movie
Miracle Mineral Supplement
Explained
Miracle Mineral Supplement is an AMAZING discovery in health and wellness, one of the
most important discoveries of the last century. This video explains the science of how it
works: MMS, oxidation, sodium chlorite, chlorine dioxide, and your body's immune system.
Genetic 'hotspot' for breast cancer
risk
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center investigators have identified a new genetic hotspot for
breast cancer. Reporting this week in Nature Genetics, Wei Zheng, M.D., Ph.D, and
colleagues have identified a region on chromosome 6 that is strongly associated with
breast cancer susceptibility in Asian women. This genetic "locus" may help guide
efforts to find the specific genes linked with sporadic – or non-inherited –
forms of the disease, the authors suggest. Breast cancer is one of the most common cancer
types among women worldwide. Genetics plays an important role in the disease, and a
handful of breast cancer susceptibility genes – such as BRCA1 and BRCA2 – have
been identified. Mutations in these genes increase risk of inherited forms of breast
cancers. "But the genetic factors identified so far explain only a small percent of
all the cases in the general population," said Zheng, an Ingram Professor of Cancer
Research, professor of Medicine and the director of the Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center.
The genetic factors responsible for the vast majority of cases are unclear, "so there
has been a lot of interest to identify additional genetic factors for breast cancer,"
said Zheng, the senior author on the study. To date, most breast cancer susceptibility
genes have been studied primarily in Caucasian or European populations, but women of other
ethnic backgrounds may have important genetic differences from these groups, Zheng noted.
So the researchers turned to a population of Asian women in Shanghai, China, which they
had been studying for more than a decade to identify nutritional, environmental and
genetic factors associated with disease risk. Using an approach called "genome-wide
association," Zheng and colleagues began looking for genetic variations in Asian
women with breast cancer compared to healthy controls. The investigators analyzed more
than 600,000 genetic markers – called SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) –
for differences between the groups. From the first group of more than 3,000 women, they
selected 29 of the most promising SNPs associated with breast cancer. Through two more
rounds of validation in two independent groups of women, the researchers narrowed down
these 29 candidate SNPs to a single SNP that exhibited strong and consistent association
with breast cancer. The researchers also found a similar association in an independent
group of American women, indicating that the results might be relevant for other ethnic
populations.The influence of the SNP on breast cancer risk appears very large, Zheng
noted.
Common gene variants increase risk
of hypertension, may lead to new therapies
A new study has identified the first common gene variants associated with an increased
incidence of hypertension – a significant risk factor for heart attack, stroke and
kidney failure. The report receiving early online release in the journal Nature Genetics
identifies variants in genes for proteins involved with cardiovascular response to stress
that also appear to influence blood pressure levels, an association previously seen in
animals but not demonstrated in humans. "It's well known that hypertension can run in
families, and a few rare genetic syndromes that raise blood pressure have been identified.
But the common genetic basis for the type of hypertension that affects a billion
individuals around the world has been very difficult to establish," says Christopher
Newton-Cheh, MD, MPH of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Center for Human Genetic
Research and Cardiovascular Research Center, first author of the Nature Genetics report.
To search for hypertension-associated variants, the investigators focused on two genes
called NPPA and NPPB that are involved in the production of atrial and B-type natriuretic
peptides (ANP and BNP) – proteins known to relax blood vessels and to be involved in
the excretion of dietary sodium. Animals in which both copies of NPPA have been knocked
out are hypertensive, and even those with a single functional copy will develop
hypertension on a high-sodium diet. The overall study involved analyzing genetic data from
almost 30,000 individuals. The researchers first screened 1,700 participants in the
Framingham Heart Study for 13 common variations – called single-nucleotide
polymorphisms (SNPs) – in the NPPA and NPPB genes, looking for any correlation with
levels of ANP and BNP. SNPs identified in that first stage were validated in three other
study groups, including participants from Sweden and Finland; and variants associated with
changes in natriuretic peptide levels were then tested in the same individuals for any
association with blood pressure levels. Results of that third stage – which suggested
two hypertension-associated SNPs – were validated in another study group. One
identified variant, found in almost 90 percent of the population, was associated with a 20
percent reduction of ANP levels and an 18 percent greater incidence of hypertension. The
other variant had a similar although less pronounced effect on ANP levels and blood
pressure.
Researchers shed new light on
connection between brain and loneliness
Social isolation affects how people behave as well as how their brains operate, a study at
the University of Chicago shows. The research, presented Sunday at a symposium,
"Social Emotion and the Brain," at the annual meeting of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, is the first to use fMRI scans to study the
connections between perceived social isolation (or loneliness) and activity in the brain.
Combining fMRI scans with data relevant to social behavior is part of an emerging field
examining brain mechanisms—an approach to psychology being pioneered at the
University of Chicago. Researchers found that the ventral striatum—a region of the
brain associated with rewards—is much more activated in non-lonely people than in the
lonely when they view pictures of people in pleasant settings. In contrast, the
temporoparietal junction—a region associated with taking the perspective of another
person—is much less activated among lonely than in the non-lonely when viewing
pictures of people in unpleasant settings. "Given their feelings of social isolation,
lonely individuals may be left to find relative comfort in nonsocial rewards," said
John Cacioppo, the Tiffany and Margaret Blake Professor in Psychology at the University.
He spoke at the briefing along with Jean Decety, the Irving B. Harris Professor in
Psychology and Psychiatry at the University. The ventral striatum, which is critical to
learning, is a key portion of the brain and is activated through primary rewards such as
food and secondary rewards such as money. Social rewards and feelings of love also may
activate the region. Cacioppo, one of the nation's leading scholars on loneliness, has
shown that loneliness undermines health and can be as detrimental as smoking. About one in
five Americans experience loneliness, he said. Decety is one of the nation's leading
researchers to use fMRI scans to explore empathy.
Researchers identify gene mutations
in kids with mental deficiency
Mental deficiency is the most frequently occurring, yet least understood handicap in
children. Even a mild form can lead to social isolation, bullying and require assistance
with simple tasks. The most common variety, non-syndromic mental deficiency (NSMD), is
defined as affecting an otherwise normal looking child. With few physical clues in
affected children to point researchers towards candidates to study, progress in
identifying genetic causes of NSMD has been very slow. Until now. Jacques L. Michaud, a
geneticist at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center and the Centre of
Excellence in Neuromics of the Université de Montréal, has led a multidisciplinary team
which has identified mutations in a novel gene in children with NSMD. Their study is
published in today's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine and includes
collaborators from McGill University in Canada, the National Institute of Mental Health
and the Nathan S Kline Institute in the U.S. and the Université Paris Descartes in
France. The identified mutations affect the function of SYNGAP1, a gene that codes for a
protein involved in the development and function of the connections between brain cells,
also called synapses. The disruption of this gene has been shown to impair memory and
learning in mice. Dr. Michaud and his colleagues are continuing to recruit children and
adults with unexplained NSMD for their study.
New study provides insight into
ways organ systems outside the brain may affect Alzheimer's disease
In Alzheimer's disease the brain accumulates a molecule called A-beta that can be quite
toxic to brain cells. Many researchers believe that finding ways to clear A-beta may be a
key to treatment or prevention of Alzheimer's disease. A study published in the February
issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease provides new insights into the way A-beta in
the peripheral blood stream affects A-beta clearance in the brain. Scientists from the
University of Washington in Seattle, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, and the University
of Hong Kong found that when circulating A-beta levels in the blood stream of rats were
elevated, known amounts of radioactively tagged A-beta were swept from the brain more
slowly. These findings directly demonstrate something researchers have proposed for
several years now—that freely circulating A-beta concentrations outside the brain can
regulate A-beta clearance rates inside the central nervous system. Researchers are coming
to appreciate that the brain does not act alone in the task of clearing A-beta . It can be
shuttled back and forth between compartments inside the brain and the peripheral blood
supply where A-beta interacts with other organ systems. Treatments that increase the flow
of A-beta away from the brain hold great therapeutic promise. Despite the promise of such
work many basic questions still need to be answered about how the brain interacts with the
rest of body to hold A-beta in check.
Study Finds Behavorial Link Between
Insomnia and Tension-Type Headaches
Using sleep or napping to cope with chronic pain caused by tension-type headaches could
lead to chronic insomnia according to a new study by researchers at Rush University
Medical Center. The study, published in the February 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical
Sleep Medicine, found that napping to relieve headache pain could serve as a behavioral
link between headache and sleep disturbance. The study compared a group of 32 women who
were confirmed to have tension-type headaches, as classified by the International Headache
Society System, to a control group of 33 women who experience minimal pain. Eighty-one
percent of the women in the headache group reported going to sleep as a way of managing
their headaches; this method was also rated as the most effective self-management strategy
for pain. Principal investigator and lead author, Jason C. Ong, PhD, assistant professor
of behavioral sciences at Rush University Medical Center, said the extent to which the
headache sufferers rated sleep as being an effective method for coping with pain was
somewhat surprising.
Radioimmunotherapy = Promising
treatment for HIV infection and viral cancers
Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have piggybacked
antibodies onto radioactive payloads to deliver doses of radiation that selectively target
and destroy microbial and HIV-infected cells. The experimental treatment — called
radioimmunotherapy, or RIT — holds promise for treating various infectious diseases,
including HIV and cancers caused by viruses. The research was presented today at the
annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the
world's largest general scientific society and the publishers of the journal Science. The
talk, part of the AAAS Topical Lecture Series, was delivered by Ekaterina Dadachova,
Ph.D., a leading RIT researcher at Einstein. Dr. Dadachova is the Olnick Faculty Scholar
in Cancer Research, as well as an associate professor of nuclear medicine and of
microbiology & immunology at the College of Medicine. RIT, which is currently used in
cancer treatment, capitalizes on the fact that each type of antibody is programmed to seek
out just one type of antigen in the body. Thus, by attaching radioactive material to a
particular antibody, radiation can be targeted at specific cells that express the
corresponding antigen, minimizing collateral damage to other tissues. This level of
specificity is not possible with existing forms of radiation therapy.
ALS Linked to Formaldehyde Exposure
Working with formaldehyde may increase the likelihood of developing amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis (ALS), a researcher said here, but pesticides were exonerated as a factor.
Study provides additional evidence
that potato chips should be eaten in moderation
A new study published in the March 2009 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition by Marek
Naruszewicz and colleagues from Poland suggests that acrylamide from foods may increase
the risk of heart disease. Acrylamide has been linked previously to nervous system
disorders and possibly to cancer. After ingesting large amounts of potato chips providing
about 157 micrograms of acrylamide daily for four weeks, the participants had adverse
changes in oxidized LDL, inflammatory markers and antioxidants that help the body
eliminate acrylamide—all of which may increase the risk of heart disease. Additional
research is needed in long-term studies of people consuming typical amounts of acrylamide
(averaging about 20 to 30 micrograms). It is recommended that FDA and the food industry
continue to decrease acrylamide in foods by improving food processing technologies. FDA
reports that acrylamide is particularly high in potato chips and French fries
(http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/acrydata.html). According to American Society for Nutrition
Spokesperson Mary Ann Johnson, PhD: "Consumers can reduce their exposure to
acrylamide by limiting their intake of potato chips and French fries, choosing a variety
of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low fat meat and dairy products, and quitting
smoking, which is a major source of acrylamide."
Device aims to decrease wait period
for patients needing immunotherapy
Researchers from the Children's Cancer Hospital at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson
Cancer Center have created a device that significantly decreases the time needed to
produce genetically manipulated T cells in preclinical tests for leukemia. Paul (Yoonsu)
Choi, Ph.D., presented the device he engineered, along with supporting research, at the
annual meeting of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation in Tampa, FL,
today. Choi's device, called HitMeD (high throughput medical electroporation device), has
been used for preclinical studies in treatment of acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), with
early results indicating it has the potential to decrease a patient's wait time to receive
immunotherapy from weeks and months to days and weeks. "This particular device is an
automated system designed to work with the press of a button, which saves us time and
resources," says Choi. "More importantly, it's a very safe method of gene
transfer." Multiple relapsed ALL in pediatric patients is a rapidly progressive
cancer that is often resistant to chemotherapy, leading to poor survival prognosis. Since
chemotherapy typically fails these patients, new approaches, such as cell-based therapy,
are needed to combat the quickly spreading leukemia.
Vitamin E may decrease and increase
mortality of male smokers with high dietary vitamin C intake
Six-year vitamin E supplementation decreased mortality by 41% in elderly male smokers who
had high dietary vitamin C intake, but increased mortality by 19% in middle-aged smokers
who had high vitamin C intake, according to a study published in the American Journal of
Epidemiology. Large-scale controlled trials have not found any overall effects of vitamin
E supplementation on the mortality of participants. Nevertheless, the effect of vitamin E
on respiratory infections has significantly diverged between different population groups
suggesting that the effects of vitamin E may not be uniform over all the population.
An inexhaustible Source of neural
Cells
Research scientists in Bonn have succeeded in deriving so-called brain stem cells from
human embryonic stem cells. These can not only be conserved almost indefinitely in
culture, but can also serve as an inexhaustible source of diverse types of neural cell.
The scientists have also shown that these neural cells are capable of synaptic integration
in the brain. Their results have been published in the latest edition of the Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences PNAS. For years, stem cell research appeared to be
divided between two worlds: on the one hand, were the embryonic stem cells –
omnipotent, with unlimited development potential, and on the other, were the so-called
somatic stem cells, which were obtainable from adult tissue, but have only limited
potential for self-renewal and development. Scientists in Bonn have now succeeded in
combining these two worlds: they have derived brain stem cells of almost unlimited
self-renewal capacity and conservation potential from human embrionic stem cells. Using
these stable cell lines, they were then able to obtain a continual in vitro supply of
diverse types of human neural cell including, for example, those which fail with
Parkinson´s disease.
Gut parasites that can infect man
are widespread in domestic and wild animals in Norway
The gut protozoans Giardia duodenalis and various species of Cryptosporidium are extremely
contagious single-celled parasites liable to cause digestive disease in both man and
animals. Some species and genotypes of Cryptosporidium and Giardia are important zooneses,
as they occur in both animals and man. Zooneses are diseases that may be transmitted
between animals and people. Inger Sofie Hamnes showed in her doctorate that parasites of
the groups Cryptosporidium and Giardia are extremely widespread in domestic animals, wild
deer species and the red fox in Norway. Genotyping of Giardia isolated from elk, wild
reindeer and red foxes showed that Giardia duodenalis in these animals may potentially
infect humans. Hamnes studied the occurrence of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in calves,
dogs, wild deer species (elk, wild reindeer, red deer, roe deer and Svalbard reindeer),
piglets and red fox in Norway, by analysis of scats.
University of the Basque Country
team develop nano-hydrogels capable of detecting cancer cells
The hydrogels are polymers in the shape of a net. These hydrogels can swell up — by
absorption — but cannot be dissolved in a liquid. This type of polymers has many and
very diverse applications. For example, they can be used to make artificial muscle or for
capturing heavy metals in waste water. The New Materials and Supramolecular Spectroscopy
research team at the Department of Physical Chemistry in the Faculty of Sciences and
Technology of the UPV/EHU is a pioneering one in the investigation of hydrogels and is led
by Dr. Issa A. Katime, author of the only book published in Spanish on the topic. At
present, they are using hydrogels to release pharmaceutical drugs in a controlled manner,
for example, with cancer patients. Their goal was to design a particle capable of
detecting where the cancer is. To this end, intelligent hydrogels capable of detecting
changes in pH were developed — while blood generally has a pH of 7.4, in a zone where
a cancer is located it drops to 4.7-5.2. In order to achieve this capability, these
hydrogels are functionalised with folic acid, which has the ability to detect and to
“trick” cancer cells, in such a way that these permit penetration of their
membranes: under these conditions the hydrogel acts like a “Trojan horse”. Once
in the cell interior, the change in pH favours the swelling of the nano-hydrogel and,
thus, the release of the pharmaceutical drug.
Does gene show link between
migraine and stroke or heart attacks?
New research looks at whether a gene variant may affect the link between migraine and
stroke or heart attacks. The study is published in the February 17, 2009, print issue of
Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study involved
25,000 women who answered a questionnaire about their history of migraines and migraines
with aura. Aura is usually described as visual disturbances, such as flashing lights or
geometric patterns. The women were tested for a genetic variant called the
angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) D/I polymorphism. A total of 4,577 women reported a
history of migraine and of those, 1,275 had migraine with aura. Twelve years after the
start of the study, 625 strokes and heart attacks were reported. The study did not find a
link between the gene variant and migraine, migraine with aura, stroke or heart attacks.
However, women who had migraine with aura and also were carriers of certain genotypes,
called the DD and the DI genotypes, had double the risk of stroke and heart attacks. In
contrast, women who had migraine with aura and were carriers of a third genotype, called
the II genotype, were not at increased risk. The authors add the caution that this
relationship was identified with very little information and must be tested in other
studies to determine if it is real.
Closure of patent foramen ovale may
benefit migraine sufferers
Reducing the frequency and severity of disabling migraines is crucial for quality of life.
A new study, published in the February 2009 issue of JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions,
finds significant improvement of migraine following catheter-based closure of patent
foramen ovale (PFO)—a slight opening in the wall between the right and left atria.
These findings confirm those of previous observational studies, which consistently show
that when a PFO is closed—whether it's following a stroke or decompression
illness—migraine also tends to improve in the majority of cases (approximately 75
percent). However, the present study was the first to enroll patients with severe
migraine, a large PFO and no history of stroke or transient ischemic attacks, but with
silent brain lesions on magnetic resonance imaging. "The study suggests closure of a
large PFO may improve migraine in patients with subclinical brain lesions, as well as
those with prior stroke," says Carlo Vigna, M.D., of Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza
IRCCS Hospital, San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy. "In the past, the beneficial effect on
migraine was occasionally seen after PFO closure was performed for other reasons, for
example, unexplained stroke. Conversely, the recently published MIST trial did not show
significant improvement of symptoms in 'pure migraneurs' in the absence of symptomatic or
subclinical cerebral ischemia. As compared with these two extremes, we enrolled patients
with an intermediate subset of characteristics." Patients were divided into either
the closure (n=53) or control (n=29) group based on their consent to undergo percutaneous
PFO closure, and prospectively examined for 6 months. Compared with the medically treated
control group, closure of a PFO resulted in greater numbers of patients who had cessation
of migraine attacks, cessation of disabling attacks and over 50 percent reduction in
migraine attacks.
Targeting the protein AEG1 impairs
human liver cancer growth in mice
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly aggressive form of liver cancer and one of the
5 most common cancers worldwide. Devanand Sarkar and colleagues, at Virginia Commonwealth
University School of Medicine, Richmond, have now identified a gene that is expressed at
high levels in human HCC tumor samples and generates a protein important for HCC
progression. They therefore suggest that targeting this gene (AEG1), or the protein that
it generates, might provide a new therapeutic strategy for the treatment of HCC. In the
study, human liver cells were found to express only low levels of the protein AEG1,
whereas human HCC tumor samples expressed very high levels. This was associated with an
increase in the number of copies of the AEG1 gene in human HCC tumor samples.
Functionally, human liver cell lines engineered to overexpress AEG1 grew faster than
nonengineered cells and developed into highly aggressive tumors when transplanted into
mice. In addition, knocking down levels of AEG1 in human HCC cell lines after they had
been allowed to form a tumor in mice limited further growth. Further analysis revealed
that the effects of AEG1 were mediated, in part, via its ability to activate the Wnt
signaling pathway.
Scientists uncover indicator that
warns leukemia is progressing to more dangerous form
Scientists at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego,
Stanford University School of Medicine and other centers have identified a mechanism by
which a chronic form of leukemia can progress into a deadlier stage of the disease. The
findings may provide physicians with an indicator of when this type of cancer –
chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) – is progressing, enabling them to make more accurate
prognoses for the disease and improved treatment choices. "If we can predict when a
patient is moving from the chronic phase in CML to the blast crisis stage, then we can
hopefully intervene before it's too late," said Catriona H.M. Jamieson, MD, PhD,
assistant professor of medicine at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and Director for
Stem Cell Research at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center. The findings, reported online during
the week of February 16, 2009 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also
shed light on the development of potentially treatment-resistant leukemia stem cells and
provide insights for new strategies against CML and other cancers. Led by Jamieson and
Irving Weissman, MD, director of the Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine Institute
at the Stanford University School of Medicine, the researchers discovered that when a
molecular off-switch called glycogen synthase kinase (GSK) 3 beta becomes faulty in
chronic stage CML cells, it fails to turn off another protein, beta-catenin. This in turn
enables pre-leukemia stem cells to develop into leukemia stem cells and expand their
numbers, leading to progression to the more dangerous "blast crisis" stage of
CML. This errant off-switch is a potential therapeutic target, Jamieson explained.
New research shows high-quality
protein in eggs contributes to power, strength and energy
A research review published recently in Nutrition Today(1) affirms that the high-quality
protein in eggs makes a valuable contribution to muscle strength, provides a source of
sustained energy and promotes satiety. High-quality protein is an important nutrient for
active individuals at all life stages, and while most Americans consume the recommended
dietary allowance (RDA) for protein, additional research suggests that some Americans are
not consuming enough high-quality protein to achieve and maintain optimal health.(2,3,4)
Case Western Reserve researchers
looking at light-induced toxins in air and water
Is the air we breathe on a daily basis slowly killing us? It may not be that severe, but
the air we breathe and water we drink may be more harmful than we realize. Toxic
nitro-aromatic pollutants (or nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), both manmade and
naturally occurring, continue to be emitted into the air and are present in food, water
systems, soils and sediments, says Carlos Crespo, the Case Western Reserve University
chemistry assistant professor whose research team is studying how ultraviolet-visible
light interacts with and transforms these compounds under controlled laboratory settings.
The goal of his group is to assess the physical and chemical consequences of sunlight
absorption by these pollutants in the environment. In particular, the Crespo research
group wants to know the relaxation pathways used by these pollutants to redistribute the
excess electronic energy gained when they absorb light and how this energy is used to
transform these compounds into other harmful compounds or products. Their work is being
funded by a $100,000 grant from the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund.
"Degradation by sunlight is thought to be the main route of natural removal of
nitro-aromatic compounds from the environment. Consequently, understanding how the
absorption of light transforms these compounds holds the key for predicting their
environmental fate and for designing effective pollution control strategies," says
Crespo. He added, "These relatively small compounds are formed primarily through
incomplete combustion processes, like municipal incinerators, motor vehicles and power
plants."
Study Finds Phosphorus Additives
Hiding in Fast and Processed Foods
Advanced kidney disease patients have a list of foods they know to avoid because they
naturally contain a high level of the mineral phosphorus, which is difficult for their
compromised kidneys to expel. But researchers from MetroHealth Medical Center and Case
Western Reserve University School of Medicine have discovered that many processed and fast
food contain phosphorus additives, which can be just as dangerous for these patients.
Researchers identify novel genetic
markers linked to increased risk of heart attack
An international team of researchers including scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München
has succeeded in identifying new gene variants associated with an increased risk for
myocardial infarction (MI), or heart attack. The identified genes and their underlying
mechanisms provide new starting points for understanding genetic patterns in MI and for
developing new treatment options. A key finding is that the MI risk is more than twice as
great in individuals who carry not only one but several of the genetic markers. Three
studies on genetic markers and MI risk have now been published in the current online issue
of the renowned journal Nature Genetics.
Krill netting threatens food source
of whales and penguins
New genomic markers associated with
risk of heart disease and early heart attack
Five short reports published simultaneously by the journal Nature Genetics have for the
first time identified clusters of genetic markers associated with heart attack and
coronary heart disease. In one of the reports, from the largest ever study of its kind,
the Myocardial Infarction Genetics Consortium identified nine precise genes associated
with an increased risk of infarction (MI), three of them newly discovered; the
investigators said that these nine gene variants “identify 20% of the population at
2.25-fold increased risk for MI”. This study set out to find “single
letter” differences in gene sequences (known as single nucleotide polymorphisms,
SNPs) in 26,000 individuals in ten countries in order to explain why the pattern of early
onset heart attack is often clustered in families. Using recently developed techniques for
comparing an individual’s gene sequences with reference sequences, the researchers
found significant associations with risk of early heart attack for common SNPs in nine
genetic regions.
Researchers Isolate Protein Domain
Linked to Tumor Progression
When a promising cancer drug reached clinical trials in the 1990s, researchers were
disappointed by the debilitating side effects that limited the trials. The drug inhibited
a family of enzymes known as matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Now, researchers at
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have shown that creating drugs that inactivate a
different part of the MMP enzyme could have the capacity to target the tumor without the
damaging side effects. Their findings, which hold promise for improved cancer therapies,
were published Feb. 5 in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences (PNAS). “The failure of the clinical trials suggest that the
proteinases were not only involved in the pathology of the disease, but also in
maintaining the normal health of the patient,” said Andrea Page-McCaw, assistant
professor of biology at Rensselaer and the corresponding author of the study. Page-McCaw
and her colleagues, including senior research specialist Bernadette M. Glasheen and
undergraduate biology student Aasish Kabra, set out to determine the functions of
different parts of an MMP enzyme. These parts, known as domains, usually correlate to a
specific protein function. Inactivating one domain within a protein can often have
significant and unknown consequences.
Mutant rats offer clues to medical
mystery
A research project at Rice University has brought scientists to the brink of comprehending
a long-standing medical mystery that may link cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and
perhaps even Alzheimer's disease. The recent paper in Artery Research by Rice evolutionary
biologist Michael Kohn and his team reports they have found that common rats with a
genetic mutation have developed a resistance to rat poison, aka warfarin. That's good news
for the rats, but it comes at a price. The mutation also leaves them susceptible to
arterial calcification and, potentially, osteoporosis. The discovery is certainly good
news for humans. In the mutated gene, the researchers found what could be the link that
solves the calcification paradox, the puzzling association between metabolic bone disease
and vascular calcification that has eluded researchers for years. Kohn, an assistant
professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, collaborated with Roger Price of the Baylor
College of Medicine and Hans-Joachim Pelz of the Julius Kuehn Institute in Germany.
Forgotten and lost - when proteins
"shut down" our brain
Which modules of the tau protein, in neurons of Alzheimer disease patients, may act in a
destructive manner were investigated by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for
Biophysical Chemistry (Göttingen) and the Max Planck Unit for Structural Molecular
Biology (Hamburg) with the help of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (PLoS Biology,
February 17, 2009). Coordination becomes difficult, items disappear, keeping new
information in the mind is impossible. Worldwide almost 30 million people suffer from
Alzheimer’s disease, a neurodegenerative, irreversible ailment which starts with
memory gaps and ends in helplessness and the loss of personality. The most critical factor
in developing Alzheimer’s disease is age. Most cases occur after the age of 65. Two
hallmarks are typical for Alzheimer affected brains. One of them, located between nerve
cells, is amyloid plaques - extracellular protein aggregates mainly composed of a protein
named beta-amyloid. The other clue is intracellular tau fibrils. In the interplay with
genetic factors, the latter contribute to a disordered communication within the cell. This
triggers cell death. But the tau protein is not only harmful. Quite the contrary is the
case. In its normal non-pathogenic form tau binds to microtubules, long tubular
cytoskeletal building blocks, which serve as "tracks" for intracellular
transport. In patients afflicted by Alzheimer’s disease or similar dementia, tau is
abnormally altered. In its pathogenic form tau possesses more phosphorylated amino acids
than in its normal healthy counterpart. "Our interest was focussed on how certain
phosphorylated residues alter the structure of tau in a way that it can not bind to
microtubules anymore" explains Markus Zweckstetter at the Max Planck Institute for
Biophysical Chemistry.
Researchers Identify Gene Linked to
Aggressive Progression of Liver Cancer
Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have identified a gene that plays a key role
in regulating liver cancer progression, a discovery that could one day lead to new
targeted therapeutic strategies to fight the highly aggressive disease. Hepatocellular
carcinoma, HCC, or liver cancer, is the fifth most common cancer and the third leading
cause of cancer deaths in the world. Treatment options for HCC include chemotherapy,
chemoembolization, ablation and proton-beam therapy. Liver transplantation offers the best
chance for a cure in patients with small tumors and significant associated liver disease.
Enzyme weakens the heart
Genetic suppression protects from chronic cardiac insufficiency in animal tests /
Heidelberg cardiologists publish findings in “Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences” An enzyme makes the mouse heart prone to chronic cardiac insufficiency
– if it is suppressed, the heart remains strong despite increased stress.
Cardiologists at the Internal Medicine Clinic at Heidelberg University Hospital in
cooperation with scientists at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at
Dallas and Göttingen University Hospital have now explained this key mechanism in a mouse
model and thus discovered a promising approach for the systematic prevention of chronic
cardiac insufficiency. The study has now been published online before print in the
prestigious journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences”. Long-term
high pressure and stenoses of the valves or aorta make the heart work harder. When it
compensates by excessive muscle growth (cardiac hypertrophy), the pump function is
affected – rhythm disorders or heart failure can be the result. Other risk factors
are overweight and age – more than 40 percent of people over age 70 suffer from
cardiac muscle hypertrophy. Despite progress in medication, around 95,000 people in
Germany die annually from the consequences of chronic cardiac insufficiency. “It is
essential to find the molecules that are key to the development of cardiac insufficiency
in order to develop new, more efficient treatment“ states Dr. Johannes Backs, head of
a research group in the Department of Cardiology, Angiology, and Pneumonology (Director
Prof. Dr. med. Hugo A. Katus) at Heidelberg University Hospital.
In flurry of studies, researcher
details role of apples in inhibiting breast cancer
Six studies published in the past year by a Cornell researcher add to growing evidence
that an apple a day -- as well as daily helpings of other fruits and vegetables -- can
help keep the breast-cancer doctor away. In one of his recent papers, published in the
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (57:1), Rui Hai Liu, Cornell associate
professor of food science and a member of Cornell's Institute for Comparative and
Environmental Toxicology, reports that fresh apple extracts significantly inhibited the
size of mammary tumors in rats -- and the more extracts they were given, the greater the
inhibition. "We not only observed that the treated animals had fewer tumors, but the
tumors were smaller, less malignant and grew more slowly compared with the tumors in the
untreated rats," said Liu, pointing out that the study confirmed the findings of his
preliminary study in rats published in 2007.
Blocking Protein Leads To Fewer,
Smaller Skin Cancer Tumors
New research suggests that blocking the activity of a protein in the blood could offer
powerful protection against some skin cancers. In the study, normal mice and mice that had
a genetically engineered protein deficiency were exposed to almost a year of ultraviolet
light that mimics chronic sun exposure. The mice that lacked the protein developed fewer,
smaller, less aggressive and less vascular skin cancer tumors than did the normal
mice.Because a low-dose drug that blocks the protein’s activity in the blood is
currently under investigation by a Pennsylvania pharmaceutical company, the researchers
hope that someday, a simple pill might help prevent or treat nonmelanoma skin cancer in
people at highest risk for the disease.
Weight Loss Improves Fatty Liver
Disease, SLU Researchers Find
In a recent study, Saint Louis University researchers found that weight loss of at least 9
percent helped patients reverse a type of liver disease known as nonalcoholic
steatohepatitis (NASH), a finding that will allow doctors to give patients specific
weight-loss goals that are likely to improve their livers. The finding comes from a study
of the diet drug orlistat (also known as Xenical and Alli), which did not itself improve
liver disease. Brent Neuschwander-Tetri, M.D., a hepatologist at Saint Louis University
Liver Center and study researcher said, "It's a helpful study because we can now give
patients a benchmark, a line they need to cross to see improvement." The study looked
at patients with NASH, which is a type of liver disease characterized by excessive fat,
causing inflammation and damage in the liver. Researchers set out to see if orlistat,
which limits fat absorption, along with calorie restriction would lead to weight loss and
improve liver disease in overweight patients with NASH, which was determined by a liver
biopsy.
Estrogen Found to Increase Growth
of the Most Common Childhood Brain Tumor
University of Cincinnati researchers have discovered that estrogen receptors are present
in medulloblastoma—the most common type of pediatric brain tumor—leading them to
believe that anti-estrogen drug treatments may be beneficial in limiting tumor progression
and improving patients’ overall outcome. In estrogen-responsive cancers—such as
breast cancer—estrogen receptors act to increase tumor growth and progression.
Estrogen receptors are also the most important drug targets for the treatment of breast
cancer. “Current therapies for medulloblastoma involve cranial surgery, chemotherapy
and radiation,” says Scott Belcher, PhD, principal investigator of the study.
“This discovery suggests that we may be able to use anti-hormone or estrogen drug
therapies—like those used to treat breast cancers—to limit progression of these
childhood brain tumors and to decrease the adverse side-effects of radiation
treatment.”
Genetic ID of marker in lymph nodes
may be linked to colorectal cancer recurrence risk
A preliminary report suggests that genetic testing may help identify a marker in lymph
nodes that is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer recurrence among
patients in whom conventional testing indicates that those lymph nodes show no evidence of
cancer spread, according to a study in the February 18 issue of JAMA. Metastasis of tumor
cells to regional lymph nodes is the single most important prognostic factor in patients
with colorectal cancer. Recurrence rates increase from approximately 25 percent in
patients with lymph nodes free of tumor cells as determined by biopsy (pN0 colorectal
cancer) to approximately 50 percent in patients with four or more lymph nodes with
metastases, according to background information in the article. "Given the
established relationship between lymph node metastasis and prognosis, recurrence in a
substantial fraction of patients with pN0 colorectal cancer suggests the presence of
occult [undetected] metastases (pN0 [mol+]) in regional lymph nodes that escape [biopsy]
detection. Conversely, patients with pN0 colorectal cancer who are free of lymph node
metastases may be at lowest risk for developing recurrent disease. Thus, a more accurate
assessment of occult metastases in regional lymph nodes in patients with pN0 colorectal
cancer could improve risk stratification in this clinically heterogeneous
population," the authors write. Research suggests that guanylyl cyclase C (GUCY2C),
an intestinal tumor suppressing receptor, is a specific molecular marker for metastatic
colorectal cancer that could reveal occult metastases in lymph nodes and better estimate
recurrence risk.
Research identifies how
inflammatory disease causes fatigue
New animal research in the February 18 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience may indicate
how certain diseases make people feel so tired and listless. Although the brain is usually
isolated from the immune system, the study suggests that certain behavioral changes
suffered by those with chronic inflammatory diseases are caused by the infiltration of
immune cells into the brain. The findings suggest possible new treatment avenues to
improve patients' quality of life. Chronic inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid
arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis, and liver disease cause "sickness
behaviors," including fatigue, malaise, and loss of social interest. However, it has
been unclear how inflammation in other organs in the body can impact the brain and
behavior. The researchers found that in mice with inflamed livers, white blood cells
called monocytes infiltrated the brain. These findings support previous research
demonstrating the presence of immune cells in the brain following organ inflammation,
challenging the long-held belief that the blood-brain barrier prevents immune cells from
accessing the brain. "Using an experimental model of liver inflammation, our group
has demonstrated for the first time the existence of a novel communication pathway between
the inflamed liver and the brain," said the study's senior author Mark Swain, MD,
Professor of Medicine at the University of Calgary.
Biomarker predicts disease
recurrence in colorectal cancer
Findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association by researchers at
Thomas Jefferson University show that the presence of a biomarker in regional lymph nodes
is an independent predictor of disease recurrence in patients with colorectal cancer.
Detection of the biomarker, guanylyl cyclase 2C (GUCY2C), indicates the presence of occult
metastases in lymph nodes that may not have been identified by current cancer staging
methods, according to Scott Waldman, M.D., Ph.D., chairman of the Department of
Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas
Jefferson University. According to Dr. Waldman, who is also the Samuel M.V. Hamilton
Professor of Clinical Pharmacology in the Department of Medicine at Jefferson Medical
College, colorectal cancer that has metastasized, or spread, to the regional lymph nodes
carries a worse prognosis and a higher risk for recurrence. However, these metastases are
often missed, and the cancer is understaged. "One of the unmet needs in colorectal
cancer is an accurate staging method to determine how far the disease has spread,"
said Dr. Waldman, who is also director of the Gastrointestinal Malignancies Program at the
Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson. "The current standard method, histopathology, is
imperfect since it only involves looking at a very small sample of the regional lymph
nodes under a microscope. There is no way to know whether occult metastases are present in
the rest of the tissue."
Biomarker Predicts Disease
Recurrence in Colorectal Cancer
Findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association by researchers at
Thomas Jefferson University show that the presence of a biomarker in regional lymph nodes
is an independent predictor of disease recurrence in patients with colorectal cancer.
Detection of the biomarker, guanylyl cyclase 2C (GUCY2C), indicates the presence of occult
metastases in lymph nodes that may not have been identified by current cancer staging
methods, according to Scott Waldman, M.D., Ph.D., chairman of the Department of
Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas
Jefferson University and Hospital.According to Dr. Waldman, who is also the Samuel M.V.
Hamilton Professor of Clinical Pharmacology in the Department of Medicine at Jefferson
Medical College, colorectal cancer that has metastasized, or spread, to the regional lymph
nodes carries a worse prognosis and a higher risk for recurrence. However, these
metastases are often missed, and the cancer is understaged.
Supplement of probiotics provides a
new therapy for ulcerative colitis
The animal and clinical studies indicated that gastrointestinal bacteria play an important
role in the development of UC, and the supplement of probiotics was beneficial for UC.
While Because of the specific damage site of UC and the different colonization of each
bacterium, it is suggested that different probiotics displayed different effects on UC.
The obvious effective strain should be more beneficial for UC. A research article to be
published on January 21, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this
question. The research team led by Professor Lu from the Department of Gastroenterology,
The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University compared the effects of four
strains of probiotics which were isolated from healthy human feces by his facility, in
order to find one or two obvious effective strains. This investigation showed that all
four strains of probiotics (E.feacalis, L.acidophilus, C.butyricum and B.adolescentis)
could relieve symptom of experimental colitis close to SASP on an evaluation of weight
loss, colon length, DAI scores, histological scores, proteins and mRNA levels of IL-1and
Il-4, and MPO. The effectiveness of E.faecalis was better than the other three strains.
Taurine - Key to the visual
toxicity of an anti-epileptic drug for children?
Vigabatrin (Sabril), first intention molecule for the treatment of epilepsy in children,
in many cases produces secondary effects that lead to an irreversible loss of vision.
Serge Picaud, head of research at Inserm, and his colleagues of the Institut de la Vision
have just discovered the origin of this secondary effect and have proposed strategies for
limiting it. They have shown that vigabatrin provokes a marked decrease in the blood level
in an amino acid, taurine, resulting in a degeneration of the retina cells induced by
light. The researchers therefore suggest that exposure to light should be reduced and a
taurine-rich diet introduced in order to curb immediately these secondary effects in
children undergoing treatment. As for the validation of an alternative treatment
associating vigabatrin and taurine, this will necessitate several years of development.
Epilepsy affects 1% of the world's population. With children, its treatment remains
extremely restricted, and vigabatrin, (marketed in France under the name of Sabril®), has
obtained marketing authorisation for children aged under 2 years. This anticonvulsant,
which is also administered to adults in the case of failure of other treatments, is at the
same time now being evaluated for the treatment of addiction to heroin, cocaine and
methamphetamines. However, the serious secondary effects of this drug can induce an
impairment of the retina and a restriction of the visual field, noted, depending on the
studies, in 10% to 40% of patients.
Indoor plants can reduce
formaldehyde levels
The toxic gas formaldehyde is contained in building materials including carpeting,
curtains, plywood, and adhesives. As it is emitted from these sources, it deteriorates the
air quality, which can lead to "multiple chemical sensitivity" and "sick
building syndrome", medical conditions with symptoms such as allergies, asthma, and
headaches. The prevalence of formaldehyde and other volatile organic compounds (VOC) is
greater in new construction.Researchers are studying the ability of plants to reduce
formaldehyde levels in the air. A study led by Kwang Jin Kim of Korea's National
Horticultural Research Institute compared the absorption rate of two types of houseplants.
The results of the experiment on Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina) and Fatsia japonica, an
evergreen shrub, were published in the Journal of American Society for Horticultural
Science.During the study, equal amounts of formaldehyde were pumped into containers
holding each type of plant in three configurations: whole, roots-only with the leafy
portion cut off, and aerial-only, with the below-ground portion sealed off, leaving the
stem and leaves exposed.
Blood pressure compound may benefit
brain tumor patients
A widely used blood pressure medication may be the key to preventing brain function loss
common after radiation treatment, according to a newly published study by researchers at
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. The findings offer the hope of an improved
quality of life for cancer patients. Using a rat model, the study drew on a hypothesis
from previous studies that a compound similar to the anti-hypertensive drug losartan can
prevent the cognition loss that has been closely-associated with radiation therapy for
brain tumor treatment. The findings, recently published in the International Journal of
Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics, appear to validate the hypothesis in rats and
researchers are optimistic that the same theory could easily be applied in a human
clinical trial setting because the drug used has a long-established safety profile in
patients who have taken it to treat high blood pressure. "We need to kill cancer
cells but also prevent or reduce treatment-related side effects," said Mike E.
Robbins, Ph.D., a professor in the department of radiation oncology at the Brain Tumor
Center of Excellence, part of Wake Forest University School of Medicine. "One very
interesting feature of this compound is that it has never shown any pro-tumor effects. If
anything, it appears to have anti-tumor properties. We're very close to having a compound
that will protect the normal brain from cognitive injury as a result of radiation and, at
the same time, we may very well increase the likelihood of one day curing brain cancer
patients of their tumors." Researchers have theorized from previous studies that
radiation may lead to the overproduction of angiotensin II (Ang II), a peptide that has
been associated with decline of brain function. By blocking the binding of Ang II to the
Ang type I receptor in patients receiving radiation, researchers hypothesized that they
could prevent or hinder cognitive decline. Anti-hypertensive drugs, such as losartan, have
been effective in preventing or minimizing radiation-induced injury in the lungs and
kidneys, Robbins said, so testing them in the brain was an obvious next step.
Link between unexploded munitions
in oceans and cancer-causing toxins determined
During a research trip to Puerto Rico, ecologist James Porter took samples from underwater
nuclear bomb target USS Killen, expecting to find evidence of radioactive matter –
instead he found a link to cancer. Data revealed that the closer corals and marine life
were to unexploded bombs from the World War II vessel and the surrounding target range,
the higher the rates of carcinogenic materials. "Unexploded bombs are in the ocean
for a variety of reasons – some were duds that did not explode, others were dumped in
the ocean as a means of disposal," said Porter. "And we now know that these
munitions are leaking cancer-causing materials and endangering sea life." These
findings will be presented at the Second International Dialogue on Underwater Munitions on
February 25-27 in Honolulu. Data has been gathered since 1999 on the eastern end of the
Isla de Vieques, Puerto Rico – a land and sea area that was used as a naval gunnery
and bombing range from 1943-2003. Research revealed that marine life including
reef-building corals, feather duster worms and sea urchins closest to the bomb and bomb
fragments had the highest levels of toxicity. In fact, carcinogenic materials were found
in concentrations up to 100,000 times over established safe limits. This danger zone
covered a span of up to two meters from the bomb and its fragments. According to research
conducted in Vieques, residents here have a 23% higher cancer rate than do Puerto Rican
mainlanders. Porter said a future step will be "to determine the link from unexploded
munitions to marine life to the dinner plate."
Vitamin supplements may protect
against noise-induced hearing loss
Vitamin supplements can prevent hearing loss in laboratory animals, according to two new
studies, bringing investigators one step closer to the development of a pill that could
stave off noise-induced and perhaps even age-related hearing loss in humans.The findings
will be reported Wednesday at the Association for Research in Otolaryngology's annual
conference in Baltimore by senior author Colleen Le Prell, Ph.D., a researcher at the
University of Florida. The supplements used in the research studies are composed of
antioxidants — beta carotene and vitamins C and E — and the mineral magnesium.
When administered prior to exposure to loud noise, the supplements prevented both
temporary and permanent hearing loss in test animals. "What is appealing about this
vitamin 'cocktail' is that previous studies in humans, including those demonstrating
successful use of these supplements in protecting eye health, have shown that supplements
of these particular vitamins are safe for long-term use," said Le Prell, an associate
professor in the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions' department of
communicative disorders. About 26 million Americans have noise-induced hearing loss,
according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, the
agency that funded the studies. In the first study, UF, University of Michigan and
OtoMedicine scientists gave guinea pigs the vitamin supplements prior to a four-hour
exposure to noise at 110 decibels, similar to levels reached at a loud concert.
Researchers assessed the animals' hearing by measuring sound-evoked neural activity and
found that the treatment successfully prevented temporary hearing loss in the animals. In
humans, temporary noise-induced hearing loss, often accompanied by ringing in the ears,
typically goes away after a few hours or days as the cells in the inner ear heal. Because
repeated temporary hearing loss can lead to permanent hearing loss, the scientists
speculate that prevention of temporary changes may ultimately prevent permanent changes.
Anti-social behavior in girls
predicts adolescent depression seven years later
Past behavior is generally considered to be a good predictor of future behavior, but new
research indicates that may not be the case in the development of depression, particularly
among adolescent girls. University of Washington social scientists tracked first- and
second-graders for seven years and found that anti-social behavior among girls and anxiety
among both sexes predicted depression in early adolescence. Surprisingly, early signs of
depression were not predictive of adolescent depression. "Anti-social behavior has
typically been viewed as a big problem among boys, so it tends to be ignored among girls.
Boys with early anti-social behavior typically go on to show more anti-social behavior
while girls may turn inward with symptoms, morphing into other mental health problems such
as depression eating disorders, anxiety and suicidal behavior during adolescence ,"
said James Mazza, a UW professor of educational psychology and lead author of the new
study. He is currently serving as the past president of the American Association of
Suicidology. "When all the risk factors were analyzed, anti-social behavior and
anxiety were the most predictive of later depression. It just may be that they are more
prevalent in the early elementary school years than depression." He noted that
depression and anxiety share a number of symptoms.
Women who consume olive oil
preserve their bone mass better
A study from the Harokopio University of Athens (Greece) determines that adherence to a
dietary pattern close to the Mediterranean diet, with high consumption of fish and olive
oil and low red meat intake, has a significant impact in women skeletal health. Results
suggest that this eating pattern could have bone-preserving properties throughout adult
life. Diet is one of the modifiable factors for the development and maintenance of bone
mass. The nutrients of most obvious relevance to bone health are calcium and phosphorus
because they compose roughly 80% to 90% of the mineral content of bone; protein, other
minerals and vitamins are also essential in bone preservation.
Diet could reduce onset of eye
disease by 20%
University of Liverpool scientists claim that the degeneration of sight, caused by a
common eye disease, could be reduced by up to 20% by increasing the amount of fruit,
vegetables and nuts in the diet. Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the leading
cause of blindness in the UK, with 45% of those registered as blind suffering from the
disease. The condition results in a gradual loss of central vision, due to the failure of
cells in the macular – the light sensitive membrane at the centre of the retina.
There is currently no cure for the more common ‘dry’ form of the disease, which
is suffered by 90% of AMD patients. Professor Ian Grierson, Head of Ophthalmology at the
University, has produced a comprehensive cooking guide called ‘Fruit for
Vision’, designed to add fruit and vegetables into everyday meals. The recipes will
help AMD sufferers slow down the degeneration process by increasing micronutrient, vitamin
and antioxidant intake in the diet. Non-sufferers can also use the book to add fruit, nuts
and vegetables into each meal to protect against the disease.
Several studies prove self-banning
certain foods may cause food craving
A research group of the Universities of Granada and Jaen have studied the psychologicl and
physiological reasons of food craving, an irresistible desire for eating certain foods
(sweets, chocolate, ice-creams, nuts, etc.). The results of different studies, carried out
by Professors Silvia Moreno Domínguez (University of Jaen), Sonia Rodríguez-Ruíz
(University of Granada) and Mª Carmen Fernández-Santaella (Universidad de Granada), have
been collected in the book “What is food craving?”, recently published by
Pirámide publishing house. The authors ask “Do you feel guilty whether you eat
something you really want to? Do you feel a strong desire for eating when you are bored,
angry, stressed or sad? Do you have real problems to stop eating something you really
like?” If the subject answers affirmatively to these questions and considers that
this is something with happens to him too frequently, he could be suffering food craving.
In the book “What is food craving?” the researchers try to go deeply into the
psychological and physiological causes of this disorder from a series of studies carried
out at the University of Granada with different types of populations (healthy peoples,
persons at risk of suffering food disorders and persons with nervous bulimia). The results
show that, when people prohibite themselves to consume certain foods because, for example,
they think they are fattening, food craving arises as a reflection of the conflict between
what “you can eat” and what “you do not want to eat”.
A new discovered mutation can hold
the key to treat a large number of different cancers
Scientists have discovered a mutation responsible for cancer progression, a finding with
potential implications for the development of treatment against not one, but a series of
cancer types since this mutation can be linked to an abnormality recently discovered to
exist in all malignancies. The discovery has just been published in the journal Nature
Genetics1. Sonia Melo from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre in Madrid and the
Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology in Porto, Portugal and colleagues from
laboratories in Spain, Portugal, Finland, Japan and US, in the study now published, worked
with MicroRNAs (or miRNAs), which are tinny pieces of RNA that regulate gene expression by
aberrantly binding to other RNAs blocking the formation of their corresponding protein (as
normally the information in the DNA is translated into RNA, which then go to serve as
“blueprint” for protein formation).
High-Fat Diets Inflame Fat Tissue
Around Blood Vessels, Contribute to Heart Disease
A study by researchers at the University of Cincinnati shows that high-fat diets, even if
consumed for a short amount of time, can inflame fat tissue surrounding blood vessels,
possibly contributing to cardiovascular disease.These findings will be published in the
Feb. 20 edition of the American Heart Association journal Circulation Research. Neal
Weintraub, MD, and colleagues examined adipose tissue—or fat—surrounding the
coronary arteries of humans. The researchers found these fat cells to be highly inflamed,
suggesting that they could trigger inflammation of the blood vessels, an important
component of atherosclerosis.
A useful method to diagnose chest
pain with foregut symptoms
Recent reports have indicated that recurrent chest pain is often a result of esophageal
motility disorders or gastroesophageal reflux diseases (GERD), which is known as
esophageal chest pain. However, very few studies have been performed about esophageal
manometric studies, 24-h intra-esophageal pH monitoring and a Holter electrocardiography
for the differential diagnosis of chest pain caused by esophageal dysfunctional and/or
myocardial ischemia. A research team led by Prof. Ru Wen Wang from China addressed this
question. Their study will be published on February 14, 2009 in the World Journal of
Gastroenterology. In their study, 61 patients with chest pain and foregut symptoms were
included. Thirty-nine patients were diagnosed with non-specific esophageal motility
disorders (29 patients with abnormal gastroesophageal reflux and eight patients with
myocardial ischemia). Five patients had diffuse spasm of the esophagus plus abnormal
gastroesophageal reflux (two patients had concomitant myocardial ischemia), and one
patient was diagnosed with nutcracker esophagus. The study indicated that spasm of the
esophageal smooth muscle might cross talk with the heart-coronary smooth muscle, leading
to myocardial ischemia. And the combination of esophageal manometric studies, 24-hour
intraesophageal pH monitoring and Holter electrocardiography are significant for the
differential diagnosis of chest pain, particularly with foregut symptoms. As an added
incentive, combined monitoring is very cost-effective to the patients from developing
country.
What is the most effective therapy
for low-dose aspirin induced peptic ulcer?
The incidence of low-dose aspirin-induced peptic ulcer seems to be increasing in Japan in
conjunction with the increasing proportion of elderly individuals, in whom metabolic
syndrome frequently develops. However, a therapeutic and prevention strategy for such
peptic ulcers has not yet been established. A research team led by Dr. Satoshi Mochida
from Japan addressed this question. Their study will be published on February 14, 2009 in
the World Journal of Gastroenterology. In their study, Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy
was performed in 68 patients receiving daily low-dose aspirin (81 or 100 mg/day). The
endoscopic findings were classified according to the Lanza score, and the scores were
compared between groups categorized according to the concomitant use of anti-ulcer drugs
and the types of drugs used. In another study, 31 hemorrhagic peptic ulcer patients who
had been receiving low-dose aspirin were enrolled. The patients were randomly classified
into the proton pump inhibitor (PPI)-treated group and the H2 receptor antagonist
(H2RA)-treated group. The administration of low-dose aspirin was continued concomitantly,
and endoscopic examinations were performed 8 wk later. They found that the Lanza scores
(mean ± SD) of the gastro-mucosal lesions were 1.0 ± 1.9 and 1.9 ± 2.3 in 8 and 16
patients receiving prevention therapy with a PPI and an H2RA, respectively. Both scores
were significantly smaller than the scores in 34 patients who were not receiving
prevention therapy (4.7 ± 1.0) and in 10 patients receiving cytoprotective anti-ulcer
drugs (4.3 ± 1.6). In the prospective study, 18 and 13 patients received a PPI and an
H2RA, respectively. Endoscopic examinations revealed that the tissue in the region of the
gastro-mucosal lesions had reverted to normal in all patients in the PPI-treated group and
in 12 patients (92%) in the H2RA-treated group; no significant differences were observed
between the groups. Their results indicated that H2RA therapy was effective for both the
prevention and treatment of low-dose aspirin induced peptic ulcers, similar to the effects
of PPIs, while cytoprotective anti-ulcer drugs were ineffective in preventing peptic
ulcers.
Study shows ultrasound and tPA
effective for stroke
An experimental therapy using tiny bubbles activated by transcranial Doppler (TCD)
ultrasound combined with the clot busting drug tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is more
effective than tPA alone in treating patients suffering from ischemic stroke, according to
new research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke
Conference in San Diego. The findings, presented by Andrei Alexandrov, M.D., director of
the UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) Comprehensive Stroke Center, and Carlos
Molina, M.D., of the Vall d'Hebron Hospital in Barcelona, Spain, show that patients can be
treated safely with TCD in combination with a specific dose of the bubbles, called
microspheres, and tPA. The microspheres, developed by ImaRx Therapeutics, are tiny
gas-filled lipid structures that cavitate (rapidly expand and collapse) when exposed to
ultrasound waves, helping to reopen blocked arteries and restore blood flow. "These
findings demonstrate that ultrasound combined with microspheres and tPA can be tested
further in a pivotal clinical trial with the goal of providing a more effective treatment
option for stroke patients by promoting faster clearing of blocked blood vessels as well
as improved patient outcomes," said Alexandrov, UAB professor of neurology.
"It's very promising to see such results, which support the potential of this therapy
as a more effective and expansive therapy for stroke patients."
Inhibiting Proteins May Prevent
Cartilage Breakdown in Arthritis Patients
Current arthritis medications can ease the pain, but stopping the progression of the
disease requires more aggressive treatments: use of very limited available drugs or
surgical intervention. University of Missouri researchers hope to find new therapeutic
targets for arthritis by studying the interaction between two proteins that, if
interrupted, may prevent arthritis pain caused by joint damage. In a new study,
researchers have found potential evidence that blocking the proteins responsible for
inducing inflammation prevents cartilage breakdown. “We are looking to intervene in
specific molecular events to prevent the depletion of cartilage in arthritis,” said
Bimal K. Ray, professor of veterinary pathobiology in the MU College of Veterinary
Medicine. “Certain proteins play a major role in the development of arthritis. When
we understand how these proteins interact, we will have a better idea of how to slow or
even reverse the progression of the disease.” When the human body develops arthritis,
specific protein functions are altered and inflammation is triggered, leading to pain. In
the MU study, Ray examined the interaction between the proteins AP-1 and SAF-1 and found
that the interaction of these proteins plays a significant role in inducing inflammation.
SAF-1 and AP-1 can partner to work together to induce activation of the MMP-1 gene causing
breakdown of collagen (the proteins that constitute cartilage). Arthritis patients start
to experience pain when cartilage starts to erode.
Childhood Chicken Pox Could Affect
Oral Health Years Later
You may recall as a child catching the itchy red rash, chicken pox. The unsightly
infection was caused by the varicella zoster virus and was responsible for nearly 4
million cases each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), until a
vaccine introduced in 1995 reduced that number by 83 percent. Yet, if you were among those
that suffered from chicken pox, the varicella zoster virus may still be present in your
body and could lead to serious (and irreversible) oral health problems such as herpes-type
lesions and severe bone damage to the jaws. Varicella zoster can lie dormant in the body
for decades, and if activated can lead to herpes zoster (HZ), more commonly referred to as
shingles, according to a study that appeared in General Dentistry, the Academy of General
Dentistry’s (AGD) clinical, peer-reviewed journal. Affecting nearly 1 million
Americans each year, 50 percent of all new cases of herpes zoster occur in individuals
over the age of 60. “Herpes zoster manifests as painful blisters that erupt along the
sensory nerves usually on one side of the body or face,” according to co-author of
the study, M.A. Pogrel, DDS, MD. “It can be a debilitating disease that can lead to
osteonecrosis of the jaw and vision loss in addition to a prolonged painful
syndrome.”Osteonecrosis is a condition in which bone in the lower or upper jaw
becomes exposed. As a result, the jaw bone suffers severe damage and/or death, eventually
leading to tooth loss. While the exact reason for tooth loss is unknown, it has been noted
that restricted blood flow and inflammation may be a cause.
New Analysis Shows Liver Cancer
Incidence Has Tripled Since 1970s
A new study examining data on incidence trends, mortality rates and survival rates from
the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER)
cancer registries indicates that the incidence of liver cancer in the United States
tripled between 1975 and 2005. Researchers also found for the first time that one- through
five-year survival rates improved significantly for patients diagnosed with liver cancer
between 1992 and 2005, in part because more patients were diagnosed at earlier stages,
when treatment is more effective. Earlier diagnosis may be due to increasing awareness and
screening to detect localized disease in patients at risk for liver cancer. “Although
the study could not determine why liver incidence rates are increasing, these trends may
be partially attributable to an increase in chronic hepatitis C, which together with
hepatitis B is a major risk factor for liver cancer,” said Dr. Sean Altekruse, an
Epidemiologist with the NCI’s SEER Program and the study’s lead author.
“Additional research into the factors related to this increase in incidence will be
vital to preventing these rates from rising further.” Dr. Altekruse noted that heavy
alcohol consumption, fatty liver disease, obesity, diabetes mellitus and iron storage
diseases may also contribute to the increasing incidence of liver cancer.
2 gene mutations linked to most
common brain cancers
Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and Duke University Medical Center
have linked mutations in two genes, IDH1 and IDH2, to nearly three-quarters of several of
the most common types of brain cancers known as gliomas. Among the findings: people with
certain tumors that carry these genetic alterations appear to survive at least twice as
long as those without them. Further research on the genes could also lead to more precise
diagnosis and treatments, they said. Reporting in the Feb. 19 issue of the New England
Journal of Medicine, scientists say they looked for IDH1 and IDH2 gene alterations in
material taken from 500 brain tumors and 500 non-central nervous system cancers. They
located changes in the IDH1 gene in more than 70 percent of three common types of gliomas:
low-grade astrocytomas, oligodendrogliomas, and secondary glioblastomas. The changes
occurred within a single spot along a string of thousands of genetic coding letters. Some
of the brain cancers that did not have alterations in IDH1 had equivalent mutations in
another closely related gene, IDH2."For patients with these types of common brain
tumors, mutations of IDH1/IDH2 are the most frequent genetic alterations yet
identified," says D. Williams Parsons, M.D., Ph.D., visiting professor in pediatric
oncology at Johns Hopkins and assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine. Further
analysis of their data showed that glioblastoma and anaplastic astrocytoma patients
carrying the mutations survived longer than those who did not, and note that additional
studies of how the gene works may reveal why this occurs. The median survival for
glioblastoma patients with mutations in either IDH1 or IDH2 was 31 months versus 15 months
for those lacking the mutations. Anaplastic astrocytoma patients carrying the mutations
were found to have a median survival of 65 months as compared with 20 months for those who
did not. The scientists say that they could not compare survival data in oligodendroglioma
patients because there were too few tumors that did not carry the mutations.
Researchers Explore New Driver of
Transplant Rejection - Platelets
Platelets, tiny and relatively uncharted tenants of the bloodstream known mostly for their
role in blood clotting, turn out to also rally sustained immune system inflammatory
responses that play a critical role in organ transplant rejection, according to a new
report from Johns Hopkins scientists. “Platelets potentially hold sway over many
aspects of transplant biology,” says Craig Morrell, D.V.M., Ph.D., an assistant
professor of molecular and comparative pathobiology at the Johns Hopkins University School
of Medicine. “Our data, as well as others’, show a surprising interplay of
platelets and the immune system, so it’s time for the transplant world at large to
have platelets on its radar.” A self-described “platelet guy” transfixed by
the unexplored biology of these circulating bodies, Morrell collaborated with clinicians
in the fields of transplant to write a comprehensive review of platelets and transplant
biology, published in the January issue of the American Journal of Transplantation.
“It all began with the observation that when transplant tissue is rejected, platelets
line up in the interior of blood vessels feeding the tissue,” Morrell says. “It
turns out they are not just bystanders, but have a role in driving that rejection.”
In-flight health issues 'on rise'
Growing numbers of older passengers and ever longer flights mean the likelihood of health
problems in the skies is increasing, US researchers suggest.
Hope over peanut allergy 'cure'
A group of children with peanut allergies have had their condition effectively cured,
doctors believe.
Prostate specific antigen testing
may be unnecessary for some older men
Certain men age 75 to 80 are unlikely to benefit from routine prostate specific antigen
(PSA) testing, according to a Johns Hopkins study published in the April 2009 issue of The
Journal of Urology. The researchers found that men in this age group with PSA levels less
than 3 nanograms per milliliter are unlikely to die of or experience aggressive prostate
cancer during their remaining life, suggesting that the use of PSA testing in many older
men may no longer be needed. The study, led by researchers from the Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine and the National Institute on Aging's Baltimore Longitudinal
Study of Aging (BLSA), reviewed data from 849 men (122 with and 727 without prostate
cancer) who were participating in the BLSA and who had undergone regular PSA testing.
Results showed that among men who were over 75 with PSA levels less than 3 nanograms per
milliliter, none died of prostate cancer and only one developed high-risk prostate cancer.
In contrast, men of all ages with a PSA level of 3 nanograms per milliliter or greater had
a continually rising probability of dying from prostate cancer. If confirmed by future
studies, these results may help determine more specific guidelines for when PSA -based
screening might be safely discontinued, according to lead investigator Edward Schaeffer,
M.D., an assistant professor of urology at Johns Hopkins. While PSA screening remains a
useful tool for helping detect early stages of prostate cancer and is credited with
decreasing prostate cancer mortality, discontinuing unneeded PSA testing could
significantly reduce the costs of screening and also potentially reduce morbidity
resulting from additional tests or treatments. "We need to identify where we should
best focus our health care dollars by concentrating on patients who can actually benefit
from PSA testing," Schaeffer says. "These findings give a very strong suggestion
of when we can start to counsel patients on when to stop testing."
Discovery of brain protein may be
clue to treatment
A study from the Buck Institute for Age Research offers a revolutionary new model for
Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a devastating neurodegenerative disorder which afflicts 24
million people worldwide. In an effort to unravel the normal function of a protein
implicated in AD, scientists in California and France have discovered a naturally
occurring protein that provides a new therapeutic target for the disease. The finding
upsets the current theory that AD is a disease of toxicity stemming from damage caused by
sticky plaques that collect in the brain – this research points to the condition as a
disorder involving an imbalance in signaling between neurons. The study appears online in
the Nature publication Cell Death and Differentiation. One of the mysteries of AD has been
the normal function of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) which are concentrated at the
points where neurons connect. Even though the sticky amyloid plaques which have been
viewed as a hallmark sign of AD result from APP, it seems unlikely that APP exists simply
to cause Alzheimer’s disease. In their study, scientists from the Buck Institute and
the CNRS (Centre Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique) show that APP binds to netrin-1,
a protein that helps to guide nerves and their connections in the brain, as well as
helping nerve cells to survive. When netrin-1 was given to mice that have a gene for
Alzheimer’s disease their symptoms were reversed, and the sticky amyloid was reduced.
These results suggest that the long-held belief that AD is caused by brain cell damage
inflicted by the amyloid plaques may be wrong; instead, it is beginning to appear that the
disease stems from an imbalance between the normal making and breaking of connections in
the brain, with netrin-1 supporting the connections and the amyloid breaking the
connections -- both by binding to APP and activating normal cell programs. Not only did
the netrin-1 binding to APP keep the nerve cells alive and connected, but it also shut
down the production of the amyloid, all of which makes it an interesting potential
therapeutic.
New "Bubble" Targets Only
Cancer Cells
For millions of Americans with cancer, the side effects of chemotherapy and other
treatment drugs can be devastating. But new drug-delivery research based on nano- and
microtechnology from Tel Aviv University might provide much-needed relief, as well as more
effective cancer treatment. New drug delivery technology developed by Prof. Rimona
Margalit of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Biochemistry allows drugs to target
cancer cells specifically, leaving surrounding healthy cells intact and reducing the
painful side effects of chemotherapy. The science utilizes tiny bubbles, visible only
through powerful microscopes, that contain payloads of therapeutic drugs.
Unhealthy lifestyle more than
doubles stroke risk
combined effect of health behaviors and risk of first ever stroke in 20,040 men and women
over 11 years' follow-up in Norfolk cohort of European Prospective Investigation of
Cancer: Prospective population study People who lead unhealthy lifestyles are more than
twice as likely to suffer a stroke than those who eat and drink sensibly, don't smoke, and
take regular exercise, finds a study published on bmj.com today. Stroke is one of the
leading causes of illness and death worldwide. In the UK alone, the estimated annual cost
of caring for stroke is around £7 billion. There is good evidence to suggest that
lifestyle behaviours like smoking, physical activity and diet can influence the risk of
heart disease, but their impact on stroke is less well known. So researchers based in the
east of England set out to examine the impact of four health behaviours on stroke risk in
a large group of men and women living in Norfolk. The study involved 20,040 men and women
aged 40-79 years old who were taking part in the European Prospective Investigation into
Cancer Study (EPIC). Between 1993 and 1997, participants completed a detailed health and
lifestyle questionnaire and underwent a thorough health examination by trained nurses.
Participants scored one point for each of four healthy behaviours: current non-smoking,
physically not inactive, moderate alcohol intake (1-14 units per week) and blood vitamin C
levels of 50 µmol/l or more, indicating fruit and vegetable intake of at least five
servings a day. An individual could therefore have a total health behaviour score ranging
from zero to four, with a higher score indicating more protective behaviour. Participants
were then followed for an average of 11 and a half years. Strokes were recorded using
death certificates and hospital discharge data.
Team learns how cellular protein
detects viruses and sparks immune response
A study led by researchers at the University of Illinois reveals how a cellular protein
recognizes an invading virus and alerts the body to the infection. The research, described
this week in the journal Science and led by Illinois physics professor and Howard Hughes
Medical Institute investigator Taekjip Ha, settles a debate over how the protein, RIG-I
(pronounced rig-EYE), is able to distinguish between viral RNA and self (or cellular) RNA.
"RIG-I is the first molecule in the immune response to detect viral RNA," said
Sua Myong, lead author on the study and a professor at the U. of I.'s Institute for
Genomic Biology. Unlike most other proteins known to detect viral infections only in
specialized immune cells, RIG-I is active in every cell type in the body, she said. The
RIG-I protein has two major parts: caspase-recruitment domains (CARDs) and an ATPase
domain that consumes ATP, the cellular fuel molecule. Previous studies had shown that the
CARD domains actually inhibit the activity of RIG-I when no virus is present, but are
vital to sounding the alarm and triggering an immune response once a certain type of virus
has been detected. Other studies had found that RIG-I recognizes an important feature of
viral RNAs that is missing from most human RNAs. This feature, a "triphosphate"
tag at a particular end, the "five-prime" (5') end, of viral RNA, is a viral
fingerprint that tells RIG-I that something is amiss. Detection of this tag starts a
cascade of reactions that allows RIG-I to broadcast a message to other cellular
components, and ultimately to other cells.
Scientists unlock mystery of
molecular machine
A major mystery about the origins of life has been resolved. According to a study
published in the journal Nature, two Université de Montréal scientists have proposed a
new theory for how a universal molecular machine, the ribosome, managed to self-assemble
as a critical step in the genesis of all life on Earth."While the ribosome is a
complex structure it features a clear hierarchy that emerged based on basic chemical
principles," says Sergey Steinberg, a Université de Montréal biochemistry professor
who made his discovery with student Konstantin Bokov. "In the absence of such
explanations, some people could imagine unseen forces at work when such complex structures
emerge in nature."
New therapy with stem cells to
treat Crohn's disease
Cellular therapy with stem cells is revolutionizing the focus of treatment of many serious
diseases. Replacing the cells of damaged tissue with other new cells from the same patient
is already a reality. This is the basis of cellular therapy and regenerative medicine, the
latest great advance in biomedicine. In this line, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona is leading
the world in the application of an innovative cellular therapy that uses stem cells to
treat Crohn's disease, a chronic genetic disease that affects 1% of the population in
Spain and which has considerable impact on the quality of life of the patients. The
procedure is based on an autologous bone-marrow transplant (when patients receive a
transplant of their own stem cells) and now constitutes a treatment option to cure an
intestinal disease that sometimes does not successfully respond to drugs and requires
highly complex surgery that does not provide a cure. Hospital Clínic, Barcelona is one of
the few hospitals in the world to apply this new therapeutic option for patients with
Crohn's disease, and it does so with the guarantee of success experienced in the US and
Italy, where the technique has been tested with excellent results: in an average follow-up
period of 6 years, 80% of transplant patients are in a phase of total remission of the
disease and the remaining 20% have shown considerable improvement following the
transplant, and are now responding favorably to drugs. Dr. Julián Panés and Dr. Elena
Ricart over the Gastroenterology Department of Hospital Clínic, Barcelona are the driving
force behind this therapy in Spain and began to implement regenerative cellular therapy in
patients with Crohn's disease in August 2008. To date, a total of 6 patients are
benefiting from this new treatment, of whom 3 I've already completed the process and are
in the follow-up face, and a further 3 are at different stages of therapy. The transplant
requires several weeks of admission to hospital before patients receive their own cells.
The success of autologous stem-cell transplants in Crohn's disease is possible thanks to
the joint collaboration of the gastroenterology and hematology departments and of the
hemotherapy and hemostasis department, as the procedure is the same as that carried out in
bone-morrow transplants to cure leukemia or myeloma. Thus, when a case is detected, the
professionals from the different departments of Hospital Clinic, Barcelona supervise each
of the phases of the process to autologous Transplant. In this case, Dr. Panés and Dr.
Ricart from the gastroenterology department work together with Dr. Montserrat Rovira from
the hematology department of the Catalan hospital and with Dr. Enric Carreras, the head of
this department, to provide joint monitoring of the patients. Dr. Pedro Marín of the
hemotherapy and hemostasis department of Hospital Clínic, together with Dr. Miquel
Lozano, are responsible for guiding the patients through the process of cryopreservation
and collection of stem cells before the final transplant.
Scripps Research study shows how
microscopic changes to brain cause schizophrenic behavior in mice
The findings are being published in an Early Edition of the journal Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences this week. "We found several microscopic pathologies and
behavioral traits that are hallmarks of schizophrenia, says Ulrich Mueller, Ph.D., a
professor at Scripps Research who was senior author of the study. "These findings in
mice may help shed light on how schizophrenia, an often severe and debilitating disease,
emerges in humans." In the study Mueller, Research Associate Claudia Barros, and
colleagues also showed that the schizophrenic mice could recover normal behavior when
treated with clozapine, a decades-old drug sometimes used to treat schizophrenia in
people. This suggests that these mice might provide researchers with a good model system
for studying schizophrenia and testing new drugs designed to treat people suffering from
it. Schizophrenia affects millions of Americans — about one percent of all people in
the United States, according to the National Institute of Mental Health — and
manifests in symptoms like hearing imaginary voices, paranoia, delusions of grandeur,
severe apathy, and incoherent speech. Despite its prevalence, however, the causes of
schizophrenia are not entirely understood. The scientific consensus is that the disease
results from a combination of genes and other factors. Schizophrenia runs in families,
which is strong evidence that inherited genes play a role, but the disease is not
completely genetic. Some identical twins, for instance, are discordant — one will
have the disease while the other will not. The fact that it can strike one genetically
identical twin to the exclusion of the other means that there are more than just genes
involved. Development may be another factor.
Anti-aging pathway enhances cell
stress response
People everywhere are feeling the stress of a worldwide recession. Our cells, too, are
under continual assault from stress. Hidden from sight, our cells battle challenges such
as their environment, bacteria, viruses, too much or too little oxygen, and physiological
stressors. Molecular systems protect cells under assault, but those systems can break
down, especially with age. To better understand how cells are protected from stress and
damage, a team led by Northwestern University researchers studied the effect of
resveratrol, a beneficial chemical found in red wine, on human cells in tissue culture.
The findings may help explain what happens in neurodegenerative diseases, which are
age-related, when cell protection fails, proteins misfold, lots of damage accumulates and
the system falls apart. The researchers discovered a new molecular relationship critical
to keeping cells healthy across a long span of time: a protein called SIRT1, important for
caloric restriction and lifespan and activated by resveratrol, regulates heat shock factor
1 (HSF1), keeping it active. HSF1 in turn senses the presence of damaged proteins in the
cell and elevates the expression of molecular chaperones to keep a cell's proteins in a
folded, functional state. Regulation of this pathway has a direct beneficial effect to
cells, the research shows.
Nutrient pollution chokes marine
and freshwater ecosystems
Protecting drinking water and preventing harmful coastal "dead zones", as well
as eutrophication in many lakes, will require reducing both nitrogen and phosphorus
pollution. Because streams and rivers are conduits to the sea, management strategies
should be implemented along the land-to-ocean continuum. In most cases, strategies that
focus only on one nutrient will fail. These policy recommendations were put forth by a
team of distinguished scientists in the recent issue of Science, published today. Led by
Dr. Daniel J. Conley, a marine ecologist at the GeoBiosphere Science Centre in Sweden and
a Visiting Scientist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, the paper reviews
weaknesses in single-nutrient management strategies. In most cases, improving water
quality and preserving coastal oceans will require a two-pronged approach. Plant growth is
tied to nitrogen and phosphorus availability. Human activities have greatly increased the
abundance of these nutrients, causing the overproduction of aquatic plants and algae.
Nitrogen pollution is largely derived from agricultural fertilizers and emissions from the
combustion of fossil fuels. Phosphorus pollution is tied primarily to wastewater treatment
and detergents. Inputs to the landscape make their way to coastal areas through the
drainage networks of rivers and streams. Dr. Gene E. Likens, one of the paper's authors
and an ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, comments, "Historically,
environmental management strategies in freshwater systems have focused on reducing
phosphorus pollution. While this has minimized freshwater algal blooms, it passed a great
deal of nitrogen pollution on to coastal ecosystems, driving eutrophication and causing
serious and widespread problems in those regions." These environmental problems
include reductions in the oxygen levels of coastal water, which can cause "dead
zones" and fish die-offs; the proliferation of undesirable plant growth; reductions
in water quality; and the loss of important coastal fish habitat, such as sea grass and
kelp beds.
Violent media numb viewers to the
pain of others
Violent video games and movies make people numb to the pain and suffering of others,
according to a research report published in the March 2009 issue of Psychological Science.
The report details the findings of two studies conducted by University of Michigan
professor Brad Bushman and Iowa State University professor Craig Anderson. The studies
fill an important research gap in the literature on the impact of violent media. In
earlier work, Bushman and Anderson demonstrated that exposure to violent media produces
physiological desensitization—lowering heart rate and skin conductance—when
viewing scenes of actual violence a short time later. But the current research
demonstrates that violent media also affect someone's willingness to offer help to an
injured person, in a field study as well as in a laboratory experiment. "These
studies clearly show that violent media exposure can reduce helping behavior," said
Bushman, professor of psychology and communications and a research professor at the U-M
Institute for Social Research.
How inflammatory disease causes
fatigue
A research team from the University of Calgary has identified how immune cells infiltrate
into the brain during experimental liver inflammation, potentially explaining why people
with inflammatory diseases develop symptoms such as fatigue. This new understanding could
lead to treatments that improve the quality of life for patients with chronic inflammatory
diseases. “Sickness behaviours, such as fatigue and malaise, significantly impact the
health related quality of life of individuals with these diseases. Our findings further
our understanding of how patients with inflammatory disease may develop these symptoms and
may generate potential new avenues for the treatment of these often incapacitating
symptoms,” says Dr. Mark Swain, the study’s senior author, and a hepatologist at
the University of Calgary, Faculty of Medicine. Fatigue, lethargy and loss of interest in
social activities are commonly encountered in patient’s suffering from inflammatory
diseases such as hepatitis, arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The study
published in the Feb. 18 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience demonstrates the existence
of a communication pathway between the inflamed liver and the brain.
A pilot study on acute inflammation
and cancer
Recent data have redefined the concept of inflammation as a critical component of tumor
progression. However, there has been little development on cases where inflammation on or
near a wound and a tumor exist simultaneously.
Magnesium sulphate and amiodarone
prophylaxis for prevention of postoperative arrhythmia in coronary by-pass operations
Prophylactic use of magnesium sulphate and amiodarone are both effective at preventing
arrhythmia that may occur following coronary by-pass operations. Magnesium sulphate should
be used in prophylactic treatment since it may trigger arrhythmia at low doses. If
arrhythmia should occur despite this treatment, intervention with amiodarone may be
preferable.
