---

News - Week 18 - 2009

---

Alterations in vitamin D status and anti-microbial peptide levels in patients in the intensive care unit with sepsis

This study demonstrates an association between critical illness and lower 25(OH)D and DBP levels in critically ill patients as compared to healthy controls. It also establishes a positive association between vitamin D status and plasma LL-37, which suggests that systemic LL-37 levels may be regulated by vitamin D status. Optimal vitamin D status may be important for innate immunity especially in the setting of sepsis. Further invention studies to examine this association are warranted.

Identified a molecule that increases the risk of cardiac insufficiency

A team of scientists from the Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA) of the University of Navarra has identified a key enzyme in the development of cardiac insufficiency. This enzyme is involved in the accumulation of fibrous tissues in the hearts of patients with chronic cardiac diseases and deterioration of heart functions.
The research project, published in the journal Hypertension, is part of a project of the “Red Europea de Excelencia en Hipertensión y Enfermedades Cardiovasculares” [European Network of Excellence in Hypertension and Cardiovascular Diseases], in which research groups from Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Great Britain, France, Germany, Finland and Poland are all participating. The project also forms part of the “Red Española de Investigación de las Enfermedades Cardiovasculares” [Spanish Network for Research on Cardiovascular Diseases].

MR Enterography Eliminates Unnecessary Radiation Exposure in Patients with Small Bowel Disease

MR enterography is an effective tool to evaluate and guide treatment of patients with Crohn’s Disease (a common form of inflammatory bowel disease that typically affects young people) without exposing them to radiation, according to a study performed at the Warren Alpert School of Medicine/Brown University in Providence, RI. “MR enterography is an MR examination targeted at the small bowel. The study included approximately 100 patients and 15 physicians,” said David Grand, MD, lead author of the study. “Nearly one-hundred percent of physicians who use MR enterography reported that they found information from the test useful for guiding patient management; patients overwhelmingly preferred MR to the CT,” he said. “This is an ongoing study,” he added. “Crohn’s disease typically effects young people and will be a chronic disease throughout their life, requiring them to have multiple diagnostic imaging procedures. These young patients are too often exposed to multiple doses of ionizing radiation, the long-term effects which may be quite dangerous. Additionally, patients are often given very effective but potentially toxic “biologic” therapies to help reduce inflammation,” said Dr. Grand. “MR can also be used to see if these agents are working without exposure to radiation,” he said.

Majority of Ordering Physicians Lack Knowledge of Radiation Exposure Risks from CT

Ordering physicians have limited knowledge of CT-related radiation exposure and its associated risks, according to a study performed at the Carilion Clinic in Roanoke, VA.
“More than 100 surveys were completed by physicians from various specialties who order CT scans at a tertiary-care teaching hospital,” said Jeremy McBride, MD, lead author of the study. “When physician knowledge regarding radiation was assessed, 63% underestimated the radiation dose of one abdominal-pelvic CT in chest radiograph equivalents. When asked if they believed a single abdominal-pelvic CT increases a patients’ risk of cancer nearly 80% responded affirmatively; however, 74% significantly underestimated the risk as published in literature. When asked if they regularly disclose the risks associated with CT scans with patients, nearly 60% responded affirmatively; however only 20% said the risk of exposure was part of that disclosure,” said Dr. McBride. “When asked if radiation exposure and cumulative prior radiation exposure influenced their decision, 48% and 59% respectively, responded it had no or little influence on their decision. Forty-seven percent reported that risk of litigation significantly influenced their decision to order a CT scan on a given patient,” he said. Ben E. Paxton, MD, and Richard M. Wardrop III, MD, worked with Dr. McBride on this study. “Most of the time, when a CT scan is ordered it can be justified. When a CT is appropriately ordered patients should be aware that the examination has been recommended based upon its diagnostic value and that radiation exposure will be minimized. If patients are concerned, they should feel comfortable asking their physician how an imaging examination will answer a specific question and how it will affect their clinical management. They can also make their physician aware of their concern about radiation exposure from medical imaging and discuss appropriate alternatives,” said Dr. McBride.

Hypertension, Diabetes and Increased Carotid Artery Wall Thickness Means Increased Risk of Stroke

Increased carotid artery wall thickness (CAWT), which can cause heart attack and stroke in many patients, is significantly related to diabetes and hypertension, according to a study performed at A.O.U. in Cagliari Sardegna, Italy (Chairman, Professor Giorgio Mallarini). During the study, 186 patients were evaluated using multidetector row CT to see if CAWT is associated with cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia and a history of smoking. Results showed that there is a statistically significant relationship between diabetes and hypertension. “There was no significant statistical correlation between the increase of carotid wall thickness, smoking and dyslipidemia,” said Luca Saba, MD, lead author of the study. “Our group demonstrated that the presence of CAWT greater than 1mm in patients with diabetes or hypertension is strongly correlated with a risk to suffer a stroke. Patients at higher risk should be monitored every 12 months,” said Dr. Saba.

Diffusion Tensor Imaging Allows Radiologists to See Areas of the Brain Rarely Seen Using Other Imaging Modalities

Radiologists are now able to look at parts of the brain using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) that are rarely visible with any other imaging method, according to a study performed at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA. “DTI data was available in 179 cases. DTI is a technique that measures diffusion in a series of different spatial directions (XYZ). We used DTI to evaluate the white matter anatomy (layer found beneath the outer layer of the brain),” said Fargol Booya, MD, lead author of the study. “Based on the pattern of color changes, we could somewhat predict whether white matter tracts were displaced. Evaluation of white matter anatomy is usually not possible with any other imaging method. Tumor (21 patients), hemorrhage (15 patients) and infarction (27 patients) had different manifestations on DTI,” she said. “This method offers an overall view of brain anatomy, including the degree of connectivity between the different regions of the brain. Characterization of sensorimotor pathways or language center involvement by acute ischemic insults has a strong correspondence to clinical symptoms, prognosis and long-term management,” said Dr. Booya.

New Women’s Imaging Technique Allows for a More Accurate Diagnosis of Breast Cancer

Breast elastography allows physicians to give a more accurate diagnosis of breast cancer, according to a study performed at Singapore General Hospital in Singapore. Breast elastography is a new technique which looks at the mechanical properties of tissues (relative stiffness) as opposed to conventional ultrasound which looks at the backscatter of transmitted ultrasound waves through tissues. Ninety-nine women with 110 sonographically visible lesions were evaluated with ultrasound, elastography and combined ultrasound and elastography. 26 lesions were malignant and 84 were benign on histology. “All breast cancers (100%) in the study were diagnosed correctly by elastography alone compared to 88.5% by conventional ultrasound,” said Llewellyn Sim, MD, lead author of the study. “The use of breast elastography alone or combined with ultrasound provides a more accurate diagnosis of breast cancer,” said Dr. Sim.
“Breast elastography improves the sonographic diagnosis of breast cancer. It also potentially reduces unnecessary work-up i.e. biopsies of benign breast lesions and patient anxiety,” he said.

OSU abuses dogs, PETA says

A controversial animal rights group is accusing George Billman, a professor of physiology and cell biology at Ohio State, of abusing dogs used in his research. According to PETA, Billman has called for experiments that require a surgical operation on dogs to insert a cuff around an artery. The dog then runs on a treadmill while the cuff is tightened, inducing a heart attack.

Muscle deterioration in patients with lung disease seen connected to CO2

Muscle deterioration in patients with lung diseases might be a direct consequence of high carbon dioxide levels in their blood, an international team of researchers headed by Prof. Yosef Gruenbaum of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has found. The incidence of lung diseases continues to increase in the world's populations. For example, one in seven persons in the UK is affected by some form of chronic lung disease, most commonly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. Many of these diseases also cause, in the worst cases, muscle deterioration as well as elevated levels of carbon dioxide (hypercapnia) in the bloodstream. In a normal situation, the lungs allow for a proper balance of oxygen from the atmosphere reaching the bloodstream and carbon dioxide from the bloodstream being transferred to the atmosphere. It is still a matter of some controversy whether the high carbon dioxide levels in patients with chronic lung disease actually cause damage to those patients and specifically whether the loss of muscle is a consequence of those heightened levels.

MicroRNA may link smoking risk gene to neurobiology of addiction

During the past several years, significant progress has been made in identifying susceptibility genes for nicotine dependence through genetic linkage and association analyses. Although a large number of genes have been associated with tobacco smoking, only a very limited number of genetic variants are considered to be causative. How to find these functional variants and then characterize them remains challenging in the field of human genetics. In the traditional genetic dogma, DNA codes for RNA and RNA codes for protein. But what about the leftover bits of RNA that do not seem to code for proteins? One type of RNA 'leftovers' is the microRNAs. These small pieces of RNA do not code for proteins. Instead, they influence the extent to which other genes are expressed, i.e., the rate or extent of conversion of DNA to RNA. To date, there have been relatively few examples of the direct involvement of microRNAs in psychiatric disorders.

Liver disease responsible for most alcohol-related illness and deaths

Liver disease is the most prevalent cause of alcohol-related deaths, followed by car accidents and cancer, according to new research conducted in Portugal and presented today at EASL 2009, the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Liver in Copenhagen, Denmark. The study also showed that alcohol-related diseases account for 1.25% of the health expenditure in Portugal. The study, aimed at assessing the burden of diseases attributable to alcohol consumption, showed that 3.8% of all deaths in Portugal are related to alcohol consumption and account for a death toll of 4,054 people every year. Within these, most people are killed by liver disease (28.3%, representing 1,147 individuals), followed by car accidents (26.2%, representing 1,062 individuals) and by different types of cancers associated with alcohol consumption 21%, representing 851 individuals). According to the study, the burden of alcohol-related diseases in Portugal is 5.0%, which is higher than the global statistic estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO) of about 3.2%. This is the first study designed to estimate the burden of disease attributable to alcohol consumption, specifically in Portugal. Professor Helena Cortez-Pinto, Unidade de de Nutrição e Metabolismo, Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, who led the study, said: "The results of the study confirm that alcohol is an important health risk factor that is particularly related to liver disease in Portugal. By quantifying the significant impact alcohol has on the nation's health, we highlight the need for effective strategies to promote lifestyle changes and moderate alcohol consumption to reduce death rates, the incidence of liver disease and related costs to the healthcare system." In this study, researchers estimated the burden and cost of diseases attributable to alcohol drinking based on the demographic and health statistics available for 2005. The results indicate that €14.1 million is attributable to alcohol-related chronic disease admissions (liver diseases, cancer, etc.) and €82.2 million to acute alcohol-related conditions (traffic accidents and external causes), resulting in a total amount of €96.3 million. Furthermore, ambulatory costs of alcohol-related diseases were estimated as €93 million, totaling €189.2 million direct costs attributable to alcohol, which represent 0.13% of the Portuguese Gross Domestic Product and 1.25% of total national health expenditures.

Vitamin D levels linked to asthma severity

New research provides evidence for a link between vitamin D insufficiency and asthma severity. Serum levels of vitamin D in more than 600 Costa Rican children were inversely linked to several indicators of allergy and asthma severity, including hospitalizations for asthma, use of inhaled steroids and total IgE levels, according to a study that will appear in the first issue for May of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. While previous in vitro studies have suggested that vitamin D may affect how airway cells respond to treatment with inhaled steroids, this is the first in vivo study of vitamin D and disease severity in children with asthma. Juan Celedón, M.D., Dr. P.H. and Augusto Litonjua, M.D., M.P.H. of Harvard Medical School and colleagues recruited 616 children with asthma living in the Central Valley of Costa Rica, a country known to have a high prevalence of asthma. Each child was assessed for allergic markers, including both allergen-specific and general sensitivity tests, and assessed for lung function and circulating vitamin D levels. Children whose forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) exceeded 65 percent of the predicted value were also tested for airway reactivity.
They found that children with lower vitamin D levels were significantly more likely to have been hospitalized for asthma in the previous year, tended to have airways with increased hyperreactivity and were likely to have used more inhaled corticosteroids, all signifying higher asthma severity. These children were also significantly more likely to have several markers of allergy, including dust-mite sensitivity.
"To our knowledge this is the first study to demonstrate an inverse association between circulating levels of vitamin D and markers of asthma severity and allergy," wrote Drs. Celedón and Litonjua "While it is difficult to establish causation in a cross-sectional study such as this, the results were robust even after controlling for markers of baseline asthma severity." "This study suggests that there may be added health benefits to vitamin D supplementation" said Dr. Celedón. Current recommendations for optimal vitamin D levels geared toward preserving bone health, such as preventing rickets in children and osteoporosis in adults.

Benefit of grapes may be more than skin deep

Can a grape-enriched diet prevent the downhill sequence of heart failure after years of high blood pressure? A University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center study suggests grapes may prevent heart health risks beyond the simple blood pressure-lowering impact that can come from a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. The benefits may be the result of the phytochemicals – naturally occurring antioxidants – turning on a protective process in the genes that reduces damage to the heart muscle. The study, performed in laboratory rats, was presented at the 2009 Experimental Biology convention in New Orleans. The researchers studied the effect of regular table grapes (a blend of green, red, and black grapes) that were mixed into the rat diet in a powdered form, as part of either a high- or low-salt diet. Comparisons were made between rats consuming the grape powder and rats that received a mild dose of a common blood pressure drug. All the rats were from a research breed that develops high blood pressure when fed a salty diet. After 18 weeks, the rats that received the grape-enriched diet powder had lower blood pressure, better heart function, and fewer signs of heart muscle damage than the rats that ate the same salty diet but didn't receive grapes. Rats that received the blood pressure medicine, hydrazine, along with a salty diet also had lower blood pressure, but their hearts were not protected from damage as they were in the grape-fed group. "There are the small changes that diet can bring, but the effect of grape intake on genes can have a greater impact on disease down the road," said E. Mitchell Seymour, M.S., who led the research as part of his doctoral work in nutrition science at Michigan State University. He manages the U-M Cardioprotection Research Laboratory, which is headed by U-M cardiac surgeon Steven Bolling, M.D. Heart cells, like other cells in the body, make an antioxidant protein called glutathione, which is one of our first defenders against damaging oxidative stress. High blood pressure causes oxidative stress in the heart and lowers the amount of protective glutathione. However, intake of grapes actually turned on glutathione-regulating genes in the heart and significantly elevated glutathione levels.
This may explain why the hearts of grape-fed animals functioned better and had less damage.

New imaging analysis predicts brain tumor survival

As early as one week after beginning treatment for brain tumors, a new imaging analysis method was able to predict which patients would live longer, researchers from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have found. The method uses a standard magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, protocol to monitor changes over time in tumor blood volume within individual voxels of the image, rather than a composite view of average change within the tumor. This parametric response map allowed researchers to see specific areas in which tumor blood volume increased or decreased, that may have canceled each other out when looking at the changes as an average. Results of the study appear in the advance online edition of Nature Medicine. “What we have potentially is a generalized analytical approach that we can use to quantify treatment intervention in patients,” says study author Brian Ross, Ph.D., professor of radiology and biological chemistry at the U-M Medical School and co-director of the Molecular Imaging Program at the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The Price of Pain and the Value of Suffering

During these trying financial times, the cost of healthcare and how much we are willing to pay for it is at the top of our economic concerns. The financial value of pain has a wide ranging influence, affecting drug prices and injury compensation. But what about on an individual level — is it possible to place a value on our health, to prevent pain and suffering? University College London psychologists Ivo Vlaev and Nick Chater, and neuroscientists Ben Seymour and Raymond J. Dolan were interested in just how much money volunteers were willing to pay to avoid pain and discomfort. Study participants were given money, with the understanding that they could keep for themselves whatever cash remained. They experienced one pulse of electric shock and then had to indicate how much money they would pay in order to avoid receiving 15 more shocks of the same intensity. Then, a computer program would determine how much the volunteers would actually have to pay. The program would randomly select a dollar amount — if that amount was higher than what the participants were willing to pay, then the participants would be shocked. However, if the computer's price was lower than the participant's price, then they would pay the computer's price and avoid the pain. The volunteers were informed that the computer selection would be completely random, so it was really in their best interest to select a price that accurately reflected how they value the pain from the electric shock. For each volunteer, this process was repeated a number of times, with differing intensities of shocks. The results, described in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, reveal that demand for pain relief is almost completely dependent on pain experienced in the recent past and the available cash on hand. That is, the participants were willing to pay more money to avoid pain if that pain was more intense compared to previous trials. In addition, the price they were willing to pay was based on what they were given (money-in-the-pocket) rather than on their overall wealth.These findings suggest that the value we place on relief from suffering is flexible and that activity of health markets cannot be predicted by the behavior of individuals.

LSUHSC public health researcher finds reason for weight gain

iwei Chen, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Public Health, is the lead author of a research paper showing that weight gain and obesity are more linked to an increase in liquid calories, particularly sugar-sweetened beverages, than calories from solid food. To our knowledge, this is the first study to document the relative effects of calories from liquids compared with those of calories from solid food on weight loss in adults over an extended period. The study is published in the May 1, 2009 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The study reports four principal findings: First, a reduction in liquid calorie intake was significantly associated with weight loss at both 6 months and 18 months. Second, the weight-loss effect of a reduction in liquid calorie intake was stronger than that of a reduction in solid calorie intake. Third, a reduction in sugar-sweetened beverage intake was significantly associated with weight loss at both 6 and 18 months. Fourth, no other beverage type was associated with weight change. It has been projected that 75% of US adults will be overweight or obese by 2015. "Today, Americans consume 150-300 more calories a day than they did 30 years ago," notes Dr. Chen, "and caloric beverages account for approximately 50% of this increase." The researchers followed 810 men and women, 25-79 years old, whose 24 hour dietary intake recall was measured by telephone interviews conducted when they entered the study and at 6 and 18 months. Beverages were divided into 7 categories based upon calorie content and nutritional composition.

German researchers make significant strides in identifying cause of bacterial infections

Several bacterial pathogens use toxins to manipulate human host cells, ultimately disturbing cellular signal transduction. Until now, however, scientists have been able to track down only a few of the proteins that interact with bacterial toxins in infected human cells. Now, researchers of the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried and the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch in Germany have identified 39 interaction partners of these toxins, using novel technology which allowed them to screen for large numbers of proteins simultaneously (Cell Host & Microbe, Vol. 5, Issue 4, 397-403)*. Many bacteria inject toxins into human cells using a secretion system that resembles a molecular syringe. Within the host cell, some of these toxins are activated in such a way that they can manipulate important cellular signaling pathways. In healthy cells, these signals serve to regulate metabolism or cell division, among other things. By manipulating the signals, bacteria can abuse the cell machinery of the human host in order to spread and survive. Applying a method developed by Professor Matthias Mann of the MPI, the scientists succeeded for the first time in systematically investigating the cellular target sites of the bacterial toxins. "Surprisingly, the toxins are not optimally adapted to the structures of human proteins," Dr. Matthias Selbach of MDC explained. While binding relatively weakly to individual human proteins, they are able to influence several different proteins simultaneously. "A single bacterial toxin seems to function like a master key that can access different host cell proteins in parallel", Dr. Selbach said. "Perhaps it is due to this strategy that bacteria are able to attack very different cells and, thus, to increase their survival chances in the host." Dr. Selbach hopes that these basic research findings will help to improve the treatment of bacterial infections in the future. Instead of nonspecific antibiotic therapy, new drugs could target the signaling mechanisms which are disrupted by the bacterial toxins.

Eating fatty fish once a week reduces men's risk of heart failure

Eating salmon or other fatty fish just once a week helped reduce men's risk of heart failure, adding to growing evidence that omega-3 fatty acids are of benefit to cardiac health. Led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and reported in today's on-line issue of the European Heart Journal, the findings represent one of the largest studies to investigate the association. "Previous research has demonstrated that fatty fish and omega-3 fatty acids help to combat risk factors for a range of heart-related conditions, such as lowering triglycerides [fats in the blood] reducing blood pressure, heart rate and heart rate variability," explains first author Emily Levitan, PhD, a research fellow in the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Center at BIDMC. "Collectively, this may explain the association with the reduced risk of heart failure found in our study." A life-threatening condition that develops when the heart can no longer pump enough blood to meet the body's needs, heart failure (also known as congestive heart failure) is usually caused by existing cardiac conditions, including high blood pressure and coronary artery disease. Heart failure is the leading cause of hospitalization among patients 65 and older, and is characterized by such symptoms as fatigue and weakness, difficulty walking, rapid or irregular heartbeat, and persistent cough or wheezing. The researchers followed 39,367 Swedish men between the ages of 45 and 79 from 1998 to 2004. The researchers recorded details of the men's diet and tracked the men's outcome through Swedish inpatient hospital registers and cause-of-death registers. During this period, 597 men in the study (with no previous history of heart disease or diabetes) developed heart failure. Thirty-four men died. Analysis of their numbers showed that the men who ate fatty fish (herring, mackerel, salmon, whitefish and char) once a week were 12 percent less likely to develop heart failure, compared with men who ate no fatty fish. Although this association did not reach statistical significance, notes Levitan, the researchers also found a statistically significant association with the intake of marine omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in cod liver and other fish oils: The men who consumed approximately 0.36 grams a day were 33 percent less likely to develop heart failure than the men who consumed little or no marine omega-3 fatty acids. "We divided the men into five groups based on their intake of fatty fish," explains Levitan. "The first group consumed little or no fatty fish; at the other end of the spectrum, the fifth group consumed significant quantitities, three or more servings per week. We found that while the 'middle group' – who ate one serving per week – had a 12 percent reduced risk of heart failure, the next two groups, who ate either two servings a week or three or more servings a week, had nearly the same heart failure risk as the men who ate no fish at all."

Pesticide exposure found to increase risk of Parkinson's disease

The fertile soil of California's Central Valley has long made it famous as one of the nation's prime crop-growing regions. But it's not just the soil that allows for such productivity. Crops like potatoes, dry beans and tomatoes have long been protected from bugs and weeds by the fungicide maneb and the herbicide paraquat. Scientists know that in animal models and cell cultures, such pesticides trigger a neurodegenerative process that leads to Parkinson's disease. Now, researchers at UCLA provide the first evidence for a similar process in humans. In a new epidemiological study of Central Valley residents who have been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, researchers found that years of exposure to the combination of these two pesticides increased the risk of Parkinson's by 75 percent. Further, for people 60 years old or younger diagnosed with Parkinson's, earlier exposure had increased their risk for the disease by as much as four- to six-fold. Reporting in the April 15 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology, Beate Ritz, professor of epidemiology at the UCLA School of Public Health, and Sadie Costello, a former doctoral student at UCLA who is now at the University of California, Berkeley, found that Central Valley residents who lived within 500 meters of fields sprayed between 1974 and 1999 had a 75-percent increased risk for Parkinson's.In addition, people who were diagnosed with Parkinson's at age 60 or younger were found to have been at much higher risk because they had been exposed to maneb, paraquat or both in combination between 1974 and 1989, years when they would have been children, teens or young adults. The researchers enrolled 368 longtime residents diagnosed with Parkinson's and 341 others as a control group.

Controlling our brain’s perception of emotional events

Research performed by Nicole Lauzon and Dr. Steven Laviolette of the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at The University of Western Ontario has found key processes in the brain that control the emotional significance of our experiences and how we form memories of them. A lack of proper brain function in this area is what lies beneath such conditions as Schizophrenia and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In people who suffer from these conditions emotional experiences can become distorted, causing the person to ‘lose touch’ with reality. The findings have been published online by The Journal of Neuroscience. Lauzon, a Doctoral graduate student in the Laviolette laboratory, discovered that specific receptors for the neurotransmitter dopamine can control how the brain processes emotionally significant information as well as memories for those experiences. Using a rodent model of emotional learning and memory formation, the researchers found by increasing the activity of a specific dopamine receptor in a region of the brain called the pre-frontal cortex, it was able to transform a normally insignificant emotional experience into a very strong emotional memory. In contrast, when a different subtype of the dopamine system was activated, it was able to block the ability to recall an emotionally charged experience. “Our findings have profound implications for understanding how specific brain receptors can control the magnitude of emotional experience and memory formation,” says Laviolette.

Acupuncture Eases Radiation-Induced Dry Mouth in Cancer Patients

Twice weekly acupuncture treatments relieve debilitating symptoms of xerostomia - severe dry mouth - among patients treated with radiation for head and neck cancer, researchers from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the current online issue of Head & Neck. Xerostomia develops after the salivary glands have been exposed to repeated doses of therapeutic radiation. People who have cancers of the head and neck typically receive large cumulative doses, rendering the salivary glands incapable of producing adequate saliva, said Mark S. Chambers, M.S., D.M.D., a professor in the Department of Dental Oncology. Saliva substitutes, lozenges and chewing gum bring only temporary relief, and the commonly prescribed medication, pilocarpine, has short-lived benefits and bothersome side effects of its own. "The quality of life in patients with radiation-induced xerostomia is profoundly impaired," said Chambers, the study's senior author. "Symptoms can include altered taste acuity, dental decay, infections of the tissues of the mouth, and difficulty with speaking, eating and swallowing. Conventional treatments have been less than optimal, providing short-term response at best." M. Kay Garcia, LAc, Dr.P.H., a clinical nurse specialist and acupuncturist in M. D. Anderson's Integrative Medicine Program and the study's first author, noted that patients with xerostomia may also develop nutritional deficits that can become irreversible.

Study Finds Blood Cells Can Be Reprogrammed to Act as Embryonic Stem Cells

In a recent study, U.S. researchers have reprogrammed cells found in circulating blood into cells that are molecularly and functionally indistinguishable from embryonic stem cells, a revolutionary achievement that provides a readily accessible source of stem cells and an alternative to harvesting embryonic stem cells. The findings were prepublished online in Blood, the official journal of the American Society of Hematology.
Embryonic stem cells have long been coveted for their potential to treat a multitude of diseases as a result of their unique properties of nearly indefinite self-renewal and pluripotency (the ability to develop into any type of cell in the body), but their use has been the subject of political controversy. “Our findings provide the first proof that cells from human blood can morph into stem cells,” said senior study author George Q. Daley, MD, PhD, an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Children’s Hospital, Boston. “Making pluripotent stem cells from blood, which is one of the easiest tissues to obtain, provides an easy strategy for generating patient-specific stem cells that are valuable research tools and may one day be used to treat a number of diseases.” To generate induced pluripotent stem cells (dubbed iPS cells), blood was collected from a 26-year-old male donor. From the blood sample, the researchers isolated CD34+ cells, a type of stem cell that produces only blood cells, and cultured them in growth factors for six days to increase their number. During the culture, the scientists infected the CD34+ cells with viruses carrying reprogramming factors, genes normally expressed in embryonic stem cells that can reset the blood cells to an embryonic state. Colonies of cells exhibiting physical characteristics similar to embryonic stem (ES) cells appeared about two weeks after the procedure. To determine whether these cells were also functionally similar to ES cells, the scientists analyzed the CD34+ iPS cell lines to see if they had acquired stem cell “markers,” the unique combination of proteins that coat the cells’ surface and distinguish them from other types of cells. Indeed, the iPS cell lines expressed the same markers as ES cells and further shared the capacity to differentiate into a variety of specialized cell types.

Researchers probe kidney damage, protection in lupus

Kidney damage associated with the autoimmune disease lupus is linked to a malfunction of immune cells that causes them to congregate in and attack the organs, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered in a mouse study. In a separate study with an international team, the researchers also found that a certain set of genes appears to protect the kidneys from a different sort of immune attack in both mice and humans. “These studies, taken together, uncover two important molecules that underlie the pathology of lupus, particularly kidney disease,” said Dr. Edward Wakeland, chairman of immunology at UT Southwestern and co-senior author of the studies. “In addition, they highlight a certain molecule as a potential target for treating this disease,” he said.

Witnessing violence affects kids’ health

Study finds link between exposure to community violence and a disruption to the stress pathways in the body. School-aged children who witness violence in urban communities show symptoms of post-traumatic stress. They also suffer physiological effects with a disruption to their normal cortisol production pattern during the day, which may have long-term negative effects on their health. According to Dr. Shakira Franco Suglia, from the Harvard School of Public Health, and her team lead by Dr. Rosalind J. Wright from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston, USA, because these children are not diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, these abnormal physiological symptoms are unlikely to be picked up by their doctors. The study1 has just been published online in Springer’s International Journal of Behavioral Medicine.

Sugar On Bacteria Surface Serves As Base For A Web Of Resistance

The bacteria responsible for chronic infections in cystic fibrosis patients use one of the sugars on the germs’ surface to start building a structure that helps the microbes resist efforts to kill them, new research shows. Scientists have determined that the bacterial cell-surface sugar, a polysaccharide called Psl, is anchored on the surface of the bacterium as a helix, providing a structure that encourages cell-to-cell interaction. When multiple bacterial cells join together with the help of such a structure, they form what is called a biofilm, a persistent community of bugs that is able to resist the effects of a human immune response, as well as antibiotic drugs. In the case of the bacterium being studied, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the results of biofilm development can be lethal. Chronic infection with these bacteria is what causes the death of most patients with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease characterized in part by excess mucus in the lungs – a condition that can foster creation of the biofilm.

Too much or too little sleep increases risk of diabetes

Researchers at Université Laval's Faculty of Medicine have found that people who sleep too much or not enough are at greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance. The risk is 2½ times higher for people who sleep less than 7 hours or more than 8 hours a night. The findings were published recently on the website of the journal Sleep Medicine. The researchers arrived at this conclusion after analyzing the life habits of 276 subjects over a 6-year period. They determined that over this timespan, approximately 20% of those with long and short sleep duration developed type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance versus only 7% among subjects who were average duration sleepers. Even after taking into account the effect attributable to differences in body mass among the subjects, the risk of diabetes and insulin resistance was still twice as high among those with longer and shorter sleep duration than average sleepers. The researchers also point out that diabetes is not the only risk associated with sleep duration. A growing number of studies have shed light on a similar relationship between sleep and obesity, cardiovascular disease, and overall mortality. The authors observe that among adults, between 7 and 8 hours of nighttime sleep appears to be the optimum duration to protect against common diseases and premature death.

Moms who breastfeed less likely to develop heart attacks or strokes

The longer women breastfeed, the lower their risk of heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular disease, report University of Pittsburgh researchers in a study published in the May issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology. "Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women, so it's vitally important for us to know what we can do to protect ourselves," said Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, M.D., M.S., assistant professor of medicine, epidemiology, and obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. "We have known for years that breastfeeding is important for babies' health; we now know that it is important for mothers' health as well." According to the study, postmenopausal women who breastfed for at least one month had lower rates of diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, all known to cause heart disease. Women who had breastfed their babies for more than a year were 10 percent less likely to have had a heart attack, stroke, or developed heart disease than women who had never breastfed. Dr. Schwarz and colleagues found that the benefits from breastfeeding were long-term ? an average of 35 years had passed since women enrolled in the study had last breastfed an infant. "The longer a mother nurses her baby, the better for both of them," Dr. Schwarz pointed out. "Our study provides another good reason for workplace policies to encourage women to breastfeed their infants." The findings are based on 139,681 postmenopausal women enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative study of chronic disease, initiated in 1994.

Dark hair? Don't burn? Your genes may still put you at risk for melanoma

New genetic research suggests that the traditional risk factors for melanoma may not be as helpful in predicting risk in all people as previously thought, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 100th Annual Meeting 2009. "Traditionally, a clinician might look at a person with dark hair who did not sunburn easily and classify them as lower risk for melanoma, but that may not be true for all people in the population," said Peter Kanetsky, Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania. Kanetsky and his colleagues have identified that genetic variants in MC1R could help to predict melanoma risk in people who are not usually classified as high risk. While this link previously has been observed, Kanetsky said it is now time to begin discussing genetic factors as part of the overall melanoma risk model. For the current study, researchers analyzed 779 patients with melanoma from the Pigmented Lesion Clinic of the University of Pennsylvania and compared them with 325 healthy control patients. Overall, the presence of certain MC1R variants was associated with a more than two-fold risk of melanoma, but this risk was largely confined to those patients who would not usually be considered to be at elevated risk.

Researchers identify gene associated with muscular dystrophy-related vision problems

Skeletal muscle disease and vision deficits might seem unrelated, but a frog model of muscular dystrophy shows it is not such a leap. Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, or FSHD, is the world's third most common type of muscular dystrophy. It is characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakening in the face, shoulders, and upper arms. Over half of FSHD patients (also known as Landouzy-Dejerine syndrome) also have abnormal blood vessels in the back of the eye, which can cause vision problems. Over 95% of FSHD patients carry a genetic abnormality proposed to affect expression of the FRG1 gene, and previous studies of FRG1 in frogs demonstrate that it is important for skeletal muscle development. Therefore, University of Illinois scientists investigated the possibility that the FRG1 gene might also be responsible for the blood vessel abnormalities in FSHD patients' eyes. Their report published in Disease Models & Mechanisms (DMM), describes how they examined the FRG1 gene in the frog and found the protein that it encodes for is highly expressed in blood vessels. Additional experiments show that normal FRG1 protein expression is important for blood vessel growth and organization.

Natural protein may halt colorectal cancer's spread

Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center researchers in Milwaukee have learned that a protein, CXCL12, that normally controls intestinal cell movement, has the potential to halt colorectal cancer spreading. These studies represent a potential mechanism by which CXL12 may slow cancer spreading. Controlling this process could lead to new biological therapies for colorectal cancers. "Colorectal cancer ranks third in cancer-related deaths in the United States in 2008," says principal investigator Michael Dwinell, Ph.D., professor of microbiology and molecular genetics. "Finding therapies to prevent its spread to secondary organs would increase patient prognosis considerably." Luke Drury, a graduate student in the interdisciplinary program for biomedical research at the Medical College, was his research associate. Their abstract will be presented at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in Denver, April 21.  Normal intestinal cells stick to underlying proteins, which provide survival signals to maintain cell health. If they become unstuck, the floating cells undergo a programmed cell death. In cancer, cells have acquired genetic changes that allow them to survive during loss of attachment. Previously, the researchers found that colorectal cancer cells lacked CXCL12 expression. In these studies, they re-introduced CXCL12 expression in colorectal cancer cells which prevented their ability to adhere to underlying proteins. Plus, the floating cells underwent programmed cell death.

Exercise protects against damage causing leakage in the blood-brain barrier

Regular exercise can prevent the disruption of the blood brain barrier that normally occurs with a dose of methamphetamine comparable to that used by heavy meth users. A University of Kentucky study is the first to look at the protective effects of exercise on the vascular effects of methamphetamine, effects that have been found clinically to contribute to serious, lasting, and sometimes fatal cardiovascular and neurological problems. Results of the study, conducted in young male mice, were reported April 22 at the Experimental Biology 2009 meeting in New Orleans. The presentation was part of the scientific program of The American Physiological Society. Principal investigator Dr. Michal Toborek says the level of the protective effects of exercise on the integrity of the blood brain barrier after the human equivalent of one gram of methamphetamine was surprising even to the research team. The results provide new understanding of the mechanisms through which the brain reacts to methamphetamine, particularly those related to oxidative stress. Results also suggest why exercise might help delay the onset of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's in which leakiness of the blood brain barrier is a characteristic. The researchers placed 25 young male mice – aged three months, equivalent to the 20s in humans -- in cages where they had access to exercise wheels. For five weeks, the animals took advantage of the wheels to run continually. Another 25 young mice were housed in similar cages but without access to wheels. At the end of this "endurance exercise training" period, all mice were injected with 10 mg. of methamphetamine over a 24-hour period. All the mice displayed some of the same effects of meth as seen in humans: they appeared agitated and increased their physical activity, and their body temperature rose. But in terms of what was happening in the capillaries of the brain, there was a marked difference between the mice who had been exercising extensively for the previous five weeks and those who had been sedentary. In the sedentary group of mice, the small capillaries in the brain experienced increased oxidative stress, causing the blood brain barrier to become more permeable. Toxins and inflammatory cells previously prevented from crossing the blood brain barrier then had access to the brain. The exercise group showed no such changes. Changes in the blood brain barrier, especially the role of oxidative reactions, have been little studied in the past, says Dr. Toborek; the University of Kentucky study is the first to observe that meth administration produced an upregulation of NADPH oxidase, a major enzyme that causes oxidative stress. This is a significant finding, says Dr. Toborek, because it delineates a mechanism for how meth causes oxidative stress. It also was significant that the exercise mice were markedly protected from such upregulation and consequently from the oxidative stress that weakened the capillaries in the brains of the non-exercise mice.

New hope for treatment of neurodegenerative disorder

Researchers from the University of Southern California have taken an important first step toward protecting against Huntington disease using gene therapy. Huntington Disease is an incurable neurological disorder characterized by uncontrolled movements, emotional instability and loss of intellectual faculties. It affects about 30,000 people in the United States, and children of parents with the disease have a 50 percent chance of inheriting it themselves. "Our findings allow for the possibility that controlled over-expression of RCAN1-1L might in the future be a viable avenue for therapeutic intervention in Huntington disease patients," said Kelvin J. A. Davies, professor of gerontology in the USC Davis School of Gerontology and professor of biological sciences in the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. In a paper in the June 2009 issue of Journal of Biological Chemistry, now available online, Davies and his coauthors use cell culture findings to show that a form of the gene RCAN1, known as RCAN1-1L, is dramatically decreased in human brains affected by Huntington disease. RCAN1-1L was first discovered in Davies' lab. The investigators also show that increasing levels of RCAN1-1L rescues cells from the toxic effects of Huntington disease, a result that could someday lead to new avenues of treatment, according to Davies. "Our discovery offers real hope and may even have wide-ranging implications for a variety of other important CAG repeat-related diseases," Davies said.

Harvard Medical Students Rebel Against Pharma-Ties

200 Harvard Medical School STUDENTS are confronting the administration demanding an end to pharmaceutical industry influence in the classroom. A front page report in the Business section of the New York Times should bestir some of Harvard Medical School alumni. 200 Harvard Medical School STUDENTS are confronting the administration demanding an end to pharmaceutical industry influence in the classroom. "The students say they worry that pharmaceutical industry scandals in recent years - including some criminal convictions, billions of dollars in fines, proof of bias in research and publishing and false marketing claims - have cast a bad light on the medical profession. And they criticize Harvard as being less vigilant than other leading medical schools in monitoring potential financial conflicts by faculty members."

Autism is Not Mental Illness: Get it Out of the DSM

In this month of Autism Awareness, I am ever so aware of the great disparity for our children on the autism spectrum regarding their diagnosis and healthcare. It brings to light some major changes that need to take place in order to not only stop the perpetual, exponentially expanding numbers of children developing autism, but to provide the already affected children with proper medical care and treatment.

Agent Orange exposure increases veterans' risk of aggressive recurrence of prostate cancer

Veterans exposed to Agent Orange are at increased risk of aggressive recurrence of prostate cancer, researchers report. A study of 1,495 veterans who underwent radical prostatectomy to remove their cancerous prostates showed that the 206 exposed to Agent Orange had nearly a 50 percent increased risk of their cancer recurring despite the fact that their cancer seemed relatively nonaggressive at the time of surgery. And, their cancer came back with a vengeance: the time it took the prostate specific antigen, or PSA, level to double – an indicator of aggressiveness – was eight months versus more than 18 months in non-exposed veterans. "There is something about the biology of these cancers that are associated with prior Agent Orange exposure that is causing them to be more aggressive. We need to get the word out," says Dr. Martha Terris, chief of urology at the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center in Augusta and professor of urology at the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine.

Mayo Clinic Researchers Formulate Treatment Combination Lethal To Pancreatic Cancer Cells

A combination of two targeted therapies packs a powerful punch to kill pancreatic cancer cells in the laboratory, Mayo Clinic cancer researchers report. With further testing of these drugs that are from classes of pharmaceuticals already used in patients, the Mayo research may lead to new treatment opportunities for patients with pancreatic cancer, which is extremely difficult to treat.

Critical turning point can trigger abrupt climate change

Ice ages are the greatest natural climate changes in recent geological times. Their rise and fall are caused by slight changes in the Earth's orbit around the Sun due to the influence of the other planets. But we do not know the exact relationship between the changes in the Earth's orbit and the changes in climate. New research from the Niels Bohr Institute indicates that there can be changes in the CO2 levels in the atmosphere that suddenly reach a critical turning point and with that trigger the dramatic climate changes. The results are published in the American journal Paleoceanography.The Earth's climate is essentially contolled by three different cycles (Milankovitch). All three cycles are caused by the pull of the other planets in the solar system on the Earth, and one could say that they control the Earth's climate by causing changes in the Sun's radiation.

1 - The Earth's orbit around the sun is not completely circular, but slightly elliptical. The orbit is 'elastic' and contracts and expands in a cycle of 100.000 years. And the closer we are to the Sun, the more solar radiation and the more heat we receive.

2 - The Earth's axis has a tilt in relation to the Sun and that is why we have summer and winter. But the tilt is not constant, it swings between 22 degrees and 24 degrees, and the greater the tilt, the greater the difference between summer and winter. This cycle takes 40.000 years.

3 - The Earth rotates around on its axis like a top - this gives day and night. But due to the tilt of the Earth and the elliptical orbit the direction changes with a cycle of 20.000 years. This results in varation in to whether the Earth is nearest the Sun during the summer or during the winter.

Solar radiation varies in the two hemispheres during the summer due to these cycles in the Earth's tilt and the elliptical orbit and this has profound implications for whether ice caps can build up in the northern hemisphere, where the largest land areas are.

Human stem cells promote healing of diabetic ulcers

Treatment of chronic wounds is a continuing clinical problem and socio-economic burden with diabetic foot ulcers alone costing the NHS £300 million a year. Scientists in Bristol have found that human foetal stem cells can effectively be used to treat back leg ischaemic ulcers in a model of type 1 diabetes. The researchers also found the culture in which the stem cells had been grown mimicked the wound-healing ability of the cells, suggesting that they could be used as a "factory" of wound-healing substances. Alternatively, the active ingredients in the culture, once identified, could be used instead; this would avoid the ethical concerns of using human foetal stem cells. In humans, diabetic patients with ischaemic foot ulcers have the worst outcome of all chronic skin wounds, with higher amputation and mortality rates than patients carrying non-ischaemic ulcers. Topical gels containing single growth factors have recently been used with some success in non-ischaemic ulcers, but have been unsuccessful in ischaemic ulcers, which are also resistant to other conventional treatment. Ischaemia results when the blood supply to a tissue is greatly reduced or stopped - this can occur in diabetes since it can also cause impaired blood flow in patients. The healing activity of stem cells is recognised for their ability to separate into the various component cells of injured tissues, as well as to discharge growth factors that may encourage the formation of new blood vessels in the patient. Paolo Madeddu, Professor of Experimental Cardiovascluar Medicine and colleagues at the Bristol Heart Institute, previously used stem cells in models of back leg ischaemia, showing that foetal stem cells could be more therapeutically effective than adult stem cells. Foetal stem cells possess a better ability to multiply and to graft onto host tissue, and to separate into other cell types to replace those in the damaged tissue. The group led by Bristol University's Professor Madeddu have found that foetal stem cells accelerate the closure of ischaemic diabetic ulcers, while stem cells from blood of adult donors are ineffective. Professor Madeddu, commenting on the research, said: "This is the first study to demonstrate the healing capacity of local therapy with CD133+ stem cells in a model of diabetic ischaemic foot ulcer. The foetus-derived cells would be difficult to obtain for therapeutic applications. However, the finding that conditioned culture is also effective in stimulating wound healing may have important implications for the cure of the ischaemic complications of diabetes.

New study finds continued abstinence is key to increased survival from alcohol-related liver disease

However, the downside is that up a quarter of people with alcohol-related cirrhosis die before they get the chance to stop drinking. Alcohol-related cirrhosis develops silently but usually presents with an episode of internal bleeding or jaundice - which is often fatal. The study, led by Dr Nick Sheron, senior lecturer at the University of Southampton and consultant hepatologist at Southampton General Hospital, found that abstinence from alcohol is the key factor in long-term prognosis, even with relatively severe alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver. The study appears in this month's Addiction journal. The aim was to determine the effect of pathological severity of cirrhosis on survival in patients with alcohol-related cirrhosis. Liver biopsies from 100 patients were scored for the Laennec score of severity of cirrhosis between 1 January 1995 and 31 December 2000, and medical notes were reviewed to determine various clinical factors including drinking status. Using up-to-date mortality data from the National Health Service Strategic Tracing Service, Dr Sheron found that drinking status was the most important factor determining long-term survival in alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver. He found that the degree of cirrhosis on biopsy had less impact on survival. Abstinence from alcohol at one month after diagnosis of cirrhosis was the more important factor determining survival with a seven year survival of 72 per cent for the abstinent patients against 44 per cent for the patients continuing to drink.

Study identifies genes that protect against aging

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have developed a new method to help researchers identify genes that can help protect the body during the ageing process. The team developed a method of analysing genes in multiple ageing tissue types in both animals and humans. The analysis, which included more than five million gene measurements, highlighted the mechanisms used by the body to protect against cellular changes with age that can result in conditions such as muscle degeneration and cognitive ageing. The new method could help further understanding into anti-ageing interventions by identifying genes that indicate biological changes as a result of ageing. Research has suggested that some genes respond to age-related conditions by increasing key protein levels, allowing the body to manage the ageing process more effectively. Dr Joao Pedro Magalhaes, from the University's School of Biological Sciences, explains: "We developed a new algorithm to analyse microarray data of genes from different species, and combined data from multiple studies to obtain a picture of how genes respond to ageing in a whole organism. This method is similar to the way scientists study the molecular characteristics of cancer, but it is the first time it has been used to research ageing.

New insight into Rett syndrome severity

A research collaboration between Australia and Israel has identified a genetic variation that influences the severity of symptoms in Rett syndrome. The finding is published in the latest edition of the international journal Neurology. Dr Helen Leonard, who heads the Australian Rett Syndrome Study at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, said the finding was exciting in that it identifies a potential new target for treatment of the debilitating neurological disorder. "We know that there is a wide range in the onset and severity of symptoms in patients with Rett syndrome but it has been difficult to give families a firm idea of how the disorder would progress," Dr Leonard said. "This information is potentially helpful in predicting the clinical progression, but importantly, gives us another area to explore for potential therapies." In the study, clinical information and DNA samples were gathered from 125 patients from the Australian Rett Syndrome Database and an Israeli cohort coordinated by Dr Bruria Ben Zeev at the Safra Pediatric Hospital, Sheba Medical Centre, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv. The genetic testing was undertaken by Professor John Christodoulou, from the NSW Centre for Rett Syndrome Research at the Children's Hospital at Westmead in Sydney and Dr Eva Gak from the Sagol Neuroscience Center at the Sheba Medical Centre. Professor Christodoulou said while it has been established that Rett syndrome is caused by mutations in the MECP2 gene, these new findings have established a correlation between the severity of clinical symptoms and a common brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) polymorphism. "Those patients with the normal BDNF genetic variant had less severe symptoms, with later onset and frequency of seizures," Dr Christodoulou said.

Vegan Buddhist nuns have same bone density as non-vegetarians

A study comparing the bone health of 105 post-menopausal vegan Buddhist nuns and 105 non-vegetarian women, matched in every other physical respect, has produced a surprising result. Their bone density was identical. The study was led by Professor Tuan Nguyen from Sydney’s Garvan Institute of Medical Research. He collaborated with Dr Ho-Pham Thuc Lan from the Pham Ngoc Thach Medical University in Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam. Their findings are now published online in Osteoporosis International. "For the 5% of people in Western countries who choose to be vegetarians, this is very good news," said Professor Nguyen. "Even vegans, who eat only plant-based foods, appear to have bones as healthy as everyone else." "Bone health in vegetarians, particularly vegans, has been a concern for some time, because as a group they tend to have a lower protein and calcium intake than the population at large."

Breakfast choices impact hunger and calorie consumption throughout day

New studies presented this week at Experimental Biology 2009 enhance the growing body of evidence supporting the nutritional benefits of eggs. Research presented at the meeting demonstrates that choosing eggs for breakfast can help adults manage hunger while reducing calorie consumption throughout the day. Additional research shows that teens who choose a protein-rich breakfast are less hungry and eat fewer calories at lunch.

USC researchers develop new drug to target tumor cells and blood vessels

Researchers at the University of Southern California have identified a new drug compound that appears to target tumor cells and surrounding blood vessels without the negative side effects typically associated with Cox-2 inhibitors. The compound 2.5-dimethyl-celecoxib (DMC) appears to have a strong anti-tumor effect while also attacking the vasculature that provides the blood supply necessary for tumor growth, according to data presented at the AACR 100th Annual Meeting 2009. The findings were presented at a 1 p.m. news conference on Sunday, April 19. "If left behind, the blood vessels within the tumor will help the tumor cells to survive and re-grow," says Florence M. Hofman, Ph.D., professor of pathology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. "We believe that DMC will be particularly useful for treating brain tumors such as gliomas, which are highly vascular. It also appears very promising for long-term treatment because it does not have the negative cardiovascular effects associated with Cox-2 inhibitors." Cox-2 inhibitors are most commonly used as anti-inflammatory drugs and have been shown to be effective in treating certain kinds of cancer. However, long-term use has also been associated with increased risk of heart attack and stroke, Hofman explains. DMC, however, retains anti-tumor activity without inhibition of Cox-2 and the associated increased risk of cardiovascular complications. Hofman and colleagues from the Keck School of Medicine tested the effectiveness of the DMC compound by isolating endothelial cells—the cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels—from human nonmalignant brain and glioma tissues and treating them with DMC.

Autopilot Guides Proteins in Brain

Proteins go everywhere in the cell and do all sorts of work, but a fundamental question has eluded biologists: How do the proteins know where to go? "There’s no little man sitting there, putting the protein in the right place," said Don Arnold, a molecular and computational biologist at USC College. "Proteins have to have in them encoded information that tells them where to go in the cell." In a study appearing online this week in Nature Neuroscience, Arnold and collaborators solve the mystery for key proteins in the brain. Neurons have separate structures for receiving signals (dendrites) and for sending them (axons). The electrical properties of each depend on different proteins. But the proteins travel in bubbles, or vesicles, powered by motors known as kinesins that travel along tiny molecular paths.

Even though the paths point to both axons and dendrites, dendritic proteins end up in dendrites, and axonal proteins go to the axons. How? Arnold’s group discovered a crude but effective sorting mechanism. At first, kinesins blindly carry both types of proteins towards the axon. However, dendritic proteins enable the vesicles transporting them to bind to a second motor, known as myosin, that literally walks them back into the dendrite. This filter ensures that only axonal proteins make it into the axon. The others are caught by the second motor and diverted to the dendrite. "This mechanism fishes these things out of the axon," Arnold said.

Brain metastases hijack neuron-supporting cells to resist chemotherapy

Cancer that spreads to other organs finds a particularly inviting hideout in the brain, where these metastases are usually far harder to treat than they are in other locations. Two researchers from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center discussed ways to more successfully target these tumors in their "sanctuary" at the American Association for Cancer Research 100th Annual Meeting 2009 in Denver. Professor of Cancer Biology Isaiah J. Fidler, D.V.M., Ph.D., presented a novel theory about why brain metastases are resistant to chemotherapy. "Astrocytes are spider-like cells that normally play the important role of providing oxygen and nutrients to neurons, and protecting neurons from naturally occurring toxins," Fidler said. "We show that brain metastases subvert astrocytes, tricking them into protecting the tumors, and that this is the important factor in resistance to chemotherapy." Professor and Chair of Neurosurgery Raymond Sawaya, M.D., reviewed when and how to conduct surgery to remove metastatic tumors, including evidence that removing a tumor piecemeal raises the risk of cancer irretrievably spreading to the spinal fluid. Fidler and Sawaya were among five speakers at "Invading the Sanctuary: New approaches to Brain Metastasis." Metastatic cancer causes the vast majority of cancer deaths. There are more than 100,000 new cases of metastatic brain cancer each year. By comparison, primary malignant brain tumors account for about 17,000 new cases annually. Not all cancers spread to the brain. Sawaya lists lung, breast, melanoma, kidney and colon cancer as the most common. "It's common for us to operate on patients who no longer have known disease except for the metastasis in the brain," Sawaya said. Such patients have a better prognosis than those with heavier tumor burden elsewhere.

An herbal extract inhibits the development of pancreatic cancer

An herb recently found to kill pancreatic cancer cells also appears to inhibit development of pancreatic cancer as a result of its anti-inflammatory properties, according to researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson. The data were presented at the AACR 100th Annual Meeting 2009 in Denver. (Abstract 494) Thymoquinone, the major constituent of the oil extract from a Middle Eastern herbal seed called Nigella sativa, exhibited anti-inflammatory properties that reduced the release of inflammatory mediators in pancreatic cancer cells, according to Hwyda Arafat, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of Surgery at the Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and a member of the Jefferson Pancreatic, Biliary & Related Cancers Center. Nigella sativa seeds and oil are used in traditional medicine by many Middle Eastern and Asian countries. It helps treat a broad array of diseases, including some immune and inflammatory disorders, Dr. Arafat said. Previous studies have also shown it to have anti-cancer effects on prostate and colon cancers. Based upon their previously published findings that thymoquinone inhibits histone deacetylases (HDACs), Dr. Arafat and her colleagues compared the anti-inflammatory properties of thymoquinone and trichostatin A, an HDAC inhibitor that has previously shown to ameliorate inflammation-associated cancers. The researchers used pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) cells, some of which were pretreated with the cytokine TNF-alpha to induce inflammation. Thymoquinone almost completely abolished the expression of several inflammatory cytokines, including TNF-alpha, interleukin-1beta, interleukin-8, Cox-2 and MCP-1, an effect that was more superior to the effect of trichostatin A.  The herb also inhibited the activation and synthesis of NF-kappaB, a transcription factor that has been implicated in inflammation-associated cancer. Activation of NF-kappaB has been observed in pancreatic cancer and may be a factor in pancreatic cancer's resistance to chemotherapeutic agents. When animal models of pancreatic cancer were treated with thymoquinone, 67 percent of the tumors were significantly shrunken, and the levels of proinflammatory cytokines in the tumors were significantly reduced.

LSUHSC research shows fish oil protects against diseases like Parkinson's

Dr. Nicolas Bazan, Director of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence, Boyd Professor, and Ernest C. and Yvette C. Villere Chair of Retinal Degenerative Diseases Research at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, will present new research findings showing that an omega three fatty acid in the diet protects brain cells by preventing the misfolding of a protein resulting from a gene mutation in neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Huntington's. He will present these findings for the first time on Sunday, April 19, 2009 at 10:30 a.m. at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Nouvelle C Room, at the American Society for Nutrition, Experimental Biology 2009 Annual Meeting. With funding from the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Bazan and his colleagues developed a cell model with a mutation of the Ataxin-1 gene. The defective Ataxin-1 gene induces the misfolding of the protein produced by the gene. These misshapened proteins cannot be properly processed by the cell machinery, resulting in tangled clumps of toxic protein that eventually kill the cell. Spinocerebellar Ataxia, a disabling disorder that affects speech, eye movement, and hand coordination at early ages of life, is one disorder resulting from the Ataxin-1 misfolding defect. The research team led by Dr. Bazan found that the omega three fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), protects cells from this defect. Dr. Bazan's laboratory discovered earlier that neuroprotectin D1 (NPD1), a naturally-occurring molecule in the human brain that is derived from DHA also promotes brain cell survival. In this system NPD1 is capable of rescue the dying cells with the pathological type of Ataxin-1, keeping their integrity intact. "These experiments provide proof of principle that neuroprotectin D1 can be applied therapeutically to combat various neurodegenerative diseases," says Dr. Bazan. "Furthermore, this study provides the basis of new therapeutic approaches to manipulate retinal pigment epithelial cells to be used as a source of NPD1 to treat patients with disorders characterized by this mutation like Parkinson's, Retinitis Pigmentosa and some forms of Alzheimer's Disease."

Clouds - Lighter than air but laden with lead

By sampling clouds -- and making their own -- researchers have shown for the first time a direct relation between lead in the sky and the formation of ice crystals that foster clouds. The results suggest that lead generated by human activities causes clouds to form at warmer temperatures and with less water. This could alter the pattern of both rain and snow in a warmer world. The lead-laden clouds come with a silver lining, however. Under some conditions, these clouds let more of the earth's heat waft back into space, cooling the world slightly. Atmospheric lead primarily comes from human sources such as coal. The international team of researchers reported their results in the May issue of Nature Geoscience. The collaboration included researchers from institutions in the United States, Switzerland and Germany. "We know that the vast majority of lead in the atmosphere comes from man-made sources," said atmospheric chemist Dan Cziczo of the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and study author. "And now we show that the lead is changing the properties of clouds and therefore the balance of the sun's energy that affects our atmosphere."

Urine test may determine if a smoker is at risk for lung cancer

Researchers may have uncovered why lung cancer afflicts some smokers and not others, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 100th Annual Meeting 2009. "A history of smoking has always been thought of as a predictor of lung cancer, but it is actually not very accurate," said Jian-Min Yuan, Ph.D., M.D., associate professor of public health at the University of Minnesota. "Smoking absolutely increases your risk, but why it does so in some people but not others is a big question." Yuan and colleagues hypothesized that the presence of the metabolite NNAL in a patient's urine might predict risk of lung cancer. This metabolite has been shown to induce lung cancer in laboratory animals, but the effect in humans had not yet been studied. Researchers collected data from 18,244 men enrolled in the Shanghai Cohort Study and 63,257 men and women from the Singapore Chinese Health Study. In addition to in-person interviews to assess levels of cigarette smoking, dietary and other lifestyle factors, researchers collected blood and urine samples from more than 50,000 patients. To evaluate the impact of NNAL, researchers identified 246 current smokers who later developed lung cancer and 245 smokers who did not develop lung cancer during the 10-year period following initial interview and collection of urine samples. Levels of NNAL in the urine were divided into three groups. Compared to those with the lowest levels, patients with a mid-range level of NNAL had a 43 percent increased risk of lung cancer, while those at the highest level had a more than two-fold increased risk of lung cancer after taking into account the effect of number of cigarettes per day, number of years of smoking, and urinary levels of cotinine on lung cancer risk. Levels of nicotine in the urine were also calculated. Those with the highest levels of nicotine and NNAL had an 8.5-fold increase in the risk of lung cancer compared with smokers who had the lowest levels after accounting for smoking history.  "Smoking leads to lung cancer, but there are about 60 possible carcinogens in tobacco smoke, and the more accurately we can identify the culprit, the better we will become at predicting risk," said Yuan.

Is metabolic character different between men and women with gallstone disease?

There are a cluster of metabolic syndrome, that include obesity, high level of fasting plasma glucose, hypertriglyceridemia and hypertension, which is closely associated with the increased morbidity and mortality caused by several of the most common diseases including diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and gallstone disease. However, there are regional and ethic variables in incidence and metabolic risk factors of gallstone disease. No study explores it in china has been reported. A research article to be published on April 21, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. The research team led by Professor Tang from Center of Infectious Diseases, Division of Molecular Biology of Infectious Diseases, National Key Laboratory of Biotherapy (Sichuan University), West China Hospital of Sichuan University carried out a study in a check-up unit in a university hospital in Chengdu city to study the incidence and metabolic risk factor of gallstone disease. As various researches indicated old age and female sex are susceptible to gallstone disease, the article investigate the relationship of metabolic disorders and gallstone disease. The prevalence of gallstone disease among the study subjects was 10.7% . The reported prevalence of gallstone disease is approximately 3.6% in Japan and 4.3-5.0% in Taiwan. The present study, in accordance with reports from western countries and other regions of Asia, showed that an older age, which may lead to exposure to many other risk factors, and female sex, which may have increasing risk of biliary cholesterol secretion causing cholesterol super saturation of bile by pregnancy and estrogen, are significant risk factors for gallstone disease. The present analyses showed a positive association between DM and gallstone disease in men but not in women and hypertriglyceridemia or obesity only showed a positive association with gallstone disease in women. There were disparate findings about DM, hypertriglyceridemia and obesity in different sexes with gallstone. These results demonstrate men have different metabolic character from women in gallstone disease patients, which may provide more information for investigating the true pathological mechanism of gallstone disease.

What is the effect of tea polyphenols on hepatic drug metabolizing enzymes?

Paracetamol is one of the most widely used, studied, and arguably the most notorious hepatotoxic drugs, which is safe at therapeutic doses but causes liver failure when overdosed. When administered at normal doses, paracetamol is metabolized extensively by conjugation with sulphate and glucuronic acid. Exposure to high doses of paracetamol results in increased levels of N-acetyl-p-benzo-quinoneimine (NAPQI), a highly electrophilic metabolite that is considered to be responsible for triggering the ensuing liver damage. The research, lead by Dr. Sun and his colleagues in Dalian Medical University, has recently been published on April 21,2009 in World Journal of Gastroenterology, investigated the effect of tea polyphenols (TPs) on paracetamol-induced hepatotoxicity. TPs are a large and diverse class of compounds extracted from tea. Recent studies indicate that TPs prevent from oxidative stress-related diseases including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, degenerative diseases and other bioactive properties. In recent years there has been a mounting interest in understanding the metabolic benefits of TPs. Liver is the main organ responsible for the metabolism of TPs. And some works have been done in the field of TPs modulated or interacted with drug metabolizing enzymes. However, until now, no one could give a clear explanation about this. Cytochrome P450 (CYP450) enzymes play a pivotal role not only in the metabolism of xenobiotics, and both induction and suppression of several CYP450s may lead to the cellular oxidative stress and tissue injury in response to xenobiotics. Early investigations identified the important roles of CYP2E1, CYP1A2 and intracellular GSH in paracetamol induced hepatotoxicity. But the effect of TPs on paracetamol-induced hepatotoxicity remain unclear. This research gave a clear explanation of TPs' effect on hepatic CYP450 along with CYP2E1 and CYP1A2 expression at both protein and mRNA levels. The results showed that the contents of hepatic CYP450 and CYPb5 were dose-dependently decreased by TPs. Also, TPs reduced CYP2E1 and CYP1A2 expression at both protein and mRNA levels dose dependently, indicating that TPs possessed potential hepatoprotective properties and this effect was closely related with their suppression on CYP450 expression. These results provided new information of TPs about their metabolism and the effect of TPs on hepatic drug metabolizing enzyme. This will be important in developing clinically safe and efficient medications related to TPs.

Genetic source of rare childhood cancer found; gene is implicated in other cancers

The search for the cause of an inherited form of a rare, aggressive childhood lung cancer has uncovered important information about how the cancer develops and potentially sheds light on the development of other cancers. The finding by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., the International Pleuropulmonary Blastoma Registry at Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, and other collaborating institutions adds the final link to the chain connecting the gene DICER1 to cancer development — something that had been suspected but until now not definitively demonstrated. The results were presented April 19, 2009, at the 100th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research in Denver. The study shows that some children with the rare cancer pleuropulmonary blastoma (PPB) are born with a deleterious mutation in DICER1, a master controller gene that helps regulate the expression of other genes. The children studied came from families with a history of PPB or related disorders. "PPB is the first malignancy found to be directly associated with inherited DICER1 mutations, making the cancer an important model for understanding how mutations and loss of DICER1 function lead to cancer," says lead author D. Ashley Hill, M.D., chief of pathology at Children's National Medical Center. "Additionally, we now believe that PPB tumors arise from an unusual mechanism in which cells carrying mutations induce nearby cells to become cancerous without becoming cancerous themselves." Hill was principal investigator of the study, which began while she was on the Washington University faculty.

Instead of fighting breast cancer, immune cell promotes its spread

Researchers at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and the Moores UCSD Cancer Center have new evidence that a type of immune system cell thought to be part of the first line of defense against breast cancer may also help promote its spread. They have found that when these cells, known as lymphocytes, make an inflammatory protein called RANKL (RANK ligand), breast cancer is more likely to spread to the lungs. They have also shown that blocking a cascade of cellular signals that follow RANKL's docking to its receptor (RANK) on tumor cells can halt cancer progression, or metastasis, and may be a possible target for drug therapy. The scientists, led by first author Wei Tan, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Pharmacology at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and Michael Karin, PhD, professor of pharmacology in UCSD's Laboratory of Gene Regulation and Signal Transduction, say that the findings establish RANKL as a potential marker that can be used to help determine breast cancer prognosis and adds further proof to the potentially important role of inflammation in cancer development and spread. They reported their findings April 22, 2009 at the AACR 100th Annual Meeting 2009 in Denver. According to Tan, the role of lymphocytes in breast cancer progression has been controversial for the last 20 years. Such cells are supposed to detect and eliminate cancer cells, but paradoxically, the infiltration of lymphocytes such as B cells and T cells into breast cancer is sometimes an indicator of poor prognosis, including cancer recurrence and metastasis. RANKL has been shown in previous studies to be an important inflammatory protein that can lead to bone loss by activating cells that help break down bone. Along with another protein, IKK alpha, it has been implicated both in tumor formation and metastasis. The researchers created two types of mice that developed breast tumors. One group had lymphocytes in the tumors and expressed RANKL while the other group did not. They found that the group lacking RANKL had significantly fewer lung metastases than those mice with RANKL. They then took tumor cells from both types of mice and injected them into mice with the same genetic background to avoid rejection and monitored the ability of the mice to form tumors and metastases to the lung. The researchers didn't find any lung tumor metastases in mice without lymphocytes. Yet, when RANKL was injected into the animals, the same potential for the cancer to spread was restored, indicating that the lymphocytes, which make RANKL, are critically important to the process. "Without lymphocytes, there is no metastasis," said Tan. "If we treat the mice with RANK ligand, there are metastases, which indicate that RANK ligand can compensate for the function of lymphocytes." The study establishes the role of RANKL-expressing lymphocytes as a promoting factor in breast cancer metastasis and provides a potentially good marker for breast cancer prognosis, the researchers said.

Binge Drinking May Hamper Information Relay System in Teen Brain

A study of adolescent binge drinkers has found that even relatively infrequent exposure to large amounts of alcohol during the teen years may compromise the integrity of the brain’s white matter, which is critical for the efficient relay of information within the brain. The preliminary findings – to be published online in advance of the July issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research – indicate that binge drinking may be detrimental to the developing adolescent brain. Heavy episodic or “binge” drinking is common among adolescents, with 55% of high-school seniors reporting having gotten drunk, and a quarter of them reporting having consumed five or more drinks in a row during the previous two weeks. “Because the brain is still developing during adolescence, there has been concern that it may be more vulnerable to high doses of alcohol,” said Susan F. Tapert, PhD, director of Substance Abuse/Mental Illness at the VA San Diego Healthcare System and associate professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. “This study showed that teens with histories of binge drinking episodes have lower coherence of white matter fibers in a variety of brain regions.”
“White matter” is the part of the brain made up of the axons of neurons – long filaments that extend from the cell bodies and carry the electrical signals that relay messages between neurons. The area appears white because of the axons’ protective myelin covering. Researchers know that the integrity of the brain’s white matter is compromised in adult alcoholics, but it is unclear when during the course of drinking white matter abnormalities begin to manifest themselves. However, white matter has been shown to continue developing throughout young adulthood.

Researchers identify missing target for calcium signaling

An international study led by Ohio State University neuroscience researchers describes one of the missing triggers that controls calcium inside cells, a process important for muscle contraction, nerve-cell transmission, insulin release and other essential functions. The research is being posted online April 22 in the journal Nature. The researchers believe the findings will enhance the understanding of how calcium signals are regulated in cells and shed light on new ways to treat many diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, immune diseases, metabolic diseases, cancer, and brain disorders. The study found that molecular structures called two-pore channels (TPCs) cause the release of calcium when stimulated by a substance called NAADP. The researchers also show that TPCs are located in the membranes of cell components called lysosomes and endosomes. These are mobile structures within cells that were not previously thought to be sites of calcium release. Furthermore, the discharge of calcium from these structures can prompt much larger releases from stores located on the large and elaborate membrane network called the endoplasmic reticulum. "Our study discovered one of the missing targets for calcium signaling," says Michael Xi Zhu, associate professor of neuroscience and a researcher with Ohio State's Center for Molecular Neurobiology. "It also nails down that NAADP receptors are located on lysosomes and endosomes, which should change people's views of calcium signaling. "It's as if we now understand that cells have not only a primary battery for calcium but other batteries in different places."

Genetics can mediate vulnerability to alcohol's effects during pregnancy

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can lead to teratogenesis, the development of embryonic defects. The estimated incidence of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), referring to a wide array of alcohol-exposure effects, is approximately one percent of live births in the US. Yet not all women who drink during pregnancy give birth to children with observable deficits. A mouse study has found that genetics may help to explain alcohol-related susceptibility and resistance. Results will be published in the July issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View. "Alcohol-related deficits include pre and/or postnatal growth retardation, craniofacial anomalies, central nervous system dysfunction, hand or finger malformations, a number of different skeletal malformations, and anomalies in a number of different organ systems, including the brain, eyes, and kidney," said Chris Downing, a research associate at the University of Colorado and corresponding author for the study. "Some women who drink during pregnancy don't give birth to children with any of these observable deficits, but later on their children develop a number of behavioral deficits including hyperactivity, attention deficits, learning problems, and deficits in impulse control," Downing added. "It is thought that these behavioral deficits are due to brain damage as result of in utero ethanol exposure, but correlating specific behavioral deficits with damage to specific brain areas is a work in progress. In addition, some women who drink during pregnancy have 'normal' children with no obvious deficits." Downing said that many factors have been shown to play a role in the development of FASD, including the amount, timing and pattern of maternal alcohol consumption, maternal age and parity, maternal ethnicity and socioeconomic status, cultural factors, maternal smoking and other drug abuse, and maternal diet/nutrition. In addition, he said, studies with humans and mice have shown that both maternal and fetal genotypes – in conjunction with the environment – play a role in susceptibility and resistance to the detrimental effects of in utero alcohol exposure.

Humanin peptide linked to neuronal cell survival and regulation of glucose metabolism

Recent studies have shown that the mitochondrial peptide Humanin (HN) protects against neuronal cell death such as happens in Alzheimer's disease. Now, in a study presented April 22 at Experimental Biology 2009 in New Orleans, Dr. Nir Barzilai reports that a small infusion of HN is the most potent regulator of insulin metabolism that his research team has ever seen, significantly improving overall insulin sensitivity and sharply decreasing the glucose levels of diabetic rats. The finding is the first evidence of a role for HN in glucose metabolism and provides new insight into how this metabolism may be involved in the development of seemingly diverse age-related diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Alzheimer's. The finding also provides support for the growing understanding that the brain (not just the pancreas, liver and other peripheral organs) is heavily involved in glucose metabolism. Furthermore, says Dr. Barzilai, the Ingeborg and Ira Leon Rennert Chair of Aging Research and Director of the Institute for Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the power of HN on insulin action suggests a new therapeutic approach to diabetes. Further understanding of how HN interactions with the growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor system may also lead to strategies to protect against age-related diseases including Alzheimer's.

Test for hormones in blood not reflective of hormones in breast tissue; breast cancer risk

Many studies determine hormone levels in the blood as a marker of breast cancer risk. But it hasn't been known whether these blood tests reflect what is happening in the breast tissue, where certain hormones fuel cancer. Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center's (GUMC) Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center found that measuring the levels of four hormones in blood known to be linked to breast cancer doesn't necessarily reflect the levels of these hormones in the breast tissue itself. In fact, the scientists say that blood tests used in research studies that measure these hormones could give a false impression of both the real breast cancer risk women face, and an imprecise picture of how these hormones affect breast cancer development. The findings are being presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. "We know from this study that measuring the hormones in a patient's blood is not sufficient but that is how many research studies looking at breast cancer risk are being conducted," says the study's lead author, Adana Llanos, a graduate student in genetics at GUMC. "Understanding how cancers develop in breast tissue is the key to prevention, and we need to understand how these hormones affect breast tissue." The research team, led by Llanos and under the guidance of senior investigator, Peter G. Shields, MD, head of Lombardi's Cancer Genetics and Epidemiology Program, did something that has not been done before: They tested normal breast tissue for the levels of IGF-1, IGFBP-3, adiponectin, and leptin. High levels of IGF-1 has been linked to breast cancer development, while low levels of IGFBP-3 is linked to increased risk. High levels of adiponectin and leptin are both related to obesity, which is, in itself, a risk factor for breast cancer. "By understanding these hormones in the normal breast environment, we will have some insight into how early changes in the breast lead to breast cancer," Llanos says. The researchers asked 15 women who were undergoing breast reduction surgery to participate in the study, and then collected three samples of discarded tissue from each breast, as well as blood, and extensive epidemiological data. They first assessed whether levels of these hormones were the same in each of the three tissue samples taken from the women, which represented different areas of the breast. "We found that the hormones were distributed in the same way across the breast, which is a good thing to know because it means that a tissue biopsy taken from one part of the breast will likely represent the breast as a whole," says Llanos. They then tested the blood to see if levels of the hormones matched those found in the breast tissue, and found that leptin, adiponectin, and IGFBP-3 correlated, whereas IGF-1 did not. But even that may be misleading, Llanos says, because hormone levels may differ between a woman's two breasts. "Breast cancer usually develops in a single breast, so it is not clear that looking at these hormones in the blood is sufficient," she says.

Test for Hormones in the Blood Not Reflective of Hormones in Breast Tissue; Breast Cancer Risk

Many studies determine hormone levels in the blood as a marker of breast cancer risk. But it hasn’t been known whether these blood tests reflect what is happening in the breast tissue, where certain hormones fuel cancer. Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center’s (GUMC) Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center found that measuring the levels of four hormones in blood known to be linked to breast cancer doesn’t necessarily reflect the levels of these hormones in the breast tissue itself. In fact, the scientists say that blood tests used in research studies that measure these hormones could give a false impression of both the real breast cancer risk women face, and an imprecise picture of how these hormones affect breast cancer development. The findings are being presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. “We know from this study that measuring the hormones in a patient’s blood is not sufficient but that is how many research studies looking at breast cancer risk are being conducted,” says the study’s lead author, Adana Llanos, a graduate student in genetics at GUMC. “Understanding how cancers develop in breast tissue is the key to prevention, and we need to understand how these hormones affect breast tissue.” The research team, led by Llanos and under the guidance of senior investigator, Peter G. Shields, MD, head of Lombardi’s Cancer Genetics and Epidemiology Program, did something that has not been done before: They tested normal breast tissue for the levels of IGF-1, IGFBP-3, adiponectin, and leptin. High levels of IGF-1 has been linked to breast cancer development, while low levels of IGFBP-3 is linked to increased risk. High levels of adiponectin and leptin are both related to obesity, which is, in itself, a risk factor for breast cancer.

More evidence that humans continue to upset nature

Dartmouth researchers have determined that the presence of the rare element osmium is on the rise globally. They trace this increase to the consumption of refined platinum, the primary ingredient in catalytic converters, the equipment commonly installed in cars to reduce smog. A volatile form of osmium is generated during platinum refinement and also during the normal operation of cars, and it gets dispersed globally through the atmosphere. While osmium is found naturally, the researchers were surprised to discover that most of the osmium in rain and snow, and in the surface waters of rivers and oceans, is produced during the refining of platinum. "It's interesting, maybe ironic, that we stopped adding lead to gasoline in the 70s so that catalytic converters could be introduced to remove smog from car exhaust," says Dartmouth Associate Professor of Earth Sciences Mukul Sharma. "Now we learn that using platinum in the converters is responsible for an increase in osmium. Fortunately, unlike lead, the concentration of osmium in water is extremely small and may not adversely affect biology." Sharma worked with Dartmouth Ph.D. student Cynthia Chen and Peter Sedwick at Old Dominion University. Their study will be published in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of April 20, 2009. The research team measured osmium in precipitation in North America, Europe, Asia, and Antarctica, and in both surface water and deep water from the North Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Antarctic (or Southern) Oceans. Human-made osmium also comes from chromium smelters, hospital incinerators, and the normal operation of cars, but it's primarily the industrial extraction and refining of platinum that produces the bulk of the osmium found in rain and snow. Sharma explains that about 95 percent of the world's platinum comes from South Africa and Russia where it is roasted at extremely high temperatures during the extraction and refinement process. The process removes sulfur present in the ore as sulfur dioxide and, at the same time, releases osmium, which is abundant in the ore.

Study sheds new light on why breast-fed babies grow more slowly

Breast-fed babies grow more slowly than formula-fed babies, which is why new growth charts, based solely on the growth patterns of breast fed babies, are being introduced in the UK in May. This slower pattern of growth in the first year of life is possibly one reason why breast-fed babies are less likely to become overweight children later on. A study published on-line today (24 April 2009) in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has found evidence that the lower protein content of breast milk compared to formula milk explains the slower growth rates seen in breast fed infants. The study was a multi-centre intervention trial in 5 European countries, co-ordinated by Professor Berthold Koletzko from the University of Munich, Germany. Over 1000 infants were randomised to receive infant and follow-on formulas with lower or higher protein content for their first year and were then followed up for 2 years. A group of breast fed infants were also followed up for comparison.

Aston University to explore anti-oxidant benefits of UK grown rosemary

The benefits of UK grown rosemary are set to be explored, and with it the potential to create a new genre of renewable bio-based antioxidants. Polymer scientists at Aston University in Birmingham, UK, have been awarded a £235,000 grant to develop a range of antioxidants from the active natural ingredients present in rosemary. Synthetic antioxidants, added to provide stability to products in areas as diverse as cosmetics, food and drink packaging and car lubricants, help to prevent or reduce the formation of active chemical species (free-radicals) that are responsible for the deterioration and breakdown of organic materials. The damaging effects of free radicals are also often linked to cancer and other degenerative conditions in the human body. The aim of the research is to replace some of these synthetic antioxidants with rosemary-derived antioxidants to add a natural and renewable source to products. This will also help address potential issues relating to safety and toxicity in human-contact applications. Dr Sahar Al-Malaika, Reader in Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry at Aston, who is a pioneer on the use of vitamin E as an antioxidant in polymers, believes that this latest research could prove as significant. They are studying UK grown rosemary in particular, as evidence suggests the plant yields higher levels of antioxidants than those grown on the continent.

SPEEDY babies – a new behavioural syndrome

Children’s speech and language disorders caused by unknown factors are common. The disorders vary in type and manifest themselves differently in different ages. Delayed motor development is widely known to coexist with speech and language disorders. However, hardly any attention has been paid to children in whom delayed speech development is associated with learning to walk unassisted at an early stage. Dr Marja-Leena Haapanen from the Phoniatric Division of the Helsinki University Central Hospital has studied and described these children and observed a recurrent pattern in their behavioural phenotype. The children were examined by a multi-disciplinary research group over an extensive period in time. Usually these children, known as SPEEDY babies, have good language comprehension skills, but their speech is very unclear, although they may start speaking early on and can be quite talkative. In some cases, the speech production is delayed, the child speaks less, and the speech maybe unclear, especially when speaking long sentences. What makes the child’s speech unintelligible are words and sentences that are produced incorrectly, but each time in a different way, in addition to consistent sound distortion. Consistent sound distortions are associated with tongue dysfunction and are manifest in sounds in which the tip of the tongue is used. SPEEDY babies develop motor skills early, and often start walking unassisted at ten months. They are often avid runners, climbers and eager to jump and skip, and all in all, are quite agile and physically active. They are usually in good physical health, and do not typically suffer from respiratory infections, ear infections or allergies. The intellectual skills structure is usually divided so that their vision-based performance is above the average for their age group and better than their linguistic performance.

Ultrasound Can Help Low-Risk Patients Avoid Invasive Thyroid Biopsy

The prevalence of benign thyroid nodules is high and there are certain ultrasound features, suggesting malignancy, that can help radiologists determine whether or not a biopsy is needed, according to a study performed at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center, San Francisco, CA. A total of 245 patients (54 patients with cancer, 191 patients with no cancer) were analyzed. “Our study supports previous data showing that some sonographic features of thyroid nodules are suggestive of malignant nature and should lead to biopsy,” said Dorra Sellami, MD, lead author of the study. “These features include microcalcifications (which increase the risk of cancer 16 folds), a shape taller than wide (increases the risk of cancer 3.7 folds) and hypoechogenicity (two-fold increase in risk of cancer). Other features may suggest that a nodule is benign, such as hyperechogenicity (40% increase in risk of cancer),” she said. “Current clinical guidelines recommend biopsy of all lesions greater than or equal to 10 mm. However, in our study of patients with no thyroid cancer, 49% had at least one nodule greater than or equal to 10 mm,” said Dr. Sellami. “Very few thyroid nodules are obviously malignant or benign. Most thyroid nodules we see by ultrasound are indeterminate, and in order to rule out cancer, a fine needle aspiration is often recommended. This results in a ratio of ten benign nodules sampled for one cancer diagnosed,” she said. “Our findings will help radiologists and clinicians determine which nodules are definitely not suspicious and can be watched. I think that our study is one step toward decreasing the number of invasive procedures in patients with benign thyroid nodules—while maintaining the same vigilance in detecting thyroid cancer in its early stages,” said Dr. Sellami.

Even modest exercise can reduce negative effects of belly fat

A new University of Illinois study suggests that moderate amounts of exercise alone can reduce the inflammation in visceral fat—belly fat, if you will—that has been linked with metabolic syndrome, a group of risk factors that predict heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. "In the study, the benefits of exercise were apparent, even without a change in diet. We saw improvements in insulin sensitivity, less fat in the liver, and less inflammation in belly fat," said Jeffrey Woods, a U of I professor of kinesiology and community health and faculty member in the U of I Division of Nutritional Sciences and the Integrative Immunology and Behavior Program. Belly fat is particularly dangerous because it produces inflammatory molecules that enter the bloodstream and increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes, he said. "Scientists now know that obesity is associated with a low-grade systemic inflammation. Obese people have higher levels of circulating inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), which are produced and secreted by fat tissue. This inflammation then triggers the systemic diseases linked with metabolic syndrome, such as Type 2 diabetes and heart disease," he said. In the study, Woods and his colleagues examined the effects of diet and exercise on the inflammation of visceral fat tissue in mice. A high-fat diet was first used to induce obesity in the animals. After 6 weeks, mice were assigned to either a sedentary group, an exercise group, a low-fat diet group, or a group that combined a low-fat diet with exercise for 6 or 12 weeks so the scientists could compare the effects in both the short and long term. "The surprise was that the combination of diet and exercise didn't yield dramatically different and better results than diet or exercise alone," said Vicki Vieira, the lead author of the study.

Type of vitamin B1 could treat common cause of blindness

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers have discovered that a form of vitamin B1 could become a new and effective treatment for one of the world's leading causes of blindness. Scientists believe that uveitis, an inflammation of the tissue located just below the outer surface of the eyeball, produces 10 to 15 percent of all cases of blindness in the United States, and causes even higher rates of blindness globally. The inflammation is normally treated with antibiotics or steroid eye drops. In a paper appearing in the May issue of the journal Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, however, the UTMB researchers describe striking results achieved with benfotiamene, a fat-soluble form of vitamin B1. In their experiments, they first injected laboratory rats with bacterial toxins that ordinarily produce a reaction mimicking uveitis. When those rats are fed benfotiamene, they fail to develop any signs of the inflammatory disorder. "Benfotiamene strongly suppresses this eye-damaging condition and the biochemical markers we associate with it," said UTMB associate professor Kota V. Ramana, senior author of the study. "We're optimistic that this simple supplementation with vitamin B1 has great potential as a new therapy for this widespread eye disease."
The researchers' data shows benfotiamene works by suppressing the activation of a crucial signaling molecule called NF-kappa B, which is normally triggered by the stress caused by infection. Shutting down NF-kappa B, they said, prevents the runaway production of inflammatory proteins that generates uveitis. Benfotiamene's low cost, rapid absorption by the body and lack of negative side effects make it an ideal candidate for uveitis prevention, according to Ramana.

Radiation device in the breast reduces complications for early stage breast cancer patients

A new study shows that the SAVI™ applicator, a small, expandable device inserted inside the breast to deliver partial breast irradiation, carries a low infection risk, a potential complication of such devices. The research, led by radiation oncologists and surgeons at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center and Fort Myers, Florida-based 21st Century Oncology, also indicates that other complications – such as seromas, pockets of fluid that build with the use of internal radiation devices – are unlikely to occur.
That's good news for those women with early-stage breast cancer who opt to have such devices inserted for their radiation therapy after breast-sparing lumpectomy surgery, said Cate Yashar, MD, associate professor of radiation oncology at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and chief of breast and gynecological radiation services at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center. Their use is increasing, she added, noting that the Moores UCSD Cancer Center was one of the first medical facilities in the country to offer SAVI. SAVI, which consists of flexible catheters through which radiation is given, provides customized radiation therapy and minimizes exposure to healthy tissue after a woman has undergone a lumpectomy to remove a cancerous tumor. Radiation specialists sometimes decide to give women internal radiation – a process called brachytherapy – with the goal of giving concentrated doses of radiation to areas of concern while avoiding healthy tissue.

New mediator of smoking recruits

Current research suggests that smoking increases the production of osteopontin in the lungs, which contributes to the development of smoking-related lung disease. The related report by Prasse et al, "Essential role of osteopontin in smoking-related interstitial lung diseases," appears in the May 2009 issue of The American Journal of Pathology.
Nearly one billion people worldwide smoke tobacco products. Long-term exposure to compounds found in smoke can lead to both cardiovascular and lung disease. Although lung exposure to cigarette smoke leads to immune cell recruitment and tissue fibrosis, how cigarette smoke causes these changes is largely unknown. To determine if osteopontin, a molecule that attracts immune cells, mediates cell recruitment in smokers, Prasse et al compared osteopontin levels from smokers with different types of lung diseases, healthy smokers, and healthy non-smokers. They found high levels of osteopontin expression in patients with interstitial lung disease, whereas healthy smokers had lower levels, and healthy non-smokers produced no osteopontin. Osteopontin expression could be stimulated directly by nicotine treatment. In addition, expressing osteopontin in rat lung resulted in recruitment of immune cells, resulting in symptoms similar to smoking-related interstitial lung diseases. These results indicate that osteopontin may be pathogenic in smoking-initiated lung disease.

Stopping Autoimmunity Before It Strikes

Current research describes a new method to track the development of autoimmune diseases before the onset of symptoms. The related report by Zangani et al, “Tracking early autoimmune disease by bioluminescent imaging of NF-?B activation reveals pathology in multiple organ systems,” appears in the April 2009 issue of The American Journal of Pathology. Autoimmune diseases such as lupus, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes are caused when the immune system attacks
the body’s own cells. Normally, immune cells are prevented from attacking normal cells; however, in patients with autoimmune disease, this “tolerance” is lost. The immediate causes of autoimmune diseases remain unknown, partially due to the inability to detect disease before the onset of symptoms. Early detection of autoimmune disease is critical for assessing new treatments.

---