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Week 33
UCSF researchers identify new drug
target for Kaposi’s Sarcoma
UCSF researchers have identified a new potential drug target for the herpes virus that
causes Kaposi’s sarcoma, re-opening the possibility of using the class of drugs
called protease inhibitors against the full herpes family of viruses, which for 20 years
has been deemed too difficult to attain. The new drug target, which is known as a protease
dimer, could serve as a model for developing new therapeutics for diseases ranging from
cancer to Alzheimer’s, the researchers say. Findings are reported in the Advance
Online Publication section of the “Nature Chemical Biology” web site and can be
found at http://www.nature.com/nchembio/index.html . Most current antiviral drugs target
the active sites of viral proteins, where enzymes and receptors work in a lock-and-key
approach to either activate or deactivate that particular protein, the researchers
explained. Traditionally, drug development has focused on inhibiting that lock-and-key
action to prevent the enzyme, or receptor from being effective. Some viral enzymes known
as proteases, however, including those for HIV and the herpes virus family, take the form
of a dimer, or two identical halves – much like a fully opened clamshell – in
their most stable state. Those proteases play an essential role in making the virus
infectious, but require the two clamshell halves to bind together to be activated,
according to the paper. The HIV protease was successfully targeted for drug development in
the 1980s, by blocking the active site on the surface of the dimer, but the herpes virus
protease dimer has consistently eluded efforts to disrupt it at its active site, the
researchers said.
Reprogramming Human Cells Without
Inserting Genes
A research team comprised of faculty at Worcester Polytechnic Institute's (WPI) Life
Sciences and Bioengineering Center (LSBC) and investigators at CellThera, a private
company also located at the LSBC, has discovered a novel way to turn on stem cell genes in
human fibroblasts (skin cells) without the risks associated with inserting extra genes or
using viruses. This discovery opens a new avenue for reprogramming cells that could
eventually lead to treatments for a range of human diseases and traumatic injuries by
coaxing a patient's own cells to repair and regenerate the damaged tissues.The research
team reported its findings in the paper "Induction of Stem Cell Gene Expression in
Adult Human Fibroblasts without Transgenes," published online July 21, 2009 (in
advance of September print publication) as a "fast track" paper from the journal
Cloning and Stem Cells. (Cloning, Stem Cells. 2009 Jul 21.) "We show that by
manipulating culture conditions alone, we can achieve changes in fibroblasts that would be
beneficial in development of patient-specific cell therapy approaches," the authors
wrote in the paper. Early on, the emerging field of regenerative medicine focused on
embryonic stem cells, which are pluripotent, meaning they can grow into all the tissues of
an adult organism. In the pluripotent state, several genes are known to be active, helping
to control the stem cells. These genes, including OCT4, SOX2 and NANOG, are accepted as
markers of pluripotency because they are active in stem cells, but become dormant once the
stem cells begin to differentiate and head down the path to developing into a specific
kind of cell type and tissue.While the study of embryonic stem cells continues to yield
important knowledge, research teams around the world are also working to change, or
reprogram, fully-differentiated cells like skin cells, back to a more pluripotent state.
Called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), these reprogrammed cells could be used to
regenerate tissue without some of the problems associated with embryonic stem cells,
including ethical questions and the potential for embryonic stem cells to be rejected by a
patient's immune system or to grow out of control and cause tumors.
Immune responses to flu vaccine are
diminished in lupus patients
Patients with the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have an increased
risk of infection, due to both disturbances in their immune responses and treatment with
immunosuppressive drugs. Because morbidity and mortality related to influenza are
increased in immunocompromised patients, it is recommended that patients with SLE get
annual flu shots, which are safe and do not increase disease activity. Both antibody and
cell-mediated responses are involved in the immune response to influenza; in SLE, antibody
responses to the vaccine are diminished, but it is not known if the same effect is seen in
cell-mediated responses. A new study was the first to examine cell-mediated responses in
SLE patients prior to and following influenza vaccination. The study was published in the
August issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism
(http://www.interscience.wiley.com/journal/arthritis). Led by Albert Holvast, of the
University of Groningen in The Netherlands, the study involved 54 patients with SLE and 54
healthy controls who received subunit flu vaccine, out of a total of 78 patients in each
group. Patients were randomized 2:1 to receive a flu vaccine or serve as a nonvaccinated
control. Patients and controls were followed up at 28 days and three to four months
following vaccination, at which time blood was drawn. Vaccination induces an influenza
virus-specific immune response which is generally documented as the generation of
antibodies specifically reacting with the virus. However, the main defense against the
virus is exerted by specific immune cells, in particular CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells which are
part of the immune response induced by vaccination. The level of this so-called cellular
immune response has until now not been documented in patients with SLE, but is crucial for
the effect of vaccination. The results showed that cell-mediated responses (both CD4+ and
CD8+ T-cells) to influenza were lower in SLE patients prior to vaccination. Following
vaccination, cell-mediated responses remained lower in SLE patients than controls. CD4+
and CD8+ T-cell responses to staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB), which was used as a
positive control, were normal in patients with SLE, indicating that their decreased
cell-mediated response to the flu vaccine was not attributable to a decreased
responsiveness of T cells in general. However, the use of the medications prednisone
and/or azathioprine was associated with lower cell-mediated responses following
vaccination. Previous studies have shown that antibody production following flu
vaccination is lower in SLE patients than in the general population and the current study
confirmed these results. The authors evaluated the relationships between antibody and
cell-mediated responses because CD4+ T-cell help is necessary for antibody responses.
While they did not find a correlation between CD4+ T-cell and antibody responses using
flow cytometry, they did find a modest correlation using ELISpot assay, a more sensitive
technique. They also found that flu vaccination did not induce disease activity over three
to four months.
Protein level may serve as
predictor of severe osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis (OA), the most common joint disorder throughout the world and a leading
cause of disability, is characterized by pain, impaired joint mobility, reduction of
muscular strength and loss of joint function. Unlike most other common diseases, little is
known about its origins, and factors predicting a severe disease course have not been
identified. A new study, the first to establish a laboratory marker for the risk of severe
OA, found that vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1), was a strong predictor of hip
and knee joint replacement due to severe OA. The study was published in the August issue
of Arthritis & Rheumatism. Led by Georg Schett of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg
in Erlangen, Germany, the study involved 912 healthy individuals in Bruneck, Italy, 60 of
whom underwent hip or knee replacement surgery due to severe OA in a 15-year follow-up
period. Subjects underwent a baseline exam in 1990 and followup exams were performed every
five years until 2005. Blood samples were analyzed for VCAM-1, a sialoglycoprotein (a
combination sugar and protein) expressed on cells in the cartilage and connective tissue.
The results showed that VCAM-1 levels were substantially elevated in the 60 individuals
who underwent joint replacement, with the highest baseline levels seen in those who
underwent bilateral joint replacement. "The level of VCAM-1 emerged as a significant
predictor of the risk of joint replacement due to severe OA, equaling or even surpassing
the effects of age," the authors state. They also note that inclusion of VCAM-1
levels in risk prediction models resulted in a more accurate classification of
individuals. VCAM-1 promotes leukocyte adhesion and homing to sites of inflammation. In
chondrocytes (cartilage cells), VCAM-1 expression is induced by inflammatory cytokines
(proteins released by immune system ells). The authors suggest that increased VCAM-1
levels may therefore mirror active cartilage damage or an inflammatory component in OA.
Since it mediates the interaction of chondrocytes with immune cells, VCAM-1 may also
contribute to immune-mediated cartilage damage.
Reducing risk of hospitalization in
the elderly
Older adults who have less strength, poor physical function and low muscle density are at
higher risk of being hospitalized compared to adults with more strength and better
function. That's the finding of a new study in the Journal of the American Geriatric
Society. The study also found that muscle density, a measure of how much fat compared to
lean tissue there is in the muscle, is a more accurate gauge of a person's risk of
hospitalization than muscle mass or size. The relative risk for hospitizations was 50%
higher for those with poor walking or less dense muscle mass "Our research suggests
that we need to re-think the way we define sarcopenia or age-related muscle loss,"
says Peggy Cawthon, PhD, MPH, a scientist with the California Pacific Medical Center
Research Institute and the lead author of the study. "Many definitions of sarcopenia
today tend to focus on lean mass or muscle size, our study shows that is looking at the
wrong factors. We found that muscle strength or performance were much better ways of
measuring function." The researchers followed 3,011 healthy, non-disabled adults
between the ages of 70 and 80, for an average of almost five years. They measured their
physical function in a number of ways including walking speed, their ability to stand up
from a chair repeatedly, the strength of their grip and their leg strength. By the end of
the study more than 55 percent of the participants had experienced one or more
hospitalizations. Those most likely to end up in the hospital were the adults who scored
lowest on the measures of physical function; this held true after allowing age, medical
conditions, lean mass or muscle size. They also found that adults with the least dense
thigh muscles, namely those with a higher proportion of fat in their thighs, were also at
a higher risk of hospitalization compared to adults with more dense thighs.
A crystal ball for brain cancer?
UCLA researchers have uncovered a new way to scan brain tumors and predict which ones will
be shrunk by the drug Avastin -- before the patient ever starts treatment. By linking high
water movement in tumors to positive drug response, the UCLA team predicted with 70
percent accuracy which patients' tumors were the least likely to grow six months after
therapy. Bronnie McNabb, 57, considers himself lucky. When his aggressive brain cancer
returned after chemotherapy and radiation, his UCLA doctor prescribed the off-label use of
Avastin, a drug shown to quell cancers in the breast, colon and lung. One month later,
McNabb's tumors had shrunk by 95 percent. Subsequent brain scans show no trace of his
cancer at all. The former marathon runner, ordained minister and father of two says he
hasn't felt this good since his diagnosis last winter. In welcome news for patients like
McNabb, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of Avastin last month for
the treatment of brain cancer. The powerful drug shrinks tumors by choking off their blood
supply. Half of patients don't respond to the therapy, though, exposing them to
unnecessary side effects and medication costing up to $10,000 per month. Now UCLA
scientists have uncovered a new way to image tumors and forecast which patients, like
McNabb, are most likely to benefit from Avastin before starting a single dose of
treatment. The findings are published in this month's issue of the journal Radiology.
Nanoparticle delivery of diphtheria toxin-encoding DNA selectively expressed in ovarian
cancer cells reduced the burden of ovarian tumors in mice, and researchers expect this
therapy could be tested in humans within 18 to 24 months, according to a report in Cancer
Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Although early stage
ovarian cancer can be treated with a combination of surgery followed by chemotherapy,
there are currently no effective treatments for advanced ovarian cancer that has recurred
after surgery and primary chemotherapy. Therefore, the majority of treated early stage
cancers will relapse. "This report is definitely a reason to hope. We now have a
potential new therapy for the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer that has promise for
targeting tumor cells and leaving healthy cells healthy," said lead researcher Janet
Sawicki, Ph.D., a professor at the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research. Sawicki and
colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology evaluated the therapeutic efficacy
of a cationic biodegradable beta-amino ester polymer as a vector for the nanoparticle
delivery of a DNA encoding diphtheria toxin suicide gene. These nanoparticles were
injected into mice with primary or metastatic ovarian tumors. To test the efficacy of this
technique, the researchers measured tumor volume before and after treatment. They found
that while treated tumors increased 2-fold, this was significantly less than the between
4.1-fold and 6-fold increase in control mice. Furthermore, four of the treated tumors
failed to grow at all, while all control tumors increased in size. Administration of
nanoparticles to three different ovarian cancer mouse models prolonged lifespan by nearly
four weeks and suppressed tumor growth more effectively, and with minimal non-specific
cytotoxicity, than in mice treated with clinically relevant doses of cisplatin and
paclitaxel. Edward Sausville, M.D., Ph.D., an associate editor of Cancer Research and
associate director for clinical research at the Greenebaum Cancer Center at the University
of Maryland, said this report illustrates significant progress in targeted therapy.
"In oncology we have been studying ways to kill tumors for a long time, but much of
this has run up against the real estate principle of location, location, location,"
he said. "In other words, an effective therapy is not effective if it cannot get to
the target."
Sea Shepherd Society discuss Whale
Wars on Larry King
Paul Watson and crew members of the
Steve Irwin discuss the second season of Whale Wars on the Animal Planet Channel, and the
illegality of Japanese whaling near Antarctica.
How's the water at your local
beach?
A new study shows some of the most
polluted beaches in all of New York State are in our western New York.
Jeremy Rifkin interview
An interview by the journalist Carlo
Alberto Pratesi with Jeremy Rifkin on the effects of climate change, and the environmental
and food-related challenges we face in upcoming decades.
John Mackey, co-founder and CEO of Whole
Foods, is a believer in what he calls conscious capitalism. He spoke as part of the Gordon
Grand Fellowship, which brings top business leaders to campus each year.
An Urban Farming Renaissance
With the global price of food rising
dramatically around the world, the number of people at risk of starvation and malnutrition
will also increase. The United Nations Food Program announced earlier this year that it
would not have enough money or food to meet its targets due to the cost of food. In Egypt
and other parts of the world, people have been rioting in the face of food shortages and
sharp increases in prices. In places like Thailand that are famous for exporting rice
throughout the world, the government has announced cutbacks in exports because of
shortages. A grim picture, to say the least. Yet while this crisis seems to be unfolding,
another rise has come to pass - the return of urban and community farms. How do these
farms manage to exist, seemingly, outside the global game? Is their business model
sustainable and is this truly a renaissance of growing and thinking locally? Through a
series of podcast interviews and reports, the case is presented of how some farmers are
hacking the price of food.
Sinopsis: In a world lost in power,money or
work, this documentary starts as a personal search and continues as a path towards health.
With raw food as a starting point, we can find alternative ways that can help achieving
happiness, that is, reiki, permaculture, rebirthing or tantra. Countries such as Tailand,
Indonesia, Laos or Spain are the witness of an urging growing need: the return of men to
nature to be in harmony with it. Are you Reddy? It´s up to you.
Julie Newman, from
http://www.non-gm-farmers.com/ a Fair Dinkum Aussie, gives us the real run down, on the
Genetically Modified Food (if you can call it food), that our Government and companies
like, Monsanto, are trying to cram down our throats. Julie lays out the ludicrous
guidelines that Non-GMO Farmers will face, such as if you grow next door to a GMO farm,
you might have to have, up to a 3 kilometre buffer zone, to claim GMO free!! She exposes
the lies about crop yields. She exposes the lies of those who are supposed to be
protecting our Farmers. She exposes the problems with cropping on land, after you have
planted GMO. She exposes the lies upon lies, about these Frankenstein foods. To the Aussie
who brought us this footage, a big, THANKS MATE!! Id like to add, in my opinion, this also
exposes our Government, their Scientist Whores and the BIG Agri-Businesses, for what they
are, a pack of parasites or, for a farming analogy, the Government and their Whores, are a
2000 kilogram tick, on a 1000 kilogram bull.
Vividly reveals the dysfunctionality of the
industrialized world food system and shows what world hunger has to do with us.
College students who feel
'invincible' unlikely to accept vaccines, MU researcher finds
Vaccines to protect against sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV and herpes, are
being developed and may soon be available to college students. However, limited research
has been conducted to determine if students will accept the vaccines once they are
available. In a new study, a University of Missouri researcher has found that students who
feel invulnerable, or invincible, to physical harm are unlikely to get an HIV vaccine.
Alternately, students who feel invulnerable to psychological harm are more likely to get
the vaccine. "Previous researchers have used invulnerability measures to predict
health-endangering behaviors in students, but this study is unique in that it considers
the role of invulnerability in students' health-protective or preventative
behaviors," said Russell Ravert, assistant professor in the MU College of Human
Environmental Sciences. In the study, Ravert measured two invulnerability factors: danger
and psychological. Students with increased danger invulnerability, those who viewed
themselves as physically invincible, were more likely to decline the vaccine. One
explanation is that strong feelings of danger invulnerability may be associated with
decreased threat, which can diminish protective behaviors, Ravert said.
EphA2-targeted therapy delivers
chemo directly to ovarian cancer cells
With a novel therapeutic delivery system, a research team led by scientists at The
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center has successfully targeted a protein that
is over-expressed in ovarian cancer cells. Using the EphA2 protein as a molecular homing
mechanism, chemotherapy was delivered in a highly selective manner in preclinical models
of ovarian cancer, the researchers report in the July 29 issue of the Journal of the
National Cancer Institute. EphA2 is attractive for such molecularly targeted therapy
because it has increased expression in ovarian and other cancers, including breast, colon,
prostate and non-small cell lung cancers and in aggressive melanomas, and its expression
has been associated with a poor prognosis. "One of our goals has been to develop more
specific ways to deliver chemotherapeutic drugs," said senior author Anil K. Sood,
M.D., professor and in the Departments of Gynecologic Oncology and Cancer Biology at M. D.
Anderson. "Over the last several years we have shown that EphA2 is a target that is
present quite frequently in ovarian and other cancers, but is either present in low levels
or is virtually absent from most normal adult tissues. EphA2's preferential presence on
tumor cells makes it an attractive therapeutic target." The researchers used a
carrier system to deliver chemotherapy directly to ovarian cancer cells. The
immunoconjugate contains an anti-EphA2 monoclonal antibody linked to the chemotherapy drug
monomethyl auristatin phenylalanine (MMAF) through the non-cleavable linker
maleimidocaproyl. Research has shown that auristatins induce cell cycle arrest at the G -
M border, disrupt microtubules and induce apoptosis (programmed cell death) in cancer
cells.
Mental, emotional and behavioral
disorders can be prevented in young people
Around one in five young people in the U.S. have a current mental, emotional, or
behavioral disorder. About half of all adults with mental disorders recalled that their
disorders began by their mid-teens and three-quarters by their mid-20s. Early onset of
mental health problems have been associated with poor outcomes such as failure to complete
high school, increased risk for psychiatric and substance problems, and teen pregnancy. A
new article by Mary E. Evans, RN, PhD, FAAN, published in the Journal of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing assesses the recently released government report on
preventing these disorders among young people. Dr. Evans' paper concludes that using
certain interventional programs in schools, communities and health care settings, risk for
mental illness can be better identified and treated. The article highlights the fact that
specific risk and protective factors have been identified for many disorders. For example,
certain thinking and behavioral patterns are risks for the development of depression.
Nonspecific factors that increase risk for developing disorders also include poverty,
marital conflict, poor peer relations, and community violence. Also, certain
neurobiological factors contribute to the development of disorders in youth, but this is
also influenced by environmental factors. A key risk factor for externalizing disorders is
aggressive social behavior that begins in early childhood. A number of interventions have
been developed to provide training in parenting skills to prevent the development of
aggressive and antisocial behavior. In addition, some preventive interventions have
targeted specific disorders such as depression and schizophrenia. Cognitive behavioral
treatment for high-risk adolescents has lowered the rate of major depressive symptoms.
Also, a number of community-based programs have been shown to be effective in promoting
healthy behaviors.
Health benefits of physical
activity more pronounced in women
Many experimental studies have found that physical exercise can improve cholesterol levels
and subsequently decrease the risks of cardiovascular disease; however, few of these
studies have included enough participant diversity to provide ethnic breakdowns. Now, a
long-term study of over 8,700 middle-aged men and women provides race- and gender-
specific data on the cholesterol effects of physical activity, with the interesting result
that women, particularly African-American women, experience greater benefits as a result
of exercise than men. The analysis of this large Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities
(ARIC) Study, which appears in the August issue of Journal of Lipid Research, was carried
out by Keri Monda and colleagues at North Carolina and Baylor. They found that over a 12
year period, all individuals who increased their exercise by about 180 metabolic units per
week (equivalent to an additional hour of mild or 30 minutes of moderate activity per
week) displayed decreased levels of triglycerides and increased levels of the
"good" HDL cholesterol. However, statistically significant decreases in the
"bad" LDL cholesterol were only observed in women, with particularly strong
effects in menopausal women and African-American women. And total cholesterol levels were
only significantly decreased in African-American women. The authors speculate that these
novel differences may arise from hormonal differences between the sexes, especially
considering the extra effects seen post-menopause. The racial differences observed may
stem from genetic variations that require further exploration.
Errors in diagnosis of depression
lead to over and under diagnosis in primary care
A meta-analysis of more than 50,000 patients has shown that general practitioners (GPs)
have great difficulty separating those with and without depression, with substantial
numbers of missed and misidentified. GPs looking for depression make more
misidentifications (false positives of depression) than the number of depressions they
correctly spot following an initial consultation but accuracy could improved by
re-assessment of people suspected of having depression.These are the conclusions of an
article published Online First and in an upcoming edition of The Lancet, written by Dr
Alex Mitchell of University of Leicester together with Dr Amol Vaze, and Dr Sanajay Rao of
Leicester Partnership Trust. The study pooled 41 trials from nine countries that used
robust outcome standard of a semi-structured interview to assess depression. The
researchers found that GPs were able to recognize about half of people who had clinical
depression and correctly reassured 80% of healthy people. Dr Alex Mitchell said
"Imagine a typical GP who is trying to spot depression in a rural practice. He or she
might see 100 people over five days. If all the people with depression came to see the GP
at once, they would fill the surgery for at least half a day. However the hard pressed GP
would actually only spot half of these cases and half would be missed. On four days the GP
would see people with other complaints but he or she would mistakenly diagnose up to one
in five as depressed, equivalent to almost one full day of contacts. In the worst case
scenario false diagnoses could outnumber true diagnoses three to one."
Research shows that animals need
time to survive
To understand how climate change may affect species survival, we need to understand how
climate influences their time-keeping. New research published in the journal Biological
Reviews points to time as a major factor in determining whether a species is capable of
surviving in a particular habitat. In their paper ‘Time as an ecological
constraint’ (Biological Reviews, August 2009), Professor Robin Dunbar of the
University of Oxford, Dr Amanda Korstjens of Bournemouth University, and Dr Julia Lehmann
of Roehampton University accept that both climate and the availability of food are crucial
in determining whether animals can reproduce and survive in a given habitat. However,
their latest research shows that the critical constraint on animals, through which these
factors have their effect, is time because it limits an animal’s ability to harvest
sufficient resources to meet its physiological requirements. On the micro-scale, time has
always been an important issue for behavioural ecologists but it has not been a major
focus of interest in population or conservation biology until now.
One in ten 16 year olds have
self-harmed
One in ten 16 year olds in Northern Ireland have self-harmed in the past year, according
to new research by ARK at Queen’s University and the University of Ulster. Of the 941
young people who were questioned during the 2008 Young Life and Times Survey, a further 14
per cent had thought about harming themselves in the past year but had not done so. This
is the first time a representative sample of young people in Northern Ireland has been
asked about their attitudes to and experiences of self-harm.
Epigenetic signature changes in low
oxygen levels may contribute to prostate cancer development
UCD Conway researchers have characterised epigenetic signature changes in prostate cells
under conditions of low oxygen levels that may lead to tumour development. The results of
the study published this month in the scientific journal, Human Molecular Genetics may
provide important targets for the early detection and manipulation of prostate cancer.
Chronic hypoxia, or low tissue oxygen levels, is a natural feature of the aging prostate
either due to declining blood flow to the area or local consumption of oxygen during
re-modelling of the organ. It may also be a risk factor in the development of prostate
cancer but, to date, the processes involved are not defined. This study led by Conway
Fellow, Dr Amanda McCann, and involving collaborators in UCD Conway Institute as well as
teams in St Vincent’s University Hospital, the National Centre for Medical Genetics
Crumlin and Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute, examined the consequences of
chronic hypoxia on prostate cells. Epigenetic gene regulation refers to changes in gene
expression caused by mechanisms other than changes in the underlying DNA sequence. The
group found significant epigenetic and cellular alterations in prostate cells as a result
of hypoxia. Cells became more resistant to the natural process of cell death, increasingly
able to migrate or invade and also caused the secretion of chemical messengers that are
believed to be involved in the growth and survival of prostate tumour cells.
Robotics insights through flies'
eyes
Common and clumsy-looking, the blow fly is a true artist of flight. Suddenly changing
direction, standing still in the air, spinning lightning-fast around its own axis, and
making precise, pinpoint landings – all these maneuvers are simply a matter of
course. Extremely quick eyesight helps to keep it from losing orientation as it races to
and fro. Still, how does its tiny brain process the multiplicity of images and signals so
rapidly and efficiently? To get to the bottom of this, members of a Munich-based
"excellence cluster" called Cognition for Technical Systems or CoTeSys have
created an unusual research environment: a flight simulator for flies. Here they're
investigating what goes on in flies' brains while they're flying. Their goal is to put
similar capabilities in human hands – for example, to aid in developing robots that
can independently apprehend and learn from their surroundings.
Methods for monitoring CO2
emissions have limitations, inadequate for international climate treaty
Current methods for estimating greenhouse gas emissions have limitations that make it
difficult to monitor CO2 emissions and verify an international climate treaty, says a new
National Research Council letter report to the administrator of NASA, Charles F. Bolden
Jr. NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory -- which failed to launch in February -- would have
offered proof that greenhouse gas emissions could be monitored from space, as well as
provided baseline data on CO2 emissions trends from a sample of cities and power plants,
the report says. NASA is expected to decide in the coming months whether to launch a
replacement observatory. The observatory was not designed for treaty monitoring and
verification, and because of its two-year mission life, it would not by itself have been
able to track emission trends. However, no other satellite has its crucial combination of
high precision, small footprint, readiness, density of cloud-free measurements, and
ability to sense carbon dioxide near the Earth's surface, said the committee that wrote
the report.
Structure of protective protein in
the eye lens revealed
The human eye lens consists of a highly concentrated mix of several proteins. Protective
proteins prevent these proteins from aggregating and clumping. If this protective function
fails, the lens blurs and the patient develops cataracts. Two research groups at the
Department of Chemistry of the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) have succeeded in
explaining the molecular architecture of this kind of protective protein. Their findings,
which are published online in the current early edition of PNAS (Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences), shed new light on the work of these proteins and may be
able to help in the development of new treatments. Cells have a variety of protein
complexes that manage vital tasks. The functions of these "molecular machines"
depend largely on their three-dimensional structure. In the first instance, proteins are
long chains of amino acids, like a long piece of woolen thread. So-called chaperones help
them to fold in the desired three-dimensional form after their production. If this folding
process fails, the protein thread becomes an inextricable, useless tangle. Small heat
shock proteins (sHsps) are a particularly important group of chaperones. They prevent the
clumping of proteins under stress conditions. ?B-crystallin and the related sHsp
?A-crystallin are the main representatives of the sHsps found in humans. Whereas
?A-crystallin mainly occurs in the eye lens, ?B-crystallin is also very common in the
brain and in the heart and muscle tissue. In the eye lens, they counteract diseases like
cataracts. Malfunctions of the ?B-crystallin in tissue cells can give rise to cancer and
neurological defects, including Alzheimer's disease. Many research groups have focused
their work on the ?-crystallins due to their medical relevance. Despite intensive efforts,
up to now, none of them have managed to determine the molecular architecture of these
proteins. However, TUM biochemists have now succeeded in producing ?A-crystallins and
?B-crystallins recombinantly in bacteria and in obtaining uniform, clearly-structured
complexes. A detailed structural analysis of these proteins was carried out in cooperation
with the Chemistry Department's Center of Electron Microscopy. The research groups were
able to show for the first time here that, contrary to previous suppositions,
?B-crystallin forms a defined globular structure comprising 24 subunits, which are
reminiscent of a perforated soccer ball.
New chemical imaging technique
could help in the fight against atherosclerosis, suggests research
A new chemical imaging technique could one day help in the fight against atherosclerosis,
suggests research published in the August 2009 edition of the Journal of the Royal Society
Interface A new chemical imaging technique could one day help in the fight against
atherosclerosis, suggests research published in the August 2009 edition of the Journal of
the Royal Society Interface. Atherosclerosis is the disease underlying most heart attacks
and strokes and it is characterised by lesions in the arteries, made of fats, collagen and
cells. The lesions cause artery walls to harden and thicken, which severely restricts the
flow of blood around the body and they can also rupture, leading to heart attacks and
strokes. Understanding the precise chemical composition of an individual's lesions is
important because the ones with higher levels of a type of fat called cholesteryl ester
are more prone to rupture. The team behind the new imaging technique, which is known as
Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopic Imaging (ATR-FTIR
imaging), believe that with further refinement, it could become a useful tool for doctors
wanting to assess a patient's lesions. For example, by combining fibre optic technology
with ATR-FTIR imaging, the researchers believe doctors could carry out real-time
inspections of patients with atherosclerosis, in order to assess the progress of the
disease and establish which patients are at the greatest risk of complications. Currently,
doctors can use ultrasound to assess the size and location of lesions but they need to
take biopsies of lesions in order to determine their chemistry. This is a complex and
invasive procedure. The researchers say the ATR-FTIR imaging could potentially improve
current imaging techniques because it could combine imaging and chemical analysis, which
would provide a comprehensive and accurate picture of a patient's lesions in one
procedure. In the present study, the researchers demonstrated that ATR-FTIR imaging was
able to reveal the precise composition and size of the lesions and the levels of elastin,
collagen and cholesteryl ester in them.
Got migraines?
Migraine headaches are a drain — not only on the estimated 30 million Americans who
suffer from them, but on the economy, too. Because pain and other symptoms caused by
migraine headaches can be quite severe, it is projected that nearly $13 billion is spent
every year in headache treatment and loss of time from work, which no one can afford these
days. But according to a new study in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official
medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), there is hope for
severe and frequent migraine sufferers who can't find relief in conventional remedies.
"Nearly one out of four households, including 18 percent of women, suffer from
migraines and many patients are not only eager, but desperate to stop the pain," said
ASPS Member Surgeon and study author Bahman Guyuron, MD, professor and chairman,
department of plastic surgery, University Hospitals Case Medical Center. "In this
study, we've shown that surgical treatment of migraine headaches is safe, effective, and
that this reasonably short operation can have a colossal impact on the patients' quality
of life – all while eliminating signs of aging for some patients, too." For
nearly a decade, researchers have been testing the concept that migraines are caused when
a person's trigeminal nerve branches are irritated. When the muscles around these branches
are incapacitated, the headaches stop, which is why some patients have found relief from
the 'freezing' effect of Botox treatments. However, according to this study, removal of
these muscles or 'triggers,' offers an easily attainable and permanent fix. In this
double-blind, placebo controlled clinical trial, researchers (including a plastic surgeon
and two neurologists) from Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Case
Medical Center in Cleveland, identified the three most common trigger sites and then
randomly assigned 75 patients to either the actual (49 patients) or sham-surgery groups
(26 patients). Patients then completed questionnaires and underwent either a real or
perceived deactivation operation on their predominant migraine trigger site, which for
most patients, was similar to that of a traditional forehead lift.
UF scientists program blood stem
cells to become vision cells
University of Florida researchers were able to program bone marrow stem cells to repair
damaged retinas in mice, suggesting a potential treatment for one of the most common
causes of vision loss in older people. The success in repairing a damaged layer of retinal
cells in mice implies that blood stem cells taken from bone marrow can be programmed to
restore a variety of cells and tissues, including ones involved in cardiovascular
disorders such as atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. "To our knowledge,
this is the first report using targeted gene manipulation to specifically program an adult
stem cell to become a new cell type," said Maria B. Grant, M.D., a professor of
pharmacology and therapeutics at UF's College of Medicine. "Although we used genes,
we also suggest you can do the same thing with drugs — but ultimately you would not
give the drugs to the patient, you would give the drugs to their cells. Take the cells
out, activate certain chemical pathways, and put the cells back into the patient." In
a paper slated to appear in the September issue of the journal Molecular Therapy,
scientists describe how they used a virus carrying a gene that gently pushed cultured
adult stem cells from mice toward a fate as retinal cells. Only after the stem cells were
reintroduced into the mice did they completely transform into the desired type of vision
cells, apparently taking environmental cues from the damaged retinas.
NIH study finds low short-term
risks after bariatric surgery for extreme obesity
Short-term complications and death rates were low following bariatric surgery to limit the
amount of food that can enter the stomach, decrease absorption of food or both, according
to the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (LABS-1). The study was funded by the
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the
National Institutes of Health. Results are reported in the July 30 issue of the New
England Journal of Medicine. Less than 1 percent (0.3 percent) of patients died within 30
days of surgery, further supporting the short-term safety of bariatric surgery as a
treatment for patients with extreme obesity. Bariatric surgery can have dramatic health
benefits--such as improved blood sugar control or even reversal of type 2 diabetes. But it
also carries serious risks, including death. The LABS-1 study aimed to evaluate the
short-erm safety of bariatric surgery to help doctors and patients understand the risks.
"Evaluating the 30-day safety outcomes of bariatric surgery in large populations is
an essential step forward," according to co-author Myrlene Staten, M.D., senior
advisor for diabetes translation research at NIDDK, part of NIH. "And LABS-1 data are
from all patients who had their procedure performed by a surgeon participating in the
study, not from just a select few patients." Various types of bariatric surgery limit
food intake, nutrient absorption or both. The major types of surgery undergone by
participants in this study included laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, laparoscopic
Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and open Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Gastric bands create a pouch
around the top of the stomach to limit food intake at any one time. Gastric bypass also
creates a pouch and redirects food around most of the stomach and part of the small
intestine, limiting the absorption of food..
Invisibility cloak could protect
against earthquakes
chools and hospitals could one day be protected from feeling the effects of an earthquake.
CNRS researchers at the Institut Fresnel in Marseille (1) have come up with a system that
could protect buildings from the most destructive seismic waves. Based on mathematical
models, such an 'invisibility cloak' could find applications ranging from the automobile
and aviation industries to earthquake protection. The paper appears in the journal
Physical Review Letters dated 10 July 2009.The 'invisibility cloak' is a thin plate with a
structure that controls the propagation of certain waves so as to deflect them from an
obstacle. Thus, such waves will not affect an object placed in the center of this cloak
but will simply go round it. This protection takes the form of concentric rings made up of
different materials. The whole thing makes up a metamaterial which has properties that are
not found in natural materials. However, the invisibility cloak cannot be used to deflect
all types of seismic wave (2). Surface waves, which generally have a greater amplitude
than the other types of wave, produce the most destructive effects in earthquakes. The
equations governing this type of wave are invariant under geometric transformation: this
characteristic, revealed by the researchers at the Institut Fresnel, enabled them to
design the invisibility cloak (3).
Scientists decoding genomic
sequences of H1N1 using isolates from outbreak in Argentina
Researchers at the Center for Infection and Immunity (CII) at Columbia University Mailman
School of Public Health are working with Argentina's National Institute of Infectious
Diseases, the National Administration of Laboratories and Health Institutes (ANLIS), and
Roche 454 Life Sciences to decode the complete genomic sequences of influenza pandemic
(H1N1) 2009 virus from patients with severe respiratory disease. The scientists will be
comparing sequences of viruses associated with the current outbreak in Argentina with
those found in other locations to determine if there are differences that may be linked to
higher mortality rates or provide insights into virus evolution. The Mailman School of
Public Health researchers, led by Gustavo Palacios, PhD, assistant professor of
Epidemiology and CII Director W. Ian Lipkin, MD, John Snow Professor of Epidemiology, and
professor of Neurology and Pathology at Columbia University, plan to completely sequence
up to 150 virus specimens from nasopharyngeal swabs and cultures over the next 10 days,
and will share their findings with the larger scientific community. The complete
sequencing of these virus specimens will allow the team to both characterize severe versus
mild cases, as well as determine how the virus evolved at different points in time. Swine
flu has killed 165 people in Argentina, more than any nation with the exception of the
U.S. Any significant changes in the virus might influence the effectiveness of vaccines or
drugs used to fight the pandemic. "No one knows how this pandemic will evolve.
Continuous surveillance will be essential to focusing both research and public health
response. We are analyzing these isolates in New York and Argentina; nonetheless, we
expect that members of the broader scientific community will bring new insights. Thus, our
plan is to release sequences in draft form so that the vetting process can begin as soon
as possible," said Dr. Lipkin. "While there is no evidence so far to indicate
the emergence of resistance to the oseltamivir vaccine, the antiviral drug that blocks the
influenza virus from spreading between cells in the body, we are cautious about the
findings until we have more sequences," said Gustavo Palacios, PhD. "The changes
already noted in comparing the outbreak in Argentina to the U.S. haven't previously been
associated with greater virulence."
Structure of protective protein in
the eye lens revealed
The human eye lens consists of a highly concentrated mix of several proteins. Protective
proteins prevent these proteins from aggregating and clumping. If this protective function
fails, the lens blurs and the patient develops cataracts. Two research groups at the
Department of Chemistry of the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) have succeeded in
explaining the molecular architecture of this kind of protective protein. Their findings,
which are published online in the current early edition of PNAS (Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences), shed new light on the work of these proteins and may be
able to help in the development of new treatments. Cells have a variety of protein
complexes that manage vital tasks. The functions of these "molecular machines"
depend largely on their three-dimensional structure. In the first instance, proteins are
long chains of amino acids, like a long piece of woolen thread. So-called chaperones help
them to fold in the desired three-dimensional form after their production. If this folding
process fails, the protein thread becomes an inextricable, useless tangle. Small heat
shock proteins (sHsps) are a particularly important group of chaperones. They prevent the
clumping of proteins under stress conditions. ?B-crystallin and the related sHsp
?A-crystallin are the main representatives of the sHsps found in humans. Whereas
?A-crystallin mainly occurs in the eye lens, ?B-crystallin is also very common in the
brain and in the heart and muscle tissue. In the eye lens, they counteract diseases like
cataracts. Malfunctions of the ?B-crystallin in tissue cells can give rise to cancer and
neurological defects, including Alzheimer's disease.
Dementia induced and blocked in
Parkinson's fly model
Parkinson's disease is well-known for impairing movement and causing tremors, but many
patients also develop other serious problems, including sleep disturbances and significant
losses in cognitive function known as dementia. Now researchers at Washington University
School of Medicine in St. Louis have modeled Parkinson's-associated dementia for the first
time. Scientists showed that a single night of sleep loss in genetically altered fruit
flies caused long-lasting disruptions in the flies' cognitive abilities comparable to
aspects of Parkinson's-associated dementia. They then blocked this effect by feeding the
flies large doses of the spice curcumin. "Clinical trials of curcumin to reduce risk
of Parkinson's disease are a future possibility, but for now we are using the flies to
learn how curcumin works," says author James Galvin, M.D., a Washington University
associate professor of neurology who treats patients at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. "This
should help us find other compounds that can mimic curcumin's protective effects but are
more specific." Galvin and senior author Paul Shaw, Ph.D., assistant professor of
neurobiology, publish their results in the journal Sleep on Aug. 1. Galvin is an expert in
cognitive impairments in human Parkinson's disease; Shaw studies sleep and the brain in
fruit flies. The researchers decided collaborate based in part on evidence that increased
sleep loss in Parkinson's patients can precede or coincide with increased severity in
other Parkinsonian symptoms. More than 74 percent of Parkinson's patients have trouble
sleeping, and up to 80 percent of patients 65 and older who have Parkinson's disease for
seven years will develop dementia, according to Galvin. Shaw's lab has linked sleep loss
to changes in the dopaminergic system of the brain, the part of the brain that produces
the neurotransmitter dopamine and is at the center of the damage caused by Parkinson's.
"In healthy flies, sleep deprivation decreases dopamine receptor production and
causes temporary learning impairments that are fully restored after a two-hour nap,"
Shaw says.
Poor sleep in children may have
prenatal origins
A study in the Aug.1 issue of the journal SLEEP found that alcohol consumption during
pregnancy and small body size at birth predict poorer sleep and higher risk of sleep
disturbances in 8-year-old children born at term. Findings are clinically significant, as
poor sleep and sleep disturbances in children are associated with obesity, depressive
symptoms, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and poor neurobehavioral functioning.
Results indicate that children exposed prenatally to alcohol were 2.5 times more likely to
have a short sleep duration of 7.7 hours or less and 3.6 times more likely to have a low
sleep efficiency of 77.2 percent or less across all nights, independent of body size at
birth and current maternal alcohol use. Smaller body size at birth also was associated
with poorer sleep and with a higher risk for clinically significant sleep disturbances
among children born at term. More specifically, lower weight and shorter length at birth
were associated with lower sleep efficiency, and a lower ponderal index (an indicator of
fetal growth status) was associated with the presence of sleep disturbances. In addition,
children with short sleep duration were more likely to have been born via Caesarean
section than were children sleeping longer (23.1 percent versus 8.4 percent respectively).
According to principal investigator Katri Räikkönen, PhD, in the department of
psychology at the University of Helsinki, Finland, even low levels of weekly prenatal
exposure to alcohol have adverse effects on sleep quantity and quality during childhood.
"The results were in accordance with the fetal origins of health and disease
hypothesis and the many studies that have shown that adverse fetal environment may have
lifelong influences on health and behavior," said Räikkönen. "However, this is
among the few studies that have reported associations between birth variables and sleep
quality and quantity among an otherwise healthy population of children." The
epidemiologic cohort study obtained data from 289 children born at term (from 37 to 42
weeks of gestation) between March and November 1998. Sleep duration and sleep efficiency
(actual sleep time divided by the time in bed) were measured objectively by actigraphy at
8 years of age for an average of 7.1 days. Parents completed the Sleep Disturbance Scale
for Children to report sleep problems and sleep disorder symptoms such as bedtime
resistance and sleep disordered breathing.
Race/ethnicity, family income and
education associated with sugar consumption
The intake of added sugars in the United States is excessive, estimated by the US
Department of Agriculture in 1999-2002 as 17% of calories a day. Consuming foods with
added sugars displaces nutrient-dense foods in the diet. Reducing or limiting intake of
added sugars is an important objective in providing overall dietary guidance. In a study
of nearly 30,000 Americans published in the August 2009 issue of the Journal of the
American Dietetic Association, researchers report that race/ethnicity, family income and
educational status are independently associated with intake of added sugars. Groups with
low income and education are particularly vulnerable to eating diets with high added
sugars. There are differences within race/ethnicity groups that suggest that interventions
aimed at reducing the intake of added sugars should be tailored to each group. Using data
from adults (?18 years) participating in the 2005 US National Health Interview Survey
(NHIS) Cancer Control Supplement, investigators from the National Cancer Institute (NCI),
the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), Bethesda, MD, and Information
Management Services, Inc., Silver Spring, MD, analyzed responses to questions about added
sugars. Both NCI and NHLBI are part of the National Institutes of Health. In men and
women, intakes of added sugars were inversely related to both education and family income.
There were significant differences across race/ethnicity groups with Asian-Americans
having the lowest intake of added sugars and Hispanics with the next lowest intake
according to racial/ethnic categories. Black men had the highest intake among men,
although white and American Indian/Alaskan Native men were also high. Black women and
American Indian/Alaskan Native women had the highest intake among women. Writing in the
article, Frances E. Thompson, MPH, PhD, and colleagues state, "A major strength of
the 2005 NHIS is its large and diverse sample, allowing examination of the independent
effects of factors related to added sugars intake in a multivariate setting---the first
such analysis with US national data. In addition, it was possible to examine factors
within subpopulations defined by race/ethnicity. The five subpopulations analyzed differ
from each other in many respects, several of which are related to added sugars intake.
Thus, the ability to disentangle independent effects allows for a fuller understanding of
differences across race/ethnicity."
Pitt researchers find promising
candidate protein for cancer prevention vaccine
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have learned that some
healthy people naturally developed an immune response against a protein that is made in
excess levels in many cancers, including breast, lung, and head and neck cancers. The
finding suggests that a vaccine against the protein might prevent malignancies in
high-risk individuals. Mice that were vaccinated to boost their immune response against
this cell cycle protein, called cyclin B1, were able to reject a tumor challenge in which
they were exposed to a cancer cell line that overproduced it, explained senior author
Olivera Finn, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Immunology at
the Pitt School of Medicine. The results are reported this week in the online version of
the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Cyclin B1 is known to be
produced in excess amounts in several kinds of cancer," she said. "While we were
studying it, we noted that many healthy people already had an immune response, or
antibodies, against the protein, even though they'd never had cancer." According to
the researchers, the immune response most likely developed during a childhood viral
infection, when inflammatory responses are strong. Cells infected with chicken pox virus,
for example, look very much like tumor cells because they, too, overproduce cyclin B1. The
virus actually packages the host protein, which ultimately gets shown to the immune system
as a marker of infected cells that must be destroyed.
Lead-Based Consumer Paint Remains a
Global Public Health Threat
Although lead content in paint has been restricted in the United States since 1978,
University of Cincinnati (UC) environmental health researchers say in major countries from
three continents there is still widespread failure to acknowledge its danger and companies
continue to sell consumer paints that contain dangerous levels of lead. In a new study,
Scott Clark, PhD, and his team have found that approximately 73 percent of consumer paint
brands tested from 12 countries representing 46 percent of the world’s population
exceeded current U.S. standard of 600 parts per million (ppm) for lead in paint. In
addition, 69 percent of the brands had at least one sample exceeding 10,000 ppm. With the
majority of American consumer goods being produced overseas, Clark says that lead paint
exposure remains a serious global health threat. “A global ban on lead-based paint is
drastically needed to protect the more than three billion people who may be exposed in the
countries allowing distribution of lead-containing paints as well as Americans
unintentionally exposed through consumer products exported to the United States,”
says Clark, a professor of environmental health at UC and principal investigator of the
study.
Are kids today truly more
autonomous?
Children have certainly mastered the art of selecting, negotiating and even refusing the
chores their parents assign to them. This growth in personal autonomy at home over the
last few decades could be the result of shrinking opportunities to participate in
activities outside the home, without Mom and Dad looking over their shoulder, according to
Dr. Markella Rutherford from Wellesley College in the US. Her analysis1 of back issues of
the popular US magazine, Parents, maps how the portrayal of parental authority and
children’s autonomy has changed over the last century. Her findings are published
online in Springer’s journal Qualitative Sociology. Parents are faced with a
difficult task when they try to balance authority with children’s autonomy: they are
trying to be the right kind of parents, while at the same time trying to form the right
kind of kids. And there are many sources of information and social support that parents
turn to in order to achieve this balance, including family, friends, doctors, teachers,
other parents and the media. Dr. Rutherford looked at how the increasing importance of
individualism and personal autonomy in American culture appears in childrearing advice.
She analyzed a total of 300 advice columns and relevant editorials from 34 randomly chosen
issues of Parents magazine, published between 1929 and 2006, to see how parental authority
and children’s autonomy have been portrayed over the last century. The study
demonstrated that while the magazine articles showed greater autonomy for children in some
areas, they also depicted children as having become more constrained in others. Instead of
an overall increased autonomy, she found evidence of a historical trade-off: while
children appear to have gained autonomy in private spaces in their homes, they have lost
much of their public autonomy outside the home.
Holding Breath for Several Minutes
Elevates Marker for Brain Damage
Divers who held their breath for several minutes had elevated levels of a protein that can
signal brain damage, according to a new study from the Journal of Applied Physiology.
However, the appearance of the protein, S100B, was transient and leaves open the question
of whether lengthy apnea (breath-holding) can damage the brain over the long term.
“The results indicate that prolonged, voluntary apnea affects the integrity of the
central nervous system, and may have cumulative effects,” the Swedish researchers
said. The release of S100B into the blood suggests that holding one’s breath for a
long time disrupts the blood-brain barrier, they said. The concern is that repetitive
exposures to severe hypoxia (lowered oxygen supply), such as that experienced by
individuals training and competing in static apnea diving events, could cause neurological
damage over time. The researchers recommended further research on free divers that would
begin early in their careers and follow them for years to monitor their neurological
function. The study is “Increased serum levels of the brain damage marker S100B after
apnea in trained breath-hold divers: a study including respiratory and cardiovascular
observations.” The researchers are Johan P.A. Andersson, Mats H. Linér and Henrik
Jönsson, of Lund University in Sweden. The American Physiological Society published the
study.
Friendship Influences Eating
Behavior, Particularly When Friends are Overweight
A new study of childhood obesity in the United States has found that some social factors,
such as the presence of friends, may put overweight youths at greater risk of overeating.
The research, published in the August issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,
demonstrates that friends may act as "permission givers" on children's food
intake. "These results are important, considering the role of friends as agents of
change in childhood and adolescence," said Sarah Salvy, Ph.D., assistant professor in
the Division of Behavioral Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University at Buffalo
School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. "Overweight children are more likely to
find food more reinforcing than non-overweight youth," she continued. "Being in
the company of overweight peers may give them the permission to eat more or may decrease
their inhibitions, increasing what are seen as the norms of appropriate eating, or how
much one should eat."
Regular yoga practice is associated
with mindful eating
Regular yoga practice is associated with mindful eating, and people who eat mindfully are
less likely to be obese, according to a study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer
Research Center. The study was prompted by initial findings reported four years ago by
Alan Kristal, Dr.P.H., and colleagues, who found that regular yoga practice may help
prevent middle-age spread in normal-weight people and may promote weight loss in those who
are overweight. At the time, the researchers suspected that the weight-loss effect had
more to do with increased body awareness, specifically a sensitivity to hunger and satiety
than the physical activity of yoga practice itself.
Brain difference in psychopaths
identified
Professor Declan Murphy and colleagues Dr Michael Craig and Dr Marco Catani from the
Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London have found differences in the brain which
may provide a biological explanation for psychopathy. The results of their study are
outlined in the paper 'Altered connections on the road to psychopathy', published in
Molecular Psychiatry. The research investigated the brain biology of psychopaths with
convictions that included attempted murder, manslaughter, multiple rape with strangulation
and false imprisonment. Using a powerful imaging technique (DT-MRI) the researchers have
highlighted biological differences in the brain which may underpin these types of
behaviour and provide a more comprehensive understanding of criminal psychopathy. Dr
Michael Craig said 'If replicated by larger studies the significance of these findings
cannot be underestimated. The suggestion of a clear structural deficit in the brains of
psychopaths has profound implications for clinicians, research scientists and the criminal
justice system.'While psychopathy is strongly associated with serious criminal behaviour
(eg rape and murder) and repeat offending, the biological basis of psychopathy remains
poorly understood. Also some investigators stress mainly social reasons to explain
antisocial behaviours. To date, nobody has investigated the 'connectivity' between the
specific brain regions implicated in psychopathy. Earlier studies had suggested that
dysfunction of specific brain regions might underpin psychopathy. Such areas of the brain
were identified as the amygdale, ie the area associated with emotions, fear and
aggression, and the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), the region which deals with decision
making. There is a white matter tract that connects the amygdala and OFC, which is called
the uncinate fasciculus (UF). However, nobody had ever studied the UF in psychopaths. The
team from King's used an imaging method called in vivo diffusion tensor magnetic resonance
imaging (DT-MRI) tractography to analyse the UF in psychopaths.
Psychiatry is tied to Big Pharma
and psychiatrist admit it!
This video exposes psychiatrist and they
admit that the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual is tied to Big Pharma.
Deadly Flu Shots
Blackbird: Delaware's Undiscovered
Treasure
Documentary about Delaware's Blackbird
Watershed, a unique, diverse habitat of saltwater marshlands, farmlands, and forest along
the border of New Castle and Kent counties.
Wild Ocean 3D Trailer (HD)
Wild Ocean is in an uplifting, giant screen
cinema experience capturing one of natures greatest migration spectacles. Plunge into an
underwater feeding frenzy, amidst the dolphins, sharks, whales, gannets, seals and
billions of fish. Filmed off the Wild Coast of South Africa, Wild Ocean is a timely
documentary that celebrates the animals that now depend on us to survive and the efforts
by the local people to protect this invaluable ecological resource. Hope is alive on the
Wild Coast, where Africa meets the sea. Wild Ocean is presented by Nokia.
Under Our Skin: Theatrical Trailer
(ziekte van Lyme)
Health Trust Documentary Series -
Unnatural Causes
This video is a summary of responses from
viewers who saw the PBS documentary "Unnatural Causes: Is inequality making us
sick?" The documentary focuses on the inequality in health based on social and
economic factors such as income (poverty), race, ethnicity, and neighborhood.
Agricultural research key to food
security
Boosting agricultural research in the developing world is the key to ensuring food
security for the world's poorest, says Adel el-Beltagy, Chair of the Global Form on
Agricultural Research (GFAR), writing in the latest issue of the TWAS Newsletter,
published last week. With nearly a billion people suffering from chronic hunger, global
food security remains a major concern, despite being a key goal of the UN Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). Extreme weather events due to climate change and the recent
trend to convert croplands to biofuels both threaten to put even more people at risk. The
solution, says el-Beltagy – a member of TWAS, the Academy of Sciences for the
Developing World – must involve a renewed concentration on agricultural research in
the South. Writing in the spring issue of the TWAS Newsletter, el-Beltagy outlines the
steps that will be needed to ensure that developing countries can take advantage of
cutting-edge agricultural technologies, such as genomics and nanotechnology, that have the
potential to increase crop yields without unduly stressing the environment.
New index offers first
science-based definition of nutrient density
Effective nutrition profiling should be based on existing science and validated against
proven measures of diet quality, according to the August issue of the Journal of
Nutrition. A study in the issue outlined the scientific approach taken to develop the NRF
Index, a measurement of nutrient density validated against the USDA's scientifically based
Healthy Eating Index (HEI). While the HEI mainly measures the recommended eating pattern
from the five food groups, the NRF Index goes a step further by focusing on the nutrient
density of individual foods and beverages. The NRF Index has implications for people of
all ages, allowing them to choose more nutrient-rich foods first in order to build a
healthier diet.
Hip and back fractures increase
mortality rates in older adults
If you are 50 or older and you break your hip, you have a one in four chance of dying
within five years. Break your back, and you have a one in six chance of dying that soon,
says a McMaster University study. The research, to be published August 4 in the online
edition of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), has found that approximately
25 per cent of men and women who develop hip fractures and 16 per cent of people who
develop spine factures will die over a five-year period. The national study was led by
George Ioannidis, a health research methodologist in the Michael G. DeGroote School of
Medicine, in collaboration with scientists from the schools of medicine and nursing at
McMaster, as well as several universities across Canada. Using data from the Canadian
Multicentre Osteoporosis Study, the researchers examined the relationship between new
fractures and mortality over a 5-year period in more than 7,750 Canadians aged 50 years
and older. The study, looking at various types of fractures reported by participants,
differed from previous research in that the study group was representative of the general
population. "Hip fractures may have long-lasting effects that result in eventual
death by signalling or actually inducing a progressive decline in health," said
Ioannidis. "Our results also showed that vertebral fracture was an independent
predictor of death." In addition, the researchers discovered that all types of bone
breaks were more common among women than men, with the exception of rib fractures. They
also determined that fractures were associated with other negative consequences such as
increased pain, immobility and reduced health-related quality of life.
The way you eat may affect your
risk for breast cancer
How you eat may be just as important as how much you eat, if mice studies are any clue.
Cancer researchers have long studied the role of diet on breast cancer risk, but results
to date have been mixed. New findings published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal
of the American Association for Cancer Research, suggest the method by which calories are
restricted may be more important for cancer protection than the actual overall degree of
calorie restriction."Understanding how calorie restriction provides protection
against the development of mammary tumors should help us identify pathways that could be
targeted for chemoprevention studies," said Margot P. Cleary, Ph.D., professor at the
Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota. "Further identification of serum factors
that are involved in tumor development would possibly provide a way to identify at risk
individuals and target interventions to these people."
Chemists explain the switchboards
in our cells
Our cells are controlled by billions of molecular "switches" and chemists at UC
Santa Barbara have developed a theory that explains how these molecules work. Their
findings may significantly help efforts to build biologically based sensors for the
detection of chemicals ranging from drugs to explosives to disease markers.Their research
is described in an article published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences (PNAS). Biosensors are artificial molecular switches that mimic the natural
ones, which direct chemical responses throughout the cell. "These switching molecules
control the behavior of our cells," said Alexis Vallée-Bélisle, a postdoctoral
scholar who spearheaded the project and is first author of the paper. "By studying
these switches, we can better understand how living organisms are able to monitor their
environment and use this knowledge to build better sensors to detect, for example, disease
markers." All creatures, from bacteria to humans, must monitor their environments in
order to survive, explained the authors. They do so with biomolecular switches, made from
RNA or proteins. For example, in our sinuses, there are receptor proteins that can detect
different odors. Some of those scents warn us of danger; others tell us that food is
nearby. In addition to deriving the mathematical relationships underlying switching,
Vallée-Bélisle spent months performing a hands-on study of an artificial biomolecular
switch to demonstrate that the theory holds up quantitatively.
Sick fish may get sicker
Entire populations of North American fish already are being affected by several emerging
diseases, a problem that threatens to increase in the future with climate change and other
stresses on aquatic ecosystems, according to a noted U.S. Geological Survey researcher
giving an invited talk on this subject today at the Wildlife Disease Association
conference in Blaine, Wash. "A generation ago, we couldn't have imaged the explosive
growth in disease issues facing many of our wild fish populations," said Dr. Jim
Winton, a fish disease specialist at the USGS Western Fisheries Research Center.
"Most fish health research at that time was directed toward diseases of farmed
fish." In contrast, said Winton, recent studies in natural aquatic systems have
revealed that, in addition to being a cause of natural death, infectious and parasitic
fish diseases can produce significantly greater mortality in altered habitats leading to
population fluctuations, extinction of endangered fish, reduced overall health and
increased susceptibility to predation. In addition, said Winton, populations of certain
fish species have suffered catastrophic losses after non-native diseases were first
introduced into a water body. Examples include whirling disease in the intermountain west
and the recent introduction of viral hemorrhagic septicemia in the Great Lakes. "The
scientific community is increasingly concerned that global trade, extensive habitat
alteration, accumulations of contaminants and other human-caused stresses stressors,
including climate change, will affect the distribution or severity of fish diseases and
contribute to increasing population-scale losses in these important natural
resources," Winton said. Disease is often ignored as a factor affecting wild
populations of fish and wildlife because the effects are difficult to observe and
quantify, noted Winton. But as cold-blooded animals, fish are highly dependent on
environmental conditions, especially temperature, to help maintain critical physiological
processes such as immune function that can affect whether a fish gets a disease or
parasite, how it is affected by it, and how the disease progresses.
Parents fear errors during
children's hospitalization
Nearly two-thirds of parents reported they felt the need to watch over their child's care
to ensure that medical errors are not made during their hospital stay, according to a
study led by Beth A. Tarini, M.D., M.S., assistant professor of pediatrics at the
University of Michigan Medical School.In particular, parents whose first language is not
English were more likely to report the need to be vigilant about their child's care. This
is the first study to document parental concerns about medical errors during a child's
hospitalization. Researchers also found that parents who were more confident in
communicating with physicians were less likely to be concerned about medical mistakes.
"We need to address parents' concerns about errors and find ways to make them feel
comfortable talking to us about their child's care," Tarini says. "Parents are
an underutilized resource in our efforts to prevent medical errors." This study,
which appears July 30 in the Journal of Hospital Medicine, surveyed 278 parents of
children who were hospitalized at the Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center in
Seattle, Wash., in 2005.
Researchers identify new function
for protein missing in Duchenne muscular dystrophy
Researchers at the University of Minnesota and National Institutes of Health have
identified a new function for the protein missing in people with the most common and
ultimately lethal form of childhood muscular dystrophy. Patients with Duchenne muscular
dystrophy lack the protein dystrophin, which causes their muscles to become weak and
eventually die. Since its discovery in 1987, research has shown that dystrophin protects
muscle cells by directly connecting to two of the three filament types that give cells
their shape and durability. The new study demonstrates that dystrophin also directly links
to the third structural filament type named microtubules. Microtubules form a highly
ordered lattice in muscle, and the new study finds that microtubules become disorganized
when dystrophin is missing. "It's remarkable that scientists have been intensively
studying dystrophin for more than 20 years, yet we continue to identify new features that
better define its important contribution to healthy muscle." said James Ervasti,
Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Biophysics,
who directed the investigation. The new findings suggest that loss of microtubule
organization might contribute to the devastating symptoms of Duchenne muscular dystrophy,
information that will hopefully lead to the development of therapies to combat the
disease. The study appears online Aug. 3, 2009 and will be published in the Aug. 10 issue
of The Journal of Cell Biology.
New stem cell research could reduce
number of animal experiments
Researchers from the University of Bath are embarking on a project to use stem cell
technology that could reduce the number of animal experiments used to study conditions
such as motor neurone disease. Dr Vasanta Subramanian, from the University’s
Department of Biology & Biochemistry, will be developing a technique using human stem
cells to study this debilitating neurological disease, greatly reducing the number of
animals used in research. Stem cells are the precursor cells that are able to develop into
more specialised cells and tissues such as neurones or skin cells. Whilst previously most
stem cells were derived from embryos, this new research project will instead use Induced
Pluripotent Stem cells (iPS cells) which are made from skin cells from adults. Dr
Subramanian has been awarded a major three year grant by the National Centre for
Replacement, Refinement & Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) to study ALS, a
form of motor neurone disease in which the nerve cells that control the muscles die. This
currently incurable condition causes patients to lose movement in muscles, affecting
breathing and eventually causing death.
IgM in urine acts as prognostic
indicator in diabetes
A marker of the likely course of diabetic nephropathy (DN) has been found. An 18-year
study, published in the open access journal BMC Medicine, has shown that Immunoglobulin M
(IgM) is a reliable predictor of cardiovascular complications in DN patients. Omran
Bakoush, MD, PhD, led a team of researchers from Lund University, Sweden, who carried out
the research. He said, “To our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the
impact of increased urine IgM excretion on DN disease progression in type 1 diabetic
patients. We found that those with increased urinary IgM excretion had a higher mortality
from cardiovascular causes, and higher disease progression rate to end-stage renal
disease. This association is largely independent of the level of albuminuria”.
Depression and Inflammation Linked
to Pain in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes inflammation of the
joints and surrounding tissues. More than 1.3 million adults in the U.S. suffer from RA
with 75% of those afflicted being women. Patients with RA experience pain, stiffness,
swelling, and deterioration of joints. Severe chronic pain accompanied by progressive
joint destruction, disability, and disfigurement is known to increase the risk of
experiencing emotional disturbances, with RA patients twice as likely to be depressed as
people in the general population. Emotional wellness for persons with RA plays a critical
role in disease course and disability. Researchers at Nagoya City University and Nagoya
University Graduate Schools of Medicine in Japan studied the interrelationship between
levels of depression symptoms, C-reactive protein (CRP) level, and pain, confirming a
significant positive association between depressive symptoms and CRP level in RA. A second
study by researchers at the University of British Columbia in Canada further explored
depression in spouses of persons with RA, finding that higher levels of spouse depression
predicted worse disease course for the person with RA over a 1-year period. Both studies
are published in the August issue of Arthritis Care & Research, a journal of the
American College of Rheumatology.
Silenced genes as a warning sign of
blood cancer
In many types of cancer, parts of the genetic material of tumor cells are switched off by
chemical labels called methyl groups. This kind of methyl labeling ranges among the
epigenetic changes that do not change the sequence of DNA building blocks. Such labels are
found particularly often in genes which act as important inhibitors of pathogenic cell
growth. Cancer researchers do not know why healthy cells and cancer cells differ in their
methylation patterns and why it is particularly the cancer inhibitors that are frequently
switched off. The study of these questions is a very promising area of research, because
there are drugs available that can prevent the attachment of methyl groups or other
epigenetic changes and, thus, at least delay the onset of cancer. Professor Dr. Christoph
Plass at the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) has
investigated, jointly with colleagues from the Ohio State University in Columbus, U.S.A.,
the processes leading to the different methyl labels in cancer cells. A key question is
when the first labels occur in the development of cancer. In their recently published
study the investigators used mice affected by chronic lymphocytic leukemia as a model for
studying the disease. The researchers investigated the genetic material of these mice at
regular intervals from birth. They discovered first cancer-typical methylation patterns in
mice that were only three months old. This means that deviations in methylation occur long
before the first signs of disease appear. These were not observed before the animals were
thirteen months old. Moreover, the researchers were able to show that methylation patterns
in murine DNA are largely corresponding to those found in humans suffering from leukemia.
This confirms that the mouse model is suitable for studying the disease.
Workplace Yoga And Meditation Can
Lower Feelings Of Stress
Twenty minutes per day of guided workplace meditation and yoga combined with six weekly
group sessions can lower feelings of stress by more than 10 percent and improve sleep
quality in sedentary office employees, a pilot study suggests. The study offered
participants a modified version of what is known as mindfulness-based stress reduction
(MBSR), a program established in 1979 to help hospital patients in Massachusetts assist in
their own healing that is now in wide use around the world. In this context, mindfulness
refers in part to one’s heightened awareness of an external stressor as the first
step toward relaxing in a way that can minimize the effects of that stress on the body.
While the traditional MBSR program practice takes up an hour per day for eight weeks
supplemented by lengthy weekly sessions and a full-day retreat, the modified version
developed at Ohio State University for this study was designed for office-based workers
wearing professional attire.
New DNA and RNA aptamers offer
unique therapeutic advantages
A novel class of drugs composed of single strands of DNA or RNA, called aptamers, can bind
protein targets with a high strength and specificity and are currently in clinical
development as treatments for a broad range of common diseases, as described in a
comprehensive review article published online ahead of print in Oligonucleotides, a
peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (www.liebertpub.com). The
article is available free online at www.liebertpub.com/oli Aptamers offer several
advantages compared to protein or small molecule drugs, most notably their ease of
production, low risk of inducing an immune reaction in humans, and amenability to chemical
modifications that enhance their drug-like properties, including improved stability and
residence time in the bloodstream. Aptamer therapeutics presently in clinical development
target diseases and applications such as macular degeneration, coronary artery bypass
graft surgery, and various types of cancer. Kristina W. Thiel, PhD and Paloma H.
Giangrande, PhD, from the University of Iowa, present a thorough review of aptamers and
aptamer-based therapeutic strategies that have the highest likelihood of success. In the
article entitled "Therapeutic Applications of DNA and RNA Aptamers," the authors
describe the methods used to identify aptamers that specifically bind protein drug targets
of interest, the types of modifications that have been made to aptamers to enhance their
therapeutic potential, and the different types of aptamers that are currently in
development. They also discuss the challenges that must still be overcome for aptamer
technology to achieve its full potential. "This is a comprehensive and timely review
of aptamer development and therapeutic applications that our readers should enjoy,"
says John Rossi, PhD, Co-Editor-in-Chief of Oligonucleotides and Professor in the
Department of Molecular Biology, Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope (Duarte,
CA).
Blood transfusion study - Less is
more
A new study suggests that blood transfusions for hospitalized cardiac patients should be a
last resort because they double the risk of infection and increase by four times the risk
of death. The analysis of nearly 25,000 Medicare patients in Michigan also showed that
transfusion practices after heart surgery varied substantially among hospitals, a red flag
that plays into the health care reform debate. A wide variation in care is a hot-button
issue, as lawmakers and health reform experts discuss the best ways to address the
variations. Some experts believe the country needs a system of medical guidelines,
supported by scientific evidence, to aid doctors in decision-making. In fact, the
Institute of Medicine has called for a national initiative of comparing the benefits and
harms of certain methods to improve the delivery of care -- an effort referred to by
health-care insiders as "comparative effectiveness" research. Blood transfusion
is an area that could be well served with stronger, research-based guidelines, since the
current clinical practice is all over the map, said study co-author Neil Blumberg, M.D.,
professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and director of Transfusion Medicine at the
University of Rochester Medical Center. "Doctors are simply doing what they were
trained to do, but it turns out that their actions are more harmful than helpful in many
cases," Blumberg said. "This is an instance in which clinical practice got way
ahead of research. And changing the liberal use of transfusions is going to be difficult
despite the evidence showing it is usually not essential." The study was published
July 31, 2009 in the journal, BMC Medicine. It was designed to assess patient outcomes as
well as hospital variation in blood use. Blumberg and lead author Mary Rogers, Ph.D., of
the University of Michigan Health System, analyzed patient records in 40 hospitals, from
admission to 30 days after discharge. All had received coronary artery bypass graft
surgery from 2003 to 2006. They found that 30 percent of variation in transfusion
practices seemed to be due to widely varied practices among hospital sites.
Abnormal Brain Circuits May Prevent
Movement Disorder
Most people who carry a genetic mutation for a movement disorder called dystonia will
never develop symptoms, a phenomenon that has puzzled scientists since the first genetic
mutation was identified in the 1990's. Now, scientists at The Feinstein Institute for
Medical Research have figured out why these mutation carriers are protected from symptoms
of the disorder – they have an additional lesion that evens the score. Dystonia is
marked by uncontrolled movements, particularly twisting and abnormal postures. Studies
have shown that muscles contract abnormally and patients can’t stop the involuntary
movements. The identification of a specific abnormality in people with the genetic
mutation who never develop symptoms could eventually pave the way towards new treatments
for dystonia patients. There are half a million people in the United States alone. The
brains of people with inherited dystonia are normal at autopsy and the exact cause of
their movement abnormality is unknown. David Eidelberg, MD, the senior author of the study
published in the Journal of Neuroscience, said that they used diffusion tensor imaging
– a type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that measures changes in the integrity
of white matter pathways in the brain – to study those with and without symptoms who
carry the disease gene. There were 20 people in the study; 12 with symptoms and eight
without. They also had a number of volunteers who agreed to brain scans who had no disease
and no mutations in the gene for dystonia. Dr. Eidelberg and his colleagues identified two
discrete areas along the pathway that links the cerebellum to the motor cortex that
together determine whether a mutation carrier will display clinical manifestations of the
disease.
Understanding how weeds are
resistant to herbicides
In a little over seven hours, University of Illinois weed scientist Patrick Tranel got
more genetic information about waterhemp than in two years time in a lab. The genetic
information was obtained using pyrosequencing technology in the Keck Center at the U of I.
The genetic sequence will allow scientists to study herbicide resistance in waterhemp.Ten
years ago genomics was reserved for what Tranel refers to as "important species"
such as humans, cows, fruit flies, and mice. "That's changed now that those species
have been sequenced. Now we can start doing genomics on weeds to start understanding weeds
better. "With this type of technology, you can generate all of this genomic data
relatively cheaply and quickly, so it's worthwhile doing in some of these non-model
species like weeds. We're able to start generating data now that five years ago would have
been cost-prohibitive." Tranel believes waterhemp is the first weed to be partially
sequenced using this technology. The pyrosequencing machine emits a light signal that's
captured every time a nucleotide is incorporated into a growing DNA strand. "The
reason it's so fast is that it's done in parallel," said Tranel. "The plate has
thousands of tiny wells, and a sequencing reaction going on in every one of them
simultaneously. There's a camera that monitors the light for each of these wells
simultaneously and so in one seven and a half hour run you generate a million reads."
Tranel explained that although more traditional herbicide resistance research takes years,
it's more gene-specific. "We sampled plants, brought them back to the green house,
grew them up, confirmed that they were resistant and then we started crossing a resistant
plant with a sensitive plant. We look at its progeny to see if the resistance is inherited
to understand the genetics – if it's a dominant trait or a recessive trait.
"Pyrosequencing is more like just throwing out a fishing net -- we know we're going
to get continued resistance to other herbicides which can affect other genes. And we don't
want to spend two years culling to find that gene every time. This is a way that we can
get all of the genes at once." All of the data is publically available. "There's
a website where you can go and get the 43 million base pairs of sequence. So anyone can
get it and use that information."
What you eat depends on with whom
you eat
If you are a woman who dines with a man, chances are you choose food with fewer calories
than if you dine with a woman. That is one of the findings in a study conducted by
researchers at McMaster University. The results appear in the online version of the
international journal Appetite. Meredith Young, PhD candidate in the Department of
Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, found that what a person chooses to eat at lunch
or dinner is influenced by who they eat with and the gender make-up of the group. By
observing students in naturalistic settings in three large university cafeterias with a
wide choice of food options and dining companions, Young found that women who ate with a
male companion chose foods of significantly lower caloric value than did women who were
observed eating with another woman. What's more, when women ate in mixed-gender groups
their food choices were at the lower end of the caloric scale; the more men in the group
the fewer the calories. When women ate in all-female groups, their food was significantly
higher in calories. "Eating is a social activity," says Young. "In
university cafeterias people select their food before they are seated and perhaps before
they know with whom they will eat. Given the observed differences it seems likely that
social groupings were anticipated at the time of food selection."
Growing evidence of marijuana
smoke's potential dangers
In a finding that challenges the increasingly popular belief that smoking marijuana is
less harmful to health than smoking tobacco, researchers in Canada are reporting that
smoking marijuana, like smoking tobacco, has toxic effects on cells. Their study is
scheduled for the Aug. 17 issue of ACS' Chemical Research in Toxicology, a monthly
journal. Rebecca Maertens and colleagues note that people often view marijuana as a
"natural" product and less harmful than tobacco. As public attitudes toward
marijuana change and legal restrictions ease in some countries, use of marijuana is
increasing. Scientists know that marijuana smoke has adverse effects on the lungs.
However, there is little knowledge about marijuana's potential to cause lung cancer due to
the difficulty in identifying and studying people who have smoked only marijuana. The new
study begins to address that question by comparing marijuana smoke vs. tobacco smoke in
terms of toxicity to cells and to DNA. Scientists exposed cultured animal cells and
bacteria to condensed smoke samples from both marijuana and tobacco. There were distinct
differences in the degree and type of toxicity elicited by marijuana and cigarette smoke.
Marijuana smoke caused significantly more damage to cells and DNA than tobacco smoke, the
researchers note. However, tobacco smoke caused chromosome damage while marijuana did not.
New approach targets gut hormone to
lower blood sugar levels
A research team led by Dr. Tony Lam at the Toronto General Research Institute and the
University of Toronto discovered a novel function of a hormone found in the gut that might
potentially lower glucose levels in diabetes. In this ground-breaking study on a rat
model, Dr. Lam's team discovered that activating receptors of the cholecystokinin (CCK)
peptide hormone in the gut rapidly and potently lowers blood glucose levels by triggering
a signal to the brain and then to the liver to lower glucose or sugar production. In the
same experiment, CCK failed to lower blood glucose in rodents fed a high-fat diet for
three days. The research is published as the cover story in the August issue of the
internationally prestigious journal Cell Metabolism. The paper is entitled,
"Intestinal Cholecystokinin controls Glucose Production through a Neuronal
Network". "Our findings reveal a novel role for the CCK hormone and suggest that
CCK-resistance in the gut may contribute to high blood sugar levels in response to
high-fat feeding in rodents. Understanding how to overcome CCK-resistance in the gut so
that blood sugars can be lowered could be a novel therapeutic approach to diabetes and
obesity," says Dr. Lam, who holds the John Kitson McIvor (1915 – 1942) Chair in
Diabetes Research at the Toronto General Research Institute and University of Toronto and
is Assistant Professor in the Departments of Physiology and Medicine at the University of
Toronto. "This paper compliments our study that was published last year in Nature
indicating that in the future, we may be able to design a drug to target the gut to lower
glucose levels in patients with diabetes." Dr. Lam stressed that the clinical
therapeutic implications of the current findings remain largely unknown. A large amount of
time will be required to determine whether enhancing CCK action in the gut of humans is
effective and safe in lowering glucose levels in healthy individuals as well as patients
with diabetes and obesity. Many laboratories around the world are in a race to find
alternatives ways in which to lower glucose levels because of the severe complications
which can result from high sugar levels. Currently, those with diabetes lower their
glucose through diet, exercise, anti-diabetic tablets or insulin injections.
"Diabetes is a growing epidemic in our society, and finding better ways to prevent
and treat it is a research priority at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research
(CIHR)," noted Dr. Philip Sherman, Scientific Director of CIHR's Institute of
Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes. "We are very impressed with Dr. Lam's findings.
His work is an important contribution to the search for better treatments to reduce
glucose levels for those living with the disease." "Dr. Lam is a rising star in
the field of diabetes research. His pioneering research continues to identify the
importance of the intestine and brain in regulating blood glucose. This exciting research
opens up new possibilities for therapy," said Dr. Stephen Matthews, Ernest B. and
Leonard B. Smith Professor and Chair Department of Physiology, University of Toronto.
Cooling treatment after cardiac
arrest is cost-effective, Penn study shows
A brain-preserving cooling treatment called therapeutic hypothermia is a cost-effective
way to improve outcomes after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, which claims the lives of
more than 300,000 people each year in the United States and leaves thousands of others
neurologically devastated. The treatment, which lowers body temperature to prevent damage
to the brain and other major organs when blood flow is restored to the body following
cardiac arrest, is considered a “good value” when compared to many other
accepted and widely utilized medical treatments, including dialysis for kidney failure or
complex heart surgeries, according to new University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
research published this week in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
"Having already established that hypothermia improves neurological outcomes after
cardiac arrest, we now know that the therapy is also a good use of health care
resources," says lead author Raina M. Merchant, MD, MS, an emergency physician and
Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at Penn Medicine. "We hope our findings will
help more hospitals and insurers to adopt cooling protocols and help more survivors return
to productive lives." Despite national recommendations established in 2005 calling
for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients to be treated with hypothermia when they
remain comatose after resuscitation, many hospitals still don't offer the intervention.
Among barriers to its use: Concerns about its cost, and difficulty coordinating the
interdisciplinary resources and staff needed to employ the treatment. Merchant and her
colleagues used a complex mathematical design to measure quality-adjusted survival after
cardiac arrest, cost of hypothermia equipment and treatment, and cost of post-hospital
discharge care. Factors affecting costs included additional nursing care required during
cooling treatment, extra time spent in the intensive care unit and post-discharge care
required. They found that hypothermia has a cost of less than $100,000 per
quality-adjusted life year (QALY), a measurement designed to illustrate the gains in both
extra years of life and quality of life from a particular treatment.
Dietary Supplements with Steroids
Pose Health
Three cases of patients suffering from the adverse affects of steroid-enriched dietary
supplements have been reported by researchers at Henry Ford Hospital. The cases, which
include patients with liver injury and renal failure, are discussed in the current issue
of The Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last
week issued a warning regarding the use of over-the-counter body-building supplements that
are illegally enriched with anabolic steroids. "To date, reports of any deleterious
health consequences of purportedly low doses of steroids in dietary supplements are scant
but our published cases highlight the potential health consequences of using these
supplements, with unwitting subjects becoming the victims," says lead author Stuart
C. Gordon, M.D., Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Henry Ford Hospital. The
cases of three otherwise healthy adult males, ages 21 to 38, were reported with symptoms
including nausea, anorexia, jaundice, severe itching and renal failure.
Joint research into an enzyme that
causes genetic diseases
Researchers from CIC bioGUNE's Structural Biology Unit and Columbia University (New York)
have conducted a joint research project, published in the prestigious scientific journal
Structure, to gain in-depth knowledge of the structure of pyruvate carboxylase when it is
in solution (in the "natural" state). Pyruvate carboxylase is a metabolic enzyme
that plays a fundamental role in the metabolism of fatty acids (the components of fats)
and sugars. When its function is not adequately performed (for example, when mutations in
the gene arise) diverse metabolic diseases of genetic origin are triggered, amongst them
lactic acidaemia, hypoglycaemia, and psycho-motor retardation. At the same time, being at
a metabolic crossroads, pyruvate carboxylase is potentially a target in obesity and
diabetes treatments. The paper presents the enzyme's structure under physiological
conditions for the first time, and reveals which of the previous models is the correct
one. Mikel Valle, a researcher from CIC bioGUNE's Structural Biology Unit explains that
This is the start of a highly ambitious study which is being carried out at CIC bioGUNE
and which aims to discover the functioning of pyruvate carboxylase. This they shall
achieve by observing its structure throughout its functional cycle, in the hope of
discovering its structure in each of the steps it follows during its functioning.
University of the Basque Country
researcher studies genes associated with celiac disease
For her PhD thesis, the researcher studied the genetic profiles of 175 cases of patients
suffering from celiac illness, in order to determine which genes are related to the
disease and to study diagnostic methods. The objective of this research was to identify
the genes associated with celiac disease. The author of the PhD thesis is Ms Itziar
Zubillaga Azpiroz. Her thesis was entitled, Molecular genetic analysis of celiac disease
and its contribution to diagnosis. It is currently known that 40% of the genetic tendency
to contracting the illness is due to Class II HLA genes — specifically to HLA-DQA1
and HLA-DQB1 genes. In her work, Ms Zubillaga analysed HLA Class II genes in a number of
celiac patients and she showed once again that the presence of HLA-DQA1, HLA-DQB1 and
HLA-DRB1 genes confers a genetic susceptibility to contracting the disorder. The data
obtained from the analysis confirmed that, in the case of patients analysed, there is a
genetic imbalance in these genes. The precise analysis of these genes enabled the
researcher to produce a graphical-format gradient of the genetic risk of suffering from
the disorder – as a function of the Class II HLA genes carried by the individual. The
greatest genetic risk occurs when the patient is a carrier of the two susceptible genes;
carriers of a single copy of the HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 molecules are at medium risk and,
finally, there are those carriers of at least one of the HLA genes that code for the
HLA-DQ2 molecule.
Hormone levels contribute to stress
resilience
It is important to understand what biological mechanisms contribute to an individual's
capacity to be resilient under conditions of extreme stress, such as those regularly
experienced by soldiers, police, and firefighters. Dr. Charles A. Morgan III and his
colleagues from Yale University and the VA National Center for PTSD have worked closely
with collaborators at the Special Forces Underwater Warfare Operations Center to study
special operations soldiers enrolled in the military Combat Diver Qualification Course
(CDQC). Dehydroepiandrosterone, or "DHEA" as it is commonly known, is a hormone
that is secreted by the adrenal gland in response to stress. Although medical scientists
have known for over a decade that DHEA provides beneficial, anti-stress effects in
animals, they did not know until now whether this was also true for humans. The scientists
completed psychological and hormone assessments on a group of soldiers the day before they
began the month-long CDQC, and immediately after their final pass/fail exam – a
highly stressful, nocturnal, underwater navigation exercise. They found that soldiers with
more DHEA performed better during the final underwater navigation exam than those with
less DHEA. These findings are being published by Elsevier in the August 15th issue of
Biological Psychiatry. Underwater navigation is a task that relies on an area of the brain
called the hippocampus that is very sensitive to the negative effects of stress.
"Animal studies have shown that DHEA buffers against stress, in part, by modulating
receptors in this region of the brain," explained Dr. Morgan. "These findings
are important in understanding why and how soldiers may differ in their ability to
tolerate stress and also raise the possibility that, in the future, compounds like DHEA
might be used to protect military personnel from the negative impact of operational
stress."
Protein complex key in avoiding DNA
repair mistakes, cancer
As the body creates antibodies to fight invaders, a three-protein DNA repair complex
called MRN is crucial for a normal gene-shuffling process to proceed properly, University
of Michigan research shows. The discoveries in mice, published online this week in Nature
Structural and Molecular Biology, advance understanding of the immune system and shed
light on how B-cell lymphoma and some other cancers may begin.
New research links social stress to
harmful fat deposits, heart disease
A new study done by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine shows that
social stress could be an important precursor to heart disease by causing the body to
deposit more fat in the abdominal cavity, speeding the harmful buildup of plaque in blood
vessels, a stepping stone to the number one cause of death in the world. The findings
could be an important consideration in the way the United States and other Western
countries try to stem the rapid rise of obesity, said Carol A. Shively, Ph.D., a professor
of pathology and the study's principal investigator. The study appears as the cover story
of the current issue of Obesity, the peer-reviewed journal of the Obesity Society.
"We are in the midst of an obesity epidemic," Shively said. "Much of the
excess fat in many people who are overweight is located in the abdomen, and that fat
behaves differently than fat in other locations. If there's too much, it can have far more
harmful effects on health than fat located in other areas." She notes that obesity is
directly related to lower socioeconomic status in Western societies, as is heart disease.
So, the people who have fewer resources to buffer themselves from the stresses of life are
more likely to experience such health problems, she said. In this study of how the stress
of low social status affects the development of heart disease, female monkeys were fed a
Western-style diet containing fat and cholesterol. The monkeys were housed in groups so
they would naturally establish a pecking order from dominant to subordinate. Subordinate
monkeys are often the target of aggression and aren't included in group grooming sessions
as often as dominant monkeys.Shively and colleagues Thomas C. Register, Ph.D., and Thomas
B. Clarkson, D.V.M., all faculty of the Department of Pathology, Section on Comparative
Medicine at the School of Medicine, found that these socially stressed subordinate monkeys
developed more fat in the viscera, or abdominal cavity.
Psychiatry exposed
How Smoking Affects The Human Body
Spermicide (nonoxynol-9) Hurts the
Human Body
Nonoxynol-9 is used by the 3 big condom
manufacturers to make condoms and other forms of birth control
Lets set the record straight about
Amsterdam & Legal Marijuanna
Most people know that the Fox channel isnt
the most objective news source on American TV. But in a pretty recent broadcast Amsterdam
is so falsely portrayed as a city of crime, drugs and anarchy, that I had to show the
facts.
Rep Broun - Climate Change Is A
Hoax
Tami Flu causes nightmares and
other bad side effects in children
Student suing Amazon for Deleting
his Homework & books off Kindle
Aspartame Dangers
Monsanto & GMOs - The Truth
Jumping genes' create diversity in
human brain cells, offering clues to evolutionary and neurological disease
Rather than sticking to a single DNA script, human brain cells harbor astonishing genomic
variability, according to scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. The
findings, to be published in the Aug. 5, 2009, advance online edition of Nature, could
help explain brain development and individuality, as well as lead to a better
understanding of neurological disease. The team, led by Fred Gage, Ph.D., a professor in
the Salk's Laboratory of Genetics and holder of the Vi and John Adler Chair for Research
on Age-Related Neurodegenerative Diseases, found that human brain cells contain an
unexpected number of so-called mobile elements—extraordinary pieces of DNA that
insert extra copies of themselves throughout the genome using a "copy and paste"
mechanism. "This is a potential mechanism to create the neural diversity that makes
each person unique," says Gage. "The brain has 100 billion neurons with 100
trillion connections, but mobile pieces of DNA could give individual neurons a slightly
different capacity from each other." The only other human cells known to remodel
their genome are the cells of the immune system. There the genes coding for antibodies are
shuffled to create the necessary variety of antibodies capable of recognizing an infinite
number of distinct antigens. In earlier work, Gage had already shown that mobile pieces of
DNA known as LINE-1 elements (short for Long interspersed element 1) randomly add extra
copies to the genome of mouse brain cells. But whether or not the same process,
colloquially referred to as "jumping," held true for neurons in human brains had
been a matter of some debate. "It is known that these mobile elements are important
in lower organisms, such as plants and yeast, but in mammals they are generally considered
to be remnants of our past," says Gage. "Yet they are extremely abundant.
Approximately 50% of the total human genome is made up of remnants of mobile elements. If
this were true junk, we would be getting rid of it."
Gut hormone has 'remote control' on
blood sugar
A gut hormone first described in 1928 plays an unanticipated and important role in the
remote control of blood sugar production in the liver, according to a report in the August
6th Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication. What's more, the researchers show that rats
fed a high-fat diet for a few days become resistant to the glucose-lowering hormone known
as cholecystokinin (CCK). "We show for the first time that CCK from the gut activates
receptors to regulate glucose levels," said Tony Lam of the University of Toronto.
"It does so via a gut-brain-liver neuronal axis." Researchers already knew that
CCK levels rise in the upper intestine in response to nutrients such as lipids to lower
food intake, Lam explained. Now, his team shows that the CCK hormone binds local receptors
on nerves of the small intestine, sending a powerful signal to the brain. The brain in
turn tells the liver to stop producing glucose. Lam said his group described the
gut-brain-liver circuitry in a paper published last year. The new study shows that it is
CCK that acts as the trigger. A primary increase of CCK-8, the biologically active form of
CCK, in the upper intestine lowers glucose production independently of any change to
circulating insulin levels, they found. CCK-8's effects depend on activation of CCK-A
receptors and the signals they send to the brain and on to the liver, where glucose
production slows. Those effects of the hormone begin to fail early in the onset of
high-fat diet-induced insulin resistance, they report. The findings suggest that CCK
resistance, like insulin resistance, might be a key contributor to the high blood sugar
that often comes with a high-fat diet. It also suggests that drugs targeting the CCK
receptors in the gut may hold promise for therapy. That's key, Lam said, because such
gut-targeted drugs might be expected to have fewer side effects than currently available
diabetes drugs that work directly on the liver.
Fat hormone influences baseline
dopamine levels and our motivation to eat
As we all know from experience, people eat not only because they are hungry, but also
because the food just simply tastes too good to pass up. Now, a new study in the August
6th Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, helps to explain how leptin, a hormone
produced by fat tissue, influences that motivation to eat. The researchers describe for
the first time a new bunch of leptin-responsive (LepRb) neurons in the brain's lateral
hypothalamic area (LHA). Those LHA neurons feed directly into the mesolimbic dopamine
system seated in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the brain, which controls the
rewarding properties we assign to things. "Dopaminergic neurons in the VTA and their
downstream targets represent the site of action for drugs of abuse, and also control
motivation for food, sex or a fancy car," explained Martin Myers, Jr., of the
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Put simply, "they control our wanting of
stuff." The study therefore adds to growing evidence that leptin doesn't turn the
appetite on and off just by controlling satiety – for instance, whether we feel
hungry or full. "Most who have studied leptin in the brain have focused on an
important circuit in the ARC," and the leptin-responsive neurons there, Myers said.
ARC stands for arcuate nucleus and is an area in the brain's hypothalamus that controls
energy balance by controlling satiety. "It has been assumed that leptin action in the
ARC – if not the be all and end all – was responsible for the vast majority of
leptin's effect on appetite." But in fact, neurons bearing leptin receptors exist in
many other parts of the brain too. Earlier studies revealed the role of leptin action on
the VTA and its influence on dopamine. The new findings show that leptin also has direct
effects on the LHA, which in turn exerts greater influence on the dopamine system of the
VTA. The new study shows that leptin injected in the LHAs of rats causes the animals to
eat less and lose weight. Leptin action in the LHA also raises dopamine content in the
brains of otherwise leptin-deficient animals.
Scientists isolate protein that may
be 'boon' to medicine
Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have isolated a unique protein that appears to have a dual
function and could lead to a "boon in medicine." The findings are published in
the August issue of the Journal of Cell Biology.The protein that the researchers studied,
named mDpy-30, affects both the expression of genes and the transport of proteins.
"We first found that this protein has a dual location in the cell," said Dzwokai
Ma, senior author and assistant professor in UCSB's Department of Molecular, Cellular and
Developmental Biology. "That spurred us to investigate this protein further, because
location is always linked to function." Proteins that are most sensitive to mDpy-30
are pivotal to the movement of a cell, according to the current study and unpublished
results from the Ma lab. "Indeed, we have obtained preliminary evidence that mDpy-30
is an important regulator of cell movement," said Ma. "The movement of a cell is
essential to myriad biological functions such as neural networking, proper immunological
function, and wound healing. Consequently, when these processes go awry, they can result
in the development or progression of human disease, including cancer metastasis."
What remains enigmatic, Ma added, is the particular role of mDpy-30 in protein transport
regulation, and whether or how this function is coordinated with gene expression during
cell movement. "Further study could lead to a boon in medicine," he said.
UCSB Study Links Strength and
Beauty to Anger, Pro-War Attitudes
A new study by scientists at UC Santa Barbara provides evidence that anger serves as a
nonconscious bargaining system, triggered when someone places too little weight on
one’s welfare. The researchers’ findings are published online this week in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. The study also showed that men with
greater upper body strength — and women who consider themselves attractive —
feel entitled to better treatment, anger more easily and frequently, and prevail more
often in conflicts of interest. In addition, these individuals were found to endorse the
use of military force as an effective way to settle international disputes.
Genetic risk, not anesthesia
exposure, impacts cognitive performance
A recent study of more than 2,000 identical twins found that medical problems early in
life, rather than the neurotoxic effects of anesthesia, are likely linked to an
individual's risk for developing learning disabilities. The study's findings, reported in
the journal Twin Research and Human Genetics, contradict research published earlier this
year, which concluded that receiving anesthesia younger than age four is associated with
subsequent learning problems. Robert Althoff, M.D., Ph.D., director of behavioral genetics
at the University of Vermont's UVM) Vermont Center for Children, Youth & Families,
along with colleagues Meike Bartels and Dorret Boomsma from VU University in the
Netherlands, examined the relationship between anesthesia exposure and cognitive
performance, but controlled for genetic association by using a sample of 1,143 identical
Dutch twin pairs (2,286 children total). The research team grouped the participants into
children who had anesthesia exposure before age three and those who had not, in order to
facilitate the identification of twin pairs where both had been exposed to anesthesia,
where neither had been exposed to anesthesia, or where only one member of the pair had
been exposed to anesthesia. The twins' cognitive outcomes were measured using a
standardized national exam administered to all children in the Netherlands at about age
12. "While there was a difference in cognitive outcomes between children who had been
exposed to anesthesia versus children who had not, there was no difference in cognitive
outcomes between identical twins where one was exposed to anesthesia and the other was
not," said Althoff, who is also assistant professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at
UVM. "This indicates that exposure to anesthesia is not itself associated with worse
cognitive outcomes, but rather is likely a marker of risk for later learning
problems."According to the study's authors, "classical twin studies have been
informative in uncovering the underlying genetic and environmental contributions to
intelligence in general and to learning disabilities specifically." The team suggests
that in future related studies, screening for learning problems should take place before a
child undergoes surgery, in order to establish whether or not the problem is already
present.
Link uncovered between viral RNA
and human immune response
In its fight against an intruding virus, an enzyme in our immune system may sense certain
types of viral RNA pairs, according to scientists. The key lies in a virus' RNA -- a long
molecular chain often used to make proteins -- and how it regulates an enzyme called
protein kinase R (PKR), according to researchers from Penn State, the University of
Connecticut and the University of Beijing. "PKR plays an important role in the human
immune system," said Laurie Heinicke, graduate student of chemistry and first author
for the paper. "It is activated by long stretches of double-stranded RNA. As a part
of our built-in immune response, PKR can recognize viral double-stranded RNAs and inhibit
their production." Viral RNA enters human cells when attacking viruses inject their
genetic material into the cells and force them to manufacture future generations of
viruses. By latching on to specific sites on viral RNA, PKR can interrupt this process.
Or, according to Heinicke, "once activated by certain RNAs, PKR stops protein
synthesis in the infected cell and ultimately causes cell death." One way for this to
happen is for the viral RNA to first form linked pairs called dimers. These RNA dimers
then allow separate sets of PKR to bind with themselves, also forming dimers, a state
where the paired PKR is most effective against a viral onslaught. "We showed that a
small region of the HIV-1 genome termed TAR can regulate PKR," Heinicke continued.
"The caveat, however, is that this RNA must form a dimer in order to be an
activator." The extra length that dimer RNA provides is critical in encouraging PKR
to pair up and function properly. "The length needed for one PKR to bind to RNA is
fifteen base pairs," said Philip Bevilacqua, professor of chemistry, Penn State, one
of the lead scientists on the project along with James Cole, associate professor,
University of Connecticut. "To get two PKRs to bind and dimerize, you need an RNA
strand that is twice as long." Cole's laboratory provided evidence of dimerization of
RNA and PKR.
Hormone Levels Contribute to Stress
Resilience
It is important to understand what biological mechanisms contribute to an
individual’s capacity to be resilient under conditions of extreme stress, such as
those regularly experienced by soldiers, police, and firefighters. Dr. Charles A. Morgan
III and his colleagues from Yale University and the VA National Center for PTSD have
worked closely with collaborators at the Special Forces Underwater Warfare Operations
Center to study special operations soldiers enrolled in the military Combat Diver
Qualification Course (CDQC).Dehydroepiandrosterone, or “DHEA” as it is commonly
known, is a hormone that is secreted by the adrenal gland in response to stress. Although
medical scientists have known for over a decade that DHEA provides beneficial, anti-stress
effects in animals, they did not know until now whether this was also true for humans. The
scientists completed psychological and hormone assessments on a group of soldiers the day
before they began the month-long CDQC, and immediately after their final pass/fail exam
– a highly stressful, nocturnal, underwater navigation exercise. They found that
soldiers with more DHEA performed better during the final underwater navigation exam than
those with less DHEA. These findings are being published by Elsevier in the August 15th
issue of Biological Psychiatry.
Empa researchers investigate dioxin
decomposition in the Yushchenko case
In 2004 the current Ukrainian president, Viktor Yushchenko, suffered a severe case of
dioxin poisoning. In order to understand how the human body reacts to remove the poison,
Empa researchers have analyzed over a hundred samples taken from the politician. They
succeeded for the first time in identifying decomposition products which are created, and
they also observed that when the dioxin dose is very high – as was the case with
Viktor Yushchenko – the excretion rate is higher than expected. Dioxin is regarded as
an extremely poisonous pollutant which degrades very slowly. In the case of the Ukrainian
president, Viktor Yushchenko, scientists from Empa’s Analytical Chemistry Laboratory
together with doctors from the University Hospital, Geneva, have traced the mechanisms by
which dioxin is broken down and excreted by the human body. The work has just been
published “Online First” in the renowned medical journal “The Lancet”.
“We were able to identify and also quantify dioxin decomposition products for the
first time ever,” is how Empa expert Markus Zennegg, who performed the majority of
the analyses, summarizes the most important result. The researchers discovered that the
main path of excretion was via the digestive tract, confirming what was already known from
animal studies. They also uncovered a massive reduction in the elimination half-life, down
to about 16 months instead of the previously observed five to ten years. The elevated
dosage had obviously caused the body to increase its production of the enzyme responsible
for the decomposition of dioxin. The work was only possible thanks to the cooperation of
Viktor Yushchenko himself. The Ukrainian president agreed to the publication of the
results and allowed doctors in hospitals in Geneva and Kiev to take more than one hundred
samples of blood, urine, faeces, sweat, skin, skin cysts and adipose tissue over three
years.
Subjective Symptoms of Sleep
Quality and Daytime Sleepiness Are Associated with Declining Quality of Life
A study in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal SLEEP indicates that self-reported worsening in
initiating and maintaining sleep over a five-year period was significantly associated with
poorer mental quality of life, and increasing daytime sleepiness symptoms were associated
with both poorer physical and mental quality of life. Adjusted models show that an
increase in difficulty initiating and maintaining sleep was significantly associated with
a change in Mental Component Summary (MCS) scales, while increasing severity of excessive
daytime sleepiness measured by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale was associated with a change
in both MCS and Physical Component Summary (PCS) scales. Although severity of sleep
disordered breathing (SDB) measured by mean respiratory disturbance index (RDI) increased
from 8.1 at baseline to 10.9 at follow-up, multiple linear regression models show no
significant association between change in RDI and changes in PCS or MCS. The authors
suggest that in patients with SDB, the presence of excessive daytime sleepiness determines
whether there will be an impact on quality of life. According to lead author Graciela E.
Silva, PhD, assistant professor in the College of Nursing and Health Innovation at Arizona
State University, the results provide important and surprising insights regarding the
relationship between sleep and quality of life. “While we were expecting an
association between quality of sleep and quality of life, it was surprising that we did
not find a significant association between objective measures of quality of sleep and
quality of life, but that only subjective measures of sleep were associated with quality
of life,” said Silva. “These findings signal to the importance of perception of
quality of sleep on quality of life.”The cross-sectional, retrospective study
obtained polysomnographic and clinical data from 3,078 patients who were included in the
baseline examination of the Sleep Heart Health Study (SHHS), a multi-center longitudinal
study of participants over the age of 40. The mean age of participants was 62 years at
baseline and 67 years at follow-up. Fifty-five percent were women, and most were Caucasian
(75 percent) and married (77 percent). Coronary heart disease was more prevalent in men,
and respiratory disease was more prominent in women. Measures of quality of life were
obtained using the PCS and MCS scales of the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form Health
questionnaire. The primary exposure was change in the RDI obtained from unattended
overnight polysomnograms performed approximately five years apart.
Study Finds Increased “Sibling
Risk” of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Children
A study in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal SLEEP indicates that children have an increased
risk of developing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) if they have at least one sibling who has
been diagnosed with the sleep disorder. Results indicate that after accounting for
socioeconomic status, age, and geographic region, the sibling risk of pediatric OSA was
extremely high, with a standardized incidence ratio of 33.2 in boys and 40.5 in girls who
had at least one sibling with an OSA diagnosis. A total of 854 boys and 627 girls who were
18 years of age or younger had a first hospital diagnosis of pediatric OSA during the
study period; there was no significant gender difference in the incidence rate of OSA
among those with a sibling history of the sleep disorder. According to principal
investigator Danielle Friberg, MD, senior surgeon in the ENT department at Karolinska
Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, early intervention can help prevent the potentially severe
consequences of OSA in children. “Early diagnosis and treatment is important to avoid
complications such as learning difficulties, ‘failure to thrive,’ serious
cardiovascular complications and even death,” said Friberg. The individual study
population was siblings born between 1978 and 1986, and the study included hospital data
on all children in Sweden – 2.7 million individuals - during the study follow-up
period between 1997 and 2004. Children 18 years of age and younger were divided into
sibling groups, and the presence or absence of a primary hospital diagnosis of pediatric
OSA during the follow-up period was determined for each individual. Then children were
categorized as positive or negative for sibling OSA based on the presence of the disorder
in at least one of their siblings. The incidence rates were computed using standardized
incidence ratios with 95-percent confidence intervals. Reference groups were boys and
girls with two or more unaffected siblings. The study also examined the sibling risk of
adenotonsillar hypertrophy, an important risk factor for pediatric OSA. A total of 13,656
boys and 11,648 girls had a first hospital diagnosis of hypertrophy of the tonsils, or
hypertrophy of the adenoids and tonsils. The overall standardized incidence ratios for
adenotonsillar hypertrophy among those who had at least one affected sibling were 4.53 for
boys and 4.94 for girls. Although this familial risk was much lower than in the group with
OSA, the authors report that the increase was highly significant and the numbers of
children were much larger than in the OSA group.
Researchers Identify New Method to
Selectively Kill Metastatic Melanoma Cells
An international team of researchers has identified a new method for selectively killing
metastatic melanoma cells, which may lead to new areas for drug development in melanoma
– a cancer that is highly resistant to current treatment strategies. Researchers from
Virginia Commonwealth University, in collaboration with a team of researchers led by Maria
S. Soengas, Ph.D., with the Spanish National Cancer Research Center in Madrid, Spain,
found that activation of a specific molecular pathway triggers melanoma cells to begin a
process of self-destruction – through self-digestion and programmed cell death. The
study is published in the August 4 print issue of the journal Cancer Cell. “The
present research provides a path that could lead with further studies and a phase I
clinical trial for safety to the development of a strategy that reenergizes the immune
system to destroy this highly aggressive cancer,” said lead investigator at VCU, Paul
B. Fisher, M.Ph., Ph.D., the first incumbent of the Thelma Newmeyer Corman Endowed Chair
in Cancer Research with the VCU Massey Cancer Center. According to Fisher, the pathway
that is activated involves the melanoma differentiation associated gene-5, or mda-5, a
gene initially cloned in Fisher's laboratory, that activates a protein called NOXA that is
involved with programmed cell death. This series of chemical reactions results in
induction of a cell-killing process involving self-digestion that leads to programmed cell
death specifically in melanoma cells. Fisher said that mda-5 is a key regulator of innate
immunity that induces interferon beta production limiting replication of specific
pathogenic viruses.
Exercise Is Healthy for Mom and
Child During Pregnancy
Physicians should recommend low to moderate levels of exercise to their pregnant patients,
even if they have not exercised prior to pregnancy, states a report published in the
August 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS).
According to this review article, exercise can strengthen and improve overall
musculoskeletal and physiologic health as well as pregnancy related symptoms. Exercise
such as aerobics, impact and nonimpact activities, resistance training and swimming - *
eases back and other musculoskeletal pain; * lowers maternal blood pressure; * reduces
swelling; and * improves post-partum mood, including sadness.
Patient Radiation Exposure During
Interventional Procedures is a Concern for Some Developing Countries
Interventional radiology procedures are on the rise in developing countries and there is a
significant need for optimization of these procedures to ensure patient safety. Many
facilities in these countries lack the concept of patient dose estimation and dose
management, putting patients at a higher risk of developing complications due to
overexposure from radiation during interventional procedures, according to a study
performed by the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria. The study included
data from 55 hospitals in 20 countries—mostly in Eastern Europe, five in Africa and
six in Asia. “We found that a substantial number of coronary angioplasty procedures
performed in the developing countries in this study are above the currently known dose
reference level,” said Madan M. Rehani, PhD, coordinator of the study. “We also
found that kerma area product (KAP), a method to determine dose estimations, was available
in almost half of the facilities, but none had experience in its use,” said Dr.
Rehani. “There is a significant lack of awareness about patient dose estimations and
dose management among interventional radiologists and cardiologists in developing
countries. Our goal is to introduce these concepts to them and achieve effective
implementation,” he said.
Unlocking the key to human
fertility
Scientists at Leeds and Bradford have discovered a unique ‘DNA signature’ in
human sperm, which may act as a key that unlocks an egg’s fertility and triggers new
life. Drs David Miller and David Iles from the University of Leeds, in collaboration with
Dr Martin Brinkworth at the University of Bradford, have found that sperm writes a DNA
signature that can only be recognised by an egg from the same species. This enables
fertilisation and may even explain how a species develops its own unique genetic identity.
Dr Iles says, “What we have discovered is a previously unrecognised DNA packaging
‘signature’ in mammalian sperm that may be essential for successful
fertilisation of the egg and development of the embryo. We think it may also be ancient in
origin.” Without the right ‘key’, successful fertilisation either cannot
occur, or if it does, development will not proceed normally. Notably, disturbances in
human sperm DNA packaging are known to cause male infertility and pregnancy failures. This
‘lock and key’ mechanism has other profound implications. Not only does it
explain why some otherwise healthy men produce sperm that is sterile, but it also explains
how different species evolve and retain their own identity.
Scientists open doors to diagnosis
of emphysema
Chronic inflammatory lung diseases like chronic bronchitis and emphysema are a major
global health problem, and the fourth leading cause of death and disability in developed
countries, with smoking accounting for 90% of the risk for developing them. Work by
scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and its Molecular Medicine
Partnership Unit (MMPU) with the University of Heidelberg, Germany, has shed new light on
the underlying disease process of emphysema using a technique which could in future be
adapted for use in diagnosis. The study is published today in Nature Chemical Biology. The
researchers present a new strategy for testing the activity of MMP12, an enzyme known to
be involved in the development of emphysema. Emphysema is characterised by the damage and
destruction of the alveoli, the tiny air-sacs of the lungs that are crucial for
respiration and uptake of oxygen from the air. Cigarette smoke and other irritants
activate immune cells, like macrophages, in the lungs to destroy the foreign material, and
chronic exposure causes inflammation. MMP12 is an enzyme secreted by macrophages which
usually helps them to break down the extracellular matrix (the complex network of proteins
and fibers that surround and support the cells of the body), a process important for
normal wound healing. However, over-stimulation of macrophages by irritants leads to build
up of excess MMP12, which starts to damage the delicate structure of the small airspaces
of the lungs, eventually leading to emphysema.
A "Super Sensor" for
Cancer and CSI's
Like the sensitive seismographs that can pick up tremors of impending earthquakes long
before they strike, a similar invention from Tel Aviv University researchers may change
the face of molecular biology. Coupling biological materials with an electrode-based
device, Prof. Judith Rishpon of TAU's Department of Molecular Microbiology and
Biotechnology is able to quickly and precisely detect pathogens and pollution in the
environment — and infinitesimally small amounts of disease biomarkers in our blood.
About the size of a stick of gum, the new invention may be applied to a wide range of
environments and situations. The aim is for the device to be disposable and cost about $1.
"Biosensors are important for the bio-terror industry, but are also critical for
detecting pathogens in water, for the food industry, and in medical diagnostics,"
says Prof. Rishpon. Her latest research appeared in the journals Nanomedicine:
Nanotechnology Biology and Medicine, Electroanalysis and Bioelectrochemistry.
The new anti-wrinkle facial filler Dysport, which could be used as an alternative to
Botox, noticeably reduced frown lines between the eyes, according to users and independent
reviewers in a study involving plastic surgeons at UT Southwestern Medical
Center.“Our study confirmed that Dysport (abobotulinumtoxinA) is a safe and effective
tool in fighting wrinkles,” said Dr. Rod Rohrich, chairman of plastic surgery at UT
Southwestern and one of the study’s authors. “It also confirmed that the dosage
should be tailored to one’s facial muscle mass to be most effective. So it’s
important to visit with a certified plastic surgeon to ensure the dosage is correct.”
Research shows temptation more
powerful than individuals realize
Whether it's highlighted in major news headlines about Argentinean affairs and Ponzi
schemes, or in personal battles with obesity and drug addiction, individuals regularly
succumb to greed, lust and self-destructive behaviors. New research from the Kellogg
School of Management examines why this is the case, and demonstrates that individuals
believe they have more restraint than they actually possess—ultimately leading to
poor decision-making. The study, led by Loran Nordgren, senior lecturer of management and
organizations at the Kellogg School, examined how an individual's belief in his/her
ability to control impulses such as greed, drug craving and sexual arousal influenced
responses to temptation. The research found the sample, on average, displayed a
"restraint bias," causing individuals to miscalculate the amount of temptation
they could truly handle, in turn leading to a greater likelihood of indulging impulsive or
addictive behavior. "People are not good at anticipating the power of their urges,
and those who are the most confident about their self-control are the most likely to give
into temptation," said Nordgren. "The key is simply to avoid any situations
where vices and other weaknesses thrive and, most importantly, for individuals to keep a
humble view of their willpower."
Heavy drinkers face significantly
increased cancer risk
Heavy drinkers of beer and spirits face a much higher risk of developing cancer than the
population at large, says a group of Montreal epidemiologists and cancer researchers.
Their findings show that people in the highest consumption category increased their risk
of developing oesophageal cancer sevenfold, colon cancer by 80% and even lung cancer by
50%. In all, the researchers found statistically significant relationships between heavy
consumption of beer and spririts and six different cancers. Moderate drinking (i.e. less
than daily) and wine consumption did not show the same effects, however. The research was
conducted by Dr. Andrea Benedetti of McGill University, Dr. Marie-Elise Parent of
INRS-Institut Armand Frappier and Dr. Jack Siemiatycki of the Université de Montréal.
"We looked at the data in two ways," said Benedetti, an assistant professor at
McGill's Departments of Medicine and of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational
Health. "We compared people who drank heavily to our reference group, who abstained
or drank only very occasionally. We also looked for trends across our categories:
non-drinkers, weekly drinkers and daily drinkers. The results were astounding. "We
saw increased risk for esophageal cancer, stomach cancer, colon cancer, liver cancer,
pancreatic cancer, lung cancer and prostate cancer," Benedetti added. "The
strongest risk was for esophageal and liver cancer." "This study crystalizes
many strands of evidence from different studies on different types of cancer and alcohol
consumption," said Dr. Jack Siematycki, professor, Canada Research Chair and Guzzo
Chair in Environment and Cancer, at the Université de Montréal.
Researchers effectively treat
tumors with use of nanotubes
By injecting man-made, microscopic tubes into tumors and heating them with a quick,
30-second zap of a laser, scientists have discovered a way to effectively kill kidney
tumors in nearly 80 percent of mice. Researchers say that the finding suggests a potential
future cancer treatment for humans. The study appears in the August issue of PNAS
(Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences). It is the result of a collaborative
effort between Wake Forest University School of Medicine, the Wake Forest University
Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials, Rice University and Virginia Tech.
"When dealing with cancer, survival is the endpoint that you are searching for,"
said Suzy Torti, Ph.D., lead investigator for the study and professor of biochemistry at
Wake Forest University School of Medicine. "It's great if you can get the tumor to
shrink, but the gold standard is to make the tumor shrink or disappear and not come back.
It appears that we've found a way to do that." Nanotubes are long, thin,
sub-microscopic tubes made of carbon. For the study, researchers used multi-walled
nanotubes (MWCNTs), which contain several nanotubes nested within each other, prepared for
the study by the Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials. The tubes, when
non-invasively exposed to laser-generated near-infrared radiation, respond by vibrating,
creating heat. If enough heat is conducted, tumor cells near the tubes begin to shrink and
die.Using a mouse model, researchers injected kidney tumors with different quantities of
MWCNTs and exposed the area to a three-watt laser for 30 seconds. Researchers found that
the mice who received no treatment for their tumors died about 30 days into the study.
Mice who received the nanotubes alone or laser treatment alone survived for a similar
length of time. However, in the mice who received the MWCNTs followed by a 30-second laser
treatment, researchers found that the higher the quantity of nanotubes injected, the
longer the mice lived and the less tumor regrowth was seen. In fact, in the group that
received the highest dose of MWCNTs, tumors completely disappeared in 80 percent of the
mice. Many of those mice continued to live tumor-free through the completion of the study,
which was about nine months later.
Anti-growth factor drugs raise hope
and concern for treatment of children's eye diseases
A new class of antibody drugs may provide a powerful new tool for the treatment of eye
diseases in children, but specialists need to be alert for the possibility of serious side
effects, according to an editorial in the August Journal of AAPOS (American Association
for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus), published by Elsevier. Dr. Robert L. Avery of
Santa Barbara, Calif., discusses issues related to the use of antibodies against vascular
endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in pediatric ophthalmology. The two anti-VEGF antibodies
available so far—bevacizumab and ranibizumab—have been rapidly adopted for the
treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of vision loss in
older adults. The antibodies work by blocking the development of new blood vessels
(angiogenesis). Anti-VEGF antibodies were originally approved for use in cancer treatment,
and there have been some safety concerns, including a possible increase in stroke risk.
However, at the much smaller doses used in eye diseases, the two antibodies appear to be
safe. However, in discussing the growing use of anti-VEGF antibodies in children, Dr.
Avery sounds a cautious note. One study, also published in the August Journal of AAPOS,
found that bevacizumab treatment in one eye of a child with eye disease also improved the
condition in the other eye. This, along with other limited reports, suggests that the
antibodies might leave the eye and enter the bloodstream, where they could potentially
lead to side effects and complications. Side effects are a special concern in children,
who might be at higher risk because of their smaller size. Used in premature infants with
an eye disease called retinopathy of prematurity, anti-VEGF antibodies could have the
potential for harm to still developing organs. These issues are particularly difficult
because the anti-VEGF antibodies are not approved for use in children. Because of the
urgent need for treatment of serious but relatively rare eye diseases in children,
"off-label" use of drugs—for purposes other than those which the drugs are
approved—is common in pediatric ophthalmology.
La Jolla Institute discovers novel
tumor suppressor
La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology researchers studying an enzyme believed to
play a role in allergy onset, instead have discovered its previously unknown role as a
tumor suppressor that may be important in myeloproliferative diseases and some types of
lymphoma and leukemia. Myeloproliferative diseases are a group of disorders characterized
by an overproduction of blood cells by the bone marrow and include chronic myeloid
leukemia. Lymphoma and leukemia are cancers of the blood. "PLC-beta 3 is an enzyme,
but the function we found was a completely different function that no one knew it had --
as a tumor suppressor," said the La Jolla Institute's Toshiaki Kawakami, M.D., Ph.D.,
who led the research team. The study, conducted in animal models, could eventually lead to
the development of new therapies directed towards controlling this newly discovered
cellular mechanism. Tony Hunter, Ph.D., director of the Salk Institute Cancer Center and a
professor in Salk's Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory, called the finding an
"important" step in advancing understanding of blood cancers. "It's very
interesting that this molecule acts in this way independently of its enzyme
activity," he said. "It's quite an unexpected finding and it definitely has the
potential for helping the scientific community understand the mechanisms leading to some
types of leukemia." The findings are being published online today in the journal
Cancer Cell in a paper entitled "Tumor Suppression by Phospholipase C- 3 via
SHP-1-Mediated Dephosphorylation of STAT5." Researchers from UC San Diego Cancer
Center, University of Alabama and the University of Western Ontario also contributed to
the study. Dr. Kawakami said he and his research team got their first inkling of something
unexpected fairly early on in their experiments. "We wanted to better understand the
PLC-beta 3 enzyme's possible role as a signaling pathway in asthma and other allergic
diseases, so we began working with mice genetically engineered not to have that
enzyme," he said. "We noticed that these mice developed a strange phenotype
– myeloproliferation and a variety of tumors including lymphomas and some
carcinomas." Dr. Kawakami said this surprising occurrence suggested that PLC-beta 3
acted as a safeguard that inhibited the development of a variety of tumors. He and his
team set out to investigate further, choosing to focus specifically on myeloproliferative
disease because almost all of the mice with a defective PLC-beta 3 gene eventually
developed severe myeloproliferative disease.
Groundbreaking study shows exercise
benefits leukemia patients
One of the most bothersome symptoms of leukemia is extreme fatigue, and asking these
patients to exercise doesn't sound like a way to help them feel better. A new study from
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill indicates that exercise may be a great way
to do just that, combating the debilitating fatigue that these patients experience. In a
first-of-its-kind clinical trial, a team of researchers from the Department of Exercise
and Sport Science and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center have shown that physical
activity can significantly improve symptoms of fatigue and depression, increase
cardiovascular endurance and maintain quality of life for adult patients undergoing
treatment for leukemia. A total of 10 patients undergoing treatment participated in the
EQUAL (Exercise and Quality of Life in Leukemia/ Lymphoma Patients) study. Each patient
was provided with specially-treated exercise equipment to minimize the risk of infection.
They participated in an individualized exercise session while in the hospital for the 3-5
weeks of the induction phase of leukemia treatment. The exercise prescription comprised of
aerobic and resistance exercises, core exercises, and light stretches tailored to the
patient's level of fitness and leukemia symptoms. Upon their discharge from the hospital,
each patient received an aerobic- based exercise prescription to use during their 2-week
home recovery period. Before and after the exercise program, the researchers tested key
physiological measurements including resting heart rate, blood pressure and hemoglobin,
body weight and height, body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness and muscular
endurance. Psychological measures were tested using standard scales for assessing fatigue,
depression and quality of life in cancer patients. Blood samples were also taken at
baseline, mid, and at the conclusion of the study, and analyzed for cytokines, biomarkers
of inflammation. The results of the study were recently published in the journal
Integrative Cancer Therapies. "We found that the patients experienced significant
reduction in total fatigue and depression scores, as well as improved cardiorespiratory
endurance and maintenance of muscular endurance," said Claudio Battaglini, Ph.D.,
assistant professor of exercise and sport science and UNC Lineberger member.
Millions of US children low in
vitamin D
Seven out of ten U.S. children have low levels of vitamin D, raising their risk of bone
and heart disease, according to a study of over 6,000 children by researchers at Albert
Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. The striking findings suggest that
vitamin D deficiency could place millions of children at risk for high blood pressure and
other risk factors for heart disease. The study is published today in the online version
of Pediatrics. Vitamin D deficiency was thought to be relatively rare in the U.S. However,
recent studies have documented this growing problem in adults. With cases of rickets (a
bone disease in infants caused by low vitamin D levels) on the rise, it became clear that
many children were also not getting enough of this essential vitamin, which is needed for
healthy bone growth, among other biological processes. "Several small studies had
found a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in specific populations of children, but
no one had examined this issue nationwide," says study leader Michal L. Melamed,
M.D., assistant professor of medicine and of epidemiology & population health at
Einstein. Dr. Melamed has published extensively on the importance of vitamin D. To learn
more about the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (defined as less than 15 ng/mL of blood)
and vitamin D insufficiency (15 to 29 ng/mL), the researchers analyzed data on more than
6,000 children, ages one to 21, collected by the National Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey (NHANES) 2001-2004. The researchers found that 9 percent of the study sample,
equivalent to 7.6 million children across the U.S., was vitamin D deficient, while another
61 percent, or 50.8 million, was vitamin D insufficient. Low vitamin D levels were
especially common in children who were older, female, African-American, Mexican-American,
obese, drank milk less than once a week, or spent more than four hours a day watching TV,
playing videogames, or using computers. The researchers also found that low levels of
vitamin D deficiency were associated with higher parathyroid hormone levels, a marker of
bone health, higher systolic blood pressure, and lower serum calcium and HDL (good)
cholesterol levels, which are key risk factors for heart disease.
Viral mimic induces melanoma cells
to digest themselves
Recent research has uncovered an unexpected vulnerability in deadly melanoma cells that,
when exploited, can cause the cancer cells to turn against themselves. The study,
published by Cell Press in the August issue of the journal Cancer Cell, identifies a new
target for development of future therapeutics aimed at selectively eliminating this
aggressive skin cancer which is characterized by a notoriously high rate of metastasis and
treatment-resistance. "Although considerable effort has been devoted to the search
for molecular mechanisms that contribute to the chemo- and immunoresistance of melanoma,
the average survival of patients with inoperable metastases remains less than 10
months," explains senior study author Dr. Maria S. Soengas from the Melanoma
Laboratory at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre in Madrid, Spain. Melanoma has
multiple complex genetic aberrations that make the cells difficult to destroy with current
treatments. One process that has not been studied in great detail with regards to melanoma
is a type of autophagy (literally, self-eating) that involves sequestration of components
within the cell for eventual degradation. Previous work has linked autophagy with both
cancer cell death and survival and it is not clear whether this process might be a viable
target for future drug development. Dr. Soengas and colleagues designed a series of
studies to examine the interplay between autophagy and cell death in the context of tumor
cell-selective elimination of melanoma cells. The researchers discovered that melanoma
cells retain the ability to recognize and respond to double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) located
inside the cell cytoplasm. Most animal cells contain single-stranded RNA and see dsRNA,
which is associated with viruses, as a threat. The melanoma cells responded to
administration of the dsRNA mimic polyinosine-polycytidylic acid (pIC) by inducing an
immune response that led to autophagy. However, the method of delivering the pIC to the
melanoma cells was critical and required a carrier called polyethyleneimine (PEI) to
ensure delivery of pIC to the cell cytoplasm.
Stem cell 'daughters' lead to
breast cancer
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute scientists have found that a population of breast cells
called luminal progenitor cells are likely to be responsible for breast cancers that
develop in women carrying mutations in the gene BRCA1. BRCA1 gene mutations are found in
10-20 per cent of women with hereditary breast cancer. Women with BRCA1 mutations often
develop 'basal-like' breast cancer, which is a particularly aggressive form of the
disease. A team led by Associate Professors Jane Visvader and Geoff Lindeman from the
institute's Victorian Breast Cancer Research Consortium Laboratory have discovered that
luminal progenitor cells – the 'daughters' of breast stem cells – are the likely
source of basal-like breast tumours. Their finding, published in today's issue of the
international journal Nature Medicine, represents a major shift in the way scientists
think breast cancer develops. Dr Visvader said it had been thought in recent years that
breast stem cells gave rise to BRCA1 tumours. "However, research carried out at the
institute by Drs Elgene Lim and François Vaillant has shown that breast tissue from women
with BRCA1 mutations has unexpectedly high numbers of luminal progenitor cells," she
said.
Variation in prostate stem cell
antigen gene raises bladder cancer risk
Researchers have pinpointed a specific gene variation that causes increased risk of
urinary bladder cancer, according to a scientific team led by The University of Texas M.
D. Anderson Cancer Center. These findings were reported today in the advance online
publication of Nature Genetics, and determined that people with the variant had a 30
percent to 40 percent higher risk for bladder cancer. Scientists hope the results of this
large, multi-site international study may help determine who is at high risk to contract
this deadly cancer, which may lead to better survival rates and the development of
chemopreventive interventions. "With this research, we were able to find a novel
specific gene and a functional variation that are independent of the previous suspects. We
found a 'why' to many of the questions about genetic causes of bladder cancer," said
Xifeng Wu, M.D., Ph.D., professor in M. D. Anderson's Department of Epidemiology, Division
of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences, the lead and corresponding author of this
publication. "The neighboring genomic region has been identified previously as a
possible problem for breast, prostate, colorectal and bladder cancer, but we didn't know
why."
Yale scientists develop 'gas gauge'
to prevent pregnancy loss
To combat the many fetal deaths that occur annually because the placenta is too small,
researchers at Yale School of Medicine have developed a method to measure the volume of
the placenta, which provides nourishment to the fetus. Limits in current technology keep
doctors from being able to monitor the growth of the placenta, which, like the gas tank of
a car, is the source of fuel for the fetus. The placenta can be so small that the fetus
literally runs out of food and oxygen and dies, according to lead author Harvey J. Kliman,
M.D., a research scientist in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive
Sciences. He and his colleagues published the results of their findings in the August 3
issue of the American Journal of Perinatology. Fetal death, or intrauterine fetal demise
(IUFD), affects 30,000 women each year in the United States. Until now, there has been no
easy way to determine how much “gas” is left in the placenta’s tank. Kliman
decided to study this issue after noting that many late-term pregnancy losses were
associated with very small placentas. He theorized that in much the same way that an
obstetrician uses ultrasounds to follow the growth of the fetus, or a pediatrician weighs
and measures children to ensure they are growing normally, the growth of the fetus’
placenta could be monitored. When Kliman asked perinatologists (maternal fetal medicine
specialists) why they did not look at the placenta when performing routine ultrasounds,
the answer was always the same: The placenta is a curved structure and is too difficult to
measure. If they had to measure the placental volume they would need a very expensive
machine, specialized training and more time. With the help of his father, Merwin Kliman, a
mathematician and electrical engineer, Kliman developed an equation that used the maximal
width, height and thickness of the placenta. Kliman and his team at Yale then validated
the method by comparing the volume predicted by the Estimated Placenta Volume (EPV)
equation taken just before delivery to the actual weight of the placenta at the time of
delivery. “In this study, we showed that the equation predicted the actual placental
weight with an accuracy of up to 89 percent,” said Kliman. “The method works
best during the second and early third trimesters, just when routine ultrasound screening
is done on many women in the U.S.” In addition to validating the equation, the team
is also collecting EPV data from centers around the world to create the normative curves
that doctors can use to determine if the placenta is normal, too small or even too big.
“I hope that the EPV test becomes routine for pregnant women,” said Kliman.
Human language and dolphin movement
patterns show similarities in brevity
Two researchers from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) and the University of
Aberdeen in the United Kingdom have shown for the first time that the law of brevity in
human language, according to which the most frequently-used words tend to be the shortest,
also extends to other animal species. The scientists have shown that dolphins are more
likely to make simpler movements at the water surface. "Patterns of dolphin behaviour
at the surface obey the same law of brevity as human language, with both seeking out the
simplest and most efficient codes", Ramón Ferrer i Cancho, co-author of the study
published in the journal Complexity and a researcher in the Department of Languages and IT
Systems at the UPC, tells SINC. The law of brevity, proposed by the American philologist
George K. Zipf, along with others, shows that the most frequently-used words are the
shortest ones. Ferrer i Cancho, together with the scientist David Lusseau from the
University of Aberdeen in Scotland (although they actually carried out this study while
working at the Universities of Barcelona and Dalhousie in Canada, respectively) have shown
that when dolphins move on the surface of the water they tend to perform the most simple
movements, in the same way that humans tend to use words made up of less letters when they
are speaking or writing, in so-called "linguistic economy".
Portuguese scientists show
Schistosoma haematobium direct link to tumours
Schistosoma haematobium (S. haematobium) is a parasitic flatworm that infects millions of
people, mostly in the developing world, and is associated with high incidence of bladder
cancer although why is not clear. Now, however, two works by Portuguese researchers just
out in The Journal of Experimental Pathology 1 and the International Journal of
Parasitology 2 reveal that cells infected in laboratory with S. haematobium, acquire
cancer-like characteristics and, when injected into mice develop into tumours. The
research identifies as well the host molecules linked to the carcinogenic changes,
suggesting that these could be used as therapeutic targets to prevent bladder cancer.
These results help to explain the link between S. haematobium and can be relevant also to
other cancer-linked chronic infections, in particular to those linked to infections
difficult to treat such as hepatitis C. Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever - since
part of the parasite life cycle occurs in these animals - is a potential fatal disease
that, according to the World Health Organization, infects 200 million people and is
endemic in as much as 76 tropical developing countries. The disease, spread through
contaminated waters, is only second to malaria in rates of infection and public health
impact throughout the developing world, but has been one of many neglected tropical
diseases until very recently, when globalization and its associated intense migration flux
has brought it into the light. Infection by S. haematobium - a member of this family - is
particularly relevant due to its association to bladder cancer. In fact, while the disease
can be treated – in the sense that the parasites are killed –their calcified
eggs can remain trapped in the bladder creating a chronic infection that is linked to the
appearance of cancer. In fact, in regions where S. haematobium is endemic bladder cancer
can be the most common cancer in men and the second in women, just behind breast cancer,
accounting for as much as 30% of all cancer cases. In an attempt to understand this
worrying link between infection and cancer Mónica Botelho, José Carlos Machado, José
Manuel Correia da Costa and colleagues at the Parasitology lab, National Institute of
Health, the Institute of Pathology and Molecular Immunology of Porto University
(IPATIMUP), Porto, Portugal exposed cells growing in laboratory to extracts of S.
haematobium looking for changes, particularly in those traits associated with cancerous
processes. In fact, cancer cells can be defined by rapid uncontrolled division, high
resistance to death and - in the late stages of the disease - an abnormal capability to
migrate through tissues (normal cells, except for a few exceptions, are not capable of
move out of their “home” tissue/organ).
Mayo researchers find race has role
in incidence, survival of rare brain tumor
The incidence of a rare and deadly tumor called primary central nervous system lymphoma
(PCNSL) is two times higher in black Americans, ages 20 to 49, than in white Americans,
according to a Mayo Clinic study published in the June issue of Journal of Neuro-Oncology.
In patients older than 49, the results were reversed. White Americans were twice as likely
as black Americans to be diagnosed with PCNSL. PCNSL is a primary tumor of the central
nervous system that may simultaneously or sequentially involve the brain, spinal cord,
meninges (the covering of the brain and spinal cord) and the eyes. PCNSL most often
affects the elderly, people who are immunosuppressed because of illness or transplant, and
patients with AIDS. Though uncommon, this tumor is increasing in incidence, even in
patients without known risk factors. About 1,500 new cases are diagnosed in the United
States every year. "We undertook this epidemiological study to look for clues about
the cause of PCNSL," says Brian O'Neill, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neurologist and the
senior researcher in the study. Dr. O'Neill is the director of Mayo's National Cancer
Institute-designated Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in Brain Cancer.
This study was conducted by reviewing the records of 2,665 patients between 1992 and 2002
in 13 U.S. communities that are part of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results
(SEER) Program of the National Cancer Institute. This program is a repository for
population-based information on cancer incidence and survival, covering 26 percent of the
population and balanced for geographic, race and age differences. It has been used for
etiologic cancer research for more than 30 years.
Study Links Virus To Some Cases Of
Common Skin Cancer
A virus discovered last year in a rare form of skin cancer has also been found in people
with the second most common form of skin cancer among Americans, according to researchers
at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and
Solove Research Institute. The researchers examined tissue samples from 58 people with
squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), a highly curable form of skin cancer that is expected to
affect more than 200,000 Americans this year. They identified the virus in more than a
third of the patients and in 15 percent of the tumors tested. In addition, all of the
virus found in tumor cells had a mutation that could enable the viral DNA to integrate
into the DNA of the host cell. “This is indirect evidence that the virus might play a
role in causing some cases of squamous cell carcinoma,” says principal investigator
Amanda E. Toland, assistant professor of molecular virology, immunology and medical
genetics and a researcher with the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center -
James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute.
SAMe is Effective in Preventing
Formation of Primary Liver Cancer in Rats
A new study investigated the effectiveness of S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) in the
prevention and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or primary liver cancer. SAMe,
a widely available nutritional supplement, with little known side effects, was found to be
effective in preventing the formation of HCC in rats. However, high enough levels of SAMe
were not attainable to successfully treat established HCC. The findings are available in
the August issue of Hepatology, a journal published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of
the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. HCC is the fifth most common
cancer and the third most frequent cause of cancer death worldwide. Risk factors for HCC
include chronic infection with hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus (HCV), dietary
aflatoxin, excessive alcohol use, cigarette smoking, diabetes and obesity. The overall
5-year survival for HCC patients is less than 10% and the disease rate is expected to rise
due to the high prevalence of HCV in many areas of the world. Shelly Lu, M.D., of the Keck
School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, and colleagues studied the
effects of SAMe on chemoprevention and treatment of HCC. In the U.S. the incidence of HCC
doubled from 1979 to 1995 and the number of HCC cases for the following 20 to 30 years is
projected to increase. “Given these projections, there is a tremendous interest in
developing effective chemoprevention strategies,” said Dr. Lu. “And an important
property of SAMe that makes it an attractive agent for chemoprevention and treatment of
HCC is its ability to selectively kill liver cancer cells,” she added. During the
study researchers injected H4IIE cells into rats and found a 1cm tumor developed in the
liver two weeks after injection. A regimen of IV SAMe was started one day after injecting
the cells and continued for ten days. The researchers monitored the animals using MRI,
ultrasound, and visual inspection to assess the liver tumors. “Treatment with IV SAMe
by continuous infusion significantly reduced the tumor size and significantly prevented
tumor development after 11 days,” researchers discovered. Researchers found that if
SAMe infusion was started after sizable tumors had already formed it failed to reduce the
rate of tumor growth after 24 days of treatment. This is because of a compensatory
response of the liver to metabolize SAMe and prevent its accumulation. “The
observation that SAMe failed to exert any therapeutic effect in already established HCC is
disappointing,” said Dr. Lu. “But whether SAMe can be effective in treating HCC
in man remains unclear because this compensatory mechanism may not work properly in human
HCC. Nevertheless, effectiveness of SAMe in chemoprevention of human HCC deserves study
now.”
Studies Reveal Hepatitis C Virus
Carriers Experience Substantial Increase in Mortality
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a blood-borne disease that causes inflammation of the liver and
to which there is currently no vaccine available. The World Health Organization (WHO)
estimates that 3% of the world’s population, approximately 170 million people, are
infected with HCV and it is a leading cause of liver cirrhosis, end stage liver disease,
hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver transplantation. Researchers at Kagoshima
University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences concluded a 10-year study in
Japan (where there is a greater incidence of HCV) and found the overall mortality rate was
higher in HCV carriers. A second study, led by Dr. Adeel Butt from the University of
Pittsburgh School of Medicine, looked at the effect of HCV on survival rate and also
confirmed individuals infected with HCV had much higher death rates. Both findings appear
in the August issue of Hepatology, a journal published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf
of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. The Kagoshima research team,
led by Hirofumi Uto, studied 1,125 individuals with the HCV antibody from 1995 through the
end of 2005 or to their earlier death. Of the total, 758 (67.4%) had detectable HCV core
antigen (HCVcAg) or HCV Ribonucleic Acid (HCV RNA) and were classified as carriers meaning
the patients were viremic. The 367 (32.6%) individuals who had a prior HCV infection, but
tested negative for both HCVcAg and HCV RNA were considered non-carriers or non-viremic.
According to the study, a total of 231 deaths occurred in the subjects over an average of
8.2 years of follow-up with 176 deaths in the HCV carrier group and 55 of the
non-carriers. Using death certificates, researchers classified the deaths into 7
categories: hepatocellular carcinoma, liver disease (excluding HCC), neoplasms (excluding
HCC), stroke, heart disease, pulmonary disease (excluding lung cancer) and unknown/other
causes.
Food additive may one day help
control blood lipids and reduce disease risk
Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a
substance in the liver that helps process fat and glucose. That substance is a component
of the common food additive lecithin, and researchers speculate it may one day be possible
to use lecithin products to control blood lipids and reduce risk for diabetes,
hypertension or cardiovascular disease using treatments delivered in food rather than
medication. "Currently, doctors use drugs called fibrates to treat problems with
cholesterol and triglycerides," says the study's co-first author Irfan J. Lodhi,
Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in endocrinology and metabolism. "By identifying this
substance that occurs naturally in the body — and also happens to be used as a food
additive — it may be possible to improve the treatment of lipid disorders and
minimize drug side effects by adding particular varieties of lecithin to food."
Lecithin is found at high concentrations in egg whites. It also is in soybeans, grains,
fish, legumes, yeast and peanuts. Most commercially used lecithin comes from soybeans.
Lecithin can alter food taste and texture and also can be mixed with water to disperse
fats, making it a common additive in margarine, mayonnaise, chocolate and baked goods.
Lecithin is a mixture of fatty compounds called phosphatidylcholines. Various types of
phosphatidylcholines house different kinds of fatty molecules linked to a common core.
Summer heat increases risk of
amniotic fluid level deficiency, Ben-Gurion University study reveals
Pregnant women have a higher incidence of insufficient amniotic fluid levels
(oligohydramnios) in the summer months due to dehydration, according to a study conducted
by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU). The retrospective
population-based study was published in the July issue of Archives of Gynecology and
Obstetrics. The main objective of the study was to determine whether the summer season is
a risk factor for oligohydramnios, by comparing the frequency of amniotic fluid loss
during the summer months versus its frequency during the rest of the year. In the study at
Soroka University Medical Center in Beer-Sheva, Israel, the researchers evaluated
pregnancies of patients with oligohydramnios that delivered from May to August during the
years 1988-2007. After excluding other causes of fluid loss, such as premature rupture of
membranes, intra-uterine growth restriction or malformations, the study determined that
higher rates of oligohydramnios were found in the summer months as compared to the rest of
the year. During the study period, there were 191,558 deliveries of which 4,335 were
diagnosed with idiopathic oligohydramnios. Of these, a proportionally higher number, 1,553
deliveries (36 percent), occurred during these four summer months, while 2,782 deliveries
occurred during the other eight months of the year (64 percent).
Discovery about behavior of
building block of nature could lead to computer revolution
A team of physicists from the Universities of Cambridge and Birmingham have shown that
electrons in narrow wires can divide into two new particles called spinons and a holons.
The electron is a fundamental building block of nature and is indivisible in isolation,
yet a new experiment has shown that electrons, if crowded into narrow wires, are seen to
split apart .The electron is responsible for carrying electricity in wires and for making
magnets. These two properties of magnetism and electric charge are carried by electrons
which seem to have no size or shape and are impossible to break apart. However, what is
true about the properties of a single electron does not seem to be the case when electrons
are brought together. Instead the like-charged electrons repel each other and need to
modify the way they move to avoid getting too close to each other. In ordinary metals this
does not usually make much difference to their behaviour. However, if the electrons are
put in a very narrow wire the effects are exacerbated as they find it much harder to move
past each other. In 1981, physicist Duncan Haldane conjectured theoretically that under
these circumstances and at the lowest temperatures the electrons would always modify the
way they behaved so that their magnetism and their charge would separate into two new
types of particle called spinons and holons. The challenge was to confine electrons
tightly in a 'quantum wire' and bring this wire close enough to an ordinary metal so that
the electrons in that metal could 'jump' by quantum tunneling into the wire. By observing
how the rate of jumping varies with an applied magnetic field the experiment reveals how
the electron, on entering the quantum wire, has to fall apart into spinons and holons. The
conditions to make this work comprised a comb of wires above a flat metal cloud of
electrons. The Cambridge physicists, Yodchay Jompol and Chris Ford, clearly saw the
distinct signatures of the two new particles as the Birmingham theorists, Tim Silk and
Andy Schofield, had predicted.
Evidence of liquid water in comets
reveals possible origin of life
Comets contained vast oceans of liquid water in their interiors during the first million
years of their formation, a new study claims. The watery environment of early comets,
together with the vast quantity of organics already discovered in comets, would have
provided ideal conditions for primitive bacteria to grow and multiply. So argue Professor
Chandra Wickramasinghe and his colleagues at the Cardiff Centre for Astrobiology in a
paper published in the International Journal of Astrobiology.The Cardiff team has
calculated the thermal history of comets after they formed from interstellar and
interplanetary dust approximately 4.5 billion years ago. The formation of the solar system
itself is thought to have been triggered by shock waves that emanated from the explosion
of a nearby supernova. The supernova injected radioactive material such as Aluminium-26
into the primordial solar system and some became incorporated in the comets. Professor
Chandra Wickramasinghe together with Drs Janaki Wickramasinghe and Max Wallis claim that
the heat emitted from radioactivity warms initially frozen material of comets to produce
subsurface oceans that persist in a liquid condition for a million years. Professor
Wickramasinghe said: "These calculations, which are more exhaustive than any done
before, leaves little doubt that a large fraction of the 100 billion comets in our solar
system did indeed have liquid interiors in the past .Comets in recent times could also
liquefy just below their surfaces as they approach the inner solar system in their orbits.
Evidence of recent melting has been discovered in recent pictures of comet Tempel 1 taken
by the "Deep Impact" probe in 2005." The existence of liquid water in
comets gives added support for a possible connection between life on Earth and comets. The
theory, known as cometary panspermia, pioneered by Chandra Wickramasinghe and the late Sir
Fred Hoyle argues the case that life was introduced to Earth by comets.
U of M study identifies risk
factors of disordered eating in overweight youth
University of Minnesota Project Eating Among Teens (EAT) researchers have identified
factors that may increase overweight adolescents' risk of engaging in extreme weight
control behaviors such as self-induced vomiting, the use of diet pills, laxatives, and
diuretics, as well as binge eating. Overweight youth with certain socio-environmental,
psychological, and behavioral tendencies, such as reading magazine articles about dieting,
reporting a lack of family connectedness, placing a high importance on weight, and
reporting having participated in unhealthy weight control behaviors, are more likely to
suffer from eating disorders. Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.D., School of
Public Health, and colleagues used data from Project EAT, an ongoing study that assessed
eating and weight-related behaviors in 4,746 adolescents from 31 urban Minneapolis-St.
Paul schools during the 1998-99 academic year. Youth were surveyed at two time points; the
first occurring when participants were in middle school and high school, and the second
occurring five years later. Researchers found that disordered eating habits among
overweight youth are linked to specific tendencies for both males and females, but a
number of specific differences between genders were noticed. For example, increased hours
of moderate to extreme physical activity and lower self-esteem predicted higher risk for
disordered eating among females. For males, depressive symptoms, poor eating patterns,
including high fast food and sweetened beverage intake, increased their risk of disordered
eating. These findings link different patterns of behaviors and different potential
motivators for overweight male and female adolescents to developing eating disorders.
"Further exploration of these gender differences may be important in understanding
who is at highest risk for developing disordered eating behaviors and whether different
intervention strategies may be needed to prevent disordered eating among males and
females," said Nancy Sherwood, Ph.D., assistant professor at the University of
Minnesota School of Public Health and a co-author of the study.
Got zinc? New zinc research
suggests novel therapeutic targets
veryone knows that vitamins "from A to zinc" are important for good health. Now,
a new research study in the August 2009 print issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology
(http://www.jleukbio.org) suggests that zinc may be pointing the way to new therapeutic
targets for fighting infections. Specifically, scientists from Florida found that zinc not
only supports healthy immune function, but increases activation of the cells (T cells)
responsible for destroying viruses and bacteria. "It has been shown that zinc
supplementation significantly reduces the duration and severity of childhood diarrhea,
lower respiratory infections, and incidence of malaria in zinc-deficient children,"
said report co-author, Robert Cousins, Ph.D., who also is the director of the Center for
Nutritional Sciences within the Food Science and Human Nutrition Department at the
University of Florida. "Age-related declines in immune function have also been
related to zinc deficiency in the elderly." Scientists administered either a zinc
supplement or a placebo to healthy volunteers to assess the effects of zinc on T cell
activation. After isolating the T cells from the blood, scientists then simulated
infection in laboratory conditions. Results showed that T cells taken from the
zinc-supplemented group had higher activation than those from the placebo group.
Specifically, cell activation stimulated the zinc transporter in T cells called
"ZIP8," which transports stored zinc into the cell cytoplasm where it then
alters the expression of a T cell protein in a way needed to fight infections. "As
the debate over zinc supplementation in healthy individuals continues," said John
Wherry, Ph.D., Deputy Editor of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, "studies like this
help shed light on how zinc may enhance the ability of our immune systems to fight off
foreign invaders. Equally important, this work points toward new possible targets for
entirely new drugs to help augment immune function and prevent or stop infections that
might be resistant to traditional antibiotics."
Sun exposure may trigger certain
autoimmune diseases in women
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight may be associated with the development of certain
autoimmune diseases, particularly in women, according to a study by researchers at the
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National
Institutes of Health. "This study found that women who lived in areas with higher
levels of UV exposure when they developed an autoimmune muscle disease called myositis
were more likely to develop the form known as dermatomyositis, which weakens the muscles
and causes distinctive rashes, instead of the form called polymyositis that does not have
a rash," said Frederick W. Miller, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the Environmental
Autoimmunity Group, Program of Clinical Research, at NIEHS. "Although we have not
shown a direct cause and effect link between UV exposure and this particular autoimmune
disease, this study confirms the association between UV levels and the frequency of
dermatomyositis that we found in a previous investigation," said Miller. The study,
published in the August issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, is also the first to evaluate
and find a possible UV radiation association in autoimmune diseases in women. According to
Miller, women are more likely than men to develop many autoimmune diseases, but the
reasons for this have not been clear. "We only found the association between UV
exposure and dermatomyositis in women and not in men, and it could be that inherent
differences in how women and men respond to UV radiation may play a role in the
development of certain autoimmune diseases," said Dr. Miller. Miller also noted that
other researchers have shown that female mice develop more skin inflammation after UV
light exposure compared to male mice and these effects may be related to the new findings
in dermatomyositis. The study was designed to determine if there was a relationship
between the level of UV exposure at the onset of the disease and the type of myositis and
autoantibodies that people developed. Dermatomyositis and polymyositis are the two major
forms of myositis and both are considered autoimmune diseases, in which the body's immune
system attacks muscle or skin and sometimes other tissues. Dermatomyositis is typically
accompanied by a distinctive reddish-purple rash on the upper eyelids or over the knuckles
and is often made worse with sun exposure. To conduct the study, the NIEHS researchers
collaborated with myositis centers across the country that had seen 380 patients who had
been diagnosed with dermatomyositis or polymyositis and determined their autoantibodies.
"Patients with autoimmune diseases make a variety of autoantibodies that are unique
to different conditions. One autoantibody specifically associated with dermatomyositis is
called the anti-Mi-2 autoantibody and we know from our previous research that UV radiation
increases levels of the Mi-2 protein that this autoantibody binds to," said Miller.
In addition to finding an association between the level of UV radiation and the proportion
of women who developed dermatomyositis compared to polymyositis, the researchers found an
association between UV levels and the proportion of women with the anti-Mi-2 autoantibody.
"More research is clearly needed to understand the potential links between UV
radiation and the development of autoimmune diseases and autoantibodies in women,"
said Miller. "While the causes of autoimmune diseases are not known, we suspect from
emerging research that they develop after one or more environmental exposures in
genetically susceptible people," said NIEHS Director Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D. "This
study adds UV radiation to the growing list of environmental exposures possibly important
in the development of autoimmune diseases."
The Great White Hoax
The Great White Hoax A new, hard-hitting book challenges the pharmaceutical industry. In
the United States, a trillion dollars a year is spent on a burgeoning medical industry
which proudly proclaims, using the most sophisticated media techniques, its medical
miracles. Yet, the real truth is conveniently left behind. Hundreds of thousands of drugs
now pollute the bloodstream of the nation. Some people live to well over 100 years of age,
but the average lifespan for those medically oriented is much less. In the mid 1950s,
Robert Catalano was working as a pharmacist and drugstore manager for Robert’s Drug
in Oklahoma City, and began to see some truth in the late Dr. Henry Lindlahr’s
findings. After many years of his own private study and observations, Catalano has
concluded that the use of drugs and vaccinations should be completely abolished as a giant
fraud. The Great White Hoax, (published by iUniverse) is the result of many years of close
observation, and amounts to an enlightening assault on the pharmaceutical industry.
Catalano sees that the economy of the nation has been destroyed and part of that
destruction is due to high medical costs. In an effort to purchase health and longevity
Americans have bought sin, disease, crime, sickness, death and financial ruin. "If
the medical industry had not been caught up in the profit frenzy of drugs and medicine, we
would have virtually no disease today, and for what little we might have, we would have a
cure," Catalano says. "What the medical authorities refer to as the immune
system is actually the human body itself, housing one of the greatest forces known to man.
This force has been known to cure every disease under the sun. But in spite of the giant
strides made in some areas of health care, the medical industry is destroying us with
drugs." About the Author Bob Catalano, present owner and operator of New England
Singles Dances of Eastern Massachusetts, at age 16 was introduced to the research of Dr.
Lindlahr, who had performed cancer studies at his own clinic in Chicago in the late 1800s.
Lindlahr found that drugs and surgery did more harm than good in the treatment of cancer.
His findings were rejected by his colleagues.
