News 4 november 2009
A link between heart disease and
gum disease?
It’s possible, he notes, that the bacteria that cause gum disease directly trigger
the inflamed plaques in blood vessels that can rupture and cause heart attacks. But
it’s more likely that local inflammation in the gums “spills over’’
and causes body-wide inflammation. Chronic inflammation is an underlying cause of a number
of diseases.
Link
A MRSA strain linked to high death
rates
A strain of MRSA that causes bloodstream infections is five times more lethal than other
strains and has shown to have some resistance to the potent antibiotic drug vancomycin
used to treat MRSA, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study. The study found that 50
percent of the patients infected with the strain died within 30 days compared to 11
percent of patients infected with other MRSA strains. The average 30-day mortality rate
for MRSA bloodstream infections ranges from 10 percent to 30 percent. Researchers say the
strain USA600 contains unique characteristics that may be linked to the high mortality
rate. But they say it is unclear whether other factors like the patients' older age,
diseases or the spread of infection contributed to the poor outcomes collectively or with
other factors. The average age of patients with the USA600 strain was 64; the average age
of patients with other MRSA strains was 52. The study is being presented at the 47th
annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America Oct. 29-Nov.1 in
Philadelphia.
Link
A Potential Anti-cancer Agent
Pateamine A (PatA), a natural product first isolated from marine sponges, has attracted
considerable attention as a potential anti-cancer agent, and now a new activity has been
found for it, which may reveal yet another anti-cancer mechanism. That’s the
assessment of Daniel Romo, a Texas A&M chemistry professor, and his colleagues at
Johns Hopkins University who are pioneers in research involving this novel marine natural
product. Messenger RNA (mRNA), as its name indicates, copies messages from genes on DNA
and uses these messages to produce proteins, and the human body functions well only with
the right types and amount of proteins. So, what happens when mRNA gets damaged? Will the
wrong proteins produced by the wrong messages carried by mRNA damage a person’s body?
Link
A scramble to harness the metabolic
power of brown fat
The discovery in adults of brown fat, a metabolic dynamo, may open weight-loss doors down
the road.
Link
Acne Drug Tied to IBD
Use of the acne medication isotretinoin (Accutane) is associated with an increased risk of
inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), researchers said here.
Link
Adapting Space-Industry Technology
to Treat Breast Cancer
Researchers at Rush University Medical Center and Argonne National Laboratory are
collaborating on a study to determine if an imaging technique used by NASA to inspect the
space shuttle can be used to predict tissue damage often experienced by breast cancer
patients undergoing radiation therapy. The study is examining the utility of
three-dimensional thermal tomography in radiation oncology.Preliminary results from the
study are being displayed during the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO)
Annual Meeting in Chicago, being held from November 1 – 5, 2009. Approximately 80
percent of breast cancer patients undergoing radiation treatment develop acute skin
reactions that range in severity. The more severe reactions cause discomfort and istress
to the patient, and sometimes result in treatment interruptions. The severity is quite
variable among patients and difficult to predict. “Because reactions usually occur
from 10 to 14 days after the beginning of therapy, if we could predict skin reactions
sooner we may be able to offer preventative treatment to maximize effectiveness and
minimize interruption of radiation treatment,” said Dr. Katherine Griem, professor of
radiation oncology at Rush.
Link
Aggressive people have wider faces
Aggressive people are easy to spot because they have instantly recognisable wide faces,
researchers claim.
Link
Aluminum Hydroxide in Vaccines
Linked to Neurological Damage
"Possible causes of GWS include several of the adjuvants in the anthrax vaccine and
others. The most likely culprit appears to be aluminum hydroxide," says Shaw and
Petrik, researchers at the Departments of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of
British Columbia, Canada.
Link
Antipsychotics linked to weight
gain in kids
While weight gain is a known possible side effect of new antipsychotics in adults, a new
study finds a similar relation in children and teens.
Link
Are Proposition 65 warnings
healthful or hurtful?
Two lawyers who have worked cases involving the labels about potentially harmful chemicals
disagree.
Link
BPA Safer Than Contraceptives In
Rat Study
The plastic additive bisphenol A (BPA) may not be so bad after all, according to results
from a new animal study funded by the federal government.
Link
Brain tumors in childhood leave a
lasting mark on cognition, life status
Brain tumors in childhood cast a long shadow on survivors. The first study of the lasting
impact of these tumors -- the most common solid malignancies in childhood -- shows that
survivors have ongoing cognitive problems. They also have lower levels of education,
employment and income than their siblings and survivors of other types of cancer,
according to a report published by the American Psychological Association. Given the risks
now seen to confront survivors of brain (also called central nervous system, or CNS)
cancer, programs to support their transition to independent adult life are essential,
according to the study in the November issue of Neuropsychology. The findings, part of a
massive Childhood Cancer Survivor Study conducted by nine major medical centers, were
based on a study coordinated by Leah Ellenberg, PhD, a clinical faculty member of the
David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. Researchers
sent a 25-item neurocognitive questionnaire to cancer survivors at least 16 years after a
cancer diagnosis. Some 785 CNS cancer survivors; 5,870 survivors of non-CNS cancers such
as leukemia, Hodgkin's disease, and bone tumors; and 379 siblings of CNS cancer survivors
returned enough information to analyze. In a significant minority of cases, someone else
responded for CNS cancer survivors, an informal sign of the difficulties some may be
having, according to the authors.
Link
Burn pit smoke may be making local
soldiers sick
The Department of Defense says its studies don’t bear out that burn pit smoke causes
chronic illnesses.
Link
C8 linked to high cholesterol in
children
Children with more of the toxic chemical C8 in their blood are more likely to have high
cholesterol, according to a new scientific study filed Friday in Wood Circuit Court.
Link
Can charcoal fight heart disease in
kidney patients?
Charcoal may provide a new approach to managing the high rate of heart disease in patients
with advanced kidney disease, according to preliminary research being presented at the
American Society of Nephrology's 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San
Diego, CA. Patients with advanced kidney disease have high rates of atherosclerosis
("hardening of the arteries") and death from heart disease. Oral activated
charcoal—a product called AST-120—has traditionally been used as an emergency
treatment for certain types of poisoning. Recent studies have suggested that AST-120 may
exert beneficial effects in kidney disease. "We found that oral activated charcoal
lessens atherosclerotic lesions in experimental mice with kidney damage," comments
Valentina Kon, MD (Vanderbilt University). "This is especially important because
there is no effective treatment to reduce the high rate of cardiovascular mortality in
patients with end-stage renal disease." The researchers studied the effects of
AST-120 in mice genetically engineered to develop atherosclerosis. The effects were
assessed in mice with different levels of kidney mass.
Link
Cause of common chronic diarrhea
revealed in new research
A common type of chronic diarrhoea may be caused by a hormone deficiency, according to new
research published in the November issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. The
authors of the paper, from Imperial College London, with collaborators from King's College
London and the University of Edinburgh, say their results could help more doctors
recognise this type of diarrhoeal illness, and may lead to the development of more
effective tests and treatments to help improve the lives of many people suffering with
chronic diarrhoea.Chronic idiopathic bile acid diarrhoea affects an estimated one in 100
people in the UK and it can cause people to have up to ten watery bowel movements a day,
often for months at a time. This type of diarrhoea occurs when an overload of bile acid
reaches the colon and causes excess water to be secreted into the bowel. Today's study
suggests that bile acid diarrhoea is caused by the body producing too much bile acid,
because of a deficiency in a hormone called FGF19, which normally switches off bile acid
production. The authors of the study say that new hormone-based treatments could be
developed in the future to treat the condition and doctors could potentially test people's
hormone levels to diagnose it.Dr Julian Walters, lead author of the study from the
Division of Medicine at Imperial College London, said: "Bile acid diarrhoea is a
common condition, likely to affect more people than Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis,
yet until now we did not understand exactly what causes it. People with bile acid
diarrhoea need to use the toilet urgently many times during the day and night. This can
have a big impact on their lives, at home, at work and while they are travelling, as they
always need to be near a toilet. "If they are diagnosed, we have treatments that can
remove bile acid from the colon, alleviate the symptoms and improve their quality of life.
However, the current test used to diagnose the condition is not available in many
countries and requires patients to attend the hospital twice. This means many people are
not diagnosed. Our new findings mean that in the future doctors may be able to diagnose
the condition by doing a quick and simple blood test," added Dr Walters.
Link
CDC Flu Mask Decision Based on
Flawed Study, Authors Say
Authors Retract Study CDC Used to Decide on Surgical Masks to Prevent Flu
Link
Childhood cancer survivors less
likely to marry, Yale researchers find
Adult survivors of childhood cancer are 20 to 25 percent more likely to never marry
compared with siblings and the general population, Yale School of Medicine researchers
report in a new study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a
journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Nina Kadan-Lottick, M.D.,
assistant professor of pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine, and colleagues studied
almost 9,000 adult survivors of childhood cancer participating in the multisite Childhood
Cancer Survivor Study. The team evaluated the frequency of marriage and divorce rates
among survivors compared with their sibling groups in the U.S. Census data. Participants
completed mailed surveys every two to three years on their health and psychosocial status
in an ongoing study. Results showed that an estimated 42 percent of survivors were
married, 7.3 percent were separated or divorced and 46 percent were never married.
Patients who were previously treated for a brain tumor were 50 percent more likely than
siblings and the general U.S. population to never marry. Of the childhood cancer survivors
who did marry, divorce patterns were similar to their peers. "Our findings suggest
that in addition to the long-term physical effects of cancer, such as short stature, poor
physical functioning and cognitive problems, social implications also exist," said
Kadan-Lottick, who is a member of Yale Cancer Center.
Link
Chronic-stress reliever for women
is often high-fat food
But people under chronic stress are more likely than others to say they eat fattening
foods and feel that their eating is out of control, according to a study presented at a
recent meeting of the Obesity Society.
Link
Climate change threatens lives of
millions of children, says charity
Save the Children urges world leaders at talks in Barcelona to prioritise effects of
droughts, cyclones and floods on children
Link
Coca-Cola link spurs Contra Costa
doctors to quit national association
Nearly 20 Contra Costa County physicians resigned in disgust Wednesday from a national
professional association because of its alliance with the Coca-Cola Co., which they said
conflicts with their fight against obesity.
Link
Common Links in Swine Flu Deaths
A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that of the
36 children who died from H1N1 from April to August, six had no chronic health conditions.
But all of them had a co-occurring bacterial infection.
Link
Critics blast Kellogg's claim that
cereals can boost immunity
"I am concerned the prominent use of the immunity claims to advertise a sugar-laden
chocolate cereal like Cocoa Krispies may mislead and deceive parents of young
children," said Dennis Herrera, the city attorney.
Link
Decrease in physical activity may
not be a factor in increased obesity rates among adolescents
Decreased physical activity may have little to do with the recent spike in obesity rates
among U.S. adolescents, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of
Public Health. Prompted by growing concern that the increase was due to decreased physical
activity associated with increased TV viewing time and other sedentary behaviors,
researchers examined the patterns and time trends in physical activity and sedentary
behaviors among U.S. adolescents based on nationally representative data collected since
1991. The review found signs indicating that the physical activity among adolescents
increased while TV viewing decreased in recent years. The results are featured in the
October 30 online issue of Obesity Reviews. "Although only one third of U.S.
adolescents met the recommended levels of physical activity, there is no clear evidence
they had become less active over the past decade while the prevalence of obesity continued
to rise," said Youfa Wang, MD, PhD, MS, senior author of the study and an associate
professor with the Bloomberg School's Center for Human Nutrition and the Department of
International Health. "During the recent decade, U.S. adolescents had greater access
to TV, but significantly fewer of them watched TV for three or more hours per day. In
addition, daily physical education attendance rates improved along with the use of
physical education class in engaging in physical activity. However, there are considerable
differences in the patterns by age, sex and ethnicity."
Link
Dendritic cells spark smoldering
inflammation in smokers' lungs
Inflammation still ravages the lungs of some smokers years after they quit the habit.
Link
Depression Linked to Processed Food
Eating a diet high in processed food increases the risk of depression, research suggests.
Link
Developmental drug may help bone
fractures heal after radiation exposure
A drug currently under development by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine may
help bone fractures heal more quickly after radiation exposure, according to a study by
Pitt researchers. The study's results will be presented at 1 p.m. today during the
American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting in Chicago. The drug,
JP4-039, is a free-radical scavenger targeted to the mitochondria, the energy generator of
all cells. For this study, researchers compared the healing time of fractures in a mouse
model system treated immediately after radiation exposure with JP4-039 against a control
group of mice that did not receive the drug. The fractured bones in the group treated with
JP4-039 healed much more rapidly than the control group. "This study has important
implications on two levels," said study author Abhay S. Gokhale, M.D., M.B.A., chief
resident in the Department of Radiation Oncology. "From a patient care standpoint,
this drug could eventually be beneficial to pediatric cancer patients who are vulnerable
to the late effects of radiation treatment on bone growth and development. From an
emergency response perspective, if the ideal dosage of the drug is developed and we find a
way to have it easily administered, it could potentially help people exposed to radiation
in an accident or attack."
Link
Discovery offers potential new
pancreatic cancer treatment
Tiny particles that can carry drugs and target cancer cells may offer treatment hope for
those suffering with pancreatic cancer. New research to be presented in November at the
American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting in Los Angeles
reveals that tumor-penetrating microparticles (TPM) have been specifically designed to
break through hard-to-infiltrate barriers and deliver drugs more effectively and
efficiently than the standard form of chemotherapy such as those injected through a vein.
According to Jessie L.S. Au, Pharm.D., Ph.D., an AAPS fellow and a distinguished
university professor at Ohio State University who initiated the study, TPM are designed to
treat cancer in the peritoneal cavity. The peritoneal cavity contains organs, including
the pancreas, that are home to more than 250,000 new cases of cancer a year in the United
States alone (www.cancer.org). "Pancreatic cancer cells are surrounded by specialized
cells that protect them from chemotherapy," explains Dr. Au. "Our goal is to use
TPM to pass this barrier and successfully deliver drugs to the tumor cells, which is
currently the biggest hurdle a physician faces in pancreatic cancer treatment."
According to the American Cancer Society, pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of
cancer in the U.S., with more than 80 percent of the 38,000 patients stricken with the
disease dying within one year of diagnosis.
Link
Early-stage, HER2-positive breast
cancer patients at increased risk of recurrence
Early-stage breast cancer patients with HER2 positive tumors one centimeter or smaller are
at significant risk of recurrence of their disease, compared to those with early-stage
disease who do not express the aggressive protein, according to a study led by researchers
at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. The findings, published today
online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, is the first large study to analyze this
cohort and represents a shift in the way women with early-stage HER2 positive breast
cancer should be assessed for risk of recurrence and considered for treatment, said the
study's senior author, Ana M. Gonzalez-Angulo, M.D, associate professor in M. D.
Anderson's Departments of Breast Medical Oncology and Systems Biology. The research was
first presented at the CRTC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in December, 2008.
Herceptin, also known as trastuzumab, was approved for use in 1998 for women whose
advanced breast cancer expresses Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor 2, or HER2.
Approximately 15-20 percent of breast cancer cells produce an excess amount of the HER2
growth protein on their surface, which makes the cancer more aggressive. Herceptin is a
monoclonal antibody that latches on to these proteins and inhibits tumor growth.
"This study represents a current debate within clinical practice - the risk of
recurrence for early-stage breast cancer patients with HER2 positive tumors one centimeter
or smaller," said Gonzalez-Angulo. "Our findings show that women with early
stage HER2 positive breast cancer have a 23 percent chance of recurrence. In contrast, the
five-year survival rate of all women with such early-stage breast cancer is more than 90
percent.
Link
FDA urged to ban feeding of chicken
feces to cattle
Food and consumer groups say the practice increases the risk of cattle becoming infected
with mad cow disease. A beef industry trade group say a ban isn't needed.
Link
Finding a Better 'Position' to Deal
With Disease
Patients Fighting Cancer and ADHD Find Hope Using Yoga to Battle Their Diseases
Link
Flu vaccine given to women during
pregnancy keeps infants out of the hospital
Infants born to women who received influenza vaccine during pregnancy were hospitalized at
a lower rate than infants born to unvaccinated mothers, according to preliminary results
of an ongoing study by researchers at Yale School of Medicine. The team presented the
study October 29 at the 47th annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America
in Philadelphia. Influenza is a major cause of serious respiratory disease in pregnant
women and of hospitalization in infants. Although the flu vaccine is recommended for all
pregnant women and children, no vaccine is approved for infants less than six months of
age. Preventive strategies for this age group include general infection control and
vaccination of those coming in close contact with them. Few studies have examined the
effectiveness of the flu vaccine during pregnancy. Led by Marietta Vázquez, M.D.,
assistant professor of pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine, this new study is a
case-control trial of the effectiveness of vaccinating pregnant women to prevent
hospitalization of their infants. During nine flu seasons from 2000 to 2009, Vázquez and
colleagues identified and tracked over 350 mothers and infants from 0 to 12 months of age
who were hospitalized at Yale-New Haven Hospital. They compared 157 infants hospitalized
due to influenza to 230 influenza-negative infants matched by age and date of
hospitalization. The team interviewed parents to determine risk factors for influenza and
reviewed medical records of both infants and their mothers to determine rates of
vaccination with the influenza vaccine. "We found that vaccinating mothers during
pregnancy was 80 percent effective in preventing hospitalization due to influenza in their
infants during the first year of life and 89 percent effective in preventing
hospitalization in infants under six months of age," said Vázquez.
Link
Friendly Bacteria Blunt
Anti-Nutrient Action
The “good” bacteria strain Bifidobacterium may reduce levels of phytate and
phytic acid, compounds which are thought to be behind fiber’s impairment of mineral
absorption.
Link
Gene Increases Susceptibility to
Post-Traumatic Stress, Yale Researchers Find
A gene variant makes people who experienced trauma as children or adults more susceptible
to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Yale researchers have found. The study,
published in the November edition of the Archives of General Psychiatry, sheds light on
how environmental forces and genes interact to make some people more prone to psychiatric
diseases. “This study helps us understand how genetic factors can contribute to
vulnerability in different people,” said Joel Gelernter, senior author of the study
and professor of psychiatry, genetics and neurobiology at the Yale School of Medicine.
Between 40 to 70 percent of Americans have experienced a traumatic event, yet only 8
percent develop PTSD. The Yale team studied more than 1,200 people who had reported
experiencing childhood adversity and/or traumatic events as adults. The type of childhood
adversity included physical and sexual abuse or neglect. Traumatic events in adulthood
included combat, sexual assault and natural disasters. Researchers found the risk of PTSD
significantly increased if adversity and trauma were experienced both as a child and an
adult.
Link
Genes and environment may interact
to influence risk for post-traumatic stress disorder
Individuals who experience both childhood adversity and traumatic events in adulthood
appear more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder than those exposed to only
one of these types of incidents, according to a report in the November issue of Archives
of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. In addition, the risk was
further increased in individuals with a certain genetic mutation. Although 40 percent to
70 percent of Americans have experienced traumatic events, only about 8 percent develop
PTSD during their lifetimes, according to background information in the article. PTSD is a
complex anxiety disorder that involves re-experiencing, avoidance and increased arousal
following exposure to a life-threatening event. "In addition to the obvious effect of
environmental factors, PTSD has a heritable component," the authors write. Recent
studies estimate that genetic factors account for approximately 30 percent of the
difference in PTSD symptoms. Pingxing Xie, B.S., of Yale University School of Medicine,
New Haven, Conn., and VA Connecticut Healthcare Center, West Haven, and colleagues studied
1,252 individuals who had experienced childhood adversity (including abuse or neglect),
adult trauma (such as combat, sexual assault or a natural disaster) or both. Participants
age 17 to 79 (average age 38.9) were interviewed and assessed for a variety of psychiatric
and substance use disorders. DNA was extracted and used to differentiate between versions
of a particular polymorphism or gene mutation—known as the 5-HTTLPR
genotype—previously found to be associated with emotional response after stressful
life events. About one-fifth of the participants (229, or 18.3 percent) met criteria for
PTSD. A total of 552 of the 1,252 participants (44.1 percent) experienced both childhood
adversity and traumatic events in adulthood. These individuals were more likely to have a
lifetime diagnosis of PTSD than were those who experienced trauma in only one life stage
(29 percent vs. 9.9 percent).
Link
Green tea fights blood and liver
cancer, as well as pneumonia
Three new studies by Japanese scientists add even more evidence to what already is an
astounding mountain of data showing green tea protects and heals the human body. All of
the research is based on findings from the huge Ohsaki National Health Insurance Cohort
Study in Japan which involved 41,761 Japanese adults between 40 and 79 years of age. None
of the research subjects had a history of cancer when the study started and their diets,
along with other lifestyle factors and any health problems they developed, were followed
for about ten years.
Link
Greenland is warming up
Greenland is warming faster than the computer models predicted, and that is a worry.”
The Arctic has warmed at three times the rate of the rest of the world in the past 100
years, and temperatures continue to rise.
Link
Hearing aid guide cuts through the
noise
high prices and a confusing array of products and providers, helps explain why most of the
USA's 35 million adults and children with hearing loss don't have hearing aids.
Link
Help your kidneys - Pass on salt
and diet soda
Individuals who consume a diet high in sodium or artificially sweetened drinks are more
likely to experience a decline in kidney function, according to two papers being presented
at the American Society of Nephrology's annual meeting in San Diego, California. Julie Lin
MD, MPH, FASN and Gary Curhan, MD, ScD, FASN of Brigham and Women's Hospital studied more
than 3,000 women participating in the Nurses' Health Study to identify the impact of
sodium and sweetened drinks on kidney function. "There are currently limited data on
the role of diet in kidney disease," said Dr. Lin. "While more study is needed,
our research suggests that higher sodium and artificially sweetened soda intake are
associated with greater rate of decline in kidney function." The first study,
"Associations of Diet with Kidney Function Decline," examined the influence of
individual dietary nutrients on kidney function decline over 11 years in more than 3,000
women participants of the Nurses' Health Study. The authors found that "in women with
well-preserved kidney function, higher dietary sodium intake was associated with greater
kidney function decline, which is consistent with experimental animal data that high
sodium intake promotes progressive kidney decline."
Link
Hepatitis B does not increase risk
for pancreatic cancer
A Henry Ford Hospital study found that hepatitis B does not increase the risk for
pancreatic cancer – and that only age is a contributing factor. The results
contradict a previous study in 2008 that suggested a link between pancreatic cancer and
previous hepatitis B infection. Hepatitis B is an inflammation of the liver caused by a
viral infection. Study results will be presented at the American Association for the Study
of Liver Diseases' Annual Meeting in Boston. Using data from Henry Ford Health System,
physicians looked at more than 74,000 patients who were tested for hepatitis B between
1995 and 2008. In the overall analysis, only age was found to be a significant predictor
for pancreatic cancer. "We looked at the incidence of pancreatic cancer among
hepatitis B-infected patients over a 13-year period and found that we could not confirm a
higher risk for those with a previous exposure to hepatitis B, as a prior study
suggested," says Jeffrey Tang, M.D., gastroenterologist at Henry Ford Hospital and
lead author of the study. "When other factors are considered – such as age,
race, sex, HIV status, and the presence of diabetes – only older age and presence of
diabetes proved significant, whereas prior exposure to hepatitis B was no longer an
important variable."
Link
Hypertension, inflammation common
in offspring of Alzheimer's disease patients
High blood pressure, evidence of arterial disease and markers of inflammation in the blood
in middle age appear more common in individuals whose parents have Alzheimer's disease
than in individuals without a parental history of the condition, according to a report in
the November issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Previous twin studies estimate that as much as 60 percent of the risk for Alzheimer's
disease is under genetic control, according to background information in the article.
Other research has identified several vascular and inflammatory risk factors in midlife
that may be associated with the later transition into cognitive decline related to
Alzheimer's disease. Eric van Exel, M.D., Ph.D., of VU University Medical Center,
Amsterdam, and colleagues compared some of these vascular and inflammatory factors, such
as high blood pressure and levels of pro-inflammatory proteins known as cytokines in the
blood, between 206 offspring of 92 families with a history of Alzheimer's disease and 200
offspring of 97 families without a parental history. Researchers measured blood pressure;
obtained blood samples to assess genetic characteristics and levels of cholesterol, along
with cytokines and other inflammation-related substances; and collected sociodemographic
characteristics, medical history and information about diet, exercise and stress levels.
More individuals whose parents had Alzheimer's disease carried the APOE ?4 gene, known to
be associated with the condition, than did those with no family history (47 percent vs. 21
percent). In addition, those with a family history had higher systolic (top number) and
diastolic (bottom number) blood pressures, a lower ankle brachial index (ratio of ankle to
arm systolic blood pressure, a sign of artery disease) and higher levels of several
different pro-inflammatory cytokines.
Link
Immune therapy can protect against
or treat later lymphoma
Specially developed immune system cells that target the common Epstein-Barr virus can
protect immune-suppressed bone marrow transplant recipients against lymph system disease
and cancers that arise from the viral infection, said a group of researchers led by those
from Baylor College of Medicine, The Methodist Hospital and Texas Children's Hospital.
"Therapy with EBV-specific CTLs (cytotoxic lymphocytes) was effective for these
patients who were severely immune-compromised, as the cells successfully reached the
tumor, multiplied and were able to kill tumor cells" said Dr. Helen Heslop, lead
author of the study and professor of pediatrics and medicine and a member of the Center
for Cell and Gene therapy at BCM, The Methodist Hospital and Texas Children's. The cell
remained in the body for up to nine years, providing long-term protection. Patients who
undergo the transplants are often immune-suppressed. Because most people have been
infected with Epstein-Barr virus, the lack of immune protection makes their lymph system
vulnerable to adverse effects of the virus, especially lymphomas that can be traced
directly back to the infection. In this study, 114 patients who had received hematopoietic
or blood-related stem cell transplants from an unrelated donor or a family member whose
bone marrow was not a perfect match also received infusions of immune components called
T-cells that were design to target Epstein-Barr virus-infected cells. The treatment was
preventive in 101 patients, none of whom developed lymphomas associated with Epstein-Barr
virus infection. Eleven of 13 patients who had this disease or symptoms of it had
sustained remissions. Because the cells were marked, researchers determined that the
special cells remained in the body for as long as nine years. The cost of the therapy,
which spares normal cells, was estimated at just over $6,000, which compares favorably to
other treatments for the disorder.
Link
Intervals between lung cancer
diagnosis and treatment displays a health care disparity
Research published in the November 2009 issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology has
found that intervals between lung cancer suspicion, diagnosis and treatment may be
attributed to health care system discrepancies. To gain better insight on this topic,
researchers studied the timing of lung cancer diagnosis and treatment a t U.S. medical
center providing care to a diverse patient population within two different hospital
systems. David E. Gerber, MD of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and
his team of researchers conducted a retrospective analysis of 482 patients diagnosed with
non-small cell lung cancer among a diverse population. Researchers learned that health
care system factors such as hospital type (public vs. private), insurance type, age and
race play a significant role in the length of time between lung cancer diagnosis and
treatment. Patients treated at the public hospital were more likely to have advanced stage
lung cancer than those patients in the private hospital (59% stage III, as opposed to
37%). Also, the makeup of the patient population in public and private hospitals varies
significantly in terms of age, race and socioeconomic status. "This study
demonstrates that in a contemporary U.S. health care system, intervals among suspicion,
diagnosis and treatment vary widely and are predominantly associated with system variables
such as insurance and hospital type," says Dr. Gerber. "An organized and timely
approach to subsequent diagnostic and therapeutic measures may benefit these individuals
and reduce this health care disparity."
Link
Is running marathons damaging your
health?
Research demonstrates an interesting correlation between inflammation and artrial
fibrillation in chronic endurance training and racing.
Link
Is the disorder that causes
dementia hereditary?
New research shows that a rare brain disorder that causes early dementia is highly
hereditary. The study is published in the November 3, 2009, issue of Neurology®, the
medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.The brain disorder, called
frontotemporal dementia, is formerly known as Pick's disease and destroys parts of the
brain, leading to dementia, including problems with language or changes in behavior and
personality. The disease often affects people under the age of 65. "Knowing your
family's health history may be one way for people to better predict their risk of
developing dementia," said study author Jonathan Rohrer, MRCP Clinical Research
Fellow at the Dementia Research Center at the University College London in the United
Kingdom. For the study, blood was drawn from 225 people who were diagnosed with
frontotemporal dementia. The people were asked about family history of dementia and given
a score of one through four. A score of one represents a person who had at least three
relatives with dementia and an autosomal dominant inheritance, meaning that an affected
person has one mutant gene and one normal gene and has a 50-percent chance of passing the
mutant gene and therefore the disorder on to their offspring. A score of four represents a
person with no family history of dementia. The study found that nearly 42 percent of
participants scored between a one and a 3.5, meaning they had some family history of
dementia. However, only 10 percent had an autosomal dominant gene history.
Link
It's a wonderful, mixed-up world
There are now more mixed-race children than ever before - and that is something for us all
to celebate, says the scientist Aarathi Prasad.
Link
Lead-mining - the ugly truth about
Mount Isa
In the boom town next to Australia's biggest lead mine, mothers fear their children are
being poisoned, reports Kathy Marks from Queensland
Link
Lifestyle Changes May Stave Off
Diabetes for a Decade
Sustaining modest weight loss for 10 years, or taking an anti-diabetic drug over that
time, can prevent or lower the incidence of type 2 diabetes in people at high risk for
developing the disease, according to the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study
(DPPOS), a long-term follow-up to a landmark 2001 diabetes prevention study. Jill
Crandall, M.D.Jill Crandall, M.D., associate professor of clinical medicine at Albert
Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, was a principal investigator in the
follow-up study, which appears online in the current edition of the British medical
journal The Lancet. The original study?the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP)?was a large,
randomized trial involving 3,234 people at high risk for developing diabetes. At the start
of the study, all were overweight or obese adults with elevated blood glucose levels.
Researchers disclosed the findings from DPP in 2001?a year earlier than scheduled?because
results were so clear. After three years, intensive lifestyle changes (modest weight loss
coupled with increased physical activity) reduced the rate for developing type 2 diabetes
by 58 percent compared with placebo. The oral diabetes drug metformin (850 milligrams
twice daily) reduced the rate of developing diabetes by 31 percent compared with placebo.
Link
MRSA Strain Linked to High Death
Rates
A strain of MRSA that causes bloodstream infections is five times more lethal than other
strains and has shown to have some resistance to the potent antibiotic drug vancomycin
used to treat MRSA, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study. The study found that 50
percent of the patients infected with the strain died within 30 days compared to 11
percent of patients infected with other MRSA strains. The average 30-day mortality rate
for MRSA bloodstream infections ranges from 10 percent to 30 percent. Researchers say the
strain USA600 contains unique characteristics that may be linked to the high mortality
rate. But they say it is unclear whether other factors like the patients' older age,
diseases or the spread of infection contributed to the poor outcomes collectively or with
other factors. The average age of patients with the USA600 strain was 64; the average age
of patients with other MRSA strains was 52. The study is being presented at the 47th
annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America Oct. 29-Nov.1 in
Philadelphia.
Link
Nearly 80% adolescents in UAE
suffer from acne
Nearly 80 per cent adolescents in the UAE suffer from acne, which is now considered a
disease in medical circles, and some of them resort to wrong treatments based on cosmetics
products.
Link
New mothers most anxious after five
months
Anxiety experienced by first-time mothers peaks around five months and one week after they
give birth, according to new research.
Link
New neurodegenerative disease study
findings have been published by scientists at University of Florida
"The role of microglial cells in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD)
neurodegeneration is unknown. Although several works suggest that chronic
neuroinflammation caused by activated microglia contributes to neurofibrillary
degeneration, anti-inflammatory drugs do not prevent or reverse neuronal tau
pathology," researchers in the United States report (see also Neurodegenerative
Disease).
Link
New study finds shock-wave therapy
for unhealed fractured bones
When fractured bones fail to heal, a serious complication referred to as
"nonunion" can develop. This occurs when the process of bone healing is
interrupted or stalled. According to a new study published in the November 2009 issue of
The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS), certain cases involving nonunions respond
very well to shock-wave therapy. Researchers say this non-invasive treatment is equally
effective as surgery when it comes to healing the bone. "We found that extracorporeal
(external to body) shock-wave therapy was just as effective as surgery in helping to heal
and repair nonunions," said lead author of the study Angelo Cacchio, MD, a
physiatrist who conducted the study with colleagues from the Division of Orthopaedic
Surgery and the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at San Salvatore
Hospital in L'Aquila, Italy. Study authors say sparse surrounding vascular tissue and
limited blood supply can lead to a nonunion and can subsequently delay or prevent healing.
This complication -- a nonunion -- often is very difficult to treat. Dr. Cacchio and his
colleagues analyzed data from 126 patients who had nonunions of the femur (thigh bone),
tibia (shinbone), ulna (forearm) or radius (forearm). Patients were randomly assigned to
one of three groups and all patient outcomes were evaluated from 2001 to 2004. The
patients in the three groups had similar demographic characteristics and similarly timed
and developed nonunions. The first two groups of patients received surgery to help repair
their fracture. The third received four shock-wave therapy sessions at weekly intervals,
with 4000 impulses per session.
Link
New Study Shows Probiotics Reduce
Cholesterol
Probiotics seem to be all the rage these days, and for good reason! They have a number of
potential health benefits, including improving digestive health and possibly preventing
colon cancer. And now there’s one more reason to introduce probiotics to your diet: a
recent study showed that a diet combining soy and probiotics significantly reduced harmful
lipids.
Link
New therapy gives hope for very
severe depression
Thanks to a new method there is a reason for hope for patients with very severe
depression. Physicians at the University Clinics of Bonn and Cologne have treated ten
patients with deep brain stimulation. This involved implanting electrodes in the patients'
nucleus accumbens. This centre has a key role in as the brains reward system, whose
function may be impaired in depressive people. Subsequent to this treatment, the patients'
depression improved significantly in half of the patients. All patients had suffered from
very severe depression for many years and did not respond to any other therapies. The
results of the study will be published in the journal Biological Psychiatry (doi:
10.1016/j.biopsych.2009.09.013). In deep brain stimulation, doctors specifically target
the impaired function of certain areas of the brain with an electric brain pacemaker. For
the purpose of this study, they implanted electrodes in what is known as the nucleus
accumbens. That is an important part of the 'reward system' which ensures that we remember
good experiences and puts us in a state of pleasant anticipation. Without a reward system
we would not forge any plans for the future as we would not be able to enjoy the fruits of
these plans. Inactivity and the inability to experience pleasure are two important signs
of depression. A total of ten patients with very severe depression participated in the
study. In all patients, symptoms did not improve despite many therapies using
psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy. Overall, all participants showed signy of improvement,
in half of them symptoms of depression improved significantly. Initial effects could
sometimes be seen just after a few days. 'Thus, inter alia we observed increasing activity
of the patients,' Professor Thomas E. Schlaepfer from the Bonn Clinic of Psychiatry and
Psychotherapy explains. 'This was so successful that some of them were even able to work
again, after having been incapacitated for many years. None of our patients had ever
responded to any other therapy to a comparable extent before.'
Link
Obesity significantly increases
side effects of stereotactic body radiation therapy in lung cancer patients
Obesity, not the amount of radiation given, is the greatest factor in whether early-stage
lung cancer patients develop chest wall pain after receiving stereotactic body radiation
therapy to the chest wall, with obese patients being more than twice as likely to develop
chronic pain compared to those who have less body weight, according to a first-of-its-kind
study presented Tuesday, November 3, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American
Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). Researchers studied other factors associated with
obesity, such as diabetes, to find out why obesity in patients increased chest wall pain.
Findings show that obese patients who are diabetic are over three times more likely to
develop chest wall pain after receiving stereotactic body radiation therapy to the chest
wall, compared to patients who do not have diabetes.
Link
On the Track of DNA Methylation -
An Interview with Adrian Bird
Long before the word “epigenome” was coined, Bird began mapping the distribution
of DNA methylation (occurring at the cytosine of CpG dinucleotides) in the genomes of a
variety of species. His work emerged just as agarose gels, restriction enzymes, and
Southern blots were being developed. Bird later spawned the idea of CpG islands, pockets
of DNA rich in unmethylated CpGs and frequently found in conjunction with the promoter
regions of mammalian genes. Bird's observation provided a roadmap for disease gene
discovery for about 15 years, until human genome draft sequences began to emerge.
Link
One dose of swine flu vaccine is
enough, say experts
THE United Nations health agency has issued reassurance that swine flu vaccines are safe
and only one dose is needed to protect adults and children over ten against the H1N1
strain.
Link
Ormus - modern alchemy
In recent years, the search for the Philosopher's Stone of the alchemists has centered on
discoveries made by an Arizona rancher named David Hudson in the late 1970s. While mining
for gold on his land, he noticed some associated metallic minerals that exhibited very
unusual properties. Hudson spent several million dollars over the following decade
figuring out how to isolate and work with these strange materials. In 1989, he was granted
several foreign patents on these materials and methods for obtaining them. During the
early 1990s, He toured the United States giving lectures and workshops about what he had
found. The strange substances have been named ORMES (Orbitally Rearranged Monatomic
Elements), although some researchers prefer the more general term of ORMUS. ORMES are
metallic microclusters in a non-metallic state consisting of one or more atoms which
Hudson felt were in a high-spin state that endows them with unusual properties such as
superconductivity, superfluidity, supercurrent (or Josephson tunneling) and magnetic
levitation.
Link
Possible origins of pancreatic
cancer revealed
MIT cancer biologists have identified a subpopulation of cells that can give rise to
pancreatic cancer. They also found that tumors can form in other, more mature pancreatic
cell types, but only when they are injured or inflamed, suggesting that pancreatic cancer
can arise from different types of cells depending on the circumstances. Why it matters -
There are few good treatment options for pancreatic cancer, which kills an estimated
35,000 Americans per year — making it the country's fourth-leading cause of cancer
death. Learning more about the origins of pancreatic cancer cells could help scientists
develop better treatments and tools for early diagnosis. "By the time pancreatic
disease is typically diagnosed, it's already very advanced and non-curable. Our new
findings can help scientists focus their drug development efforts and lead them to new
ways to detect the disease in early stages," says Sharon Friedlander, a postdoctoral
associate at MIT's David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and lead author
of a paper describing the work in the Nov. 3 issue of Cancer Cell.How they did it - The
team found that in mice, tumors originate from a subpopulation of pancreatic cells that
express a protein called pdx1. This protein plays a critical role in pancreas development
and differentiation, a process of specialization that normally occurs during embryonic
development but can also occur later in life. This suggests that under normal conditions,
pancreatic cancer may arise from a type of adult stem cell that can differentiate into
mature pancreatic cells, says Friedlander.
Link
Potential Health Dangers from GM
Foods
Genetically Modified Foods may cause new diseases, antibiotic resistant disease and
nutritional problems that are normally caused by toxins, allergens and carcinogens.
Link
Precuneus region of human and
monkey brain is divided into 4 distinct regions
A study published this week in PNAS provides a comprehensive comparative functional
anatomy study in human and monkey brains which reveals highly similar brain networks
preserved across evolution. An international collaboration co-led by scientists at NYU
Langone Medical Center in New York City examined patterns of connectivity to show that the
precuneus, long thought to be a single structure, is actually divided into four distinct
functional regions. These areas were identified using "resting state" functional
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) – a recently emerging approach that allows
scientist to map a multitude of brain networks using only 6 minutes of data acquired while
an individual lies in the scanner at rest. The results of these brief imaging sessions
were comparable to definitive findings in monkeys examined microscopically. Located in the
posterior portion of the brain's medial wall, the precuneus has traditionally received
little attention in the neuroimaging and neuropsychological literatures. However, recent
functional neuroimaging studies have started to implicate the precuneus in a variety of
high level cognitive functions, including episodic memory, self-related processing, and
aspects of consciousness. "The findings confirm that higher order association areas
in the brain have complex functional architectures which appear to be preserved and or
expanded during the evolutionary process," said study co-leader, Michael P. Milham,
MD, PhD, the associate director of the Phyllis Greene and Randolph Cowen Institute for
Pediatric Neuroscience at the NYU Child Study Center and assistant professor of child and
adolescent psychiatry at NYU Langone Medical Center. "The fMRI approaches provide a
powerful tool for translational science, making comparative studies of the brain's
functional neuroanatomy studies across species possible."
Link
Preventative brain radiation for
lung cancer patients
A new study is taking a closer look at the benefits versus risks for lung cancer patients
to undergo preventative brain radiation therapy as a means to stop cancer from spreading
to the brain. Study results show that while preventative brain radiation for patients with
non-small cell lung cancer – the most common form of lung cancer – does reduce
the chance of developing brain metastases, it impacts some short-term and long-term
memory. The study also reveals that preventative brain radiation does not increase
survival and has no significant impact on quality of life, says study co-investigator
Benjamin Movsas, M.D., chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Henry Ford
Hospital in Detroit. "These findings offer a more complete perspective regarding this
intervention for patients with non-small cell lung cancer," Movsas says. "We now
need to develop strategies to help shift the benefit-risk ratio for this treatment."
Dr. Movsas will present the study results Nov. 2 at the plenary session for the 51st
annual American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) meeting. Out of nearly 1,000
abstracts submitted, only a handful of study abstracts, including the one from Henry Ford,
were selected for the ASTRO plenary session.
Link
Probing blood loss, fatigue in the
elderly
What are the causes of blood loss and fatigue in the elderly? If the cause is not found,
what can be done? Will iron tablets help?
Link
Pumpkin rind can fight yeast
infection
Long been known for its medical properties, pumpkin also contains a powerful antifungal
protein that can effectively fight many common yeast infections.
Link
Putting Farm Animal Protection on
the Map, One Step at a Time
Within this decade, we've gone from 0 to 7 states having anti-cruelty laws for animals in
agribusiness laws.
Link
RDH inflammation sleuth
Gingivitis and periodontitis, together with most other forms of inflammation, are largely
adaptive responses to microbial infections or, less commonly, tissue injuries. But whereas
microbial infections of the biofilm on the tooth surfaces and gingival sulcus generally
initiate these diseases, it is the variable inflammatory responses that drive the
subsequent pathological changes of bleeding on probing and increased pocket depth. In
fact, these acute and/or chronic inflammatory responses are well established, although
much less is known about the dynamics of “systemic chronic inflammatory
syndrome” or “para-inflammatory states” that characterize such diseases as
obesity, type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, myocardial infarctions (heart attacks),
cerebro-vascular accidents (strokes), asthma, preeclampsia (preterm births), rheumatoid
arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, erectile dysfunction, malignancies, and periodontal
disease.
Link
Researchers develop innovative
imaging system to study sudden cardiac arrest
A research team at Vanderbilt University has developed an innovative optical system to
simultaneously image electrical activity and metabolic properties in the same region of a
heart, to study the complex mechanisms that lead to sudden cardiac arrest. Tested in
animal models, the system could dramatically advance scientists' understanding of the
relationship between metabolic disorders and heart rhythm disturbances in humans that can
lead to cardiac arrest and death, and provide a platform for testing new treatments to
prevent or stop potentially fatal irregular heartbeats, known as arrhythmias. The research
is supported in part by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the
National Institutes of Health. The design and use of the dual camera system is described
in the Nov.1 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine. Additional support for the
project has also been provided by the Vanderbilt Institute for Integrative Biosystems
Research and Education (VIIBRE), the American Heart Association, and the Simons Center for
Systems Biology at the Institute for Advanced Study. "The challenge in understanding
cardiac rhythm disorders is to discern the dynamic relationship between multiple cardiac
variables," said one of the coauthors of the paper and the project's principal
investigator, John P. Wikswo, Ph.D., Gordon A. Cain University Professor and VIIBRE
director. "This dual camera system opens up a new window for correlating metabolic
and electrophysiological events, which are usually studied independently."
Link
Researchers discover links between
city walkability and air pollution exposure
A new study compares neighborhoods’ walkability (degree of ease for walking) with
local levels of air pollution and finds that some neighborhoods might be good for walking,
but have poor air quality. Researchers involved in the study include University of
Minnesota faculty member Julian Marshall and University of British Columbia faculty
Michael Brauer and Lawrence Frank.The findings highlight the need for urban design to
consider both walkability and air pollution, recognizing that neighborhoods with high
levels of one pollutant may have low levels of another pollutant. The study, done for the
city of Vancouver, British Columbia, is the first of its kind to compare the two
environmental attributes, and suggests potential environmental health effects of
neighborhood location, layout and design for cities around the globe. The research study
is published in the November 2009 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives, the
peer-reviewed journal of the United States’ National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Link
Researchers discover links between
city walkability and air pollution exposure
A new study compares neighborhoods' walkability (degree of ease for walking) with local
levels of air pollution and finds that some neighborhoods might be good for walking, but
have poor air quality. Researchers involved in the study include University of Minnesota
faculty member Julian Marshall and University of British Columbia faculty Michael Brauer
and Lawrence Frank. The findings highlight the need for urban design to consider both
walkability and air pollution, recognizing that neighborhoods with high levels of one
pollutant may have low levels of another pollutant. The study, done for the city of
Vancouver, British Columbia, is the first of its kind to compare the two environmental
attributes, and suggests potential environmental health effects of neighborhood location,
layout and design for cities around the globe. The research study is published in the
November 2009 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives, the peer-reviewed journal of the
United States' National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. The research team found that, on average,
neighborhoods downtown are more walkable and have high levels of some pollutants, while
suburban locations are less walkable and have high levels of different pollutants.
Neighborhoods that fare well for pollution and walkability tend to be a few miles away
from the downtown area. These "win-win" urban residential neighborhoods--which
avoid the downtown and the suburban air pollution plus exhibit good walkability--are rare,
containing only about two percent of the population studied. Census data indicate that
these neighborhoods are relatively high-income, suggesting that they are desirable places
to live. Neighborhoods that fare poorly for both pollution and walkability tend to be in
the suburbs and are generally middle-income.
Link
Researchers identify the three
killer indicators that are even worse than high cholesterol
Researchers at the University of Warwick have identified a particular combination of
health problems that can double the risk of heart attack and cause a three-fold increase
in the risk of mortality. The team, led by Assistant Clinical Professor of Public Health
at Warwick Medical School Dr Oscar Franco, has discovered that simultaneously having
obesity, high blood pressure and high blood sugar are the most dangerous combination of
health factors when developing metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a combination of
medical disorders that increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and
diabetes. The main five health problems normally associated with metabolic syndrome are
abnormal levels of blood pressure, high cholesterol, high triglyceride levels (the
chemical form in which fat exists in the body), too much sugar in the blood and central
obesity (excess of fat around the waistline). In his study, published in the American
Heart Association journal Circulation, Dr Franco has identified the most dangerous
combination of these conditions to be central obesity, high blood pressure and high blood
sugar. People who have all three of these conditions are twice as likely to have a heart
attack and three times more likely to die earlier than the general population. His team
looked at 3,078 people to track the prevalence and progress of Metabolic Syndrome as part
of the Framingham Offspring Study.
Link
Researchers unlock the 'sound of
learning' by linking sensory and motor systems
Learning to talk also changes the way speech sounds are heard, according to a new study
published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by scientists at Haskins
Laboratories, a Yale-affiliated research laboratory. The findings could have a major
impact on improving speech disorders. "We've found that learning is a two-way street;
motor function affects sensory processing and vice-versa," said David J. Ostry, a
senior scientist at Haskins Laboratories and professor of psychology at McGill University.
"Our results suggest that learning to talk makes it easier to understand the speech
of others." As a child learns to talk, or an adult learns a new language, Ostry
explained, a growing mastery of oral fluency is matched by an increase in the ability to
distinguish different speech sounds. While these abilities may develop in isolation, it is
possible that learning to talk also changes the way we hear speech sounds. Ostry and
co-author Sazzad M. Nasir tested the notion that speech motor learning alters auditory
perceptual processing by evaluating how speakers hear speech sounds following motor
learning. They simulated speech learning by using a robotic device, which introduced a
subtle change in the movement path of the jaw during speech.
Link
Scientists Propose New Explanation
For Flu Virus Antigenic Drift
Influenza viruses evade infection-fighting antibodies by constantly changing the shape of
their major surface protein.
Link
Sedatives Increase Risk of Suicides
in Elderly
Taking sedatives or sleeping pills increases the suicide risk of senior citizens by 300
percent, according to a study conducted by researchers from Gothenburg University in
Sweden and published in the journal BMC Geriatrics.
Link
Sewer plants pollute water
Iowa's outdated sewage treatment plants regularly dump excess pollution into rivers and
streams that provide drinking water for up to 900,000 people and recreation for many more,
a Des Moines Register analysis of state records shows.
Link
Short-term hormone therapy added to
radiation increases survival for medium-risk, but not low-risk, prostate cancer patients
Short-term hormone therapy given prior to and during radiation treatment to medium-risk
prostate cancer patients increases their chance of living longer, compared to those who
receive radiation alone, however there is no significant benefit for low-risk patients,
according to the largest randomized study of its kind presented at the plenary session
November 2, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation
Oncology (ASTRO). This phase III study is one of the largest clinical trials of prostate
cancer therapy ever completed, with 2,000 low- and intermediate-risk patients enrolled in
the trial from October 1994 to April 2001. Researchers from the Radiation Therapy Oncology
Group (RTOG) followed men with early-stage prostate cancer for a period in most cases of
more than nine years. This timeframe was sufficient to show improved survival benefits of
short-term hormone therapy added to what was then the standard radiation treatment for
prostate cancer, which involved slightly lower doses of radiation than are currently used
today with newer techniques, such as intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT).
"The study provides strong scientific evidence that shows us when to deliver hormone
therapy with radiation in patients with localized prostate cancer," Christopher U.
Jones, M.D., an author of the study and a radiation oncologist at Radiological Associates
of Sacramento in Sacramento, Calif., said. "Our findings show that men with low-risk
disease, which is the vast majority of prostate cancer patients, have little to gain from
adding hormone therapy to radiation. However, men with intermediate-risk disease, which is
a significant minority of patients, gain a benefit in overall survival from the addition
of only four months of hormone therapy. Prior to this trial, it was unclear whether or not
combining hormone therapy with radiation for medium-risk prostate cancer patients improves
survival."
Link
Short-term hormone therapy and
intermediate dose radiation increases survivial for early stage prostate cancer
Short-term hormone therapy given prior to and during intermediate dose radiation treatment
for men with early stage prostate cancer increases their chance of living longer, compared
to those who receive the same radiation alone, according to a Radiation Therapy Oncology
Group (RTOG) study, the largest randomized trial of its kind, presented November 2, 2009,
at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting. The RTOG trial
noted that this benefit appeared to be greatest for men currently defined as at
medium-risk for disease failure. The phase III study is one of the largest clinical trials
of prostate cancer therapy ever completed, with 2,000 low- and intermediate-risk patients
enrolled in the trial from October 1994 to April 2001. This trial was conducted by the
RTOG and followed men with early-stage prostate cancer in most cases for more than nine
years. This time period is sufficient to show improved survival benefits of short-term
hormone therapy added to what was then the standard radiation treatment for prostate
cancer, which involved slightly lower doses of radiation than are currently used today
with newer techniques, such as intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). "This
landmark RTOG study provides strong scientific evidence that shows us when to deliver
hormone therapy with radiation in men with localized prostate cancer. Prior to this trial,
it was unclear whether or not combining hormone therapy with radiation for medium-risk
prostate cancer patients would increase survival," said Christopher U. Jones, M.D.,
an author of the study and a radiation oncologist at Radiological Associates of Sacramento
in Sacramento, Calif. "It remains uncertain whether the addition of hormone therapy
to the higher radiation dose and new technology treatments being employed today would
provide the same or greater benefit to that documented in this study. It is possible that
it could."
Link
Sights and sounds of emotion
trigger big brain responses
Researchers at the University of York have identified a part of the brain that responds to
both facial and vocal expressions of emotion. They used the MagnetoEncephaloGraphic (MEG)
scanner at the York Neuroimaging Centre to test responses in a region of the brain known
as the posterior superior temporal sulcus. The research team from the University's
Department of Psychology and York Neuroimaging Centre found that the posterior superior
temporal sulcus responds so strongly to a face plus a voice that it clearly has a
'multimodal' rather than an exclusively visual function. The research is published in the
latest issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Test participants
were shown photographs of people with fearful and neutral facial expressions, and were
played fearful and neutral vocal sounds, separately and together. Responses in the
posterior superior temporal sulcus were substantially heightened when subjects could both
see and hear the emotional faces and voices, but not when subjects could both see and hear
the neutral faces and voices.Researchers believe that the finding could help in the study
of autism and other neuro-developmental disorders which exhibit face perception deficits.
Link
Slimming gene regulates body fat
Scientists at the University of Bonn have discovered a previously unknown fruit fly gene
that controls the metabolism of fat. Larvae in which this gene is defective lose their
entire fat reserves. Therefore the researchers called the gene 'schlank' (German for
'slim'). Mammals carry a group of genes that are structurally very similar to 'schlank'.
They possibly take on a similar function in the energy metabolism. The scientists
therefore have hopes in new medicines with which obesity could be fought. Their research
bas been published in 'The EMBO Journal' (doi: 10.1038/emboj.2009.305). If scientists
decipher the function of a gene, they are allowed to name it. With the fruit fly
Drosophila there is a rather paradox convention. The names always indicate what the fly
looks like if the respective gene is defective. That is also the case with the schlank
gene. If it is unimpaired the fly larva can build up fat reserves. It becomes fat. 'Larvae
with a mutation of schlank, however, remain slim,' Professor Michael Hoch from the
University of Bonn explains. 'In extreme cases the defect can even lead to death.'
Together with Dr. Reinhard Bauer and other employees the development biologist has
explored what exactly 'schlank' does. According to their research the gene contains the
instructions of what is known as ceramide synthase. Ceramides serve as raw materials for
the gauzy membranes that enclose all of the cells in the body. Moreover, schlank also has
a regulatory function. It promotes lipid synthesis and at the same time inhibits the
mobilisation of fat from the fat reserves.
Link
Smokers with common autoimmune
disorder at higher risk for skin damage
As if there weren't enough reasons to stop smoking, a team of researchers at the Research
Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) have just found another. A
study led by Dr. Christian A Pineau, Co-Director of the Lupus and Vasculitis clinic at the
MUHC, has clearly linked skin damage and rashes to smoking in people with systemic lupus
erythematosus (SLE). The study was published in a recent issue of the Journal of
Rheumatology. SLE is a long-term autoimmune disorder affecting about one in every 2000
people. About 90 per cent of SLE patients are women, many of them young. Symptoms are
caused by an overactive immune system, and the disease can cause inflammation and damage
in almost any organ system, including the skin. "Up to 85 per cent of people with SLE
develop skin involvement at some point," explains Dr. Pineau. "Our study shows
that the risk of skin damage such as permanent hair loss and scarring from skin
inflammation is significantly increased in smokers. So is the rate of active lupus
rash."
Link
Soft drink manufacturers using GM
corn in syrup for beverages
Major Japanese soft drink manufacturers are using high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) -- a
sweetener made using corn that has been genetically modified (GM) -- in their beverages,
the Mainichi has found.
Link
Stereotactic radiosurgery as
effective in eliminating Parkinson’s disease tremors as other treatments, but less
invasive
Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) offers a less invasive way to eliminate tremors caused by
Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor than deep brain stimulation (DBS) and
radiofrequency (RF) treatments, and is as effective, according to a long-term study
presented November 2, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for
Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). “The study shows that radiosurgery is an effective and
safe method of getting rid of tremors caused by Parkinson’s disease and essential
tremor, with outcomes that favorably compare to both DBS and RF in tremor relief and risk
of complications at seven years after treatment,” Rufus Mark, M.D., an author of the
study and a radiation oncologist at the Joe Arrington Cancer Center and Texas Tech
University, both in Lubbock, Texas said. “In view of these long-term results, this
non-invasive procedure should be considered a primary treatment option for tremors that
are hard to treat.”
Link
Study claims meat creates half of
all greenhouse gases
Climate change emissions from meat production are far higher than currently estimated,
according to a controversial new study that will fuel the debate on whether people should
eat fewer animal products to help the environment.
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Study examines associations between
antibiotic use during pregnancy and birth defects
Penicillin and several other antibacterial medications commonly taken by pregnant women do
not appear to be associated with many birth defects, according to a report in the November
issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives
journals. However, other antibiotics, such as sulfonamides and nitrofurantoins, may be
associated with several severe birth defects and require additional scrutiny. Treating
infections is critical to the health of a mother and her baby, according to background
information in the article. Therefore, bacteria-fighting medications are among the most
commonly used drugs during pregnancy. Although some classes of antibiotics appear to have
been used safely during pregnancy, no large-scale studies have examined safety or risks
involved with many classes of antibacterial medications. Krista S. Crider, Ph.D., of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, and colleagues analyzed data from
13,155 women whose pregnancies were affected by one of more than 30 birth defects (cases).
The information was collected by surveillance programs in 10 states as part of the
National Birth Defects Prevention Study. The researchers compared antibacterial use before
and during pregnancy between these women and 4,941 randomly selected control women who
lived in the same geographical regions but whose babies did not have birth defects.
Antibacterial use among all women increased during pregnancy, peaking during the third
month. A total of 3,863 mothers of children with birth defects (29.4 percent) and 1,467
control mothers (29.7 percent) used antibacterials sometime between three months before
pregnancy and the end of pregnancy. "Reassuringly, penicillins, erythromycins and
cephalosporins, although used commonly by pregnant women, were not associated with many
birth defects," the authors write. Two defects were associated with erythromycins
(used by 1.5 percent of the mothers whose children had birth defects and 1.6 percent of
controls), one with penicillins (used by 5.5 percent of case mothers and 5.9 percent of
controls), one with cephalosporins (used by 1 percent of both cases and controls) and one
with quinolones (used by 0.3 percent of both cases and controls).
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Study finds lack of VEGF can cause
defects similar to dry macular degeneration
Scientists at Schepens Eye Research Institute have found that when the eye is missing a
diffusible form of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), i.e. one that when secreted
can reach other cells at a distance, the retina shows defects similar to "dry"
macular degeneration, also called geographic atrophy (GA). This finding, published in the
November 3, 2009 print edition of PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences),
not only increases the understanding of the causes of this blinding disease, but it may
also impact the use of anti-VEGF drugs, such as Lucentis, which are designed to neutralize
VEGF in eyes with "wet" macular degeneration. "These results are
significant for several reasons. We know little about what causes GA or how to treat it.
Our discovery may be an important piece of the puzzle. It shows that reduced VEGF from the
retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), RPE, the bottommost layer of the retina, to the
choriocapillaris (CC) - the small blood vessels beneath retina-- leads to degeneration of
the CC. Therefore, the continuous blockage of VEGF may contribute to the development of or
a worsening of GA," says Patricia D'Amore, principal investigator of the study and
senior scientist at Schepens. VEGF is a protein that stimulates the growth of new blood
vessels. The eye produces several different forms of VEGF that differ in their size and
their ability to move away from the producing cell.
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Study finds link between childhood
physical abuse and arthritis
Adults who had experienced physical abuse as children have 56 per cent higher odds of
osteoarthritis compared to those who have not been abused, according to a new study by
University of Toronto researchers. University of Toronto researchers investigated the
relationship between self-reported childhood physical abuse and a diagnosis of
osteoarthritis (OA). After analyzing representative data from the 2005 Canadian Community
Health Survey, the researchers determined a significant association between childhood
physical abuse and osteoarthritis in adulthood. The study is published in the November
issue of the journal Arthritis Care & Research. Osteoarthritis is an often
debilitating chronic condition that affects millions of adults. "We found that 10.2
per cent of those with osteoarthritis reported they had been physically abused as children
in comparison to 6.5 per cent of those without osteoarthritis," says lead author Esme
Fuller-Thomson of U of T's Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work and Department of
Family and Community Medicine. "This study provides further support for the need to
investigate the possible role that childhood abuse plays in the development of chronic
illness."
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Study reveals a 'missing link' in
immune response to disease
The immune system's T cells have the unique responsibilities of being both jury and
executioner. They examine other cells for signs of disease, including cancers or
infections, and, if such evidence is found, rid them from the body. Precisely how T cells
shift so swiftly from one role to another, however, has been a mystery. In a new study,
investigators at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology used an array of techniques -- including
"optical tweezers" that exploit laser light to press molecules against surface
structures found on T cells -- to find out what operates the switch. Their answer: sheer
mechanical force. Hence, the T cell receptor is a mechanosensor. When a T cell's
"receptors" lock onto their targeted structures called antigens on the surface
of a diseased cell, parts of the receptors bend in a way that signals the T cell to change
from disease-scanning to disease-fighting mode, the researchers report. (Antigens are made
of peptides bound to histocompatibility proteins, or pMHCs.) They also found that after T
cell receptors (TCRs) and antigens meet, an additional force generated during scanning
triggers the T cell's response to disease.
Link
Study Shows that Sleep Deprivation
Can Negatively Affect Information Processing
A study in the Nov.1 issue of the journal SLEEP showsthat sleep deprivation causes some
people to shift from a more automatic, implicit process of information categorization
(information integration) to a more controlled, explicit process (rule based). This use
of rule-based strategies in a task in which information-integration strategies are optimal
can lead to potentially devastating errors when quick and accurate categorization is
fundamental to survival. Results show that sleep deprivation led to an overall performance
deficit on an information-integration category learning task that was held over the course
of two days. Performance improved in the control group by 4.3 percent from the end of day
one to the beginning of day two (accuracy increased from 74 percent to 78.3 percent);
performance in the sleep-deprived group declined by 2.4 percent (accuracy decreased from
73.1 percent to 70.7 percent) from the end of day one to the beginning of day two.
According to co-principal investigators W. Todd Maddox, PhD, professor of psychology, and
David M. Schnyer, PhD, associate professor of psychology at the Institute for Neuroscience
at the University of Texas in Austin, fast and accurate categorization is critical in
situations that could become a matter of life or death. However, categorization may become
compromised in people who often experience sleep deprivation in fast-paced, high pressure
roles as doctors, firefighters, soldiers and even parents. Many tasks performed on a daily
basis require information-integration processing rather than rule-based categorization.
Examples include driving, making a medical diagnosis and performing air-traffic control.
Link
Study shows that sleep disturbances
improve after retirement
A study in the Nov.1 issue of the journal Sleep shows that retirement is followed by a
sharp decrease in the prevalence of sleep disturbances. Findings suggest that this general
improvement in sleep is likely to result from the removal of work-related demands and
stress rather than from actual health benefits of retirement. Results show that the odds
of having disturbed sleep in the seven years after retirement were 26 percent lower
(adjusted odds ratio of 0.74) than in the seven years before retiring. Sleep disturbance
prevalence rates among 14,714 participants fell from 24.2 percent in the last year before
retirement to 17.8 percent in the first year after retiring. The greatest reduction in
sleep disturbances was reported by participants with depression or mental fatigue prior to
retirement. The postretirement improvement in sleep also was more pronounced in men,
management-level workers, employees who reported high psychological job demands, and
people who occasionally or consistently worked night shifts. Lead author Jussi Vahtera,
professor in the department of public health at the University of Turku in Finland, noted
that the participants enjoyed employment benefits rarely seen today, including guaranteed
job stability, a statutory retirement age between 55 and 60 years, and a company-paid
pension that was 80 percent of their salary. "We believe these findings are largely
applicable in situations where financial incentives not to retire are relatively
weak," said Vahtera. "In countries and positions where there is no proper
pension level to guarantee financial security beyond working age, however, retirement may
be followed by severe stress disturbing sleep even more than before retirement."
Link
Study spotlights efficacy of
questionnaire to identify patients at high risk for lung cancer
A study featured in the November issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology confirms the
success of a simple questionnaire designed to identify patients at high risk of lung
cancer. Initiated in 2001, the current study confirmed 18 cases of cancer of the original
430 patients who qualified as high risk after completing a five-minute questionnaire. The
study was conducted in primary care physician offices among patients seeking care for
general health issues. The evaluating physician incorporated a simple questionnaire
focused in three areas: risks, environments and genetics. Specific questions included
smoking habit, occupational environments (mining, construction or railroad),subsequent
exposure to chemicals and family history. Colorado's Primary Care Partners surveyed more
than 1,000 patients to evaluate their corresponding risk of lung cancer. Almost half of
those surveyed qualified as high risk, and 126 of these identified underwent spinometry, a
non-invasive breath measurement procedure. Of the patients with airflow obstruction, 88
underwent a full lung cancer screening. After five years, the study confirmed lung cancer
in eight patients with obstructed airflow and 10 in of the patients without. The study
opened the door to mitigate late diagnosis through embedding these simple questions into
the patient-physician dialogue. "Simple by design, our initiative received widespread
community support from physicians, patients and hospitals," said lead investigator
Thomas Petty, MD. By providing the guidelines for pointed questions when patients are
face-to-face with physicians, we can begin to identify those at risk."
Link
Switching immunosuppressants
reduces cancer risk in kidney
Switching to a newer type of immunosuppressant drug may reduce the high rate of skin
cancer after kidney transplantation, according to research being presented at the American
Society of Nephrology's 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego, CA.
"In spite of the life-saving nature of organ transplantation, the need for transplant
recipients to continue treatment with drugs that suppress the immune system to prevent
rejection of the organ is associated with a number of side effects, one of which is the
development of cancer," said lead researcher Graeme Russ, MD (The Queen Elizabeth
Hospital, Australia). "So the search for an immunosuppressive drug which prevents
rejection effectively but is associated with lower rates of cancer will be of significant
advantage to transplant recipients." The study included 86 kidney transplant patients
who previously had skin cancer (other than melanoma)—placing them at particularly
high risk of new skin cancers. In Australia, skin cancer is the most common type of cancer
occurring post-transplant. One group of patients remained on standard immunosuppressant
drug treatment. The other group was switched to treatment with sirolimus—one of a
newer class of immunosuppressants called mTOR inhibitors. "Previous studies have
suggested that mTOR inhibitors are associated with less cancer than other commonly used
agents," according to Russ.
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Task force develops new radiation
guidelines for brachytherapy
Radiation dose delivered to the prostate and nearby organs in every brachytherapy
procedure should be carefully analyzed using post-implant CT or MRI and uniformly
documented in every patient, according to a new guideline co-authored by Yan Yu, Ph.D.,
director of Medical Physics in the department of Radiation Oncology at Thomas Jefferson
University. The guideline was issued by a task group commissioned by the American
Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), and will be published in the November 2009
issue of Medical Physics. With the widespread use of image-guided dosimetry, there is a
need for developing a consensus methodology for dose prescription and reporting for
prostate brachytherapy. The dosimetric parameters used for evaluating an implant are
dependent on physician's delineation of the prostate, rectum, bladder and urethra on
post-implant imaging such as CT. Many research groups have reported that such delineation
can be quite variable. With the intent of providing consistent and reproducible dosimetric
information without increasing healthcare costs, the AAPM Task Group 137 issued new
recommendations and guidelines on the timing, imaging techniques, dose planning criteria
and dose evaluation parameters that should be followed in documenting each brachytherapy
treatment.
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Teeth grinding linked to sleep
apnea
There is a high prevalence of nocturnal teeth grinding, or bruxism, in patients with
obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), particularly in Caucasians. New research presented at CHEST
2009, the 75th annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest
Physicians (ACCP), found that nearly 1 in 4 patients with OSA suffers from nighttime teeth
grinding; this seems to be especially more prevalent in men and in Caucasians compared
with other ethnic groups. It is estimated that 8 percent of the general US population
suffers from bruxism, a condition frequently associated with a preexisting dental or jaw
disorders, as well as stress. "The relationship between obstructive sleep apnea and
sleep bruxism is usually related to an arousal response. The ending of an apneic event may
be accompanied by a number of mouth phenomena, such as snoring, gasps, mumbles, and teeth
grinding," said Shyam Subramanian, MD, FCCP, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX.
"Men typically have more severe sleep apnea, and perhaps may have more arousal
responses, which may explain the higher prevalence of teeth grinding in men. Besides, men
characteristically tend to report more symptoms of sleep apnea than women, such as
snoring, loud grunting, and witnessed apneas." Other factors that might help explain
the relationship between sleep apnea and teeth grinding include anxiety and caffeine use.
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Tests on Pesticides Criticized
A program to test pesticides to make sure they do not affect human hormone systems will be
compromised by an Office of Management and Budget order allowing data from studies by
pesticide companies to susbstitute for new studies, according to some scientists involved
in developing the new program.
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The Key Role of Genomics in Modern
Vaccine and Drug Design for Emerging Infectious Diseases
We predict that genomics will greatly aid the control of EIDs because of the increased
efficiency with which vaccine and therapeutic targets can be identified using the
genome-based approaches described above. Furthermore, we anticipate the continual
refinement and development of novel genome-based approaches as sequencing becomes faster
and more affordable. Several challenges remain, however, in the identification of these
targets and in the processes needed to bring a new vaccine or drug to the market.
Understanding the molecular nature of epitopes, the mechanisms of action of adjuvants, and
T cell and mucosal immunity are key priorities to be tackled in the coming years.
Link
Toxic Contaminants - The Other
Scourge
As the world focuses on the impact of climate change, little attention is being paid to
yet another environmental bane = increasing contamination of air, water and soil.
Link
Toxic waste trickles toward New
Mexico's water sources
Radioactive debris has been found in canyons that drain into the Rio Grande, but officials
at the Los Alamos National Laboratory say there's no health risk.
Link
Two members of drugs panel quit
Two members of the scientific panel that offers guidance to the Government on drug policy
have resigned over the treatment of chief adviser Professor David Nutt.
Link
UIC researchers have immune cells
running in circles
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine researchers have identified the
important role a protein plays in the body's first line of defense in directing immune
cells called neutrophils toward the site of infection or injury.Their results are
described online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Neutrophils are
white blood cells that are activated by chemical cues to move quickly to the site of
injury or infection, where they ingest bacteria. When alerted to infection, neutrophils
move by changing shape, developing a distinct front and back, sending a "foot"
out in front of them, and "crawling" toward the site of infection. Hoping to
better understand the role of a protein called p55 or MPPI that they had previously
identified as highly expressed in neutrophils, the UIC researchers bred the first mice
that completely lacked this protein. The "knockout" mice had marked difficulty
fighting infection and were slow to heal, according to Athar Chishti, professor of
pharmacology and principal investigator in the study. Instead of forming a single large
pseudopod, or foot-like extension, in the direction of the infection, neutrophils from the
knockout mice formed a number of small extensions all around the cell, said Chishti.
Neutrophils lacking p55 would follow a meandering path, wandering in circles. "It was
as though the neutrophils had lost their sense of direction," said Brendan Quinn,
graduate assistant researcher in pharmacology and first author of the study. Neutrophils
are part of the body's innate immunity and its first line of defense, so the speed of the
response is key to healing. "The neutrophils eventually get to the infection site,
but they would get there late," Quinn said.
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Undetectable PSA after radiation is
possible and predicts good patient outcomes
Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers report that radiation therapy alone can reduce
prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels below detectable amounts in prostate cancer
patients. Patients who have an undetectable level of PSA after therapy have less chance of
biochemical failure than other patients and a good chance of being cured. The data was
presented today at the annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology.
"With high quality radiation––whether it is from an implant or external
beam––it is possible to get really low PSAs," says Eric M. Horwitz, M.D.,
acting chairman and clinical director of radiation oncology at Fox Chase. "And if you
do, you have a really good chance of being cured." Prostate cancer patients have
several options for therapy, including radiation or surgery. After surgery, patients are
expected to have an undetectable PSA because the entire prostate has been removed.
However, patients treated with radiation alone may still have viable prostate tissue after
treatment because the radiation beam is narrowly focused on the tumor. Therefore,
radiation oncologists have not expected their patients to have the same very low PSA
scores as surgical patients. That expectation appears to be changing, according to
Horwitz. "We used to tell our patients that they wouldn't have an undetectable or
really low PSA, but we are seeing that some do," Horwitz says.
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Unraveling swine flu's greater toll
on children
Doctors and researchers believe young people lack immunity to the H1N1 strain because it
has not been seen in a couple of generations.
Link
Vigilant Parents Say They Are Often
Unaware of Marketing Techniques That Draw Teens, Kids
Advertising Industry Says Regulations Effective, but Watchdog Groups Disagree
Link
Widespread Chemicals May Affect
Cholesterol Levels
A study published November 2, 2009 ahead of print in the peer-reviewed journal
Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) suggests that polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFCs) may
affect serum cholesterol levels in people.
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Working with poultry linked to
certain cancers
Poultry workers may be at particularly high risk of developing several forms of cancer,
according to a new study that points to viruses carried by birds as a possible cause.
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