Chips are down as Manchester makes protein scanning breakthrough
Scientists at The University of Manchester have developed a new and fast method
for making biological ‘chips’ – technology that could lead to quick testing
for serious diseases, fast detection of MRSA infections and rapid discovery of new drugs.
Researchers working at the Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre (MIB) and The School of
Chemistry have unveiled a new technique for producing functional ‘protein chips’
in a paper in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS), published online today
(22 August 2008). Protein chips – or ‘protein arrays’ as they are more
commonly known – are objects such as slides that have proteins attached to them and
allow important scientific data about the behaviour of proteins to be gathered. Functional
protein arrays could give scientists the ability to run tests on tens of thousands of
different proteins simultaneously, observing how they interact with cells, other proteins,
DNA and drugs.
The Older the Fatter - Longitudinal
Study about Overweight Children
Fast food and coke instead of fruits and vegetables: the consequences can already
be seen in children – more and more of them suffer from overweight and adiposity. But
what are the reasons? In what way are they connected, for example, with social status and
body weight of the parents? On the trail of overweight, the health scientist Prof. Dr.
Günter Eissing, Technische Universität Dortmund, carefully examined 432 Dortmund
children at the age of three, in cooperation with BKK Hoesch, Public Health Authority and
the city’s statistical department. More precisely, he measured them. Based on height
and weight, Prof. Eissing calculated the so-called Body Mass Index (BMI), compared it with
birth certificate data and medical examination documents, and found out: after the first
three years of their lives, 22 percent of the boys and eleven percent of the girls are
overweight. The results are only the first part of a unique longitudinal study about the
BMI development based on a test group of Dortmund children. After three years the test
subjects will be examined again within the scope of the pre-school medical examination. So
far the control of the BMI of the test subjects over a period of six years, is unique. The
first results already show: the older the children the fatter they are. Whereas the BMI
was quite in relation at birth, Prof. Dr. Günter Eissing discovered that at the age of
one, the percentage of children with an increased BMI was already higher. At the age of
three, 22 percent of the boys and eleven percent of the girls are to be classified as
overweight. Eleven percent of the boys and seven percent of the girls are considered to be
adipose. Other studies show that at the age of six the number of overweight children
increases once again.
Munich researchers discover key
allergy gene
Together with colleagues from the Department of Dermatology and Allergy and the
Center for Allergy and Environment (ZAUM) of the Technische Universität München,
scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München have pinpointed a major gene for allergic
diseases. The gene was localized using cutting edge technologies for examining the whole
human genome at the Helmholtz Zentrum München. Schematic representation of the high
affinity receptor for IgE. Variants within the gene encoding the alpha chain are
associated with increased levels of IgE antibodies The newly discovered FCER1A gene
encodes the alpha chain of high affinity IgE receptor, which plays a major role in
controlling allergic responses. The team of scientists led by Dr. Stephan Weidinger from
the Technische Universität München and Dr. Thomas Illig from the Helmholtz Zentrum
München found that certain variations of the FCER1A gene decisively influence the
production of immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies. IgE antibodies are a particular type of
antibody that is normally used to protect against parasites. In Western lifestyle
countries with less contact, however, elevated IgE levels are associated with allergic
disorders. In genetically susceptible individuals the immune system becomes biased and
produces IgE antibodies against harmless agents such as pollen, dust mites or animal hair.
These IgE antibodies then work in conjunction with certain cells to get rid of the
allergens, a process that gives rise to the symptoms of allergy such as allergic rhinitis
(hay fever), atopic dermatitis or asthma.
When our protective armor shows weakness
New knowledge points to the fact that a genetically induced lack of filaggrin, a
key protein of the skin barrier, plays a decisive role in the origin of allergies. In a
large study on more than 3000 school-children scientists of the Helmholtz Zentrum München
and the Technische Universität München found that about 8% of the German population
carry variations of the filaggrin gene, which raise the risk to develop atopic dermatitis
more than threefold. In addition, these genetic variations predispose to hay fever and
asthma in those with atopic dermatitis. Allergic diseases have increased considerably in
the past decades in most industrial countries. A combination of genetic and
environmentally related factors is said to be the cause. In recent years, several genes
were examined for a role in allergic diseases, and one of them actually turned out to be a
key player. This gene encodes filaggrin, an essential protein in the horny layer of the
skin. If this protein is reduced or lacking due to a genetic defect, the natural
cornification is impeded and the natural barrier function of the skin is limited.
Self-destruction for a common cause
Individual cells in a population of bacteria can sacrifice their lives for others
to achieve a greater common good. Published in the scientific publication, " Nature
", ETH Zurich biologists have described a new biological concept in which
self-sacrifice and self-destruction play an important role. ETH Zurich biologists, led by
Professors Martin Ackermann and Wolf-Dietrich Hardt, in collaboration with Michael Doebeli
of the University of British Colombia in Vancouver (CN), have been able to describe how
random molecular processes during cell division allow some cells to engage in a
self-destructive act to generate a greater common good, thereby improving the situation of
the surviving siblings. The biologists investigated this unusual biological concept using
the pathogenic salmonella bacteria as an example. Diseases caused by salmonellae are very
unpleasant and even life-threatening. When contaminated food is consumed - for example,
egg-based foods or chicken and meat - salmonella bacteria enter the gastro-intestinal
tract where it triggers infection. Vomiting and diarrhoea can last for days.
Positive thinkers 'avoid cancer'
Women who have a positive outlook may decrease their chances of developing breast
cancer, say Israeli researchers.
Tel Aviv University researchers are combatting cancer with a jasmine-based drug
Could a substance from the jasmine flower hold the key to an effective new
therapy to treat cancer? Prof. Eliezer Flescher of The Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel
Aviv University thinks so. He and his colleagues have developed an anti-cancer drug based
on a decade of research into the commercial applications of the compound Jasmonate, a
synthetic compound derived from the flower itself. Prof. Flescher began to research the
compound about a decade ago, and with his recent development of the drug, his studies have
now begun to bear meaningful fruit.
CSHL scientists identify new drug target against virulent type of breast cancer
Tumor cells in a particular subset of breast cancer patients churn out too much
of a protein called ErbB2 -- also often called HER2 -- which drives the cells to
proliferate unchecked. Patients unlucky enough to be in this group -- about one in four --
have poorer prognoses and clinical outcomes than those who don’t. Senthil K.
Muthuswamy, Ph.D. The drugs Herceptin and Lapatinib, prescribed in combination with other
chemotherapeutic agents, have improved this picture significantly, but leave plenty of
room for improvement: they suppress ErbB2 but are effective against less than half of
ErbB2-producing tumors. Moreover, patients with tumors that do respond usually develop
resistance to these drugs.A team of scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has just
published research identifying an enzyme called Brk that may serve as a target for future
drugs developed to fight ErbB2-positive tumors. Brk, they report, helps these tumors
become virulent and is also implicated in the process through which the tumors develop
drug resistance.
Alcohol consumption can cause too much cell death, fetal abnormalities
The initial signs of fetal alcohol syndrome are slight but classic: facial
malformations such as a flat and high upper lip, small eye openings and a short nose.
Researchers want to know if those facial clues can help them figure out how much alcohol
it takes during what point in development to cause these and other lifelong problems. They
have good evidence that just a few glasses of wine over an hour in the first few weeks of
fetal life, typically before a woman knows she's pregnant, increases cell death. Too few
cells are then left to properly form the face and possibly the brain and spinal cord.
"It’s well known that when you drink, you get a buzz. But a couple of hours
later, that initial impact, at least, is gone," says Dr. Erhard Bieberich, biochemist
in the Medical College of Georgia Schools of Medicine and Graduate Studies. "But,
your fetus may have experienced irreversible damage."
Future for clean energy lies in “Big Bang” of evolution
Amid mounting agreement that future clean, “carbon-neutral”, energy
will rely on efficient conversion of the sun’s light energy into fuels and electric
power, attention is focusing on one of the most ancient groups of organism, the
cyanobacteria. Dramatic progress has been made over the last decade understanding the
fundamental reaction of photosynthesis that evolved in cyanobacteria 3.7 billion years
ago, which for the first time used water molecules as a source of electrons to transport
energy derived from sunlight, while converting carbon dioxide into oxygen. The light
harvesting systems gave the bacteria their blue (“cyano”) colour, and paved the
way for plants to evolve by “kidnapping” bacteria to provide their
photosynthetic engines, and for animals by liberating oxygen for them to breathe, by
splitting water molecules. For humans now there is the tantalising possibility of tweaking
the photosynthetic reactions of cyanobacteria to produce fuels we want such as hydrogen,
alcohols or even hydrocarbons, rather than carbohydrates.Progress at the research level
has been rapid, boosting prospects of harnessing photosynthesis not just for energy but
also for manufacturing valuable compounds for the chemical and biotechnology industries.
Such research is running on two tracks, one aimed at genetically engineering real plants
and cyanobacteria to yield the products we want, and the other to mimic their processes in
artificial photosynthetic systems built with human-made components. Both approaches hold
great promise and will be pursued in parallel, as was discussed at a recent workshop
focusing on the photosynthetic reaction centres of cyanobacteria, organised by the
European Science Foundation (ESF).
Heavy metal link to mutations, low growth and fertility among crustaceans in
Sydney Harbor tributary
Heavy metal pollutants are linked to genetic mutations, stunted growth and
declining fertility among small crustaceans in the Parramatta River, the main tributary of
Sydney Harbour, new research shows. The finding adds to mounting evidence that toxic
sediments and seaweeds in Sydney Harbour are a deadly diet for many sea creatures. The new
findings, published in the journal, Science of the Total Environment, reveal genetic
mutations among crustaceans (Melita plumulosa) in the Parramatta River but none among
those in the cleaner Hawkesbury River. Earlier this year, UNSW scientists revealed that
copper-contaminated seaweeds in Sydney Harbour were killing 75 percent of the offspring of
small crustaceans that feed on a common brown seaweed. That study showed that the
harbour's seaweeds have the world's highest levels of copper and lead contamination as a
consequence of stormwater run-off, industrial wastewaters and motorised watercraft. The
new study found the mutations and lower growth and fertility persisted through several
generations of M. plumulosa in controlled laboratory conditions, suggesting that genetic
changes are causing permanent negative impacts. "The lower fertility and growth rates
among the creatures exposed to contaminants is probably a stress response," says the
study's lead author, UNSW science honours student, Pann Pann Chung.
Study Reveals How Blood Flow Force Protects Against Atherosclerosis
Machines on cell surfaces, mechanical and lifeless as bed springs, protect blood
vessels by responding to blood flow force, according to research published today in the
Journal of Cell Biology. By sensing and reacting to force, such machines interfere with
inflammatory pathways central to atherosclerosis, the cause of clogged arteries that lead
to heart attack and stroke, the authors said. The next set of studies, already underway,
seeks to “tweak” the process with the goal of designing a new class of
therapies. In recent years, researchers determined that mechanical force alone can kick
off biochemical reactions which contribute to both health and disease. When applied to
human bone during weightlifting, for instance, force can trigger biochemical reactions
that thicken bone. In the current example, blood flow creates frictional force, called
“shear stress,” as it moves along the cells that line blood vessel walls.
Secondly, each time the heart pumps, related pressure changes create a second,
simultaneous force that stretches vessel walls. The fast, steady blood flow (high
frictional force) and the relatively straightforward stretch patterns seen in the straight
portions of blood vessels have been shown to somehow protect those areas against
atherosclerosis.
Why a Common Treatment for Prostate Cancer Ultimately Fails
Some of the drugs given to many men during their fight against prostate cancer
can actually spur some cancer cells to grow, researchers have found. The findings were
published online this week in a pair of papers in the Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences. The results may help explain a phenomenon that has bedeviled patients for
decades. Hormone therapy, a common treatment for men with advanced prostate cancer,
generally keeps the cancer at bay for a year or two. But then, for reasons scientists have
never understood, the treatment fails in patients whose disease has spread – the
cancer begins to grow again, at a time when patients have few treatment options left. The
new findings by a team led by Chawnshang Chang, Ph.D., director of the George Whipple
Laboratory for Cancer Research at the University of Rochester Medical Center, help explain
the process by showing that the androgen receptor, through which male hormones like
testosterone work, is much more versatile than previously thought. Under certain
conditions the molecule spurs growth, and at other times the molecule squelches growth
– just like the same molecule does to hair in different locations on a man’s
head.
Nano-sized "trojan horse" to aid nutrition
Researchers from Monash University have designed a nano-sized "trojan
horse" particle to ensure healing antioxidants can be better absorbed by the human
body. Dr Ken Ng and Dr Ian Larson from the University's Faculty of Pharmacy and
Pharmaceutical Sciences have designed a nanoparticle, one thousandth the thickness of a
human hair, that protects antioxidants from being destroyed in the gut and ensures a
better chance of them being absorbed in the digestive tract. Antioxidants are known to
neutralise the harmful effect of free radicals and other reactive chemical species that
are constantly generated by our body and are thought to promote better health. Normally
our body's own antioxidant defence is sufficient, but in high-risk individuals, such as
those with a poor diet or those at risk of developing atherosclerosis, diabetes or
Alzheimer's disease, a nutritional source of antioxidants is required.Dr Larson said
orally delivered antioxidants were easily destroyed by acids and enzymes in the human
body, with only a small percentage of what is consumed actually being absorbed.
Brain study could lead to new understanding of depression
Dr Roland Zahn, a clinical neuroscientist in The University of Manchester’s
School of Psychological Sciences, and his colleagues have identified how the brain links
knowledge about social behaviour with moral sentiments, such as pride and guilt. The
study, carried out at the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in the
US with Dr Jordan Grafman, chief of the Cognitive Neuroscience Section, and Dr Jorge Moll,
now at the LABS-D'Or Center for Neuroscience in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, used functional
magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to scan the brains of 29 healthy individuals while they
considered certain social behaviours. The findings – published in the journal
Cerebral Cortex – for the first time chart the regions of the brain that interact to
link knowledge about socially appropriate behaviour with different moral feelings,
depending on the context in which the social behaviour occurs. “During everyday life
we constantly evaluate social behaviour and this largely affects how we feel about
ourselves and other people,” said Dr Zahn. “But the way we store and use
information about our own and other people’s social behaviour are not well
understood. “This latest study used functional brain imaging to identify the circuits
in the brain that underpin our ability to differentiate social behaviour that conforms to
our values from behaviour that does not.” The team observed that social behaviour not
conforming to an individual’s values evoked feelings of anger when carried out by
another person or feelings of guilt when the behaviour stemmed from the individuals
themselves. The fMRI scans of each volunteer could then be analysed to see which parts of
the brain were activated for the different types of feeling being expressed. Of particular
interest to Dr Zahn were the brain scans relating to feelings of guilt, as these have
particular relevance to his current work on depression. “The most distinctive feature
of depressive disorders is an exaggerated negative attitude to oneself, which is typically
accompanied by feelings of guilt,” he said.
Gene That Causes Childhood Cancer Neuroblastoma Is Found
Scientists have discovered gene mutations that are the main cause of the
inherited version of the childhood cancer neuroblastoma. In addition, the researchers
found that the same mutations play a significant role in high-risk forms of non-inherited
neuroblastoma, the more common form of the disease. "This discovery enables us to
offer the first genetic tests to families affected by the inherited form of this
disease," said pediatric oncologist Yael P. Mosse, M.D., of The Children's Hospital
of Philadelphia, the first author of the study, published online Aug. 24 in the journal
Nature. "Furthermore, because there already are drugs in development that target the
same gene in adult cancers, we can soon begin testing those drugs in children with
neuroblastoma." Neuroblastoma is the most common solid cancer of early childhood. It
accounts for 7 percent of all childhood cancers, but due to its often aggressive nature,
causes 15 percent of all childhood cancer deaths. It arises in the developing nerves of a
child, often appearing as a tumor in the chest or abdomen.
Iowa State University experts can discuss new FDA produce irradiation rule
The Food and Drug Administration's new (Aug. 22) regulation that will allow
irradiation pasteurization to be used on fresh spinach and iceberg lettuce to kill
illness-causing bacteria is a step that two Iowa State University professors have long
advocated.Dennis Olson is a professor of animal science and directs Iowa State's Linear
Accelerator Facility, one of only two commercial-sized irradiation facilities for food
research and demonstration on a U.S. university campus. He has researched food irradiation
for more than a decade, and is an expert in food safety, particularly in the area of meat
processing. (The FDA has allowed irradiation of red meat to control pathogens since 1997;
in poultry since 1990).Had the FDA rule been in place sooner, Olson is convinced that
irradiation could have prevented some of the illnesses and three deaths that occurred
during spinach and lettuce outbreaks in 2006.
Women exposed to negative life events at greater risk of breast cancer
Happiness and optimism may play a role against breast cancer while adverse life
events can increase the risk of developing the disease, according to a study by Professor
Ronit Peled, at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel. An article on the study
titled "Breast Cancer, Psychological Distress and Life Events among Young
Women," was just published in the British journal BMC Cancer (8:245, August 2008). In
the study, researchers questioned women about their life experiences and evaluated their
levels of happiness, optimism, anxiety, and depression prior to diagnosis. Researchers
used this information to examine the relationship between life events, psychological
distress and breast cancer among young women. A total of 622 women between the ages of 25
and 45 were interviewed: 255 breast cancer patients and 367 healthy women. "The
results showed a clear link between outlook and risk of breast cancer, with optimists 25
percent less likely to have developed the disease. Conversely, women who suffered two or
more traumatic events had a 62 percent greater risk," Peled said. "Young women
who have been exposed to a number of negative life events should be considered an
'at-risk' group for breast cancer and should be treated accordingly." The researchers
indicate that women were interviewed after their diagnosis, which may color their recall
of their past emotional state somewhat negatively. However, according to Peled, "We
can carefully say that experiencing more than one severe and/or mild to moderate life
event is a risk factor for breast cancer among young women. On the other hand, a general
feeling of happiness and optimism can play a protective role." "The mechanism in
which the central nervous, hormonal and immune systems interact and how behaviour and
external events modulate these three systems is not fully understood," Peled states.
"The relationship between happiness and health should be examined in future studies
and relevant preventative initiatives should be developed."
Pay attention! Small packages may lead to overeating
Tempting treats are being offered in small package sizes these days, presumably
to help consumers reduce portion sizes. Yet new research in the Journal of Consumer
Research found that people actually consume more high-calorie snacks when they are in
small packages than large ones. And smaller packages make people more likely to give in to
temptation in the first place. Authors Rita Coelho do Vale (Technical University of
Lisbon), Rik Pieters, and Marcel Zeelenberg (both Tilburg University, the Netherlands)
found that large packages triggered concern of overeating and conscious efforts to avoid
doing so, while small packages were perceived as innocent pleasures, leaving the consumers
unaware that they were overindulging. "The increasing availability of single-serve
and multi-packs may not serve consumers in the long-run, but—because they are
considered to be innocent pleasures—may turn out to be sneaky small sins," write
the authors. One fascinating aspect of the research is the difference between belief and
reality. In an initial study, researchers found that consumers believe that small packages
help them regulate "hedonistic consumption," where self-restraint is at stake.
When participants were asked to choose phone plans, those who thought the plan was for
social rather than work purposes tended to choose smaller plans.
High cholesterol levels drop naturally in children on high-fat anti-seizure diet,
Hopkins study show
Elevated cholesterol levels return to normal or near normal levels over time in
four out of 10 children with uncontrollable epilepsy treated with the high-fat ketogenic
diet, according to results of a Johns Hopkins Children's Center study reported in the
Journal of Child Neurology. The study appears online ahead of print at
http//jcn.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/23/7/758. In the four-year study, the Hopkins Children's
team followed 121 epileptic children with intractable seizures on the high-fat,
low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet designed to control such seizures. While most children
developed high cholesterol after starting the diet, cholesterol gradually improved in
nearly half of them, returning to normal or near-normal levels, with or without
modifications to their diet to reduce fat intake. In fact, researchers point out, diet
modifications-including reducing total fat content or certain types of fats called
saturated fats and adding nutritional supplements-reduced high cholesterol just as much as
doing nothing. High cholesterol is defined as total cholesterol greater than 200 mg per
deciliter of blood, bad or LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol greater than 130,
triglycerides greater than 130, and good or HDL (high-density lipoprotein) lower than 35.
Researchers prescribed dietary modifications to increase "good," polyunsaturated
fats in the diets of 15 children with elevated cholesterol. Dietary modifications
decreased cholesterol by 20 percent in 9 out of the 15 (60 percent) children whose diets
were modified. Surprisingly, cholesterol also dropped by at least 20 percent in 41 percent
of the 37 children whose diets remained unchanged. The findings, while encouraging
overall, also mean that relying on diet changes alone may not do much for those children
in whom cholesterol remains persistently elevated, and that new approaches for these
patients are needed, researchers say.The findings should come as comforting news to
pediatric neurologists, general pediatricians and parents of children treated with the
ketogenic diet, and reassure them that, in most patients, increases in cholesterol may be
short-lived, researchers say. Previous long-term studies by the Hopkins group of children
who were on the diet between six and 12 years echoed these findings. The ketogenic diet,
believed to work by triggering biochemical changes that eliminate seizure-provoking
short-circuits in the brain's signaling system, is used in many children with
hard-to-control epilepsy and in those whose seizures do not respond to traditional
anticonvulsant medications.
Trouble Quitting? - A New Pitt-Carnegie Mellon Smoking Study May Reveal Why
A new study from researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon
University sheds light on why smokers' intentions to quit “cold turkey” often
fizzle out within days or even hours. If a smoker isn't yearning for a cigarette when he
makes the decision to kick the habit-and most aren't-he isn't able to foresee how he will
feel when he's in need of a nicotine buzz. Published in the September issue of
Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, the study,
“Exploring the Cold-to-Hot Empathy Gap in Smokers,” bolsters the theory that
smokers not in a state of craving a cigarette will underestimate and underpredict the
intensity of their future urge to smoke. “We have observed previously that the idea
of smoking a cigarette becomes increasingly attractive to smokers while they are
craving,” said the study's lead investigator and University of Pittsburgh professor
of psychology Michael Sayette. “This study suggests that when smokers are not
craving, they fail to appreciate just how powerful their cravings will be. This lack of
insight while not craving may lead them to make decisions-such as choosing to attend a
party where there will be lots of smoking-that they may come to regret.” The study
looked at the cold-to-hot empathy gap-that is, the tendency for people in a
“cold” state (not influenced by such visceral factors as hunger, fatigue) to
mispredict their own behavior when in a “hot” state (hungry, fatigued), in part
because they can't remember the intensity of their past cravings.
Why do eyelids sag with age? UCLA study answers mystery
Many theories have sought to explain what causes the baggy lower eyelids that
come with aging, but UCLA researchers have now found that fat expansion in the eye socket
is the primary culprit. As a result, researchers say, fat excision should be a component
of treatment for patients seeking to address this common complaint. The study, published
in the September issue of the peer-reviewed Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery,
is the first to examine the anatomy of multiple subjects to determine what happens to the
lower eyelid with age. It is also the first to measure what happens to the face with age
using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). "A common treatment performed
in the past and present is surgical excision of fat to treat a 'herniation of fat' —
meaning that the amount of fat in the eye socket does not change but the cover that holds
the fat in place, the orbital septum, is weakened or broken and fat slips out," said
lead author Dr. Sean Darcy, a research associate in the division of plastic and
reconstructive surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and a plastic
surgery resident at the University of California, Irvine. "This orbital septum
weakening or herniation-of-fat theory is what most plastic surgeons have been taught.
Caesarean babies more likely to develop diabetes
Babies delivered by Caesarean section have a 20 per cent higher risk than normal
deliveries of developing the most common type of diabetes in childhood, according to a
study led by Queen's. The team, led by Dr Chris Cardwell and Dr Chris Patterson, examined
20 published studies from 16 countries including around 10,000 children with Type 1
diabetes and over a million control children. They found a 20 per cent increase in the
risk of children born by Caesarean section developing the disease. The increase could not
be explained by factors such as birth weight, the age of the mother, order of birth,
gestational diabetes and whether the baby was breast-fed or not, all factors associated
with childhood diabetes in previous studies. Dr Cardwell, from the School of Medicine,
Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, said: "This study revealed a consistent 20 per
cent increase in the risk of Type 1 diabetes. It is important to stress that the reason
for this is still not understood. It is possible that children born by Caesarean section
differ from other children with respect to some unknown characteristic which consequently
increases their risk of diabetes, but it is also possible that Caesarean section itself is
responsible.
High levels of uric acid may be associated with high blood pressure
Reducing levels of uric acid in blood lowered blood pressure to normal in most
teens in a study designed to investigate a possible link between blood pressure and the
chemical, a waste product of the body's normal metabolism, said researchers at Baylor
College of Medicine in a report that appears in the current issue of the Journal of the
American Medical Association.
Scientists discover leptin can also aid type 1 diabetics
Terminally ill rodents with type 1 diabetes have been restored to full health
with a single injection of a substance other than insulin by scientists atUT Southwestern
Medical Center. Since the discovery of insulin in 1922, type 1 diabetes (insulin-dependent
diabetes) in humans has been treated by injecting insulin to lower high blood sugar levels
and prevent diabetic coma. New findings by UT Southwestern researchers, which appear
online and in a future issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
suggest that insulin isn’t the only agent that is effective. Leptin, a hormone
produced by the body’s fat cells, also lowers blood glucose levels and maintains them
in a normal range for extended periods, they found. “The fact that these animals
don’t die and are restored to normal health despite a total lack of insulin is hard
for many researchers and clinicians to believe,” said Dr. Roger Unger, professor of
internal medicine and senior author of the study. “Many scientists, including us,
thought it would be a waste of time to give leptin in the absence of insulin. We’ve
been brainwashed into thinking that insulin is the only substance that can correct the
consequences of insulin deficiency.”Research led by Dr. Roger Unger, professor of
internal medicine, has shown in rodents that leptin, a hormone produced by the body’s
fat cells, lowers blood glucose levels.
Growth factor predicts poor outcome
in breast cancer
The response to insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-I) in breast cancer cells
predicts an aggressive tumor that is less likely to respond to treatment, said researchers
at Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears in the current issue of the Journal
of Clinical Oncology. The finding gives impetus to the movement to tailor cancer
treatments to attributes of the various tumors. "These findings come at a critical
time," said Dr. Adrian Lee, associate professor in the Lester and Sue Smith Breast
Center at BCM. "Our goal is to identify biomarkers that will help predict which
patients will respond to therapy against insulin-like growth factor. Several inhibitors of
the IGF pathway are in patient studies right now. There's a large movement to understand
which patients will respond to these drugs. This is a step toward that goal." In this
study, Lee and his colleagues stimulated breast cancer cells with IGF-I in the laboratory
and defined how more than 800 genes in the cells responded to the growth factor. They then
examined samples of patient breast tumors with this "gene signature" and
correlated the gene signatures with the fate of the patients. "We have technology now
to allow us to globally assess what IGF is doing in breast cancer at the whole gene
expression level," said Lee. "This is one of the first studies to do that. We
know that IGF is bad in cancer, but now we can globally understand it in a more
comprehensive manner. It could lead to finding biomarkers for patients response" to
breast cancer treatments. "We found that IGF-I is a major regulator of cell growth
and cell survival," said Lee. "It also regulates DNA repair."
Flu shot does not reduce risk of death
The widely-held perception that the influenza vaccination reduces overall
mortality risk in the elderly does not withstand careful scrutiny, according to
researchers in Alberta. The vaccine does confer protection against specific strains of
influenza, but its overall benefit appears to have been exaggerated by a number of
observational studies that found a very large reduction in all-cause mortality among
elderly patients who had been vaccinated. The results will appear in the first issue for
September of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, a publication
of the American Thoracic Society. The study included more than 700 matched elderly
subjects, half of whom had taken the vaccine and half of whom had not. After controlling
for a wealth of variables that were largely not considered or simply not available in
previous studies that reported the mortality benefit, the researchers concluded that any
such benefit "if present at all, was very small and statistically non-significant and
may simply be a healthy-user artifact that they were unable to identify." "While
such a reduction in all-cause mortality would have been impressive, these mortality
benefits are likely implausible. Previous studies were likely measuring a benefit not
directly attributable to the vaccine itself, but something specific to the individuals who
were vaccinated—a healthy-user benefit or frailty bias," said Dean T.
Eurich,Ph.D. clinical epidemiologist and assistant professor at the School of Public
Health at the University of Alberta. "Over the last two decades in the United Sates,
even while vaccination rates among the elderly have increased from 15 to 65 percent, there
has been no commensurate decrease in hospital admissions or all-cause mortality. Further,
only about 10 percent of winter-time deaths in the United States are attributable to
influenza, thus to suggest that the vaccine can reduce 50 percent of deaths from all
causes is implausible in our opinion." Dr. Eurich and colleagues hypothesized that if
the healthy-user effect was responsible for the mortality benefit associated with
influenza vaccination seen in observational studies, there should also be a significant
mortality benefit present during the "off-season".
Barrow researchers identify a new approach to detect the early progression of
brain tumors
Researchers at Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical
Center recently participated in a pilot study with the Montreal Neurological Institute
that suggests a certain type of MRI scanning can detect when a patient is failing brain
tumor treatment before symptoms appear. The results of the study pave the way for a
proactive treatment approach.The study followed patients with recurring malignant brain
tumors who were receiving chemotherapy. Patients received scans through an imaging device
called MR spectroscopy to identify metabolic changes. The scanning technique suggested
that the use of metabolic imaging identifies chemical changes earlier than structural
imaging such as a conventional MRI and CT scans. This approach allowed researchers to
determine if the tumors were responding to treatment early by assessing metabolic changes
in a brain tumor, which are easy to detect and appear before structural changes or
symptoms. The result may give patients more time to try another treatment."The study
has shown for the first time that metabolic response to brain tumor treatment can be
detected earlier and faster by metabolic imaging instead of through structural imaging or
assessment of the neurological status of a patient," says Mark C. Preul, M.D.,
Newsome Chair of Neurosurgery Research at St. Joseph's.The imaging can be done often,
poses no radiation hazard and is non-invasive.
Class of diabetes drugs carries significant cardiovascular risks
A class of oral drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes may make heart failure worse,
according to an editorial published online in Heart Wednesday by two Wake Forest
University School of Medicine faculty members. "We strongly recommend restrictions in
the use of thiazolidinediones (the class of drugs) and question the rationale for leaving
rosiglitazone on the market," write Sonal Singh, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of
internal medicine, and Curt D. Furberg, M.D., Ph.D., professor of public health sciences.
Rosiglitazone and pioglitazone are the two major thiazolidinediones. In the editorial
Singh and Furberg say, "At this time, justification for use of thiazolidinediones is
very weak to non-existent." Oral drugs are given to control diabetes by lowering
blood sugar. But diabetics also experience elevated rates of high blood pressure and high
levels of cholesterol and triglyceride, which "further compound their already
increased risk of developing ischemic heart disease," Singh and Furberg say. Heart
disease and high blood pressure "represent conditions that are major precursors of
congestive heart failure." About 22 percent of diabetics have heart disease. Among
elderly patients with diabetes, more than half will develop congestive heart failure over
a 10-year period, the editorial says. The thiazolidinediones were approved for use based
on the ability to reduce blood sugar. In contrast, "we reported [in the journal
Diabetes Care] in June 2007 that thiazolidinediones doubled the risk of congestive heart
failure in patients with type 2 diabetes," is says. "The increased heart failure
appears to be a class effect."Singh and Furberg reported in The Journal of the
American Medical Association in 2007 after an analysis of four long-term trials that use
of rosiglitazone was associated both with increased heart attacks and a doubling of heart
failure.
All types of antipsychotic drugs
increase the risk of stroke
All drugs used to treat psychosis are linked to an increased risk of stroke, and
dementia sufferers are at double the risk, according to a study published on bmj.com
today. Previous research has shown that second generation (atypical) antipsychotic drugs
can increase the chances of patients having a stroke. But the risk of stroke associated
with first generation (typical) antipsychotics, and whether the risk differs in people
with and without dementia, is not known. Concerns about an increased risk of stroke among
people taking atypical antipsychotic drugs were first raised in 2002, particularly in
people with dementia. In 2004, the UK's Committee on Safety of Medicines recommended that
these drugs should not be used in people with dementia, despite a lack of clear evidence.A
team of researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, examined data
from the General Practice Research Database (GPRD), which contains the clinical
information of more than six million patients registered at over 400 general practices in
the UK. They assessed the effect of exposure to antipsychotic medication on the incidence
of stroke in 6 790 patients with a recorded incident of stroke and at least one
prescription of any antipsychotic between January 1988 and the end of 2002. The authors
found that during periods when patients were receiving an antispychotic drug they were 1.7
times more likely to have a stroke, whereas people with dementia were 3.5 times more
likely to have a stroke whilst taking any antipsychotic. The likelihood of having a stroke
was slightly higher for people taking atypical antipsychotics than people taking typical
antipsychotics. The study did not look at the specific mechanisms linking antipsychotics
and stroke or why the risk is greater with atypical antipsycotics. Previously, the risk of
stroke associated with typical antipsychotics was unclear, say the researchers, but
"we have established that all types of antipsychotics carry an increased risk,
although the risk might be somewhat higher with the atypical drugs." They conclude -
"We reaffirm that the risks associated with antipsychotic use in patients with
dementia generally outweigh the potential benefits, and in this patient group, use of
antipsychotic drugs should be avoided wherever possible."
New role for Natural Killers!
Scientists at the University of York have discovered a new role for a population
of white blood cells, which may lead to improved treatments for chronic infections and
cancer.Natural Killer (or NK) cells are abundant white blood cells that were recognised
over 30 years ago as being able to kill cancer cells in the test tube. Since that time, a
role for NK cells in activating other white blood cells (including ‘T’
lymphocytes and phagocytes) and in directing how the immune system responds to a wide
range of infections has also been established. Because of these properties, NK have been
widely regarded as being of benefit in the fight against cancer and infection, and methods
to increase NK cell activity underpin a range of new experimental anti-cancer drugs and
anti-infectives.However, a research team in the University’s Centre for Immunology
and Infection and led by Professor Paul Kaye, has now demonstrated that NK cells also make
chemicals that inhibit immune responses.
Black raspberries slow cancer by altering hundreds of genes
New research strongly suggests that a mix of preventative agents, such as those
found in concentrated black raspberries, may more effectively inhibit cancer development
than single agents aimed at shutting down a particular gene. Researchers at the Ohio State
University Comprehensive Cancer Center examined the effect of freeze-dried black
raspberries on genes altered by a chemical carcinogen in an animal model of esophageal
cancer. The carcinogen affected the activity of some 2,200 genes in the animals’
esophagus in only one week, but 460 of those genes were restored to normal activity in
animals that consumed freeze-dried black raspberry powder as part of their diet during the
exposure. These findings, published in recent issue of the journal Cancer Research, also
helped identify 53 genes that may play a fundamental role in early cancer development and
may therefore be important targets for chemoprevention agents. “We have clearly shown
that berries, which contain a variety of anticancer compounds, have a genome-wide effect
on the expression of genes involved in cancer development,” says principal
investigator Gary D. Stoner, a professor of pathology, human nutrition and medicine who
studies dietary agents for the prevention of esophageal cancer. “This suggests to us
that a mixture of preventative agents, which berries provide, may more effectively prevent
cancer than a single agent that targets only one or a few genes.”
New evidence on addiction to medicines Diazepam has effect on nerve cells in the
brain reward system
Addictions to medicines and drugs are thought to develop over a relatively long
period of time. The process involves both structural and functional changes in brain nerve
cells that are still poorly understood. However, a single drug or alcohol dose is
sufficient to generate an initial stage of addiction. Recent research conducted under the
umbrella of the Academy of Finland Research Programme on Neuroscience (NEURO) has
discovered the same phenomenon in the dosage of benzodiazepine diazepam. Benzodiazepines
are highly effective medicines that are widely used in the treatment of anxiety, insomnia,
pains, panic attacks and other symptoms. However, over time patients may develop an
increased tolerance towards these medicines and an unhealthy dependence. "Previously,
addiction to benzodiazepines has been explained by reference to negative rather than
positive reinforcement. In other words, the thinking has been that the reason people
continue to use the medicine is that it helps to alleviate their distressing withdrawal
symptoms and general discomfort, rather than because it provides a sense of reward,"
says Professor Esa Korpi, who has been in charge of the research project at the University
of Helsinki. However, according to the latest research it seems that diazepam causes a
similar change in the brain's reward-inducing dopamine cells as a dose of alcohol,
morphine, amphetamine or cocaine. Furthermore, neural message transmission in the dopamine
cells is reinforced for up to 72 hours after ingestion of diazepam. "Our studies have
shown that diazepam also affects the dopamine system, which adds a new positive
reinforcement mechanism of reward learning to the theory of benzodiazepine
addiction," Korpi explains.
Low Levels of Brain Chemical May Lead to Obesity, NIH Study of Rare Disorder Shows
A brain chemical that plays a role in long term memory also appears to be
involved in regulating how much people eat and their likelihood of becoming obese,
according to a National Institutes of Health study of a rare genetic condition. Brain
derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is, as its name implies, produced in the brain. Studies
of laboratory animals have suggested it also helps control appetite and weight. The NIH
study, appearing in the August 28 New England Journal of Medicine, provides the first
strong evidence that BDNF is important for body weight in human beings as well. The NIH
researchers studied children and adults with WAGR syndrome, a rare genetic condition. The
researchers found that some of the people with this syndrome lack a gene for BDNF and have
correspondingly low blood levels of the substance. The people in this subgroup also have
unusually large appetites and a strong tendency towards obesity. “This is a promising
new lead in the search for biological pathways that contribute to obesity,” said
Duane Alexander, M.D., director of the NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development. “This finding may eventually lead to
the development of new drugs to regulate appetite in people who have not had success with
other treatments.” The study’s first author was Joan C. Han, M.D. and the senior
author was Jack A. Yanovski, M.D., Ph.D., both of NICHD’s Unit on Growth and Obesity.
Other authors of the study were from the National Human Genome Research Institute and the
National Institute on Drug Abuse, also part of the NIH. Funding for the study was provided
by the NICHD and the NIH Office of Rare Diseases.
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