Clinical trials of the method to combat skin cancer

June 11, 2010

Clinical trials of the method to combat skin cancer
Clinical trials of cancer of the skin, based on strengthening the immune response, gave a positive result. This is reported by American doctors.

Looking ahead, we note that nothing in common with all sorts of questionable drugs, promising at the same time “to lift the immunity and cure almost all ailments from colds to cancer, the new method does not. The team of doctors and scientists from the Cancer Institute Dana-Faber conducted clinical trials of antibodies to skin cancer, melanoma. Their results are presented in the journal New England Journal of Medicine (one of the three most respected medical publications) and so far it is not a panacea, but a tool that is used in combination with traditional therapy.

As the body fights the danger?

In a healthy organism, about one hundred trillion (100 000 000 000 000) cells, most of which are regularly damaged DNA molecules by chemicals or radiation. And often these injuries immediately corrected by special enzymes, so that any effect on the cells and the body as a whole, they do not have.

Even where the system is repaired (or, using the biological term “reparations”) DNA is unable to cope, often nothing terrible happens. Mutated cell may be unviable, the mutation may affect the so-called “junk” DNA segments or damaged gene will in itself not so very different from the original.

To become a cancer cell requires that the DNA damage occurred in certain places, was not immediately removed – and that’s not all. A single cell with a significant probability to be recognized and destroyed by the immune system even before the formation of tumors.

How does the new method?

This immune response, scientists decided to use. Experimental preparation consisted of antibodies to tumor cells and protein molecules synthesized in the detection of the immune system focus melanoma. Antibodies interact with the so-called T-lymphocytes, activating the system for the destruction of infected cells.

True, they suffer not only tumor cells. In 60% of patients were observed or another complication: from skin rashes to diarrhea and vomiting. The tool was far from harmless, but effective, the average survival of patients with inoperable tumors increased from six to ten months. And 9 out of 15 patients who received only a new drug lived for at least two years after starting treatment.

Prospects

The fact that the experimental method has passed the third stage of clinical trials and demonstrated its effectiveness, meaning the possible use of it already in the usual manner. At least until the widespread use less than if it were a matter of successful tests on animals, or even more cell cultures, doctors say that it is now necessary to develop the most effective strategies for using the drug in the treatment of melanoma.

In addition, knowing the mechanism of interaction of antibodies with T-cells doctors can pick up and other molecules that affect a similar manner. It is capable how to improve the effectiveness of the method, and, quite likely, reduce the severity of side effects.

Excessive calcium intake is fraught with the deteriorating health

Excessive calcium intake is fraught with the deteriorating health
Excess calcium is harmful to health – doctors recorded the negative trend of the spread of the diagnosis of so-called milk-alkali or calcium-alkali syndrome. Much of the reason this situation has been the widespread use of supplements of calcium and vitamin D.

Food hypercalcemia syndrome occurs when dangerously inflated levels of calcium in the blood, which can cause high blood pressure and even kidney failure. Doctors say that many people take an excessive amount of vitamin supplements of calcium, mainly as a means of preventing osteoporosis, in combination with high doses of vitamin D. As a result, health is not only not improving, but rather worse, in many cases, patients with hypercalcemia requires hospitalization.

This diagnosis is associated with high calcium consumption, rather than milk, the scientists explain the University of Pennsylvania / USA /. According to them, pregnant women, women after menopause, patients after organ transplant operations, as well as bulimia and dialysis have a high risk of disease due to various physiological reasons. Researchers are strongly advised to limit consumption of calcium dose of no more than 1,2-1,5 grams per day – in that the number of useful minerals for the body.

Stem Cells of lungs start to breed only at serious damages

March 24, 2010

Stem Cells of lungs start to breed only at serious damages
Stem Cells of air ways of lungs have been described for a long time, but their functions are still badly studied.

Working with mice, the group of scientists of Cambridge has found out that for a homeostasis and updating air ways cages-predecessors in regular intervals scattered in him answer. The same cages provide normal restoration at small damages. However restoration of a fabric after serious damages of lungs occurs for the account small Stem Cells, in other cases remaining in rest in the niches and not participating in homeostasis maintenance.

Thus, it is shown that in bronchial tubes exists two populations of capable cages to expansion, пролиферирующих in different conditions. Research materials are presented in article Giangreco A, et al. Stem cells are dispensable for lung homeostasis but restore airways after injury. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Jun 9; 106 (23):9286-91. Epub 2009 May

Working conditions during pregnancy influence health of the child

Working conditions during pregnancy influence health of the child
Scientists warn that working conditions of the pregnant woman can affect weight of the child at a birth or lead to premature birth. Isabelle Niedhammer and its colleagues from University College (Dublin, Ireland) have studied working conditions of 676 women during the period from 14 till 16 weeks of pregnancy.

Researchers interested, the working day of the woman how many lasts, whether it is necessary it to work on changes, to overwork, strain physically. It has appeared that a combination at least two adverse factors (time or contract work, processing, the replaceable schedule, physically an arduous toil) raises risk of premature birth or low weight at a birth approximately five times.

«Physically the arduous toil most strongly influences weight at a birth, raising risk of a birth of the child with weight 2500 г or less», – speaks Isabelle Niedhammer. Long labour shifts also raised risk of a birth of the child with weight less than 3000 г and risk of chronic diseases in the future.

About 25 % of the women participating in research, have informed that they should work more than 40 hours per week, 20 % worked on changes, 18 % named the work physically strained.

Authors of research conclude that the further researches about influence of working conditions on a pregnancy outcome are necessary.

On materials Reuters Health.

Suppresses the immune system drug extended the lives of older mice

March 8, 2010

Suppresses the immune system drug extended the lives of older mice
Used to suppress the immune drug sirolimus (brand name – “Rapampitsin) prolongs life in mice by 9 per cent for males and 14 – for females. These results were achieved in the experiments carried out in parallel in the three research centers in the U.S. states of Maine, Michigan and Massachusetts. Article about the study published the journal Nature.

Increased life expectancy was achieved despite the fact that the mouse (there were about two thousand) only started receiving sirolimus at the age of six days, the equivalent of sixty human years. Other known methods of increasing life expectancy of mammals – a healthy lifestyle, physical activity, low-calorie meals – the call for appropriate measures at an early age.

Sirolimus – registered in Russia, a drug used after organ transplantation and to combat certain types of cancer. Not yet determined how effective it would be a means to prolong human life, but that its use can be problematic because of the high toxicity associated with its primary effect. Moreover, the daily dose sirolimusa to humans – from 2 to 5 milligrams – is much lower than that obtained in the mouse experiment (2.24 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day).

Head of research at the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor (Maine), David Harrison (David Harrison) said: “I would not own and would not recommend anyone to do it [take sirolimus for prolongation of life] at this stage of research.”

The mechanism of increasing the duration while taking the drug remains unclear. Sirolimus was chosen for the experiment because it acts on the biochemical path TOR, which depends on slowing the aging effect of low-calorie diets. Nevertheless, none of the mice did not lose weight during the study.

American scientists have proposed to treat tuberculosis drugs from Parkinson’s disease

American scientists have proposed to treat tuberculosis drugs from Parkinson’s disease
American scientists have discovered that a cure for Parkinson’s disease, entacapone effective in treating “supertuberkuleza, germs which are resistant to most known drugs), reports Newswise. The research skills of the University of California (University of California) in San Diego, published in PLoS Computational Biology.

The researchers used a technique that enables to find a new use of already known medicines. The specialists studied the pharmacological activity of several derivatives of the drug, and then optimize those who showed the greatest efficiency.

Tuberculosis In the study, researchers found that the drug for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, entacapone is effective against the pathogens of tuberculosis in doses that are well below toxic to human cells. According to study leader, Professor Philip Bourne (Philip Bourne), this discovery is important because existing drugs for the treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis are highly toxic.

According to scientists, developed the method of investigation will move from the old scheme of search activity of drugs, one drug – one disease “to a new, implying a multiple-use products.

Nigerian tea will help in the treatment of diabetes

March 2, 2010

Nigerian tea will help in the treatment of diabetes
Tea from the leaves of trees growing in Africa and bitter orange may be remedy for patients with diabetes mellitus type II, described in the material Lexi Abutu and Christina Scott, sent from Abuja, Nigeria.

Tea from the dried leaves of the tree Rauvolfia vomiting / Rauvolfia vomitoria / – known in West Africa as “asofeyedzhe” in the language of the Yoruba tribe – and the fruit of bitter orange tree, as it turns out, is able to regulate the level of blood sugar, according to lead researcher Joan Campbell-Ayabo Toft, researcher at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.

Diabetes mellitus type 2, which usually develops in middle-aged people, may constitute a threat to life and is characterized by high blood sugar. Often affects people suffering from obesity, diabetes – are endocrine disease that occurs as a result of absolute or relative insufficiency of insulin, which is produced by the pancreas.

In the course of the study conducted in Denmark, 23 patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 daily drink 750 milliliters of tea “asofeyedzhe”, while the control group drank a placebo. After four months among patients who consumed tea “asofeyedzhe”, it was observed reduction of blood sugar. The results of this study has not yet been published.

Campbell-Toft, who studied and later taught at the University of Nigeria, said that the tea, apparently affected differently than traditional methods of treatment of diabetes. Conventional drugs are meant to quickly remove excess sugar from the bloodstream, while the tea only the passage of time reduces blood sugar.

The researchers suggest that tea enhances the ability of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the muscle fibers to send sugar into the cells.

Campbell-Toft said in an interview with SciDev.Net, that she learned about this tea from his family and friends who gathered for the research of 50 kg tree leaves asofeyedzhe and 300 kg of bitter oranges in Edo State of Nigeria, where she grew up

But while Campbell-Toft optimistic about the therapeutic possibilities of tea, she warns that the development of each new drug to treat diabetes, “it will take years.”

Asofeyedzhe tree grows in Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Liberia, Senegal, Sudan and Uganda. Local healers also use its leaves as a laxative and for treatment of mental disorders, leprosy and arthritis.

American Medical Association refused to recognize obesity disabilities

February 26, 2010

American Medical Association refused to recognize obesity disabilities
American Medical Association (AMA) has decided not to recognize obesity disabilities. The reason for this became inevitable difficulties in communication between doctors and patients, which would have occurred otherwise.

Recognition of obese people with disabilities would allow human rights organizations to more effectively combat discrimination against people in the workplace and in other situations.

However, U.S. laws prohibit the point man for his disability, if he had not expressed a willingness to talk on this subject, with exceptions for health workers is not provided. This means that in case of recognition of obesity disabilities doctor will not recommend a patient to reduce body weight.

At the same time, weight control is indicated for many common diseases such as hypertension, ischemic heart disease, diabetes and many others, and therefore, the law on disability interfere with medical quality to do its work.

Currently, obesity is observed in approximately 65 percent of adult Americans, with more than 30 percent – in the degree of obesity. Experts estimate that excess weight causes 300 thousand deaths in the country annually.

Against the back pain will help the regular charge

Against the back pain will help the regular charge
People with back pain need more exercise, say Australian doctors from the University of Alberta.

Experts examined the health of 240 men and women with chronic pain symptoms in the back and found that those who are doing exercises four days a week, have a better quality of life, at 28% less signs of pain and a 36% reduced risk of disability and physical disability. Those who went to the gym or on your own gymnastics only two or three times a week, did not show the same positive change.

Often, because of pain in the back of people avoid physical activity, but therapists say the opposite – a regular charge can significantly reduce pain and prevent more serious damage to muscle, vertebrae and joints.

Doctors conducted a second study that included 60 people with chronic back pain and divided them into groups: one group doing exercises twice a week, the second – three times, the third – four or more, and the last group in general was ordered to engage in physical activity. During the 16 weeks of physiologists to monitor progress in identifying symptoms of pain in his back. If people involved in physical activity two days a week, the pain decreased by 14% if three days – by 18%. The most significant positive effect of gymnastics moderate loads seen in sports four or more days per week – a pain when it fell by 28%. Quality of life, overall physical and mental well-being has improved by 16, 22 and 28 percent respectively.

Operations for the treatment of obesity began to carry out through the mouth

December 11, 2009

Operations for the treatment of obesity began to carry out through the mouth
American and European surgeons are experiencing how to conduct operations to reduce the stomach through the mouth. Such access by the intervention, aimed at combating obesity, leaves no cosmetic defects.

With gastroscopy, introduced through the esophagus, stomach superimposed surgical staples in such a way that it formed a thin channel, slowing the passage of food. This patient feel full after taking small amounts of food and lose weight.

Doctors called the preliminary results of 200 operations in the U.S. and 100 in Europe are promising. After about 18 months after the intervention the mean weight loss of patients was 45 percent. According to the surgeon Nishi Gregg (Gregg Nishi) of the Medical Center Sidars-Sinai, only one operation was complicated by perforation of the esophagus, the more serious complications were observed.

The new operation was another achievement of technology NOTES (Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery – Endoscopic surgery through natural openings). Today in the world with the help of this technology has successfully removed the appendix, gall bladder and kidney through the vagina, through the mouth performed appendectomy and biopsies of the pancreas.

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