‘Muscle’ protein drives prostate cancer
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Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have for the first time implicated the muscle protein myosin VI in the development of prostate cancer and its spread.
In a series of lab studies with human prostate cancer cells, the Hopkins scientists were surprised to find overproduction of myosin VI in both prostate tumor cells and precancerous lesions. When the scientists genetically altered the cells to “silence” myosin VI, they discovered the cells were less able to invade in a test tube.
“Our results suggest that myosin VI may be critical in starting and maintaining the malignant properties of the majority of human prostate cancers diagnosed today,” says Angelo M. De Marzo, M.D., Ph.D., a study coauthor and associate professor of pathology, urology and oncology.
Gene Therapy Inhibits Epilepsy in Animals
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For the first time, researchers have inhibited the development of epilepsy after a brain insult in animals. By using gene therapy to modify signaling pathways in the brain, neurology researchers found that they could significantly reduce the development of epileptic seizures in rats.
“We have shown that there is a window to intervene after a brain insult to reduce the risk that epilepsy will develop,” said one of the lead researchers, Amy R. Brooks-Kayal, M.D., a pediatric neurologist at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and associate professor of Neurology and Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. “This provides a ‘proof of concept’ that altering specific signaling pathways in nerve cells after a brain insult or injury could provide a scientific basis for treating patients to prevent epilepsy.”
Dr. Brooks-Kayal and Shelley J. Russek, Ph.D., of Boston University School of Medicine were senior authors of the study in the Nov. 1 Journal of Neuroscience.
Patient’s Worldwide Bill of Rights for Eating Disorders Demands Proof of Results
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An international professional society has issued a patient’s bill of rights for the treatment of eating disorders, conditions that affect an estimated 30 million Americans, most of them young women. For 2 million, symptoms will progress to full-blown anorexia nervosa and approximately 10 percent will die from the disease. Treatment is often complex and typically involves not only the patient, but friends and family as well.
The Academy for Eating Disorders (AED), which created the bill of rights, warns that in recent years treatment programs have flourished which can make choosing among treatment options difficult for parents and patients. Dr. Cynthia Bulik, AED fellow, distinguished professor of eating disorders in the department of psychiatry and director of the Eating Disorders Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, said patients and their parents should know three things:
Touch, massage may aid dementia patients
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Gentle massage therapy shows some promise for easing dementia patients’ agitation and anxiety, though there have been too few well-conducted studies to recommend the treatment yet, according to researchers.
In a review of two clinical trials, Danish researchers found that hand massage helped calm dementia patients’ agitation levels, while gentle touch and “verbal encouragement” at mealtime improved their food intake.
The findings suggest that human touch could help allay the agitation, anxiety and other behavioral and emotional problems that come with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
10 million people a year are affected by zoonotic viruses spread by non-human hosts
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Doctors and veterinarians need to work together to tackle the increasing global threat of zoonotic viral diseases spread by non-human vertebrate hosts - including dogs, cattle, chickens and mosquitoes - according to a review in the November issue of Journal of Internal Medicine.
An estimated 50 million people acquired zoonotic diseases between 2000 and 2005 and up to 78,000 have died, reports Dr Jonathan Heeney, Chair of the Department of Virology at the Biomedical Primate Research Centre in the Netherlands.
And the diseases responsible for the majority of zoonotic illnesses, and a third of the deaths in the study period, appear to be increasing. This is particularly worrying because there are no effective vaccines for some of the most common zoonotic viruses.
Cancer risk from arthritis drugs overstated-study
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Two biotech drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis—Abbott Laboratories Inc.‘s Humira and Johnson & Johnson’s Remicade—may raise the risk of cancer and infections but not as much as was feared, researchers said on Tuesday.
A series of letters published in the Journal of the American Medical Association show that several teams have taken a fresh look at the safety of the two drugs and find that they may double the risk of cancer and infections.
Most of the researchers, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, agree that patients need to know about the risks but say the benefits mean the drugs should stay on the market.
Anabolic steroids and antisocial behaviour go together
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Swedish researchers have found that there could well be a link between the use of anabolic steroids and antisocial behaviour.
Anabolic steroids are drugs related to male sex hormones and can be taken through injections or orally; many athletes, bodybuilders and others, both male and female, use steroids without a prescription to build muscle bulk and strength in order to look better.
Steroids can cause serious side effects, including liver cancer, and kidney disease.
Study Evaluates Two Medications for ADHD
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University of Illinois at Chicago researchers are comparing two drugs commonly used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to determine if genetic factors predict which children will respond to either or both drugs.
Many different medications are used to treat ADHD, including stimulants and non-stimulants, says Dr. Mark Stein, principal investigator of the National Institute of Mental Health-funded study and director of the Hyperactivity, Attention, and Learning Problems Clinic at UIC.
“Unfortunately, clinicians are unable to predict in advance who will respond or not respond to a particular medication,” Stein said.
Anorexics attribute meaning to their symptoms
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For many patients with the eating disorder anorexia nervosa, their self-starvation has real meaning and purpose in their lives. “Therefore, treatments of anorectic behavior which disregard the meaning that the patients attribute to the illness are likely to end in relapses,” lead investigator Dr. Ragnfrid H. Nordbo, of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo, told Reuters Health.
Nordbo and colleagues conducted a qualitative study of the perceptions of 18 women with anorexia nervosa. The subjects, who were between 20 and 34 years old, underwent focused, in-depth interviews. The study findings are published in the November issue of the International Journal of Eating Disorders.
“Most anorectic patients regard their illness as meaningful,” Nordbo said.
U.S. children grow bigger bellies
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American children and teens are growing ever-fatter tummies, a bad sign that means they are at even more risk of heart disease and diabetes, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.
They found that the belly fat of children and teenagers had increased by more than 65 percent since the 1990s—directly in line with rising obesity rates.
Belly fat is more dangerous than general weight gain, because abdominal and visceral fat—found surrounding the internal organs—is more clearly and strongly linked with disease than general body fat.
Men with prostate cancer avoid radiation due to misconceptions
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Negative perceptions about radiation therapy can strongly influence a prostate cancer patient’s choice to avoid external beam radiation therapy, even though studies have proven the treatment to be as safe and effective as other treatments for the disease, including surgery, according to a study presented November 5, 2006, at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology’s 48th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.
“The study shows that patients base their treatment choice not only on technical information, but also on cultural and personal prejudices,” said Riccardo Valdagni, M.D., an author of the study and head of the Prostate Programme at the Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori in Milan, Italy. “It’s important for patients to express their fears about radiation treatment to their doctors and for doctors to consider these worries and address any misconceptions about this therapy so that patients can make the best, most informed decision about their treatment.”
Park Your Car and Walk to Store, School, Work
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A new comprehensive study by Saint Louis University researchers that flags the top 10 features of activity-friendly communities is a blueprint for improving public health, the author of the research says.
“We wrote the book on identifying the range of different influences that gets people engaging in physical activity not just for recreation but as part of their everyday life activities,” says Laura Brennan Ramirez, Ph.D., adjunct assistant professor of community health at Saint Louis University School of Public Health.
More than 6 months of hormone therapy doesn’t help prostate cancer patients live longer
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Prostate cancer patients treated with either radiation or surgery who use hormone therapy for longer than six months do not survive any longer than patients who use the treatment for a shorter amount of time, according to a study presented November 5, 2006, at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology’s 48th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.
“Many patients with high risk prostate cancer are treated with two or more years of hormone therapy based on studies performed over a decade ago,” said Cliff Robinson, M.D., lead author of the study and a radiation oncologist at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. “Our study’s findings suggest that treating current patients with shorter-term hormone therapy may not only be equally effective, but also improve their quality of life, due to a lesser degree of treatment side effects.”
Tight belts not a factor in esophageal cancer rise
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A new study from Sweden debunks the theory that men’s switch from suspenders to belts is behind the sharp rise in throat cancer seen over the past several decades.
While known risk factors for esophageal cancer include male gender, being overweight, and having gastric acid reflux, Drs. Jesper Lagergren and Catarina Jansson of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm note, the reasons remain unclear why the disease is becoming more common.
More than a million suffer chronic fatigue
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Chronic fatigue syndrome, once thought by some doctors to be a psychological problem or even an excuse for malingerers, is a real disease that affects more than a million Americans, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday.
Early diagnosis and treatment of the disease are important for recovery—even though it is not clear what the best treatments are, CDC officials told a news conference.
“CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome) is a terrible illness that prevents many people from taking part in everyday activities and participating in the things they enjoy,” CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding said.
