* Bone Marrow Transplants

Cancer Drug Shows Promise Against Graft Vs. Host Disease

A new University of Michigan study in mice suggests that a drug recently approved to fight cancer tumors is also able to reduce the effects of graft-versus-host disease, a common and sometimes fatal complication for people who have had bone marrow transplants.

Plans are under way at U-M for an initial trial of the drug in people as a new way to prevent graft-versus-host disease. Researchers expect to begin a trial within a year.

The U-M scientists tested the effects of the drug SAHA, as well as another member of a group of drugs known as HDAC inhibitors, on key immune system cells called dendritic cells. In mice, both drugs were able to significantly diminish the destructive inflammatory effects that these cells cause in graft-versus-host disease.

Graft-versus-host disease occurs when immune cells in the transplanted bone marrow mount a misguided attack on body tissues. If HDAC inhibitors turn out to be safe and effective in people, they might offer a treatment option preferable to the immunosuppressant drugs used now to treat the disease. These leave people vulnerable to infection and have other significant side effects.

"To make bone marrow transplants more effective, we need better control of the very powerful reactions between the immune systems of the donor and recipient. This study shows how drugs like SAHA regulate those reactions, and takes us a major step closer to bringing this new approach to patients who need transplants," says James L.M. Ferrara, M.D., director of the U-M Combined Bone Marrow Transplant Program and a senior author on the study. Ferrara is also professor of internal medicine and pediatric and communicable diseases at U-M.

"These HDAC inhibitors were thought to just kill cancer cells, but at lower doses, it's possible they can modulate a number of immune diseases," says Pavan Reddy, M.D., the study's lead and corresponding author, and an assistant professor of internal medicine at the U-M Medical School. "The mechanism we have identified in graft-versus-host disease may be involved in autoimmune diseases as well."

Context

Bone marrow stem cell transplants are most commonly used to treat leukemia and lymphoma. By replenishing depleted blood cells, the transplants allow higher doses of chemotherapy to more effectively get rid of cancer cells.

But as many as half of bone marrow transplant recipients develop acute or chronic symptoms of graft-versus-host disease, which can affect the skin, liver and gastrointestinal tract. Reddy calls the disease "the single biggest barrier to bone marrow transplant."

The study suggests a novel way to treat graft-versus-host disease with an already available drug that is stirring considerable interest as an anti-cancer agent. The FDA approved SAHA, marketed under the name Vorinostat, as a treatment for one kind of lymphoma in 2006 and for leukemia in 2007. SAHA is being used off label for other cancers, including lung, brain and colon cancer.

The U-M study adds to a growing body of research suggesting HDAC inhibitors also may be useful tools to reign in misguided immune responses. Researchers elsewhere have recently shown that HDAC inhibitors have been beneficial in animal studies of lupus and inflammatory bowel disease. Other studies suggest the drugs could be useful in regulating the immune response in heart and islet cell transplants.

Research details

The U-M researchers studied the responses of immune system dendritic cells in mice given SAHA and ITF 2357, another new HDAC inhibitor. Dendritic cells are important immune system cells whose varied roles are beginning to be fully understood.

The scientists looked at the two HDAC inhibitors' effects on mouse and human dendritic cells in culture. They found that as they suspected, the drugs acted to diminish the dendritic cells' key role in promoting pro-inflammatory proteins called cytokines. Specifically, the researchers found that the HDAC inhibitors increase the expression of IDO, an enzyme which represses dendritic cell activity.

They tested the HDAC inhibitors in mice bred to display the effects of graft -versus-host disease. When they injected the mice with dendritic cells treated with the drugs, they found the drugs were able to reduce the disease's effects.

* Breast Cancer

How Tumor Cells Break Free And Form Metastases

When tumor cells acquire the capacity to move around and invade other tissues, there is a risk of metastases and cancer treatment becomes more difficult.


At the Institut Curie, CNRS Director of Research Philippe Chavrier and his group have just discovered how breast cancer cells break the bonds that tether them to the tumor.
The basement membrane around the mammary gland is a barrier to the spread of cancer cells. Three proteins in the tumor cells transport enzymes needed to perforate this barrier, and another protein puts these enzymes in the right place. These discoveries, published in the 16 June 2008 issue of The Journal of Cell Biology and in Current Biology on 8 July 2008, shed light on the early mechanisms of the formation of metastases in certain breast cancers.

These findings constitute an essential step in the quest for the early identification of highly invasive tumors, or even the blocking of formation of metastases.

Tissues are generally formed by cells arranged side by side. Epithelial cells cover an outer surface, such as the skin or an organ such as the mammary gland, and remain tightly bound together. This cohesion is vital to the body’s functioning, and the epithelial cells remain in position in their original tissue until they die. Sometimes, though, they detach and move away, and while such migration is essential during embryonic development as cells give rise to new tissues, when tumor cells break loose this often heralds the formation of metastases.

When tumor cells break loose

Tumor cells accumulate errors, become totally anarchic, and flout all the rules. Some even become detached from the tumor through complex and poorly understood mechanisms. The Membrane and Cytoskeleton Dynamics Group headed by Philippe Chavrier(1) (UMR 144 CNRS/Institut Curie) has now shed new light on the way cells, in this case breast cancer cells, escape their shackles. The mammary gland is separated from the neighboring tissue by the basement membrane, which the tumor cells will have to cross before continuing on their way.

The cell first forms protrusions called invadopodia and anchors them in the basement membrane. These “feet” provide everything needed to breach the membrane. The tumor cells produce a whole range of proteases that degrade the proteins of the extracellular matrix that hems them in, part of which is the basement membrane. These proteases cut a hole in the basement membrane through which the cells can escape.

In a first publication, the researchers used a model of metastatic breast cancer cells to show that the proteins sec3, sec8 and IQGAP1 transport vesicles containing proteases to the invadopodia. Without sec3, sec8 and IQGAP1 the vesicles cannot be fastened to the ends of the invadopodia and so the cells fail to escape into the neighboring tissue. Before the proteases can degrade the membrane, they must first be released from the vesicles.

In a second publication, Philippe Chavrier and colleagues show that the protein Vamp7 fuses protease-containing vesicles with the membrane of tumor cells. Only then can the proteases at the ends of the invadopodia progressively erode the basement membrane of the mammary gland. Inactivation of Vamp7 greatly reduces the ability of the breast cancer cells to degrade the extracellular matrix.

So tumor cells can only escape from the mammary gland by accomplishing a whole series of modifications. Philippe Chavrier and his group have shown how they hijack cellular mechanisms to leave their original tissue, after which they can spread throughout the body and form metastases.

These discoveries may help to explain why certain breast cancers are more aggressive than others, or even to identify highly invasive tumors at an early stage. It is also conceivable that tumor invasion could be blocked by acting on the underlying mechanisms identified by Philippe Chavrier and colleagues.

(1) Philippe Chavrier is CNRS Director of Research at the Institut Curie.

* Manicure & Infections

Millions of women visit manicurists to have their nails professionally manicured every year. Unfortunately, occasionally the result of having manicures is developing nail fungus or bacterial infections which can not only look bad, but may also feel even worse. Although HIV or AIDS can be transmitted through broken skin that occurs during a visit to a nail salon, this is extremely rare. What can you do to lower your risk of developing an infection or fungus, or HIV/AIDS, caused by a manicure?
A few simple steps before your next manicure can significantly lower your risk of developing a painful nail infection or fungus, or disease.

Buy your own manicure or pedicure kit and take it with you when you visit your manicurist. Make sure you clean and disinfect your manicure kit after each use, even if you are the only one using your kit.

Bring your own nail polish, base coat, and top coats. Remove your old nail polish at home, or bring nail polish remover with you.

Check out the salon where you have your nails done. Does it look clean and sanitary? Is the trash container properly bagged and covered? Is the floor clean? Are the manicure tables kept neat and tidy? Is there plenty of good light? Look at the disinfectant containers and make sure that they are clear, clean, and free of debris.

If you are not using your own manicure kit: Are all instruments cleaned and disinfected after each use? Does the manicurist use fresh, clean instruments on each client? Does the manicurist remove the clean, disinfected, instruments from the disinfectant in front of you? Make sure all files, buffers, and anything else that touches you is freshly clean before you allow the manicurist to begin.

Make sure the pedicure tub is thoroughly cleaned and disinfected after each client. The steps where clients typically step with bare feet at spa pedicures should be cleaned and disinfected before each client, as well.

Make sure that the manicurists wash their hands before and after each client, and that clients wash before their nails are done.

Never use a towel that is not fresh and clean.

Make sure that plenty of clean, disinfected, nail brushes are available for each client.

Make sure that a new, unused, emory board is used for each client.

Consider using cuticle softener, rather than cuticle scissors to reduce the risk of broken skin occurring.

If these sanitary precautions are not being taken at your nail salon, don’t be afraid to tell the shop owner what needs to change and what you expect from a manicurist and nail salon.

Contact your state cosmetology board if you develop a nail infection, fungus, or other condition as a result of visiting a nail salon, or if you see unsanitary practices.

* Scale Down!

What to do when your weight loss flatlines

You've been eating fewer calories, your trainer is your new BFF, and your body has gotten teenier. But now it seems like you couldn't lose a pound unless you cut your arm off. You've hit the dreaded plateau — a frustratingly common dieting phenomenon. "At a certain point in weight loss, usually after losing about 10 percent of your weight, you may have to tweak your diet and exercise to jump-start your body again," says Susan Mitchell, Ph.D., R.D., co-author of Fat Is Not Your Fate. Here's why you might stall and what you can do to rev back up.

You're eating for 164 (pounds, not people).

Flatline Yeah, losing mass means you look better in your low-riders, but it also means there's less of you to burn calories. It's a cruel truth: Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) — the number of calories your body needs just to exist — gets lower as you get littler. Keep eating for your old weight and you're going to hit a wall. Finish line As the number on the scale goes down, so too must your food intake. Figure out your BMR by dividing your current weight by 2.2 pounds, then multiplying this number by 0.9, and then by 24. (Or calculate it at bmicalculator.net/bmrcalculator.)

Now multiply your BMR by 1.2 and voil: You've got the average number of calories your body burns per day when you factor in normal activities. (Add another 300 to 500 on days you do an hour of moderate to intense exercise.) Once you have your final number, shave off 500 to find out how many calories you need to eat to lose a pound a week, or 300 to lose 2 pounds a month. Just don't ever go below 1,200 a day or you'll run into the problem below.

You're eating for 95.

Flat line Here's the flip side: There's such a thing as eating too little to lose weight. "The body needs a certain number of calories per day to meet minimum metabolic needs, such as cardiovascular function and respiration," Mitchell says. When you're running on empty, your brain sends signals to various organs (like your thyroid), telling them to slow down your metabolism to conserve energy.

Finish line Strategy? Simple: "Increase your calories," Mitchell says. "Many women are afraid to do this because they think they'll gain weight, when actually the body will function more efficiently and they'll start losing again." If you're stuck (and starving), try adding 100 calories a day for 2 weeks.

You could work out in your sleep.
Flat line Been repeating the same moves since you made your New Year's resolutions? You need a kick in your (shrinking) behind. "When your body is used to an exercise, it stops making physiological changes," says Cassandra Forsythe, a nutrition and exercise scientist at the University of Connecticut. Translation: Your bod has become so efficient at doing your current routine that it's burning fewer calories. Want proof? A recent study in the International Journal of Obesity found that runners who didn't increase their mileage gained weight over time.

Finish line Mix it up. "To grow more muscle and keep your metabolic rate high, you have to damage the muscles a little by challenging your body with a different workout," Forsythe says. If you're a treadmill rat, get on the elliptical or bike. If you're hell-bent on the treadmill, up the intensity (by adjusting the speed or incline) every other minute, or work up to a longer run by adding a half mile every couple of weeks. In the weight room, forget those 15 reps you usually do with a 5-pounder: "Decrease the number of reps and increase the weight, using one you can lift only five to eight times.
Article Courtsey of http://www.womenshealthmag.com

* Yoga For Fitness, Wellness

Yoga for Fitness, Wellness, Mental Health & a Flexible Body - More amazing video clips are a click away

* Hair Loss Treatment

Hair Loss Treatment in Zinc

Hair loss can be a difficult thing to experience. There are a number of hair loss treatments that claim to be helpful if a person wants to try and stop the process or at least slow it down. One possibility that may not have been considered is to find a vitamin or mineral that targets hair loss.

While genetics does have some credibility as one cause of baldness, another cause could be a nutritional deficiency in the diet. Zinc is known to be one nutrient that can help stop loss of hair. It will be easier to use zinc to treat baldness or thinning of hair when it is known how zinc relates to this problem and what the proper balance should be.
Making sure that you are eating a balanced diet with the proper amounts of zinc and other nutrients is one way to make sure that you are doing all you can to help prevent hair loss.

If there is a considerable lack of enough zinc in a person’s body then it is most likely one of the factors causing hair loss. In order to tell if a lack of zinc could be affecting your hair, you need to figure out how much of this nutrient is in your daily intake of food. Since we also know that stress can be a factor in losing hair, it is important to note that zinc is beneficial for helping your system cope when it is under excessive stress. If you are experiencing a great amount of stress, this can cause the zinc to move through the body more quickly leaving you with a substantial lack of the nutrient.

Zinc helps your system by increasing the proteins you need that affect the health of your hair, skin and nails. When you suffer from a lack of zinc, then the hair does not continue to grow and can fall out. Zinc helps to create a balanced support system by working along with several of the proteins that you have in the body. It is important that the nutrients which the body requires stay in proper balance.

A lack of sufficient zinc can cause problems with the scalp as well as contributing to a loss of hair. Nutrient deficiency may be irritating the scalp and making it dry and flaky. Zinc is known to also help prevent hair color changing to gray. It is so effective that it can even help reverse the process of hair thinning, baldness or graying if zinc is taken in the right quantity.

There are a number of different foods that are a good source of zinc. Fish, yeast, egg yolks and wheat germ are all helpful to increase a person’s intake of this nutrient. The zinc in these foods will help to stimulate protein production in different parts of the body. Another option is to purchase zinc nutritional supplements. A good rule of thumb is to take fifty to one hundred milligrams daily to make it most helpful.

Often, zinc is lacking in typical daily meals alone. If you desire to be certain your body has the proper balance of the nutrients it requires, then you can increase your intake of foods rich in the nutrient you lack as well as take supplemental vitamins and minerals. This will help assure that your body has been properly armed to help fight hair loss.

Hair Loss Treatment by Aromatherapy

For thousands of years people have found many purposes for Aromatherapy. We know that as far back as the early Egyptian culture, its uses for many aspects of the human body have been investigated. It has been known that different combinations of roots and leaves along with extracts from flowers that have been condensed into essential oils help regenerate the human body and lift the spirits of people.

One of the things that humans have an ongoing problem with is hair loss and there has been some success quite often using aromatherapy as a hair loss treatment. Alopecia has been treated for many years with oils such as lavender, cedar wood, rosemary and thyme.

Massaging bald areas on the scalp for two minutes every night can be helpful when using unique combinations of oils. To help improve the scalp’s ability to absorb these oils and increase the benefits, simply wrap the treated scalp with a towel. This may be helpful for baldness. For the treatment of alopecia, the following essential oils are necessary:

• 3 drops Rosemary

• 3 drops Lavender

• 2 drops Thyme

• 2 drops Atlas cedar wood

The following carrier oils are also needed:

• 4 teaspoons Grapeseed oil

• ½ teaspoon Jojoba oil
These are some additional treatments using aromatherapy:

Choose an essential oil and add 2 drops to rinse water after shampooing. You may add it to a vegetable oil instead. Massage this thoroughly into the scalp. Wrap your head using clear plastic wrap first. Then wrap a warm towel on top of that and leave it on for several hours or overnight, if possible. Next, use a mild shampoo so as not to change the sebum balance on your head and wash your hair.

Improve hair by stimulating the scalp which helps the circulation:

To help your hair stay healthy, blend together lavender and bay essential oils. This will help stimulate the hair follicles and scalp. Combine 6 drops each of bay and lavender and blend into 4 oz. of a warm carrier oil such as soybean, sesame or almond oil. Massage this mixture into your scalp. Allow for 20 minutes to let it be absorbed thoroughly. Next, shampoo your hair with your regular shampoo but add 3 drops of bay essential oil.

If high blood pressure is a problem for you, either avoid rosemary oil altogether or don’t use it very often. If you have sensitive skin, lemon or grapefruit oil may irritate your scalp. You may want to use less of those essential oils. Do not use more than the recommended amounts of the essential oils as listed in the directions.

Article courtsey of curehelp.com

* Eat Less, Live Longer

For years, studies have shown that an almost foolproof way to live longer is to cut back on calories. In mice, cutting calories has not only extended their lifespan, but also their reproductive period. It is hypothesized that a low calorie diet in humans can have a similar effect.

In yeast, it was demonstrated that decreasing caloric intake of these cells decreases SIR2, an inhibitor of an anti-aging enzyme. Lower production of SIR2 meant the longevity system of the cell flourished. We humans have similar genes, and it is likely it is modulated in a similar manner.

We already know that cutting back on calories can lower cholesterol, fasting glucose, and blood pressure. These parameters have also been termed biomarkers of aging, as they can be correlated with age related diseases.

Don’t want to cut back on your gastronomic experiences? Then pop an antidepressant. Unlike Prozac or Zoloft, when worms were given another anti-depressant called mianserin (trade name Tolvon), their appetite center was tricked into thinking they had consumed much less calories than they actually did. Their lifespan was increased significantly, from 3 weeks to more than four.

According to Linda Buck, Nobel Prize winner and leader of this study, the drug works by modulating neurotransmitter serotonin, which controls appetite and hunger sensation in both these worms as well as in humans. It also stimulates octopamine, which is a trigger for starvation. While the worm’s nervous system was tricked into thinking they were starving, the organisms did not consume less food. Furthermore, when the worms were put on a diet on top of the antidepressant treatment, there was no additional increase in lifespan beyond the basal effect of a caloric cutback. This suggests that mianserin uses the exact same mechanism as a strict diet to make the worms live longer.

While these findings have yet to be shown in humans, we see ample evidence that diet does have a similar effect in us. For example, inhabitants of the Ryūkyū Islands of Japan have the highest life expectancy. These people consume a low calorie diet which is positively correlated with the number of people living over the age of 110.

Article Courtsey of brainblogger.com

* Food Additives & Common Sense

A BMJ editorial, Food additives and hyperactivity, discusses the recent attention that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has been giving to the possible link between food additives and childhood hyperactivity. Apparently the EFSA had to re-evaluate studies regarding this possible connection after publishing an opinion that suggested that there wasn’t enough evidence to suggest a correlation between additives and hyperactivity.

The editorial mentions various treatment options for hyperactivity. Apparently there is substantial evidence backing up two common therapies for this problem: drugs and dietary modification. But there is little evidence to justify treating this problem with behavioral therapy, even though this is a common procedure.

It is interesting to note that there is quite a bit of focus on both drug and behavioral therapies. But Andrew Kemp, the author, notes that it would be wise to eliminate various additives that have been shown to affect the behavior of children. After all, even though the evidence may not be staggering, there is still indeed evidence that shows this.

It is ironic to me that Kemp even needs to suggest this; it sounds like this “advice” is common sense. I know that many people treat various aliments with more natural approaches such as dietary changes, as we’ve discussed here, or with other changes such as exercise, meditation, light-therapy, etc. The list is endless. And honestly I’m quite envious of people who have successfully been able to do this well.

I believe that a good number of people (myself included) have strayed from the common sense approach to treating physical and emotional ailments. We’ve relied on drugs and other “easy” methods to the point that it seems extreme to try other, gentler methods.

Now be clear. I am not saying that people shouldn’t take drugs or are lazy if they do. That’s not my point and certainly not even my implication. Therapeutic drugs have a place in our treatment of illnesses just as yoga and sugar-free diets do. And taking drugs, while not void of all complications or issues, is usually more straight-forward than other therapies. (Our society and western viewpoint of illness is partially responsible for this but that’s another topic.) And I know that I too, look to those educated in these matters, to help me choose the best treatment option. And natural solutions, while agreed that they may be viable, are not usually the course of action relied upon.

While I hope that our health care system eventually becomes more well-rounded, I understand that doctors will continue to rely on the regulated, scientific-based methods for years to come. And that’s fine. In fact, I understand why they would be hesitant to suggest something that isn’t based on scientific evidence or that isn’t governed by a regulatory system.

That’s why I think it’s up to us as patients to take a second to consider common sense solutions to our everyday health problems. Maybe they will help, maybe not. But at least we’ll be adding balance to our somewhat narrow-minded western viewpoint of medicine.

Article courtsey of brainblogger.com

* A Bad Mix - Cell Phones & Children

Of course the prominence of cell phones goes beyond the streets. You can find cell phones attached to ears everywhere. Little is sacred now; once that little phone rings a quick “excuse me” is the standard protocol. Sometimes I wonder if society is addicted; after all, people seem to take their phones everywhere, even when they are in the company of others. I see it when I walk my son around the neighborhood, other walkers and their cell phones. I’ve been out to eat with acquaintances that interrupt our dinner for their daily touch-base with their aunt. I’ve even accidentally responded to strangers in the grocery store who were looking my way, saying something, yet talking on those headset devices.

The good news for our cell-crazed culture is that a German study recently announced that their decade’s long study found that cell phones were safe for adults. Of course there were caveats: they cannot make conclusions based on more than 10 years of cell phone usage and some cellular activity did change while being “under the influence” of mobile/cell phone radiation. (According to the article, even this information did not dissuade the survey from concluding that cell phones were safe.)

So, the good news is that, as of now, we can continue being a country obsessed with cell phones.

I think it’s important to note though that the study could not make any safety statements regarding children and cell phone usage. Therefore, since there is not evidence one way or another they suggest that children do not use mobile phones.

Although most kids probably aren’t concerned about how healthy it is to use cell phones, as their parents, we have to be. And since having a cell phone is starting to become “the thing” at earlier and earlier ages, we need to pay extra attention to future studies that focus on this population and cell phone exposure. It may just be that we have to tone down our usage of cell phones in order to keep our kids from becoming too eager to start acting like adults at the expense of their health. The question is: could we do it?

Article courtsey of brainblogger.com

* Viruses Cause Cancer?

In the 11th Report on Carcinogens, the US government added Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B, and certain papilloma viruses to their list of substances known to be carcinogenic. This represented the first time ever that viruses were included.

At the sixth annual International Conference of the American Association for Cancer Research, Dr. Andrew J. Dannenberg stated, “I believe that, conservatively, 15 to 20% of all cancer is caused by infections, however, the number could be larger, maybe double.”

Dr. Dannenberg is director of the Cancer Center at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. He went on to say, “Unfortunately, the public, as well as many health-care workers, are unaware of the significance of chronic infection as a potentially preventable cause of cancer.” Some examples he gave were liver cancer, caused by chronic Hepatitis B and C, and MALT lymphoma and adenocarcinoma of the stomach caused by Helicobacter pylori bacteria. Also, schistosome parasite infection has been implicated in bladder cancer (transitional cell carcinoma) .

Probably the most well known example is HPV, or human papilloma virus, known to cause genital warts and now known to be the major cause of cervical cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, 11,000 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2007, and nearly 4,000 of these would die from it. Oropharyngeal cancer is also thought to be caused, in some cases, by HPV infection and past HPV exposure.

The FDA approved Gardasil vaccination in 2006 to prevent infection against high-risk HPV’s known to cause cervical cancers and genital warts. Gardasil is approved for use in girls only, and can be given as young as nine years of age. This has led to some questions as to why the vaccine is not offered to boys if it is known that HPV causes oropharyngeal cancer as well as vaginal cancer. This may be because the vaccine is expensive and oropharyngeal is rare in comparison to cervical cancer.

What does the future hold for virus research? Likely much more research will be done to attempt to identify which viruses are associated with certain types of cancer. If this can be accomplished, perhaps the key to fighting cancer in the future will be to prevent people from getting cancer in the first place. If scientists can create a vaccine like Gardasil to prevent cervical cancer, it is not out of the realm of possibility to hope that some day they will come up with a vaccine for all cancers. One can always hope.

Article courtsey of brainblogger.com