Verzenio for treating breast cancer

Verzenio (abemaciclib) is approved to treat adult patients who have hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer that has progressed after taking therapy that alters a hormones (endocrine therapy).

Verzenio is approved to be given in combination with an endocrine therapy, called fulvestrant, after the cancer had grown on endocrine therapy. It is also approved to be given on its own, if patients were previously treated with endocrine therapy and chemotherapy after the cancer had spread (metastasized).

Verzenio provides a new targeted treatment option for some patients with breast cancer who are not responding to treatment, it can be given as a stand-alone treatment to patients who were previously treated with endocrine therapy and chemotherapy.

Verzenio works by blocking certain molecules (known as cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6), involved in promoting the growth of cancer cells. Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer. The safety and efficacy of Verzenio in combination with fulvestrant were studied in a randomized trial in some patients with HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer that had progressed after treatment with endocrine therapy and who had not received chemotherapy once the cancer had metastasized.

The study measured the length of time tumors did not grow after treatment (progression-free survival). The median progression-free survival for patients taking Verzenio with fulvestrant was 16.4 months compared to 9.3 months for patients taking a placebo with fulvestrant.

The safety and efficacy of Verzenio as a stand-alone treatment were studied in a single-arm trial of 132 patients with HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer that had progressed after treatment with endocrine therapy and chemotherapy after the cancer metastasized.

 The study measured the percent of patients whose tumors completely or partially shrank after treatment. In the study, 19.7 percent of patients taking Verzenio experienced complete or partial shrinkage of their tumors for a median 8.6 months.

Common side effects of Verzenio include diarrhea, low levels of certain white blood cells (neutropenia and leukopenia), nausea, abdominal pain, infections, fatigue, low levels of red blood cells (anemia), decreased appetite, vomiting and headache.

Serious side effects of Verzenio include diarrhea, neutropenia, elevated liver blood tests and blood clots (deep venous thrombosis/pulmonary embolism). Women who are pregnant should not take Verzenio because it may cause harm to a developing fetus.
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Lactation hormone and mother's brain

The hormone that stimulates milk production for lactation, also acts in the brain to establish the nurturing link between mother and baby. The researchers found that signalling by the hormone prolactin to its receptors in a specific brain region is essential for mothers to show maternal nurturing behaviour towards their children.

Prolactin is best known for its role in enabling milk production in mammals.
Researchers undertook targeted deletion of prolactin receptors in the preoptic area of the brains of adult female mice.

These mice without prolactin receptors were able to get pregnant and give birth normally, but abandoned their children after birth, this establish a critical role for prolactin for more than milk production.

This shows that prolactin hormone is a literal life saver by establishing normal parental care that ensures offspring survival. Disruptions in the ability of prolactin to communicate in the brain could lead to problems for mothers establishing a bond with their baby.
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Zinc can stop the growth of cancer cell

Zinc is essential for maintaining human health and protecting the esophagus from cancer. According to the latest research, zinc supplements can prevent the proliferation of esophageal cancer cells. Clinical data and animal studies have shown that this mineral is very important for overall body health and for cancer prevention.

Esophageal cancer is the sixth leading cause of deaths across the globe, zinc deficiency has been found in many cancer patients, zinc is an important element in many proteins and many enzymes and the absence of zinc makes it impossible for cells to function properly.

Zinc impedes overactive calcium signals in cancer cells, which is absent in normal cells, and thus zinc selectively inhibits cancer cell growth. Insufficient amount of zinc can lead to the development of cancers and other diseases, foods rich in zinc are spinach, flax seeds, beef, pumpkin seeds, shrimp and oysters.

It is needed in small amounts every day for sound health, apart from cancer prevention, some other benefits of zinc are production of hormones, maintaining proper growth, it improves immunity, it facilitates digestion and reverses heart disease.
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Blood sugar monitor without finger pricks

U.S. regulators have approved the first continuous blood sugar monitor for diabetics that doesn't need backup finger prick tests. Current models require users to test a drop of blood twice daily to calibrate, or adjust, the monitor.

The pain of finger sticks and the cost of testing supplies discourage many people from keeping close tabs on their blood sugar, which is needed to manage insulin use and adjust what they eat.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the device, which continuously monitors diabetics' blood sugar levels without requiring backup finger prick tests. Current models require users to test a drop of blood twice daily to calibrate, or adjust, the monitor.

Too-high blood sugar levels can damage organs and lead to heart attacks, strokes, blindness and amputations. Very low blood sugar can cause seizures, confusion and loss of consciousness.

The device was approved for adults with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, this device cannot be used with an insulin pump, a device worn against the skin that allows users to inject insulin as needed, but the company is planning improvements to eventually enable that.
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RNA modification and brain development

A chemical tag added to RNA during embryonic development regulates how the early brain grows, when this development goes wrong, it may cause psychiatric disorders in people. Researchers used animal models and mini-brains, made from human stem cells to relate their findings to conditions found in people.

Researchers have discovered chemical modifications to messenger RNA mRNA across the genome at certain sites and found that these changes are dynamic- a specific chemical group is added and taken off by enzymes in a regular, pattern. The chemical group studied in the Cell paper, m6A, is the most prevalent modification to mRNA in human cells.

The current thinking is that a tightly controlled molecular process guides the complicated development of the brain before birth and the process relies on a precise sequence of genes being turned on and off. However, even subtle mistakes in this process can become serious issue. The classic view of this control is that DNA codes for RNA, guiding which proteins will be made by cells. However, mRNA can be modified along the way so that it can produce proteins with many variations.

A new field called epitranscriptomics was discovered during the research. The Cell paper is the first study of epitranscriptomics in the embryonic mammalian brain, and the key is m6A, a marker for molecules bound for disposal within the cell. Normally, m6A-tagged mRNAs are related to such processes as cell replication and neuron differentiation, and m6A-tagging promotes their decay after they are no longer needed.

If m6A is not added on the correct time schedule to a garbage-bound molecule, the developmental train goes down the wrong tracks because developing brain cells get stuck at an earlier stage because the m6A cues for taking out the cellular trash are misread or not read at all. The researchers found that in a mouse model with depleted m6A, cell replication is prolonged, so that stem-cell differentiation, which normally reels out daughter cells in an orderly fashion, gets stuck. The knockout mouse develops less brain cells such as neurons and glia cells, and therefore has abnormal circuitry and a non-functioning brain.

Neuron development in the mini-brains that was developed is similar to what happens in people, modeling fetal brain development up to the second trimester. Human stem cells had a greater number of m6A tags compared to mouse cells. Many of the genes associated with genetic risk for certain conditions, such as schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder, are only m6A-tagged in humans, not in mice, raising the possibility that dysregulation at this level of gene expression may contribute to certain human brain disorders.
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Checking HIV status with mobile phones

Researchers have developed a mobile test using technology found in smartphones, and it could provide a virtually instantaneous way of diagnosing HIV. The test uses a drop of blood from a patient to produce result within 10 seconds.

The test uses surface acoustic wave SAW biochips, which are based on microelectronic components found in smartphones. The disposable quartz biochips are extremely fast because they do not require complex labelling, amplification or wash steps, and a pocket-sized control box reads out the SAW signal and displays results electronically.

Early detection of HIV is vital to help contain potential outbreaks, but existing tests require complex analysis equipment and long waiting times for results. The team first optimized SAW biochips and capture coatings to detect model HIV antibodies and recombinant antigens (anti-p24 and p24 respectively) exploiting small llama antibody technology.

This was then used to test real patient samples, using differential measurements, in order to achieve high specificity and sensitivity within seconds. The research opens up the potential of consumer electronics to reduce test waiting times, giving patients on the spot access to potentially life-saving treatment and supporting more timely public health interventions to prevent disease outbreaks.
Early diagnosis and access to antiretroviral treatment increases life expectancy, reduces infant mortality and prevents mother to child transmission in pregnant women.
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Links between sleep, cognition and schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is associated with wide range of symptoms including visual and auditory hallucinations, cognitive problems and motivational issues.
People with the disease have trouble with learning and memory, cognition and a compound called kynurenine.
Kynurenic acid is a neuroactive metabolite of kynurenine that is formed in the brain. People with schizophrenia have higher than normal levels of kynurenic acid in their brains.

These higher levels might be connected with a range of symptoms seen in the disease like problems with learning and memory. The mechanisms underlying the cognitive impairments in patients is not clear. An interplay between higher kynurenic acid and sleep could be responsible. There is a lot of evidence in both humans and animals that sleep dysfunction leads to problems with learning and memory. People with schizophrenia often have problems with sleep.

Researchers examined rat, they made comparisons in the behavior of rats with increased kynurenic acid in their brains to animals with normal levels of the compound. They connected the animals' brains to a device that measured the amount and quality of sleep, and found that the animals with higher levels of kynurenic acid had significantly less rapid eye movement.

This is the sleep phase in which dreams occur, and it is thought to be critical for the consolidation of previous learning.
The researchers found that the group with high kynurenic acid also had problems with learning. To test this, they place rats in a box and shine light into the box. On one side of the box there is an opening into a darker area.

Rats are nocturnal animals, and prefer the dark, so the animals typically run to the dark area. Once in this area, they receive a small electric shock. When the experiment is repeated the next day, normal animals do not run to the dark location because of the electric shock. By comparison, animals with increased levels of high kynurenic acid, and impaired sleep, do not remember the shock and run into the dark area.

Kynurenic acid disrupts sleep, which then disrupts cognition. However, disruptions in sleep may cause increased kynurenic acid, which then leads to cognitive problems. Reducing kynurenic acid could reduce problems with sleep and cognition in patients with schizophrenia. High levels of kynurenic acid are a crucial aspect of schizophrenia.
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New molecules may prevent stroke and neurodegenerative diseases

Researchers have discovered a new class of molecules in the brain that synchronize cell-to-cell communication and immune activity in response to injury or diseases. Elovanoids ELVs are bioactive chemical messengers made from omega-3 very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids VLC-PUFAs,n-3. They are released on demand when cells are damaged or stressed.

Working in neuronal cell cultures from the cerebral cortex and from the hippocampus and a model of ischemic stroke, the researchers found that elovanoids not only protected neuronal cells and promoted their survival, but maintained their integrity and stability.

This can proffer solution in the understanding of how the complexity and resiliency of the brain are sustained when confronted with adversities such as stroke, Parkinson's or Alzheimer's and neuroprotection signaling needs to be activated and how neurons communicate among themselves.

These novel molecules participate in communicating messages to overall synaptic organization to ensure an accurate flow of information through neuronal circuits. We know how neurons make synaptic connections with other neurons, however these connections have to be malleable to change strength appropriately.

Elovanoids might play a central role as synaptic organizers, especially important in conditions resulting from synaptic dysfunction such as autism or amyotropic lateral sclerosis, for which there is no therapeutic solutions.

The researchers discovered the structure and characteristics of two elovanoids - ELV-N32 and ELV-N34 - in the brain. Starting with neuron cell cultures and then an experimental model of stroke, they found that elovanoids were activated when cells underwent either oxygen deprivation or excitotoxicity - early events associated with stroke, epilepsy, Parkinson's, traumatic brain injury and other neurodegenerative diseases.

They determined the concentrations and therapeutic windows at which elovanoids conferred neuroprotection. They discovered that elovanoids overcame the damaging effects and toxicity of these early events. In the stroke model, elovanoids reduced the size of the damaged brain area, initiated repair mechanisms and improved neurological recovery.
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Causes of miscarriage

The major structures of a fetal's heart form in four days, identifying the precise time when the four chambers of the heart develop opens up the possibility that doctors could eventually be able to monitor fetal during this critical phase of their development.
The research involved the imaging of fetal hearts with a gestational age range of 95 to 143 days in the womb, looking at how the heart developed 13 to 20 weeks into pregnancy.

The researchers used the magnetic resonance imaging MRI technology, specifically-written algorithms and 3D computer software to visualise the growing heart. They discovered that the most remarkable changes occurred over a four months period 124 days into the pregnancy.

Within this period, the muscle tissue of the heart rapidly organise. Cardiac fibres were laid down to form the helix shape of the heart within which the four chambers of the heart form. Without this essential architecture in place, the fetal heart cannot survive outside the womb.

Some miscarriages are caused by the failure of the heart to form normally,
there was a remarkable consistency around that fact that this phase of the heart's development started 124 days into pregnancy.

Researchers found increased levels of two proteins: connexin 40 and connexin 43.The expression of connexin 40 and connexin 43 helps cells in the heart to communicate with each other. As the amount of these proteins increases, cells can speak to each other more effectively.

Presently, doctors can effectively monitor a fetal heart after 20 weeks into a pregnancy, and by then developmental problems are difficult to resolve, the specialist imaging techniques used by the researchers could be adapted for use in hospital, this will allow doctors to spot whether a fetal heart is developing properly or not.
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Immune cells hinder metabolism in adult

Older people do not burn the energy stored in fat cells as efficiently as younger people, this leads to the accumulation of harmful belly fat. The underlying cause for this unresponsiveness in fat cells was unknown.

Researchers discovered a new type of macrophage that resides on the nerves in belly fat. These nerve-associated macrophages become inflamed with age and do not allow the neurotransmitters, which are chemical messengers, to function properly.
The researchers also isolated the immune cells from fat tissue of young and old mice, and then sequenced the genome to understand the problem.

They discovered that the aged macrophages can break down the neurotransmitters called catecholamines, and thus do not allow fat cells to supply the fuel when needed. Lowering a specific receptor that controls inflammation, the NLRP3 inflammasome, in aged macrophages, the catecholamines could act to induce fat breakdown, similar to that of young mice.

Researchers blocked an enzyme that is increased in aged macrophages, restoring normal fat metabolism in older mice, monoamine oxidase and MAOA, is prevented by existing drugs in the treatment of depression. When immune cell interact with nerves and fat cells to reduce belly fat, this enhance metabolism, improve performance and belly fat loss in older people.
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Epigenetics of drug addiction

Epigenetic factor such as enzymes in the brain that alter the packaging and accessibility of genes without changing the genes themselves influence addiction, this a challenge in addiction science to understand how transient experiences lead to long-lasting risk for relapse in users who try to quit.

The brains of drug users who have progressed to addiction differ from those of irregular users. Long-lasting associations form between the early use of a drug and different aspects of the early drug-using environment, such as the location in which a drug was first taken or the emotions a user was experiencing at the time. This can cause addicted users who have quit to experience cravings when in a similar condition.

Understanding these could lead to better treatments for addiction, detecting which genes were activated in the early drug-using environment. The epigenetic enzyme histone deacetylase 5 (HDAC5) slows the rodent brain from forming associations between cocaine and simple cues in the environment, such as light and sound.

HDAC5 is found in high amounts in neurons in the nucleus accumbens, part of the reward center of the brain that reacts strongly to cocaine, opioids and alcohol in rodents and humans. When HDACs are in the nucleus of neurons, they change the way genomic DNA is packaged in the cell nucleus and often block the ability of certain genes to be turned on.

In the new study, rodents were trained to press a lever to receive a dose of cocaine. Each time they received a dose, a lamp went on above the lever and a brief sound was generated. These served as simple environmental cues for drug use. Next, some rodents were given a form of HDAC5 that traveled straight to the nuclei of neurons. Those rodents still pressed the lever just as many times to receive drug, meaning that HDAC5, on its own, was likely not blocking genes that promoted early drug-seeking behavior.

HDAC5 reduced drug-seeking behavior during abstinence. To simulate withdrawal and abstinence, rodents were given rest without cocaine for one week, followed by a period during which they had access to the lever again. To simulate relapse, the rodents were shown the environmental cues again, this time without having pressed the lever. The presentation of the cues triggered robust lever pressing, indicating drug seeking, in control animals, proving that the associations between drug and environment persisted in their brains.

In contrast, animals who had the nuclear form of HDAC5 did not press the lever nearly as often, even after the experimenters gave the animals a small priming dose of cocaine, which often produces strong drug-seeking behaviors. HDAC5, the gene suppressor, did not prevent addiction-like behaviors from forming, but it did prevent later drug seeking and relapse during abstinence in rodents.

The researchers next used a cutting-edge technique that encourages epigenetic enzymes to bind to DNA, allowing them to identify all the genes inhibited by HDAC5. The gene for NPAS4 was a top hit, and significant for an important reason: it is an early-onset gene, meaning that its effects could be exerted on the brain rapidly unless HDAC5 was there to inhibit it.

Animals with less NPAS4 in the nucleus accumbens took more time to form those early connections between
environmental cues and cocaine, but they still sought the drug just as often during later simulated relapse. Apparently, NPAS4 accounts for some addiction-related learning and memory processes in the brain, but not all of them, meaning that HDAC5 must be regulating additional genes that reduce relapse events.

Abstinent patients report cravings when given reminders of their drug-associated environment or cues, and animals and humans share similar enzyme pathways and brain structures. These processes may be similar in the transition to cocaine, alcohol and opioid addictions.
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How to turn scar tissue into healthy tissue

Limited therapeutic options and the heart's inability to regenerate healthy cells after heart attacks are parts of factors that cause sudden death in heart attack patients. Scientists are exploring ways to reprogram scar tissue cells into healthy heart muscle cells to reduce death.

Creation of cardiomyocytes with genetic signatures that closely mimic those found in healthy adult heart muscle cells can solve the problem. The other reprogramming approach leads to the creation of cardiomyocytes with more embryonic cell signatures.

The differences in the cardiomyocytes generated using these two methods are
Cardiomyocytes, the cells responsible for the beating of the heart, are essential to repairing the heart after injury. But after injury, such as a heart attack, many of these cells are irreversibly lost; they've been turned into scar tissue cells.

The replacement of these lost cells with patient-specific cardiomyocytes has gained attention as a potential therapy because existing healthy heart tissue better accepts these cells and because of increased recovery rates. Patient-specific cardiomyocytes also offer unique advantages for drug screens to help doctors identify each patient's drug type and dosage.

There are presently two widely practiced approaches to generate patient-specific cardiomyocytes.
In the first approach, an adult connective cell called a fibroblast is reprogrammed back into a naïve embryonic stem cell-like state. Once in this naïve state, the cell has the potential to develop into any cell type in the body, but scientists direct it to develop into a cardiomyocyte. These newly created cardiomyocytes are called induced pluripotent stem cell cardiomyocytes iPSC-CM.

In the second approach called direct cardiac reprogramming, a fibroblast is directly converted into a cardiomyocyte, without having to first be reprogrammed into a naïve embryonic stem cell. These new cardiomyocytes are called induced cardiomyocytes iCM. The researchers found that both methods resulted in cells with classic cardiomyocyte molecular features. However, by comparing the unique set of genes activated or not activated in each group of cells, the researchers found that iPSC-CMs more closely resembled embryonic cardiomyocytes, while iCMs more closely resembled adult cardiomyocytes.

Researchers also found that iPSC-CMs feature more active genes and a higher number of genes poised to be either activated or repressed a trait more commonly found in potent cells.
Metabolically, iPSC-CMs had a higher expression of glycolytic genes while iCMs had a higher expression of genes involved in fatty acid oxidation, the primary means of energy production in adult hearts.

In iPSC-CMs, heart muscle cells called sarcomeres, which give the heart a striated look, were less organized than in iCMs. The contractibility of cardiomyocytes as measured by the intake and removal of calcium was also greater in iCMs, suggesting that iCM cells are more mature than iPSC-CM cells.
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Potential Zika vaccine prevents pregnancy transmission and testicular damage

Zika infection typically results in mild or symptom-free infections in healthy individuals, infected pregnant women without symptoms may still give birth to a baby with birth defects like microcephaly.

Researchers has shown that a potential Zika vaccine can protect fetuses against infection and  protect males against testicular infection and injury. It also prevents a lowered sperm count after one vaccination.

Infected men without any signs of illness may still incur testicular injury and lowered sperm count. The Zika virus could infect the male reproductive system for several months, posing risk for sexual transmission.

Taking a single-dose vaccine could prevent Zika infection in non-human primates, prevent mother-to-fetus transmission, and stop male testis infection in mice. The vaccine provides a protective immune response, this vaccine exhibited an excellent safety profile in mouse and non-human primate models.
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Links between cancerous toxin and cannabis extract

Researchers discovered benzene and other potentially cancer-causing chemicals in the vapor produced by butane hash oil, a cannabis extract.

This raises health concerns about dabbing, or vaporizing hash oil - a practice that is growing in popularity, especially in states that have legalized medical or recreational marijuana.

Dabbing is placing of a small amount of cannabis extract-a dab on a heated surface and inhaling the produced vapor. The practice has raised concerns because it produces extremely high levels of cannabinoids -the active ingredients in marijuana.

The process of making hash oil also is dangerous because it uses highly flammable and potentially explosive butane as a solvent to extract active ingredients from marijuana leaves and flowers. Dabbinge- a form of vaporization, may produce high amounts of toxins, researchers analyzed the chemical profile of terpenes - the fragrant oils in marijuana and other plants - by vaporizing them in much the same way as a user would vaporize hash oil.

Terpenes are used in e-cigarette liquids, toxic chemicals in e-cigarette vapor when the devices were used at high temperature is very dangerous. 

The dabbing experiments produced benzene - a carcinogen at levels at higher level than the ambient air, It also produced high levels of methacrolein, a chemical similar to acrolein, also a carcinogen.
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Development of memory is a gradual process

The hippocampus, a brain structure that is central to learning and memory, does not complete its maturation until adolescence. The hippocampus, a region deep inside the brain, plays a central role for memorization and recall of details, as well as general memory performance.

Using high-resolution imaging the scientists were able to obtain information about the sizes of different subregions of the hippocampus.
The study involved many children and adolescents aged 6 to 14 years as well as young adults aged 18 to 26 years.

After checking the images, they realized that the age differences in the subregions do not follow a standard pattern and a lot is still happening beyond the age of six. A special task assessed whether the participants remember details of objects or their general characteristics.

Participants were shown some images, researchers added minor changes to the objectives during second display, participants were asked to indicate whether they had seen the respective images before and indicate any changes and differences between the first and the second image.

The scientists also examined how the
development of the hippocampal subregions is associated with age. In particular, two subregions showed age-related differences linked to differences in memory for details: the dentate gyrus, whose function consists the separation of features so that they can be recalled separately, and the entorhinal cortex, whose cortical connections contribute to memory formation, stabilization, and retrieval.

The assumption that these two subregions and the hippocampus as a whole only complete their maturation in adolescence has changed perspective on the development of learning and memory. Using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging. This new study shows that the maturation process lasts until the fourteen years.
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Cold weather increases heart failure

Hospitalization and death in elderly patients with heart failure could be associated with changes in temperature and atmospheric pressure. Elderly with heart failure should avoid fog and low cloud in the winter to prevent heart failure. Weather changes can affect the health of vulnerable people; heat waves and cold spells have been shown to increase disease and even lead to death in some people.

Researchers assessed some people aged 65 years and older that had been diagnosed with heart failure. The participants were followed for two years. During this time, the researchers measured the mean temperature, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure and air pollutants in the surrounding environment and studied the data to see if there was an association.

The results showed a higher risk of hospitalization or death in the winter period of the year compared to the summer period, they also found that the risk of heart failure incident increased with increase in atmospheric pressure.
A drop of 10°C in the average temperature over seven days, which is common in several countries because of seasonal variations, is associated with an increased risk in being hospitalized or dying of heart failure of about 7 percent in people aged over 65 diagnosed with the disease.

 The study suggests that exposure to cold or high-pressure weather could trigger events leading to hospitalization or death in heart failure patients. This means that they should avoid exposure to fog and low cloud weather in winter as they often accompany high pressure.
The study reveals the impact of changes in temperature and air pressure on heart failure patients. Exposure to cold or high-pressure weather could trigger events leading to hospitalization or death in heart failure patients.
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Bone marrow concentrate improves joint transplant

Biologic joint restoration using donor tissue instead of traditional metal and plastic may be an option for active patients with joint defects. Recovery from a biologic joint repair takes a long time compared to traditional replacement, successful biologic restoration allows patients to return to full activity.

However, in some cases, the transplanted bone does not heal correctly. Researchers found in a group of patients that treating donor grafts with bone marrow aspirate concentrate BMC before surgery improves bone integration and aids recovery. Surgeons performing biologic joint restoration surgeries typically wash the donor bone to remove the marrow as a pretreatment before implanting the graft.

Once implanted, the recipient's bone has to grow into the donor bone for the surgery to be successful. This graft integration involves a long process called creeping substitution that can take more than a year to complete.

The researchers reviewed biologic knee replacement outcomes related to BMC use in humans. To pretreat a graft with BMC, the patient's bone marrow is collected at the beginning of the procedure, it is processed in the operating room using a centrifuge to make a powerful concentrate containing the patient's cells and proteins.

 The resulting BMC is used to saturate the donor bone before it is implanted into the patient's joint. donor grafts pretreated with BMC were associated with earlier and better bone integration. This means that pretreatment with BMC reduces the risk of bone graft failure and improves the patients' chances for long term success.

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Tension strengthens the heart

Depleted heart tissue regenerates itself in a wave in zebrafish led by a front of fast-moving, supersized cells and trailed by smaller cells that multiply to produce others. The nature of this wavefront and the success of the tissue regeneration that follows is determined by mechanical tension that acts upon the cells.

Manipulating the mechanical tension of the cells may develop new translational approaches. Human heart can not fully heal itself after a heart attack but the zebrafish heart can easily replace cells lost to damage or disease.

The researchers measured a number of properties of the cells in the regenerative wavefront. They discovered that the bigger leader cells migrated across the surface of the heart at higher speeds than the smaller follower cells.

When they measured the levels of tension experienced by the cells, they found that leader cells recoiled faster than follower cells when tiny incisions were applied, much like the surface of an inflated balloon retracts after bursting. The mechanical tension seems to keep the cells from dividing after DNA replication.

The researchers plan to use the zebrafish heart explant culture system to screen for small molecules that could potentially increase the regenerative capacity of heart tissues. Such chemicals could form the basis for new drugs to repair the damage caused by a heart attack or other cardiovascular diseases.

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Ketogenic diet prevents inflammation

The high-fat, low-carbohydrate regimen of ketogenic diets changes the way the body uses energy. In response to the shortage of carb-derived sugars such as glucose, the body begins breaking down fat into ketones and ketoacids, which it uses as alternative fuels.

In rodents, ketogenic diets and caloric restriction reduce inflammation, improve outcomes after brain injury, and extend lifespan. These benefits have not been confirmed in human.
Ketogenic diets can modulate the inflammatory response in rodents.
Researchers used a small molecule known as 2-deoxyglucose, 2DG, to block glucose metabolism and produce a ketogenic state in rats and controlled laboratory cell lines.

The team found that 2DG could bring inflammation to control levels. Reduced glucose metabolism lowered a key barometer of energy metabolism – the NADH/NAD+ ratio which in turn activated a protein called CtBP that acts to suppress activity of inflammatory genes. Researchers designed a drug-like peptide molecule that blocks the ability of CtBP to enter its inactive state – essentially forcing the protein to constantly block inflammatory gene activity and mimicking the effect of a ketogenic state.

Peptides, which are small proteins, don't work well themselves as drugs because they are unstable and people make antibodies against them. But other molecules that act the same way as the peptide could provide ketogenic benefits without extreme dietary changes. Excess glucose in people with diabetes, is associated with a pro-inflammatory state that often leads to atherosclerosis; the buildup of fatty plaques that can block key arteries.
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Lung cancer treatment could affect the heart

Radioactivity of the heart from
radiotherapy of lung cancer treatment is increasing mortality rates. Exposing heart to radiation during treatment of lung cancer may kill the organ.

Some tumours are very close to the heart, higher dose of radiotherapy to this part of the body increases the risk of early death. During radiotherapy, some radiation will hit the heart because it is very close to the lung and this have negative effects on it

Researchers analysed many patients, looking at where in the heart there was radiation and how long the patients survived. They identified that the top of the heart is very sensitive to radiation than the body of the organ.

The researchers carried out a high-resolution, normal-tissue dosimetric analysis, this identify regions in the heart that correlated with poorer survival. The result confirmed that radiation affects the heart.
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Pancreatic islets and diabetes treatment

Researchers have discovered new insights into the molecular mechanisms of cell proliferation in juvenile human pancreatic islets, the discovery could lead to new treatments for diabetes. In type 1 and type 2 diabetes, the insulin-producing beta cells found in cell clusters in the pancreas, known as pancreatic islets, are either destroyed or become dysfunctional, leading to insulin deficiency.

Insulin is the hormone responsible for the regulation of blood glucose levels.
Researchers took viable samples of human pancreatic islet cells obtained from both juveniles, defined as age 10 or younger, and from adults, between the age of 20 to 60 years old. The islet cells were transferred into a mouse model lacking an immune system, which allowed the human cells to survive and function for several months.

These types of human islet cells had increased rates of proliferation after transfer into the mouse model, indicating this was an intrinsic property of the juvenile islet cells and not the pancreatic environment. Beta cell growth rate declines with age. Using a drug analogue of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), a common clinical treatment for type 2 diabetes, it was shown over a period of four weeks that beta cell proliferation was stimulated only in the juvenile islet cells, but not in the adult cells.

In comparing the islet cells, it was discovered that the GLP-1 receptors were similar in both juvenile and adult pancreatic islets, suggesting that pathways inside the human juvenile islet cells were responsible for the different response in adult islet cells.
Researchers examined the series of interactions among the molecules of a cell that lead to a specific product or change in a cell. They discovered difference in the calcineurin pathway between the juvenile islet cells and the adult islets.
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Exercise promotes longer life

Engaging in some form of exercise is essential to good health and well-being. It can leads to weight loss, sound sleep, fights stress and high blood pressure, improves mood and strengthen bones and muscles.

Healthy muscles leads to healthy body, it benefits the cellular power plant- the mitochondria which creates the fuel so the body can function properly.
Moderate-to-intense exercise acts as a
stress test on mitochondria in muscles, this triggers mitophagy process where the muscle disposes of the damaged or dysfunctional mitochondria, making the muscle healthier.

Aerobic exercise removes damaged mitochondria in skeletal muscle, doing it repeatedly removes the damaged ones. Researchers assessed the skeletal muscle of a mouse model where they had added a mitochondrial reporter gene called "pMitoTimer."

The mitochondria fluoresce green when they are healthy and turn red when damaged and broken down by the cell's waste-disposal system- the lysosomes.
Researchers observed mice, the mice ran on a small treadmill for minutes and researchers observed mitochondrial stress and some mitophagy after hours of exercise.

Exercise in mice stimulated a kinase called AMPK, which in turn switched on another kinase, Ulk1. These chemical reactions appear to be important in control of the removal of dysfunctional mitochondria. When its turned on, Ulk1 activates other components in the cell to execute the removal of dysfunctional mitochondria.
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Ecosystem method for better treatment of urinary tract infection

Many people suffer from urinary tract infections at some point in their life. Regarding these infections as an ecosystem may make them more treatable. The source of infection for many cases of urinary tract infections should be considered as an ecosystem rather than an infection with one or more types of bacteria.

In this type of ecosystem, the interactions between the different types of bacteria create stability and protect each other from antibiotics. In this type of infection, a number of bacterial species jointly create the problem. The older the patient, the greater the chance that the urinary tract infection consists of multiple types of bacteria.

Polymicrobial infections are different from single-microbial urinary tract infections. Although the number per type of bacteria may be too low to formally call it urinary tract infection, the combination of the various types of bacteria can result in higher numbers of certain types.

Bacteria can protect each other from antibiotics and hinder treatment. The infective ecosystem perspective may offer a new prospect, as ecosystems can be destabilized. The addition of new bacteria in this infective ecosystem may disrupt it, such that the clearance by the host, or antibiotic treatments, may be more effective.
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Fluticasone for nose congestion

Fluticasone is a steroid, it prevents the release of substances in the body that cause inflammation. Fluticasone nasal is used to treat nose congestion, sneezing, runny nose, itchy or watery eyes caused by seasonal allergies.

This drug can be used by adults and children who are at least 4 years old.
Fluticasone can weaken the immune system, making the user prone to an infection. The usual dose of fluticasone nasal is 1 to 2 sprays into each nostril once per day. The dose may change after symptoms improvement; follow all dosing instructions carefully.

An overdose of fluticasone nasal is not expected to produce life threatening symptoms. However, long term use of high steroid doses can lead to thinning skin, easy bruising, changes in the shape or location of body fat, increased acne or facial hair, menstrual problems, impotence, or loss of interest in sex.

Fluticasone nasal side effects are: hives; difficult breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue and throat. Severe or ongoing nosebleeds, noisy breathing, runny nose, or crusting around your nostrils; redness, sores, or white patches in your mouth or throat;
fever, chills, weakness, nausea, vomiting, flu symptoms; blurred vision, eye pain, headache and cough.
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Air pollution can cause kidney disease

According to American Society of Nephrology, air pollution - even in small amounts can damage kidneys. Air pollution has been linked to heart disease, strokes, cancer, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Inhaling tiny specks of dust, dirt, smoke, soot and liquids in polluted air move to the bloodstream, when kidneys are filtering the blood, the particles can damage them. Exposure to any amount of air pollution, no matter how small, can harm the kidneys the same way it harms other organs such as the heart and lungs.

Human kidneys filter out waste products from the blood before converting them into urine and also maintain blood pressure. Chronic kidney disease CKD is a long-term condition where the kidneys could not function properly.

The risk of CKD increases with age, CKD does not usually cause any symptoms until it has reached an advanced stage. It can be detected early by blood and urine tests. The main symptoms of advanced kidney disease include tiredness, swollen ankles or hands, shortness of breath, nausea and blood in urine.

Those with the condition have a greater risk of having a stroke or heart attack. It can also cause kidney failure, when sufferers will need to have dialysis and transplant. Lifestyle changes and medication can stop it from getting worse if it's diagnosed at an early stage.
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Poliovirus therapy activates immune response against cancer

An investigational therapy using modified poliovirus to attack cancer tumors appears to unleash the body's own capacity to fight malignancies by activating an inflammation process that prevent cancer cells to evade the immune system.

Glioblastoma is a lethal form of brain cancer. The research team elucidated how the poliovirus works not only to attack cancer cells directly, but also activates longer-lasting immune response that appears to inhibit regrowth of the tumor.

Using human melanoma and breast cancer cell lines, and then validating the findings in mouse models, the researchers found that the modified poliovirus therapy starts by attaching to malignant cells, which have an abundance of CD155 protein.

The CD155 protein is a poliovirus receptor. The modified virus then begins to attack the tumor cells, directly killing many, but not all. This releases tumor antigens. The second phase of assault is more complicated, by killing the cancer cells, the modified poliovirus triggers an alarm within the immune system, alerting the body's defenses to attack.

This appears to occur when the modified poliovirus infects dendritic cells and macrophages. Dendritic cells then present tumor to T cells to launch an immune response. Once the immune system is activated against the poliovirus-infected tumor, the cancer cells can no longer hide and they remain vulnerable to ongoing immune attack.

Poliovirus killed tumor cells and infected the antigen-presenting cells, which allows them to function in such a way that they can raise a T-cell response that can recognize and infiltrate a tumor. Poliovirus stimulates an innate inflammatory response.
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Alcohol affects levels of cholesterol through epigenetics

In an analysis of the epigenomes of people and mice, researchers discovered that drinking alcohol may induce changes to a cholesterol regulating gene. The findings suggest that these changes to the gene, PCSK9, may be responsible for some of the differences in how cholesterol is processed in people who drink alcohol, or may affect those taking a relatively new class of PCSK9 cholesterol-lowering drugs designed to reduce LDL cholesterol.

Chronic alcohol use can have detrimental effects on the liver and the cardiovascular system. Regulation of PCSK9 seems to correlate with this pattern and may be a significant underlying factor behind the variations in the relationship between cholesterol and cardiovascular disease when it comes to alcohol use. Researchers measure how drinking of alcohol can leads to changes in which genes are expressed.

They examined information from DNA chips- microarrays that can show which genes have chemical methyl groups added across the whole genome. These chips looked at about 500,000 methyl groups at a time. methylation affects the level of gene expression. The researchers used different sets of data: DNA from the brains of deceased people with documented alcohol dependence compared to healthy controls and DNA from blood samples of people who had documented alcohol dependence with healthy controls.

When the investigators cross-compared epigenetic data from the sets of data to find out what changes occurred in common in the two data sets and what changes did not, the common factor highlighted the gene PCSK9. The human liver samples from people with alcohol dependence who underwent a liver transplant and noticed a similar pattern: more methylation on PCSK9 and unexpectedly lower PCSK9 protein levels. In samples from people who abused alcohol, the researchers detected that PCSK9 gene expression was only a third of the level in people who didn't abuse alcohol.

Alcohol is metabolized by the liver and can cause liver damage if used in large amounts over long periods of time. In people, PCSK9 is found at its highest levels in liver, but is also found in other tissues, such as brain and blood. PCSK9 binds to the bad cholesterol receptors and blocks uptake and breakdown of bad cholesterol by cells, leading to accumulation in the bloodstream, where it presumably clogs arteries.
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E-cigarette with nicotine changes adrenaline in nonsmokers heart

Healthy nonsmokers experienced increased adrenaline levels in their heart after taking one electronic cigarette with nicotine but there were no increased adrenaline levels when the study subjects used a nicotine-free or empty e-cigarette.

Unlike cigarettes, e-cigarette have no combustion or tobacco. Instead, these electronic, handheld devices deliver nicotine with flavoring and other chemicals in a vapor instead of smoke.
E-cigarettes produce fewer carcinogens than tar of tobacco cigarette smoke, they also produce nicotine.

E-cigarette users have elevated sympathetic nerve activity which increases adrenaline directed to the heart and are more susceptible to oxidative stress. Researchers used heart rate variability obtained from a prolonged, non-invasive heart rhythm recording. Heart rate variability is calculated from the degree of variability in the time between heartbeats.

This variability may be indicative of the amount of adrenaline on the heart.
heart rate variability test to link increased adrenaline activity in the heart with increased cardiac risk. People with known heart disease and people without known heart disease who have this pattern of high adrenaline levels in the heart have increased risk of death.

In the first study to separate the nicotine from the non-nicotine components when looking at the heart impact of e-cigarettes on humans, researchers studied healthy adults who were not smoking. Researchers measured cardiac adrenaline activity by assessing heart rate variability and oxidative stress in blood samples by measuring the enzyme plasma paraoxonase PON1.

They discovered that exposure to e-cigarettes with nicotine, but not e-cigarettes without nicotine, led to increased adrenaline levels to the heart, as indicated by abnormal heart rate variability. Acute electronic cigarette use with nicotine increases cardiac adrenaline levels. And it's in the same pattern that is associated with increased cardiac risk in patients who have known cardiac disease and even in patients without known cardiac disease.
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HPV vaccine does not cause infertility

The human papilloma virus HPV is  a family of viruses, there are over 110 different types of HPV and more than 50 types that affect the genitals.
Different types of HPV are either high risk or low risk, depending on the conditions they can cause.

Some types of HPV can cause warts or verrucas. Others are associated with cervical cancer. Infection with low-risk HPV causes no symptoms and goes away without treatment. But infection with some high-risk types of HPV can cause abnormal tissue growth and cell changes that can lead to cervical cancer.

HPV infection is spread during sexual intercourse, it has been linked with reduced semen quality and lower pregnancy rates. Sexually transmitted infections STIs are associated with lower fertility, but vaccinated women with an STI history had about the same chance of becoming pregnant as unvaccinated women who had never had an STI.

Infection with other types of HPV may cause genital warts, skin warts, verrucas, vaginal cancer or vulval cancer. There is no adverse effects of HPV vaccination on fertility.

HPV is common, almost all sexually active men and women get the virus at some point in life. Having HPV can increase the risk of cervical cancer and removing cancerous or precancerous cells from cervix can reduce fertility.
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Exposing children to germs and pets reduces the risk of asthma

Asthma is a chronic disease that frequently aggravates and narrows the airways, leading to wheezing, coughing, breathlessness and a tight chest.

According to National Institute of Health, contact with cats, dogs, mice and cockroach at three months lowers chance of having asthma by age seven. Exposure to certain bacteria in house dust during infancy was also associated with a reduce risk.

According to a study, exposing children to pets and germs early reduces their risk of developing asthma. Exposure to allergens early in life, before asthma develops, has a preventive effect.

Early-life environment can influence the development of certain health conditions, preventing asthma before it develops is the best method of preventing it. Exposure to different indoor allergens, bacteria and bacterial products early in life may reduce the risk of developing asthma.

Researchers discovered that higher concentrations of cockroach, mouse and cat allergens present in dust samples collected from the children's homes at three months were linked to a lower risk of asthma by age seven.
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Solosec for treating bacterial vaginosis

Solosec is a potent, next-generation, 5-nitroimidazole antibiotic with enhanced pharmacokinetic properties that enable delivery in a single dose that has been shown to be efficacious and well tolerated. Solosec is the first and only single-dose oral therapy for bacteria vaginosis the most common gynecologic infection. Bacteria vaginosis has been shown to increase the cause of chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, trichomaniasis and HIV, pre-term birth and low birth weight if left untreated.

A single dose regimen may improve adherence and the likelihood of a successful cure. No serious adverse events were reported during the trial and no patients discontinued treatment due to adverse events. Solosec is contraindicated in patients with a history of hypersensitivity to secnidazole, other ingredients of the formulation, or other nitroimidazole derivatives.

Vulvo-vaginal candidiasis may develop with Solosec and require treatment with an antifungal agent. Potential risk of carcinogenicity in patients taking single-dose of Solosec to treat bacterial vaginosis is unclear. Chronic use should be avoided. Solosec may pass into breast milk. Patients should discontinue breastfeeding for 96 hours after administration of Solosec.

Solosec is a single-dose therapy for oral use. The entire contents of Solosec packet should be sprinkled onto applesauce, yogurt or pudding and consumed once within 30 minutes without chewing or crunching the granules. Solosec is not intended to be dissolved in any liquid. In clinical studies, the most common adverse effects of the drug are headache, nausea, dysgeusia, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and vulvovaginal pruritus.
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Amphetamine for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Amphetamine is a central nervous system stimulant that affects chemicals in the brain and nerves that contribute to hyperactivity and impulse control. It is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. ADHD
Amphetamine may be habit-forming, and the medicine is a drug of abuse.

Stimulants have caused stroke, heart attack, and sudden death in people with high blood pressure, heart disease, or a heart defect. Do not use amphetamine if you have used an MAO inhibitor in the past two weeks, such as isocarboxazid, linezolid, methylene blue injection, phenelzine, rasagiline, selegiline, or tranylcypromine.

Amphetamine may cause new or worsening psychosis- unusual thoughts or behavior, especially if you have a history of depression, mental illness, or bipolar disorder. You may have blood circulation problems that can cause numbness, pain, or discoloration in your fingers or toes after using the drug.

Call your doctor if you have: signs of heart problems, feeling light-headed or short of breath; signs of psychosis--paranoia, aggression, new behavior problems, seeing or hearing things that are not real; signs of circulation problems--unexplained wounds on your fingers or toes.

Do not use amphetamine if you are allergic to any stimulant medicine, or if you have: moderate to severe high blood pressure; overactive thyroid;
severe anxiety, tension, or agitation.
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Post trauma stress disorder may increase the risk of lupus

Lupus is an incurable autoimmune disease that causes kidney inflammation and can affect many organs in the body like joints, skin, blood cells, brain, heart, lungs and kidney.

Lupus can be difficult to diagnose because lupus flares can be as minor as a rash, but can also come with muscle pain, joint pain and fatigue. Severe flare ups can cause fluid to build up around the heart and cause kidney failure.

Women who have post traumatic stress disorder PTSD or have experienced trauma may develop lupus. There is a correlation between PTSD and lupus in women than any other risk factor.

PTSD has been associated with other autoimmune diseases like cardiovascular problems. PTSD creates constant state of anxiety and defense. In these states, the heart rate goes up, and cortisol release is less controlled, which leads to an inflammation. This stress response causes lupus.

Lupus is an enigmatic disease; it affects different organs, the disease can be genetic, it may be triggered by infections, drugs and sunlight. Presently, there is no cure for lupus, the available treatments can control the symptoms.
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Key regulator of male infertility

The protein complex known as Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 PRC1. PRC1 activates specific germline genes and the production of healthy sperm. It is responsible for production of health male sperm.

Male mammals are born with all the reproductive germline cells and inheritable genetics needed to make healthy fertile sperm and offspring. But the sperm isn't fertile at childhood.
PRC1 also blocks the specific genes and the activation of fertile sperm production until reproductive age.

Researchers show in their current study that when mice reach reproductive age, the PRC1 protein complex changes. It sheds reproductive germline gene components that block fertile sperm production and substitutes in a component that start spermatogenesis.

The repressor of sperm production, PRC1 also promotes gene activation to produce sperm at maturity. The scientists also found that when PRC1 is disrupted, such as in male mice bred to not express PRC1, the animals have smaller testes and are unable to produce healthy sperm or offspring.
          haleplushearty.blogspot.com.

Fluoride levels in pregnancy affects children's IQ

Fluoride in the urine of pregnant women shows a correlation with lower measures of intelligence in their children, the growing fetal nervous system may be adversely affected by higher levels of fluoride exposure, the prenatal nervous system may be more sensitive to fluoride compared to that of toddler.

Some side effects of fluoride are dental defects like mild staining are common among those ingesting recommended levels of fluoride and skeletal fluorosis-excessive accumulation of fluoride in the bones.

The researchers analyzed urine samples that had been taken from mothers during pregnancy and from their children between six and twelve years of age to reconstruct personal measures of fluoride exposure for both mother and child.

The researchers then analyzed how levels of fluoride in urine related to the children's verbal, perceptual-performance, quantitative, memory, and motor abilities at age four, six and twelve. They discovered that urinary fluoride levels in pregnant women were higher but within the general range of urinary fluoride levels seen in non-pregnant.
          haleplushearty.blogspot.com

Growing tumors evade anti-tumor immunity

The immunological pressure occurring during tumor progression might be harmful for the tumor to survive but the cancer cells evade the condition by restraining the anti-tumor immune response.

Cancerous tumors often grow so fast that they use up their available blood supply, creating a low-oxygen environment called hypoxia. Cells normally start to self-destruct under hypoxia, but in some tumors, the microenvironment surrounding hypoxic tumor tissue has been discovered to protect the tumor with the help of MicroRNA.

MicroRNAs are small, noncoding RNA molecules that regulate genes by silencing RNA, they have increasingly been implicated in tumor survival and progression. Researchers examined different types of tumor for altered levels of microRNAs. They identified two microRNAs ;miR25 and miR93 whose levels increased in hypoxic tumors.

The team then measured levels of those two microRNAs in the tumors of cancer patients and found that tumors with high levels of miR25 and miR93 led to a worse prognosis in patients compared to tumors with lower levels. The reverse was true for another molecule called cGAS: the lower the level of cGAS in a tumor, the worse the prognosis for the patient.
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Effects of behavioral therapy on obsessive-compulsive disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder OCD is a common, chronic and long-lasting disorder in which a person has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts obsessions and behaviors. It is a psychiatric condition that is associated with control disorder, reoccurring thoughts and repetition of behaviors.

Common symptoms include fear of germs or contamination, unwanted or aggressive thoughts, and compulsions to clean, check or put things in order. It can be treated with medication, psychotherapy or both.

People with obsessive-compulsive disorder OCD demonstrate changes in their brain and symptoms improvement when treated with a special form of talk therapy. People with OCD underwent daily cognitive behavioral therapy to learn how to prevent compulsive behaviors and to decrease distress, this leads to increases in the strength of the connections between regions of their brains.

Researchers evaluated people with OCD who received intensive CBT therapy and people without OCD who were used as a comparison group. Participants underwent scans with a neuroimaging tool- functional magnetic resonance imaging, fMRI.

Those with OCD were scanned before and after four weeks of treatment, and those who do not have OCD and therefore did not receive treatment were also scanned before and after the four weeks. Before and after brain scans of the participants who received CBT showed an increase in connectivity which can signify greater communication between the cerebellum and the striatum, and between the cerebellum and the prefrontal cortex.

The scans of people without OCD did not show any changes; and among the people with OCD who waited four weeks for their treatment, there were also no changes during the waiting period, demonstrating that the changes in the brain do not occur spontaneously with the passage of time.
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HIV positive smokers may die of lungs cancer

HIV patients who smoke cigarettes are more likely to die from lung cancer than from HIV, antiviral drugs increased the life span of HIV patients
but there is no drug for preventing lung cancer that is as effective as antiretroviral therapy ART for HIV.

According to researchers, lung cancer prevention through smoking cessation should be a priority in taking care of people living with HIV. Researchers examined people with HIV who were current, former and never smokers.

They discovered that people who consistently take their anti-HIV medications but continue to smoke will die of lung cancer. Lung cancer is one of the leading killers of people with HIV, smoking and HIV put them at risk of developing lung cancer at a rate higher than smokers not infected with HIV.

Smoking and HIV are bad combination when it comes to lung cancer. Smoking cessation is one of the most important things that people living with HIV can do to improve their health and live longer. It will reduce their risk of lung cancer, heart attack, stroke, and emphysema.
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HIV and intestinal mucosa

Researchers have discovered a new method of slow viral replication in the gastrointestinal tract of HIV patients.
This can leads to a new therapeutic method of HIV treatment, Antiretroviral Therapy ART improves the control of viral replication in HIV-infected persons and preventing complications associated with chronic infection.

The use of antiretroviral decreases viral loads to undetectable blood levels, and is effective in preventing evolution of the infection towards acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. In spite of the effectiveness of antivirals, HIV hides in the CD4 T cells, which harbour the virus and form viral reservoirs in various peripheral tissues, particularly in the gastrointestinal tract.

Some viral organisms continue to replicate in the reservoir, causing harmful inflammation in the gut. The new method of treatment will modify CD4 T cells that will move from the blood to the gut. Molecule that stimulates HIV replication in CD4 T cells are located in the gut, researchers used drug to block this replication and decrease inflammation of the intestinal mucosa.

Using biopsies of the sigmoid colon and blood of HIV-infected persons on ART therapy, researchers discovered that in the colon, the CD4 T cells which express the CCR6 postal code also contain a large amount of another molecule called mTOR, an important regulator of metabolic mechanisms.

The mTOR molecule is responsible for the high vulnerability to HIV of the CD4 T lymphocytes expressing CCR6 and residing in the gut. Interfering with mTOR activity during in-vitro experiments with existing medications, researchers have been able to significantly reduce HIV replication in the cells of HIV-infected patients whose viral load was undetectable.
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The use of metabolism to subtype hepatoblastoma tumors

Hepatoblastoma is a rare pediatric liver cancer, usually diagnosed in the first three years of life. There are many subtypes of hepatoblastoma, the two major ones are fetal and embryonal.
Scientists have identified new biomarkers that could accurately classify the two main subtypes of hepatoblastoma, a children liver cancer.

Different types of hepatoblastoma use different nutrients to grow. Some use glucose or fatty acids. The genetics of hepatoblastoma involves frequent mutations in the gene CTNNB1. This gene produces the protein beta-catenin, which is involved in cell-cell adhesion and gene transcription. Because of its dual function, mutations of the CTNNB1 gene can cause hepatoblastoma cancer.

Beta-catenin is a component of a signaling pathway known as Wnt/beta-catenin, which is responsible for regulating the expression of multiple genes. Many components of the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway are affected and overactive in various tumors.

Researchers examined the relationship between the CTNNB1 gene and the cell's metabolism, they discovered that beta-catenin, as part of the Wnt signaling pathway directly regulates the expression of a gene that produces a glucose transporter protein. GLUT3

They used RNA sequencing to identify molecular and metabolic features that are specific to hepatoblastoma. This approach revealed that several enzymes involved in the metabolism of glucose are overexpressed in embryonal hepatoblastoma cells as compared to fetal hepatoblastoma cells.

Embryonal hepatoblastoma cells show high levels of glucose uptake, they also discovered that these cells are very sensitive to the perturbation of an enzyme involved in the cell's use of glucose. They immunohistochemistry of the three metabolic biomarkers to distinguish embryonal from fetal components out of a large panel of human hepatoblastoma biopsies.

The study shows that the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway is important for reprograming the energy management of tumor cells. It also provides a new
metabolic classification of human hepatoblastoma that can help oncologists develop novel diagnostic methods and treatments.
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