India / Health & Beauty
Disruption of gatekeeper gene may trigger colon cancer
10.09.2008 02:38
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In a study with human tissue samples and animal models, Singapore scientists have found that the absence or inactivation of the RUNX3 gatekeeper gene may initiate the growth and development of colon cancer. In earlier studies, the scientists have shown that RUNX3 plays a role in gastric, breast, lung and bladder cancers. The inactivation of RUNX3 occurs at a very early stage of colon cancer. Thus, due to the easy detection of the inactivation of RUNX3, and the possibility to reactivate the inactivated RUNX3, the findings may prove to be a crucial step in the development of an early diagnostic test as well as a therapeutic target for colon cancer. Since a long time scientists believe that most of the time colon cancer involves the disruption of a tumor suppressor gene called APC, which in turn activates bete-catenin and TCF4, a protein complex that plays an important role in cancer development. The latest findings have for the first time shown that the activity of beta- catenin/TCF4 also is inhibited by RUNX3. In an earlier research, the same team of researchers reported that RUNX3 is a major tumor suppressor of gastric cancer. Led by Yoshiaki Ito, M.D., NUS Yong Loo Lin Professor in Medical Oncology and a principal investigator at IMCB, the research analyzed animal models as well as tissue samples from patients diagnosed with colon cancer, to examine how RUNX3 is involved in colon cancer. "My team and I have been working on our research for the past six years, and we are extremely excited about how our research findings can be translated into practical clinical applications to help patients suffering from cancers such as bladder, breast, colon and lung. We certainly look forward to our continuous teamwork with our clinical colleagues in improving the lives of cancer patients," said Ito. He said that the disruption of the RUNX3 gene can cause colon cancer as well as many other types of cancers, including those of the bladder, breast, colon and lung. The study is reported in the latest issue of the journal Cancer Cell. (ANI)
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Bacteria’s sticky glue may pave way for superbug vaccine
10.09.2008 02:37
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he sticky glue secreted by the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus may hold the key for making an effective vaccine against MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), according to a new study. While Staphylococcus aureus stay as a biofilm fairly harmlessly on most of the people who carry the bacteria, it may rarely cause severe and life threatening infections that are significant medical problems. Many of these infections are made worse by the biofilm component of the overall disease, which helps to protect the bacteria from antibiotics. "If individuals get infections many times, even after they have been cured by antibiotics, it indicates that their bodies have not become immune to Staph bacteria," said Professor Gerald Pier from Harvard Medical School in Boston, USA. Staph bacteria tend to grow in cellular communities, particularly on medical devices commonly used on patients, like catheters, artificial heart valves, knees and hips, producing what are called biofilm type infections. All patients with these types of devices in them have an increased risk for Staph infections. Living in biofilms protects the bacteria from antibiotics, making treatment more difficult. "To grow as a biofilm the bacteria must produce sticky factors, one of which is a type of complex sugar called PNAG. We are targeting this material as a possible vaccine, but natural exposure to the sugar compound does not result in most people and animals making an immune response that would protect them from attack by the bacteria or recurring infections," said Pier. The scientists have manipulated the sugar chemically to discover that they can produce variant forms, which can be used as vaccines by causing the right type of immune response. This approach has already been shown to work successfully in animal studies. "We now have a way to tip the balance for resistance to infection back towards humans by vaccination. It is most likely that one or more forms of the vaccine will be prepared to test in humans to see which form is best to get the most desirable antibodies made," said Pier. Besides, the scientists have also created an antibody with the desired properties to give to people if they have a high risk of getting a Staph infection, thus preventing infection. "This antibody is being manufactured to start tests in humans in about 12 to 18 months. An effective antibody treatment for Staph infections could have a major benefit for anyone who enters a hospital or works in the community and is at risk of Staph infections," said Pier. The study was presented at the Society for General Microbiology''s Autumn meeting being held this week at Trinity College, Dublin. (ANI)
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Teens don’t use condoms due to partner disapproval, fear of less sexual pleasure
10.09.2008 02:37
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Teenagers who do not use condoms during sex believe that protection may ruin sexual pleasure, according to a new study. What’s more, the study found that teens are concerned that their partner would not approve condoms use. During the study, researchers from the Bradley Hasbro Children''s Research Centre and three other institutions surveyed more than 1,400 adolescents and young adults between the ages of 15 and 21 who had unprotected sex in the previous 90 days. They found that teenagers who did not use condoms were significantly more likely to believe that condoms reduce sexual pleasure and were also more concerned that their partner would not approve of condom use. "It''s clear that we have to address these attitudes, fears and concerns that many teens have regarding condom use, if we want to reduce their risk for contracting a sexually transmitted infection," said lead author Larry K. Brown, MD, of the Bradley Hasbro Children''s Research Centre. "The good news is that these attitudes may be easily influenced and changed through clinical and community-based interventions," he added. In addition to concerns about reduced sexual pleasure and partner disapproval, teens who did not use condoms were also less likely to discuss condom use with their partners. The researchers suggest that clinicians carefully monitor and routinely assess the sexual risk behaviours of adolescents and address some of the common attitudes and concerns influencing condom use "These kinds of interventions, including community-based programs, can play a major role in increasing condom use, particularly among high-risk adolescents, and promote their sexual health," said Brown. The findings appear in the September/October issue of Public Health Reports. (ANI)
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New drug raises hope for cystic fibrosis patients
10.09.2008 02:37
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A new drug candidate has been found to hold promise for cystic fibrosis patients. Dr David Sheppard from the University of Bristol said that the early results with VX-770 suggest that drug therapies, which target defects at the root of the disease, have the potential to greatly improve the quality of life of CF patients. Currently, there is no cure for CF caused due to a defective gene that causes ducts and tubes in the body to become blocked by thick, sticky mucus. This mucus affects the lungs, pancreas, the intestines, the liver and the reproductive organs. One of the most recognisable symptoms of CF is ‘salty sweat’, caused by the failure of the sweat ducts to reabsorb salt The defective gene disables or destroys a protein known as CFTR. The research team led by Sheppard is investigating how new drugs restore function to defective CFTR proteins. The new drug therapy (VX-770) was developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals and will tackle the ‘functional’ defect. The researchers have tested the drug on patients in the US who carry a genetic defect known as G551D. The early results were encouraging. Patients who received 150mg twice a day saw the concentration of salt in their sweat decrease by almost 50 per cent and lung function improve by 10 per cent. The study was presented at the BA Festival of Science in Liverpool. (ANI)
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Steroids may offer potential treatment to prevent miscarriages
10.09.2008 02:37
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Women who have repeated miscarriages could be spared the misery with a simple steroid treatment, a new research has revealed. During the British Association conference in Liverpool, Siobhan Quenby, of the University of Liverpool and the Liverpool Women’s Hospital, said that tests involving 120 women had identified natural killer cells as a cause of miscarriages and failed IVF embryo implants. Since the natural killer cells can destroy infected or malignant cells, they are beneficial in most of the body, however, in the uterus they have been found to promote rapid growth of blood vessels when present in high numbers. The blood vessels transport additional oxygen-bearing blood and can cause miscarriages or prevent embryos implanting. Steroids have been given to 40 women by Dr Quenby and three quarters of them have successfully given birth. All had previously had multiple miscarriages. The treatment has been shown to reduce the level of natural killer cells in the uterus, and this is thought to increase the chances of an embryo going to full term. “If we have higher levels of natural killer cells in the uterus we have more blood vessels and more blood flow. We’ve been able to find a missing piece of the jigsaw of why some women have multiple miscarriages,” Times Online quoted Dr Quenby, as saying. Steroids were first used as a potential treatment by Dr Quenby when she was looking for ideas to help Annette Quinlan, a psychiatric nurse who had suffered 19 miscarriages in 14 years. (ANI)
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