Counting tumor cells in blood predicts treatment benefit in prostate cancer

Posted by poster on July 28th, 2008 under Uncategorized  •  Comments Off

Men’s Health News
Counting the number of tumor cells circulating in the bloodstream of patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer can accurately predict how well they are responding to treatment, new results show.
At the ESMO Conference Lugano (ECLU) organized by the European Society for Medical Oncology, researchers showed that changes in the number of circulating tumor cells predicted the outcome after chemotherapy in this hard to treat cancer.
"Buy clomid without prescription The results add to a growing body of evidence showing that counting these cells is a valuable method for predicting survival and for monitoring treatment benefit in these patients", said Dr. David Olmos from The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in the UK.
"Our study shows that circulating tumor cell counts could provide information about how patients are responding to therapy earlier than other markers such as prostate-specific antigen (PSA) or time-to-disease progression," he said. "We have observed that patients with declining numbers of circulating tumor cells can see a change in their initial prognosis, reflecting a potential benefit from therapy."
Among the 119 patients in the study, researchers found that those with the lowest circulating cell counts had on average the longest survival.
"Cancer cells can be detected in the circulating blood by a range of methods", Dr. Olmos said. "The technique we used in our study is classified as a cytometric approach. We use an antibody that is widely expressed by epithelial cancer cells, and then use a range of cell-staining techniques to ensure it is a cancer cell."
"Because these circulating cells have broken away from either primary tumors or metastatic sites in other parts of the body, they could potentially be used to help study the specific characteristics of the cancer and perhaps personalize therapy", Dr. Olmos said.

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Gene/Stress Interaction Increases Cognitive Decline In Elderly

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The negative effects of stress on cognitive functioning appear to be amplified by a genetic variation associated with Alzheimer’s disease, a new federally funded study has found. The genetic variation may, in effect, accelerate the development of age-related cognitive decline by as much as eight years.
Researchers from the Baltimore Memory Study report in The American Journal of Psychiatry (AJP), the official journal of the American Psychiatric Association, that a high level of the stress hormone cortisol in study participants aged 50 to 70 years was associated with worsened cognitive abilities. The researchers also found that the effect was greater among those with a common form of the gene for apolipoprotein E (APOE), which has been shown to increase the risk for Alzheimer’s disease.
This gene-environment interaction is reported by Brian Lee, M.H.S., Brian Schwartz, M.D., and colleagues at Johns Hopkins University. The group’s findings will be presented online on July 1 under AJP in Advance .
The effect appears to increase as the number of copies of a specific APOE gene in the individual increases. Everyone inherits two versions of the APOE gene, known as alleles - one from each parent. The most common APOE alleles are epsilon-2, -3, and -4. Having at least one epsilon-4 allele increases an individual’s risk of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Individuals with two copies of the esiplon-4 version of the gene are particularly susceptible to the damaging effects of cortisol in the brain.
"Our findings indicate that the APOE epsilon-4 allele may increase vulnerability of the aging brain to elevated cortisol levels," said lead author Lee, a doctoral student in epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "While our results remain to be replicated, the observed cortisol-APOE interaction is intriguing since both cortisol and APOE have been implicated in cognitive decline associated with aging as well as in Alzheimer’s disease."
The effects on cognitive functioning extended to six of the seven areas that were studied: language, eye-hand coordination, executive functioning, verbal memory/learning, visual memory, and ability to copy a complex visual design.
generic amoxil online buy The deficits are similar in magnitude to those seen with advancing age. The authors estimated the equivalent years of increased age, represented by the poorer cognition of the study participants with high cortisol and the epsilon-4 form of the APOE gene. For language ability, the lower scores of people with high cortisol levels and one epsilon-4 copy were comparable to an age increase of eight years. For those with two epsilon-4 copies, the comparable age increase was even larger.
The study was supported by the National Institute on Aging and the National Institutes of Health Division of Research Resources.
Reference
Lee BK, Glass TA, Wand GS, McAtee MJ, Bandeen-Roche K, Bolla KI, Schwartz BS: Apolipoprotein E Genotype, Cortisol and Cognitive Function in Community-Dwelling Older Adults. Am J Psychiatry (published online July 1, 2008; doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2008.07091532)
About the American Journal of Psychiatry
The American Journal of Psychiatry is the official journal of the American Psychiatric Association. Statements in this press release or the articles in the Journal are not official policy statements of the American Psychiatric Association. AJP in Advance is a regular online feature where original research articles accepted for publication in The American Journal of Psychiatry are posted online in advance of their appearance in print.
About the American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association is a national medical specialty society whose more than 38,000 physician members specialize in diagnosis, treatment, prevention and research of mental illnesses including substance use disorders. Visit the APA at and
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From Cancer Vaccines To A Cure For Allergies

Posted by poster on July 27th, 2008 under Uncategorized Tags:  •  Comments Off

Unlike the world of high-tech, Israel’s biotech community is populated with women leading life-changing companies into the new millennium. They are CEOs and business development experts who sniff out new technology possibilities from Israeli academia and then bring them to life.
One of these women is Anat Eitan, the founder and CEO of two young biotech startups AllergyFight and VacciGuard. After working at Teva Pharmaceuticals in innovative R&D for 12 years, "I learned all I needed to know for developing drugs," Eitan tells ISRAEL21c.
Before becoming an entrepreneur she was the CEO of Metabogal (now Protalix), and worked as a consultant in technology transfer.
Recognizing an opportunity in the research of Prof. Irun Cohen from the Weizmann Institute of Science, early last year Eitan founded VacciGuard within the Misgav Venture Accelerator.
The company, which intends to develop vaccines against diseases such as lung cancer, could improve the odds for the 350,000 Americans who die from lung cancer each year.
Now in the stage of establishing the proof-of-concept in animal models for both West Nile Virus and lung cancer vaccines, VacciGuard, if it passes clinical trials, could open up an entire new world for disease treatment.
"VacciGuard enables the body’s immune system to effectively respond to non-immunogenic antigens, such as peptides or polysaccharides, expressed either on pathogens or cancer tissues," says Eitan. "These antigens usually do not activate the immune system to generate effective antibodies against themselves."
In other words, VacciGuard technology converts weak antigens into strong immunogens and creates remarkably effective vaccines, she explains.
The lung-cancer vaccine of VacciGuard would be administered after cancer surgery and chemotherapy when the doctor removes the primary tumor, at which point survival from lung cancer is pretty low - about 15 percent over five years. Cancer re-occurrence is very likely at this point and Eitan hopes that VacciGuard will be able to stop cancer in its tracks.
Generic ultram pills no prescription It could also work against other pathogens such as meningitis and pneumonia.
Her second company AllergyFight, supported by the Ashkelon Technology Incubator, was initiated in late 2007.
Rather than mask the symptoms of allergies, which is how most drugs work today, AllergyFight’s technology, based on the research of Prof. Israel Pecht from the Weizmann, and Prof. Anna Erdei of the Budapest University, Hungary, is founded on a disease modifying agent, rather than one that just alleviates symptoms.
Allergies afflict about 40-50 million people in the US every year and among them about 36 million also suffer from seasonal allergic rhinitis, or hay fever. Besides the misery allergies cause, they can also lead to life-threatening conditions. A safe and effective drug for preventing and treating allergies is very much needed.
Eitan is happy to play her part, and recognizes a strong entrepreneurial playing field in Israel, open to both men and women. "Being an entrepreneur is something in my nature," she says. "I always felt that I would become one."
With two children of her own, she likens the development of new drugs to childrearing. "To take something from a beginning stage and to bring it to maturation, I see the connection between my work and the feminine spirit."
And if Eitan wasn’t working on developing news drugs, she could easily see herself shift into the life of a world-traveler - a sort of anthropologist living among a tribe in Africa or deep in the jungle somewhere.
Maybe in her next life?

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How To Do Your Spring Cleaning If You Suffer From Asthma

Posted by poster on July 27th, 2008 under Uncategorized  •  Comments Off

generic lasix online buy Now that spring is officially upon us, it is that time of year when we all start to think about spritzing up our homes for the start of the new season but if you are one of the 5.2 million people in the UK who suffer from asthma, this is especially important.
Dust, dirt and allergens tend to collect over the winter months causing a potentially dangerous build up of asthma triggers in your home. 90% of people with asthma tell us that dust triggers their condition and in the UK alone over 200 people a day are admitted to emergency care with potentially life-threatening asthma attacks. Asthma UK is therefore providing some simple steps to help you protect yourself and your family from some of the common indoor asthma triggers.
Clear out old belongings
Recycling old belongings and collectables, or donating them to charity will cut down on dust throughout the house, making cleaning easier. Items that fit tidily into closets and drawers can be hidden neatly away so that they will not gather as much dust. A clutter-free environment is easier to clean - and easier to keep clean.
Dust everything!
Dust may have collected during the winter months so now is the perfect time to move aside furniture in order to reach every nook and cranny. Rarely vacuumed spots may not look dirty, but dust will have collected in the corners of rooms. Window blinds and curtains can also be dust traps so it is important to clean them thoroughly. Dot Russell, asthma nurse specialist on the Asthma UK Adviceline, says: ‘If you know house-dust mites trigger your asthma, you may be able to reduce some symptoms by damp-dusting all surfaces and vacuuming all areas frequently using a vacuum cleaner with good suction and a filtered exhaust. The filters on vacuum cleaners should be changed regularly and you may need to ask someone else to empty the machine.’
Dot adds: ‘Even though you may be spring-cleaning to help your asthma, take care as dust particles will be in the air for at least two hours after cleaning and this may trigger asthma symptoms. Ways to avoid this could be keeping the house well-ventilated while cleaning or asking someone else to vacuum whilst you are out of the room. Be aware that some chemicals in cleaning products and highly scented products may also bring on your asthma symptoms - vinegar is a good, natural alternative.’
Change all old filters
Don’t forget to change or clean the filters on air conditioners, air purifiers, dehumidifiers or vents so that the incoming air in your home is clean, fresh and breathable.
Get rid of indoor mould
Mould in the home can be a trigger for people with asthma and it thrives in damp environments. Ensure your home is well-ventilated and remove mould by washing and disinfecting rubbish bins, thoroughly scrubbing kitchens and bathrooms and cleaning or changing shower curtains.
Dot continues: ‘People with asthma need to be aware of what their triggers are and know how to avoid them. As part of a self-management plan this can help make life easier and may also enable asthma management with the least medicine possible. A written personal asthma action plan should be discussed and completed with your doctor or asthma nurse and contains the information you need to control your asthma. This includes details of your asthma medication, key things to tell you when your asthma is getting worse and what you should do about it, as well as emergency information on what to do if you have an asthma attack.’
Asthma UK is the charity dedicated to improving the health and well-being of the 5.2 million people in the UK whose lives are affected by asthma.

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Less educated, older men more likely to view depression negatively

Posted by poster on July 27th, 2008 under Uncategorized Tags: ,  •  Comments Off

Men’s Health News
Less
educated, older men are more likely to view depression negatively, while almost one in five Australians say they wouldn’t work with someone suffering depression, according to researchers from The Australian National University.
The research, published today by online open access journal BioMed Central, highlights the need for targeted programs to reduce levels of stigma attached to depression. The work was conducted by the Director of the Depression and Anxiety Consumer Research Unit at the University’s Centre for Mental Health Research (CMHR) Associate Professor Kathy Griffiths, CMHR Director Professor Helen Christensen and Professor Anthony Jorm of the University of Melbourne.
To reach the findings over six thousand Australian adults, including some with depression, answered research surveys to investigate and compare their own levels of both personal stigma - the negative attitude a person has towards depression - and perceived stigma, which describes the negative attitudes that a peson believes others have towards depression.
Lead author of the report Dr Griffiths said the findings were an important step in designing programs which de-stigmatised depression. "This is the first study to systematically investigate predictors of personal stigma among those people with high levels of depressive symptoms," she said.
"Personal stigmas were higher for males, those with less education, those born overseas and people in greater psychological distress. While our study showed that stigma is not as widespread as many members of the public think, it is still a problem. For example, as many as one in five Australians say they would not work with someone with depression.
"We already know that stigma is a leading cause of concern for people suffering from depression, but up until now not a lot has been done to examine it. Generic zithromax pills no prescription Our work is critical to the successful design and targeting of programs that address the public’s negative attitudes to people with depression and help to reduce the stigma felt by those who are already depressed.
"We recommend developing targeted programs to reduce these levels of stigma. A good place to start might be with men, older people, those with lower education levels and those born overseas," she said.
Dr Griffiths added that the study also revealed that attitudes towards depression differed little between regional areas and major cities.
"Interestingly, although it is often assumed that people from rural areas have more negative attitudes to mental disorders, we did not find any difference between stigma in the country and city," she said.

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