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| Herpes Virus Can Be Used As Nanomachines For Cancer Treatment |
Herpes viruses, though not life-threatening, are usually considered to be embarrassing and annoying. Researchers at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, however, are using the virus to potentially fight breast cancer, which, according to the American Cancer Society, is the most common cancer among women.
In fact, excluding cancers of the skin, breast cancer accounts for nearly one in three cancers diagnosed in U.S. women.
"Our immune systems are engineered to fight cancer," said Dr. Konstantin "Gus" Kousoulas, professor of virology in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences and director of the Division of Biotechnology & Molecular Medicine. "The human body's T-cells belong to a group of white blood cells and play a central role in immunity. However, cancer cells cause the T-cells to essentially fall asleep.
"The tumor emits signals to down-regulate the T-cells. Our herpes virus can be engineered to awaken those cells and modulate the immune system so that it recognizes the tumor cells and destroys them."
The herpes virus was engineered to selectively replicate in cancer cells; it does not affect normal cells.
"Herpes virus replicate cells on their own," said Kousoulas. "Cold sores are caused when the herpes virus replicates and kills normal cells; the cold sore is made up of the dead cells. Our herpes virus has been engineered to only replicate and destroy cancer cells, thus killing the tumor. Patients would not contract the herpes virus itself."
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| Zinc May Reduce Pneumonia Risk in Nursing Home Elderly |
When elderly nursing home residents contract pneumonia, it is a blow to their already fragile health. Simin Nikbin Meydani, DVM, PhD, of the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University and colleagues report that maintaining normal serum zinc concentration in the blood may help reduce the risk of pneumonia development in that population.
"Based on our data, it appears that daily zinc intake can help nursing home residents who are susceptible to pneumonia, especially those with low serum zinc concentrations in their blood," says Meydani, corresponding author and director of the Nutritional Immunology Laboratory at the USDA HNRCA. "The study participants with normal serum zinc concentrations in their blood reduced their risk of developing pneumonia by about 50 percent. Additionally, deaths from all causes were 39 percent lower in this group."
Meydani and colleagues analyzed blood samples from a previous study that investigated the role of vitamin E in preventing respiratory infections in nursing home residents ages 65 and older. The study enrolled 617 men and women from 33 nursing homes in the Boston area. All of the participants received daily supplements containing 50 percent of the recommended dietary allowance of several vitamins and minerals, including zinc, for one year. Foods that provide zinc include oysters, red meat, poultry, whole grains, beans and dairy products.
In the present study, published in the October issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the authors compared blood samples collected at the beginning and the conclusion of the one-year study. The participants whose serum zinc concentrations remained low throughout that 12-month period had more difficulty battling pneumonia. "Not only did those participants have a higher risk of developing pneumonia when they did become sick, they did not recover as quickly and required a longer course of antibiotics," says Meydani, who is also a professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, both at Tufts University. "We also noted a higher rate of death from all causes."
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| Cannabis Potent Anti-Depressant in Low Doses Worsens Depression at High Doses |
A new neurobiological study has found that a synthetic form of THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, is an effective anti-depressant at low doses. However, at higher doses, the effect reverses itself and can actually worsen depression and other psychiatric conditions like psychosis.
The study, published in the October 24 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, was led by Dr. Gabriella Gobbi of McGill University and Le Centre de Recherche Fernand Seguin of Hôpital Louis-H. Lafontaine, affiliated with l'Université de Montréal. First author is Dr. Gobbi's McGill PhD student Francis Bambico, along with Noam Katz and the late Dr. Guy Debonnel* of McGill's Department of Psychiatry.
It has been known for many years that depletion of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain leads to depression, so SSRI-class anti-depressants like Prozac and Celexa work by enhancing the available concentration of serotonin in the brain. However, this study offers the first evidence that cannabis can also increase serotonin, at least at lower doses.
Laboratory animals were injected with the synthetic cannabinoid WIN55,212-2 and then tested with the Forced Swim test - a test to measure "depression" in animals; the researchers observed an antidepressant effect of cannabinoids paralleled by an increased activity in the neurons that produce serotonin. However, increasing the cannabinoid dose beyond a set point completely undid the benefits, said Dr. Gobbi.
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| Mate Tea Lowers Cholesterol |
When a study in her lab showed that mate tea drinkers had experienced a significant increase in the activity of an enzyme that promotes HDL (good) cholesterol while lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol, University of Illinois scientist Elvira de Mejia headed for Argentina where mate tea has been grown and taken medicinally for centuries.
She returned with a five-year agreement signed by administrators of La Universidad Nacional de Misiones (UNaM) to cooperate in the study of 84 genotypes of mate tea, both cultivated and wild, never-before-studied, varieties. The arrangement calls for the writing of joint grants and an exchange of students and professors between UNaM and the U of I.
The scientist is also negotiating a grant from the National Institute of Yerba Mate to fund further research, she said.
"Our studies show that some of the most important antioxidant enzymes in the body are induced by this herbal tea," said de Mejia of her study in September's Planta Medica.
"Because Argentina has the different mate varieties, we'll be able to do more comparisons and characterizations between the different genotypes and the benefits of different growing conditions--whether in sun (on a plantation) or in shade (under the rainforest canopy)," she added.
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Food Restriction Increases Dopamine Receptor Levels in Obese Rats
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A brain-imaging study of genetically obese rats conducted at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory provides more evidence that dopamine - a brain chemical associated with reward, pleasure, movement, and motivation - plays a role in obesity. The scientists found that genetically obese rats had lower levels of dopamine D2 receptors than lean rats. They also demonstrated that restricting food intake can increase the number of D2 receptors, partially attenuating a normal decline associated with aging.
"This research corroborates brain-imaging studies conducted at Brookhaven that found decreased levels of dopamine D2 receptors in obese people compared with normal-weight people," said Brookhaven neuroscientist Panayotis (Peter) Thanos, lead author of the current study, which will be published online in the journal Synapse on Thursday, October 25, 2007.
It's not clear whether reduced receptor levels are a cause or consequence of obesity: Overeating may chronically reduce receptor levels, which, over the long term, could eventually contribute to obesity. But having genetically low receptor levels may also lead to obesity by predisposing the individual to overeating in an attempt to stimulate a "blunted" reward system. Either way, revving up receptor levels by restricting food intake could enhance the impact of this common strategy for combating obesity.
autoradiograms
Autoradiograms showing dopamine D2 receptor levels in the brains of genetically obese and normal lean rats at one month of age who had been given free access to food since birth. The red end of the rainbow scale indicates higher numbers of receptors. At one month, obese rats had fewer receptors (less red) than lean rats. (Click image for larger version)
"Consuming fewer calories is obviously important for people trying to lose weight, plus improving the brain's ability to respond to rewards other than food may help prevent overeating," Thanos said. Because food intake can have such a dramatic effect on dopamine receptor levels, "this study also provides further evidence for the interplay of genetic factors with the environment in the development of obesity in our society," he said.
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| New Lung Cancer Guidelines Oppose General CT Sreening and Caution On the Use of Select Vitamins |
New evidenced-based guidelines from the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) recommend against the use of low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) for the general screening of lung cancer. Published as a supplement to the September issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the ACCP, the guidelines cite there is little evidence to show lung cancer screening impacts mortality in patients, including those who are considered at high risk for the disease. The guidelines also recommend against the use of vitamin or mineral supplements for the prevention of lung cancer, for these do little to decrease the risk of lung cancer, while beta-carotene has been associated with increased risk of lung cancer.
"Even in high risk populations, currently available research data do not show that lung cancer screening alters mortality outcomes," said W. Michael Alberts, MD, FCCP, chair of the ACCP lung cancer guidelines and Chief Medical Officer, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL. "We hope that one day, we can find a useful and accurate tool for general lung cancer screening, but, at this time, the evidence does not support the use of LDCT screening."
In its second edition, Diagnosis and Management of Lung Cancer: ACCP Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines (2nd Edition) provides 260 of the most comprehensive recommendations related to lung cancer prevention, screening, diagnosis, staging, and medical and surgical treatments. The guidelines also review complementary and integrative therapy for the prevention and treatment of lung cancer.
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Study Supports Controversial Heart Failure Drug
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A new study supporting the safety of Natrecor, a widely used heart failure medication, is another volley in the ongoing battle over the drug.
Critics have charged that Natrecor, which costs about $500 a dose, adds little to patient outcomes and, in fact, may raise their risk of kidney failure and death.
However, the new study of 75 patients -- the first prospective trial of its kind -- showed no such trend during the week after the drug was given to patients hospitalized with heart failure. The study found Natrecor to be safe when given to those patients it was developed for: people with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF).
"ADHF is really a broad definition," explained the study's lead author, Dr. Ronald Witteles, an instructor in cardiovascular medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. "It encompasses anytime that patients with heart failure are hospitalized. They could be hospitalized for too much fluid and the so-called 'congestive' symptoms of heart failure. It could also be because their heart simply cannot pump enough blood to their organs."
The new finding, published in the Oct. 30 online edition of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, isn't appeasing the drug's detractors, however.
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Believe it or not
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Israeli father of 67 kids seeks 9th wife
With eight wives and 67 children, Shahadeh Abu Arrar has given new meaning to the term "family man." Abu Arrar, 58, is a member of Israel's impoverished Bedouin Arab community. But even in a traditional society where men commonly have several wives and many children, Abu Arrar is exceptional.
"I'm thinking about a new wife, No. 9," he told the Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot in a recent interview. "There are many women who wish to marry me and there is no lack of women. I never had a problem with such things."
Abu Arrar, whose oldest child is 37, was photographed by the newspaper in a long Bedouin robe and head cover, surrounded by a dozen of so of his kids.
During a visit to his multistory home in central Israel, The Associated Press spotted 17 of the children milling about, dressed in bright red, blue and green-embroidered Palestinian dresses and headscarves. Four veiled women, including two who said they were his wives, sat on the porch peeling vegetables.
While Islam allows Muslim men to have four co-wives, it is a custom in Bedouin society to flout the already-generous ruling - and an Israeli ban on polygamy - by marrying women one at a time, divorcing them and marrying others, experts on Bedouin culture said.
Culturally, it's understood that the renounced wives are still married to Abu Arrar, the experts said.
It's unclear how Abu Arrar supports his massive family. Camels, goats and a cow were grazing on his property. Yediot said he also receives about $1,700 (euro1,200) in government handouts each month.
According to the Israeli Interior Ministry, Abu Arrar has 53 children registered as Israeli citizens. He has 14 other children born to Palestinian wives in the West Bank and who are not eligible for Israeli citizenship, his other wives said.
Either way, his family size pales in comparison to the size of the average Israeli family: 2.3, according to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics.
Abu Arrar claims to remember all his children's names, and says they are split almost evenly between boys and girls. And he's still going strong.
"My first wife is my age, and today I hardly spend any time with her. Her children are big, and I leave her alone. I have younger wives to spend time with. Every night I decide which wife to be with," Abu Arrar told the newspaper. He refused to talk to an AP reporter.
Activists said Abu Arrar's story showed the urgency of raising literacy and education among women in the impoverished Bedouin community. Many are pressured into marriage or feel they have no other options beside raising children, said Khadra al-Sani, director of Sidra, a Bedouin women's rights group.
Still, Abu Arrar pales in comparison to others in the region. In August, the Emirates Today newspaper in Dubai ran a story about a one-legged 60-year-old man with 78 children from 12 wives.
Daad Abdul Rahman said he hoped to have a hundred children by 2015.
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