Wednesday March 11, 2009
New carcinoma data have been reported by scientists at Lomonosov Moscow
State University
NewsRx.com 03-05-09
According to recent research published in the journal Biochemistry -
Moscow, "It was proposed that increased level of mitochondrial reactive
oxygen species (ROS), mediating execution of the aging program of an
organism, could also be critical for neoplastic transformation and
tumorigenesis. This proposal was addressed using new
mitochondria-targeted antioxidant SkQ1 (10-(6'-plastoquinonyl)
decyltriphenylphosphonium) that scavenges ROS in mitochondria at
nanomolar concentrations."
"We found that diet supplementation with SkQ1 (5 nmol/kg per day)
suppressed spontaneous development of tumors (predominantly lymphomas)
in p53(-/-) mice. The same dose of SkQ1 inhibited the growth of human
colon carcinoma HCT116/p53(-/-) xenografts in athymic mice. Growth of
tumor xenografts of human HPV-16-associated cervical carcinoma SiHa was
affected by SkQ1 only slightly, but survival of tumor-bearing animals
was increased. It was also shown that SkQ1 inhibited the tumor cell
proliferation, which was demonstrated for HCT116 p53(-/-) and SiHa cells
in culture. Moreover, SkQ1 induced differentiation of various tumor
cells in vitro. Coordinated SkQ1-initiated changes in cell shape,
cytoskeleton organization, and E-cadherin-positive intercellular
contacts were observed in epithelial tumor cells. In Ras- and
SV40-transformed fibroblasts, SkQ1 was found to initiate reversal of
morphological transformation of a malignant type, restoring actin stress
fibers and focal adhesion contacts. SkQ1 suppressed angiogenesis in
Matrigel implants, indicating that mitochondrial ROS could be important
for tumor angiogenesis. This effect, however, was less pronounced in
HCT116/p53(-/-) tumor xenografts. We have also shown that SkQ1 and
related positively charged antioxidants are substrates of the
P-glycoprotein multidrug resistance pump. The lower anti-tumor effect
and decreased intracellular accumulation of SkQ1, found in the case of
HCT116 xenografts bearing mutant forms of p53, could be related to a
higher level of P-glycoprotein. The effects of traditional antioxidant
N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) on tumor growth and tumor cell phenotype were
similar to the effects of SkQ1 but more than 1,000,000 times higher
doses of NAC than those of SkQ1 were required," wrote L.S. Agapova and
colleagues, Lomonosov Moscow State University (see also Carcinoma).
The researchers concluded: "Extremely high efficiency of SkQ1, related
to its accumulation in the mitochondrial membrane, indicates that
mitochondrial ROS production is critical for tumorigenesis at least in
some animal models."
Agapova and colleagues published their study in Biochemistry - Moscow
(Mitochondria-targeted plastoquinone derivatives as tools to interrupt
execution of the aging program. 3. Inhibitory effect of SkQ1 on tumor
development from p53-deficient cells. Biochemistry - Moscow,
2008;73(12):1300-1316).
For additional information, contact V.P. Skulachev, Lomonosov Moscow
State University, Belozersky Institute Physicochem Biology, Moscow
119991, Russia.
The publisher's contact information for the journal Biochemistry -
Moscow is: Maik Nauka, Interperiodica, Springer, 233 Spring St., New
York, NY 10013-1578, USA.
Keywords: Russia, Aging, Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Cell
Proliferation, Cervical Cancer, Cervical Carcinoma, Colon Cancer, Colon
Carcinoma, Hematology, Lymphoma, Oncology, Women's Health, Xenograft,
Xenotransplantion, Lomonosov Moscow State University.
This article was prepared by Gastroenterology Week editors from staff
and other reports. Copyright 2009, Gastroenterology Week via NewsRx.com.
http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=7971&Section=AGING
GARY, THIS ONE IS QUITE INTERESTING… NOT THE VACCINE PART… BUT THE VIRUS
PART… REMINDS ME A BIT OF DR. MADISON WHO DISCOVERED H PYLORI’S
RELATIONSHIP TO ULCERS THAT NO ONE BELIEVED IN – BUT HE GOT THE NOBEL –
AND NOW H PYLORI-ULCER RELATIONSHIP IS A GIVEN
Research Hope for Vaccine Against Children's Diabetes Glasgow
Pathologist Finds Link between Type 1 Illness And Viruses
The Herald 03-06-09
VACCINE to stop children developing diabetes could be created as a
result of new research, scientists said yesterday.
A study carried out by a pathologist at Glasgow Royal Infirmary revealed
a link between a family of viruses in the pancreas and Type 1 diabetes.
The work done over the past 25 years could now lead to a vaccine to stop
children developing the condition.
Dr Alan Foulis, who led the study, said: "There is nothing I am doing
that could cure diabetes, but the work I am doing is to try to prevent
the process starting at all.
"The idea of a vaccine and being able to prevent this disease would be
my life's work in research."
Diabetes UK last night said the research was a "big step forward" in
understanding what triggers Type 1 diabetes.
Scotland has the thirdhighest incidence of Type 1 diabetes in the world,
behind Finland and Sardinia, and 27,106 people currently have it in this
country.
It has long been thought that viruses play a role in causing diabetes by
killing islet cells or beta cells in the pancreas, which make the
insulin the body needs.
The researchers at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, the Peninsula Medical School
in the south west of England and the University of Brighton, tested the
pancreases of 72 young patients who died of Type 1 diabetes in the past
25 years.
The research findings, published in the journal Diabetologia, show that
in 60per cent of cases the children's organs contained evidence of
infection by enteroviruses in the islet cells.
By contrast, infected cells were hardly ever seen in tissues from 50
children who had not been diabetic.
This suggests the infection in children genetically predisposed to
diabetes may lead the body's immune system to judge beta cells as
"foreign" and so reject them.
A further extension of the study to adults with Type 2 diabetes showed
that 40per cent also had enteroviral infection in their beta cells.
However, a link has not been totally established and it does not mean
that lifestyle and obesity do not contribute to the disease.
Dr Foulis said: "The most significant finding early on was that the
cells that make insulin, the beta cells, also in this disease made a
substance called Interferon. This is made by cells when they are
infected by a virus.
"And so 60per cent of children with Type 1 diabetes at presentation
appear to have the virus in their beta cells, and in other children who
don't have diabetes it is very uncommon to find that."
Scientists will now try to establish which enteroviruses are involved in
the process as there are more than 100 different strains.
Dr Iain Frame, director of research at leading health charity Diabetes
UK, said: "We've known for some time that Type 1 diabetes cannot be
explained by genetics alone and that other, environmental triggers may
also play a part.
"The next steps to identify the viruses and find out what they are doing
to the infected beta cells will be hugely exciting and will take us a
step closer to preventing Type 1 diabetes."
How to identify the condition
. Type 1 diabetes develops when the body is unable to produce insulin
because cells in the pancreas have been destroyed.
. It is treated with insulin replacement therapy - usually by injection
- along with careful attention to dietary requirements and frequent
monitoring of blood glucose levels.
It usually affects those under the age of 40.
Type 1 diabetes accounts for up to 15per cent of those diagnosed with
diabetes.
. The number of people diagnosed with the condition in Scotland has
increased from 16,922 in 2001 to 27,106 in 2007.
. Symptoms are: increased thirst; frequent urination, both day and
night; extreme tiredness; weight loss; blurred vision; genital itching
or regular episodes of thrush; slow healing of wounds.
. The symptoms are usually very obvious, developing quickly, usually
over a few weeks.
. Short-term complications include the risk of a hypoglycaemia or
"hypo". This occurs when a patient's blood glucose level falls too low.
If left untreated, a patient suffering from a "hypo" can become
unconscious.
. Over the long term the condition can cause a range of problems, such
as the development of cardiovascular disease and retinopathy. Other
complications include long-term damage to the kidneys and nerves.
'Mum, I wish I didn't have it'
CASE STUDY
CALUM Dunan was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in September after the
eight-year-old, from Kelvindale, Glasgow, began experiencing some of the
tell-tale symptoms, drinking excessively and wetting his bed at night
over the course of just three days.
His parents, Robert and Julie, both 42, initially thought he may be
suffering from a urinary tract infection and sought advice from their
GP. A test showed he had a blood glucose reading of around 25. The
normal level is between four and eight.
Calum, who has a six-yearold sister Jenny, was referred to the Royal
Hospital for Sick Children at Yorkhill, Glasgow, and was shown how to
inject himself with insulin. He now receives five injections a day.
Mrs Dunan said that because the symptoms had been identified at such an
early stage, there were no long-term complications, but she and her
husband were "devastated" by the diagnosis. The family has begun to
adjust to life with Calum's diabetes and, by monitoring his blood sugar
levels, he is able to continue playing tennis and carry on with other
activities.
Mrs Dunan said: "We are trying to be positive but it has affected our
home life. We have to have a plan of action of where we are going, what
we are doing, what we will be eating . He has dealt with it very well,
although he does get irritated slightly because it does affect his life.
He sometimes says to me, 'Mum I wish I didn't have it'. But it is just
one of those things."
Mrs Dunan said the prospect of a vaccine to prevent Type 1 diabetes was
"absolutely amazing".
http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=7979&Section=DISEASE
Acupuncture worthwhile for hay fever sufferers
Last Updated: 2009-03-06 8:00:58 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Acupuncture added to standard treatment
helps improve quality of life in people with hay fever, German
researchers report.
Moreover, it's worth the extra cost, Dr. Claudia M. Witt of Charite
University Medical Center in Berlin and her colleagues found, especially
for women.
Hay fever, known medically as allergic rhinitis, has become more common
over the past two decades, Witt and her team note in the American
Journal of Epidemiology. The condition is costly to society, both in
terms of lost productivity and treatment costs.
Up to 19 percent of people with allergic rhinitis use acupuncture to
help treat their symptoms, the researchers note. In Germany, acupuncture
is typically given by doctors, but is not reimbursed by health insurers.
To examine how the costs of acupuncture for allergic rhinitis relates to
its benefits, Witt and her team used an equation called the incremental
cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). This allowed them to calculate how much
it would cost for a person to gain an additional year of good quality of
life based on having acupuncture for allergic rhinitis.
Based on international standards, up to 50,000 euros (about $63,000) for
every extra "quality adjusted life year," or QALY, is considered to be
cost-effective.
The researchers looked at 981 patients with allergic rhinitis. All were
getting usual care, but 487 were assigned to have acupuncture also.
These patients averaged about 10 sessions over the three-month study.
Costs for treating these patients averaged about 763 euros ($960),
compared to 332 euros ($420) for the comparison group.
At three months, average quality of life was better for the acupuncture
group, but this was mostly due to improvements for women. There was no
significant benefit for men.
The cost per QALY was 10,155 euros for women ($12,800) and 44,871 euros
($57,000) for men.
It's not clear why women fared better, the researchers note; one study
of acupuncture for chronic neck pain also showed better results for
women. Witt and her team have also shown that women have higher
expectations of acupuncture for pain treatment than men, they add, which
could be a factor.
As Witt told Reuters Health via e-mail, the findings show that "if
patients suffering from allergic rhinitis use acupuncture in addition to
usual care they have better quality of life compared to those patients
who use only usual care. This acupuncture treatment results in
additional costs; however, according to international benchmarks it is
cost-effective."
SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology, February 15, 2009.
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/03/06/eline/links/20090306elin
005.html
Helium-oxygen mix helps in lung disease rehab
Last Updated: 2009-03-06 8:01:07 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease, or COPD, do better in physical rehabilitation when they breathe
a mixture of 60% helium and 40% oxygen, according to a clinical trial
conducted in Canada.
COPD includes conditions such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
Breathing the gaseous mixture combines the benefits of helium, which as
a light gas is easy on the airways, and the benefits of a high
concentration of oxygen for reducing breathlessness, Dr. Neil D. Eves at
the University of Calgary and his associates explain in the medical
journal Chest.
They randomly assigned 38 COPD patients to breathe helium-oxygen or air
during a rehab program, which included 90 minutes of exercise 3 days per
week for 6 weeks.
Throughout the program, the helium-oxygen group achieved a significantly
higher exercise intensity and training duration than the air-breathing
"control" group -- without increasing symptoms of exertion.
In fact, the report indicates, the helium-oxygen participants had less
leg discomfort and a lower breathing rate.
At the end of the 6 weeks, the helium-oxygen group also had a greater
change than the control group in the time they could exercise at a
constant load -- 9.5 versus 4.3 minutes.
The patients on helium-oxygen also reported greater changes in
health-related quality of life, which the researchers say were
"clinically meaningful."
SOURCE: Chest, March 2009.
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/03/06/eline/links/20090306elin
008.html
Propolis is top antioxidant among bee products
Last Updated: 2009-03-06 9:31:47 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Bee products are popular health foods, and
the ones packing the strongest antioxidant punch are propolis and
pollen; royal jelly, however, seems to have no antioxidant effects at
all, Japanese researchers report.
Propolis is a resin-like, sticky substance bees use in hive
construction, while bee pollen is a mix of flower pollen and nectar.
Bees secrete royal jelly to feed larvae. All three substances are used
widely in alternative and traditional medicine as well as for
nutritional purposes.
Dr. Yoshimi Nakajima of Gifu Pharmaceutical University in Gifu and her
colleagues conducted chemical studies to measure the antioxidant powers
of these substances and their components. The results have been
published in the online journal BMC Complementary and Alternative
Medicine.
Oxidative stress, the damage caused to body tissues by harmful
byproducts of metabolism called reactive oxygen species, has been linked
to a number of diseases, including heart disease and cancer.
Antioxidants may benefit health by "scavenging" these molecules before
they cause harm.
The researchers used a serious of lab tests to measure how well the bee
products were able to scavenge three different types of reactive oxygen
species. They found that a water extract of Brazilian green propolis had
the strongest effects, followed closely by an alcohol propolis extract.
An extract of bee pollen collected from two bee species in Spain also
had antioxidant effects, but was only about one-tenth as strong as the
propolis extracts.
Royal jelly, collected from bees in China's Yangtze Valley and
freeze-dried, had no antioxidant effects.
Tests of propolis components found that caffeic acids "dramatically
reduced" all three of the reactive oxygen types that Nakajima and
colleagues used in their study. Their antioxidant capacities were
equivalent to those of vitamin C and a powerful vitamin E derivative
called trolox.
Another chemical, artepillin C, accounted for some of the antioxidant
effects of the bee pollen.
"Since propolis and its constituents were widely effective as an
antioxidant...it may be expected to have beneficial effects against at
least some oxidative stress-related diseases," the researchers conclude.
SOURCE: BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, online February 26,
2009.
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/03/06/eline/links/20090306elin
012.html | 
