Drug Therapy Reduces Neuroblastoma Tumor Growth in Pre-clinical Investigation
April 26, 2009
Researchers from the Children’s Cancer Hospital at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have discovered a new drug combination that significantly hinders tumor growth in neuroblastoma, a childhood cancer. The study was presented today at the 22nd annual meeting of the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO).
By combining a novel multi-kinase inhibitor, vandetanib, with 13-cis-retinoic acid (CRA), a drug often used for severe acne, researchers from the Children’s Cancer Hospital at M. D. Anderson found that the two therapies reduced neuroblastoma tumors by 86 percent in pre-clinical tests.
Peter Zage, M.D., Ph.D., who specializes in neuroblastoma at the Children’s Cancer Hospital, received this year’s Young Investigator Award from ASPHO and was selected to present his research today in a special platform session.
Benefit Of Grapes May Be More Than Skin Deep
April 26, 2009
Can a grape-enriched diet prevent the downhill sequence of heart failure after years of high blood pressure?
A University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center study suggests grapes may prevent heart health risks beyond the simple blood pressure-lowering impact that can come from a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. The benefits may be the result of the phytochemicals – naturally occurring antioxidants – turning on a protective process in the genes that reduces damage to the heart muscle.
The study, performed in laboratory rats, was presented recently at the 2009 Experimental Biology convention in New Orleans.
How Nitric Oxide Maintains Health
April 26, 2009
Nobel Prize-winning pharmacologist Louis Ignarro visited the USC Davis School of Gerontology on Feb. 12 to discuss the health benefits of nitric oxide, which has been hailed as the “miracle molecule” because of its extraordinary importance in the health of virtually every cell in the body.
Ignrarro, professor at the UCLA Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, was a co-recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Medicine with Robert F. Furchgott and Ferid Murad. Together, the researchers discovered that nitric oxide, not to be confused with nitrous oxide (a gas used in anesthesia), is a signaling molecule responsible for dilation of blood vessels.
“In the heart, nitric oxide is the body’s way of protecting against cardiovascular disease,” Ignarro said. “The arteries make nitric oxide to lower blood pressure and improve blood flow to organs because it is a vaso-dialator, which means it widens or relaxes the arteries so that more blood can flow through, therefore lowering the pressure within the arterial system.”
Inexpensive Drug Appears To Relieve Fibromyalgia Pain
April 23, 2009
For Tara Campbell, the onset of her fibromyalgia began slowly with repeated sore throats, fevers and fatigue. By the time she was diagnosed, a year later, she had become so debilitated by flulike symptoms and exhaustion that she often couldn’t get off the couch all day.
“Fall, a year ago, I hit my very, very worst,” said Campbell, 39, of Walnut Creek, Calif. “I felt overall pain to the point that even when my children or husband just touched me it hurt.”
Campbell’s symptoms still linger, but since taking part in a Stanford University School of Medicine clinical trial in the spring of 2008, she’s improved enough that she’s gone back to working again as an interior decorator and even headed up the fundraising auction at her daughters’ school.
“I am really, really good,” Campbell said. “Having said that, I’m still not 100 percent. I’m still not that person I was before.”
Traditional Herbal Medicine Kills Pancreatic Cancer Cells, Jefferson Researchers Report
April 23, 2009
An herb used in traditional medicine by many Middle Eastern countries may help in the fight against pancreatic cancer, one of the most difficult cancers to treat. Researchers at the Kimmel Cancer at Jefferson in Philadelphia have found that thymoquinone, an extract of nigella sativa seed oil, blocked pancreatic cancer cell growth and killed the cells by enhancing the process of programmed cell death.
While the studies are in the early stages, the findings suggest that thymoquinone could eventually have some use as a preventative strategy in patients who have gone through surgery and chemotherapy or in individuals who are at a high risk of developing cancer.
According to Hwyda Arafat, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of Surgery at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, nigella sativa helps treat a broad array of diseases, including some immune and inflammatory disorders. Previous studies also have shown anticancer activity in prostate and colon cancers, as well as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.
Blueberries Make Their Mark On Cardiovascular Disease And Diabetes
April 23, 2009
Could eating blueberries help get rid of belly fat? And could a blueberry-enriched diet stem the conditions that lead to diabetes? A new University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center study suggests so.
The new research, presented Sunday at the Experimental Biology convention in New Orleans, gives tantalizing clues to the potential of blueberries in reducing risk factors for cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. The effect is thought to be due to the high level of phytochemicals – naturally occurring antioxidants – that blueberries contain.
The study was performed in laboratory rats. While the animal findings suggest blueberries may be protective against two health conditions that affect millions of Americans, more research should be done.
Scripps Research Team Invents First Technique for Producing Promising Anti-Leukemia Agent
April 23, 2009
Kapakahines, marine-derived natural products isolated from a South Pacific sponge in trace quantities, have shown anti-leukemia potential, but studies have been all but stalled by kapakahines’ lack of availability. But using only acetylene gas, a handful of amino acids, and a dozen inventive steps, a team from The Scripps Research Institute has finally established the first technique to synthesize kapakahines in the laboratory in large quantities, more than a decade after their discovery. With supplies now in hand, and unlimited production potential established, research on the compound can proceed and may eventually lead to new drug treatments.
The research is described in a paper published online by the Journal of the American Chemical Society on April 17, 2009.
Cripbrochalina olemda appears to the uninitiated as a common tube-type sponge similar to countless others you might find on reefs throughout the tropics. But this species, discovered in 1995, is one of a growing number of marine organisms researchers have found that naturally produce chemicals with great potential for fighting diseases such as cancer.
World-First New High Blood Pressure Treatment Trialled
April 19, 2009
A world-first breakthrough to treat high blood pressure has been successfully trialled in Melbourne.
The clinical trial showed significant improvement in blood pressure of participants who were given a new catheter-based treatment where blood pressure lowering medication had failed.
Director of Monash University’s Centre of Cardiovascular Research and Education in Therapeutics, Professor Henry Krum led the research collaboration between Monash, the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, and St Vincent’s Hospital to develop the new surgical technique that disrupts nerves around the kidneys to dramatically reduce high blood pressure.
The technique could benefit those at high risk of heart attack or stroke from high blood pressure that resists conventional drug treatments.
Professor Krum presented these data in a late breaking clinical trial session at The American College of Cardiology’s 58th Annual Scientific Session earlier this week and was lead author on a simultaneous publication in The Lancet.
In The ICU, Use Of Benzodiazepines, Other Factors May Predict Secerity Of Post-Stay Depresion
April 19, 2009
Psychiatrists and critical care specialists at Johns Hopkins have begun to tease out what there is about a stay in an intensive care unit (ICU) that leads so many patients to report depression after they go home.
In a study reported online April 10 in Critical Care Medicine, the Hopkins researchers say several factors predicted symptoms of depression six months after hospitalization among very sick ICU patients, including a high level of organ failure and being given relatively high doses of a benzodiazepine sedative.
“The hope is that as we learn more about the effect of variations in ICU care, we’ll be able to predict which patients are most susceptible to depression, prevent some depression by changing ICU practices, and make sure patients receive adequate mental health monitoring after discharge,” says O. Joseph Bienvenu, M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Wrist Acupuncture or Acupressure Prevents Nausea From Anesthesia
April 19, 2009
Up to 80 percent of patients who have surgery complain of nausea and vomiting afterwards, but stimulating an acupoint in their wrists can help reduce these symptoms, finds a new evidence review.
Treatment for nausea and vomiting after surgery and anesthesia typically calls for the use of anti-nausea (antiemetic) medications. However, the cost and side effects of these medications have raised interest in finding more simple and noninvasive ways to prevent the symptoms. The aim of the systematic review was to determine whether stimulation of the wrist acupuncture point is an effective option.
The Pericardium (P6) point is in the wrist and its stimulation prevents nausea and vomiting, the researchers found.