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Andrew Artenstein: Essential Enzymes Key to Disease, Maybe Treatments

By Guest PostJanuary 2, 2012Healthalzheimer, andrew artenstein, anthrax, athlerosclerosis, bacteria and viruses, biodefense, body, cancer, chemical reactions, david orenstein, disease, ebola, enzymes, essential proteins, Europe, flu, iaips, infectious diseases, inter alpha inhibitor proteins, measles, microscopic level, molecules, natural human proteins, outbreak of h1n1, pathways, pcs, proprotein convertases, proteins, sars, steven opal, therapies, viruses

*Proprotein convertases are enzymes that activate many essential proteins, but they are also implicated in many processes that cause disease. In a research review in the New England Journal of Medicine, Andrew Artenstein and Steven Opal argue that proprotein convertases are potentially rich targets for developing therapies.*

Most people have never heard of proprotein convertases, but the enzymes activate many proteins that are essential for life. Unfortunately, their fundamental role puts them in the middle of many processes that cause disease – not just cancer or athlerosclerosis, but both of those and Alzheimer’s and anthrax and the flu and an amazing variety of other maladies.

In a research review article appearing Dec. 29 in the New England Journal of Medicine, Andrew Artenstein, physician-in-chief in the Department of Medicine at Memorial Hospital, and Steven Opal, chief of infectious diseases at Memorial Hospital, argue that proprotein convertases (PCs) are potentially rich targets for developing therapies. Artenstein, who with Opal is on the faculty of the Warren Alpert School of Medicine, explained PCs to David Orenstein. (more…)

Breast Cancer Survivors Benefit From Practicing Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, MU Researchers Find

By Guest PostDecember 31, 2011Healthamerican cancer society, breast cancer, health challenges, jane armer, lifestyles and belief, mbsr, meditation, meditation technique, mindfulness, mindfulness based stress reduction, physical awareness, positive effects, post diagnosis, survivors, university of missouri, women, yaowarat matchim, yoga

*Survivors’ psychological and physiological health improved after training*

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Women recently diagnosed with breast cancer have higher survival rates than those diagnosed in previous decades, according to the American Cancer Society. However, survivors continue to face health challenges after their treatments end. Previous research reports as many as 50 percent of breast cancer survivors are depressed. Now, University of Missouri researchers in the Sinclair School of Nursing say a meditation technique can help breast cancer survivors improve their emotional and physical well-being. (more…)

“Painless” Plasma Brush is Becoming Reality in Dentistry, MU Engineers Say

By Guest PostDecember 28, 2011Healthcavity filling, dental instrument, dentists, filling material, painless plasma brush, plasma brush

*Hi-tech dental instrument uses “cool flame” for sturdier and longer-lasting fillings*

COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri engineers and their research collaborators at Nanova, Inc. are one step closer to a painless way to replace fillings. After favorable results in the lab, human clinical trials are underway on the “plasma brush.” (more…)

Study Shows Persistence Pays Off in The Mating Game

By Guest PostDecember 25, 2011Healthattractiveness, mating game, quick hook up, self deception, sexual encounter

AUSTIN, Texas — A new study co-authored by a University of Texas at Austin psychology professor suggests that self-deception may help men succeed in the mating game, while women will benefit more from effective communication. (more…)

New Take on Impacts of Low Dose Radiation

By Guest PostDecember 24, 2011Health, Scienceatomic bomb blasts, berkeley lab, biological damage, breast cell line, broken dna, cancer risks, christopher pham, dna damage response, dna repair mechanisms, Environment, epidemiological data, extrapolation, gy of radiation, human breast cells, human tissue, ionizing radiation, Japan, joel swenson, lawrence berkeley national laboratory, levels of ionizing radiation, linear no threshold hypothesis, lnt, low dose radiation, mammogram, mathematical modeling, mcf10a, mina bissell, primary breast epithelial cells, radiation induced foci, rafael gomez sjoberg, repair, rif, standard model, survivors, sylvain costes, teresa neumaier, time lapse imaging, world war II, xray microbeam

*Berkeley Lab Researchers Find Evidence Suggesting Risk May Not Be Proportional to Dose at Low Dose Levels*

Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), through a combination of time-lapse live imaging and mathematical modeling of a special line of human breast cells, have found evidence to suggest that for low dose levels of ionizing radiation, cancer risks may not be directly proportional to dose. This contradicts the standard model for predicting biological damage from ionizing radiation – the linear-no-threshold hypothesis or LNT – which holds that risk is directly proportional to dose at all levels of irradiation.

“Our data show that at lower doses of ionizing radiation, DNA repair mechanisms work much better than at higher doses,” says Mina Bissell, a world-renowned breast cancer researcher with Berkeley Lab’s Life Sciences Division. “This non-linear DNA damage response casts doubt on the general assumption that any amount of ionizing radiation is harmful and additive.” (more…)

Removal of Lymph Nodes During Surgery For Thyroid Cancer May Be Beneficial

By Guest PostDecember 22, 2011Healthaleksandra popadich, australia, biopsy, blood thyroglobulin levels, clnd, disease, England, group a patients, group b patients, lymph nodes, mark sywak, michael yeh, neck, papillary cancer, prophylactic central neck lymph node dissection, rate of disease recurrence, removal of neck lymph nodes, stan sidhu, thyroglobulin, thyroid cancer, thyroid malignancies, thyroid surgery, thyroid tumor marker, ultrasound, university of sydney, US

*Procedure may reduce recurrence rates, lower tumor marker levels*

Papillary thyroid cancer accounts for the majority of all thyroid malignancies, which primarily impact women. A new study indicates that routinely removing lymph nodes in the neck in these cancer patients may help prevent the disease from coming back.

When thyroid cancer metastasizes, lymph nodes in the neck may be affected, but these lymph-node tumors can be tiny and may not be detected by ultrasounds done before surgery to remove the diseased thyroid — or even during the procedure itself. (more…)

Marijuana Use Continues to Rise Among U.S. Teens, While Alcohol Use Hits Historic Lows

By Guest PostDecember 16, 20112 commentsGeneral, Healthadderall, alcohol, amphetamine, anabolic steroid, cocaine powder, cold medicines, cough, crack cocaine, ecstasy, energy drinks, inhalants, k2, lloyd johnston, marijuana, mdma, medical use, monster, narcotic drug, red bull, reload, sedative, sedatives, spice, stimulant drug, synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic marijuana, teens, tranquilizers, university of michigan, us secondary school students, use of marijuana, vicodin

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Among the more important findings from this year’s Monitoring the Future survey of U.S. secondary school students are the following:

Marijuana use among teens rose in 2011 for the fourth straight year—a sharp contrast to the considerable decline that had occurred in the preceding decade. Daily marijuana use is now at a 30-year peak level among high school seniors.
“Synthetic marijuana,” which until earlier this year was legally sold and goes by such names as “K2” and “spice,” was added to the study’s coverage in 2011; one in every nine high school seniors (11.4%) reported using that drug in the prior 12 months.
Alcohol use—and, importantly, occasions of heavy drinking—continued a long-term gradual decline among teens, reaching historically low levels in 2011.
Energy drinks are being consumed by about one third of teens, with use highest among younger teens. (more…)

Yale Scientists Identify Gene That Controls The Spread of Melanoma

By Guest PostDecember 16, 2011Health, Sciencebeta catenin, braf gene, disease, drug treatments, gene, genetically altered mice, human melanoma, intestine, lungs, lymph nodes, malignant melanoma, manjula santhanakrishnan, marcus w bosenberg, melanoma, metastasis, skin, skin cancer, spleen, tumor growth, william damsky, yale cancer center

Yale Cancer Center researchers have identified a gene in melanoma that can dramatically affect the spread of the disease. The study, published in the journal Cancer Cell, provides new insight into how melanoma metastasizes in patients with advanced disease, and which organs are most likely to be affected. These findings could potentially lead to new drug treatments.

Malignant melanoma is the most deadly form of skin cancer, accounting for 80 percent of all skin cancer deaths. Nearly all melanoma deaths are a result of metastasis, which can occur early in the course of tumor growth in the skin. (more…)

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