Tag Archives: case

Significant under-use of genetic testing for inherited cancers puts health of entire families at risk

"Given that such testing can provide many options to enable individuals to manage their cancer risk, it is vital to encourage awareness and acceptance among both the public and medical professionals," he will say. "For example, removal of the ovaries in women over 40 years old who carry a BRCA mutation decreases their overall cancer mortality by 20% and prophylactic mastectomy can reduce the chances of breast cancer in women carrying such a mutation by around 90%…

Math technique de-clutters cancer-cell data, revealing tumor evolution, treatment leads

Using increasingly cheap and rapid methods to read the billions of "letters" that comprise human genomes — including the genomes of individual cells sampled from cancerous tumors — scientists are generating far more data than they can easily interpret. Today, two scientists from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) publish a mathematical method of simplifying and interpreting genome data bearing evidence of mutations, such as those that characterize specific cancers. Not only is the technique highly accurate; it has immediate utility in efforts to parse tumor cells, in order to determine a patient’s prognosis and the best approach to treatment. …

Evolutionary history of a cancer-related gene

A study published today by scientists from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) describes how a genetic duplication that took place in the vertebrate ancestor some 500 million years ago encouraged the evolution of the ASF1b gene; a gene essential for proper cell division and related to some types of cancer such as breast cancer. The results of the study are published in Molecular Biology and Evolution. The conclusions of the study are the result of collaboration between the team led by Alfonso Valencia, Vice-Director of Basic Research and Director of CNIO’s Structural Biology & Biocomputing Programme, and the team led by Genevieve Almouzni, a member of CNIO’s Scientific Advisory Committee, at the Institut Curie in Paris, France. Valencia says that: "When proteins have such a close similarity as the one that exists between the two human copies of the ASF1 gene — ASF1a and ASF1b — it is commonly assumed that they have similar functions in cells; in this case related to fundamental processes such as DNA remodelling and repair, cell division, cell proliferation and genetic transcription or activation." The Genomic Environment, Key to Success in Separating Functions Almouzni’s team discovered several years ago that, despite the similarity in structure, the two copies of ASF1 were not redundant, but rather had divided up their ancestral functions…

Dear Kim Kardashian, read this before you eat your placenta

It never ceases to amaze me how many expectant mothers sensationalize their pregnancies for publicity. And we all know the 'mother' of all publicity seekers’ whose name starts with a “Kim” and ends with “Kardashian.” Perhaps all the bad press she’s been getting about her looks throughout her pregnancy has finally gotten to her. On Sunday's season premiere of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” the 32-year-old reality star revealed she might be interested in eating her own placenta after her baby girl is born, in order to help her look younger. Kim, I want to preface this article by reminding you of an old adage that I think applies here: Don't kill the messenger. For years, I’ve been hearing that some patients, after giving birth, request to keep their placentas — though I’ve never actually had this experience in my own practice. Some of these patients desire to keep their placentas for cultural reasons. However, a growing trend is on the rise of new moms that actually want to eat them. A couple of years ago, a feature in New York Magazine called “The Placenta Cookbook,” took an in-depth look at the placentophagia fad from the professional placenta-preparer, to the women who call on her for services. Aside from profiling some of the people who take part in this trend, the article included anecdotal recipes and tips to enjoy the afterbirth delicacy — and even shared step-by-step instructions on how to prepare placental capsules in an attempt to preserve the nutritional value thought to be contained in the tissue. Beyond this particular article, various websites exist where mothers discuss how to drain the blood from the tissue and exchange recipes ranging from roast placenta to placenta lasagne. The growing popularity of this phenomenon has to do with the belief that consuming the placenta may offer a new mother certain health benefits, although there are no scientific studies to back up these claims. For example, some people believe that the placenta can help with the treatment of postpartum depression, or “baby blues.” It has been suggested in the past that postpartum depression in some patients is spurred by the quickly shifting levels of female hormones after giving birth, and that by eating the placenta, the hormones will stabilize and postpartum depression can therefore be prevented. Another thought is that the placenta can offer some degree of pain relief due to certain chemicals contained within the tissue. In ancient Chinese medicine, placental extracts are commonly mixed with herbs taken to relieve pain, stimulate milk production, and even to cure impotence. As it turns out, humans are actually one of the only mammals that don’t regularly eat their own placentas. Some researchers believe it must be because the placenta offers some fundamental biological advantage. It is known to contain high levels of things like iron, vitamin B-12 and certain hormones. But before jumping on the placenta bandwagon, I must admit that I myself have failed to find any concrete benefits to eating your own placenta. The medical community rarely comments on this practice, to be honest. In hospitals, the placenta has always seen as a biohazardous material. Remember that this is human tissue, and in theory, it could carry infectious diseases. However, these days, many hospitals are actively looking into procedures for handling patients who request to take home their placenta after birth. Do the doctors give it to her? Do they package it neatly and present it along with the newborn baby? Surprisingly, it appears that as long as certain medical criteria are met — such as both the patient and placenta being healthy — many hospitals will comply with the growing number of requests. Now, I’m no lawyer, but I don’t think there are any legal implications that would apply to prevent a mother from taking a placenta. Certainly there have been isolated cases where patients have been denied their placentas and challenged the hospitals. In 2007, Anne Swanson took her case to court after a Las Vegas hospital refused to fulfill her request to take home her placenta and won. Actually, Las Vegas seems to be a hotbed of placental-eating activity – so much so that researchers at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas did a small survey of 200 postpartum mothers who consumed their placentas and found that 95 percent of them reported improvements in their recovery and lactation. The researchers admit that the results may be due to the placebo effect, but plan to study the phenomenon more in-depth in the future.  So this is my final take: If you want to eat your placenta because you believe in its supposed health benefits, go right ahead. Just be aware that this material has to be handled with care, and you have to protect those around you from being exposed to any tissue waste that you may find unsuitable for consumption. Finally, please, keep it away from my dinner table.  source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/04/placenta-its-whats-for-dinner/

Man spent 15 years with pencil in head after childhood accident

BERLIN – & German doctors say a man spent 15 years with a pencil in his head following a childhood accident. Aachen University Hospital says the 24-year-old man from Afghanistan sought help in 2011 after suffering for years from headaches, constant colds and worsening vision in one eye. A scan showed that a 10-centimeter (4-inch) pencil was lodged from his sinus to his pharynx and had injured his right eye socket. The unnamed man said he didn't know how the pencil got there but recalled that he once fell badly as a child. The German doctors removed the pencil and say the man has recovered. Hospital spokesman Mathias Brandstaedter said Wednesday the case was presented for the first time at a medical conference this week.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/29/german-hospital-man-spent-15-years-with-pencil-in-head-after-childhood-accident/

When oxygen is short, EGFR prevents maturation of cancer-fighting miRNAs

Under conditions of oxygen starvation often encountered by tumors, the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gums up the cell’s miRNA-processing machinery, an international team led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center discovered. "So when hypoxia stresses a cell, signaling by EGFR prevents immature miRNAs from growing up to fight cancer," said senior author Mien-Chie Hung, Ph.D., professor and chair of MD Anderson’s Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology and holder of the Ruth Legett Jones Distinguished Chair…

WHO: Saudi Arabia has another case of new coronavirus

Saudi Arabia has reported another case of infection in a concentrated outbreak of a new strain of a virus that emerged in the Middle East last year and spread into Europe, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday. In a disease outbreak update issued from its Geneva headquarters, the WHO said the latest patient is an 81-year-old woman with multiple medical conditions. She became ill on April 28 and is in a critical but stable condition. Worldwide, there have now been 41 laboratory-confirmed infections, including 20 deaths, since the new coronavirus was identified by scientists in September 2012. The novel coronavirus, which had been known as by the acronym nCoV but which some scientific journals now refer to as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus, or MERS, belongs to the same family as viruses that cause common colds and the one that caused a deadly outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003. MERS cases have so far been reported in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Britain, Germany and France, but Saudi Arabia has had the vast majority of cases. The WHO said that latest patient was in the same clinic in eastern Saudi Arabia that has seen 22 cases, nine of them fatal, since April 8. WHO experts visiting Saudi Arabia to consult with the authorities on the outbreak have said it seemed likely the new virus could be passed between humans, but only after prolonged, close contact.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/20/who-saudi-arabia-has-another-case-new-coronavirus/

FDA approves new drug to treat ulcerative colitis

The Food and Drug Administration has approved Johnson & Johnson's drug Simponi for patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory disease affecting the colon. Simponi is already approved to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Like RA, ulcerative colitis is an auto-immune disease in which the body's immune system attacks its own organs. In the case of ulcerative colitis, inflammation can lead to open sores or ulcers in the lining of the colon, causing stomach pain, gastrointestinal bleeding and diarrhea. The most common side effects of Simponi in clinical trials of patients with ulcerative colitis were upper respiratory infection and redness at the site in which the drug is injected. Patients treated with Simponi, known also as golimumab, are at increased risk of developing serious infections, reactivation of Hepatitis B infection, heart failure and certain nervous system disorders. The drug is marketed by J&J's Janssen Ortho Biotech unit.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/16/fda-approves-new-drug-to-treat-ulcerative-colitis/