New ‘Smart’ Nanotherapeutics Can Deliver Drugs Directly to the Pancreas

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Tim

ScienceDaily (Jan. 12, 2012) — A research collaboration between the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and Children’s Hospital Boston has developed “smart” injectable nanotherapeutics that can be programmed to selectively deliver drugs to the cells of the pancreas. Although this nanotechnology will need significant additional testing and development before being ready for clinical use, it could potentially improve treatment for Type I diabetes by increasing therapeutic efficacy and reducing side effects.

The approach was found to increase drug efficacy by 200-fold in in vitro studies based on the ability of these nanomaterials to both protect the drug from degradation and concentrate it at key target sites, such as regions of the pancreas that contain the insulin-producing cells. The dramatic increase in efficacy also means that much smaller amounts of drugs would be needed for treatment, opening the possibility of significantly reduced toxic side effects, as well as lower treatment costs. Continue reading →

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For the Herd’s Sake, Vaccinate

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Tim

West Hartford, Conn.

I HAVE chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Three months ago, I underwent an allogeneic stem-cell transplant, in which my wise, 52-year-old white blood cells were replaced by bewildered, low-functioning cells from an anonymous European donor. For the next seven months or so, until those cells mature, I have a newborn’simmunity; I am prey to illnesses like chickenpox, the measles and the flu.

These diseases are rarely fatal, unless you’re a newborn or someone with a suppressed immune system like me. My newborn buddies and I do have some protection, however: the rest of you.

Young babies, the immuno-compromised and people who get chemotherapy are not able to process most vaccinations. Live vaccines in particular, like those for measles and chickenpox, can make us sick. But if 75 percent to 95 percent of the population around us is vaccinated for a particular disease, the rest are protected through what is called herd immunity. In other words, your measles vaccine protects me against the measles.

It’s the reasoning of Clarence, the angel from “It’s a Wonderful Life”: If you are vaccinated, you won’t pass a disease on to someone else, who won’t pass it on to six more people, and on and on. To quote Clarence, “Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives.”

Unfortunately, vaccination rates for many diseases in Europe and in areas of the United States are falling. This is partly due to Andrew Wakefield, a British doctor who published a paper, now discredited, in 1998 in The Lancet tying childhood vaccines to autism. Celebrities like Jim Carrey have also taken a strong antivaccine view. As a result of these unwarranted fears, childhood diseases are returning. The rate of whooping cough cases has spiked over the past 20 years. In 1990, the incidence was 2 per 100,000 people; in 2000 it was 3; by last year, it had risen to nearly 10.

Measles cases are also increasing. For each year between 2001 and 2008, the median number of cases in the United States was 56. In the first six months of this year alone, there were more than 150 reported cases — the most since 1996. A vast majority of those who were sickened had not been vaccinated or had uncertain vaccination histories. Before the vaccine was introduced in 1963, 400 to 500 Americans died of measles every year.

During last year’s flu season there were 55,403 reported cases of influenza A and B; 116 children died of the disease. And now flu season is back.

The truth is, we should not get vaccinated for ourselves alone; we should do it for one another. Having cancer has taught me the value of living in a community. We assist the infirm, pay our taxes and donate to charity, and getting vaccinated — for the flu, for adult whooping cough, for pneumonia — is just another important societal responsibility. After all, we’re in the same herd.

Steven L. Weinreb, an internist who is certified in oncology and hematology, is on medical leave from his job at a private practice.

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“Gold standard” stem cells created by British scientists

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Tim

British scientists have created the first known batch of “gold standard” stem cells which could one day lead to a new wave of treatments for degenerative diseases.

The stem cells, taken from human embryos and grown in the lab, are of unprecedented quality and could be offered to researchers before the end of next year for eventual use in clinical trials.

Previous embryonic stem cell (ESC) trials in humans have used lower-quality “research grade” cells, which are manipulated and reclassified into “clinical grade”.

But the new ESCs, described as the “Holy Grail for regenerative medicine”, are of clinical quality from the moment they are donated by patients and do not require a costly and risky conversion.

They are also untainted by animal-derived products which have been used by other researchers to stimulate growth.

Two lines of stem cells, which can be converted into virtually any type of tissue in the body, have been donated to the UK Stem Cell Bank (UKSCB) by researchers from King’s College London.

Prof Peter Braude, a leading member of the team, said: “The key here is that these are clinical grade lines, they have been set up from the beginning as lines that do not contain animal products and have not got animal products coming into contact with them.”

While ESCs of similar quality could potentially have been cultured in secret by private researchers such as drug companies, these are the first of their kind to be developed for public health benefit.

A line of cells of a similar quality is being developed by Manchester University researchers and is expected to be donated to the stem cell bank next month.

At the UKSCB the cell lines will undergo rigorous testing to ensure they are safe and of a sufficient calibre for use in human trials, but it is hoped they will be a “seedstock” for future experiments.

Prof Braude said the achievement, recorded in the Cytotherapy journal, marked ten years of painstaking research.

He said: “Cells that are ready for clinical use have really been the Holy Grail of everybody in terms of regenerative medicine.

“There is still a long way to go … these are not ready for use now. They get handed over to the stem cell bank and they do exhaustive testing and a lot of lines are going to fail.”

The cells could be handed over to university scientists or private companies by the end of next year, though there would likely be a significant period of preparation by researchers before clinical trials actually began.

Dr Glyn Stacey, director of the UKSCB, said: “They will be released – I wouldn’t like to put a date on it, but some time next year.

“The moment we release them they are ready for use in a clinical trial.”

It is widely believed that ESCs could one day be used to generate healthy tissue to replace damaged cells throughout the body, and potentially form the basis of new treatments for conditions like heart disease and Parkinson’s.

ESCs are taken from frozen embryos the size of a pinhead, which are donated to researchers by IVF patients who have no further use for them and would otherwise have been discarded.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/8938523/Gold-standard-stem-cells-created-by-British-scientists.html

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Boys need the cervical cancer jab too

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Tim

Few politicians will ever admit they are wrong, so I salute health ministers who have finally capitulated to medical opinion and last month announced a U-turn on the cervical cancer vaccine that is given to 12- and 13-year-old girls.

Until now, Cervarix, which protects against two strains of the human papilloma virus (HPV) that are a factor in at least 70 per cent of diagnoses, has been the NHS vaccine of choice. However, another vaccine, Gardasil, also protects against a further two strains of HPV which cause genital warts, the most common sexually-transmitted infection, requiring costly and unpleasant treatment.

As doctors have been arguing for some time, this has important public health implications. The current cost to the NHS of treating the 100,000 new cases of genital warts in England each year is £23 million. In several countries, including Australia, where Gardasil has been used in nationwide vaccination programmes, a 75 per cent decrease in the number of new cases of genital warts in the past three years has been reported.

Critics of NHS policy complained that Cervarix was chosen over Gardasil not on the basis of clinical efficacy but because its manufacturers offered it at a discounted price, making it the most cost-effective. Indeed, many doctors have admitted in the medical press that they have bought Gardasil for their daughters privately, while they had to give their patients Cervarix. But ministers have seen sense as now Gardasil will be available on the NHS.

But the battle against HPV has not been entirely won with this volte-face. Many doctors and public health officials believe that it is not only girls who should be protected. Gardasil prevent warts, but there is also emerging evidence to suggest that it can protect against other cancers caused by HPV, such as anal and penile cancers. And a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine showed that those infected with HPV were 32 times more likely to develop oral or throat cancers. This finding dwarfs the increased risk associated with two acknowledged factors for developing these cancers: smoking (three times more likely to develop cancer) and drinking (2.5 times). Research published last month in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found that HPV now accounts for more head and neck cancers than tobacco or alcohol.

Last month, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which advises the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, voted unanimously to recommend routine use of Gardasil in boys, in an effort to protect them from oral, anal and penile cancers, as well as warts.

At present health ministers are ruling out the prospect of offering the vaccination to boys here and the only option is to have it privately, with clinics routinely charging nearly £500 for the course of three injections.

Having read the available research, I know I would be reaching for my wallet if I had a son. Surely the NHS has as great a responsibility to teenage boys as it does to girls? Perhaps it’s time for another U-turn?

About the Author:

Max Pemberton’s new book, The Doctor Will See You Now is published by Hodder. To order a copy, call Telegraph Books on 0844 871 1515 or visit books.telegraph.co.uk

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Daily Aspirin blocks bowel cancer

Posted on October 28, 2011 by Tim

A daily dose of aspirin should be given to people at high risk of bowel cancer, say scientists.

Two pills a day for two years reduced the incidence of bowel cancer by 63% in a group of 861 at-risk patients, a study reported in The Lancet said.

Newcastle University’s Prof Sir John Burn, who led the study, said the evidence “seems overwhelmingly strong”.

Other experts said the findings added to a growing body of proof that aspirin could be used in the fight on cancer.

The study was conducted on 861 patients with Lynch syndrome, which affects one in every 1,000 people.

For full story, click here.

 

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Raw vegetables and fruits counteract heart risk genes

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Tim

People who are genetically susceptible to heart disease can lower their risk by eating plenty of fruit and raw vegetables, a study suggests.

It says five or more daily portions should be enough to counteract culprit versions of a gene on chromosome 9, thought to be possessed by a fifth of people of European ancestry.

Healthy diets appeared to weaken its effect.

The US researchers investigated more than 27,000 people for their work.

The findings were published in Plos Medicine journal.

These participants came from from around the globe, including Europe, China and Latin America.

The results suggest that individuals with high risk 9p21 gene versions who consumed a diet packed with raw vegetables, fruits and berries had a similar risk of heart attack as those with a low-risk variant of the same gene.

For the complete article, click here.

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Nitric Oxide: The New Hero of Human Biology

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Tim

Twenty minutes on a treadmill will certainly help you fit into that one-size-too-small dress. But new research suggests that exercise may also help increase the production of nitric oxide, a substance that does a variety of important jobs in the body, perhaps none more valuable than to help prevent heart disease.

“Nitric oxide does a variety of jobs,” explains Dr. Jason Allen of Duke University. “It tends to be antiatherogenic, which means that it helps prevent your arteries from becoming clogged. From start to finish, this is a 40-year process which depends on lifestyle.” That is, it’s a function of what you eat, how you exercise, and the stresses you are under. Continue reading →

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Breastfed babies develop fewer behavioural problems

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Tim

Children who are breastfed for four months or more develop fewer behaviour problems, Oxford researchers say.

The study, involving 10,000 mothers and their babies and in journal Archives of Disease in Childhood, says that may be because of the make-up of breast milk.

Or, it says, breastfeeding may lead to better mother-baby interaction.

Breastfeeding is already associated with other health benefits for babies, including lower rates of infection and less obesity in later life.

Researchers looked at the feeding habits of 10,037 mothers and their babies involved in a large study known as theMillennium Cohort Study.

For more of this story, click here.

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Prolonged bottle feed increases obesity risk

Posted on May 9, 2011 by Tim

Babies who are bottle-fed until the age of two are more likely to be obese when they start school, a US study suggests.

Writing in the Journal of Pediatrics, researchers found that children who were still regular bottle users at 24 months were 30% more likely to be obese aged five-and-a-half.

They analysed data from nearly 7,000 children across the United States.

Experts say bottle-feeding can make babies consume too many calories.

The research found 22% of the two-year-olds studied were using a bottle as their main drink container, or were put to bed with a bottle containing a calorie-filled drink.

Nearly a quarter of this group were found to be obese aged five, compared with 16% of children who had not been using a bottle at the age of two.

For more, click here.

 

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Priligy (Dapoxetine) can treat Premature Ejaculation (PE)

Posted on April 21, 2011 by Tim

Priligy® or its generic version Dapoxetine is the first pill-form medication designed specifically to treat premature ejaculation (PE) in men. Premature ejaculation is defined as ejaculating quicker than their partner or themselves would desire.

Technically, Dapoxetine or Priligy® is what is known as a SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor). SSRI’s are typically prescribed for patients who experience depression and as such are used as antidepressants. However, some SSRI’s have shown the ability to reduce ejaculation time in some men but no other SSRI in studies has worked as well as Dapoxetine for this issue. Apparently it is also safer and eliminated from the body quicker than typical SSRI’s as its terminal half life is approximately 20 hours with its initial half life around 1.4 hours. This is partially why it was rejected as a depression treatment. Because of its short duration a patient would need to be taking this medication several times per day for a proper effect, which is fairly unrealistic and as such Dapoxetine has not been actually approved as an antidepressant. Continue reading →

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