Harmful metals in e-cigarettes linked to DNA damage

 E-cigarette users are exposed to increased concentrations of potentially harmful levels of metals that are linked to elevated oxidative DNA damage, a new study has found.

For the study, published in the journal BMJ Open Respiratory Research, researchers found that the biomarkers, which reflect exposure, effect, and potential harm, are both elevated in e-cigarette users compared to the other groups and linked to metal exposure and oxidative DNA damage.

"Our study found e-cigarette users are exposed to increased concentrations of potentially harmful levels of metals -- especially zinc -- that are correlated to elevated oxidative DNA damage," said the study's lead researcher Prue Talbot from University of California in the US.

Zinc, a dietary nutrient, plays key roles in growth, immune function, and wound healing. Too little of this essential trace element can cause death; too much of it can cause disease. Its deficiency, as well as its excess, cause cellular oxidative stress, which, if unchecked, can lead to diseases such as atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, pulmonary fibrosis, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and lung cancer.

Electronic cigarettes consist of a battery, atomizing unit, and refill fluid. Metals in e-cigarette aerosols come mainly from the metal components in the atomizer-- nichrome wire, tin solder joints, brass clamps, insulating sheaths, and wicks -- as well as the e-fluids that the atomizers heat.

For the study, researchers have examined and quantified urinary biomarkers of effect and potential harm in relation to metals in e-cigarette users.

According to the study, a biomarker is a quantifiable characteristic of a biological process. Biomarkers allow researchers and physicians to measure a biological or chemical substance that is indicative of a person's physiological state.

Previous e-cigarette studies with humans have examined biomarkers of exposure -- for example, nicotine or nicotine metabolites -- but none have studied biomarkers of potential harm or shown how this harm correlates with metal exposure.

The biomarkers studied by the researchers were 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), a biomarker of oxidative DNA damage; 8-isoprostane, an indicator of the oxidative degradation of lipids; and metallothionein, a metal response protein.

All three biomarkers were significantly elevated in e-cigarette users compared to the concentrations in cigarette smokers, the researchers said.

"Pregnant women, especially, should not be encouraged to use e-cigarettes," Talbot said.

"Excess of zinc in their bodies can lead to nausea and diarrhea. Given the recent deaths and pulmonary illnesses related to e-cigarette usage, everyone should be made aware of the potential health risks linked to e-cigarette usage," Talbot added.This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

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Childhood leukemia survivors at increased risk of experiencing neurocognitive deficits, reduced exercise capacity

People who have survived the most commonly occurring childhood cancer - acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) - are at an increased risk of experiencing neurocognitive deficits and reduced exercise capacity, a new study has found.

Researchers looked for an association between these outcomes by examining exercise and neuropsychological test results, as well as questionnaire answers, from 341 adult survivors of childhood ALL and 288 healthy controls.

They measured how much physical activity survivors could tolerate and how that related to their ability to think, learn, memorise, read, and do math.

Compared with controls, survivors had worse cardiovascular fitness and poorer performance on neuropsychological tests, including those related to attention, memory, and academic skills.

After adjusting for age, sex, radiation and chemotherapy treatments, smoking status, and physical activity, the authors found that increases in exercise capacity were associated with better performance on various neuropsychological tests among survivors.

Previous studies in children and older adults without cancer have suggested that physical fitness can provide benefits to brain function and academic performance.

Results from the study published in the journal Cancer, indicate that such benefits might also be experienced by children with cancer who need potentially neurotoxic anticancer treatments.

"Our research suggests that a minor improvement in exercise tolerance, such as going from sitting on the couch and watching TV to walking around the block for 30 minutes a day, can have a significant impact on survivors' intellectual health," said lead author of the study.

"We know that memory and thinking skills decline as we age. Any improvement in exercise tolerance, even in adulthood, may have an impact on a survivor's ability to think, learn, and memorize," added another researcher.  

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Successful blood stem cell transplant gives cancer patients second chance

Did you know that in India, every 5 minutes someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer or blood disorder? And that for most people a blood stem cell donation from a stranger with similar tissue type is their best – or only – chance of survival?

Blood cancer refers to the defects in the blood-forming system which starts in the bone marrow. This leads to the formation of immature or dysfunctional blood cells that multiply uncontrollably, crowding out the healthy cell.  Blood cancer is also one of the most common cancers reported in India.

Many blood cancer patients are children and young people whose chance of recovery from blood cancer is a successful blood stem cell transplant donated from a matching donor. For an individual to be able to donate their blood stem cells a match in HLA / tissue type is important.

HLA is the abbreviation of ‘human leucocyte antigen’ which is commonly known as ‘tissue types’. The HLA or Human leucocyte antigen is our body’s way of distinguishing between its own and alien tissue. Though tissue types are passed from parents to their children, only about 30% of the patients in need of a stem cell transplant as a life-saving treatment, can find a sibling match. The rest 70% depend on finding a matching unrelated donor. That’s when a registry is looked up to. A stem cell registry is typically a database of potential donors.

Anannya, an 8-year-old kid in Mumbai, was diagnosed with a relapse of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), a type of blood cancer common in children. While Anannya is currently undergoing chemotherapy, she needs a perfect matching donor to undergo a stem cell transplant, which is her only hope of survival.

For a successful stem-cell transplant, ethnicity plays a key role in finding the perfect match. Patients and donors of Indian origin have unique HLA characteristics that can be found only among the Indian group. But due to the lack of awareness and myths and facts associated with stem cell donation there is an under-representation of Indians in the stem cell registry. This makes it extremely difficult for Indian patients to find a matching unrelated donor. Hence with the consistent increase in the disease burden in India, the need for increasing the Indian representation in a stem-cell registry has now become a priority.  

To address this need gap, it is important for people to be aware of the do’s and don’ts of stem-cell donation and how one can become a potential donor. It is also important for people to realize that blood cancer is not the end and a patient can recover if provided with blood stem cells from a matching donor.

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Some researchers identify Antarctic fungi useful to treat childhood cancer

In a first, researchers  have isolated a strain of fungi, found in the Antarctic region, which could lead to the development of a new cheaper treatment with fewer side effects for common childhood cancer.

The fungi, named psychrophiles, was screened and isolated from the soil and mosses in Schirmacher Hills, Dronning Maud Land in Antarctica. It was found to have L-Asparaginase -- an enzyme-based chemotherapeutic agent used to treat Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), where the bone marrow produces an excess of immature lymphocytes, a form of white blood cells.

Psychrophiles are organisms that are capable of growth and reproduction in low temperatures in the range of -20 degree Celsius to +10 degree Celsius, such as those found in the Antarctic region. Currently, the L-Asparaginase enzyme used for chemotherapy is derived from commonly found bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Erwinia chrysanthemi.

However, L-Asparaginase is always associated with two other enzymes -- glutaminase and urease -- which cause adverse side effects in patients such as pancreatitis, hemostasis abnormalities, central nervous system dysfunction and immunological reactions.

"Extensive purification steps are necessary before L-Asparaginase derived from E. Coli and E. Chrysanthemi is used as a drug to treat ALL. This increases the cost of the drug," said lead investigator  in a statement.

However, the newly isolated Antarctic fungi was found to have L-Asparaginase free of glutaminase and urease. The potency of these enzymes makes them promising as powerful drugs for diseases such as cancer, the researchers said.

In the study, the team isolated 55 samples of fungi, of which 30 isolates had pure L-Asparaginase. Maximum enzymatic activity was seen in a strain of fungus called Trichosporon asahii IBBLA1 and the enzyme activity was comparable to that of purified enzymes obtained from bacterial sources. 

The absence of glutaminase and urease would prevent the serious side effects currently seen with the use of bacteria-derived L-Asparaginase.

"Fungal species have the ability to mimic the properties of the human cells, as both are eukaryotic in nature, which makes it easier for their usage in the treatment of ALL", he said.

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Scientist Finds Cure to Leukemia in Combination of Drugs

As news of first Batman actor died of Leukemia disturbed many on Saturday, came another news cheering those suffering from blood cancer that a new drug has proved successful to treat the disease. Leukaemia is a disease where the body produces too many white blood cells and not enough red blood cells.

The new drug, developed by  a postdoctoral , may provide better treatment either solo or combined with chemotherapy to Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) that can affect both children and adults.

Also known as Philadelphia chromosome, where two segments of chromosomes have aberrantly fused together, the ALL cancer cells are addicted to repairing DNA, which means these “cells do not retain enough DNA damage to die (from chemotherapy). Essentially they resist any kind of drug you use on them. So we had to find a new way to overcome this DNA repair addiction,” she said.

Researcher focused on two specific proteins which she found were directly involved in DNA repair, called histone deacetylases (HDAC) 1 and 2 and then collaborated with a company to make a drug that inhibits HDAC1 and 2 activity.

When she tested the HDAC1,2 inhibitor in patient samples and mice, she found encourging results, either alone or in combination with a chemotherapy drug called doxorubicin currently used for Philadelphia chromosome-positive ALL patients.

She found that the drugs broke down the central hub of DNA repair, and the HDAC1,2 inhibitor actually reduced different repair protein functions.”When the drug was combined with a low concentration of doxorubicin, it had additional therapeutic benefits,” she said.

In fact, the mice treated with the HDAC1,2 inhibitor or the HDAC1,2/doxorubicin combination, showed that their bone marrow started turning from pale to red, indicating the white blood cells were being replaced with red blood cells.

“We completely nailed down how the HDAC1,2 inhibitor affects DNA repair. This is so important, not just for this cancer, but any cancer that is repair-addicted. We know there is a specific type of lymphoma that is also repair-addicted,” said the researcher.

The study was published in the journal Leukemia.

In addition, the repair proteins identified by her can also be used as potential biomarkers to predict a patient’s response in the clinic.  The next steps will include initiating human clinical trials, which are now being discussed between her team and appropriate clinical and pharmaceutical partners.

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Breastfeeding May Protect Mothers From Cancer, Heart Disease

Breastfeeding may not only be beneficial for babies, but also for their mothers - protecting them from premature death and serious diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease, a new study has claimed.

Breastfeeding as recommended - for a total of one year and exclusively for six months - could protect babies and their moms from premature death and serious diseases, researchers said.

The study underscores the importance of policies that make it possible for women to breastfeed, according to study senior author Alison Stuebe from the University of North Carolina in the US.

Researchers said their findings highlight the importance of providing women with the support they need to breastfeed their babies, beginning at birth.

 "Breastfeeding is far more beneficial in preventing disease and reducing costs than previously estimated," said lead author Melissa Bartick, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in the US.

"The results should compel all hospitals to develop programs aimed at helping new mothers learn to breastfeed their babies," said Bartick. Researchers modelled two groups for the study. The 'optimal group', in which the majority of mothers breastfed as recommended and the 'suboptimal group', in which mothers breastfed at current rates in the US, which are less than the recommended guidelines.

Using existing research and government data, they projected the rates and costs of diseases that breastfeeding is known to reduce, along with the rates and costs of early deaths from those diseases.

Children's diseases included in the evaluation were acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, ear infections, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, gastrointestinal infections, lower respiratory tract infections, obesity, necrotising enterocolitis and Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). For mothers, the study included breast cancer, pre-menopausal ovarian cancer, diabetes, hypertension and heart attacks.

The researchers found that suboptimal breastfeeding was associated with more than 3,340 premature deaths in the US each year, costing the country 3 billion dollars in medical costs, 1.3 billion dollars in indirect costs and 14.2 billion dollars in costs related to premature deaths.

The majority of the excess death and medical costs - nearly 80 per cent - were maternal.

"Breastfeeding has long been framed as a child health issue, however it is clearly a women's health issue as well," said Eleanor Bimla Schwarz from University of California, Davis, in the US.

"Breastfeeding helps prevent cancer, diabetes and heart disease, yet many women have no idea breastfeeding has any of these benefits," said Ms Schwarz.

The study appears in the journal Maternal & Child Nutrition.



this is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.

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Boy Shaves Head For Buddy With Cancer, Shows Us What Real Friendship Looks Like

When first-grader Vincent Butterfield found out his best friend was sick, he wanted to do everything he could to help.

His buddy, Zac Gossage, of Union, Mo., was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow, in June 2013. When Vincent learned Zac could lose his hair from chemotherapy treatments, he did what he could to make sure his friend didn't feel alone.

“I cut it off,” Vincent told news outlet KSDK about the time he shaved his head. “[I did it] to make Zac feel like he's not the only one without any hair."

Best buddies Vincent Butterfield, left, and Zac Gossage

"Vincent is like that. He’s a compassionate little boy. When he sets his mind to it, he does it,” Vincent's mother, Karen Butterfield, told NBC's "Today."

Zac's mom says the boys have an incredible relationship. "I’m grateful that he has such an amazing friend,” Stacy Tooley told the outlet.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the most common childhood cancer, and patients have a survival rate of more than 90 percent, according to a 2012 study conducted by the University of Colorado Cancer Center.

Genetic cause of childhood leukemia discovered

Scientists have for the first time identified an inherited genetic mutation linked to increased risk of developing the most common type of childhood leukemia.

"At the very least this discovery gives us a new window into inherited causes of childhood leukemia. More immediately, testing for this mutation may allow affected families to prevent leukemia in future generations," said study author.

The mutation was first observed in a family treated at a hospital of which several family members of different generations had been diagnosed with childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

A second, non-related, leukemia-prone family cared for at a different hospital was later found to have the same mutation. A series of experiments were conducted confirming that the observed mutation compromised the normal function of the gene, which may increase the risk of developing ALL. The inherited genetic mutation is located in a gene called PAX5, which is known to play a role in the development of some B cell cancers, including ALL.PAX5, a transcription factor or "master gene," regulates the activity of several other genes and is essential for maintaining the identity and function of B cells.

In all study participants, one of the two copies of the PAX5 gene was missing, leaving only the mutated version. The newly discovered gene mutation may someday help scientists determine how to target transcription factors to treat other non-inherited forms of leukemia where the PAX5 mutation is present.

"With a better understanding of the genetic elements that induce cancer susceptibility, or drive cancer to grow, we can more precisely target therapy as well as potentially prevent cancer from occurring in the first place," he added . 

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Genetic cause of childhood leukemia discovered

Scientists have for the first time identified an inherited genetic mutation linked to increased risk of developing the most common type of childhood leukemia.

"At the very least this discovery gives us a new window into inherited causes of childhood leukemia. More immediately, testing for this mutation may allow affected families to prevent leukemia in future generations," said study author.

The mutation was first observed in a family treated at a hospital, of which several family members of different generations had been diagnosed with childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

A second, non-related, leukemia-prone family cared for at a different hospital was later found to have the same mutation. A series of experiments were conducted confirming that the observed mutation compromised the normal function of the gene, which may increase the risk of developing ALL. The inherited genetic mutation is located in a gene called PAX5, which is known to play a role in the development of some B cell cancers, including ALL.PAX5, a transcription factor or "master gene," regulates the activity of several other genes and is essential for maintaining the identity and function of B cells.

In all study participants, one of the two copies of the PAX5 gene was missing, leaving only the mutated version. The newly discovered gene mutation may someday help scientists determine how to target transcription factors to treat other non-inherited forms of leukemia where the PAX5 mutation is present.

"With a better understanding of the genetic elements that induce cancer susceptibility, or drive cancer to grow, we can more precisely target therapy as well as potentially prevent cancer from occurring in the first place," added a researcher.

ps- this is only for information, always consult you physician before having any particular food/ medication/exercise/other remedies.

ps- those interested in recipes are free to view my blog-

http://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/

for info about knee replacement, you can view my blog-

http://Knee replacement-stick club.blogspot.com/

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For Adults with Leukaemia,Immune-system therapy shows some hope

An experimental therapy shows that cancer patients' own immune cells to recognize an often-deadly form of leukaemia has shrunk tumours and sent the cancer into remission in adults, for the first time, though it has worked in children earlier.

The experimental therapy targeted acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), a blood-cell cancer that often proves resistant to chemotherapy and can kill in mere weeks. It is more common in children but especially deadly when it occurs in adults.

Although current treatments cure an estimated 80 percent to 90 percent of children with ALL, they are effective in only 30 percent or fewer of adult cases.

Adults whose ALL has returned after being temporarily beaten back with chemotherapy, have a dismal prognosis.

The study hopes that harnessing the immune system to destroy tumours could turn back many cancers.

In the new study, scientists started with their patients' T cells, a form of white blood cell. These foot soldiers of the immune system make a beeline for both viruses and cancer cells, which sport molecules that act like homing beacons to attract the T cells.

Normal T cells find and attack only invaders studded with homing beacons they're able to recognize. That's why the immune system does not sweep out all cancers, let alone viruses such as HIV: T cells have not been trained to detect their beacons.

The scientists therefore re-trained the T cells to do so.

After extracting T cells from patients with ALL, a process that takes a few hours, the scientists mixed them with a harmless virus that inserted genes for a three-part molecule: one part that trains T cells to recognize homing beacons on the leukaemia cells, called CD19; one part that instructs T cells to kill any such cells they find; and one part that makes T cells survive longer than usual.

After 10 to 12 days, the T cells were now genetically-engineered to detect those beacons. The cells were then returned to patients. The T cells are living drugs. They see the CD19, they kill the cancer cells, and they persist in the body.

One patient  developed a 105 degree fever as the T cells ignited what's called a cytokine storm, in which cytokines - hormones - are produced in vast quantities, leading to plummeting blood pressure and high fever. A second patient also suffered this cytokine storm, but they're treated with steroids successfully.