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Nitric oxide blocks Parkinson's disease protein: Study Washington: Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered that nitric oxide, a chemical messenger involved in bodily functions from erection to nerves' communication, also shuts down a protein involved in Parkinson's disease. The finding finally provides a biochemical link between Parkinson's disease (PD) that occurs in families and the vast majority of cases which occur randomly in the population, as well as giving researchers a brand new target for developing treatments to slow or stop the disease. The protein in question is parkin, and earlier research had shown that mutations that cripple it occur in about a third of patients with familial PD, but rarely show up in the much more common sporadic cases of the disorder. In the absence of these mutations, however, scientists weren't sure how, or even whether, malfunction of parkin was involved in the disease. In
the April 23 issue of Science, the Hopkins team reports that nitric
oxide (NO) attaches to parkin and reduces its normal ability to mark
proteins - including itself - for destruction. However, in animal models
of PD, there's so much NO on parkin that the protein doesn't work at
all. Moreover, NO modification of parkin was two to three times higher
in brain tissue from patients with PD than in those without the disease,
the researchers report. "In every tissue sample from patients, the level
of NO on parkin was higher than the very highest level measured in brain
tissue from people without the disease," said Ted Dawson, professor
of neurology and neuroscience and co-director of the Program for Neural
Regeneration and Repair in Hopkins' Institute for Cell Engineering.
"This tells us that very effective NO scavengers, ones that cross the
blood brain barrier and enter neurons, could be potential drugs to treat
Parkinson's disease." While one doesn't yet exist, such a scavenger
should mop up extra NO in the brain, he says, preventing it from blocking
parkin's activity. Other ways of reducing NO, such as preventing its
production in cells, are less likely to work well because the molecule
is so important to humans' normal function, from sending and receiving
signals in the brain to relaxing and contracting blood vessels in order
to control blood pressure. The researchers point out that, based on
their work, NO modification of parkin is a normal process somehow gone
awry in Parkinson's disease. In normal cells and normal mice, postdoctoral
fellow Kenny Chung found that NO is attached to parkin and regulates
its activity. But in a mouse model of PD and in patients with PD or
a similar condition called diffuse Lewy body disease, NO modification
was so high parkin couldn't do its job at all. Genetically modified bacteria could cure cancer (Go To Top) London:
A genetically modified version of the bacteria E.coli can be used
to detroy cancer cells, indicates a research carried out by experts
at the Cancer Research UK Molecular Oncology Unit at Barts and the London
Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry. A neutralized version
of the bacteria was used to deliver a cancer-killing enzyme directly
into the cells, which were previously impenetrable. The bacteria were
carrying an enzyme called purine nucleoside phosphorylase into cancer
cells. "It worked in conjunction with a powerful anti-cancer drug called
6-MPDR. The drug cannot be activated until the enzyme is inside the
cancer cells" BBC quoted Professor Robert Souhami, Cancer Research UK,
as saying. When researchers targeted mouse tumors with the bacteria
and drug combination almost 90 percent of the cancer cell were destroyed.
Dr Georges Vassaux, of the Cancer Research UK Molecular Oncology Unit,
who led the research, said: "It's notoriously difficult to get some
types of therapeutic molecule inside cancer cells, which is why we turned
to living organisms to do the job for us. "With a few important genetic
modifications, we were able to turn bacteria into efficient delivery
capsules, able to penetrate the outside membrane of cancer cells and
protect their precious cargo until safely inside." E.coli is a bacteria
that is normally found in the human gut. The scientists used a modified
version of E.coli that could no longer grow, divide or cause disease. Cinnamon can fight diabetes too (Go To Top) Washington:
Cinnamon may be more than a spice because it has a medical application
in preventing and combating diabetes. According to cellular and molecular
studies carried out at the University of California, Santa Barbara,
Iowa State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, cinnamon
can play the role of an insulin substitute in Type II diabetes. "Cinnamon
itself has insulin-like activity and also can potentiate the activity
of insulin. The latter could be quite important in treating those with
type II diabetes. Cinnamon has a bio-active component that we believe
has the potential to prevent or overcome diabetes," said Don Graves
of University of California (UC). The beneficial effects of cinnamon
on mice with diabetes are being studied in a joint project at the UC
and the Sansum Diabetes Research Institute in Santa Barbara. The researchers
have been studying the effects of cinnamon on obese mice, which have
been fed water laced with cinnamon at Sansum's lab. When the trials
are completed, 60 diabetic mice will have been studied. The study began
six months ago and final results are expected in about six months. "More
than 170 million people worldwide suffer from diabetes, and for many,
drugs or other forms of treatment are unavailable. It may be possible
that many of these people could benefit from readily available natural
products such as cinnamon," said Graves. Vit E intake reduces prostate cancer risk: Study (Go To Top) Washington:
Men with high levels of the alpha tocopherol form of vitamin E were
53 per cent less likely to develop prostate cancer. According to BBC,
the researchers stressed it was better to take vitamin E from fresh
food than supplements. The US National Cancer Institute study was presented
at the American Association of Cancer Research annual meeting in Orlando.
Scientists looked at 100 men who had prostate cancer and 200 who did
not and compared amounts of vitamin E in the bloodstream before and
after taking a supplement. Stephanie Weinstein at the institute said:
"We found that the men who had the higher serum levels of vitamin E
had a lower chance of getting prostate cancer." The researchers then
looked at the two main forms of vitamin E - alpha tocopherol and gamma
tocopherol. Men with the highest natural levels of alpha tocopherol
were 53 percent less likely to later develop prostate cancer. Men with
the highest levels of gamma tocopherol, which only represents about
20 percent of the vitamin E in blood, had a 39 percent lower chance.
The best absorbed form of alpha tocopherol is found in foods such as
sunflower seeds, spinach, almonds and sweet peppers, not supplements.
Dr Tim Key, of Cancer Research UK, said: "One clinical trial, and several
observational studies, have suggested that relatively high intakes,
or blood levels, of vitamin E may reduce the risk for prostate cancer.
"However, other studies have not observed this association, and it is
too soon to be sure whether there is a real protective effect. "Foods
naturally rich in vitamin E such as nuts, seeds, vegetable oils and
vegetables can be recommended as part of a healthy diet, but the evidence
does not support the use of vitamin E supplements for the purpose of
reducing prostate cancer risk." An aspirin a day may reduce prostate cancer risk (Go To Top) Sydney: A new study suggests that a modest intake of aspirin regularly may reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer in men. According to a report in 'The Age', men who regularly took aspirin had a 15 per cent lower risk of developing prostate cancer than non-users, and those who took two or more pills a day had 20 per cent less risk. The findings were presented at a recent meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Orlando, Florida. Aspirin is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, or NSAID, a category that includes most over-the-counter pain medications except for acetaminophen (Tylenol). The study involved 30,000 men aged 55 to 74 in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial, a National Cancer Institute funded experiment under way at 10 US sites. About one-third of the men said they took aspirin daily, although information on whether they took adult- or baby-strength aspirin was not collected.
According to Lori Sakoda, a cancer institute scientist who led the research,
after an average of four years of follow-up, 1,338 prostate cancers
were diagnosed in the group. The cancer risk was 15 per cent lower among
men who took one aspirin a day compared with those who took no aspirin,
and 20 per cent lower among those who took two pills or more a day.
"Whenever you have solid evidence that a drug has harm, you need equally
solid evidence of benefit," Michael Thun, chief epidemiologist for the
American Cancer Society, said. "One doesn't design preventive treatment
only for one disease. You really do things for overall health, so it's
going to be the net benefit compared to the net risk," Thun said. Researchers identify, isolate gene causing Crohn's disease (Go To Top) Washington: University of Toronto researchers have reportedly identified and isolated a gene that predisposes people to suffer from Crohn's disease. "Isolating this gene is a critical step towards improved diagnosis of this disease and developing better therapies for Crohn's sufferers. There's an urgent need for better treatment for patients with Crohn's," claimed Katherine Siminovitch, a U of T professor with the Department of Medicine. Crohn's disease is an inflammatory bowel disease and its prevalence is increasing in industrialized nations. Existing treatments are considered unsatisfactory, often requiring recurring hospitalization and surgery. The gene isolated by the researchers produces a protein that sits on the cell surface and regulates how substances enter into and exit from the cell. In a majority of Crohn's disease patients, this protein functions improperly and allows toxins easier access to the cell. Now the ability to test for this protein malfunction will help physicians distinguish between Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, the other known form of inflammatory bowel disease. Siminovitch says that this information can also be used to diagnose Crohn's disease at an earlier stage and to develop new approaches to treatment. She and her fellow researchers are now working on the development of a chemical that would alter the protein to restore its normal function. Their
findings should shed additional light on the basic causes of chronic
inflammation, knowledge that will be invaluable to researchers. "The
inflammatory processes that lead to disease are very similar in many
chronic, common conditions, such as Crohn's diseases and rheumatoid
arthritis, even though the target organ may be different," Siminovitch
said. However, Siminovitch has maintained that there is still much more
work to be done in understanding Crohn's disease. "This isn't the only
gene involved in Crohn's disease and there are also disease-causing
interactions between genes and environmental factors, about which we
know very little. If we can identify the majority of the genes involved
in this disease, we can learn how these genes act together to cause
disease. This information will help us identify potentially preventable
environmental triggers as well," Siminovitch concluded. A bunch of worms a day will keep bowel diseases at bay (Go To Top) Washington:
Regular doses of worms really do rid people of inflammatory bowel
disease. The first trials of the treatment have been a success, and
a drinkable concoction containing thousands of pig whipworm eggs could
soon be launched in Europe. The unique product will be called Trichuris
Suis Ova (TSO), and will be made by a new German company called BioCure,
whose sister company BioMonde sells leeches and maggots for treating
wounds. Chief executive Detlev Goj has said that he expects sales of
TSO to start this May in Europe after approval by the European Agency
for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products. The pig whipworm was chosen
for treatment because it does not survive very long in people. Patients
would have to take TSO around twice a month. The human whipworm, which
infects half a billion people, can occasionally cause problems such
as anaemia. The latest trials, carried out in America, involved 100
people with ulcerative colitis and 100 with Crohn's disease, both incurable
and potentially serious diseases collectively known as inflammatory
bowel disease. In many of the volunteers symptoms such as abdominal
pain, bleeding and diarrhoea disappeared. The remission rate was 50
per cent for ulcerative colitis and 70 per cent for Crohn's, said gastroenterologist
Joel Weinstock of the University of Iowa, who devised the treatment.
"A lot of researchers couldn't believe this treatment was effective,
but people are always sceptical when confronted with new ideas. With
our new impressive results, we can come out of the closet," the New
Scientist quoted Weinstock as saying. Weinstock's theory is that our
immune systems have evolved to cope with the presence of such parasites,
and can become overactive without them. Frequent ejaculation fends off prostate cancer (Go To Top) Washington:
A study in the April 7 issue of the Journal of the American Medical
Association (JAMA) has shown that ejaculation frequency, a measure of
sexual activity, is not associated with a higher risk for prostate cancer,
but rather to a decreased risk because sexual activity has been hypothesized
to play a role in the development of prostate cancer. Given that sexual
activity is common and that prostate cancer risk is high, any association
between these factors would have clinical and public health relevance.
Michael F. Leitzmann of the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, and
colleagues examined the association between ejaculation frequency and
risk of prostate cancer. The study used follow-up data from the Health
Professionals Follow-up Study (February 1, 1992, through January 31,
2000) of 29,342 men in the U.S., aged 46 to 81 years, who provided information
on history of ejaculation frequency on a self-administered questionnaire
in 1992 and responded to follow-up questionnaires every 2 years to 2000.
Ejaculation frequency was assessed by asking participants to report
the average number of ejaculations they had per month during the ages
of 20 to 29 years, 40 to 49 years, and in 1991. Among the participants,
there were 1,449 new cases of total prostate cancer, 953 organ-confined
cases, and 147 advanced cases of prostate cancer. "In this prospective
cohort study among predominantly white men, higher ejaculation frequency
was not related to increased risk of prostate cancer. Our results suggest
that high ejaculation frequency possibly may be associated with a lower
risk of total and organ-confined prostate cancer," the researchers said.
"These associations were not explained by potential risk factors for
prostate cancer, such as age, family history of prostate cancer, history
of syphilis or gonorrhea, smoking, and diet," researchers concluded. |
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