Superbug Runs Rampant

Lately there have been stories on the news about a "superbug" that has infected many patients in hospitals across the country, even killing some of them. One news station reports on a case in Birmingham, Alabama, where 19 people were infected in 6 different hospitals; 9 of them were killed. A superbug is a type of bacteria infection that is resistant to antibiotics, the classic example being MRSA. Currently the most infected region of the country is around Los Angeles, California. In the Alabama case, health officials discovered that the outbreak was linked to a batch of IV bags produced by Meds IV in Birmingham. The IV was fed directly into the bloodstream of hospital patients, and the resulting infection was caused by serratia marcescens, "a bacteria that typically strikes patients with a compromised immune system." This is not the first time an outbreak of superbugs has occurred. Five years ago, a similar outbreak spread through hospitals in both California and New Jersey. The bacteria can be treated if caught early. This superbug is strong though, causing 60% of all infections in ICUs across the country.

I found this article not only interesting but also scary. I had never heard of the outbreak 5 years ago, so this was new to me. I had first heard the story on 6ABC news, but couldn't find their online article. It scared me because my boyfriend is currently stationed in southern California, merely 2 hours away from Los Angeles, which is said to be the most infected region. I hope they can figure out a cure to this soon.

Chemo-Resistant Cancer

Research at LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans has led to the discovery of a protein in cancer cells that causes the cells to be chemotherapy resistant. The protein "enables the activation of a DNA-repair enzyme that protects cancer cells from catastrophic damage caused by chemo and radiation therapy." The protein is called c-MYC oncoprotein, and it can initiate and promote almost all human cancers. The research team led by Daitoku Sakamuro, PhD, designed a set of experiments using the chemotherapy drug cisplatin, which is commonly used in first-line therapy for various cancers. They found that the c-MYC oncoprotein "increases cisplatin resistance by decreasing production of a c-MYC inhibitor called BIN1." BIN1 suppresses an enzyme essential for DNA repair in cancer cells; therefore, the sensitivity of cancer cells to chemo greatly depends on BIN1 abundance. Overproduction of c-MYC repressed BIN1, taking away its life-saving action. So basically, more c-MYC oncoprotein --> less BIN1 --> more enzymes leading to more DNA repair of cancer cells --> ineffectiveness of cisplatin chemotherapy.

I found this article interesting because of my interest in cancer research. The American Cancer Society estimates that 1,529,560 new cancer cases were expected to be diagnosed in the United States alone, and cancer accounts for about 25% of all deaths annually in the US. If researchers can find a way to inhibit the c-MYC oncoprotein, a good portion of those lives can be saved with basic chemotherapy like cisplatin!

This article was found on BiologyNews, but the main work was published in Science Signaling on March 29, 2011.

Troubles With Gastric Band Surgery

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/health/research/29prognosis.html?ref=health

http://archsurg.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/archsurg.2011.45v1

On average patients at a university hospital in Belgium had lost 43 percent if their weight with the help of gastric band surgery, however a new study shows that in nearly half of the patients, the bands had been removed because of medical complications.The bands eroded in almost one in three patients, the researchers found. Sixty percent had undergone additional surgery, including 17 percent who went on to have gastric bypass. Researchers concluded that the adjustable gastric band surgery, which is growing in popularity in the United States, “appears to result in relatively poor long-term outcomes.” The results “are worse than we expected,” said Dr. Jacques Himpens, of the European School of Laparoscopic Surgery. Dr. Himpens advised those considering gastric band surgery not to have high expectations, adding that anyone who has had the procedure should see a care provider on a regular basis and be vigilant for signs of infection or band erosion.

Regeneration of Teeth in Humans

Scientists at Rochester University did an experiment that could lead us to never using dentures or dental implants as an option for the replacement of teeth. They discovered the reason why sharks and other animals are able to grow rows of teeth and then applied their discovery on lab mice. The Osr2 gene is the gene responsible for controlling tooth formation. The researchers found out that when removing the Osr2 gene then extra teeth would grow. Also when they removed this gene in the mice some of the newborns were born with cleft palate. So by doing this experiment, scientists now have a knowledge of this Osr2 gene and can in the future prevent severe deformities like cleft palate and also have a new option for tooth replacement. I think this experiment is pretty cool. Now researchers and dentists can use this discovery and expand farther on it and find a way to make it work in humans. If they learn more about this Osr2 gene then they can maybe figure out how to give everyone perfect pearly white teeth in the future!

Advisory Panel Urges F.D.A. to Re-examine Menthol in Cigarettes

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/19/business/19tobacco.html?ref=health

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/s/smoking_and_tobacco/menthol_cigarettes/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier

A federal advisory panel said that removing menthol cigarettes from the market would benefit public health in the United States. An advisory panel’s chairman, said the committee had found sufficient scientific evidence supporting its finding that menthol cigarettes were more harmful than regular cigarettes. This finding could provide a legal basis for the F.D.A. to try to limit, phase out or even ban menthol in cigarettes. The panel found that scientific evidence did not show that individual menthol smokers inhaled more toxins or had an increased risk of disease compared with nonmenthol smokers. But it did emphasize the public health impact, determining that the availability of menthol cigarettes made smoking more attractive to youth because the flavor was less harsh. The F.D.A will review the findings of the panel, and perform a separate research and policy study. Tobacco companies are up in arms about this because more than 90 percent of there revenue is dependent on menthol cigarettes. Governments could also loose billions in tax revenue if menthol smokers switched. State and federal governments collect about $43 billion a year in cigarette excise taxes,. menthol accounts for an estimated 27 percent of the $80 billion cigarette market in the United States so it wouls be a detramental loss.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/health/research/22diet.html?ref=health
http://archopht.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/archophthalmol.2011.34
A new study reports another good reason to eat fish. Women whose diet contains large amounts of omega-3 fatty acids found in fish were at significantly lower risk of developing age-related macular degeneration which is a progressive eye disease that is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss in the elderly. Archives of Ophthalmology, found that women who had reported eating one or more servings of fish per week were 42 percent less likely to develop age-related macular degeneration than those who ate less than a serving each month. Eating canned tuna and dark-meat fish like mackerel, salmon, sardines, bluefish and swordfish appeared to have the most benefit.

American Who Worked for C.I.A. Freed in Pakistan

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/world/asia/17pakistan.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2&hp

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/world/asia/17pakistan.html?hp

Raymond Davis, 36, who was a contracter for the CIA, shot and killed two Pakistanis who he said tried to rob him on a motorbike during the day. Davis was arrested by the Pakistani police and was held for weeks while negotiations between American and Pakistani officials,took place. And on Wednesday in a six hour session at the jail where Mr. Davis was held, the families of the victims dropped the prosecution in return for compensation, which Pakistani officials and lawyers for the families said amounted to about $2.3 million. However, American officials told Pakistani civilian officials, Pakistan’s military chief, that Congress could decide to hold up more than $3 billion in annual aid to Pakistan if Mr. Davis were not freed. Shortly after Packistani officials released Davis, according to Hillary Clintont he United States did not pay any compensation, however she deflected questions about whether the families had been paid at America’s request. American officials said that it was members of Pakistan’s government who agreed to pay the blood money to the families, and that the American government would reimburse the Pakistani government. If everything turns out as the American government plans, they are hoping this will bring the peace between the C.I.A. and ISI.

Nuclear Crisis in Japan

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/16/q-and-a-on-the-nuclear-crisis-in-japan/?hp

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/16/world/asia/16health.html?_r=1

The crisis in Japan is deviating. Many are homeless and if all the damage this tsunami has caused isn’t enough, the people of Japan now have to worries about nuclear radiation and their power plants. There have been multiple failures, fires and radiation leaks from at least four separate reactors. While damage from the earthquake and tsunami was instantly visible, the nuclear impact, would take days to unfold, and could affect more than just the people of Japan. The Japanese government has evacuated people closest to the plant, told others to stay indoors and distributed the drug potassium iodide to protect the thyroid gland from radioactive iodine. Scientist say there is little chance that the US will come in contact with any radiation, and if there is a chance those in danger will be notified immediately.

"In- Car Air Pollution"

Indoor Air pollution can be more harmfull then normal air pollution. Recent studies have shown that Air pollution in homes, cars, and offices have been rising over the last few years. Indoor air pollution is most harmfull in cars, where humans spend much of there time. The products they use to build the cars and interior, have chemicals that can react to Sunlight/Ultraviolet rays and cause harmfull toxins to produce. The Michigan Ecology center has reported, that Polybrominated diphenyl ethers(fire retartends) and phthalates(softens plastic) are the main chemicals that are harmfull. This is a fact that is not being recognized by anyone, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). There should be more tests and sollutions to resolve the chemical pollution being released in automobiles.Motorists can reduce their risks of pollution by rolling down car windows, parking in the shade and using interior sun reflectors. But the Ecology Center is urging carmakers to stop using such chemicals in the first place, because there are nothing positive from there use. They prevent quick flames from burning up a vehicle quickly, but im sure people would rather know they are not breathing in chemicals. recent studies by the EPA has shown that indoor air pollution is in the top five enviormental risks to the public.

Eat Your Broccoli

It has always been known that a chemical in broccoli, cauliflower, and other related vegetables contained a chemical called isothiocyanate to reduce the risk of cancer, however, there was no definite answer as to how.

According to Discovery News, recent research at Georgetown University found that isothiocyanate sticks to a defective protein found in cancerous cells. The broccoli-born chemical only binds to the protein when it is defective. The normal version is left alone.

The gene p53 is in control of the production of the defective protein found in cancerous cells. When functioning normally, p53 helps stop cells from uncontrollably replicating, however, when it becomes mutated, the protein becomes defective. Research also indicates that the mutated p53 genes are more resistant to chemical cancer treatments.

Eating broccoli may help reduce cancer risks because the presence of isothiocyanate was seen to increase the death rate of cancer cells with the p53 mutation. Cauliflower is also great to eat because the isothiocyanate has been found to kill breast cancer cells.

I found this article simple and to the point. I think it’s funny how our parents always told us, “Eat your broccoli!” I even told my mom to read this article and she just laughed and said, “I told you so.” I think it’s great that a common vegetable such as broccoli or cauliflower can reduce the risk of certain cancers. Hopefully they can find cancer-reducing agents in foods such as cookies, cakes, etc. :)

Thunder God Vine.

In Chinese medicine, there is a herb/plant called 'the thunder god vine.' This plant has been around for quite some time and has helped in relieving certain conditions and ailments. However, there is a new study that shows that this plant slows cell growth and can help in the development of new cancer drugs. The active ingredient in the thunder god plant is a little thing called, Triptolide. This, as explained in further detail in the article here, has been shown to help the cells of cancer to cease their growing. As many know, with cancer excessive cancer cell growth can only aide in complicating a patient's condition. This is a major break through since some cancer cells are very, if not entirely, resistant to most cancer drugs on the market at the present time. With this new study, it can give hope for the future.

Human Cells Fuse With Rat Cells?

Published by FASEB on March 1st 2011, scientists have done a new experiment that takes human stem cells form subcutaneous adipose tissue; which is fat, and then they fuse it with muscle cells from a rat's heart. Once they fused the two they discovered that there were new heart muscle cells and it had several nuclei. After being kept in a culture environment the newly formed heart muscle cells were beating! So now, this experiment demonstrates that the rat cells and the human stem cells were communicating in the same genetic language.

Contrary to previous beliefs, this experiment proves that you do not have to genetically modify embryonic genes in adult stem cells to turn them into heart cells. Plus, this new finding could be used for improving the heart, bones, tendons, non-healing wounds, and joints. And said by Gerald Weissmean, M.D. "Much work is still ahead before this method can be applied to humans, but the hope is that this technique might eventually make heart transplants unnecessary".

I think this experiment is really exciting and i can't believe it actually worked. I never thought you could fuse two completely different species cells' together and that they could work correctly. If they successfully can do this in humans than this technique will get rid of the use of transplants and it will save many people's lives.