Need better awareness programme to detect oral cancer at early stage: Experts

Concerned over the rising incidents of oral cancer cases in the country, experts feel that the government should come out with a strategic plan to ensure early detection of this deadly disease. Stressing the need to strengthen the initiatives towards better detection, the Cancer Aid Society of India has pointed out that government should come out with camps across country to ensure early diagnosis of the same for people belonging to high risk areas.

Oral cancer is one of the leading cancers worldwide, known for its high fatality rate. What makes this cancer the most dangerous from the other existing cancers especially breast and cervical cancer is that it spreads rapidly to other body parts rampantly in a very short time.

Extensive use of tobacco and like products are traditionally considered to be the main triggers causing oral cancer, however recent studies suggest that people without these habits also have high chances of getting oral cancer.

According to Dr Dinesh Rajput, associate professor, Department of Oral Pathology & Microbiology, Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Medical and Rural Development Foundation’s Dental College & Hospital, “Lack of awareness about oral cancer and its threat is one of the major reasons for high mortality rate in this country. People presume that since they don't smoke or take tobacco they have no reason to get oral cancer, which is wrong. It is surprising to note that good number of the people who get this cancer are the ones who tend to have no smoking habits at all.”

Further Dr Rajput pointed out that oral cancer retains its position as being the deadliest of all cancers because of delayed detection of the disease. By the time it is diagnosed patients are already in the later stage making the chances of survival rate very low.

O P Berry, director general Cancer Aid Society stated, at present there is no data available to point out the exact number of oral cancer patients, however when survival rate is calculated from the detected oral cancer cases, it is painfully very low. “Cancer means 'can survive', i.e. if detected at an early stage. Thus the thrust should be on preventive measures as well than just focusing on therapeutic measure like providing affordable drugs, medical aid etc which of course is important. We want the government to come out with a plan that will basically focus on detection camps and plans so that people can avoid the later stage problems which is not only physically painful for the patients but also is financially stressful for all,” Berry added.

Unfortunately in most cases the cancer is diagnosed after it reaches an advanced stage, which requires extensive surgical treatment that too with very low chances of survival. In oral cancer the lesions are very difficult to detect and the only way to detect a lesion is through biopsy which is painful. Making matters worse is the reluctance of the patients towards recognising the early signs of oral cancer like patches and non healing ulcers.

“This is mainly because patients and in some cases even doctors are not aware of the available detection methods like exfoliative cytology, a non invasive bloodless painless method to detect the cancer. Government needs to set up a programme that will focus on training the doctors on understanding the importance of early diagnosis, so that they can spread awareness about the same with their patients during routine checkups. In fact oral examination should be made a part of routine health checkup considering the danger of this disease,” Dr Rajput stressed.
Source:Pharmabiz

Grape Seed a Boon in Bowel Cancer Treatment: Study

The study says grape seed acts against cancer cells and does not touch the healthy cells. It also helps in treating the damages caused by chemotherapy in small intestine. It minimises inflammation and tissue damage caused by chemotherapy in small intestine, said lead author Dr Amy Cheah.

Researchers said the anti-oxidant properties of grape seed are useful in treating inflammations. Co-author and project leader Professor Gordon Howarth said, "Grape seed is showing great potential as an anti-inflammatory treatment for a range of bowel diseases and now as a possible anti-cancer treatment."

The study, published in journal PLOS ONE, said that the best part of grape seed comes to the fore when it is combined with chemotherapy as it reduces the intestinal damage caused by chemotherapy, which forms a part of treatment to treat colon cancer.

Australian researchers said tannins extracted from grape seed can be effective in reducing the intestinal damage. When grape is crushed for making wine, the by-product is tannins. Intake of tannins showed no side effects on healthy intestine and reduces the inflammation caused due to chemotherapy.

Fellow co-author and joint lead researcher Dr Sue Bastian, Senior Lecturer in Oenology, says, "These findings could be a boost to the wine grape industry as it value adds to what is essentially a by-product of the winemaking process."

 Source: journal PLOS ONE

Stem Cell Components may Help the Brain Rebuild Itself After a Stroke

Using molecular components of stem cells to enhance the brain's ability to rebuild the brain after a stroke holds good promise in treating long term disability in adults. Michael Chopp, Ph.D., Scientific Director of the Henry Ford Neuroscience Institute, will presentthis approach to treating neurological diseases Thursday, Feb. 13, at the American HeartAssociation's International Stroke Conference in San Diego. Although most stroke victims recover some ability to voluntarily use their hands and other bodyparts, half are left with weakness on one side of their body, and a substantial number arepermanently disabled. No treatment currently exists for improving or restoring this lost motor function in strokepatients, mainly because of mysteries about how the brain and nerves repair themselves.But Dr. Chopp and other Henry Ford scientists may have solved some of these mysteries throughexperiments at the molecular level identifying and testing components of stem cells.

"Even in older people, the central nervous system is highly plastic, meaning it has a unique abilityto change and rebuild itself," Dr. Chopp explains. "We have demonstrated that this plasticity can bestimulated to promote neurological recovery after a stroke."One such therapy involves proteins that shape the developing brain, specifically a type thatreleases tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, which causes axons and dendrites - the brain's neuralcables and communications network - to rewire.

"We have shown that administering tPA in a nasal spray promotes this rewiring and significantlyenhances neurological recovery," Dr. Chopp says.Dr. Chopp will also speak at the AHA conference about other microscopic material in stem cellscalled exosomes that offer a "robust" treatment for stroke's crippling effects.These blister-like microscopic "bubbles" were once were thought to carry and get rid of "old"proteins that were no longer needed by the body.

However, exosomes were recently found to provide anessential form of "communication" between brain cells using "packages" sent out by stem cells withvital directions for gene regulation.This is done through microRNA, master molecular switches that alter brain cells and promote recoveryfrom trauma. Dr. Chopp and his team have shown and confirmed that stem cell therapy works by firing off these"information bullets."But they have also shown that neurological diseases can be treated with exosomes alone, separatefrom stem cells."This approach may be a revolutionary way to successfully treat stroke and many other diseases," Dr.Chopp says. 
Source: American HeartAssociation's International Stroke Conference in San Diego.

Pill to Cure Laziness

Scientists in China and Scotland have made a key discovery, which centres on the system that regulates physical activity levels, the Independents reported.

To make their discovery, researchers compared normal mice with those that had a mutation in a gene called SLC35D3, and found that it produces a protein that helps play a key signalling role in the brain's dopamine system, affecting the regulation of physical activity.

They found that mice having this gene had far fewer of this type of dopamine receptor on the surfaces of their brain cells, and were stuck within in the cell, leaving the signal process unable to function.

But when the affected mice were treated with a drug that was able to activate dopamine receptors, the problem was reversed and the mice became more active and lost weight.

Source:The findings have been published in the 'PLOS Genetics' journal.

 

Stem Cell Method may Help Maintain Platelet Supply Without the Need of Blood Donation

Platelets have a primary role in prevention of bleeding, and are vital for the treatment of various forms of trauma and blood diseases. However, they can only be obtained through blood donations at present. Researchers reporting online February 13 in the Cell Press journal Cell Stem Cell recently found a way to create platelets without the need for donated blood, an advance that could possibly erase supply shortages and ensure platelet treatments for all who need them.

The supply of donated platelets, which have a short shelf life and must be kept at room temperature, is often insufficient to meet clinical needs. In addition, while transfused platelets do not typically need to be immune-matched to patients, repeated transfusion of unmatched platelets leads to an immune reaction that eventually renders patients unresponsive to platelet transfusion therapy.

To address these limitations, investigators from Japan developed a strategy to derive functional platelets from human induced pluripotent stem cells. Induced pluripotent stem cells can be generated from various types of cells in the body, and they can in turn be coaxed to develop into nearly any other cell type. In the current study, the approach involved genetically manipulating such stem cells to become stable immortalized lines of platelet-producing cells called megakaryocyte progenitors.

The megakaryocyte progenitors could produce large quantities of platelets with clotting capabilities that were similar to those of donated platelets. Unlike freshly donated platelets, though, the immortalized megakaryocyte progenitors could be expanded and frozen for long-term storage.

"Here we established a method to achieve the long-term self-replication of megakaryocyte progenitors as an immortalized cell line, which could eventually contribute to large-scale cultivation and production of platelets," says senior author Dr. Koji Eto of Kyoto University and the University of Tokyo.

 Source: University of Tokyo.

6 Year Old Girl Stops 300 Seizures A Week Using Cannabis

What was once heavily portrayed as an unhealthy, dangerous and destructive drug is now considered a miracle medicinal gift from nature. Hundreds of studies have surfaced proving the medical efficacy of cannabis, and more stories are surfacing everyday of people who have used this plant for healing. Below is the story of a 6 year old girl, Charlotte Figi who stopped her some 300 seizures a week by using cannabis. When pharmaceutical drugs failed, her mom turned to cannabis oil in desperation. Charlotte was unable to walk, talk or eat, but after her treatment she was able to do all of those things. Cannabis reduced her seizures to two to three per week, and she is now completely off all of her pharmaceuticals. There are a number of reported cases where cannabis has been effective in reducing and stopping seizure activity. A member of the CE team, Shelley M. White wrote about her experience with using cannabis to stop her seizures. 
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Harvard scientists find cell fate switch that decides liver, or pancreas?

Harvard stem cell scientists have a new theory for how stem cells decide whether to become liver or pancreatic cells during development. A cell’s fate, the researchers found, is determined by the nearby presence of prostaglandin E₂, a messenger molecule best known for its role in inflammation and pain. The discovery, published in the journal Developmental Cell, could potentially make liver and pancreas cells easier to generate both in the lab and for future cell therapies.
Wolfram Goessling, MD, PhD, and Trista North, PhD, both principal faculty members of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI), identified a gradient of prostaglandin E₂ in the region of zebrafish embryos where stem cells differentiate into the internal organs. Experiments conducted by postdoctoral fellow Sahar Nissim, MD, PhD, in the Goessling lab showed how liver-or-pancreas-fated stem cells have specific receptors on their membranes to detect the amount of prostaglandin E₂ hormone present and coerce the cell into differentiating into a specific organ type.
“Cells that see more prostaglandin become liver and the cells that see less prostaglandin become pancreas,” said Goessling, a Harvard Medical School Assistant Professor of Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. “This is the first time that prostaglandin is being reported as a factor that can lead this fate switch and essentially instruct what kind of identity a cell is going to be.”
The researchers next collaborated with the laboratory of HSCI Affiliated Faculty member Richard Maas, MD, PhD, Director of the Genetics Division at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, to see whether prostaglandin E₂ has a similar function in mammals. Richard Sherwood, PhD, a former graduate student of HSCI Co-director Doug Melton, was successfully able to instruct mouse stem cells to become either liver or pancreas cells by exposing them to different amounts of the hormone. Other experiments showed that prostaglandin E₂ could also enhance liver growth and regeneration of liver cells.
Goessling and his research partner North, a Harvard Medical School Assistant Professor of Pathology at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, first became intrigued by prostaglandin E₂ in 2005, as postdoctoral fellows in the lab of HSCI Executive Committee Chair Leonard Zon, MD. It caught their attention during a chemical screen exposing 2,500 known drugs to zebrafish embryos to find any that could amplify blood stem cell populations. Prostaglandin E₂ was the most successful hit —the first molecule discovered in any system to have such an effect—and recently successfully completed Phase 1b clinical trials as a therapeutic to improve cord blood transplants.
“Prostaglandin might be a master regulator of cell growth in different organs,” Goessling said. “It’s used in cord blood, as we have shown, it works in the liver, and who knows what other organs might be affected by it.”
With evidence of how prostaglandin E₂ works in the liver, the researchers next want to calibrate how it can be used in the laboratory to instruct induced pluripotent stem cells—mature cells that have been reprogrammed into a stem-like state—to become liver or pancreas cells. The scientists predict that such a protocol could benefit patients who need liver cells for transplantation or who have had organ injury.
Source:Developmental Cell