Scientists spot distinctive pattern in X-rays of hair from cancer patients
Hair from women with breast cancer can be distinguished from hair obtained from women without the disease, researchers in Australia report.
When hair is exposed to X-rays, the radiation is diffracted in a distinctive pattern by the alpha-keratin that forms hair, the researchers explain in the International Journal of Cancer. Dr. Gary L. Corino and Dr. Peter W. French, based at Fermiscan Ltd in Sydney, used the technique to look at samples of hair from 13 patients diagnosed with breast cancer and 20 healthy subjects.
Hair was cut as close to the skin as possible to obtain samples of the most recent hair growth. The investigators "successfully and consistently generated the basic alpha-keratin X-ray diffraction pattern in every hair sample."
Hair from the breast cancer patients produced the same features "with the only difference being the superimposition of a new feature." This was a distinctive low-intensity ring.
This ring sign was fairly accurate in identifying breast cancer. It missed one of the breast cancer patients, and showed up as a false-positive in three of the healthy subject.
The researchers went on to study a length of hair representing 6 months' growth from a breast cancer patient whose hair fell out following chemotherapy. X-ray diffraction at three points along the hair showed clear evidence of the ring at the position furthest from the hair root, a fainter ring at the middle point, and complete absence of the ring close to the root.
"This progressive reduction in the intensity of the ring appears to correlate with the patient's course of treatment and possibly indicates the eradication of the cancer as a result of that treatment," Corino and French suggest.
As for the reason for the ring pattern, they suggest it may represent "incorporation of extraneous lipid material into the fiber as a result of the presence of a tumor." It may also be that the disease affects hair follicles in some way.
Further testing is needed to establish the accuracy of this methodology as a diagnostic test for breast cancer, they conclude.
Copyright 2008 Reuters.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Hair could help diagnose breast cancer
Hormone therapy skews mammogram results
Study: Even short-term use can make detecting breast cancer more difficult
CHICAGO - Women on hormone replacement therapy have only a slightly higher risk of developing breast cancer, but there are much greater chances they will experience the worry of abnormal mammograms or may undergo an avoidable breast biopsy, researchers said on Monday.
Mammograms and biopsy exams were also found to be less reliable at detecting breast cancer among women taking hormones, which counteract symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness.
Originally, the 2002 Women’s Health Initiative study involving 16,608 women aged 50 to 79 found breast cancer incidence among women taking the hormones estrogen and progestin projected to an additional one in 1,000 cases compared to women taking an inert placebo.
“What this data does is emphasize that yes, the breast cancer risk is still there, but more importantly, instead of that low number of one in 1,000 getting breast cancer, one in 10 women are told they had an abnormal mammogram they’ll have to deal with, and probably even more importantly, one in 25 women will have an otherwise avoidable breast biopsy,” Dr. Rowan Chlebowski at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center said in a telephone interview.
“Both of those less reliably found cancer,” he added.
Previous research has shown hormone replacement therapy increases breast tissue density, which can make detection of cancerous tumors more difficult, although the current study did not examine this factor.
Since the original findings of increased cancer risk, doctors generally have urged women opting for hormone therapy to use it at the lowest effective dose for the shortest possible time.
Roughly 25 million U.S. prescriptions for hormone therapy are written yearly, Chlebowski said.
The pharmaceutical company Wyeth said in a statement the study’s findings did not change what is already known about the breast cancer risk from hormone replacement therapy.
“These findings represent a concern for post-menopausal women who are considering hormone therapy,” Chlebowski said in a statement. “They should take the results of this study into consideration and consult with their physicians before undergoing even short-term hormone therapy.”
In the study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, 35 percent of women taking hormones had mammograms with abnormal results compared to 23 percent of women taking a placebo. An abnormal test can create emotional as well as financial hardships, the study noted.
Ten percent of women taking hormones had breast biopsies ordered by their doctors, compared to 6 percent of women taking a placebo.
During the 5-1/2 years of the study, there were 199 breast cancers found in the hormone group and 150 in the placebo group. Women taking hormones had more advanced cancers yet biopsies ordered by their doctors had a lower rate of diagnosis — 15 percent in the hormone group versus 20 percent in the placebo group.
“(A year) after discontinuation (of the therapy) ... the adverse effects on mammogram and breast biopsy performance were seen even in younger women in the fifth decade of life, so the finding may impact women just entering menopause as well,” Chlebowski said.
Copyright 2008 Reuters.
Vaccine protects against prostate cancer in mice
2 shots stopped disease in rodents with pre-cancerous legions, study says
NEW YORK - An experimental vaccine can provide long-term protection against prostate cancer in mice genetically predisposed to the disease, new research indicates.
"By early vaccination, we have basically given these mice life-long protection against a disease they were destined to have," senior investigator Dr. W. Martin Kast, from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, said in a statement.
"This has never been done before and, with further research, could represent a paradigm shift in the management of human prostate cancer."
The vaccine stimulates an immune response against PSCA, which stands for prostate stem cell antigen. PSCA is a good vaccine target because it is overly expressed in prostate cancer, but displays limited expression in other tissues, the investigators note.
In the new study reported in the journal Cancer Research, the investigators administered a PSCA-based vaccine to mice made prone to prostate cancer. The animals were 8 weeks old and already had pre-cancerous prostate lesions.
Vaccination was associated with a robust immune response. At 12 months, 90 percent of the vaccinated mice were still alive, while all of the control animals had either died or had large tumors.
Human studies are needed to confirm the safety and efficacy of this vaccine strategy. "We feel this is a very promising approach. With just two shots, the vaccine will prime immune cells to be on the lookout for any cell that over-expresses PSCA."
*Copyright 2008 Reuters.
The Ultimate Anti-Aging Vitamin
Vitamin C can fend off heart disease, cancer, memory loss—and wrinkles. Here’s how to make it work for you.
Remember when vitamin C was hailed as the best, and maybe only, cold remedy? Then it became the Rodney Dangerfield of vitamins: It didn’t get any respect. The nutrient’s glory days of curing scurvy-riddled sailors via juicy citrus fruit seemed to be the only thing keeping its reputation afloat, particularly after a massive research review found C to be virtually useless for fighting colds. But don’t believe it. The truth is that scientists have taken a fresh look at C—and have found lots of new ways it can help you stay healthy and look and feel younger. Here’s the latest on what C can really do for you.
Prevent wrinkles
You can’t pick up a beauty product these days without the label touting its antioxidants. There’s a good reason: Antioxidants—like vitamin C—help turn back the clock. An October 2007 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people who ate foods rich in vitamin C had fewer wrinkles and less age-related dry skin than those whose diets contained only small amounts of the vitamin. C helps form collagen, which smooths fine lines and wrinkles, according to Patricia Farris, MD, clinical assistant professor of dermatology at Tulane University in New Orleans.
The key seems to be C’s ability to fight free radicals, a by-product of cell metabolism in your body. Free radicals are thought to attack proteins, fats, and DNA—and break down collagen. C also seems to guard against ultraviolet rays from the sun, which can lead to freckles and a mottled complexion. “Vitamin C does some repair and firming on the skin,” Farris says.
What to do now: Use a topical vitamin C treatment daily after you wash your face and before you slather on moisturizer or sunscreen so it penetrates the skin. Farris recommends La Roche-Posay Active C facial moisturizer or SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic topical antioxidant treatment.
Protect your heart
Experts continue to argue about whether antioxidants like vitamin C can prevent heart disease. But some of the evidence is highly persuasive. When Finnish researchers looked at studies involving nearly 300,000 people over 10 years, they found that taking more than 700 milligrams of C supplements daily reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease by 25 percent. And a recent study from Harvard Uni-versity researchers hints that women who take a combo of 500 milligrams of vitamin C daily and 600 IU of vitamin E (another antioxidant) can cut their risk of stroke by 30 percent. It’s possible that people who take vitamin supplements simply have healthier lifestyles than those who don’t, which could explain this finding. It’s also possible, experts say, that C enhances the functioning of endothelial cells (which line the inside of all blood vessels), slowing artery clogging and lowering blood pressure.
What to do now: Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, which are full of vitamin C as well as other healthy nutrients, and consider taking C and E supplements. Experts say there are essentially no risks, but first check with your doctor.
Keep cancer at bay
A diet full of vitamin C–rich fruits and vegetables isn’t just good for your heart, it may also lower your risks of bladder, esophagus, stomach, and lung cancers. Even though more research is needed to find out which compounds in fruits and veggies do the trick, researchers say the association is strong. Someday, C may also be used to treat cancer. High levels of C given intravenously seem to be toxic to cancer cells (studies on vitamin C taken orally showed no effect on cancerous cells). Intravenous C appears to trigger the formation of hydrogen peroxide, which kills some cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed, says lead study author Mark Levine, MD, chief of the molecular and clinical nutrition section and senior staff physician at the National Institutes of Health. Levine says doctors at the University of Kansas Medical School and Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia are trying this therapy on cancer patients.
What to do now: “Strive for five or more fruits and vegetables daily, in a rainbow of colors,” Levine says. “It’s where the most benefit is.
Boost brain power
Pairing vitamins C and E is smart for another reason: It may lessen your Alzheimer’s risks by as much as 64 percent, according to research in the Archives of Neurology. Just 500 milligrams of C and 400 IU of E appear to be enough. The brain’s high fat content makes it especially vulnerable to free radicals, but these antioxidants may act as shields, says study author Peter Zandi, PhD, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. “Some studies suggest that vitamin E does its job reducing free radicals in the body, but then its capacity is depleted,” Zandi says. “Vitamin C may recharge E.”
What to do now: Try taking C and E supplements, and talk to your doc about your risks for Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Save your eyesight
Vitamin C can’t prevent the need for reading glasses around age 45. But anti-oxidants, including C, help prevent one of the leading causes of blindness: age-related macular degeneration (AMD). More than 3.5 million Americans are thought to be in the early stages, and the disease strikes more women than men. A major clinical trial sponsored by the National Eye Institute showed that a daily supplement of 500 milligrams of vitamin C, 400 IU of vitamin E, 15 milligrams of beta-carotene, 80 milligrams of zinc, and 2 milligrams of copper reduced the risk of moderate or severe AMD-related vision loss by up to 25 percent. The antioxidants neutralize damage to the retina caused by, you guessed it, free radicals.
What to do now: If you’re at high risk for AMD (you’re overweight or have a family history), check to see if your multi-vitamin contains the study’s amounts of C, E, beta-carotene/vitamin A, zinc, and copper. Chances are, its C and E levels fall short, but additional supplements will do the job. (Caveat: Don’t follow this advice if you smoke; this level of beta-carotene may up your lung-cancer risks.)
Help you live longer
You’ve probably heard that green tea boosts the body’s defenses against toxins. That’s important because toxins are thought to contribute to cancer, heart attack, stroke, and lots of other maladies. In fact, one to two cups a day may reduce a woman’s risk of dying by about 20 per-cent, Japanese researchers say. What’s the vitamin C connection? Citrus juices (lemon, lime, orange) may supercharge the immunity-boosting power of green tea. A new Purdue University study found that mixing citrus juice with green tea allowed 80 percent of the tea’s anti-oxidants to stick around after simulated digestion, making the pairing healthier than thought, says study author Mario G. Ferruzzi, PhD, assistant professor in Purdue’s department of food and nutrition.
What to do now: Add at least an ounce of citrus juice to your green tea—or try Tazo Lemon Green iced tea or SoBe Green Tea 3G. Both drinks are stocked with vitamin C.
This article written by by Rachel Grumman, published at health.com
Monday, March 3, 2008
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The Language of Autism
Are people with autism trapped in their own world? Or are the rest of us just trapped in ours?
After seeing 27-year-old Amanda Baggs, featured in this month’s Wired magazine, you may rethink your views of the so-called “normal” world. Ms. Baggs, who lives in Burlington, Vt., is autistic and doesn’t speak. But she has become an Internet sensation as a result of an unusual video she created called “In My Language.'’
For the first three minutes of the video, she rocks, flaps her hands, waves a piece of paper, buries her face in a book and runs her fingers repeatedly across a computer keyboard, all while humming a haunting two-note tune.
Then, the words “A Translation” appear on the screen.
Although Ms. Baggs doesn’t speak, she types 120 words a minute. Using a synthesized voice generated by a software application, Ms. Baggs types out what is going on inside her head. The movement, the noise, the repetitive behaviors are all part of Ms. Baggs’ own “native” language, she says via her computerized voice. It’s a language that allows her to have a “constant conversation” with her surroundings.
My language is not about designing words or even visual symbols for people to interpret. It is about being in a constant conversation with every aspect of my environment, reacting physically to all parts of my surroundings.
Far from being purposeless, the way that I move is an ongoing response to what is around me….The way I naturally think and respond to things looks and feels so different from standard concepts or even visualization that some people do not consider it thought at all. But it is a way of thinking in its own right.
Ms. Baggs does far more than give us a vivid glimpse into her mind. Her video is a clarion call on behalf of people with cognitive disabilities whose way of communicating isn’t understood by the rest of the world. As the story in Wired points out, Ms. Baggs is at the forefront of a nascent civil rights movement on behalf of people with autism.
“I remember in ‘99, seeing a number of gay pride Web sites,'’ she tells the magazine. “I envied how many there were and wished there was something like that for autism. Now there is.”
Watching Ms. Baggs rock and flap is to see a person most of us would define as disabled. And that’s why the impact of the computerized voice and her cogent argument on behalf of people with autism is so powerful.
In the end I want you to know that this has not been intended as a voyeuristic freak show where you get to look at the bizarre workings of the autistic mind. It is meant as a strong statement on the existence and value of many different kinds of thinking and interaction in the world….Only when the many shapes of personhood are recognized will justice and human rights be possible.
Update: To read more about the autism activism movement, see “How About Not ‘Curing’ Us, Some Autistics Are Pleading,” which appeared in the Times in 2004. To read the story, click here.
Study Finds Death Risk From Anemia Drugs
Widely used anemia drugs sold by Amgen and Johnson & Johnson raise the risk of death among cancer patients by about 10 percent, according to a new analysis of previous clinical trials that is to be published Wednesday.
The study is the first compilation of clinical trial data — called a meta-analysis — to show a statistically significant increase in the risk of death from the drugs, said Dr. Charles L. Bennett, a professor at Northwestern University and its lead author.
The Food and Drug Administration is planning to convene an advisory committee on March 13 to discuss whether to impose further restrictions on the use of the drugs, Aranesp from Amgen and Procrit from Johnson & Johnson, with cancer patients.
The Amgen drug Epogen, which is the same as Procrit but is aimed at kidney dialysis patients, will not be directly affected by the discussions.
Amgen said the study, being published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, provided little new information. “What he observes is the risks that we’ve already talked about that are in the label,” said Roger Perlmutter, Amgen’s executive vice president for research and development.
The F.D.A. ordered stronger warnings on the drugs’ labels last year, after a flurry of studies suggested that the products, if used too aggressively, could worsen cancer conditions or hasten death. And Medicare sharply restricted reimbursement for the drugs when used to treat anemia caused by cancer chemotherapy.
Sales of Aranesp, Amgen’s best-selling product, declined to $3.6 billion last year from $4.1 billion in 2006.
One option that analysts expect to be discussed at the meeting in March would be to bar the use of the drugs for specific types of cancer, like breast cancer and head and neck cancer. Another would be to delay treatment with the drugs until patients became more anemic than the current threshold, a change that would more closely match the Medicare reimbursement policy.
A third option, which many analysts say is unlikely, would be for the F.D.A. to no longer authorize the drugs’ use in treating anemia caused by chemotherapy. The drugs would still be allowed to treat anemia caused by kidney disease.
Jim Birchenough, an analyst with Lehman Brothers, estimated in a report on Monday that rescinding approval for chemotherapy-induced anemia would reduce Amgen’s sales of Aranesp by $1 billion a year. A change in the label to match the Medicare policy would cut them by $300 million.
The new analysis on death risk, which could play into the discussions on March 13, combines data from 51 clinical trials involving 13,611 patients. The study also found a 57 percent increase in the risk of blood clots in veins, a known side effect of the drugs.
Dr. Bennett, an oncologist and hematologist, said he did not think that the higher risk of death came from those blood clots. Rather, he said, there is evidence that the drugs, which are synthetic forms of a natural hormone called erythropoietin, directly stimulate the growth and spread of tumors. Amgen scientists dispute that explanation.
Procrit, which Johnson & Johnson sells under license from Amgen, was approved for treatment of cancer patients in 1993, and Aranesp in 2002, based on their ability to reduce the need for blood transfusions. But the studies on which the approvals were based were not large and long enough to measure the effect on patients’ longevity.
As a result, efforts have been made to pool the results of many smaller trials to look for safety problems.
A meta-analysis published in 2004 by the Cochrane Collaboration, an international research group, found that patients who were given the drugs tended to live longer.
But in recent years, some new clinical trials, aimed at showing that using the drugs at higher doses than indicated on the label would improve survival, found the opposite. As those studies were added to the compilations, the safety balance appeared to shift.
A meta-analysis published in 2006 by the Cochrane Collaboration found an 8 percent higher risk of death among users of the drugs, but the result just missed being statistically significant. The analysis being published Wednesday adds some more recent studies and reaches statistical significance.
That still leaves unclear whether the drugs are dangerous if used at the levels indicated on the label, a question that bedeviled an F.D.A. advisory committee last year and is likely to do so again in March.
“We didn’t ask the right questions for 15 years,” Dr. Bennett said.
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By ANDREW POLLACK, published at Newyorktimes.com
