Thursday, 3 November 2011

HEALTH

Signs of ageing halted in the lab

Will it one day be possible to stop ageing?

The onset of wrinkles, muscle wasting and cataracts has been delayed and even eliminated in mice, say researchers in the US.

It was done by "flushing out" retired cells that had stopped dividing. They accumulate naturally with age.

The scientists believe their findings could eventually "really have an impact" in the care of the elderly.

Experts said the results were "fascinating", but should be taken with a bit of caution.

The study, published in Nature, focused on what are known as "senescent cells". They stop dividing into new cells and have an important role in preventing tumours from progressing.

These cells are cleared out by the immune system, but their numbers build up with time. The researchers estimated that around 10% of cells are senescent in very old people.

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Cleanup

Scientists at the Mayo Clinic, in the US, devised a way to kill all senescent cells in genetically engineered mice.

The animals would age far more quickly than normal, and when they were given a drug, the senescent cells would die.

The researchers looked at three symptoms of old age: formation of cataracts in the eye; the wasting away of muscle tissue; and the loss of fat deposits under the skin, which keep it smooth.

Researchers said the onset of these symptoms was "dramatically delayed" when the animals were treated with the drug.

When it was given after the mice had been allowed to age, there was an improvement in muscle function.

One of the researchers, Dr James Kirkland, said: "I've never seen anything quite like it."

His colleague Dr Jan van Deursen told the BBC: "We were very surprised by the very profound effect. I really think this is very significant."

The treatment had no effect on lifespan, but that may be due to the type of genetically engineered mouse used.

Eternal youth?

The study raises the tantalising prospect of slowing the signs of ageing in humans. However, senescent cells cannot be just flushed out of human beings.

Dr Deursen said: "I'm very optimistic that this could really have an impact. Nobody wants to live longer if the quality of life is poor."

He argued that young people were already clearing out their senescent cells.

"If you can prime the immune system, boost it a little bit, to make sure senescent cells are removed, that might be all it needs.

"Or develop a drug that targets senescent cells because of the unique proteins the cells make."

Dr Jesus Gil, from the Medical Research Council's clinical science centre, said the findings needed to be "taken with a bit of caution. It is a preliminary study".

However, he said it was a fascinating study which "suggests if you get rid of senescent cells you can improve phenotypes [physical traits] associated with ageing and improve quality of life in aged humans".

Tuesday, 1 November 2011

HEALTH

Glowing brain tumour trial begins

The tumour glows under UV light

The idea of making brain cancers glow to help surgeons operate is being tested in the UK.

Patients will be given a drug, 5-amino-levulinic acid (5-ALA), which causes a build-up of fluorescent chemicals in the tumour.

The theory is that the pink glow will clearly mark the edges of the tumour, making it easier to ensure all of it is removed.

More than 60 patients with glioblastoma will take part in the trial.

They have cancerous glial cells, which normally hold the brain's nerves cells in place. On average patients survive 15 months after being diagnosed.

No room for error

In some cancers, such as those of the colon, some of the surrounding tissue can be removed as well as the tumour. Removing a brain tumour needs to be more precise.

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Dr Colin Watts, who is leading the trial at the University of Cambridge, told the BBC that surgeons "don't want to take too much functional tissue away".

The trial will then test whether applying drugs directly to the tumour improves survival rates.

After the tumour has been removed under UV light, a thin drug-soaked wafer will be placed in the space left behind. This should slowly release chemotherapy drugs over four to six weeks to kill any remaining cancerous cells.

This could overcome one of the challenges with chemotherapy for brain tumours.

Dr Watts said: "One of the problems with chemotherapy is we don't actually know the extent a drug penetrates a tumour because of the blood brain barrier."

By applying the drug directly to the tumour it should be at a higher dose.

Charles Meacock, 56, from Norfolk, who has already taken part in the trial, said: "Hopefully it will benefit me, but will also help people in my situation in the future.

"It's four weeks since my surgery and my recovery seems to be going as it should. I just have to wait and see now."

The study has been funded by the Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust and Cancer Research UK.

The founder of the Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust, Neil Dickson, said he was proud to be funding the trial.

"Brain tumour research receives a fraction of the funding of that of higher profile cancers and it is our priority to redress the balance," he added.

Kate Law, Cancer Research UK's director of clinical research, said: "Treating brain tumours is a real challenge facing clinicians and we urgently need new treatments to help more people diagnosed with the disease."

Trials involving more patients will take place if this one is successful.

Monday, 31 October 2011

HEALTH

'Fatty apron' fuels ovary cancer

Ovarian cancer

A "fatty apron" in the abdomen helps fuel the spread of ovarian cancer, research suggests.

In 80% of cases, it has spread to this apron, called the omentum, by the time it is diagnosed.

The Nature Medicine research found once ovarian cancer cells reach the omentum, they take it over.

UK experts said the study was important in aiding understanding of ovarian cancer, the fifth most common cancer in women in the UK.

The omentum lies in the upper abdomen near the stomach. It helps support the organs nearby, but it is not essential.

Often, cancer growth in the omentum exceeds the growth of the original ovarian tumour.

The University of Chicago team injected ovarian cancer cells into the abdomen of healthy mice. They reached the omentum within 20 minutes.

They found that protein signals emitted by the omentum attracted the tumour cells. Disturbing these signals reduced this attraction by at least 50%.

Once ovarian cancer cells reach the omentum, they were found to change so they could feed off the fat cells.

Feeding cancer spread

The researchers suggest that a protein known as fatty acid binding protein (FABP4), a fat carrier, could be key to the process and could be a target for treatment.

Tumour cells next to fat cells in the omentum were found to produce high levels of FABP4, while cancer cells far away from fat cells did not.

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When the action of FABP4 was blocked, the transfer of nutrients from fat cells to cancer cells was drastically reduced. It also reduced tumour growth and the ability of tumours to generate new blood vessels.

Lead author Ernst Lengyel, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Chicago, said: "The cells that make up the omentum contain the biological equivalent of jet fuel.

"They feed the cancer cells, enabling them to multiply rapidly. Gaining a better understanding of this process could help us learn how to disrupt it."

The researchers suggest fat metabolism may also contribute to other cancers, such as breast, gastric and colon.

Dr Kat Arney, of Cancer Research UK, said: "These are important results because they suggest that fat cells in the stomach can fuel the spread of ovarian cancer, and point towards potential targets for the development of new treatments for the disease.

"But at the moment these are still early experiments using mice and cells grown in the lab, so there's still a lot of work to be done to turn this knowledge into a treatment that could help women with ovarian cancer.

Thursday, 27 October 2011

Dreams

I've come to believe that each one of us has a personal calling that's as unique as a fingerprint - and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing God to lead you.